After enduring over an hour of intense leg training, Yu Hong took a deep breath, stabilizing his mood.
He munched on a protein bar and gulped down a full cup of water.
Only then did he strap on the red value detector and put on the newly restored silver talisman before opening the door.
With a dull thud, he jumped down the stone steps and gazed at the wilted, blackened Huishi grass, feeling an ache in his heart.
The attack that happened yesterday was quite overwhelming.
He couldn't fathom how anyone else could have survived such a force, aside from himself.
'Maybe they have other ways to cope, just like with the Huishi blanket,' he reassured himself.
As he walked out of the courtyard, a sudden change flickered across his red value detector.
The numbers dropped from single digits to negative.
Yu Hong's expression changed slightly as he swiftly moved the detector to ascertain the direction of the radiation influencing the readings.
Before long, he found the source on the right side of the courtyard—a small patch of Huishi grass that had survived, likely due to its distance from the cave and thus avoided the chaos of yesterday's confrontation.
His face lit up with joy; the heavy burden on his heart lifted a bit.
Hurriedly, he dug up the grass and relocated it to the front of the cave.
After spending a little over ten minutes on this task, he felt at ease and made his way toward the post office.
Knock, knock, knock.
Outside the stone post office, Yu Hong knocked hard on the gate.
Not long after, the stone door swung open, revealing Li Runshan, a tall and muscular man, cautiously stepping out with a little girl on his back.
"Here," Li Runshan tossed over a crumpled piece of paper.
Yu Hong caught it and quickly opened it.
"Did you hear any invisible sounds around? If you did, don't speak. We'll communicate through writing," the note read.
Yu Hong immediately remembered the strange events with the Zhou sisters from yesterday.
With a solemn nod, they began to write on stones laid on the ground to convey their thoughts.
"When you came yesterday, I offered you the paper, but you didn’t even look at it. You just knocked and shouted, and you had a strange expression," Li Runshan wrote with a serious look.
"I did come yesterday," Yu Hong furrowed his brow.
"But I merely knocked on the door. I never shouted anything."
"Never shouted? Impossible! I heard you calling for me and even calling out my daughter's name," Li Runshan wrote back.
Yu Hong paused, concentrating to recall the details.
With increased energy from practicing, his memory was sharp, especially for events so recent.
He confidently wrote, "I’m sure I only knocked. I planned to wait for a response, but you made no sound at all."
"If that’s the case, it must be the influence of the language-afflicted," Li Runshan's expression darkened.
He quickly explained the situation regarding the language-afflicted to Yu Hong, who then relayed everything he encountered yesterday.
After their discussion, Li Runshan's gaze became grave.
"I’ve received news that a convoy heading this way passed through the epicenter of the language-afflicted disturbances in Yuhe City. It’s likely this convoy brought them here," he quickly wrote.
After reading, Yu Hong erased and rewrote.
"The Zhou sisters you met yesterday must be one method of spreading the infection. Luckily, the talisman at your place combined with the Huishi grass restrained the deceptive sounds. If you had left the cave, the consequences would be unimaginable!"
"What do we do now?" Yu Hong felt the urgency of the situation.
"For now, let’s not speak. We’ll keep communicating through writing."
Li Runshan instructed, “You faced the language-afflicted last night; it should be safe for you for a short while. I plan to check on that convoy. If possible, we need to eliminate them so they don't pose any threats to us."
"How do we do that?" Yu Hong's eyes sharpened as he wrote.
"From the radio message, the current method to deal with the language-afflicted is to eliminate all infected individuals. As long as there are no infected within a kilometer, we can wait for them to naturally dissipate," Li Runshan explained.
"Alright!" Yu Hong nodded rapidly.
He had nearly met his end yesterday; if he had rushed out of the cave without adequate talismans, he surely would have died.
Such a dangerous shadow should not be allowed to remain near!
"Also, let's go see Old Zhou and bring him along," Yu Hong added.
Li Runshan nodded.
The two quickly gathered their things, bringing paper and pencil.
Yu Hong borrowed some paper from Li Runshan as he had none.
After ensuring the safety of Aisena and instructing her to avoid all outside sounds, they swiftly left the post office and made for Old Zhou's place.
The post office and Old Zhou’s residence were only a few hundred meters apart, just over a small slope.
They quickly reached the entrance of Old Zhou's cave.
Knock, knock, knock.
Li Runshan approached, tapping the door with a wooden stick.
No response.
His expression shifted slightly as he rhythmically knocked again.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.
Waiting for a moment.
Still no response.
Exchanging glances, Yu Hong and Li Runshan moved forward, one to the door, the other to the window.
"Who is it?" suddenly, Old Zhou's voice called from behind the door, filled with wariness.
"Who is outside!?"
His tone was filled with fear, like one who had just faced a fright.
Li Runshan sealed his lips, knocking again with the stick.
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
"Who's knocking!? Go away!" Old Zhou shouted again, panic and anger lacing his words.
Li Runshan frowned, tearing off a piece of paper and writing on it before slipping it through a crack in the door.
He pushed hard, forcing the note inside.
But within two seconds, there was a soft thud as the paper rolled to the ground inside.
"Who’s out there?! Respond!" Old Zhou's voice rang again, "If you don’t speak, don’t blame me for being rude!!" Click.
The sound of a gun's safety being disengaged echoed from behind the door.
Yu Hong’s expression didn't change; he stepped in front of Li Runshan.
His reinforced white bear armor had been tested, and even close-range gunfire couldn't harm him.
"Respond!!" Old Zhou shouted from inside.
Suddenly, a note was shoved toward Yu Hong's side: open the door.
Yu Hong's eyes sharpened; he drew his gun and aimed it at the door lock.
BANG!!
The lock shattered, creating a large hole.
The power of the enhanced pistol was fully revealed, startling even Yu Hong, not to mention Li Runshan behind him.
Both men jolted at the sound, looking at the broken lock and the smoking barrel of the gun.
BANG.
But Yu Hong was the first to recover, kicking the door with force.
The door swung open.
All fell silent.
They stood outside for a long moment, not moving.
Just observing the inside, they found Old Zhou lifeless on the ground, devoid of vitality.
He lay on his side, eyes wide, mouth agape, yet wore a strange, joyful smile.
It was as if he had not been scared at the moment of death but had eagerly welcomed it, having attained everything he wished for.
"This is the language-afflicted," Li Runshan wrote a line to Yu Hong.
Then he stepped forward to tend to Old Zhou's body.
Soon, flames erupted, consuming Old Zhou along with everything around him.
Thick smoke billowed as Li Runshan and Yu Hong barely had time to adjust their emotions before retracing their steps.
They first checked on Aisena to ensure all was well before heading toward the road.
According to Li Runshan's information, that convoy was coming from the road, taking the main route.
They walked cautiously, staying alert to everything around them.
No one dared to speak, fearing any sound might blend with their voices and bring danger.
In this eerie silence, they quickly located the convoy of buses parked by the roadside.
Five gray-white buses, each wrapped in thick metal sheeting on their lower halves, had thick wood panels nailed over the windows as barriers.
As they stood in the woods, preparing to approach the buses, Li Runshan suddenly held Yu Hong back, signaling him to stay still.
He picked up a stone about the size of an egg and hurled it toward the buses.
In the sunlight, the stone flew from the trees, arched perfectly through the air, and smashed onto the roof of the second bus from the rear.
DONG.
The stone shattered into pieces, rolling away into the dirt.
Silence reigned.
Not a single bus stirred, nor did any voices arise.
Seeing this, Li Runshan's expression grew even graver.
He pulled out a magnesium stick and exchanged a meaningful glance with Yu Hong.
They split up, approaching the convoy from either side.
Minutes later.
The two reached the last bus, one standing by the left and the other by the right.
Yu Hong, clad in thick reinforced white bear armor, wielding a wolf fang club, extended the club to hook the bus door handle.
Pulling outward.
CREEK.
The metal door opened with ease.
It was unlocked!
The gray-white door had not even been securely closed; Yu Hong easily pulled it open.
Inside the bus lay in darkness, so black the bright sunlight outside barely illuminated anything beyond the entrance.
Yu Hong glanced at Li Runshan, who gestured for him to check inside.
He nodded, using the wolf fang club to clear a path while clutching the silver talisman hidden in his pocket.
Placing a foot on the door step, he used the leverage to vault inside.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, he swayed back and retreated.
Standing at the door, it looked as though he had twisted his ankle.
Li Runshan signaled to him.
Yu Hong repeatedly waved his hand, pointing to his ankle, indicating he couldn't continue.
His foot hurt too much, and it was up to Li Runshan now.
He clasped his hands together, apologizing profusely as he stepped back.
Li Runshan: "..."
If he hadn't seen Yu Hong move comfortably during his retreat, if he hadn’t known Yu Hong specialized in leg training, he might have believed him.
Left speechless, he shook his head, signaling that it was his turn.
Equipped with a knife and a batch of talismans Yu Hong had acquired, he approached the bus door.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, he hunched over, clutching his stomach, appearing extremely pained, and began to back away.
While retreating, he pointed at Yu Hong, gesturing to indicate that his stomach hurt unbearably.
He could not bear it anymore—standing upright was impossible.
The daunting task of exploring the bus interior was now solely Yu Hong’s responsibility.
Yu Hong remained speechless, watching as this guy attempted to outdo him in acting.
Neither wished to go first to face the unknown.
(End of Chapter)