Chapter 146 - 138: The Strength of the Salvation Army
A quiet night passed.
The next day early in the morning, Li Yu got up as usual for his morning exercise. While heading downstairs, he took the chance to check on the infirmary, where Song Min still hadn't woken up, but her wound had significantly improved.
Seeing Li Yu come in, Song Qi, who had spent the night by the bedside, stood up to greet him. Li Yu saw the bloodshot eyes of the tall and sturdy-looking boy, who, in fact, was still a minor, and felt moved; the patient, Song Min, was his only remaining family in the world.
Another girl was also present, having accompanied them through the night. Li Yu nodded at her as a form of greeting and then left.
The May morning was neither cold nor hot, and a light breeze carried a faint scent of flowers and grass, a refreshing aroma that put Li Yu in a cheerful mood.
He started running, still circling the base as usual, then began climbing up the mountain. From the summit, he could oversee the entire base; it was initially empty, slowly getting built up over time, and continuously filled with more materials from outside. Now the base had various items but still managed to maintain order.
Down the mountain.
On the way, he encountered Uncle and a few other people from the base and exchanged greetings. He also ran into the third daughter of his four uncles, who was taking several younger children, her little radish heads, leading cattle and sheep up the mountain to graze.
Hearing his younger cousins calling him "big brother," Li Yu felt even happier. A harmonious home leads to prosperity. Generation after generation, the endless succession was one sign of the family's thriving condition.
Back in his room, after freshening up, he went downstairs for breakfast.
The morning meal was simple; adults mainly had corn and porridge, while the still-growing children had milk and eggs. Because Song Qi and the optimistic young girl shed blood yesterday, they were also entitled to enjoy the children's privileges, nourishing their bodies.
After breakfast, Li Tie was planning to go out and relocate Song Min's belongings. This time, Li Yu decided not to accompany them, suggesting Uncle should go along. Including Song Min's two young girls, about seven people set out together.
Before they left, Li Yu reminded them to be cautious on the road, not to act rashly in any emergency situation, to observe first before proceeding, and to be discreet on their way back to avoid being followed.
Uncle had been in the base for a while and understood the importance of concealment. Besides, he was originally an Armed Police captain, his skills in all areas exceptionally outstanding.
With Uncle present, Li Yu felt much more at ease.
He then recalled that in the last fight against the Salvation Army, they had captured only one survivor, Brother Mao.
After some interrogation, they learned from Brother Mao that the Salvation Army's headquarters was further south, a significant power bloc. Their leader was a former local real estate tycoon who had experienced immense success, but due to economic downturns over the past two years, faced insolvency and was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Then the apocalypse arrived!
Debt-free and carefree, he gathered his demolition squad, and they quickly became the largest power group in the city. The key was that the leader of the Salvation Army had an ambitious spirit and was continuously expanding his influence, recruiting people. Whenever they encountered other powers, they either conquered them and demanded protection fees on a timed schedule or obliterated them.
The Salvation Army didn't divide its territories for farming or gather supplies. They believed that other powers could hoard food and cultivate crops while they could simply exploit these other powers.
As long as they remained strong enough!
They had a strategic plan, and despite their internal rules being incredibly harsh and advocating survival of the fittest, their overall strength was formidable.
Regarding the exact number of people, Mao Ge frankly admitted that he wasn't sure about the precise figures, as he had never counted them. Before he left, as far as he knew, there were about 8 leaders alone, with each group having up to 100 people and at least 50 in the smaller ones. The group that came last time to track down Li Yuan's real father was considered on the smaller side.
Each group is further divided into 2 to 4 squad leaders. Now, Mao Ge is one of the two squad leaders of their group, and he was responsible for transporting food this time. Unexpectedly, they were wiped out by Li Yu and his people.
This means that the Salvation Army has a personnel strength of about 500 to 800 people. This is an extremely large force, almost ten times the number of people at the base!
And they are all strong and healthy men, which gave Li Yu a sense of oppression upon hearing this.
Thankfully, in their safest haven, gun control is very strict. Before the end of the world, ordinary people could hardly see real guns and bullets. The locations of the Government's weapon stores are unknown to average folks.
Additionally, due to the virus outbreak, rainfall, and rampant zombies, the Government's force has not been seen for the time being.
As a result, the Salvation Army doesn't have many firearms, and they have used a lot during their continuous assaults on other forces. Now, the Salvation Army rarely uses firearms.
For instance, when the Salvation Army went to the gas station last time, the leader was actually equipped with a firearm, but they didn't allocate many bullets to him. Once the bullets ran out, they had to resist with cold weapons.
This is good news.
Li Yu and others also interrogated Mao Ge further about the location of the Salvation Army's base. In the beginning, Mao Ge was very ambiguous, but after being severely beaten by Dapao and others, he became much more compliant.
He started to proactively disclose everything he knew to Li Yu and his group. Li Yu didn't fully trust him, but he just gave him some leftover food to keep him alive for the time being.
Mao Ge is tied up very securely, with someone assigned to guard him. Mao Ge must be killed, but not now. Li Yu always felt that Mao Ge wasn't very truthful, and he wanted to interrogate him for a while longer to see if more information could be extracted.
Li Yu went to check on Mao Ge in the interrogation room. Second Uncle was still there, menacingly using various methods to question him.
Seeing the somewhat pitifully tormented Mao Ge, who had gone from being 'Stinky Mao' to 'Little Mao' and now 'Mao Ge', hadn't had it easy.
Seeing that he was still alive, Li Yu said nothing. He would inevitably die anyway, and maybe more information could be pried out of him through interrogation.
When it comes to enemies, Li Yu is known for being ruthless; he would annihilate them completely to avoid future troubles, trying to solve problems in one fell swoop.
In dealing with enemies, he would handle things physically whenever possible, resorting to talking only when the enemy was completely under control, just as with Mao Ge now.
Li Yu's life is precious; he still has many relatives and loved ones to protect.
So, he... cherishes his life very much!
After checking on Mao Ge, Li Yu left the interrogation room.
As soon as he came out, he saw Li Yuan running towards him. Seeing Li Yu, Li Yuan shouted while running: "Brother, Song Min has woken up, and she wants to see you!"
Li Yu raised an eyebrow. Awake?
"Okay, I'll go right now." Li Yu nodded in response and headed straight for the medical room.