"If we don’t go down, we won't have anything to eat, Eve."
Jenny frowned and whispered in persuasion.
"I’ll go down, and you can wait for me up here, alright?"
"Fine. Just be careful, Mom."
Eve replied in a low voice, her opposition fading as soon as she learned she wouldn’t need to descend.
"Alright, enough talking. Let’s get started."
Dr. Xu glared at Eve, clearly annoyed.
She reached out her hand toward Yu Hong.
"Give me the tools; I’ll handle the door."
"I’ll do it."
Yu Hong shook his head, taking the rock-drilling kit and stepping toward the stone door of the post office.
"First, open this door. Then where’s the entrance to the basement?"
"It’s inside the building, so we have to open two doors," Dr. Xu replied.
Without saying another word, Yu Hong took out a hammer and chisel.
He aimed at the door lock and began to strike it repeatedly.
Thump, thump, thump echoed loudly in the air.
After several dozen strikes, the lock was finally smashed to bits, wood chips scattered everywhere, leaving a gaping hole the size of a fist where the lock used to be.
The wooden door shifted slightly.
Yu Hong pulled back the hammer and took a step back, then kicked the door.
Bang.
The wooden door remained steadfast.
"Wait!" Dr. Xu, speechless, reached for the doorknob and pulled it outward.
With a creak, the door opened gently, revealing the dark environment inside.
"Alright."
Yu Hong sighed and put his tools away.
Standing at the door, the first thing they noticed was a net bag lying on the ground.
In the red mesh bag were chunks of pale gray luminescent stone.
But at that moment, all the stones had turned a pale color, clearly depleted.
Looking at the empty bag, the group exchanged serious glances.
"The luminescent stones are all used up. It’s obvious that something has snuck in here. Everyone, be careful. Such dark places are the favorite hiding spots of sinister shadows," Jenny spoke up first; her agility was the best among them.
"I will go in first."
After thinking for a moment, Jenny pulled out a round large luminescent stone from her waist pouch.
This stone was made of the same material Yu Hong had strengthened, but the patterns on it were different, resembling an old simplified version.
"That’s a luminescent marrow!?" Doctor Xu exclaimed in surprise.
"This is no ordinary item; a single one is worth ten normal stones, and it’s incredibly expensive. How do you have this?"
"My husband left it behind," Jenny replied coldly.
Unless she felt it was extremely dangerous, she wouldn’t have taken it out.
This was originally meant as a life-saving trump card.
"It’s been many years, hasn’t it? I’ve heard that there have been new changes in the symbols on these stones lately. A more complex version has appeared. Why don’t you get yours refreshed?" Doctor Xu asked curiously.
"It can’t be washed away, and even if it could, it would be useless. The symbols serve a guiding role; once they are drawn, their effect is immediate. Erasing them later has no impact," Jenny explained.
As she spoke, she hung the large luminescent stone around her neck, withdrew a machete from her thigh, and held a red-value detector, cautiously making her way inside.
She led the way, with Dr. Xu in the middle and Yu Hong bringing up the rear.
As for Eve, since she was unwilling to go down, she remained at the entrance watching over.
They walked in a line, soon reaching the central area of the stone house.
In the middle of the room, there was a large door to the basement ajar, leading to a dark, shadowy abyss below.
Cold wind billowed out from the entrance, spreading around them, making the stone house chillingly cold.
The three exchanged glances, and Jenny pulled out a flashlight.
A beam of greenish light illuminated the entrance, revealing a rusted silver metal ladder.
"I'll go down first. Don’t rush in; I’ll call you when it’s safe," she breathed deeply, instructing the others.
"Sure!" Dr. Xu agreed, and Yu Hong nodded as well.
Once she confirmed the two were okay, Jenny nimbly climbed down the metal ladder as if she were a monkey.
In a short while, she reached the deep basement hall, over ten meters down.
While she was descending, Doctor Xu pulled out a hand-drawn map and spread it out for Yu Hong to see.
"Below, the main structure consists of corridors. Where we descend is the connecting point of all the corridors. From here, three corridors branch out, each with plenty of rooms and storage rooms. This was originally built as a refuge, primarily to guard against large-scale weapons of mass destruction," Doctor Xu sighed.
"I just didn’t expect it would be used at such a time."
"Are the corridors narrow?" Yu Hong asked, frowning as he peered down.
"A little. I’ve been down here a few times, mostly to patch up postal workers. The corridors are at most a meter wide, designed to save materials and space. The height isn’t great either," Doctor Xu confirmed.
Yu Hong did not reply, standing on one side of the basement, unconsciously stroking the handle of his luminescent thorn club, his expression more serious than usual.
Time flowed slowly.
About five minutes later, Jenny’s voice came from below.
"It’s clear now; you can come down. There’s nothing inside."
Her voice held a trace of fatigue, accompanied by the soft glow of the flashlight illuminating from below.
Yu Hong and Dr. Xu glanced at their luminescent stones, affirming there were no signs of depletion, and they carefully began to climb down the metal ladder.
They descended into the small hall at the heart of the basement, their feet touching the floor as they surveyed their surroundings.
Under the green light, three corridor entrances loomed in the walls surrounding the small hall, resembling three dark and terrifying caves, blowing chilly winds outwards.
"I’ve found Old Yu’s room. Follow me," Jenny said, gripping her flashlight, her tone somewhat somber.
"You found him?" Dr. Xu’s expression tightened, quickly asking.
He wasn’t really concerned about Old Yu but worried that without him, their food supply could face significant trouble.
"I don’t know."
Jenny shook her head, turning towards one of the corridors.
The two followed her as they traversed the dimly lit hallway, heading to one of the side rooms.
"Old Yu has plenty of supplies; why isn’t there any illumination from a flashlight? Isn’t he afraid of the dark here?" Doctor Xu couldn't help but ask.
"He mentioned before that the radiation from a flashlight is too great and worries it might give him cancer. Looking at it now…" Jenny halted her words.
Among the three, she had spent the most time with Old Yu.
Yu Hong and Dr. Xu were relatively new, saved much later by a girl with a stutter.
Thus, Jenny had the best understanding of Old Yu.
"He's just a coward, stingy and miserly; he even pursued me in the past," she sighed again as she spoke.
The other two remained quiet.
Though Jenny was older, it was clear she maintained a good figure, strong and graceful, with no visible wrinkles and well-cared-for skin.
Coupled with the fact that during this time they all grew pale due to the lack of light, she exuded a certain vampiric beauty that Yu Hong had previously encountered.
Thus, it was indeed possible that Old Yu had pursued her before.
"This is the place; be careful."
Jenny gripped the large luminescent stone, eyeing the ajar iron door with a serious expression.
With the tip of her machete, she gently pushed the door.
Creak.
The iron door slowly swung open, revealing a dark bedroom inside.
The room was empty; on a messy bed in the corner, it seemed as though someone had once occupied it.
The tables, chairs, and cabinets were all normal, with no signs of anything strange.
Just as Jenny was about to step inside, suddenly she took a quick step back, her breath becoming rapid.
"Watch out!!"
She spread her arms to block the two behind her.
"Look at the floor!" she quickly said.
Yu Hong and Dr. Xu turned their gazes in the direction she indicated.
Scattered across the black floor of the bedroom lay a gray male work uniform.
The uniform consisted of long sleeves and pants, with a dirty yellowed white shirt beneath, and at the bottom near the pants' legs, a pair of long rubber boots glimmered faintly in the green light cast by the flashlight.
"It’s Old Yu’s clothes and shoes," Jenny murmured, her voice complex.
"The person should be gone."
Doctor Xu looked at the discarded clothing, his mood dimming.
With so few people already, the death of someone crucial for their food supply was a heavy blow to them.
She bent down, reaching to grab Old Yu’s clothes.
Suddenly, her pupils dilated, and she quickly stood back.
"Wait!! Everyone step back! Don’t touch those clothes!!"
Hearing her words, Jenny and Yu Hong didn’t hesitate and rapidly withdrew.
"What’s going on!?" Yu Hong tensed up, gripping his club tightly, scanning their surroundings.
"Look at the back of the clothes!" Doctor Xu said, gritting his teeth.
His voice trembled slightly.
Yu Hong swiftly used the flashlight light to look closer.
What he saw was that Old Yu’s clothing had been flipped by Doctor Xu, revealing a clear black handprint on the sleeve!
"A black handprint!?" His heart sank.
Just moments ago, he had heard about the characteristics of the sinister shadow woman, and now he was seeing this distinct black handprint.
"Quick! We can’t stay here!" Jenny decisively turned to leave.
The other two felt a chill in their hearts and quickly followed.
None of them dared to touch anything, rushing back to the small hall and climbing up the ladder, returning to the stone house.
Bang.
Jenny slammed the metal cover shut over the basement entrance.
"We can’t go back down!" she stated firmly.
"Old Yu wasn’t the type to escape by himself! Now that I think back, he must have been infected with that black handprint long ago, which is why he couldn’t join us during the transfer!" Doctor Xu’s face turned pale.
"That old coot hid this from us! I’ve interacted with him before; I wouldn’t be infected too, would I?"
"Everyone check each other carefully. I’ve heard that as long as there’s no direct contact, you generally won’t get infected. The black handprint can seep through clothing," Jenny took a deep breath, feeling the anxiety rise.
She was furious; after all, Old Yu’s concealment might bring disaster to them all.
"Let’s check each other then."
Yu Hong remained silent for a while, suddenly suggesting.
Instantly, the three fell silent.
Then, they slowly distanced themselves from one another and circled around to inspect each other for black handprints.
After a few minutes, thankfully, none of the three had been marked, which visibly relieved them.
"We can’t linger here. Let’s get out."
Jenny said solemnly.
"What about food?" Yu Hong asked.
"Without Old Yu, we have to find our own food. Relying solely on wild vegetables won’t be enough."
"I have an idea about Old Yu's breeding process; let’s try it out. If it doesn’t work, we can go down again and look," Jenny replied.
(End of Chapter)