Collecting the radio equipment went smoothly. Shanglin Village was indeed much as Wu Di had described; there were few zombies nearby.
"Squad Leader Wu, I think that young fellow Wu Di has some talent. He actually led the villagers to clear out the zombies. This Shanglin Village is the safest one I've seen so far," a soldier remarked.
Wu Zhong did not reply, closing his eyes to rest.
"Squad Leader Wu, there are survivors blocking the road ahead."
Wu Zhong opened his eyes and looked closely. Not far ahead, two figures were kneeling in the middle of the road, blocking the way.
One was an old man in his sixties, and the other a teenager. They appeared to be grandfather and grandson. This pair wore tattered clothes and looked frightened and uneasy.
Wu Zhong dismounted the armored vehicle and walked closer, curious. "Two villagers, what is this? Please get up!"
Wu Zhong glanced at Hutao, who quickly went to help the two up.
The elder of the two, weeping, said:
"We beg the government to bring us justice."
Wu Zhong frowned, "Sir, please don't rush, speak slowly. What exactly happened?"
The old man wiped his wrinkled face and told them the whole story.
They were both from Shanglin Village, grandfather and grandson. After the zombie virus broke out, Wu Di took control of the village, established the Salvation Army, and ordered villagers to hand over all their food for unified storage, doling out only tiny portions to the other villagers.
The Salvation Army was short-handed, so they recruited men from the village. The old man's son, the teenager's father, felt the Salvation Army was just oppressing villagers like bandits. He not only refused to join but also cursed Wu Di as a bandit. Enraged, Wu Di had him beheaded as a warning to others and then gang-raped his wife.
Wu Di had intended to eliminate the grandfather and grandson as well, to cut the grass by the roots. However, someone advised that doing so might incite the villagers to resist. So, they were spared, only receiving a mouthful of thin porridge at most each day.
Hutao was burning with rage. "I thought this guy was someone significant, but he's actually so insane! Ten thousand executions wouldn't be enough for him!"
Wu Zhong looked at their sallow faces and ragged clothes, seeing how weak they were. He quickly had them get into the transport vehicle and gave them food.
"Don't worry, eat something first. You're safe in the vehicle. I will definitely seek justice for you."
Wu Zhong got out of the transport vehicle and shouted, "Everyone, continue forward!"
When they reached the entrance of Shanglin Village, Wu Di and his men were already waiting there.
"Officer, you've worked hard. I've prepared a banquet. Please do us the honor of joining us, officers and soldiers."
After getting out of the vehicle, Wu Zhong glanced at Wu Di and waved, shouting, "Arrest them all!"
Wu Di, Wang Jinyin, Liú Dàlóng, and several others were quickly apprehended by soldiers.
Wu Di broke out in a cold sweat. "Officer, what is this? What crime have I committed? On what grounds are you treating me like this?"
Wu Zhong sneered, "Bring the people over."
A soldier brought the grandfather and grandson who had lodged the complaint before Wu Di.
"You should recognize them, right?"
Wu Di was shocked. *Damn it, it must have been them who complained. I should have cut the grass by the roots!*
"Government, this is a misunderstanding! They are scoundrels deliberately framing me!"
Wu Di still tried to argue.
"Framing you? Guards, invite all the villagers out!"
A while later, many villagers came out. Seeing Wu Di kneeling on the ground with a soldier's gun to his head, they were somewhat confused, but most were quite pleased. *This beast is finally being dealt with!*.
"Wu Di, so you have this day too. You deserve it."
"What goes around comes around!"
"Murder, robbery, rape, Wu Di, your sins are unforgivable! A hundred executions wouldn't be enough!"
The villagers were all indignant, and even a child threw stones at him.
"Am I framing you? Are all these people framing you too?" Wu Zhong asked with a cold smile.
Instantly, Wu Di collapsed to the ground, so terrified that he lost control of his bladder, wetting his pants.
"Officer, we didn't do anything! Murder and rape were all done by Wu Di! We were all forced! Please investigate, sir!"
At this moment, Wang Jinyin, kneeling, was sobbing uncontrollably.
Liú Dàlóng was beside him, too terrified to speak.
"Wang Jinyin, you're no good either. You aided and abetted evil. You all deserve to die..." a villager shouted.
Wu Zhong pointed at Wang Jinyin. "You two should be grateful you weren't executed last time. Don't do heinous things again. Now that you've fallen into my hands again, do you expect to live?"
"Attention all troops, escort these people away and execute them all!"
"Ah~ Officer, spare us! I'll never dare again... Please spare me!"
The men were practically dragged away, their legs too weak to stand.
Bang, bang, bang...
With the sound of gunfire, the evildoers met their end. If there is an afterlife, they'll surely be put through trials by mountains of knives and cauldrons of oil!
At this moment, the grandfather and grandson, who had been standing aside, knelt down. "Thank you, thank you government for avenging my son and daughter-in-law. Thank you..."
"Sir, please get up. This is what we soldiers should do. Get up, the ground is cold."
Many villagers were murmuring below, and then someone called out, "Officer, can we go with you? Is there still a government?"
Wu Zhong smiled and shouted, "Villagers of Shanglin Village, the entire Dragon Country, and even the whole world, has been ravaged by the virus. But we will never abandon our people. This is the meaning of our army's existence!
We have bases, a Survivor Base. It's filled with people like you. The base is very safe. I will send transport vehicles. Anyone who wishes to come with us to the base can leave with the transport vehicles for a safer place!"
There was another round of murmuring below.
In the end, Wu Zhong took a headcount, and about 90% of the people were willing to go. The remaining people felt it was safe where they were and didn't want to leave the place they grew up. Wu Zhong didn't force them; this was also Liu Xu's policy: if survivors are encountered, they are taken in if they wish, but not forced.
The Salvation Army, despite its name, consisted of only about twenty people. Wu Di, Wang Jinyin, and Liú Dàlóng had already been executed. The rest were just minor thugs.
But Wu Zhong didn't want to let them off. In his eyes, they were all unstable elements, and none of them were good people.
Identified by the villagers, the members of the Salvation Army were rounded up and all executed by firing squad. All the villagers clapped and cheered.
Back at the base, Wu Zhong reported the situation at Shanglin Village in detail to Liu Xu. Liu Xu was very pleased with Wu Di's actions and instructed Wu Zhong to be careful when receiving survivors.
With the radio equipment, Lǐ Gōng established a radio station on the third floor of Liu Xu's office.
After installing and debugging the equipment, they could broadcast to the entire base. Radio signals could be received within a radius of over 300 kilometers.
Wu Zhong brought back over two hundred villagers from Shanglin Village. After registering their names, they were all properly accommodated.