Night of Despair

Inside the cave safehouse.

The morning sunlight faintly seeped in through the observation window's baffle.

Yu Hong leaned against the fireplace wall, slowly waking up from a hazy dream.

His brows furrowed as he tilted his neck, feeling a bit numb on his back and stiffness in his cervical spine, likely from being pressed against something.

Opening his eyes, he immediately looked at Doctor Xu, who lay in the sleeping bag.

The guy was sleeping soundly, his complexion much better than the day before.

"Doctor Xu? Doctor Xu?" he called out a few times.

Doctor Xu slowly moved his eyelids, twitched his leg, then suddenly opened his eyes, showing a look of alertness.

"Am I still alive?"

"Seems like it," Yu Hong replied, "Yesterday I thought you were paralyzed, but thankfully, you recovered after lying down for a night."

Doctor Xu propped himself up, his cracked lips moving slightly.

"Old problem... vigorous exercise tends to trigger it, just a bit worse than usual yesterday."

"That's called a bit worse?" Yu Hong was speechless.

"Is it morning now? What's the situation outside?" Doctor Xu asked in a deep voice. "Is there water? Give me some."

"I don't know, I haven't gone out yet, it seems there's no movement." Yu Hong stood up and poured her some cold boiled water.

Watching her sip it slowly, he couldn't help but continue asking.

"Well, honestly, with that level of danger outside, and the shadowy creaturs coming in turns, how did you all make it through without so many large pyroxene stones? When I wasn't here, you didn't even have large pyroxene stones, right? Could you hold out?"

"There didn't used to be Evil Shadows around here..." Doctor Xu sighed, "Just call me Xu Ruoying. You saved me, so we've gone through hardship together."

"Okay." Yu Hong didn't care about these things, just stared at her, waiting for an answer to his previous question. He had wanted to ask about this for a long time but never had the chance.

"Actually..." Xu Ruoying said somewhat helplessly, "Previously, we rarely confronted shadows head-on."

"Then how did you handle it? Could it be avoided?" Yu Hong asked in surprise.

"Why not?" Xu Ruoying countered, "Didn't Stammering Yiyi tell you? The hiding method?"

"No..." Yu Hong shook his head.

Suddenly, an image flashed in his mind, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"Wait... I seem to have thought of something... Is it by using luminous stones to surround and create a small space that people can hide in, which serves the purpose of hiding?"

He thought of Stammering Yiyi also having such a space hidden room. But that room only had enough space for a child to squeeze in, and an adult couldn't fit.

"That's the one." Xu Ruoying nodded, "As long as the luminous stones are embedded on the surrounding walls and the density reaches a certain proportion, it can hide one's presence. At a critical moment, if you hide inside, the shadows won't be able to find you."

"What about the Blood Tide Black Insects?"

"There's no way for that, you have to fight it outright." Xu Ruoying shook her head.

Yu Hong nodded, finally understanding how others survived in such a dangerous environment.

He thought as much, considering how much large pyroxene stones he spent to combat shadow creatures.

Yet look at Xu Ruoying, Jenny from before, and the postman. They managed to live safely and unharmed for so long despite not having as many large pyroxene stones.

This puzzled him...

"Wait!" Suddenly, Xu Ruoying paused, stunned. She stared at Yu Hong with an incredulous look.

"Could it be... you've never hidden before? You've been confronting the shadows head-on???"

"....." Yu Hong had no answer. *If only he had known about this technique earlier, he wouldn't have wasted so many large pyroxene stones!*

"My God..." Xu Ruoying was speechless. *This was the first time she'd met someone like this.* If not for the fact that he could make large pyroxene stones, he wouldn't even know how he died.

The two of them looked at each other in silence, unsure of what to say. They could only sit facing each other without speaking.

After a while of silence, Xu Ruoying couldn't sit still. She glanced at the sunlight outside the door.

"I have to go back... I need to take my medicine out to dry, otherwise it will spoil..."

"Let's go out and take a look together." Yu Hong got up and walked to the strengthened and refilled silver talisman array wooden door.

Swish.

He pulled open the observation window baffle and looked outside. Then, he pulled open another baffle on the side of the observation window, revealing a piece of high-strength glass through which he could see outside.

This way, light could penetrate the two areas on the door, allowing the outside sunlight to shine in as much as possible.

Suddenly, the entire cave lit up, the golden light reflecting off the fireplace and onto the opposite wall, slightly dazzling.

Yu Hong stood at the window and looked outside.

Outside was quiet, the forest stood empty of green, with only the bloodstains left by Jenny standing out in the clearing.

The rustling sound of the leaves rubbing together was like waves, one crest after another.

"No movement. Be careful." Yu Hong's anti-stab garment that contained the silver talisman array had also been replenished. This gave him some confidence.

Click.

The wooden door opened slowly.

The two walked out one behind the other.

"It seems safe...." Xu Ruoying whispered. "I must return immediately. This is the safest moment."

"Safe travels." Yu Hong nodded, knowing Doctor Xu's temperament. Not only did she have a sharp tongue, but she also had a strong personality. Those who could survive alone in this environment were not weaklings.

"I owe you this time!" Xu Ruoying threw out a sentence, quickly jumped down the stone steps, and jogged toward the post office gathering place.

Her figure gradually disappeared into the forest and soon vanished completely.

Yu Hong watched her until she was out of sight, then closed the door, jumped down the stone steps, and went to the grassy area where Jenny had previously lain.

He crouched down, examining the grass stained with blood, and quickly found two deformed copper bullets.

Picking up the two bullets, he sighed and turned back to the cave safehouse.

Closing the door, all the talisman arrays were now completely restored.

He reached out and pressed a bullet.

'Enhance bullet, direction: Restore to original state.'

'Insufficient integrity.'

The Black Mark gave feedback, causing Yu Hong's brow to furrow slightly.

He changed the direction again.

'Enhance bullet, direction: Increase durability.'

This time the black line flashed, seemingly successful.

A countdown appeared on the bullet's surface, in small numbers.

'13 minutes.'

He exhaled, putting down the bullets and returning the previous pistol together.

Next was just waiting to see if the bullet could be restored.

Thinking back to Xu Ruoying's earlier words, using luminous stones to create a completely enclosed space could evade shadow creatures....

"Right, I forgot to show the research manual to Xu Ruoying." His gaze flashed across the plastic bag on the ground.

"I'll have to wait for the next time. Additionally, since the talisman array is made with luminous stone powder, it should have a similar effect... I can cover the entire safehouse cave with talisman arrays...."

Acting on his thoughts, he quickly took out the large pyroxene ink and began drawing the Great Luminous Stone Array on every blank surface, space, and door on the walls and floors and overhead.

Soon, the bullet enhancement was completed.

He returned to the handgun and bullets, crouched, and picked up the bullet.

The previously twisted and deformed bullets had returned to normal, and their surface hue had shifted from copper to silver-black, as if the material itself had changed entirely.

Yu Hong tried to fit it into the magazine.

Click.

The bullet jammed...

"The size is off, slightly larger..." He took it out and carefully examined it, finding that the enhanced bullet had grown larger.

"I guess it won't work..." He set down the handgun and bullet, tossing them all into a corner.

He ate a protein bar, drank a glass of water, and stuffed some dried mushrooms into his mouth, taking care of breakfast.

Next, he began reinforcing the talisman arrays at every blank spot. If all areas were covered, it should achieve the hiding effect Xu Ruoying mentioned.

By noon, he'd completed only a small portion, but no shadow noises reappeared outside during the interval.

This made Yu Hong feel a lot more secure.

Thinking it over, fully armed, he left the safehouse and headed for the post office.

This latest shadow attack made him deeply understand the value of intelligence. Had he known at the beginning that luminous stones could build hiding rooms, he wouldn't have spent so many large pyroxene stones and talisman arrays battling shadow creatures.

So, in order to gather more intelligence, he decided to discuss the next steps with the new postman.

Old Yu was dead, and Jenny and her daughter were also dead. Someone had to take responsibility for breeding mushroom meat; otherwise, everyone would starve. The postman dared to come near the wastelands of Baiqiu Village alone, he must have some means of surviving alone.

Hence, seeking him out was definitely the right move.

On the way, Yu Hong stayed alert, constantly minding the surroundings, worried that the Evil Shadow Woman might suddenly appear and surround them.

Soon he came to where Aifu had fallen before.

"Where are the clothes?"

He frowned, not seeing Aifu's clothing on the grass where she lay before.

He knew Aifu's clothes were marked with a Black Mark and weighed down with a stone, the wind alone couldn't have blown them away.

But now...

Yu Hong's gaze kept scanning the grass, but he still couldn't find Aifu's clothes.

With no alternative, he quickened his pace and headed toward the post office stone house.

Within minutes, he stood before the stone house door and knocked on the wooden fence outside.

Bang bang bang!

After a moment, a faint noise came from inside the stone house.

A tall, strong man wearing a dark green vest opened the door and came out. It was Li Rushan, the new postman.

"Someone alive?"

He asked cautiously from a distance.

"I'm Yu Hong, I live nearby, we met before." Yu Hong replied. "Did you see the clothes on the grass earlier, the ones with the black handprint?"

"Burned them all," Li Rushan pointed to a pile of black ash on the right, "Luckily, I brought concealing mist, and it's also good you didn't come yesterday. If discovered while burning, the shadows would have surely killed you."

Yu Hong didn't know what concealing mist was, but seeing the black ash pile, among which was the metal buckle from Aifu's belt, he realized Li Rushan was speaking the truth. It had indeed been burned.

His gaze returned to the new postman in front of him, just about to say something.

"Daddy, can I come out now?" a crisp, girlish voice chirped from inside the stone house.

"Not yet, I'm talking to someone. Keep an eye on the cover so they don't push it out." Li Rushan loudly instructed, turning back to Yu Hong afterward.

"So, do you want to buy something, send a letter, or ship an item? Prices are negotiable."

"...." Yu Hong was left speechless. Looking past him, he saw a furry little head sticking out next to the stone house's window.

It was a little girl, probably no more than eleven or twelve, with pigtails, a fair face plump and rosy, looking like she had quite a bit of baby fat.

"So, what do you think? Want to buy something? I hear you've got pyroxene marrow here that can be exchanged. Whatever you buy is quite a bargain!" Li Rushan still stood there, smiling as he spoke.