Chapter 27: On What Basis?

"Let her go!" Liu Weimin screamed with all his might. His daughter had lost her mother at a young age, and he had raised her alone ever since.

Because he was often away on business trips, he had spent very little time with her, and he had always carried a deep sense of guilt regarding his daughter.

In Liu Huamei's heart, although her father hadn't been around much, she had always felt that her father was her entire world!

Influenced by him, Liu Huamei had also developed a strong sense of justice.

However, upon hearing Liu Weimin's words, the people opposite her only gripped her tighter.

Liu Weimin roared in fury, "Did you people do those corpses outside as well?"

Seeing that the confrontation had reached a breaking point, the Village Party Secretary saw no reason to hide anything anymore.

He said with a smile, "The world is like this now. Didn't you say it yourself? The government is gone. What's so strange about this?"

Seeing the Village Secretary admit it so directly, Liu Weimin felt his heart turn to ash.

Everything he had stood for all these years felt like a joke. Watching his struggling daughter, Liu Weimin felt as if his heart were being sliced by knives.

He suddenly charged forward. The bullets in his gun were long gone; he had nothing but a single dagger on him.

Seeing Liu Weimin charging fiercely, the tattooed youth panicked. He pulled someone next to him in front of him to act as a shield against Liu Weimin's impact.

At this moment, Liu Weimin was on the verge of a breakdown. He didn't care who he was facing and drove his knife straight into the man's neck.

*Puchi!* Blood sprayed out! It gushed like a fountain!

The Village Secretary had secretly moved to the back when Liu Weimin first charged. Seeing Liu Weimin brutally kill a man, his heart began to thud violently.

Watching Liu Weimin, who showed no sign of stopping after the first kill, the Village Secretary shouted, "Stop him! Kill him, or we're all going to die!"

As if jolted awake, the crowd surged forward. Some held hoes, some held kitchen knives, some held wood-cutting knives, and some even held fire pokers.

In Liu Weimin's eyes, these people didn't seem to exist; he only wanted to save his daughter!

Prompted by the Village Secretary, four or five people quickly surrounded him. One man swung a hoe downward, but Liu Weimin dodged it easily and closed the distance to a man holding a wood-cutting knife with extreme speed.

He thrust the dagger into the man's neck again—it had become almost an instinctive motion.

Since the apocalypse began, during the heavy rains, Liu Weimin and Liu Jianwen had survived countless zombies. They had killed many, and sometimes, to save bullets, they would use blades.

The action of stabbing the neck had become muscle memory for Liu Weimin.

To him, this group of people seemed no different from zombies—in fact, they were even more loathsome!

After stabbing the man, Liu Weimin quickly snatched the wood-cutting knife from his hand. Although the dagger was sharp, it was too short; as the saying goes, "an extra inch of length is an extra inch of strength!"

Seeing Liu Weimin kill another person, the surrounding crowd seemed to be fueled by bloodlust. If they didn't stop this man, it would be their turn sooner or later!

They began to swarm him. The leading tattooed youth charged forward with a machete, glancing at several others nearby, and they all rushed in together.

Liu Weimin was, after all, only one man. Even though he knew some martial arts, he was no god!

He charged recklessly toward his daughter with the machete, killing two people in the process. He took two stabs to his shoulder, though he instinctively avoided vital organs.

Nevertheless, two gashes were torn into his back, and blood began to seep out.

He finally reached his daughter. The two men holding Liu Huamei seemed to react, attempting to press their blades against her neck to threaten him.

But at that exact moment, Liu Weimin threw his dagger. It struck one of them directly in the heart.

Liu Huamei instantly fought back, knocking down the other man and rushing toward her father.

Once they reunited, Liu Weimin panted heavily, shielding Liu Huamei behind him.

Looking at her father, whose jacket was already soaked in blood, Liu Huamei could not stop her tears from falling.

Liu Weimin said nothing. He secretly slipped the car keys and a flashlight to Liu Huamei and whispered, "Go... go find Liu Jianwen. Li Yu might not want to save you, but Liu Jianwen will likely do it for my sake!"

Though his voice was low, the tattooed man closest to him heard it and shouted, "Don't let them escape!"

The crowd closed in again. Liu Weimin led Liu Huamei toward the exit, but people blocked the way. He charged forward, swinging the wood-cutting knife wildly as if he had no regard for his own life.

One person was struck, while another dodged, fearing for their life.

Liu Weimin pushed Liu Huamei out the door, but he didn't expect a blade to slash his calf from behind!

*Thud!* He collapsed to the ground, blood flowing from his leg.

Yet, as if he felt no pain, he continued to lean against the doorway.

But his wounded leg could no longer support him, and his entire body slumped down, though he used his whole weight to block the doorway.

"Run! Fast!" Liu Weimin roared!

Liu Huamei was drenched in tears, filled with extreme regret! Why had she saved these people? Why hadn't she believed what Li Yu said!

But there was no turning back. She wanted to stay, but what was the use of staying? To die together?

Was it better to beg that man? But would he save her? She didn't know, but she clung to a sliver of hope.

She cast one last deep look at the crowd, her eyes flashing with a ruthlessness she had never possessed before. *If there is ever a chance in the future, these people must die!*

She then ran down the mountain. The crowd wanted to rush out, but they were blocked by Liu Weimin's suicidal defense at the door.

Running down the rugged mountain path, Liu Huamei fell several times, but she had no time to care about her wounds; she was terrified the people behind her would catch up.

Finally, she reached the bottom of the mountain. The car was right by the iron fence!

However, there were still two zombies beneath the fence. Driven by desperation, Liu Huamei felt no fear.

She went straight for them, knocking one zombie down.

The other was chasing her, but Liu Huamei had already scrambled into the car.

*Vroom—*

The engine roared, and Liu Huamei sped away!

On the dark road, zombies occasionally appeared in her headlights.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* The armored vehicle moved down the national highway like a bulldozer!

She drove at full speed until she finally reached the perimeter wall.

From a distance, her Second Uncle saw lights flashing. When he realized it was the armored vehicle, he immediately contacted Li Yu and Liu Jianwen via walkie-talkie.

Li Yu was sleeping; since his rebirth, he had maintained a habit of light sleep that he had never been able to break.

He woke up at the very first sound from the walkie-talkie.

He got up, dressed, and grabbed his submachine gun and long blade.

By the time he arrived, the car had already stopped beneath the wall. Because of the noise made by the armored vehicle, seven or eight zombies had already gathered below.

Second Uncle remained expressionless, quietly watching Liu Huamei speak below.

"Please, save me! I shouldn't have misunderstood you, I was wrong, please!" Liu Huamei sobbed from the car below, her voice breaking as she struggled to speak through her tears.

Second Uncle gave her a cold look. Li Hongyuan was also on duty today. Hearing her cries, he didn't know what to do and simply sighed, saying they would wait for Li Yu to decide.

Li Yu arrived, followed by his uncle, Liu Jianwen.

Standing on the watchtower, Li Yu was somewhat surprised to see Liu Huamei below, but he said nothing; he wanted to hear what she had to say.

Beside him, his uncle was impatient, urging Li Yu to open the gate and let her in.

Li Yu refused.

Second Uncle and Li Hongyuan maintained an air of detachment, looking as if none of this had anything to do with them.

Below the wall, Liu Huamei was inconsolable. She tried to explain what had happened in broken sentences, but because she was so distraught, her words were fragmented and thick with nasal congestion, making it impossible to be clear.

"Can't explain it clearly, huh? Ten seconds. If you keep crying, I'm going back to sleep."

Liu Huamei sobbed, took a deep breath, and began counting silently to force herself to calm down.

The series of events she had experienced today seemed to have forced her to grow up instantly.

Soon, her emotions stabilized, and she provided a quick, accurate description of what had occurred.

Then, she looked up at Li Yu with eyes full of intense pleading.

She knew that the decision rested with him.

Hearing her, Li Yu looked at his uncle, who was so anxious to go down that he was practically jumping. Li Yu patted his shoulder and slowly handed him a cigarette.

He lit one himself and exhaled slowly.

Then, he looked down at Liu Huamei. His gaze was devoid of emotion—calm and objective.

He said

"During the day,

It was you who asked me to let them in.

Now,

It is also you who is asking me to kill them to save your father.

On what grounds?"