Finally, the door was completely shut.
Yu Hong let out a heavy sigh.
"What on earth is this place!?" He locked the door and stood up straight, but suddenly remembered the stuttering girl he had encountered earlier.
This place seemed strange in every way.
She looked like a good person, but how had she survived here?
He took two steps back and exhaled slowly.
Suddenly, he felt something cold and hard press against his back.
Was it a person!?
Yu Hong froze.
He looked down and saw a pair of white shoes quietly standing behind him.
This person… had actually come in!? When?
Bang!!
With a loud crash, the wooden door was flung open, and a small figure rushed in, swinging a grayish-white object.
"Ah!!"
At that moment, the stuttering girl’s voice shattered the silence, jarring Yu Hong back to reality.
He felt a small gray shadow brush past his face, hitting the figure in white behind him.
Thud thud thud thud!
The sound of something hitting fabric echoed, but along with that sound, Yu Hong’s body relaxed, and he stumbled forward a few steps, nearly falling.
His body was already weak, and the sudden fright made his spirit and strength drain even more.
A few steps later, his legs weakened, and he collapsed onto the ground.
As he rolled over, he saw that the stuttering girl had rushed in holding a thick wooden stick, striking the figure in white forcefully.
Even more bizarre was that the figure in white crumpled like a deflating balloon, quickly exploding into fragments like foam, dissipating into nothing.
Before the fragments even fell to the ground, they shattered again, fading away without leaving a trace.
It was as if everything that just happened had been an illusion.
Panting heavily, the girl put down the thick stick, her face flushed, showing veins on her forehead and hands.
Beads of sweat glimmered even in the dim light.
“People, fake, dangerous. There are few outside. Don't, don’t go out!” She turned to Yu Hong, speaking earnestly.
Yu Hong subconsciously nodded.
At that moment, he felt a burning pain on his back, as if a layer of skin had been scraped off.
Rolling over, he suddenly noticed that there were spots of blood where his back had made contact.
Seeing this, the girl hurried over to help him up.
With both of them exerting their strength, the girl’s power became evident.
She was surprisingly stronger than Yu Hong, a grown man, and by a fair amount at that!
She dragged him up, turned him around, and leaned him against the door frame, taking off his shirt.
Then she pulled out a jar from somewhere and began to smear something onto his back.
Soon, a rough pain spread from his back.
Yu Hong endured it, knowing she was trying to save him, treating his wounds.
“What is this medicine?”
“It’s an ointment my grandpa left behind,” the girl replied in short bursts.
“It works well!”
Silence ensued.
Yu Hong thought of the figure in white, with a flurry of questions in his mind.
After a moment, he managed to speak again.
“Just now, that figure in white, what was it?”
“Fake shadow,” the girl answered.
“Ghost shadow?”
“Is it human?” Yu Hong asked again.
“Don’t know.”
Yu Hong felt as if his long-standing materialistic beliefs were crumbling.
Especially when he watched that figure disappear right in front of him, the scene gave him an indescribable sense of falseness and unreality.
He pondered for a long while, until the light outside dimmed.
Finally, he spoke up.
“Then, was that figure in white a ghost?”
“Not a ghost,” she replied, “It’s in the newspaper.”
Her words were too difficult for her, so she stopped treating his wound, bent down to pick up a newspaper, and flipped to a page in the middle, handing it to Yu Hong.
Taking the paper, he saw the headline: “Research on Fake Shadows Makes Major Breakthrough.” Below it was detailed content.
“According to the announcement from the United Human Research Agency, the essence of fake shadows is closely related to blood tides. However, after careful analysis, the agency announced that fake shadows possess no memories; they may have the appearance of humans from their past lives, but they have no corresponding memories or emotions.
They instinctively hunt any living creatures that approach or notice them, primarily targeting their own kind. In other words, the essence of fake shadows resembles a new type of predator with extremely high camouflage capabilities. They cannot be killed, only driven away.
Even if they are completely scattered, they will quickly reappear and possess the ability to penetrate most existing materials. In some experiments by the agency, they even questioned whether they exist in reality or are merely special signals within our brains, akin to self-induced illusions.”
After quickly reading that report, a chilling sensation spread through Yu Hong’s body.
Danger!
Too dangerous!
What kind of hellish place was this?! Was living not an option anymore!?
He gripped the newspaper, breathing heavily, trying to calm down for a moment while repeatedly reading the report.
Bang.
Yu Hong sat down on the edge of the bed, watching the girl tidy up the items she had used to treat his wounds.
She then began to sort through a bamboo basket filled with various messy roots and mud.
The room, not very well-ventilated, filled with a strong muddy smell.
After sitting for a while, Yu Hong felt dry and hot.
“Is there water?” he asked dispiritedly.
The girl paused and pointed to a small, unassuming black jar in the corner.
The jar was only about the size of a head, with indistinct patterns of birds and branches etched on its outer surface.
Yu Hong got up and approached, kneeling to lift the lid.
Inside was a shallow layer of yellow water emitting a faint foul smell.
He was at a loss for words.
Just looking at it made it clear that the water was undrinkable.
It reeked.
Suddenly, a black metal teapot was handed to him from the side.
It was the girl.
She shook the teapot.
“Filtered.”
Making a gesture as if to scoop water from the teapot’s top opening.
Yu Hong finally noticed a filter-like attachment on the teapot’s spout.
He fell silent for a moment, took the teapot, and found a ladle beside the water jar, scooping a little water in.
After quite some effort, he managed to filter a small ladle of water.
Holding the teapot, he found a wooden cup and poured the ladle of water into it.
With a slight splash, a stream of slightly foul-smelling clear water filled a third of the cup and then stopped.
Yu Hong looked at the smelly water.
Despite filtering it, it still…
He thought of not drinking, but his severely dehydrated body reminded him that if he didn’t hydrate, he would surely suffer.
Even though the girl had drunk it without issue, it didn’t mean he would be fine; the differences in constitution could sometimes be greater than one would imagine.
Just as he hesitated, the girl snatched the cup from his hands and downed it in one go.
Smack.
She placed the cup back on the edge of the water jar, making a sound.
“Drink, it’s fine!”
Only then did Yu Hong pause, step forward, scoop more water, filter it again, and then, holding the cup, froze with his hand hovering mid-air.
Hmm.
He hesitated, lifting the cup to drink.
But then he gradually lowered it.
Again he lifted it, only to slowly lower it once more.
The girl watched him in a daze as the cup fluctuated in his hand.
After repeating this several times, Yu Hong took a deep breath, gripping the cup tightly, his face growing paler.
He thought, can't this water be a little cleaner?
He feared that if he didn’t get his hydration, he may not make it.
Just because the girl could drink it safely didn’t mean he would.
‘Would the cup strengthen?’
Suddenly, a faint voice entered his ear.
Plop, the cup was set aside on the wooden table.
Yu Hong's expression changed slightly, looking around, but he only found the girl standing quietly to the side, gazing at him in confusion.
‘Would the cup strengthen?’
The voice rang out again.
Yu Hong looked around, unable to find the source of the voice.
So he focused on the wooden cup on the table.
Soon, a small number appeared on the surface of the cup: 3 days.
Nothing more.
Yu Hong’s expression changed.
He first suspected he was hallucinating, but after blinking several times, the number remained.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he looked down at the back of his right hand, at the black mark.
Sure enough.
The mark was about the size of an egg, and the black area shimmered like ripples of water.
‘This must be the cause!’ Yu Hong realized instantly.
In a moment, his gaze sharpened, thoughts swirling within him as he stood still, overwhelmed by many ideas.
But soon, he remembered the girl was still beside him.
He quickly raised his hand, showing the mark on the back to her.
“Can you see what’s on my hand?”
“…” The girl shook her head, looking puzzled. “There’s nothing.”
“…” Yu Hong lowered his hand, glancing at the cup again, confirming the number was still there.
A realization began to form in his mind.
Under the girl’s confused gaze, he turned to explore other parts of the room.
The room was small, with only a few items.
There was a wardrobe, a dining table that also served as a desk, two bedside cabinets, an old dressing mirror, and two stools.
Other than that, there was a pile of junk in the corner, and the small water jar was just placed there amongst the mess.
After a quick look around, he finally stopped in front of the wooden door.
He reached out and pressed his hand against the door.
Recalling his previous thoughts, another idea rose in his mind.
‘Could this door be improved too?’
Sss.
Suddenly, it felt like a fine thread was shooting from the mark on his hand, sneaking into the wooden door.
Quickly, a black number appeared on the door: 16 days.
‘Would the door strengthen?’ The faint voice echoed again, emotionless and mechanical.
Yu Hong looked at the number, a vague understanding dawning in his eyes.
‘This number is likely the time needed for strengthening.
What would happen after strengthening? ’
He pulled his hand back and looked at the cup again, noticing that the number had disappeared.
‘Furthermore, how is this strengthening done? Will it make a lot of noise? Can it be continuously strengthened? Are there any limitations?’
Questions bubbled up in his mind.
“What are you doing?” The girl couldn’t help but ask.
“I just felt dizzy and confused for a moment. Just a little disoriented,” Yu Hong sighed, not mentioning anything about the number and the black mark.
Until he understood the situation better, he didn’t plan to reveal anything to anyone.
The immediate priority was to find something to test this black mark’s strengthening effect.
The wooden door had been around for too long, and he couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t make noise.
Yu Hong wandered around, quickly settling on an inconspicuous small object—the small white stone that the girl had smashed earlier.
(End of Chapter)