Chapter 73 - 70: Crossing This Hurdle Alone
On the way back to the base, Lai Dongsheng and Uncle were also sitting in the back of the heavy truck. Due to its massive size, the heavy truck moved slowly on the road.
Lai Dongsheng stared at the few people in front of him; he had felt they were familiar when carrying cement earlier, but since he was busy at the time, he didn't stop to take a closer look.
Now sitting on the truck, the more he looked at them, the more familiar they seemed, and the people facing Lai Dongsheng were also discussing him.
After watching for a while, Lai Dongsheng could no longer hold back.
So he spoke out, "You are from the neighboring village, surnamed Zhou, right?"
The few people instantly looked up, one of them said with some confusion, "Yes, I think you look familiar, but I just can't remember where I have seen you before."
"Zhou Dongmei is my wife; she is also from your village," Lai Dongsheng said.
That person said with some surprise, "I know Zhou Dongmei, her house is just two doors down from me. We all know each other."
Another person nodded and said, "No wonder you looked so familiar, we probably saw each other when you visited the Zhou Family in the past."
The remaining two people also showed joy, all saying they knew him.
Encountering acquaintances always brought a sense of closeness, especially in this apocalypse.
Thus, Lai Dongsheng started chatting with the few of them.
As the vehicle slowly progressed, Li Yu and others were about to reach the outskirts of the town.
The joy on two part-time workers' faces grew stronger, their homes were up ahead.
But whether their family members were still there, was uncertain.
...
The small town was right next to the national highway, so bringing the two part-time workers who lived in the town didn't require a detour.
Li Yu drove the SUV over, took Li Tie, and then let the two part-time workers who lived in the town get out.
One of them, a middle-aged man with grey temples, lived on the street side of this small town. It was he who took the initiative to tell Li Yu that Manager Zhou had locked Boss Hua outside, and he was also the first to say he wanted to go home to check on things.
There were still some zombies wandering aimlessly around the small town.
Suddenly seeing an SUV appear.
They immediately surrounded it.
Li Tie was very calm; it wasn't his first time being surrounded by zombies in a vehicle, so he continued to drive slowly.
Li Yu sat in the passenger seat, constantly observing the two people in the back through the rearview mirror.
Seeing the car driving into the town, he asked, "Where do you live?"
The middle-aged man with grey temples replied, "Right there at the back alley entrance, a white three-story building; his house is right behind mine across the street."
Hearing this, Li Yu abruptly asked, "What's your name?"
The middle-aged man's face showed a pleasing smile at the question and said, "Ding Jiu; others call me Old Ding."
Li Yu didn't say anything after hearing the answer, then looked at the other person, the implication was clear.
The other person was slightly younger, looking just over thirty, who quickly said, "My name is Yu Yonggan."
Li Yu nodded and stopped looking at the two men.
The SUV slowly moved toward the direction of the back alley entrance.
Looking through the window at the familiar streets around, Li Yu was filled with emotion.
He saw a supermarket on the roadside; its doors were wide open, and the items inside had long been looted.
Suddenly, a figure flashed on the rooftop in the center of the street.
It was a fleeting glimpse; Li Yu took a closer look and found no one there anymore.
In the town, at this usual time of day, it was often the busiest with various shouting, honking, construction noises...
But now, only the growling of zombies and the sound of the car engine could be heard.
Finally, Li Yu's vehicle arrived at the back alley entrance.
Ding Jiu, seeing the familiar home in front of him, could no longer contain his excitement.
He said, "Boss Li, this is it. My home is right here."
The white building in front had its doors shut tight.
Li Yu looked at the zombies surrounding the vehicle, knowing getting out right now would definitely lead to an encirclement.
And it wasn't a good idea to start a fight either.
Seeing a small gate outside the courtyard of the white building in front of them, he then said to Li Tie, "Drive up to the courtyard gate, turn towards that small door, and leave a gap for me to get out."
Li Tie, catching the hint, started the car and backed up abruptly, sweeping a zombie under the vehicle.
The car then moved forward, rolling over the zombie's body.
Glug~
At the small gate, Li Yu instantly pushed the door open while the zombies had not yet surrounded them.
He carried a submachine gun on his back and held a long knife in his hand.
Pshht!
Li Yu swung his knife and slashed, killing several zombies in front of him. Then he shouted, "Get out of the car, go in and check."
The part-time workers in the car, Ding Jiu and Yu Yonggan, both got out.
Ding Jiu opened the courtyard gate, then rushed straight to the main gate to find it was locked from the inside.
He shakily took out the keys and unlocked the door.
The door's open!
Ding Jiu held back the urge to shout loudly, and whispered, "Wife, Qingqing, Weiwei."
Then he rushed into the rooms.
Meanwhile, Li Yu and Li Tie had gotten out of the car and were outside holding back the zombies.
The zombies weren't numerous, and they could manage without using bullets.
But from the street corner, more and more zombies began to swarm towards them.
Li Yu yelled inside, "Hurry! Have you found them?"
Ding Jiu ran from downstairs to upstairs, then back downstairs again, searching every room but finding nothing.
Hearing Li Yu calling from downstairs, he didn't dare to delay any longer.
So he rushed down.
His face was filled with loss.
Yu Yonggan, who had gotten out of the car as well, ran towards his own home.
Li Yu and Li Tie were fending off the zombies, allowing Yu Yonggan to make it to his building,
but at the foot of his building, he seemed to see something horrifying and stood there, frozen in shock.
Li Yu, growing impatient, quickly pulled Ding Jiu into the car while Li Tie drove towards that place.
As they got closer, Li Yu saw two zombies in front of Yu Yonggan!
And Yu Yonggan stood there dumbfounded, incredulously watching these two zombies.
The two zombies were about to reach him, but Yu Yonggan, tears streaming down his face, did not move.
He seemed to have given up resisting.
The zombies' ghastly white hands tightly clutched his neck as he pushed at the zombies' bodies.
The zombies snarled with bared teeth, about to bite him.
But the dagger in his hand was never directed at the zombies' necks.
"They've already turned into zombies! If you don't fight back now, you'll become one of them!" Ding Jiu urgently yelled.
Yu Yonggan seemed to come back to his senses, but his eyes were bloodshot.
His face was full of struggle.
Li Yu didn't go forward to help; this was a battle no one else could fight for him, he had to face it himself.
Even if Li Yu wanted to help, he might end up resented.
So, Li Yu stayed in the car and did not speak up.
He glanced back at the approaching zombies, seeing them getting closer and closer, he couldn't help but get out and ready his knife.
He would only give 30 seconds.
After 30 seconds, if it's still not resolved, Li Yu would have Li Tie drive away, as it wasn't worth putting themselves in danger.
5 seconds, 10 seconds.
Yu Yonggan was still struggling, but another small zombie crawled over, about to bite.
Pshht!
Finally, Yu Yonggan stabbed the female zombie in the neck with the dagger.
The zombie fell to the ground.
The zombie at his feet was also finished off by Yu Yonggan with a knife.
After killing the two zombies, it was as if all the air had gone out of him.
He sat on the ground, on his knees.
Li Yu saw the zombies catching up from behind, so he rushed to the car.
While shouting, "Get in the car! If you're not leaving, stay here and wait for death!"