Chapter Summaries

Li Yu refused to let Liu Weimin and the others into the base, then fired a warning shot when they pressured him. The standoff quieted, and Li Yu thanked Little Xuanxuan for bringing him fruit.

• The village Party secretary urged Li Yu to let the group in, but Li Yu rejected Liu Weimin's appeal.
• The village Party secretary threatened Li Yu, and Zhou Shuihua spoke up about her injured leg.
• Li Yu fired toward the right side of the crowd, narrowly missing several people.
• Li Yu aimed at Liu Weimin as Fourth Uncle, Uncle Lai, and the others raised their knives; Liu Weimin lowered his gun.
• Li Yu stroked Little Xuanxuan's head and thanked her for bringing him fruit.

Li Yu rejected the village crowd’s demands to enter the compound and brought his group inside as zombies approached. The gates closed behind them, leaving the outsiders outside.

• Li Yu held Little Xuanxuan’s hand and rushed toward the village Party secretary, who told him he could not come in.
• The crowd accused Li Yu of selfishness and tried to pressure him to let them into the vehicles.
• The village Party secretary appealed to Liu Weimin, but Li Yu remained unmoved and Liu Jianwen fell silent.
• Li Yu had his second uncle and father open the main gate, then ordered Xiao Hang and Xiao Lue to kill approaching zombies.
• Li Hang and the others aimed pistols and crossbows at the crowd to stop them from moving, while Liu Jianwen drove another vehicle inside.
• Li Yu entered through the small gate, which closed behind him, and the people inside breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Weimin and Liu Huamei fought off zombies as panicked survivors rushed toward the riot-control vehicle. The tattooed young man got into the vehicle with his daughter, while the survivors’ attempt to escape continued amid the chaos.

• The crowd panicked after Li Yu stood fearlessly at the front, and survivors rushed toward the riot-control vehicle.
• Liu Weimin ran low on ammunition while fighting zombies beside Liu Huamei, who attacked them with an axe.
• When a zombie nearly bit Liu Huamei, Liu Weimin shot it with a crossbow and saved her.
• More zombies were drawn toward the group as people kept rushing forward.
• The tattooed young man got out of the driver’s seat, made room in the front passenger seat for his daughter, and climbed back into the vehicle with another person.

After the group escaped the approaching zombies, Li Yu comforted Xuanxuan, whose family had been killed, and the survivors gathered for a barbecue. The chapter ended with Li Yu enjoying the refuge while wondering how Liu Weimin and the others were doing.

• Some people could not get into the vehicle as zombies approached, so Li Yu climbed onto its roof and escaped with the others.
• Li Suxin comforted Xuanxuan by offering to share her big brother, and Li Yu learned that zombies had killed the little girl's family.
• Li Yu reassured Xuanxuan, who stopped crying and thanked him.
• The survivors prepared a large barbecue, while Li Yu and the others ate, played Chinese chess, and relaxed.
• Li Yu sent Xiao Hang to take food to his uncle and the others on watch, then wondered how Liu Weimin and the others were doing.

Liu Weimin led the survivors to Rocky Mountain, where they fought off the remaining zombies and climbed to a fenced viewing area for shelter. As darkness fell, the group faced the night hungry and without food.

• Zombies swarmed the armored vehicle, and several people were shaken off and killed.
• Liu Weimin drove to Rocky Mountain, where the vehicle crushed some zombies near the iron gate.
• Liu Weimin borrowed a machete, told Liu Huamei to stay inside, and killed zombies while clearing a way for the group.
• The survivors climbed past the iron gate and headed toward a viewing platform as zombies gathered outside the fence.
• Darkness fell before the group had found food, and the survivors grew hungry.

Liu Weimin went to investigate a road and found a field of corpses, then discovered that the tattooed young man and his companions had trapped Liu Huamei inside a house. He kicked in the door and entered, where the group surrounded him as Liu Huamei watched in terror.

• Liu Weimin left Liu Huamei behind to check the road, while the tattooed young man and his companions moved against her.
• The group stopped Liu Huamei from making a sound and planned to ambush Liu Weimin when he returned.
• Liu Weimin followed a faint smell of blood and found human corpses scattered across the ground.
• Liu Weimin approached the silent tiled-roof house, grew suspicious, and kicked its door off its hinges.
• Liu Weimin dodged back and entered through the doorway, where the tattooed young man and the others surrounded him as Liu Huamei looked on in terror.

Liu Huamei escaped after Liu Weimin fought off the men trying to stop her, then reached the wall and asked Li Yu for help. After hearing her account, Li Yu made the decision about whether to let her in.

• Liu Weimin fought the men at the doorway and shielded Liu Huamei, while she fled to a vehicle.
• Liu Huamei drove to the wall and contacted Li Yu, Liu Jianwen, and the others over the radio.
• Li Hongyuan urged them to wait for Li Yu, and Liu Jianwen followed him as he went to hear Liu Huamei's account.
• Liu Huamei tearfully described what had happened and pleaded for help.
• Li Yu refused to let her in and calmly offered Liu Jianwen a cigarette as his uncle grew anxious.

Liu Huamei's desperation turned into a revenge-fueled attempt to break into Li Yu's shelter, drawing a horde of zombies to the gate. Li Yu and his eldest uncle fought their way back inside, where they finally found safety.

• Liu Huamei struggled with Li Yu's refusal to save those who had brought their troubles on themselves, and her despair turned to hatred.
• Liu Huamei activated the riot-control vehicle's siren and tried to ram the reinforced gate, attracting the zombies.
• Li Yu opened the small gate and rushed out to fight the zombies with a crossbow while his eldest uncle followed.
• Li Yu and his eldest uncle slipped back inside and shut the car door, escaping the horde.
• Li Yu's eldest uncle admired him, and the two men sat down to smoke as the danger outside quieted.

Li Yu gathered relatives and prepared to take them out, leaving Li Hongyuan and others at home to protect the family. Xuanxuan eagerly followed along, excited to learn how to use a dagger.

• Li Yu watched Xuanxuan sleep and quietly got out of bed rather than waking her.
• Li Yu gathered Liu Jianwen, Li Haoxian, Li Haoran, Li Peizhen, Li Suxin, and others, and they agreed to go out together.
• Li Yu told the group to protect the family and set off with them in three cars.
• Li Yu warned Zhang Zhixing to be careful with his weapon, while Li Suxin carried a small dagger.
• Xuanxuan excitedly begged Li Yu to teach her how to use the dagger.

Li Yu encouraged his family to face zombies, and their first kills helped them overcome their fear and grow stronger. Xuanxuan and Li Suxin earned his praise, while Li Haoxian felt embarrassed by his own performance.

• Li Yu decided that his younger cousins Li Haoxian and Li Haoran should help handle the situation rather than remain on the watchtower.
• Li Haoxian thrust his weapon through a zombie's head after Li Yu's reminder, and Li Hang helped snap him out of his daze.
• Xuanxuan stabbed a zombie in the eye and looked to Li Yu for praise.
• Li Suxin charged at a kneeling zombie, and Li Yu grabbed her shoulder as they both fell after she stabbed its eye.
• Li Yu gave Li Suxin a thumbs-up, and the team felt less afraid after making their first zombie kills.

Li Yu and the others reached Rocky Mountain and found the village Party secretary’s group amid the bodies of people they had killed. The secretary threatened Liu Weimin, but Li Yu’s group fought back and prepared to pursue the survivors up the mountain.

• Li Yu led everyone through Rocky Mountain’s iron gate and toward the tile-roofed houses, where they found corpses across the ground.
• Li Yu warned the group to stay alert and keep their distance from others.
• The village Party secretary’s people brought out the bound, badly beaten Liu Weimin and used a knife to cut his neck while threatening Li Yu.
• Li Yu waited until the sun was sinking, then took aim and fired an arrow that pierced the village Party secretary’s skull.
• The remaining people tried to run up the mountain, and Li Yu told his companions to follow them.

Li Yu killed the village Party secretary’s followers after they fled, then led his group back toward the base through the flooded countryside. On the way, he found the road surrounded by zombies and recognized Yang Tianlong, recalling their friendship from school.

• Li Yu shot and hacked down the villagers who had attacked him, while the survivors fled toward the mountain.
• Li Yu made the others retrieve the crossbow bolts and burn the bodies before they drove back to the base.
• Li Yu stopped the vehicles after spotting a group of zombies surrounding the road.
• Li Yu approached with his second paternal uncle and recognized Yang Tianlong, remembering how they had become close after Yang Tianlong defended him from bullies.

Li Yu reunited with Yang Tianlong, Yang Xiaozhu, and other old friends and relatives after they helped him deal with zombies. They gathered everyone into vehicles and headed back to the base.

• Yang Xiaozhu struck down a zombie that was about to attack Li Yu, and Li Yu felt relieved to see her and Yang Tianlong again.
• Li Yu, Yang Tianlong, Li Hang, and Second Uncle fought off the remaining zombies, while Yang Tianlong punched Li Yu to show his concern.
• Yang Tianlong explained that Tiezi and Gangzi had brought their parents to look for Li Yu, and that he and Yang Xiaozhu had returned with them.
• Li Yu reunited with Third Uncle and his family near his old home and arranged for everyone to travel together.
• Li Yu had his eldest uncle and the others bring over more vehicles, then everyone set off toward the base.

Li Yu cautiously explained his terms for accepting Yang Tianlong and Zhao Dapao into the base, emphasizing that he wanted to protect his family and could not trust them completely yet. The men accepted his conditions, and Li Yu took Zhao Dapao’s Mountain-Cleaving Axe while leaving their future arrangements to be discussed later.

• Li Yu returned to the base, greeted Fourth Uncle and Uncle-in-law at the watchtower, and helped deal with the zombies.
• Li Yu had Li Hang bring the younger family members inside, then spoke to Yang Tianlong and Zhao Dapao about his wariness and desire to protect his family.
• Li Yu said the two men would need to hand over their weapons for now, and both men understood his concerns.
• Zhao Dapao handed Li Yu the Mountain-Cleaving Axe, and Li Yu said they would talk about the rest later.

Li Yu hosted a lavish feast with roasted pig and liquor, using the meal to bring the group together and learn more about the people around him. After everyone ate and drank late into the night, he gained a clearer sense of their relationships and returned to work.

• Li Yu drew on his extensive alcohol stockpile and prepared liquor for the gathering.
• Li Yu grilled a pig, seasoned it with thirteen-spice, cumin, and his secret sauce, and drew everyone's attention with its aroma.
• Li Yu invited the group to eat, and everyone praised the roast pig as fatty but not greasy.
• Li Yu shared liquor with his second uncle, Zhao Dapao, Yang Tianlong, and the others as they drank into the night.
• Li Yu formed a rough judgment of the group and went back to work overtime.

Li Yu spent time running around the base and reflected on the dangers ahead, then arranged training for the younger residents. As the group settled into life at the base, he noticed something beyond the perimeter wall.

• Li Yu ran around the base and saw someone feeding grass to the fish by the hillside pond.
• Li Yu thought about how most people died on the way to greater power and hoped the crisis would not come too soon.
• Li Yu decided Zhao Dapao needed watching and that Haoxian should receive more training, including lessons in using guns from Li Yu's eldest uncle.
• Li Yu, Li Tie, Zhao Dapao, and Yang Tianlong taught their younger relatives hand-to-hand combat.
• The children studied reading and arithmetic, practiced useful survival skills, improved their fitness, and became better at killing zombies.
• Li Yu looked beyond the perimeter wall and examined what he saw.

Li Yu and the others prepared to defend the base against a huge zombie tide. They began attacking from the Watchtower and perimeter wall, but the zombies remained packed around the base.

• He called Li Yu and the others over, grabbed a submachine gun, and stopped washing as the zombies roared nearby.
• Li Yu saw the area packed with zombies, and the group checked the surveillance room to learn when the tide had appeared.
• He gathered everyone in the base and organized the defense, assigning crossbows to the Watchtower and spears to people atop the wall.
• The defenders attacked the zombies with crossbows and spears, and Li Yu pierced three zombies in succession.
• The zombies continued lingering around the perimeter wall, while Li Yu's skill earned him more approval.

With zombies threatening to overwhelm the defenses, Yang Tianlong led Li Gang, Li Tie, and two others out through the small rear gate to lure them away. They headed toward the national highway while those left at the base worried about their return.

• New zombies poured from the woods, and Yang Tianlong decided to lead a group out to draw them away from the base.
• Li Gang and others offered to go, but Yang Tianlong told them to stay because people might attack the base.
• Yang Tianlong and the others prepared weapons and left after their family members watched them go.
• Yang Tianlong charged through the narrow gate first, and the other four followed close behind.
• The five men ran toward the national highway as the defenders at the front gate worried about them.

Li Yu and the others fled through the mountain forest with zombies close behind, then took shelter as heavy rain washed blood toward a valley. Li Yu’s group discovered someone had lured the zombies there, and after Li Yu’s second uncle drove off hidden figures, they ran toward the national highway, where an unfamiliar car watched them.

• Li Yu ran with the group as they drew strength from shouting together and charged deeper into the forest.
• The group noticed blood on the ground and suspected that someone had deliberately lured the zombies there.
• Heavy rain began, and Li Yu’s second uncle, Li Haoran, Li Haoxian, and Li Hang stayed behind while the others moved on.
• Li Yu’s second uncle fired toward figures hiding in the woods, struck one, and saw several of them flee; one looked familiar.
• The group ran toward the national highway, where they followed a slowly moving car as its occupants watched them.

Li Yu used his gun to stop a group of men from tormenting a woman and a boy. He took the injured bald man and the rescued people with him, then left as zombies rushed toward them.

• The bald man and his companions approached Li Yu and mocked him while one of them attacked a woman and a boy.
• Li Yu drew his gun and shot the four men who were threatening them, leaving no bystanders hurt.
• Li Yu stopped the man with the buzz cut from further attacking the boy and bound the surviving bald man.
• Li Yu took the bald man and the rescued people with him, then had Yang Tianlong and the others get into the vehicle.
• Zombies charged toward them in a frenzy as Li Yu and the group left.