A night without words.
Even though he had killed many people yesterday, Li Yu still woke up promptly at 6 AM. Under his influence, the younger generation in his family also began to enjoy waking up early and running around the mountains.
Fitness can be addictive, and so can running.
Once the body gets used to exercise, it stimulates the secretion of dopamine, allowing the entire body to enter a positive cycle.
Before the apocalypse, many people in their twenties and thirties experienced a severe decline in physical fitness. Some lacked exercise, some had unscientific eating habits, and some couldn't break certain addictions. It was as if they couldn't muster any energy, and only certain activities could bring them temporary happiness.
This was actually because those activities could secrete dopamine. The longer this negative cycle continued, the worse the body and spirit became, and the more dopamine was needed for energy.
However, if one persists in exercise and maintains regular sleep, the dopamine secretion from exercise enters a positive cycle, and one's overall state will improve.
Their minds would be agile and their spirits refreshed.
Facing the rising sun, Li Yu led the group of youngsters behind him, running across the mountains.
Some of the younger ones, like Li Suxin, were mischievous. While running, she would occasionally stop, pick two small wild flowers by the roadside, and then call out “Brother, Brother.”
However, there were too many “Brothers” in the family, and for a moment, she didn't know who she was calling.
But someone would always carry her, so Li Suxin was always the most enthusiastic when it came to exercise and running.
She could enjoy the breeze while being carried by different brothers, stopping wherever she wanted, because another brother would carry her later.
After exercising, Li Yu returned to his room and took a warm bath.
Then, after breakfast, he went to the small house where the two men were being held.
His third uncle had watched them all night, and now Li Zhengping was standing guard at the door.
Li Zhengping saw Li Yu approaching, quickly stood up, and called out, “Big Brother!”
Li Yu nodded, expressed a few words of concern, and then entered the small room. He saw the two men still lying on the ground. Li Yu pulled the black cloths off them.
It was as if they hadn't seen sunlight for a long time. At this moment, the morning sun's rays penetrated the door and entered the room, causing the two men to squint slightly. They couldn't open their eyes for a moment.
Li Yu said, “We're setting off today. You two will lead the way later.” After speaking, he left the small room.
Yang Tianlong and the others had already charged the car and filled it with fuel. According to Li Yu's plan, he would still go out with Yang Tianlong, Li Hang, Li Tie, Li Gang, Zhao Dapao, and the five part-time workers.
These part-time workers were led by Ding Jiu, and recently Ding Jiu's daughter and Li Hang had been growing closer.
After Li Yu rescued them, they had integrated well, as they relied on their strength for a living and had the power to cut down people and zombies with knives.
These days, everyone in the base had been constantly practicing with crossbows, and the part-time workers' crossbow skills had improved significantly.
The group consisted of 11 people in total. In the base, there were still the third uncle, second uncle, and maternal uncle, among others. Although no other teams had been discovered in the surrounding area yet, having two veterans in the base was relatively stable. Moreover, Li Haoran and the other young men had grown a lot during this time and could also help protect the people in the base.
This time, Li Yu had everyone equip the riot armor. Although it was called armor, it was very convenient to walk in. Though light, it was very sturdy.
With everything ready, Li Yu and the others prepared to set off.
Li Yu pulled the two men out, still covering their eyes, and then wrapped another layer of black cloth around their heads so they definitely couldn't see where they were.
The location of the base was a secret. Li Yu had built it in this spot precisely because it was surrounded by mountains yet had convenient transportation. The surrounding forests served as the base's best camouflage.
They sped along.
Xin City was in the south, and the City Center was in the north. The town where Li Yu was located was still in the southern part of Xin City.
So this time, they had to head north.
However, the distance wasn't actually very far, less than a hundred kilometers.
They passed through the county town, and the road was relatively clear, as Li Yu and his group had passed through this section countless times. But as they continued north, they encountered more and more obstacles on the road. Some were cars that had run out of gasoline, some were rocks of various sizes that had fallen from the mountains, and some were miscellaneous debris.
It had been several months since the road had been maintained, so there were more and more potholes.
Fortunately, besides the riot vehicle, Li Yu also drove a 7-seater new energy vehicle this time, which didn't consume gasoline even with frequent stops.
This stretch of road, which would normally take 1 hour to traverse at a regular driving speed, took an hour and a half due to too many road obstacles.
They were already near the edge of the City Center.
Li Yu remembered that the last time he came to the City Center was… the last time.
The last time, when he had just returned from M City, he first arrived in the city and then transferred to Xin City.
Inside the car, Li Yu opened the window, letting the outside air in. By the fields, the roadside trees remained.
But the fields were already barren, the trees remained, and most of the people were gone.
In the air, Li Yu suddenly felt that the air in the apocalypse seemed fresher. Without factories and car exhaust, after several months of purification, the air seemed to have become even better.
As they were about to reach the city, Li Yu rolled up the car window, then turned to the two men in the back seat and said, “Where is that place you mentioned?”
Mr. Wen Zhong heard this and hummed for a long time but couldn't speak.
Li Yu slapped himself. “Damn it!”
He had forgotten to untie their mouths. So he removed the black cloth, then took off their blindfolds, and finally removed the tape that sealed their mouths.
After adapting to the light, Mr. Wen Zhong and the young man looked at Li Yu with some resentment. They had seen cautious people, but they had never seen anyone so cautious, even using two layers to cover their eyes?
After catching his breath, Mr. Wen Zhong said, “It's near Yugu Terrace. Go straight from here, then turn left, then…”
“Don't rush, take your time. Tie Zi, get the map out and let's take a look,” Li Yu said.
He then asked Mr. Wen Zhong, “Are there any major buildings nearby?”
Mr. Wen Zhong was a bit confused and asked, “Aren't we going directly there?”
Li Yu glanced at him and said, “I'll observe first, then decide whether to go directly.”
Mr. Wen Zhong stopped talking, and Li Yu also ignored him.
Seeing that Li Yu was no longer speaking, Mr. Wen Zhong thought for a moment and said, “There's a Glory Mansion nearby that can directly overlook our headquarters.”
Li Yu took out the map, looked at it, and drew a circle on Glory Mansion with a pen, then drew another circle on a building next to it.
Pointing to the other building, he asked, “Can't you see it from this place?”
Mr. Wen Zhong said, “They're pretty much the same, but Glory Mansion is closer to our side.”
“Oh.”