Chapter 17: To Save? Or Not to Save?

At the base, after Li Yu and the others had left, Second Uncle and Father Li stood guard at the entrance.

Father Li lit a cigarette and casually tossed one to Second Uncle.

The two of them chatted aimlessly while shrouded in clouds of smoke.

"Big brother, Xiaoyu seems to have changed a lot. I'm a bit worried about him," Second Uncle said suddenly.

Hearing this, Li Hongyuan's eyebrows twitched, and he took a heavy drag of his cigarette.

"He's doing it all for our sake. Now that the apocalypse is here, you never know what kind of schemes people out there are plotting. Just the other day, those thugs were clearly trying to force their way in. If they got in, would they treat us well?" Li Hongyuan said in one breath.

After speaking, remembering Li Yu's decisive and ruthless manner, he looked toward the direction they had left with a hint of concern.

"I'm not saying what he's doing is wrong; I'm worried about the immense pressure he's carrying. I worry he'll suffer internally. As his elders, it should have been our responsibility to shoulder this. Sigh, let's help him more!" Second Uncle also felt a sense of heartache.

"What a cursed world!" Second Uncle flicked his cigarette butt away with a hint of resentment.

Second Uncle had worked in the southern province for many years. In recent years, he had invested his savings to open a small circuit board factory.

Relying on years of experience, keen insight, and catching a market trend, his business was just about to take off.

Then the apocalypse came, and everything was gone!

Yes,

When the apocalypse came, everything was gone!

All that remained were family members.

Fortunately, most of his family was still here!

Second Uncle felt a surge of emotion; this was a blessing in disguise.

Although Second Uncle had become somewhat slick and shrewd from years of doing business away from home, he was truly sincere and devoted to his family.

Whenever he returned home, he would bring gifts for the younger generation—including the computer for Li Yuan's university studies and the electric foot baths for his parents.

Li Hongyuan looked at this younger brother who was three years his junior.

He vaguely remembered that this brother of his had always been full of clever ideas; in the blink of an eye, he was already in his forties.

As they were chatting, a group of people approached from the direction of the woods.

Second Uncle was the first to notice and patted Li Hongyuan beside him.

"Big brother, people are coming," Second Uncle, Li Hongda, said.

Li Hongyuan narrowed his eyes. "It's the Village Party Secretary. There are some villagers behind him."

Below the main gate, the Party Secretary and his group approached.

The group looked wretched and disheveled, covered in dust and grime.

Their clothes were stained with mud and blood.

The seven or eight leaders were carrying kitchen knives from their homes; some held hoes, and others held fire pokers.

When they saw Li Hongyuan on the watchtower, the Party Secretary's expression instantly turned to one of pleasant surprise.

"Li Hongyuan, I knew you guys would be alright!" the Party Secretary said, his tone filled with concern.

"Secretary, are you all okay?" Li Hongyuan replied, sensing the man's concern.

"Not at all! There are man-eating monsters everywhere. It rained heavily a few days ago—good heavens, I've never seen rain like that in my life! We have nowhere left to go."

"Look at us... sigh. Da Zhuang's family only has her left as a sole survivor."

The Party Secretary pulled up the little girl behind him. She looked to be less than eight years old, her face covered in dust, her eyes devoid of any spirit, leaving only despair.

Her family was gone; she was all alone.

Her little rabbit jacket seemed to have been torn by something, and she only had one shoe left on her feet.

Following the period of reversed day and night, there had been extreme heat.

Then, after the 25th, heavy rain fell continuously for ten days.

Normally, in this southern region, December would be around ten degrees Celsius.

But after the heavy rains, the temperature plummeted suddenly to below 10 degrees.

Because of the zombie outbreak, the little girl likely hadn't had the chance to change her clothes; she was still wearing her spring/summer outfit.

Standing on the waterlogged ground, the little girl was shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

Her bare foot was chafed and bleeding.

Perhaps fearing the blood would attract zombies, she had smeared mud over it and wrapped it in a piece of cloth.

She stood timidly in front of the perimeter wall, skin and bones, looking pitiful.

"She's the only one left in her family. If everyone hadn't been looking after her during this time, she probably would have..." the Party Secretary sighed, his voice heavy with heartbreaking grief.

"Sigh! It looks like we're the only ones left from the village," the Party Secretary added.

After speaking, he shifted his gaze upward to check Li Hongyuan's expression.

Seeing what looked like tears in the corner of his eye, he reached up to wipe them.

Li Hongyuan looked at the little girl, his eyes filled with pity.

He had seen this little girl at Da Zhuang's house before.

She used to be such a lively girl, always smiling when she saw people.

She was also very polite.

Every time he went to Da Zhuang's house, she would call him "Uncle Li," her large eyes full of life.

But now, her gaze was vacant, and the white rabbit on her jacket had turned into a black rabbit.

An eight-year-old girl—at this age, children are the apple of their parents' eyes.

What a tragedy!

"How about..." Li Hongyuan hesitated, seemingly wanting to say something, but he suddenly remembered Li Yu's instructions and stopped himself.

Second Uncle, Li Hongda, also showed signs of pity, but he was even more vigilant.

He clearly saw that among this group, the few people in the front were wearing neat clothes and had healthy complexions, looking as though they hadn't gone hungry.

The people behind them, however, had disheveled clothes and haggard faces.

Hearing Li Hongyuan speak, he couldn't help but remind him: "Xiaoyu said, no matter the situation, do not open the door for anyone!"

Li Hongyuan nodded upon hearing this. He sighed, "Sigh, these are all villagers. We used to see each other all the time. What... what will they do?"

At the base of the wall, the Party Secretary saw the two men talking, but since he was too far away, he couldn't hear clearly.

So, he added fuel to the fire.

"Hongyuan, Hongda! We are all from the same village. I was the one who approved the permits for this base construction! Let us in. We haven't had a good night's sleep in days."

Li Hongyuan seemed moved by this, but in the end, he said nothing.

Beside him, Second Uncle Li Hongda stared intently at the Party Secretary without saying a word.

To him, it was every man for himself.

He didn't have much benevolence to give; he had been cheated many times when he was starting his business.

Seeing that the two men remained unmoved, the Party Secretary grew anxious inwardly, though he maintained a calm exterior.

However, the Women's Director beside him couldn't hold back and shouted, "Li Hongyuan, the land belongs to the village collective, not just you! Are you trying to become a warlord? If you don't let us in, you are watching us die!"

After the zombie outbreak, they had no idea that the government had already lost control and was struggling to save itself.

They had entered a state of total lawlessness.

It was only because Li Yu had warned Li Hongyuan and the others beforehand that they wouldn't be crushed by such a heavy accusation.

*If soft words don't work, they'll try force, huh?* Li Hongda thought.

Hearing the Women's Director speak, the Party Secretary flared up and pulled her forcefully.

His eyes were full of rage, and he was cursing inwardly

*Damn, this useless teammate! All my emotional appeals went to waste! Do you think this is the old days? The initiative is in their hands now!*

*Why doesn't a zombie just bite her? If it weren't for the fact that this woman is well-endowed and somewhat attractive, I wouldn't drag her along!*

On the wall, Li Hongyuan and Li Hongda's expressions also soured upon hearing this.

The problem currently before them was: Save them? Or not?