"The situation is settled."
The stammering girl sighed in relief as she took off her raincoat hood and glanced toward the other side.
The other person followed suit, removing their hood to reveal Dr. Xu's tired face.
"This trip has encountered more shadowy figures than before. The ore is consumed rapidly. That monster we encountered last night, according to the official reports, shouldn’t even be in this area."
This time, when the stammering girl borrowed food from her, she exchanged some dried meat and mushrooms under the pretext of needing company on a trip outside.
Originally thinking she was helping out of kindness, she didn’t expect that without the stammering girl’s timely assistance along the way— pulling her out of danger more than once— she would likely be in a dire situation right now.
With this thought, Dr. Xu felt a wave of fear wash over her.
"This time, who knows..."
Bang!!
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed.
Something slammed hard against the wooden door of the room.
The sound shook the door, causing plaster to fall from the surrounding walls.
The doorframe trembled violently, clearly coming loose.
"What is that!?" Dr. Xu's heart raced with fear.
"Is it that monster? It's chasing us!! Why?!"
It was the creature they had encountered the night before in their temporary lodgings.
“Hold it!” The stammering girl dashed forward, pressing her shoulder against the wooden door.
Bang!
But immediately afterward, a huge bang sent her tumbling backward.
The creature outside was too powerful; there was no way to hold it back.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!!
The wooden door was hit repeatedly, the nails securing the frame were being shaken loose, popping out one by one.
Dr. Xu was frozen in fear, unable to react when she saw what was happening.
"It’s it. That thing…"
Her son had died under similar circumstances.
Back then, she and her family tried to react immediately, rushing to hold the door, but the tremendous force from outside was something they couldn’t withstand.
In less than half a minute, the door had shattered.
Her son, trying to distract the monster, had rushed out into the chaos and run far away.
She was dragged away by her husband, fleeing their home.
All she had seen before leaving was her son’s shadow in the distance, caught by that monster in one bite.
Boom!!!
At that moment, the wooden door burst open, and splinters flew toward the stunned Dr. Xu.
Just as it seemed she would be hit in the head, the stammering girl reached out and grabbed Dr. Xu, pulling her to the side.
Whoosh!!
After the door shattered, a massive dark creature barreled in, driven by its own momentum.
Seizing the opportunity while it was still regaining its footing, the stammering girl picked up Dr. Xu and began to run.
She dashed out, sprinting along the rocky path as fast as she could.
“Where… are we going?” Dr. Xu finally regained her composure, asking with a trembling voice.
The stammering girl quickly thought of several places in her mind.
Her own door had been reinforced, yet it couldn’t withstand that monster.
Other houses wouldn’t last long either.
What to do?
What to do?
What to do!!?
Sweat mixed with her quick breaths, running down from the sides of her face.
After rushing out of the village, the stammering girl unknowingly found herself in the woods where Yu Hong was working on carpentry.
Realizing it wasn’t safe, she quickly turned to head in another direction, not wanting Yu Hong to get dragged into this mess too.
Running while carrying someone, especially in the rain, was exhausting, even for someone as physically strong as she was.
What to do??
She kept wracking her brains for solutions, but no matter how she thought, without the protection of a house and without the shielding effects of the ore, they had no way to resist the monster, let alone the shadowy figures that kept appearing.
"Yi Yi, put me down. If I die, I die. I can’t drag you down with me!" Dr. Xu spoke in broken words from her shoulder.
The stammering girl stayed silent, focusing on running.
Bang!!!
Suddenly, she made a sharp turn, sprinting in a different direction.
Beside her, a large tree was slammed into by the dark creature behind them, letting out a dull sound.
The tree shook, deep dents appearing in its trunk, nearly toppling over.
Yu Hong set the radio down and took out the batteries, covering it with dry leaves.
This was the key to getting information from the outside world later.
So it was crucial to keep it safe.
After finishing this, he glanced at the ore, which was still being reinforced.
A countdown on the surface was all but invisible unless observed closely.
He exhaled and found his breath forming a faint white mist.
"The temperature has dropped so low?"
Standing up, he walked over to the stove, planning to light a fire for warmth.
With a vent pipe connecting to the door, lighting a fire would be safer.
However, looking at the firewood in the stove, Yu Hong knew even if he lit it, it wouldn’t last long.
"Sigh, I wonder when the stammering girl will be back. If only I could find some coal or something."
The cave's defenses were much stronger compared to the stammering girl’s house.
Their windows and doors were only half as thick as the cave’s, and the materials were softer, having been used for years.
Now, he lacked two things: heating and food.
If those issues were resolved, this could be a proper shelter.
Bang!!
Suddenly, Yu Hong seemed to hear faint noises from outside.
"What sound is that?" He frowned.
If there were noises in this rain, it had to be either a monster or a shadow.
He stood up, intending to check the situation outside.
But just as he did, he worried about being spotted by the sounds outside.
A pale face suddenly appeared at the peephole, frightening him considerably.
Even with the reinforced ore protecting him, being startled could easily lead to mental exhaustion.
Thinking of this, Yu Hong sat back down.
Bang!
Suddenly, another loud noise erupted.
Yu Hong's face changed as he jumped up, rushing to the peephole and pulling aside the cover to look outside.
At that moment, he saw the stammering girl and Dr. Xu being chased by that pitch-black creature.
"Damn!" Looking at that monster sent chills down his spine.
In the heavy rain, dozens of meters away in the woodland, a creature resembling a giant tick stood over two meters tall and more than four meters long, its entire body dark.
It was persistently pursuing the two girls.
Silence.
Stalling.
Yu Hong stood at the door.
Bang!
He threw the door open.
"This way! Come over here!" He shouted towards the stammering girl.
His body was tense and trembling, blood rushing through his veins, his face flushed.
Intense nervousness and fear urged him to close the door quickly, not wanting that monster to discover him.
But the stammering girl had saved him before and helped him too much.
Even in fear, Yu Hong had his bottom line, his principles as a human being!
Gripping the steel nail-studded ore stick beside the door, he fought against his fear, not letting it control him and close the door.
Not letting fear push him into hiding.
"This way!! Yi Yi!!"
Yu Hong stepped out into the rain, yelling loudly.
"Run this way!" he shouted.
He knew that running outside like this, in such darkening surroundings, if the shadow appeared, it would undoubtedly lead to death.
Rather than that, he would rather risk it together with them, betting that the reinforced wooden door could withstand that monster's attack.
If they could hold on a bit longer, it was daytime, and once the dark clouds drifted away, the monster would soon retreat...
The stammering girl and Dr. Xu turned their heads at the sound, along with the monster which also glanced in their direction.
Seizing this moment, the stammering girl gritted her teeth and made a turn to run towards another direction.
"Trust me! Yi Yi!" Yu Hong's voice came once more.
The stammering girl stopped, turning to look at Yu Hong.
From afar, she could see the fierce determination on his face.
"Come!!" Yu Hong yelled, extending his hand toward her.
Whoosh!
That dark monster charged again, causing the wind to whip through the stammering girl’s hair.
Even in the rain, the strong airflow couldn't be resisted.
Immediately, Dr. Xu was the first to react, pulling the stammering girl and rushing toward Yu Hong.
Her actions provoked the monster.
The black creature followed behind them, speeding toward Yu Hong at the cave entrance.
This black giant tick monster resembled a monstrous war chariot with eight legs, thundering towards the cave.
Its bulk was akin to that of a rhino, charging with reckless abandon, a completely different kind of fear from the shadows.
Yu Hong stepped back, positioned at the side of the door, watching the relentless approach of the creature, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
A month ago, he was just an ordinary person, a typical office worker.
Now, a month later, he faced this completely unknown terrifying monster!
Fear.
Intense fear.
Left him rigid, almost unable to move.
His right hand gripping the doorknob shook violently, wanting to close and lock the door quickly.
But Yi Yi and the others hadn’t arrived yet!
Dr. Xu could be left behind, but the stammering girl was different—she had saved him before, so now he had to save her too.
Bang!
Yu Hong fiercely slapped his legs.
"What's there to be afraid of!! Damn!"
"Stop!!"
"You, stand still!!!"
His heart shouted angrily, his eyes fixed on the two girls getting closer.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen meters.
Ten meters.
Five meters!
One meter!!
Swish!
In an instant, Dr. Xu and the stammering girl dashed through the doorway.
As they entered, Yu Hong slammed the door shut, locking it fast.
Bang!!!
Almost instantaneously, a tremendous sound crashed against the center of the door, causing the entire cave to tremble slightly.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!!
The black monster began to thrash violently against the reinforced wooden door.
It seemed furious that Yu Hong had taken its prey.
But no matter how it slammed against the door, it only caused a slight tremor with no signs of breaking.
"Ha, ha, ha… what is this?!" The stammering girl lay on the ground, glancing back to find a door that looked completely different from her previous impression.
Her eyes filled with confusion.
She remembered that what she and Yu Hong had made together should not look like this?
The door before her looked far more upscale than the previous one.
It appeared sturdier too.
"After you left, I improved this door again and reinforced the surroundings."
Yu Hong noticed her confusion and plopped down, panting as he explained.
“…” The stammering girl stared at him, the gap between the previous wooden door and this newly reinforced thick door was quite shocking.
"Let’s not talk about that now! Quickly, hold the door!" Yu Hong jumped back up, rushing to brace the door from behind.
Dr. Xu and the stammering girl hurried to their feet and joined him, helping to push against the door.
The thumping noises outside didn’t cease, but the three working together was enough to keep the monster from pushing against the wooden door any longer.
The banging continued for a little over ten hits.
When it found the door wouldn’t budge at all, the monster finally turned and left, quickly disappearing into the rain.
(End of Chapter)