As winter winds receded, the warm sun became inviting.
The temperature gradually rose above freezing.
The accumulated snow slowly melted, not quickly, but steadily.
Li Yu stood in the lookout tower on the mountaintop, thinking about the people he encountered yesterday—those residents who had fled from Liberation City.
After he gave them the list of items for exchange, there were some disputes.
However, food was the most important thing at the moment, so they didn't dwell on it for too long and eventually dispersed.
From the lookout tower, he could see every part of the entire base; many small corners were clearly visible.
Li Yu wore headphones, listening to the song “Closure” playing in them:
I got no cards up my sleeve
I wrote you a song but you sang off key
Call it wrong if it's what you need
At ten in the morning, the wind was gentle, the sun was high, and it felt warm.
He had been busy recently, occupied with various matters within the base.
Now, the base was on track; whether it was his maternal uncle, third paternal uncle, second paternal uncle, or Li Hang, Da Pao, Li Gang, Li Tie, and others, they were all capable of handling things independently.
The base, with over a hundred people, was fully equipped with firearms.
It had already become a formidable force.
With 12-meter walls, electric fences, and cameras, the base's security was greatly assured.
Li Yu slowly let out a breath, a sudden, inexplicable surge of irritability washing over him.
Recently, scenes from before his rebirth, where he nearly died several times, kept flashing through his mind.
Moreover, last night he dreamt that the base was breached, and he watched helplessly as everything was destroyed.
These thoughts had made him anxious for the past two days, as if he had a bad premonition.
Many times, he would become exceptionally irritable and cold in certain moments.
But each time this happened, he would find a place to stay alone for a while to avoid accidentally harming his family and friends.
Yung Lean’s “Miami” started playing in his headphones.
A person flashed through Li Yu’s mind, someone he had once trusted completely.
However, during an escape, this person had abandoned him, taking all the food.
Being in the apocalypse, it was somewhat understandable.
But this person had locked the escape door, taking the food and abandoning a friend was one thing.
However, knowing there were so many zombies below and still closing the door clearly meant he wanted to kill him.
In the past, Li Yu had saved him so many times.
Yet, none of this was repaid; instead, it was met with betrayal.
When the disparity between effort and reward was so vast, the hatred intensified.
Kill!
Thinking of this scene, Li Yu roared in a low voice.
If he ever encountered this person, he would definitely kill him!
His hands gripped the railing tightly, the iron bars visibly deforming under his grasp, and the veins on Li Yu’s arms bulged.
He looked up again.
Li Yu’s eyes were bloodshot, like those of a demon, devoid of any emotion.
He never considered himself a good person; after enduring betrayal, despair, and cruel reality, he had become somewhat disturbed.
He had been trying to redeem himself, his inherently kind heart constantly trying to persuade himself.
He recalled a saying: “There is only one true heroism in the world: to see life as it is and still love it.”
Thinking of this, Li Yu felt a surge of anger.
See life as it is? What truth? Strength is king, and misery is the norm of life.
Still love life? Li Yu understood this to mean not feigning optimism, but facing the suffering in his heart and making sure to vent it.
The sun had been very strong lately, and combined with the many storage batteries acquired from the electronics wholesale market last time, even more electricity could be stored.
So, the base now had ample power for its needs.
Therefore, in the underground cultivation room, the basements of the other two rows of houses, the vacant spaces, were all planted with crops.
In these empty areas, these tasks were mainly handled by An Ya, who had dark skin, and his fourth paternal uncle, among others.
The main crops planted were corn, sweet potatoes, and rice; some wheat was also planted, but not much.
Potatoes were planted the least; they don't store for long, unlike the others which, after processing, can easily be stored for over 5 years.
Unhusked rice can be stored for 10 years in a vacuum environment!
Li Yu collected his emotions and returned to normal.
He continued to inspect the base.
As soon as he entered the basement, he saw An Ya, his fourth paternal uncle, and Optimistic Xiao Han busy at work.
Li Yu saw An Ya scooping something out of a large barrel.
Then she spread it over the seedbeds; these things emitted a very foul odor, but An Ya’s expression remained unchanged.
Li Yu asked, “What are these things? Why do they smell so strong?”
An Ya looked up, saw it was Li Yu, and calmly said,
“We don’t have composted organic fertilizer, but at least we have substitutes. These are poultry droppings, like chicken manure, which is why the smell is a bit strong.”
Li Yu watched her scoop it out without any sign of disgust, then spread it evenly on the seedling beds.
An Ya saw Li Yu watching her, so she explained, “I’m preparing for sowing and nurturing seedlings; this nutrient-rich soil is used for the seedbeds.”
Li Yu nodded, then saw his fourth paternal uncle working on the grow lights, and remembered seeing his cousin Li Suxin daydreaming in class on his way here.
His fourth paternal uncle’s wife had passed away several years ago.
His fourth paternal uncle was also rather quiet and not very good at expressing his thoughts, so he spent little time with his youngest daughter, Li Suxin.
So he said, “Fourth Paternal Uncle, if you have time, spend more time with Suxin.”
His fourth paternal uncle paused his movements slightly upon hearing this, and said somewhat nervously, “What’s wrong with Suxin?”
Li Yu shook his head and said, “Nothing’s wrong, it’s just that I feel she’s still young, and Fourth Paternal Aunt left early. If you have time, spend more time with Suxin.”
His fourth paternal uncle nodded and said, “That girl is close to you. Every time I try to talk to her, she seems to ignore me. Sigh.”
Li Yu said, “Fourth Paternal Uncle, Suxin is very smart. Sometimes you don’t even need to say anything; just spend more time with her.”
His fourth paternal uncle’s eyes showed a hint of guilt upon hearing this, and he said heavily, “Mm!”
Li Yu looked at his fourth paternal uncle and sighed.
Ever since his fourth paternal aunt passed away, his fourth paternal uncle’s overall state hadn’t been good; he seemed indifferent to everything before.
However, after the apocalypse arrived, he seemed to have become much more normal.
After touring the basement, Li Yu went up to the ground level.
On the ground, there was still some accumulated snow, but also many water stains, which were formed from the melting snow.
Walking slowly, he saw Li Father and Ding Jiu, along with some workers, building a gymnasium not far from the residential area.
Now that there were more people in the base, although there was a park with space for exercise and some simple facilities for training, indoor sports venues were still lacking.
Currently, the base only had a training room of over a hundred square meters in the basement beneath Li Yu’s villa.
A few days ago, during the base construction plan, the idea of building a new gymnasium was brought up.
It would include basketball courts, badminton courts, and table tennis courts.
This was a large project, but there was no rush; they had plenty of time to build it slowly.
