A Night of Desperation

Chapter 121: Information (3)

At this thought, Yu Hong couldn’t suppress his curiosity any longer. He picked up the vortex Rune board, slowly opened the door, and quickly walked toward the outermost part of the courtyard.

As he passed by the wooden house, he could still hear the restless sounds of someone tossing and turning inside—clearly, Li Runshan couldn’t fall asleep.

Not wanting to disturb Old Li, Yu Hong went straight to the outermost area where the Luminous Stone Grass grew. He crouched down and carefully observed the newly sprouted tender grass.

The new grass blades were slender and tough, with tiny milky-white spots scattered across their fresh green surface. At first glance, they didn’t look too different from before.

But Yu Hong took out the Enhanced Red Value Detector and pressed the switch.

Beep.

The LCD screen immediately displayed fluctuating numbers.

“-183.226.”

“-191.178.”

“-191.091.”

The numbers continuously bounced between 183 and 192.

Yu Hong’s face revealed a noticeable change.

“I remember that the previous Luminous Stone Grass had a close-range detection value of around 120… but now, it has surged past 180?”

He double-checked the readings to confirm they were correct. Then, he stood up, took a few steps back, and returned to the area where the older Luminous Stone Grass was growing.

Once again, he crouched down and brought the detector close.

“-121.182.”

“As expected!” Yu Hong’s eyes brightened. He continued testing in five more spots, and all readings were around 121.

“This proves that the Luminous Stone Grass didn’t evolve or strengthen itself. Instead, my internal energy has increased, causing newly sprouted Luminous Stone Grass to have higher radiation levels.”

“In other words, if my internal energy increases further and becomes stronger, the strength of the Luminous Stone Grass might also improve.”

Yu Hong came to this conclusion. Though it was just a hypothesis, in this hopeless world where no future could be seen, even the slightest possibility of improvement was enough to fill him with renewed determination.

With this in mind, Yu Hong quickly got up and returned to the cave to continue training in the Basic Survival Leg Technique.

Now, as he trained, he felt more motivated than ever.

*

*

*

The sky was dim.

Near Baiqiu Village, inside the stone post office building—

Click.

The underground entrance door in the living room was carefully pushed open from below.

A slender figure, fully dressed in protective gear, cautiously emerged from the underground, looking around.

After confirming that no one was nearby, she carefully stepped out and closed the door behind her.

According to the schedule, she had to come up to adjust the solar panels and check how much charge the communicator had received. Since the sunlight hours were getting shorter, charging time was decreasing, and the device’s battery was constantly low. She needed to maximize efficiency by frequently adjusting the sunlight’s angle.

Of course, these were just excuses.

The real reason was that they had heard knocking sounds from underground earlier, but when they came up to check, no one was there. She used this task as an excuse to investigate while also getting some fresh air before nightfall.

The figure walked to the living room and stopped in front of the communicator on the table, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

She was Song Wei—one of the two women taking care of Aisena.

Li Runshan had been gone for a long time, and she was starting to feel restless. The underground air was stale and damp, filled with the smell of mold. She couldn’t stand it anymore and desperately wanted to breathe some fresher air inside the stone house.

Even though the other woman, Lin Haini, repeatedly warned her that Li Runshan had told them not to go outside, she didn’t care.

“If we stay underground in this damp air for too long, we’ll get lung disease sooner or later.”

She wasn’t about to suffocate in this remote underground shelter at such a young age.

Click.

She plopped down onto a wooden stool and leaned back, stretching comfortably.

“Ah… finally.”

She sighed in relief, gazing at the darkening courtyard outside. Through the wooden planks, she stretched a little before quickly turning on the communicator and pulling the Luminous Stone Blanket over her body.

Buzz.

The communicator crackled with static. There was no response from Yu Hong’s side—it wasn’t time for their scheduled contact yet. They were supposed to check in close to 10 p.m.

But Song Wei wasn’t using it to contact them. Her face showed a hint of anticipation as she quickly adjusted the dial to radio mode.

Hiss…

The static gradually faded, replaced by faint, soft music.

Gentle, sorrowful notes drifted from the communicator, filling the cold stone house with a touch of elegance.

Song Wei lay on the table, relaxing completely. Ever since Li Runshan left, she had secretly come up here every day to listen to music alone.

It was the only thing that gave her some relief from the crushing despair.

Tap.

A noise sounded behind her.

Song Wei’s body stiffened. She quickly turned her head.

Behind her was the dimly lit hallway leading to the living room.

The hallway was about seven or eight meters long, filled with a faint mist. At the very end, the living room was eerily silent and empty.

As night fell, the mist and the shadows turned a strange shade of dark blue—so deep it was almost black.

In this eerie blue hue, everything in the living room seemed to blur into the same color.

Song Wei frowned but didn’t pay much attention. She turned back and continued adjusting the communicator for a clearer signal.

Tap.

Suddenly, another sound came from behind her.

This time, she turned sharply.

The deep blue living room was still empty. The hallway remained eerily quiet.

“…Who’s there?” Song Wei called out, thinking that Nana or Haini might be playing a prank on her.

No response.

Then, she suddenly remembered Li Runshan’s warning before he left:

“If anything seems off, immediately wrap yourself completely in the Luminous Stone Blanket. Don’t hesitate! Hide for at least half an hour first!”

He had given each of the two women a Luminous Stone Blanket for protection.

Song Wei hesitated for a moment, then reached for the blanket, intending to cover herself.

Tap.

The sound came again—right behind her. This time, it was terrifyingly close. No more than a meter away.

It was right there!

The shockingly close distance and the abrupt noise sent a shudder through Song Wei’s entire body. She nearly lost her grip on the Luminous Stone Blanket in her hands out of sheer terror.

She immediately jumped up from the stool, her face turning pale. In her panic, she didn’t notice that the edge of the blanket had snagged on the corner of the stool, leaving a thin tear in the fabric.

Without realizing this, she swiftly turned off the communicator and rushed toward the wooden bed.

Whoosh!

She dove onto the bed, pulling the Luminous Stone Blanket over herself completely, curling up tightly, making sure she was fully wrapped inside.

Only then did she notice—

A tear had formed in her blanket!

A thin, jagged gap, wide enough for her to see through it.

Through the tear, she could see the space outside the wooden bed.

!!??

The instant she saw it, a wave of panic engulfed her.

“H-How!? Why is there a tear?! I checked it before—there was nothing wrong! Why—”

Her trembling hands instinctively moved to pinch the tear shut.

Tap.

Another sound.

Again, from right behind her.

Song Wei’s entire body tensed. A terrifying, indescribable fear flooded her mind.

Her back felt as if it had plunged into an icy abyss—numb, frozen, and unable to move.

Wait…

Suddenly, a horrifying realization struck her.

“Behind me…”

“Behind me… is the wall. There’s no space behind me… so where is that sound coming from!?”

Her body stiffened, and ever so slowly, she began to turn her head—inch by inch.

Then, she saw it.

Pressing against the surface of her Luminous Stone Blanket…

A blurry, grinning face.

It was just a fist’s distance away from her own.

As if someone was lying beside her—right behind her—pressing their face into the blanket, their features distorted through the fabric, their mouth stretching into a twisted smile.

Tap.

Another crisp sound.

The wooden bed was now empty.

The Luminous Stone Blanket, now completely white, lay crumpled and scattered across the bed.

There was no trace of anyone.

*

*

*

Inside the Mountain Cave Safehouse

“I’m starting to worry about Nana and the others,” Li Runshan’s voice came through the short-range communicator, tinged with concern.

“There’s nothing we can do. I went to check on them, but on the way, I ran into that thing you described. It kept following me, and I couldn’t shake it off. Compared to Ghostly Shadows and Whisperers, this one is definitely more dangerous—it drains the Runes and Luminous Stones we carry without us even noticing,” Yu Hong replied in a low voice as he continued drawing Runes.

They were communicating through an old, unreinforced short-range communicator—something Yu Hong had found among a pile of discarded junk. At first, he thought it was useless, but now it was proving invaluable.

“Did you leave a message for them?” Li Runshan asked.

“No. I didn’t have time. That thing was chasing me too closely,” Yu Hong answered. “Did you?”

“I warned them not to go outside unless absolutely necessary. I think Linzi (Lin Haini) will be fine, but I’m worried about Weiwei… (Song Wei)” Li Runshan’s voice carried a trace of exhaustion.

“As long as Nana is safe, that’s all that matters. You can barely take care of yourself, let alone protect someone else,” Yu Hong said flatly.

He had always disapproved of Li Runshan taking in two women. In this kind of desperate survival scenario, clinging to beauty was a death wish.

“Be honest,” Li Runshan sighed. “Old Yu, how long do you think we can last?”

“I don’t know,” Yu Hong replied.

“No supplies. No communication. Living in complete isolation.” Li Runshan muttered, “Ghostly Shadows, Whisperers, Blood Tide, Big Skins, Elephant Bugs, Multi-Eyed Birds… The dangers keep increasing, but the resources and weapons we can use keep dwindling.”

Yu Hong remained silent. He knew that what the other had said was true.

At this rate, they definitely wouldn’t last.

His mind was already racing, considering the path forward. Unlike the others, no matter how harsh the outside environment became, he had Black Mark—he could find ways to enhance the things around him, to uncover new hope.

“The Runes are barely holding up anymore,” he murmured. “I need to find a way… Maybe I can discover some new technology. If I can get my hands on solar materials, it might improve our situation.”

“I’m starting to worry about the guy bringing the supplies… whether he’ll actually make it here,” Li Runshan said, his tone unusually subdued.

In Yu Hong’s memory, Li Runshan was always smiling, as if nothing could ever trouble him. But now…

“I’ll try contacting the post office at ten, but don’t get your hopes up,” Yu Hong replied.

“I’m not. The communicator is inside the stone house. If Weiwei and the others go up to turn it on, they might…”

Li Runshan trailed off, his breathing growing heavier—his anxiety obvious.

Yu Hong said nothing.

The two of them fell into silence.

Then, to preserve power, they disconnected the call.

Twelve more days.

Twelve more days until the enhancement process was complete.

If they made a reckless move before then—if they ran out of Runes—

The situation could become even worse.

(End of Chapter)