Li Yu's heart stirred slightly upon hearing his Second Uncle's suggestion.
A memory from before his rebirth suddenly surfaced in his mind: in the third year after the apocalypse, he had also joined a team.
That team was quite powerful, but their eventual downfall stemmed from keeping some zombies within their base.
At the time, their team was rather twisted; they kept these zombies purely for combat gambling, as entertainment was scarce in the apocalypse.
So, that team frequently held gambling events centered around killing zombies.
Regardless of the era, human hearts are unpredictable.
During one such gambling session, the loser, seeking revenge, secretly released all the zombies in the middle of the night, ultimately leading to the base's destruction.
Li Yu broke out in a cold sweat thinking of this.
Since his rebirth, everything had been remarkably smooth, without any major setbacks.
The reason for this smoothness was twofold: on one hand, he had made all sorts of preparations long before the apocalypse, and on the other, he maintained a cautious attitude.
Recently, however, perhaps due to things being too smooth, he was no longer as cautious about many matters as he used to be.
This zombie, and his Second Uncle's suggestion, sounded an alarm in his mind.
Within the base, his opinions had always been dominant; many decisions within the base were made according to his word.
One must remember, with over a hundred people in the base now, the burden rested on his shoulders; he had to remain vigilant at all times.
Thinking of this, Li Yu took a long breath and said, "Second Uncle, you're right. It was my oversight. This zombie will be kept in Weng City."
"As for the other research lab, it can be set up in that lounge. Once the weather warms up a bit, we'll build a new one in Weng City."
Second Uncle felt relieved upon hearing Li Yu accept his suggestion. He had been very conflicted about whether to bring it up, as contradicting Li Yu's proposal in front of everyone could somewhat undermine his authority.
But he was happy that Li Yu listened, which made Second Uncle very gratified.
"Hmm, I have no objections. Let's just make simple modifications to the lounge for now," Second Uncle said.
Li Yu turned to Bai Jie and said, "For safety considerations, I still think the research lab should be in Weng City. Currently, the main focus is zombie research. If we research other things later, we can set up another one inside the base then."
His tone was gentle, but the content directly presented her with a decision, not a discussion.
Bai Jie also understood Li Yu and their concerns, so she smiled brightly and said, "I'll listen to you all. I have no problem with that."
Having reached an agreement, everyone then led this zombie into the lounge.
The lounge wasn't large, only a little over ten square meters, less than a dozen square meters.
But it still had electricity and lights, just no heating equipment.
"Later, I'll have Li Hang install two heating units here, so it won't be too cold for you," Li Yu turned to Bai Jie and said.
"Thank you, President Li," Bai Jie said politely.
Hearing this, Li Yu looked at the serious Bai Jie and felt a strange sensation. When Bai Jie was serious, she was completely different from when they were alone just now.
But that was fine; it saved everyone from gossiping.
The matter of this zombie could only be put aside for now. As for the present, it was unclear exactly what was going on with this zombie.
If they were to go out to search for clues in such cold weather, it would be extremely troublesome.
It was better to wait and see, observing from the safety of the base.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was January 20th.
Tomorrow was New Year's Eve.
Last year, during the New Year, there weren't as many people in the base, and his aunt and her family hadn't arrived yet.
Now, Li Yu's family was finally reunited, and there were many newcomers who had joined later.
Everyone now ate together, stood guard together, fought zombies together, and dealt with those who coveted the base together every day.
They were not family, but better than family.
In this kind of weather, many people clearly understood that if they hadn't joined this base, they would probably have frozen or starved to death long ago.
Not to mention those far away, even Bai Jie and her group, who had recently joined, almost froze to death in this cold weather.
So many people cherished the opportunity to join.
This cold might be even more severe than the historical Little Ice Age.
On the mountain.
At the mountain pond.
Li Yu, Li Hang, Da Pao, Yang Tianlong, and others were fishing on the frozen lake. In fact, after the lake froze, Li Yu often made a hole in the ice.
Because sometimes, fish wouldn't starve to death, but they might die from lack of oxygen.
"Brother, ice skating! Whoa, whoa, whoa~" Li Hang glided across the lake on a pair of self-made ice skates.
Li Yu watched Li Hang, Li Yuan, Li Zhengping, and others skating on the lake, and shouted loudly, "When you're skating, don't skate past my side! There's a hole in front of me. If you fall in, you're done for!"
"Got it!"
"Okay, Brother!"
"Alright, President Li!"
Among them were a few young girls who used to follow Song Min, and also Ding Jiu's daughter, who were holding hands with Li Hang and gliding on the ice.
Li Yu saw so many people skating and didn't stop them, but there was a hole here now, and it would be quite dangerous if they accidentally skated over it.
After thinking for a moment, he quickly caught some fish, then placed some obstacles around the hole to block it.
He thought again and took an iron railing to place over the one-meter-wide hole.
With this done, there shouldn't be any problems.
Before leaving, he also reminded them, "Don't skate in this direction. There's a hole here, be careful."
Everyone responded affirmatively.
In the current weather, very few outdoor activities could be done, and ice skating was a relatively reliable one.
Everyone was in high spirits now, and Li Yu didn't want to spoil their fun.
Tomorrow was New Year's Eve!
Thinking of this, Li Yu felt a surge of emotion. This New Year's Eve must be lively and joyful, to make everyone happy.
In this apocalypse, sometimes what torments people most is not just food; sometimes, it's more about losing hope, losing hope for a good life, losing hope of surviving.
People, no matter what environment they are in, must learn to find their own fun and where joy lies.
Because no matter what you do, there will always be things that make you unhappy or dissatisfied. If you cannot change the environment, you can only change your own mood and thoughts.
The sky gradually darkened.
Li Yu returned to the mountain pond and reminded everyone, "You've played enough. Let's go back. It's getting dark, and it's not safe. Tomorrow is New Year's Day!"
He didn't know why, but when Li Yu said this, he felt like a nagging mother.
Everyone had played enough, so they successively left the lake, gathering and returning to the base's residential area.
At this time, in the dining hall area of the residential district, Li Yu's mother, along with Lai Dongsheng's wife, the wives of the workers, and Song Min and others, a group of people were busy preparing tomorrow's meal.
