The engine turned off, and the vehicle stopped abruptly.
The running oil tanker's engine ceased its rotation, and all of a sudden, the sound of the car driving vanished.
The air suddenly grew quiet, and rain poured down from the gloomy sky.
The world remained the same, the roadside trees were still verdant, but humans, the spirits of all things, had changed tremendously.
Rain pattered on the car roof, making a rustling sound.
In this eerie and oppressive environment, everyone wondered why Li Yu had suddenly stopped the car.
One minute later, a drone flew above the car, emitting a buzzing sound.
Li Yu looked at the surrounding roads; because of his recent trips to the county and city, he had moved the cars parked on the roadside to create a clear path in the middle for easier driving.
"You all drive the cars back first. Tie Zi, Da Pao, you two get out with me. Xiao Lata, Li Yuan, Ding Jiu, you all drive the cars back to the base," Li Yu broke the silence, speaking into the walkie-talkie.
Xiao Lata, sitting in the front passenger seat, heard what Li Yu said, turned her head, and told him, "I'll stay too."
Li Yu shook his head and said in an undeniable tone, "You all go back first. I need to wait here for a bit."
Xiao Lata hesitated, wanting to say something, but seeing the resolute expression on Li Yu's face, she said nothing more.
Li Yuan, on the other hand, knew very well that once her older brother made a decision, nothing she said would matter, so she obediently listened, got out of the car, and went to take over Zhao Dapao's vehicle.
Ding Jiu, inside the oil tanker, replied with an "Okay" and then started the oil tanker, slowly heading towards the base.
Li Yu took Li Tie and Zhao Dapao, bringing their submachine guns and some prepared food.
They walked towards their former home by the National Highway. Rain fell on Li Yu and the others. Li Yu watched the cars behind them, seeing them off.
After they left, Li Yu looked at the Township Road, where the potholes were submerged by the rainwater, forming small ditches.
When Li Yuan and the others drove by, they splashed water, revealing the muddy soil on the road.
After the vehicles passed, they left tracks on the ground.
The rainwater submerged the newly driven path again, turning it into a small ditch, roughly clearing the tracks left by the cars just now.
It seemed as if no car had passed by at all.
According to Li Yu's usual habit, he would cover up the ground every time he entered the base, leaving no traces.
But this time...
Li Yu looked at the ground, pondered for a moment, and considered it. In the end, he did not go to clean it up.
Leave it, it might be useful.
They got off the National Highway, walked onto the Xiao Lu beside the National Highway, and moved stealthily behind the roadside trees.
Zhao Dapao walked while observing his surroundings, as zombies become extremely agitated in the rain.
Li Tie and Zhao Dapao did not speak. They believed that Li Yu had his reasons for doing this, and when the time was right, Li Yu would explain exactly what they were doing.
Li Tie could actually vaguely guess what Li Yu wanted to do. Since returning to the base, in these past few months, Li Tie knew very well what Li Yu cared about most and was also very clear about this:
His older brother disliked the feeling of being targeted and disliked leaving behind future troubles.
The place where they got off was very close to their home by the overpass.
In just a few minutes, Li Yu and the others arrived downstairs.
Climbing the nearby stairs, Li Yu stood by the window of this three-story small building, taking out his binoculars to look into the distance.
This small building was perfectly situated on a slope. From the third story, one could clearly see places beyond 100 meters on both sides of the National Highway.
Li Yu watched for a while, then turned to Li Tie and Zhao Dapao beside him and said, "Just now at the Gas Station, the zombies had no consciousness. On rainy days, these zombies would definitely run out. Da Pao also said that when he was on the tanker upstairs, he didn't see any zombies, but why did so many suddenly appear just now? So, I suspect someone is specifically targeting us. We'll wait here to see if they follow us."
Zhao Dapao and Li Tie fell into thought, feeling that something was indeed wrong, but why did that group of people only release the zombies when they were about to leave?
They couldn't figure it out.
"Older brother, I don't understand. Who could it be? The Zhen Fu people just now were already killed by the Salvation Army. And as for the Salvation Army people, we saw them leave with our own eyes!" Li Tie scratched his head, unable to comprehend, and said.
"It doesn't matter. No matter who it is, as long as they are a threat to us, we'll kill them all," Li Yu said, full of murderous intent.
"You two observe here. I'll tell Second Uncle and the others about the situation," Li Yu said.
Li Yu's location was not far from the base, so they could communicate directly via walkie-talkie.
He took out the walkie-talkie and told Second Uncle and the others about the situation he had just encountered and his suspicions.
Before Second Uncle could reply, Yang Tianlong, who was also on duty outside, immediately said he wanted to come and help.
Li Yu refused. Now, he didn't know if those people would come, or when they would come, and he was afraid that if Yang Tianlong came over, those people would just happen to arrive.
Second Uncle and the others were a bit worried. As time went on, perhaps many hidden people would come out.
In this world where the strong prey on the weak, half a year after the apocalypse, those who could survive must follow the law of survival, or they had their unique qualities, after all, there were still many intelligent people in the world.
He turned off the walkie-talkie and walked to the back. In a place unseen from the National Highway, Li Yu lit a cigarette.
This small building faced the National Highway, with farmland behind it and a plum orchard next to it.
Under the nourishment of the rain, the trees desperately absorbed moisture, now radiating a different kind of vitality.
Amidst the swirling smoke, Li Yu had a headache. Surviving in this apocalypse was already difficult, and it was even harder to lead his family to live well.
Perhaps having more people would bring more restrictions, but many things cannot be accomplished by one person alone. Some trustworthy people, warming each other in this apocalypse, were a great help.
He shook his head, no longer thinking about it.
He wasn't afraid of a thief stealing, but he was afraid of a thief constantly eyeing him.
This situation of the enemy being hidden and him being exposed made Li Yu very uncomfortable.
He didn't know where the enemy was, who the enemy was, or how much the enemy knew about him, whether they were hiding in the shadows, looking for the best opportunity, like a venomous snake, to deliver a fatal bite.
He rubbed his temples, simply wiped the submachine gun in his hand, and checked the bullets.
Time passed bit by bit.
Three hours later, night fell.
The rain did not stop; it continued to fall.
The three people in the three-story small building took turns observing their surroundings from the window, especially the National Highway.
All three had eaten a little something.
Everyone had come out relatively early today, and their spirits had been highly tense.