Captain Tao’s heart sank further when he saw Li Yu’s brilliant smile.
The gunshots outside the wall stopped shortly after.
Captain Tao only wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. This base was so large, and just the people he saw now numbered almost 20, all carrying guns, clearly not to be trifled with.
He didn't know what was happening with the gunshots outside, but his intuition told him they were related to these people.
So, Captain Tao said, "Could you please expedite the exchange? We're still hungry, and we have some brothers waiting."
Li Yu said with a smile, "Don't rush, they won't have to wait long. Look, aren't your brothers here?"
Screech~
As Li Yu spoke, Weng City’s gate opened, and a group of people entered from outside. They carried nothing in their hands, which were all tied.
Behind them, Third Uncle and others pointed guns at them.
"Hurry up," Da Pao said.
One of them, shot in the leg, limped slowly. After Da Pao yelled at him, he had no choice but to quicken his pace.
Captain Tao, Hua Chuanxiong, and the others saw this scene, and their hearts went cold: It's over.
This is completely over.
Li Yu walked two steps towards the gate and saw the middle-aged man next to Third Uncle.
This man was He Park. It was actually their first meeting, although Li Yu had seen his photo in Mr. Wang’s room at He Park back then.
Li Yu said with a smile, "Mr. Wang, I've heard much about you."
Mr. Wang said with a complicated look, "Hmph! You bloodthirsty demon, you will not have a good end."
Li Yu’s expression turned cold, and he immediately said, "Lao Lü, tell them. Who started it?"
Lao Lü and Lao Xie remembered the several brothers who were killed by He Park’s people for no reason at all.
Anger erupted in their eyes.
Lao Lü said, "Bullshit! You people came looking for trouble and even killed our men. What nonsense are you spouting?"
Mr. Wang choked, and endless regret welled up in his heart.
He shouldn't have believed Slanting Bangs back then. He never expected Li Yu and his group to be so powerful.
He had brought disaster upon himself and the people of He Park for nothing.
But remembering those who were killed, Mr. Wang said again, "I didn't know they would kill your people, that was just a misunderstanding, but what about you?!
You massacred all of our He Park people, are you even human?"
Li Yu heard this and slowly said,
“Show mercy where mercy is due.
When will vengeance ever end?
That sounds good, but I don't believe it.
Why?
Why can you kill our people, but we cannot kill yours?
Why can you harbor ill will towards us, but we cannot harbor ill will towards you?
I am a person who distinguishes clearly between gratitude and grudges.
You kill me, I kill you. The principle is very simple.”
Li Yu's words were not actually directed at Mr. Wang, but at Da Pao, Lao Lü, and the others in the base.
The last time so many people were massacred, and even before that, many people were killed, so it was inevitable that some would find it too brutal.
However, everyone understood that in this apocalypse, in this time of moral collapse, a core set of values was also needed.
Otherwise, morale would easily crumble.
After hearing Li Yu's words, Mr. Wang closed his eyes, feeling an inexplicable sadness.
So he said, "We were forced to. We just wanted to get some food from your side. We just wanted to survive, so why are you so cruel, leaving no room for negotiation?
Humanity must ultimately unite. Only by uniting can we resist the zombies and move towards the future. Many hands make light work."
Li Yu was a little tired. Seeing Mr. Wang still talking, he was too lazy to discuss these matters with him further.
He then gestured to Da Pao.
Da Pao stabbed Mr. Wang in the thigh.
Mr. Wang was also a tough person; he didn't utter a sound after being stabbed.
"You're full of righteousness and morality, but rotten to the core. You speak very eloquently.
But why did you kill people? Don't try to pressure me with such words. If you want to cooperate, can't you do it openly?" Li Yu roared.
Captain Tao and the others beside them were scared senseless, staring dumbfounded.
This was different from what Mr. Wang had told them.
From their conversation just now, they probably understood what had happened. It turned out that Mr. Wang wanted to rob their things, couldn't beat them, and was then pursued back to his lair.
Wait, no, why does this situation feel familiar?
Isn't this their current predicament?!
At this moment, Captain Tao and the others were so regretful their stomachs turned green. They hadn't expected these ruthless people to be so powerful, and more importantly, to strike so viciously.
It's over.
Now Mr. Wang had a grudge against them, and he wouldn't transfer that grudge to them, would he?
"Cough, cough, cough."
Captain Tao coughed twice and said, "Um, we, we really just had a misunderstanding. We came here because we were misled by this Mr. Wang.
Actually, we just wanted to exchange some food or something with you. We had no other intentions."
Li Yu listened patiently, then asked, "Is there anything else to add? I am a reasonable person; I don't kill people without reason."
Captain Tao was overjoyed to hear this, not expecting them to be so reasonable.
At the same time, he secretly thought that if he could leave this place, he would definitely make thorough plans, perhaps even using zombies.
That way, they could conquer this place.
Then, they would settle the score with these people properly!
On the other side, Hua Chuanxiong also looked at him.
The two exchanged glances, both understanding each other's thoughts.
In over a year of the apocalypse, they had suffered countless losses due to momentary kindness.
Under the pressure of survival, they gradually understood that only by plundering, only by being ruthless, could they survive.
Captain Tao's eyes darted around as he said, "We actually came from a very distant place, so we pose no threat to you.
How about this, can we reach a cooperation?
Then we can grow stronger together and create new glory."
Li Yu nodded, then pointed to the person from Liberation City whom Captain Tao had tied up.
He slowly said, "Since you are sincere about cooperation, then why did you tie up this person? How do you explain that?"
Captain Tao's mouth twitched, this...
He hadn't thought about how to answer this question yet, but Hua Chuanxiong beside him replied:
"We were just too eager to find you.
The intention was good, but the method was indeed problematic. We really shouldn't have done that."
Li Yu said with a smile, "Well said, that makes sense. Alright, introduce yourselves.
Where are you from, how many people, and what is your true purpose for coming here?"
Captain Tao secretly rejoiced upon hearing this. He truly hadn't expected that the person who seemed to be in charge of the base actually believed them.
It seemed there was a chance to get out alive. He then subtly gestured to the other Safe City people, indicating that everyone should maintain a consistent story.
He pondered for a moment and said,
"We are from the East, quite far from here. We don't have many people right now, less than a hundred. Our purpose is very simple: we just want to cooperate with you and see if we can exchange supplies or something."
"Mm," Li Yu nodded.
"Tie them all up," Li Yu commanded.
Captain Tao was a bit confused when he heard this. This wasn't what was just discussed.
"You, what are you doing? We are sincerely seeking cooperation."
Li Yu glanced at him and said, "Exchanging supplies is something we only started these past two days. Did you know about it before you set off?
I don't know how Mr. Wang led you here, nor do I know what he told you.
But what I do know is that you didn't tell the truth.
Tie them up.
I want to hear you tell the truth."
