Li Yu and the others had been waiting for a full 8 hours in a building at a vital intersection on the main road leading from Xin City towards the City Center.
They still hadn't seen Da Bei Tou and his group.
If they were traveling on foot, they should have arrived by now.
However, as dusk approached, no normal person would choose to travel at night, because traveling at night was akin to seeking death; zombies would emerge in the darkness, posing an extreme danger in the pitch-black night.
Li Yu held his binoculars, looking at the National Highway in the distance.
Then, he looked towards the Yangtze River Bridge, the only way to the City Center.
The Yangtze River Bridge was still deserted.
He sighed, handing the binoculars to Li Hang beside him: "My eyes are getting blurry from looking so long, you take a look."
Li Hang took the binoculars and also began to carefully observe the surroundings.
Less than 5 kilometers from their location, Li Tie and his group were stationed at another crucial intersection.
"Any news on your end?" Li Yu asked Li Tie and the others over the walkie-talkie.
"No, Big Brother. It's getting dark, so I don't think they'll show up today," Li Tie replied.
"Hmm, it's highly unlikely they'll enter the city tonight, but someone still needs to be on duty, observing at all times," Li Yu said.
Although generally no one would venture out at night, someone still needed to be on duty, just in case they weren't afraid of death and decided to enter the city at night.
"Understood," Li Tie responded.
After a simple shift arrangement, a total of 16 people had come out this time, now divided into two teams.
Li Yu's team had 8 people, so he divided them into four small groups, with each group on duty for 3 hours, allowing the other groups to rest in place when not on duty.
Balancing intensity with rest was Li Yu's consistent principle for managing his personnel.
He wouldn't continuously push someone just because they were exceptionally capable; while that person might produce good results, relying solely on one individual wasn't sustainable.
Humans are flesh and blood; once they exceed their physical limits, they can easily collapse.
Therefore, everyone should have equal opportunities; on one hand, it prevents laziness, and on the other hand, it allows everyone to be trained, ensuring that the strong don't become too strong and the weak don't remain too weak.
Under this arrangement, everyone had grown accustomed to it, and no one objected.
Fairness and impartiality had always been the foundation of Li Yu's team management.
Night fell.
They had left in a hurry, but they had brought enough food and weapons.
As night descended, the temperature also dropped, and in the slight chill, one or two zombie roars could be heard.
Li Yu stood behind a window in the building, lighting a cigarette; the flickering tip illuminated his face, which held a faint trace of melancholy.
In this world, things rarely go as planned.
Across from this building, he remembered a Jiujiang Bank, and he recalled eating Sanxian noodles with his first love beneath that building.
But now, the world had changed, and the neon sign of Jiujiang Bank no longer shone brightly.
Further away, the Yangtze River Bridge was also devoid of neon lights; the world seemed to have plunged into complete darkness.
In this darkness, countless streets and alleys formed a giant demonic hand, like a black hole, devouring people!
The wind blew, carrying away fragments of memory from Li Yu's mind.
Those were all in the past; now, finding Da Bei Tou and his group was the top priority.
He felt exceptionally frustrated; why was it that one wave hadn't settled before another began?
Why were there always so many things to deal with?
According to his original expectation, he wanted to find a place to quietly live through the apocalypse, not to be a king or overlord, not to harm others, and for others not to bother him.
But a tree desires calm, yet the wind won't cease; there were always people causing trouble.
It was already the apocalypse, and still so many people were causing trouble.
As long as people lived in this world, troubles would always be endless. Like tangled threads, they couldn't be cut or untangled.
It was always one thing after another, never-ending.
Sigh.
Li Yu sighed.
Then, he turned his head and saw Li Hang behind him, holding the binoculars and staring wide-eyed at the National Highway, and couldn't help but smile.
Compared to his previous life, where he lived alone for five years in the apocalypse.
This life was undoubtedly much, much better.
In this lifetime, one must always find a purpose for living; Chinese people have always been like this, always living for others, with very few living for themselves.
It was as if they always needed to find a spiritual anchor, a reason to strive.
Perhaps it was family, or a lover...
Li Yu couldn't achieve great freedom; he could only achieve small freedom. That was, within his limited abilities, to help and protect his family.
To allow his family to continue living well in the apocalypse.
Family first.
At any time, if your family is there, your inner confidence is there, your motivation to strive is there, and the place where you want to sleep is there.
"Hangzi, I'll take over, you go eat something first," Li Yu said.
They were in the same group, the first group on duty. It wasn't even midnight yet, and Li Hang had been holding the binoculars continuously, and hadn't eaten much in the afternoon.
Li Hang nodded, rubbing his eyes, and said, "Brother, you take over for me."
He then handed the binoculars to Li Yu, who took them.
Li Hang then took out food and, by the window, chewed on it while staring blankly into the distance.
Li Yu saw Li Hang spacing out and asked, "What's wrong?"
Li Hang looked at the Yangtze River Bridge, pointing in that direction, and said, "I still remember, I stayed here after graduation, and I lived across this Yangtze River Bridge at the time."
"Back then, I was still thinking about how I would live my life. That day, I had just argued with my boss and was thinking about what my next job would be. I still remember how happy I was when you called me then."
"But, I didn't expect time to pass so quickly. After returning to the base, the zombies appeared, and the apocalypse came. Thinking about it now, it feels like yesterday."
Li Yu listened, also somewhat lost in thought. Time passed too quickly; the apocalypse had been here for almost a year.
He had been reborn in May of last year, and now it was July.
Time flew by so fast!
The departed are like this, unceasing day and night.
Li Yu shook his head; he had no energy for sentimental melancholy.
He had a secret: whenever his emotions were swayed into sadness or joy, he would always delay that emotion.
This way, it wouldn't cause too much emotional fluctuation, and at such critical times, when emotions were high, it was harder to make decisions that he might regret later.
However, sometimes, after a period of time, these emotions would resurface, and for a second or two, emotions would surge.
This also made people feel a bit regretful.
But, things had happened long ago, and looking back afterwards, the decisions he had made with a relatively calm mind at the time, he still didn't regret them later.
That was enough!
