Chapter 78: The Overbearing Li Family

"Forget it, let's spare them for now," Li San said, his gaze sweeping intentionally or otherwise over Liu Tianhong and the others.

"Huh?"

"What a letdown, the duck in our hands just flew away like that." The others were full of reluctance, yet they had no other choice.

Liu Tianhong and his group let out long sighs of relief, secretly feeling fortunate.

If a fight had truly broken out, they likely would have ended up helping Lu Guohao and his people.

But if that happened, they would certainly offend the people of Li Family Stockade completely, and it would be nearly impossible for their families inside the Zhai to come out unscathed.

"Just as I thought." A cold sneer appeared on the corner of Li San's mouth.

He had found it strange why Liu Tianhong had reacted so strongly earlier; it seemed this group was highly likely from Lu Family Stockade.

Don't look at how they had the numerical advantage; if a fight really started, the situation might turn around in an instant.

Even if they weren't from Lu Family Stockade, counting on them to help while scrambling for prey was unrealistic.

Li San's eyes turned cold; since that was the case, what use was there in keeping them?

Martial Artists at the Body Tempering First Layer, while not abundant in the Zhai, were not exactly rare either.

However, it was a bit of a pity to kill these few people; very well, after returning, he would just make them do hard labor like everyone else in the Zhai.

The truck roared past, and no conflict occurred.

Lu Yu's tense nerves slowly began to relax.

He had heard a rough idea of the conversation on the other vehicle; these people from Li Family Stockade didn't seem like good sorts. Liu Shu and the others had helped everyone once again.

Watching the group from Li Family Stockade disappear from view, everyone's eyes were filled with envy.

If only they could have a vehicle too, then they wouldn't have to work so hard, and if they were unlucky enough to run into a Fierce Beast, they could escape quickly.

Just then, Lu Yu's voice sounded: "Dad, did you see Liu Shu and the others?" Everyone was stunned.

"I saw them." Lu Guohao turned around, a trace of melancholy flashing in his eyes.

It wasn't just him; the moods of Zhao Shan and the others also became low.

"Dad, I think it's time to bring Liu Shu and the others back," Lu Yu said with a serious expression.

Now that the Zhai was developing better and better, it really didn't make sense for Liu Shu and the others, who were once great contributors to the Zhai, to be absent.

Unexpectedly, no one immediately expressed agreement; the scene was unusually quiet.

"Xiao Yu." At this moment, Zhao Shan said with a bitter smile, "We also want your Liu Shu and the others to come back, but this matter isn't as simple as you think."

"That's right." Sun Gang, who was to the side, also sighed, "Li Family Stockade is easy to enter, but wanting to leave is likely not that easy."

"In the past few years, most of those who went in and later regretted it and wanted to leave died inside. The occasional ones who managed to escape were in a wretched state and passed away not long after."

"What?" Lu Yu widened his eyes, "Does that mean once you join Li Family Stockade, you can't go back on it, or else it's a dead end?"

"That's about the size of it." Zhao Shan nodded.

"I also know some things about Li Family Stockade." Qin Dahai took a deep breath and said, "Don't look at how Li Family Stockade looks glorious on the surface; in reality, it is rotten to the core. The Li Family Three Brothers rely on their bit of strength to run rampant and act recklessly in the Zhai."

"As long as anyone dares to resist them, there is only one outcome, and that is death. Let alone ordinary people, even Martial Artists shouldn't expect a good life if they offend them."

Lu Yu gasped; these were simply bullies who dominated a region, or perhaps in this apocalypse, such situations were not uncommon.

"Then Liu Shu and the others..." Lu Yu couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for them. One could imagine what kind of people were able to stay in Li Family Stockade and survive until now.

With the personalities of Liu Shu and the others, it would likely be very difficult to integrate into that.

It was not hard to imagine what awaited them.

"Xiao Yu is right." Lu Guohao's voice was a bit hoarse, "When we meet them later, I will ask Li San what it will take to let Liu Tianhong and the others come back."

"That's all we can do."

"I hope they are willing to let them go." Zhao Shan and the others said this, but they had no confidence in their hearts; the Li Family Three Brothers were not people to be trifled with.

Back then, Liu Tianhong and the others were worried about exactly this, which was why they had remained hesitant.

Actually, besides Li Family Stockade, Zhou Family Fort was a better choice, but the requirements for Zhou Family Fort were too high; not only did one have to be a Martial Artist, but one also had to pay a hefty fee to become a member of the Zhai.

There was no help for it; there were too many people trying to squeeze their way in, and even a Martial Artist at the Body Tempering First Layer was not considered a rarity there.

By comparison, the requirements for Li Family Stockade were much lower; except for the elderly, basically everyone could get in, and they could get in immediately.

Martial Artists were treated quite well inside; when going out to hunt, they followed the main force, which was much safer, and they could get a fair share of the prey upon returning.

Lu Yu clenched his fists; his intuition told him that this matter would likely not be easy to resolve.

Because of this, the atmosphere in the team clearly became heavy.

It wasn't until they were two or three miles away from Zhou Family Fort that the atmosphere eased slightly.

Lu Yu looked around; he could already see some households here.

They were not the kind of clustered Zhai, but rather isolated little huts surrounded by low walls, and some didn't even have walls; the doors were wide open, and it was pitch black inside, with no way of knowing if anyone lived there.

"These are people with nowhere else to go." Qin Hai's voice came, "No Zhai is willing to take them in, and Zhou Family Fort doesn't let them get too close, so they can only live here. They go to Zhou Family Fort to beg during the day and have to return before dark; you'll be able to see them in a moment."

Lu Yu nodded; these walls were only a meter or so high, unable to stop even ordinary people, let alone Fierce Beasts. If one went out to use the toilet at night and was careless, they could be dragged away by a Fierce Beast.

The further they went, the more people there were, and even individual small Zhai appeared.

These Zhai had walls two or three meters high and even had Watchtowers, with people looking toward them from above.

"That seems to be Chenjiazhai." Qin Hai looked in the direction of Lu Yu's gaze, "The number of people is a bit higher than our Zhai, and I hear it's not easy to get in."

"Is it because it's close to Zhou Family Fort?" Lu Yu asked.

"Yes, Zhou Family Fort has many people and quite a few Martial Artists; I hear there are even a few cannons in the Zhai that once repelled an Advanced Fierce Beast. So, many people who can't get into Yongan City settle for the next best thing and want to enter Zhou Family Fort."

Lu Yu thought for a moment and asked, "Living inside Zhou Family Fort must be safe, but the Outer Perimeter wouldn't necessarily be, right?"

"You're right." Qin Hai nodded, "The more people there are in a place, the stronger the scent emitted, and the easier it is to attract Fierce Beasts to gather."

"Those Fierce Beasts can't get into Zhou Family Fort, but it's not hard to ambush these people living in the Outer Perimeter. If an Advanced Fierce Beast appears, it will likely attack these places first."

"Advanced Fierce Beast." Lu Yu took a deep breath and looked at Chenjiazhai behind him; there was no doubt that if an Advanced Fierce Beast really attacked, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Actually, those cities, including the Outer Perimeter of those three super-large cities, are in the same situation. The stronger the defensive power of a place, the more people go there."

Qin Hai continued, "It's just that the vast majority of people can't get in, so they spend a large sum of money to build houses nearby and live there, which counts as obtaining the qualification to enter the city."

"Qualification? So you're saying there are other conditions?"

"What else did you think? Take the nearest Yongan City for example; if ordinary people want to enter, they can only first live in one of its Outer Perimeter Zhai, work for free on the city's construction for a few years, and finally pay a fee before they can get on the waiting list."

"As for when it will be your turn, well, just wait slowly," Qin Hai said with a shrug.

"Would people really do that?" Lu Yu frowned; there was too much room for manipulation here.

Furthermore, the Awakened guarding Yongan City are the same ones who have placed Ji Bingyu's sister under house arrest, right?

"Of course, otherwise where do you think this information was gathered from? It was all learned from the discussions in the streets and alleys of Zhou Family Fort."

"We're almost at Zhou Family Fort!" someone shouted excitedly.

Lu Yu looked up and ahead; three or four hundred meters away, a city wall, fully ten times the size of his own Zhai, stood abruptly on the wilderness like a behemoth.