Chapter 135 - 127: Gathering Information
During the whole month of April, life at the base was very comfortable.
For Li Yu, in addition to his daily unchangeable morning exercises, under the persuasion of Li Tie and a few others, he played mahjong for several days. After often losing, Li Yu realized he had very poor talent for mahjong and poker.
Thus, after a few days, he lost interest.
Later, he would spend his days at the library, picking up a book, then heading back to the balcony of his room, listening to the light rain and reading all day. When tired, he'd sleep.
Upon waking, he would go to the underground theater room to watch a movie, or stay in his room to play standalone video games.
Recently, Li Yu finally began to enjoy playing video games. In his room, he played "Days Gone," a post-apocalyptic game, and accidentally finished it.
Then he played Plants vs. Zombies. Although it seemed like a boring game, Li Yu played it very energetically, accidentally staying up all night.
The next day he still got up for morning exercises; with the resilience of youth, he felt quite spirited despite not sleeping the entire night.
But by the afternoon, Li Yu felt a bit sleepy and took a nap to feel better.
Li Yu also reminded himself not to stay up late again, not to be too relaxed or indulgent.
However, being able to relax is better than not being able to at all. Some people, always tense, find it hard to relax even in a very comfortable atmosphere.
If one cannot relax, they can't get good rest, and without good rest, how can they be full of vitality to start anew?
Time passed bit by bit.
April quickly passed, and in the blink of an eye, May arrived.
In May, there were two sunny days.
Li Yu noticed that everyone had rested very well, even he himself felt lazier during this period.
One day, Li Yu spoke to Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Uncle, and others about his desire to go out.
Although they didn't encounter the Salvation Army directly last time, having more information about them is always good.
Staying hidden in the base all the time was not entirely feasible, plus the base could be discovered at any moment.
Going out often to obtain the latest news gave Li Yu a grounding, knowing the situation he faced, and later planning accordingly.
Hearing Li Yu's plan, Second Uncle had also been considering the Salvation Army lately. According to what they said when Li Yu and others returned last time, the Salvation Army group had around forty people.
They also had uniform equipment, indicating they had reached a certain number and had certain strength.
"This time out, it's best not to attract attention, the more concealment the better. Who knows, those Salvation Army might have headed north, possibly to County or perhaps to the city.
Anyway, this exploration should mainly focus on gathering information," Second Uncle said slowly, looking at Li Yu.
Li Yu nodded and said, "I understand. The last time we saw the Salvation Army, they weren't using guns, but that doesn't guarantee they don't have any.
It's possible they have them, but just didn't use them. This possibility exists."
"This time over, Little sloppy, you can join in," Li Yu looked at the little sloppy one still practicing design on the mountaintop. Recently, she had been pestering Li Yu to always take her along whenever he went out.
Originally, Li Yu did not agree, but later the little sloppy one directly pulled Li Yu aside to practice. In the end, Li Yu won; after all, he had practiced with Grandpa for a few years at home,
Plus, in those pre-rebirth years of apocalypse, he had undergone countless life-and-death situations, and had honed skills not easily countered by the little sloppy one.
But Xiao Latai was by no means weak. During her university days, she had signed up for Sanda and trained for three years. Coupled with her tall stature and long legs, as well as her tolerance for hardship, her combat abilities were quite formidable.
This also impressed Li Yu, and with Xiao Latai, it was worth a try. After all, it meant one more pair of hands to help.
Upon hearing Li Yu's suggestion to bring Xiao Latai, Second Uncle and the others all laughed; they were happy to see it happen. Thus, they said, "We have no objections to this, you can take whoever you want, just make sure you've thought it through."
Actually, Ding Jiu was also eagerly looking at Li Yu, wanting to go out. He thought about helping Li Yu more, as Ding Jiu was well aware that Li Yu was the core of the base. The closer he could stay to Li Yu, the safer it would be in the base.
This time, Li Yu and the others were fully equipped, dressed in protective gear from head to toe.
The usual group—Li Yu, Li Hang, Li Tie, Li Gang, Zhao Dapao, Yang Tianlong, Xiao Latai. Seven people, three vehicles.
And so, they set off!
This time their aim was to gather intelligence, especially to clarify the movements of the Salvation Army they had encountered previously.
Whether they would fight or not was unknown since they had not yet had a direct encounter and did not know what kind of group the Salvation Army was or what kind of order they maintained.
Although Li Yu knew about the organization Salvation Army, his knowledge was limited only to its name; he knew nothing else about it!
The vehicles sped quickly, and according to Li Yu's plan, the first stop was the place on the outskirts of the city where Song Min was located.
This location was chosen by Li Yu for many reasons: it was convenient, spacious, and sufficiently secretive...
These were for the sake of Song Min and her group.
But for Li Yu, this place was very familiar!
Li Yu did not drive directly to it; instead, at a distance from Song Min's small building, he prepared to take out his telescope for observation.
From a far-off point near the small building, using the building and vegetation as cover, Li Yu pulled out his telescope and looked from a distance.
Upon looking, Li Yu's pupils slightly contracted!
There were two large trucks!
Behind these trucks, there were also several vehicles, and after counting the number of people, there were about 20 in total.
Li Yu recognized the faces of some of these people; they seemed like the ones he had seen at the gas station before.
Could it be that Song Min and her group had joined the Salvation Army? Or had they been attacked by the Salvation Army?
Unclear, he watched as these people opened the truck's cargo area.
Suddenly, Li Yu saw Song Min and others, who were carrying some items in their hands.
Li Yu focused his gaze and saw that these were food items, including some fresh vegetables.
Li Yu had previously suggested that Song Min and her group could plant some vegetables in the courtyard below their building and had given them some seeds. These hard-grown vegetables were now being handed over to the Salvation Army?
From the expressions on Song Min and her group's faces, it was clear they were reluctant, but under the intimidation of the Salvation Army, they did not dare to resist.
Just yesterday, while the Salvation Army was collecting protection money from another group in the County, that small group had fled.
Later, after being caught by the Salvation Army, they were directly massacred!
This also indirectly intimidated the others.