Chapter 22: A Rabble

Little Xuanxuan felt a gentle stroke on her head, a warm, large hand that seemed to wake her up.

Her eyes seemed to find focus, gradually regaining some expression.

Immediately following, her eyes brimmed with tears.

But she bit her lower lip hard, refusing to let the tears fall.

Since the zombie outbreak and the death of her family, no one had ever stroked her like this again.

There were only looks of disgust, and every time, she could only pick up the scraps left behind by others.

As time went on and food became scarce, even the scraps were gone.

She hadn't eaten anything for several days...

A seven-year-old girl naturally has low resistance, and combined with days of starvation, standing there for over an hour left her wobbling on the verge of collapse.

But the village Party Secretary had told her to stand, so she didn't dare sit down, nor did she dare speak.

In the apocalypse, for a little girl who had lost her family to survive until now was already a miracle.

During this time, she had learned to be strong, to be sensible, to be silent, and to read people's expressions.

Even if she was despised, even if she was nearly killed by others, she still followed the crowd.

Because, alone in an environment filled with zombies, she wouldn't survive!

Seeing the tears welling up in Little Xuanxuan's eyes, Li Yu felt a complex mix of emotions.

Holding a submachine gun in one hand, he took Little Xuanxuan's small hand with the other.

He began walking toward the vehicle, while cautiously watching the crowd out of the corner of his eye.

He was not the type of person to casually turn his back on others.

Beside him, Little Xuanxuan seemed to remember something; she stole a glance back at the village Party Secretary, her large eyes filled with fear.

Seeing Li Yu leading Little Xuanxuan away, and sensing that Li Yu had no intention of paying them any mind, the Party Secretary glared viciously at the turning girl, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Little Xuanxuan shuddered violently, as if remembering something terrible.

She instantly snapped her head back, seemingly worried that the hand holding hers might let go at any moment.

Consequently, she used her other hand to grab the corner of Li Yu's clothes, clutching it with great force!

Sensing Little Xuanxuan's movement, Li Yu's gaze sharpened.

An invisible, murderous aura erupted, surging toward the Party Secretary.

The Party Secretary's fierce expression instantly shifted when met by Li Yu's gaze, which was brimming with killing intent.

His face changed in an instant, replaced by an awkward smile.

But deep within his eyes, a full reservoir of rage remained hidden.

Li Yu spoke: "Little Xuanxuan can come in. You cannot."

"Why?" the tattooed youth behind the Party Secretary shouted angrily.

He continued, "On what grounds can she go in while we can't? She's just a child, a burden who wastes food. We are all able-bodied adults. We can help you guard the base! What can she do?"

Li Yu looked at the youth, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"On what grounds? Because I feel like it!"

Hearing this, Liu Huamei's eyes were filled with disappointment, but Li Yu ignored her completely.

Upon hearing his words, the crowd grew indignant, calling Li Yu selfish.

Li Yu had no desire to explain, nor did he bother.

When he first built the base, these were the same people who mocked him for being a fool.

Now, these were the same people begging him.

Humanity is truly unpredictable.

His experience as a regressor in the apocalypse told him that these people were nothing to be trusted.

A little girl was so hungry she was about to faint, and she was being used to garner pity.

But why did these people look so healthy and flushed?

Furthermore, the leaders among them had bulging packs on their backs.

There were no elderly people in this group, and the first few individuals carried a faint, lingering murderous intent.

Li Yu knew very well that such a look only came from those who had killed living people.

Selfish and ruthless.

Moreover, the moment he mentioned not helping, their true colors were revealed immediately.

They all began throwing mud at Li Yu.

These people were no longer honest farmers; they were a greedy mob.

If he let them in, especially the leaders like the Party Secretary, they would undoubtedly try to seize power.

Wouldn't that just be looking for trouble?

He could save people, but not them.

Li Yu held the little girl's hand and walked slowly to the vehicle.

He pointed to the car, signaling for the girl to get in first.

Behind them, the Party Secretary's face turned ashen, looking as if he were suffering from severe constipation.

The development of events had exceeded his expectations; he had set out to steal a chicken only to lose his rice!

He had thought Li Yu might pity Little Xuanxuan and save her.

But he hadn't expected Li Yu to defy the criticism of the crowd and refuse to let them in.

Using the opinions of the majority to force an individual to act—this was a tactic he had used successfully many times, but it failed before Li Yu.

The Party Secretary placed his hopes on another man, Liu Weimin.

Thus, he said to Liu Weimin, "What are we to do? What should we do now?"

Hearing this, Liu Weimin felt a sense of distaste. Was this man trying to latch onto him directly?

Moreover, he had heard the crowd's remarks just now.

He knew that some of what they said was certainly exaggerated.

However, a strong sense of justice and innate kindness drove him to make a decision.

He looked at Li Yu with some anger and said, "If they won't help you, I will!"

Beside Li Yu, Liu Jianwen grew anxious upon hearing this.

He said, "Weimin, you... Xiao Yu didn't say you couldn't come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something and looked at Li Yu sheepishly.

With a lack of confidence, he said, "Xiao Yu, Weimin is an old friend of mine, you..."

Li Yu remained expressionless, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Seeing Liu Jianwen negotiating with Li Yu, Liu Weimin said in a fit of shame and anger, "I don't want to go in either! I don't want to become selfish and heartless like him!"

"And Liu Jianwen, I may not be a constable, but you are. I don't understand why you've become like this!"

Faced with Liu Weimin's righteous words, Liu Jianwen fell silent.

He opened his mouth to speak, saying, "Weimin, you... I..."

However, he couldn't say anything and merely sighed.

Besides, the things these people had just said were so outrageous that he felt a sense of displeasure in his heart as well.

Faced with this choice—between kin and righteousness—Liu Jianwen felt extreme inner turmoil.

Li Yu remained unmoved by Liu Weimin's words.

In truth, he admired Liu Weimin. To possess a sense of justice and kindness in this apocalypse was a precious thing.

Liu Weimin had a rare sense of justice, but he failed to recognize the reality of the situation.

People like this often died the fastest in the apocalypse.

After all, the human heart is unpredictable!

It wasn't kindness that was wrong; it was the people who exploited kindness, and it was this era that was wrong.

Without further thought, he waved his hand, signaling his second uncle and father to open the main gate.

They had already wasted too much time outside the walls.

Because of the gunfire just now, the sounds of approaching zombies could be heard from a distance.

On the other side, he instructed Xiao Hang, Xiao Lü, Fourth Uncle, Uncle Lai, and the others to guard the entrance.

If anyone dared to force their way in, they were to be killed immediately.

Holding his submachine gun, Li Yu stood at the main gate, scrutinizing the crowd opposite him.

Seeing the gate open, the crowd began to move.

But seeing Li Yu holding a submachine gun and Li Hang and the others aiming pistols and crossbows at them, they immediately dared not move.

The second uncle drove the car inside, and the eldest uncle, Liu Jianwen, drove another vehicle.

Before entering, the eldest uncle gave the Liu father and daughter a complex look and said, "Protect yourselves."

Li Yu did not enter immediately; he had his second uncle close the main gate first, and only then did he enter through the small side door.

*Bang!* The small door was also closed.

Only then did those inside the walls breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Yu, however, was contemplating another problem: what if the next time he went out, he returned to find himself besieged by outsiders?

What if there were even more people next time? What would he do?

After some thought, he came up with two ideas. One was to set up a basket system to return to the top of the wall, but that had its issues—it required manpower, and if he used electricity and the circuit failed, it would be a problem. This was also why he didn't use electric gates.

The other method was to set up a second gate behind the main one for double security.

Coincidentally, when he had built the base, many construction materials were left over, including steel and red bricks.

(End of Chapter)