Night of Despair

Huff... Huff...

"Damn!"

Yu Hong was flushed all over, his face red, panting heavily as he looked at the runes that had all turned gray and the one-third of the rune formations inside the cave that had failed. Only then did he let go of the completely exhausted silver rune and support Aisena.

Next, he had to face the last trouble.

The second form of the language person...

He untied Aisena's ropes, gave her some water, and let her rest flat. Then he also sat down to rest.

In the recent confrontation, he had exhausted quite a bit of energy and inner qi, exploding twice consecutively to forcibly disperse the condensation of that transparent humanoid figure.

*He had an inexplicable feeling that if that humanoid figure were to fully form, it would be extremely bad for Aisena.*

Moreover, the gel-like substance seemed to be more potent than when he was previously affected.

Sitting down to rest, it wasn't long before there was a knock on the door.

"Yu Hong, it's me." Li Rushan's voice sounded. "Aisena, my daughter, is she okay?" His voice was cautious, worried, anxious, and fearful, a blend of emotions that made it hard to connect with his usual self.

Yu Hong waited six seconds, exhaled a breath, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"She's fine, made it through safely. Did you find the host?"

Upon hearing this, a long sigh of relief was heard from outside.

Six seconds later, Li Rushan replied.

"I found it... along with two other bodies, I burned them all."

Yu Hong waited a moment, his brow furrowing again. "Didn't encounter any other changes?"

"No," Li Rushan answered. "However, I discovered footprints of a third person near the bodies... I suspect someone else has been infected and taken the shadow elsewhere."

His voice was low and heavy.

"Then there's no time to worry about more. You must immediately report through your channels and alert Hope City at the nearest gathering point," Yu Hong said solemnly.

*To be honest, if he really had to face the second form, his current condition wasn't good, posing a high risk. The first form had already consumed most of his stockpile, and the second form would surely be stronger.*

*Upon hearing that the language person infectee had left, Yu Hong actually felt a sense of relief within.*

He picked up the Wolf Fang Club, ensuring the Red Value Detector was inactive, and then opened the door, quickly handing the unconscious Aisena to the other party.

"Remember, you owe me twice!" Yu Hong said seriously.

Li Rushan carefully embraced his daughter. Looking utterly exhausted, he nodded earnestly toward Yu Hong only after confirming his daughter was okay.

Turning around, he quickly left into the distance, soon disappearing into the woods.

Whew.

Yu Hong let out a long breath and looked back at the big door.

The door, originally over ten centimeters thick, was now only a few centimeters thick, with some places almost gnawed through.

He sighed, closed the door, and began waiting for it to be repaired to restore all the rune formations once again.

*The danger posed by the language person might have temporarily left, but it could return. The threat was far from over, and he had to be fully prepared.*

*Moreover, it was crucial to develop a shadow-resistant weapon that could self-restore and strengthen the detector, acquiring an anti-shadow technique... all had to be scheduled.*

*There was too much to do, and it had to be fast because if the language person returned... he would surely die in his current state!*

Thinking of this, Yu Hong felt the fatigue from the recent battle wash over him.

Leaning against the wall, he sat down, shoved a protein bar into his mouth, and closed his eyes as much as possible to rest and restore his state.

The language person assault this time had caused both Li Rushan and Yu Hong considerable loss.

Both were startled by the sudden explosive escalation of the shadow's threat. Therefore, for several days afterward, both stayed indoors, relying on their stock to get by.

Just barely weathering the new surge.

Yu Hong had also completed the restoration of all the rune formations, with the door restored to its original state. The luminous stone grass outside was once again lush and full of vitality.

It seemed as though everything had returned to the tranquil state before the language person's attack.

But this time, Yu Hong was no longer complacent. He understood it was merely a fragile illusion.

After recovering, the first thing he did was to find Old Li to exchange favors.

Inside a stone hut at the post office.

Under the somewhat dim candlelight, Li Rushan took the radio, sat across from Yu Hong, and casually turned on the station.

"Are you sure you want to exchange everything?" His face was scruffy, suggesting he hadn't rested well, busy caring for his daughter's health during this period.

"Yes. If I don't quickly convert it into assistance at times like this, I might not have the chance in the future," Yu Hong said seriously.

Li Rushan looked at him for a moment.

"You're right. This time I'll give it to you at cost. What do you need?"

"An air dehumidifier, can you get it?" Yu Hong asked. "And also the Sunlight Series coatings."

"... The dehumidifier isn't difficult. The Sunlight Series is a bit troublesome; it's a special resource, in high demand everywhere. It resists the Blood Tide and shadow, highly versatile," Li Rushan replied honestly.

He guessed that Yu Hong wanted to solve the water supply issue and pondered for a moment.

"You saved Nana's life, so I have to help you. You're planning to solve the water supply problem, right?"

"Yes," Yu Hong nodded, not hiding it.

"This problem can only be solved with a large-scale project, but if it's for you, I will do my best to get a set of broken underground water supply systems, made with metal pipes fused with a small amount of sunlight material, reaching underground to draw water," Li Rushan paused and then continued.

"Many organizations need this kind of system; it's prime hot merchandise, so the intact ones, I can't help you with, since I'm just a small postman. But if it's broken, I can find a way to get a set."

"Won't it be destroyed by the black insects?" Yu Hong's eyes lit up.

"No, the sunlight materials have a significant dispersal effect on black insects unless it's a Blood Tide mutant, generally no problem. Many Hope Cities rely on it for water supply," Li Rushan answered.

"Why didn't you tell me before when I asked?"

"Previously you weren't a top-quality customer," Li Rushan replied matter-of-factly. "Honestly, even if I get it and you can't repair it, it's still useless. So make sure you consider it carefully."

"Bring it over and see, it shouldn't be a problem," Yu Hong replied deeply.

He was sure that the underground water resources at his place were plentiful, as the surrounding area was all mountains and forests but lacked streams. If not relying on underground water, what else could it rely on?

"Okay," Li Rushan nodded. "Wait for my notice; it should be in about two weeks."

"The price?" Yu Hong asked.

"On me," Old Li closed his eyes, rare for him to be so generous. "Tell me about the second favor."

"Help me find an absolutely safe channel; I want to send something to someone," Yu Hong said seriously.

After the encounter with the language person, he was very concerned about the situation with Little Stammer. It's just that the language person's shadow was so deceptive.

"Send something... I can give you an internal channel for our postmen, but you'll have to pay for it, guaranteed safe," Li Rushan pondered and replied in a deep voice.

"Won't it be opened halfway?" Yu Hong asked worriedly.

"No. It's an unwritten rule within our postal system that the postman's things can't be opened to pry into; it's one of the mutual unwritten rules," Li Rushan responded.

He glanced at Yu Hong and continued, "However, such benefit allows one parcel every two months, and you still need to pay the postage, just at a slightly cheaper rate. You can use it in conjunction with normal mail."

"Good!" Yu Hong nodded. "Then I'll trouble you in the future."

"It's nothing. Now I realize helping you is also helping me," Li Rushan said sincerely.

*In times of adversity, true feelings are revealed. In the language person incident, he had confirmed that Yu Hong's character was trustworthy.*

*In such an age of despair and horror, meeting someone with a decent character was already fortunate. What's more, Yu Hong was very capable.*

*After all, not just anyone could survive alone in the wild for so long.*

Hiss.

At this moment, the radio's speaker emitted the sound of a station broadcast.

"It is now August 18, 2022, national time 2:32 pm. Here is the rebroadcast of the latest compiled Black Disaster news from around the country."

The beautiful female host's voice carried heaviness and restraint as it spread slowly.

"According to the joint military's feedback from various places, from early July until now, five city-level Hope Cities have been overrun by the Black Disaster, displacing over a million people. The number of deaths is uncountable."

"According to the latest research from the Silver Tower, the newly appeared Blood Tide mutants, tidal crawlers, elite Biters, and the Insect Queen, have all evolved from low-level blood ticks. The danger level of the evolved Blood Tide mutants has been raised to war level."

"Besides, the mass death event in Rongjing has been confirmed as a new war-level shadow: Black Withered Woman. Silver Tower has sent out personnel to investigate the details to find a way to expel the Black Withered Woman."

"Aurora City has sent back recent military reports that the human joint military encountered a nightmare-level shadow, with the Third and Fifth Armies trapped in fog, unable to retreat."

The radio continued to announce the latest developments from various regions, with the host truthfully reporting the actual progress in the confrontations.

But most were bad news, with deaths and injuries, and only a few Hope Cities successfully defended against the recent onslaught.

Yuhe City's language person murder case was also reported.

"... According to Yuhe City's investigator feedback, the language person assault this time was of medium scale, with a danger level of four. According to detailed investigation reports, the shadows originally around Yuhe City were between Level One and Three, but the recent sudden appearance of a Level Four shadow was likely transmitted from other regions..."

Inside the stone hut, the two men listened quietly to the radio broadcast.

Only after the broadcast ended and began its second repetition did Li Rushan reach out to turn off the radio.

"Danger levels one to nine, the language person is only Level Four, so you understand why so many people flock to Hope Cities to live, right?" Li Rushan sighed.

"If infection prevention for the language person were widespread, it would actually be easier to handle, but the key is being undetectable; before it erupts and kills, it can't be detected, and that's the lethal part," Yu Hong sighed.

"Yes, Yuhe City was hurt by this point, exploding hundreds of times in a short period. The entire joint military defense line was destroyed, with only one senior officer left after a few days," Li Rushan responded.

"Level Four is already so strong, the war level above Level Nine... and the nightmare level... it's unimaginable how terrifying they could be..." Yu Hong said softly.

"Danger levels one to nine don't indicate how powerful the shadow and the Blood Tide are, but mark how manageable they are. The lower the danger level, the more apparent the weaknesses are and the easier they are to handle. The higher, the harder," Li Rushan replied. "Moreover, they can move around everywhere, so I suggest your best bet is to go to a large Hope City. If you stay alone in the wild and encounter higher-level dangers, with your solitary strength, you'd almost certainly die."