No words were exchanged overnight.
Early the next morning, Li Yu woke up as usual for his morning exercise. On his way downstairs, he stopped by the medical room. Song Min was still unconscious, but her wounds had healed significantly.
Song Qi, who had stayed by her bedside all night, stood up and greeted Li Yu when he arrived. Li Yu saw his bloodshot eyes and felt a pang in his heart. Although this boy looked tall and strong, he was still an underage, and Song Min on the sickbed was his only relative in the world.
There was also a girl by the sickbed; she too had stayed up all night. Li Yu nodded, acknowledging her. Then he left.
The morning in May was neither cold nor hot, with a faint scent of flowers and grass in the breeze. The fresh aroma made Li Yu feel pleasant after smelling it.
He started running, circling the base once, then began climbing the mountain. From the mountaintop, he overlooked the entire base, watching it gradually transform from an empty space to a bustling one, with new things constantly being brought in from outside. Now, there were more and more things in the base, yet it remained well-organized.
He descended the mountain.
On the way, he met his uncle and some people from the base, exchanging greetings. He also encountered his fourth uncle's third daughter, leading several young Xiao Luobotou from her family, with cattle and sheep, to the mountain for grazing.
Hearing his younger cousins and relatives calling out “Big Brother” made Li Yu even happier. A harmonious family prospers; the continuous flow of generations is one of the signs of a thriving family.
Returning to his room, he washed up and then went downstairs for breakfast.
Breakfast was simple: adults mainly ate corn with plain porridge, while children who were still developing had milk and some eggs. Because Song Qi and the optimistic girl had given blood yesterday, they were also given the children's benefits to replenish their bodies.
After breakfast, Li Tie planned to go out and move Song Min's belongings back. This time, Li Yu did not go out; he just let his uncle go with them. Including Song Min's two young girls from before, a total of about 7 people set off.
Before they departed, Li Yu also reminded them to be careful on the road, not to act impulsively if they encountered any sudden situations, and to observe for a while before proceeding. Additionally, on the way back, they should pay attention to concealment to avoid being followed.
During his time at the base, his uncle learned the importance of base concealment. Coupled with the fact that he was originally a captain in the armed police, he was excellent in all aspects.
With his uncle there, Li Yu felt much more at ease.
He also recalled that among the Salvation Army members killed last time, only one was left alive: Mao Ge.
They had interrogated him earlier. From Mao Ge's mouth, Li Yu and others learned that the Salvation Army headquarters was further south, a very large group. Their boss was a local real estate owner who had operated on a large scale, but due to the poor economic situation in the past two years, he was insolvent and on the verge of bankruptcy.
Then the apocalypse arrived!
With no debts, and having a specialized demolition team under his command, he quickly gathered his personnel and became the largest force in that city. The key was that the leader of this Salvation Army was very ambitious, constantly expanding his sphere of influence and recruiting members. When they encountered other forces, they were either conquered and paid protection fees periodically, or they were destroyed.
This Salvation Army did not divide areas for agricultural work or collect supplies themselves. For them, their rule was that other forces would store grain and cultivate, while they would just exploit those forces.
As long as they remained powerful enough!
They carried out overall planning, and although their internal rules were very harsh, based on the law of the jungle, their overall strength was still very formidable.
Regarding the exact number of people, Mao Ge frankly stated that he wasn't entirely sure, as he hadn't counted them. Before he came out, according to what he knew, there were about 8 team leaders alone. Each team had as many as 100 people and as few as over 50. The team that came to investigate Zhen Fu last time was considered a relatively small team.
Under each team, there were also 2 to 4 squad leaders. Mao Ge was currently one of the two squad leaders in their team. This time, he was also responsible for transporting food, but he didn't expect to be wiped out by Li Yu and his group.
In other words, the Salvation Army had a personnel count of 500 to 800 people. This was an extremely large group, with a population roughly ten times that of the base!
Moreover, they were all strong, healthy men. Li Yu felt a sense of oppression after hearing this.
But fortunately, in their safest country, gun control was very strict. Before the apocalypse, ordinary people basically never saw real guns and ammunition. And the location of the Government's armory was generally unknown to common people.
Furthermore, due to the rain and the frenzy of zombies during the virus outbreak, the Government's forces had not yet been seen.
Therefore, the Salvation Army did not possess many firearms, and they had consumed a lot while constantly attacking other forces. Now, the Salvation Army rarely used firearms.
For instance, when the Salvation Army went to the Gas Station last time, the team leader was actually equipped with a gun, but his bullet allocation was limited. When the bullets ran out, he had no choice but to resist with cold weapons.
This was good news.
Li Yu and others also interrogated Mao Ge about the location of the Salvation Army. Mao Ge was vague at first, but after being severely beaten by Da Pao and others, he became exceptionally cooperative.
He began to actively inform Li Yu and them of everything he knew. Li Yu did not fully believe him, only giving him some leftover food to let him survive for now.
This Mao Ge was tightly bound, and there were dedicated guards watching him. Mao Ge had to be killed, but not now. Li Yu always felt that Mao Ge wasn't telling the whole truth, and he wanted to interrogate him for a while longer to see if he could reveal more information.
He went to the interrogation room again to check on Mao Ge. His second uncle was still menacingly interrogating him through various methods.
Li Yu looked at the somewhat miserable Mao Ge, who had gone from “Stinky Mao” to “Xiao Mao,” and then to “Mao Ge.” It hadn't been easy for him.
Seeing that he was still alive, Li Yu said nothing. He was going to die sooner or later anyway, and an interrogation might still reveal some information.
Towards enemies, Li Yu was always ruthless. He would kill them all to leave no future trouble, and if he could solve something once, he would never do it a second time.
When facing an enemy, if it could be resolved with action, he would never use words. Using words was usually only when the enemy was completely under control, just like with Mao Ge now.
Li Yu had only one life, and he had many relatives to protect.
Therefore, he… cherished his life greatly!
After checking on Mao Ge, Li Yu walked out of the interrogation room.
As soon as he came out, he saw Li Yuan quickly running towards him. Seeing Li Yu, Li Yuan shouted as she ran, “Brother, Song Min woke up and said she wants to see you!”
Li Yu raised an eyebrow. Woke up?
“Good, I’ll go now,” Li Yu nodded in response and walked directly towards the medical room.