"Big Cousin!" the teenager next to him shouted to Li Yu.
Li Yu looked at the teenager and felt he looked familiar, after all, having been reborn for five years, those tough five years made him forget many people and things.
Seeing Li Yu's confusion, the teenager said, "Big Cousin, it's me, Xiao Chi!"
A series of memories rushed into his mind, and Li Yu remembered—the teenager in front of him was indeed his Second Uncle's eldest son, Xiao Chi!
At 14 years old, he was growing fast; no wonder Li Yu did not remember him at first, especially since Li Yu had been reborn for five years, making his memory even blurrier.
Li Yu nodded to Xiao Chi and then asked, "Where is Second Uncle? And where are Aunt and the others?"
Xiao Chi's face suddenly changed, and his mood turned gloomy, as his aunt also snapped out of the joy from their recent encounter.
A bad feeling surged in Li Yu's heart.
Xiao Chi slowly began, "When my dad came back, he was stabbed in the chest while protecting us. We have no Anti-inflammatory Drugs and no doctors; he is now unconscious."
After hearing this, Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He had plenty of Anti-inflammatory Drugs. Doctors—his sister was studying medicine! So he quickly said, "Where is he now? Take me to him immediately!"
Hearing this, Xiao Chi nodded and said, "We live right over there." He pointed in the direction of Jiefang City and continued, "When we came back to the town, we originally wanted to find you guys directly.
But my dad's injuries were too severe to continue traveling. We couldn't find a place to stay for a while, so we thought about joining here temporarily until he recovered, and then go to find you.
Unfortunately, it's getting worse now... but thankfully, we finally met you." As he spoke, Xiao Chi vigorously wiped his tears, feeling more settled.
Li Yu looked towards Jiefang City where Director Zhang and Captain Lv were still watching. Initially, Director Zhang and the others were about to leave, but seeing Li Yu suddenly stop their car, they also halted and watched.
Li Yu stepped forward, patted Xiao Chi on the shoulder, then motioned for the two to get into the car.
The aunt tried to pick up the backpack on the ground, and seeing this, Li Yu quickly lifted it, feeling his body lean forward from its weight. What in the world was in this thing, it was so heavy.
He felt very uncomfortable, the weight was noticeable even to him, a strong adult man, let alone the aunt.
The aunt stood there, then suddenly turned her head, looked at the short-haired woman, and ran over to say, "Team Leader Feng, I, I'll go ahead first, okay."
The short-haired woman looked at Li Yu, then shifted her gaze back to the aunt and nodded.
After giving her instructions, the aunt walked to the car, and Li Yu and the others also returned inside.
Driving quickly, they soon arrived at the entrance of Jiefang City.
Director Zhang, seeing Li Yu and others returning, felt somewhat uneasy, thinking: Why have they come back!
But he had also seen Li Yu picking up two people into the car earlier, and those two seemed to be their people.
Before Director Zhang could finish his guess, Li Yu quickly got out of the car and then approached the gateway, saying to Director Zhang, "I have some family inside, please let me enter and bring them out."
Director Zhang suddenly realized, and beside him, Captain Lv also began to understand as they saw the aunt next to Li Yu, exchanging glances and subtly nodding.
No choice, the other side has 6 submachine guns, 5 crossbows! We can't beat that!
With a wave of his hand, two men beside him opened the gate.
Li Yu asked everyone to get off, then closed the car door. Then, after thinking, he asked Ding Jiu to leave two people to watch the car. The others followed him into Jiefang City.
Director Zhang wore a smile on his face, saying, "It seems we are still fated, I can also be considered as having saved your family. See, isn't this fate?"
Upon hearing this, Second Aunt's face slightly changed, but Zhou next to her seemed to recall something too. He used to speak before thinking, but he has changed since the apocalypse began.
Zhou weighed his options, finally glanced at Li Yu and then at Captain Lv. He decided not to open his mouth, at least not now.
Li Yu saw Second Aunt's reaction and remained noncommittal to Director Zhang's words.
Second Aunt led the way, passing two milk-white houses that looked very luxurious, but as they got further, the houses became more decrepit.
Perhaps because they moved closer to the river, and in those apocalyptic heavy rains, these houses near the river were probably flooded, so the patchiness on the walls became more pronounced.
They walked all the way to the last row, the house on the far right. Li Yu felt somewhat sad and angry, but he didn't know whom to direct his anger at!
Spotty tiles with some water seeping out could be seen, and even if wiped clean, water would seep out again soon, so they might as well not bother.
The house had no lights, making it look unusually gloomy, but one could vaguely see parts of the walls falling off, revealing the red bricks behind.
The air carried a heavy musty smell, as if something had rotted there, mixed with a dampness.
Li Yu frowned, although the environment was harsh, he had already made a judgement in his heart. In this post-apocalyptic world, it was good enough for people without power to have a place to live.
As they got closer, a faintly audible crying could be heard from inside.
Second Aunt walked briskly forward, and Li Yu quickly followed.
Director Zhang, following behind them, looked upset. He clearly spoke of fair treatment, and there were so many houses available, why were they still living here?
But Li Yu wasn't concerned about that at the moment. He took out a flashlight and turned it on, and Li Hang behind him also turned his flashlight on.
In the dark room, even if the windows were opened, it was hard for the sunlight outside to penetrate. But now, with the flashlights turned on, the room was instantly filled with light.
As Li Yu approached, he saw Second Uncle lying on an old bed, his eyes shut and forehead covered in sweat, his chest wrapped with a cloth.
Next to him sat Second Aunt.
At this moment, Second Aunt, seeing the lights suddenly shining around, quickly turned her head and saw a group of people approaching her. The fear and un-wiped tears on her face revealed to everyone where the crying sound had come from.
Perhaps because the room had always been dark, the sudden appearance of light made her find it dazzling. She raised her hand to block the light but also wanted to see clearly who the people were. So she peered through her fingers at everyone.
Li Yu saw her action, quickly moved the light to the ground, and shouted, "Second Aunt, it's me, Li Yu."
With the light illuminating the ground, reflecting the light, Second Aunt finally recognized the familiar face. She also saw Li Hang behind him. Tears immediately streamed down, her lips trembling, but no sound came out. She tried to stand up, but failed after two attempts.
Li Yu felt an even stronger sense of sourness in his heart.