197: The base was surrounded

"Ai Yue, could I borrow your satellite phone for a moment?" Mo Li said with a serious expression.

"Sure!" Ai Yue pulled the satellite phone from the backpack behind her and handed it to him.

Mo Li directly dialed Gu Xiheng. Having encountered zombies on the road, he was afraid the base was unaware and unprepared, which could lead to chaos.

The call was connected quickly.

"Ai Yue? Is that you, Ai Yue? You're still alive?" Gu Xiheng's voice came through with a hint of pleasant surprise.

"It's me!" Mo Li said with a look of helplessness.

"Mo Li!" Hearing his voice, Gu Xiheng's volume jumped an octave. "You're still alive?"

Hearing this, Mo Li's face darkened. "What? Are you so surprised to hear that I'm alive?"

Gu Xiheng hurriedly said, "No, no, I'm just so happy! Where are you? How do you have Ai Yue's phone? Is she okay?"

Hearing him mention Ai Yue in every other sentence, Mo Li cursed Gu Xiheng in his heart for prioritizing romance over friendship.

"She's fine!" Mo Li said crossly.

He then continued, "Alright, let's get to the point. I'll give you the details when I have time. Xiheng, do you know that zombies have appeared?"

Hearing that Ai Yue was still alive, along with Mo Li, eased Gu Xiheng's heavy heart a little.

"I know. zombies have already surrounded the base. I'm planning to lead a team out to clear them now," Gu Xiheng said with a sigh.

"What? Surrounded? And you're going out to clear them? That's too dangerous! If they can surround the entire base, it means there are a lot of them. Going out like that is far too risky," Mo Li said, his brow furrowing in worry.

"I have no choice. From what I've observed, if we don't clear them, they will eventually devour each other and level up. If powerful zombies appear, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold the base. So, we must clear as many as we can while they're still weak," Gu Xiheng said firmly; he was determined to go out.

Mo Li stole a glance at Ai Yue's group, his eyes flashing, then said, "Be careful. Wait for me to get back!"

With that, he hung up the phone.

Seeing Mo Li's troubled look after the call, Ye Rui couldn't help but ask, "Brother Mo Li, what's wrong? You seem to be in a very heavy mood."

Mo Li let out a long sigh. "Sigh, I'm afraid I have to part ways with you all here."

"Ah? Why?"

"Sigh, the base is surrounded by zombies. Moreover, Xiheng said that zombies can level up by devouring each other. They're going to clear all the zombies at any cost. I can't just stand by and watch them in danger without helping," Mo Li said with a bitter smile.

"Ah, this..."

"Once I go, this might very well be the last time we see each other. You must take good care of yourself in the future. You're going to Songzhou Safety Tower, so be careful on the road. I've heard their Safety Tower is very secure and has no zombies. Knowing you're going there, I can rest easy."

Mo Li's voice wasn't quiet, as if he intended for Ai Yue and the others to hear. Everyone heard his words clearly. Ai Yue's lips curled into a disdainful smile, but she said nothing.

She already understood what Mo Li was planning. Wasn't he just trying to get them to follow him to Yingjin Safety Tower? She wasn't stupid; why would she go? They no longer had anything to do with Yingjin Safety Tower.

However, hearing this, Ye Rui became anxious and hurriedly said, "Since you know it's dangerous, why do you still have to go? Isn't it better to come with us?"

Mo Li ruffled her hair and asked in return, "If Ai Yue were in danger, would you go save her?"

Ye Rui's eyes widened, and she said without hesitation, "Of course! Do you even have to ask?"

Mo Li gave a light laugh. "Exactly. My family is in trouble; how can I stay out of it? It's just a pity we have to separate again, sigh..."

Ye Rui pursed her lips tightly. She couldn't bear to leave Mo Li now, and knowing he was going back to danger, she couldn't help but worry. She was also afraid this would be the last time she saw him.

She was even more afraid of him getting injured and infected with the zombie virus. After thinking it over with her head bowed, she decided she would follow him, help him through the current crisis, and then go to Songzhou Safety Tower to find Ai Yue.

Having made up her mind, she didn't hesitate and walked over to Ai Yue, saying, "Sister Ai Yue, I want to follow Mo Li to clear the zombies. Once I've helped him through this, I'll go to Songzhou Safety Tower to find you, okay?"

Ai Yue's gaze sharpened. "What if I don't let you go?"

"Sister, I... I've grown up. I don't want to see him get hurt." These few words were squeezed out in a voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.

The voice was so low that Ai Yue almost didn't hear it.

Ai Yue's brow furrowed, and she sighed inwardly. As expected, a grown girl can't be kept. She had clearly said she would never leave her side for a lifetime, but now, for a man, she had forgotten the words she once said.

"Rui Rui, don't you know that Mo Li is scheming against you?"

"Scheming against me? Scheming what? There's no need for schemes; I'm going of my own free will." Ye Rui didn't understand the meaning behind Ai Yue's words.

"You silly girl, sigh..."

He was using her to blatantly scheme against Ai Yue herself.

However, Ai Yue did not say those words out loud.

Instead, she said, "Have you really made up your mind to follow him? Regardless of whether we might encounter danger?"

Ye Rui smiled and said, "Sister, you must be joking. Danger would have to run away crying if it saw you."

Ai Yue tapped her on the head and said helplessly, "Do you really want to follow him?"

"Yes!"

"Sigh... fine. How could I have the heart to hand you over to a mediocre fighter like Mo Li? Besides, there are several malicious people there. I wouldn't feel right letting you face danger there alone," Ai Yue said with a look of compromise.

"Ah, no, no! Sister Ai Yue, you don't have to come with me. I can protect myself. Besides, Brother Mo Li is there; he'll protect me," Ye Rui repeatedly refused.

"Him? He's not even as strong as you. How is he going to protect you? It's more like you'll be protecting him." Ai Yue said crossly, still feeling resentful that Mo Li had schemed against her.

Mo Li's face turned slightly red. It was true; his current strength was not as great as Ye Rui's. But compared to others, he was already very powerful, okay?

However, he hadn't acted honorably this time. He had harbored bad intentions, wanting to use Ye Rui to pull Ai Yue and the others to Yingjin Safety Tower to fight zombies. So, he took whatever Ai Yue said without a word of rebuttal.

Ye Rui thought about it carefully and felt that Ai Yue was right; Mo Li's strength was indeed inferior to hers at the moment. Thinking of this, she said even more firmly, "Then I definitely have to go with him to protect him!"

Ai Yue just felt a headache coming on. "Fine. All these years, you've followed us without ever making a request or expressing your own thoughts. Now that you've brought it up, as your sister, I naturally have to fulfill your wish."