At the base, his father, Li Hongyuan, and several workers used a forklift to lift the bodies and then load them onto a truck.
Processing thousands of bodies was an extremely troublesome task.
Yet, even so, it had to be done as quickly as possible.
It was already past 3 PM, and only half of the bodies had been processed; if they didn't hurry, it would be a disaster by nightfall.
All these bodies were transported to a large pond somewhat far from the base; this pond used to have many fish and shrimp, but now, due to the dry and hot weather, it had completely dried up.
Body after body, like goods being dumped, were poured into the pond.
The weather was hot, and everyone was sweating under the scorching sun.
Even with masks on, the smell of blood could not be blocked.
It was too strong.
Everyone raced against time, not daring to delay, but during their transport, they also had to consider one thing: it was possible that some of the vagrants had not gone far from the surroundings.
Therefore, on every one of their vehicles, there had to be one person armed and on guard.
To prevent any surprise attacks.
The bodies gradually decreased.
The bloodstains outside the base could not be completely cleaned, nor could they be cleaned with water; they could only use an excavator to turn over the soil underneath and then use a compactor to flatten the turned-over soil.
This was to cover the blood that stained the soil above.
The same was true in Weng City; due to various considerations, when Weng City was built, the ground was not concreted, which now made operations easier.
In fact, the most crucial reason for not concreting the ground back then was to avoid wasting cement.
The bodies were all transported to the pond far from the base, and the pond was already half-filled.
These bodies could not be left dry here; if left here, the blood would attract a large number of zombies.
Burying them with soil was a huge undertaking; the simplest way was to burn them with oil.
Third Uncle and several people took a large barrel of gasoline from the base's tanker truck and poured it over the bodies.
Then, they lit a match and threw it among the bodies.
Whoosh!
The bodies immediately caught fire.
Fortunately, the area around the pond was barren due to drought, otherwise, it would have easily set the surroundings on fire.
In the firelight, the sun set.
As night was about to fall, Second Uncle and the others looked at the forest behind the pond and narrowed their eyes.
Finally, they got into their vehicles and returned to the base.
At the base, Weng City had been thoroughly plowed. The soil on the ground was turned over, and even in this environment, a faint smell of blood still emanated.
Second Uncle stood on top of Weng City, looking at the forest ahead, the twilight hurried.
Soon, Third Uncle's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Second Brother, we're back. Open the gate."
There was a hint of fatigue in his voice.
The gate slowly opened, and Third Uncle and several people drove into the base.
After this battle, everyone at the base began to heighten their vigilance.
Third Uncle got out of the car, went up to the wall, and stood side by side with Second Uncle, looking at the distant forest together.
"Xiao Yu and the others, I wonder how they are doing now? It's nighttime, and it's not safe," Second Uncle said.
Third Uncle's expression did not show too much worry; both of his sons had gone together, and having been soldiers for so many years, he was accustomed to staying calm when encountering things.
"Xiao Yu is right," Third Uncle suddenly said.
Today, many people were killed, even so many people, which overturned many people's values; they might have nightmares tonight.
They might also wonder if Li Yu's decision was correct.
"So, we need to do ideological work with them," Second Uncle said in agreement after hearing what Third Uncle said.
Tonight, on the wall, 8 people were still on duty.
After a major battle, one cannot relax immediately. Moreover, having killed so many people today, it was very likely that zombies would come from outside.
This required them to stay alert.
...
At the base, everyone began to eat.
The food cooked today was still as delicious as before, but no one could taste it.
Too many people were killed today; they truly saw what it meant to kill people like chickens.
Second Uncle was also there and saw that everyone seemed reluctant to speak, a silence in this somber atmosphere.
Second Uncle spoke: "Everyone. Perhaps. You might be wondering why they had to be killed."
Second Uncle's sudden words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake.
Everyone looked up and turned their gaze towards Second Uncle.
Second Uncle felt everyone's gaze and slowly said: "If we let them go, they would linger around; twenty times our number surrounding us is a huge hidden danger. Think, what if you went out and were ambushed?"
"Some also said, why not just take them in? I want to ask a question, how would we feed them? Take a portion from your food?"
As soon as these words came out, many people thought of the times they were hungry before, 'better to sacrifice a friend than oneself.'
"Also, you might think we are cold-blooded for killing so many people! But what the hell kind of time is this, do we still need to talk about kindness?!"
Second Uncle's voice was firm and resolute.
For a moment, everyone didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, a worker who had joined the base spoke: "Brother Hongda, we have no complaints. In fact, on the contrary, I think what we did, and the decision made by Boss Li Yu, was absolutely correct."
"I only know one thing: it was Boss Li Yu who saved me and my family. Without him, we would still be kept as food. We know very well how difficult it is to survive in this apocalypse. So we are very grateful."
"Yes, yes. That's right."
"We actually think Boss Li Yu's decision was correct."
"We just need a process of acceptance."
...
Second Uncle saw these people start to agree one after another and for a moment didn't know what to say.
Perhaps he had indeed thought too much, but he had many things to consider; the base could not be chaotic, and people's morale could not be chaotic.
If morale was chaotic, the team would be difficult to lead.
Perhaps, it was just that everyone had killed too many people today and needed some time to accept it.
Night fell, and many people did not sleep that night.
It was a baptism of the soul, and also a sublimation, and these would only make them stronger!
The cattle and sheep in the base seemed to smell the blood and were also calling out.
Outside the base, some zombies indeed came. They were only blocked by the base's wall, weakly clawing at the thick wall.
Optimistic Xiao Han, who was on duty above, was now somewhat dazed: "I wonder how Song Jie and the others are doing now."
Her round little face was full of worry.
But who could know that today, after Li Yu gave the order to kill, she was the second one to shoot?
Having killed so many people, she was also one of the quickest to recover her composure.
As the saying goes, a ruthless cute girl, pure at heart, but extremely decisive in action.
