Their eyes met.
A wave of frustration surged in Yu Hong's heart, exploding like fire.
A sickening feeling surged from his stomach, causing his abdomen to cramp, pain radiating through him, and his body began to go numb, stiffening uncontrollably.
An indescribable fear flooded his heart, spreading throughout his body.
The veins around his eyes bulged out like twisted tree roots, growing thicker and thicker, as if they might burst at any moment.
But just then, the enhanced white stone in his pocket exuded a cold aura that rushed into the outer side of his thigh.
This breath was like a steel nail, mercilessly piercing through his stiffening body, pulling him back from the edge of rigidity.
Bang!!
His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, his gaze breaking free from the confrontation.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
Lowering his head, Yu Hong gasped for breath, feeling the stiffness in his body rapidly dissipate thanks to the enhanced white stone in his pocket.
A strong sense of relief washed over him, as if he had survived a calamity.
Not daring to look outside again, he quickly took out the enhanced white stone, noticing that the red symbols on its surface were glowing with a faint hue of red.
If he didn’t look carefully, he’d never have noticed.
‘What a precious treasure!’ he thought, feeling immensely grateful that he had chosen this stone for enhancement first.
Ever since he had been rescued by the little stammerer with it, he had realized just how important it was.
Thankfully, he hadn’t made a wrong choice.
Sitting on the ground, he slowly backed away from the window, not daring to glance around.
Who would have thought that this cursed place was so dangerous that even a single glance could lead to peril?
‘But why... why did the little stammerer and Doctor Xu not encounter danger when they went out?’
‘Did they have some other means of protection?’
A sliver of doubt rose in his heart.
But soon, exhaustion washed over him, and he felt drowsy again.
He was far too weak.
Holding the enhanced white stone tightly in his hand, he crawled back onto the bed.
After waiting for a while and confirming that nothing could enter through the door or window, he finally started to relax and drifted off to sleep once more.
Time passed, though he didn’t know how long it had been.
Maybe a few hours, or perhaps a whole day.
When Yu Hong awoke again, the little stammerer was busy moving around the room.
“You’re awake?” she turned around quickly, her eyes beaming with happiness as she looked at Yu Hong on the bed.
“Come eat.” Soon, she busied herself, bringing over a bowl of thick, black mush and began to feed Yu Hong.
Unknowingly, he swallowed the last spoonful, feeling much better in his body.
“Is there more?” he asked.
The little stammerer stood up and rummaged around again.
But this time, it seemed there was none left.
She searched for quite a while but couldn’t bring back any more of the black mush.
“All gone,” she said, returning to Yu Hong’s side, looking somewhat disappointed.
Yu Hong sat up slowly, got out of bed, and went to the corner where he found a wooden barrel.
It seemed to contain the raw materials for that black mush.
Inside was a mixed powder, with some remnants left at the bottom.
He leaned against the barrel to look, and it was indeed empty.
Gurgle~
Suddenly, a rumble from her stomach resounded from behind.
It was the little stammerer.
She blinked her eyes, touched her belly, and gave a silly laugh.
Yu Hong turned to look at her.
“You didn’t eat?”
“Hehe, forgot.” The little stammerer replied with a silly grin.
It seemed this girl had given all the remaining food to him.
Yu Hong felt somewhat helpless.
He didn’t know how she had managed to survive in such a dangerous environment all this time.
All he knew was that he felt a little guilty in his heart.
“What should we do then? Where did you get this food? Now that I feel better, I can help find more.” He said earnestly.
“It’s okay. Yi Yi is strong!” she patted her chest, showing an unconcerned expression.
“I helped you, now you help me find my dad and grandpa.” She continued, speaking word by word.
“You saved me for this?” Yu Hong understood.
If there was a request, then there was a chance for him to repay her.
He disliked owing anything to anyone, especially not a life debt.
“Yes!” The little stammerer nodded earnestly.
“Alright! If I have the ability, I will definitely help.” Yu Hong confirmed.
Although the environment was perilous, the black mark on his hand gave him a glimmer of hope for the future.
According to the abilities of the black mark, if everything could be enhanced, then perhaps he could use this to create a safer place, or a stronghold!
After his firsthand testing, he realized that the protections on this house’s doors and windows could not hold back those strange dangers outside.
Neither the white-clothed figure from before, the black bug, nor the unknown terror that had just disguised itself as Doctor Xu could be stopped.
“By the way, I want to ask you, when you weren’t here earlier...” Yu Hong quickly recounted what had happened.
After listening to his description, the little stammerer’s face turned serious. “That was a ghostly shadow!” she replied.
“That was a ghostly shadow too??” Yu Hong frowned.
“Let me answer this question,” Doctor Xu’s voice came again from outside the door.
The little stammerer quickly went over, opened the door, and happily welcomed Doctor Xu inside.
Doctor Xu was dressed in a mountain-climbing outfit, wearing a camouflage form-fitting suit and carrying a large backpack on her back, indicating that she likely planned to venture out into the mountains.
Stepping inside, she glanced at Yu Hong.
“In this place, ghostly shadows often appear during black disasters, there are two types: one is the white shadow you encountered before, and the second is the impersonator you mentioned.”
“The danger level of a white shadow is manageable; as long as you keep a close watch on it and don’t blink, you can exit safely. Also, the glowstone can restrain it, temporarily scattering its presence. But the impersonator is a different story. You must remain alert at all times and cannot trust anything that goes beyond your agreement.” Doctor Xu looked at Yu Hong seriously and added, “Agreements here are extremely important!”
“Agreements?” Yu Hong seemed to have thought of something.
“Yes, every person must make an agreement before parting with their companion. When you reunite, what the secret signal is, what situations allow you to open doors or windows, and so on, all these must be discussed in advance. Otherwise… you will be caught off guard by the impersonator, one by one killed.” Doctor Xu sighed.
“This is also why the residents of Baiqiu Village live in solitude. Even during the day, impersonators may lurk and attack.”
Impersonator.
This new concept sent a shiver of realization through Yu Hong.
Perhaps it would be difficult for him to return to his former life.
“Can you take me outside to see? I want to check if I can get to the town,” Yu Hong ventured after a moment of silence.
“Bring a glowstone, that white stone. As long as you go out in broad daylight, you’ll be fine, but control the time you come back,” Doctor Xu replied, “Also, while impersonators can appear during the day, typically only those with weak bodies can see them. A healthy body cannot perceive their existence.”
Yu Hong instantly understood.
“Isn’t there any way to deal with these monsters?” he asked in a low voice.
“There isn't. So far, we haven’t discovered any methods, and the national departments haven’t come up with anything either,” Doctor Xu shook her head, “Alright, Yi Yi and I are planning to go out, you need to hurry if you want to come. Baiqiu Village does not harbor useless people. You have been a burden to Yi Yi for too long.”
She seemed to have a fair bit of dissatisfaction towards Yu Hong, her gaze unkind.
“I remember the life debt,” Yu Hong replied earnestly.
“First, survive on your own,” Doctor Xu scoffed, losing interest in Yu Hong and turning to converse with the little stammerer.
Soon, the little stammerer began to prepare things to go outside, gathering equipment.
Yu Hong’s body had recovered considerably as well, and he joined in the packing.
He didn’t mention the enhanced white stone; he couldn’t explain where it came from, but based on the abilities of the black mark, it would definitely become his biggest support in the future.
He wasn’t sure if others had this ability or not, and the information was too scarce, so the most important thing was to gather intelligence as much as possible.
This place was far too dangerous, and he had to be extremely cautious.
“I will repay this,” he reiterated, thinking to himself.
Doctor Xu didn’t even look at him, obviously having ignored him.
It was clear she figured that if he didn’t burden the little stammerer, that would be good enough.
Soon, a large cloth bag was unpacked and set on the ground.
Doctor Xu lifted it and carefully placed it onto the little stammerer’s back.
The bag was filled with white stones marked with symbols.
“First, go to Old Yu’s place to exchange food, then head to the open-pit mine to dig glowstones, and finally collect pigments. Calculating the time to return, we must reach Old Yu in one hour. We can rest overnight at the mine, and tomorrow, after collecting the pigments, we’ll come back,” Doctor Xu organized the plan.
“Is it far?” Yu Hong frowned, feeling that his stamina might still be a problem, as he hadn’t completely recovered.
“You shouldn’t go; you wouldn’t keep up. Just wander around here and come back.” Doctor Xu said coldly. “Light candles at night, gather glowstones during the day, don’t open the door for anyone, don’t look outside, and everything should be fine. This can also be seen as a test for you. If you can’t pass, it means you can’t adapt to this environment and won’t last long—better to die early and find release.”
“…” Wasn’t that a bit too direct?
Yu Hong was speechless.
“Yi Yi saved a lot of people; I was also saved by her before; but you know, those whom she saved…” Doctor Xu wanted to continue but was tugged by the little stammerer at her sleeve.
Realizing, she instantly fell silent.
This time, she completely ignored Yu Hong, gathered the items, opened the door, and walked outside with the little stammerer.
Yu Hong paused for a moment, grabbed the house key, and followed them outside.
He decided to go outside to take a look.
No matter what, they had to resolve the matter of food and drink first; he couldn’t rely on a struggling little girl forever.
Moreover, the key point was that only by understanding more could he discern more effective ways to survive and cope with this environment.
With a click, he closed the door behind him.
The three of them formed a line, walking left along the gravel path at the entrance.
Outside, the temperature was gentle, neither cold nor hot.
The sunlight fell warmly on them, bringing a faint warmth.
Of the three, Doctor Xu walked in front, followed by the little stammerer, and then Yu Hong.
They twisted and turned along the gravel path for a few minutes, arriving at the village’s exit.
At the end of the gravel path, it connected to a dark mud road.
The dry black mud surface could allow two vehicles to pass side by side, and it was quite wide.
The path was dark and winding, traversing through the abandoned green fields on both sides, extending into the distance, until reaching the dense and deep mountains and forests.
Yu Hong noticed that the edges of the black mud road had very little grass, with two rows of black wooden fences built.
Many sections of the fences were already rotten and covered in moss.
“This is the only old road leading outside,” Doctor Xu began. “If you follow it all the way, it takes about thirty miles on foot to reach the nearest town, but over there may be even more dangerous. The more people there are, the more danger there is, attracting those dangerous beings.”
“Let’s go.” She stepped onto the black mud road, leading the way.
(End of Chapter)