NOVEL NEXT Chapter 498: Base Expansion! Population Increase!
Some people are dead, yet they still live. Some people are alive, yet they are already dead.
Since ancient times, the importance of continuing the family line and adhering to the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith has been emphasized.
Everyone desires to leave a lasting legacy in this world, evidence that they once existed.
Before the apocalypse, those who left their marks in the annals of time were invariably leaders in their fields or creators of great things.
Besides these individuals, ordinary people also wanted to leave traces of their existence, hoping their descendants would prosper and honor their ancestors.
However, in this apocalyptic world, human civilization is buried under the tide of zombies, with the remnants waiting to be unearthed.
For Li Yu, who has been reborn five years after the apocalypse, there is only one dream—to live in the moment.
To simply survive with his relatives and friends.
As for higher expectations, greater responsibilities, magnificent dreams, or a reputation that lasts through the ages, he has no desire for them.
After death, who knows where one goes? It's meaningless to think about death while still alive.
Thus, Li Yu, with such mentality, has become much more insightful about people and events.
Everything is nothingness.
Since that is the case, he is not bound by human nature, morality, or ideologies in his thoughts and actions.
...
After returning from the Northern Prison, everyone was somewhat exhausted, now they just wanted to return to the base and sleep.
Upon leaving that villa, Third Uncle and the others did not beat around the bush and headed straight back to the base, and the journey back was uneventful.
Those in the vehicle took turns driving, maintaining a fairly brisk pace.
By five in the afternoon, they were less than five kilometers from the base, almost there.
Suddenly, at that moment, a static noise came through the walkie-talkie.
"This is Big Camphor Tree Base on National Highway 319, northern duty office, please respond if you receive this."
Upon hearing this from the headset, Third Uncle suddenly remembered that the base had arranged for personnel on the national highway outside of the base.
Most of these people were under He Chao's command, so he picked up the walkie-talkie to reply: "Roger, this is Li Hongqian, where are you?"
"We are in the building directly opposite and ahead of you, on the topmost part," came the reply from the walkie-talkie.
Third Uncle peered out, looking towards the rooftop of the South Feng Hotel.
He could see two men on the rooftop edge, waving at them.
It seemed that they had spotted their vehicle, the uniquely modified Unimog of the base, which was easily identifiable.
Third Uncle recognized these two individuals who had been stationed in the Outer City under He Chao.
The vehicle slowly approached the building, and the two men from the rooftop came down for a brief interaction with Third Uncle and others.
Third Uncle inquired, "How is the base doing now?"
One of the men on duty responded, "All normal."
Third Uncle, seeing their excited expressions, warmly expressed, "There was a Zombie Tide recently, how did you guys manage to avoid it?"
"Oh, that, we already have a set of rules for that. Whenever it rains, we fall back into the base. Our main duty here is to monitor for unfamiliar vehicles and check for any zombie movements when it's not raining," explained one of the younger men.
After speaking, this person, who seemed to know what Third Uncle was up to, asked, "Captain Li, how did it go, all smooth?"
Third Uncle hesitated for a moment then replied, "Not bad; it went fairly smoothly, except the Zombies were numerous near the Northern Province capital, and unfortunately, we were delayed quite some time there."
After a few more minutes of conversation, Third Uncle nodded to the two men, saying, "We are heading back to the base now, see you back there."
The two men quickly nodded and then waved goodbye.
After that, Third Uncle and his group got back into the vehicle and set out for the base.
Five kilometers, at their driving speed, was only a matter of minutes.
Unbeknownst to them, from the opposite direction on the same national highway, a group of several dozen people was also heading towards the base.
....
At five thirty in the afternoon.
Third Uncle and his group appeared outside the main gate of the base, where Second Uncle had already communicated with them through the walkie-talkie.
Seeing Third Uncle and the others' vehicle, Second Uncle hurriedly opened the gate.
Li Yu also came down the wall to greet them.
The vehicle slowly entered into Weng City within the base, with many from the vehicle coming down to welcome them.
Li Yu approached the Unimog with a smile.
Third Uncle got out of the vehicle, a trace of a smile also surfacing on his lips; this trip had not been easy.
Li Yu addressed Third Uncle, "Third Uncle, you've worked hard, was everything smooth?"
Third Uncle's smile vanished a bit, his expression grew somber as he said, "Overall, it went smoothly. We resolved those people without issue, but heavy rain later led to a Zombie Tide, and with the prison being near the capital city, there were quite a lot of zombies, estimated at three hundred thousand!"
Three hundred thousand!
Li Yu and Second Uncle, upon hearing this number, narrowed their eyes slightly.
Typically, during past Zombie Tides, they would estimate the number of zombies which generally, without rain, would number only a few scattered ones around the base at night.