Night of Despair

This world is very dangerous.

Extremely dangerous.

In the half month since Yu Hong had arrived here, he had fully realized this point.

As an ordinary person, he was far less knowledgeable in survival skills than Xia Jieba and the others, and his physical strength was also significantly lacking.

Even Xia Jieba and Doctor Xu were struggling so much—if he relied only on himself, he definitely wouldn't make it.

So... he had to utilize his unique advantage, his greatest advantage—the Black Mark.

The sun was shining brightly, a new morning.

In front of a strange tiled house in Baiqiu Village.

Yu Hong and Xia Jieba stood in front of the house, their clothes filthy, their greasy hair clumped like dreadlocks, gazing into it.

The inside of the house was dim, continuously emanating a chilling presence. Occasionally, a slight cold breeze would surge out, accompanied by a musty and unknown foul smell.

The sunlight stopped at the front of the house, dividing the inside and outside into two worlds.

"There's a smoke pipe inside that I need," Yu Hong said solemnly.

"How... do we get it?" Xia Jieba asked equally seriously.

She seemed to be mimicking Yu Hong.

"The shadow could appear at any time, so I need to act quickly," Yu Hong said.

The mountain cave safe house must have a warming stove, and lighting a fire in an enclosed cave was dangerous, so the smoke pipe was indispensable!

So... at that moment, looking into the dark room, a look called determination rose in his eyes for the first time.

"I'm sorry... I'm just too scared..."

To obtain safety, he needed to confront danger.

Besides that, he had no other choice.

"Let's go."

Clutching the enhanced white stone in his pocket, Yu Hong strode into the house.

Xia Jieba followed behind, also holding a bag of white stones, nervously looking around.

Snap.

As soon as their feet stepped into the house, entering the dark area, they abruptly felt a chill climbing up from their ankles.

At that moment, the enhanced white stone and the white stones produced their effect simultaneously, infusing threads of icy presence, countering the chill.

"There's a problem, hurry!" Yu Hong instantly understood that there was a shadow here, and immediately sped up toward the deeper part of the house.

He had examined many houses; only the chimney here was the most suitable, the longest, so this time, he was determined to get it!

The two quickly crossed the open space to the back of the house against the wall.

There, a square metal stove stood, with a vertical sheet metal smoke pipe inserted at one corner.

The smoke pipe extended upward for two meters before turning sideways, stretching more than three meters, reaching out of a circular hole in the wall of the house.

"This is it! Grab it!" Yu Hong's eyes sparkled as he rushed over and grabbed the smoke pipe.

Puff.

He pulled hard.

It didn't budge.

He looked down.

The smoke pipe was welded to a corner of the square stove, immovable.

Just as he was about to exert more force, he suddenly caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of a small door leading to a bedroom in the corner of the room, quietly opening.

Inside the door, in the gloom, stood a figure in gray whose face couldn't be seen.

The figure stood motionless in the darkness, looking this way.

At the same time, a wave of chill more intense than before surged out from the bedroom door.

"Yiyi!" In desperation, Yu Hong shouted, gripping the enhanced white stone tightly, his muscles taut as he took aim.

At the same time, he glanced at Xia Jieba Yiyi behind him.

But…

"!!!?"

There was no one behind him.

Not only was Yiyi gone, but even the stove along with the smoke pipe had disappeared entirely.

When Yu Hong turned his head again, he immediately saw Xia Jieba embracing the stove, dragging the smoke pipe, heading toward the house's door, about to run out.

The heavy stove was as easy to handle as a foam box in Xia Jieba's hands, unimpeded.

"Run, Yu!" Xia Jieba burst into the sunlight and, realizing Yu Hong hadn't followed, quickly looked back perplexedly, seeing Yu Hong still in his original spot and shouted out.

"....." Yu Hong was left speechless.

But by now, he had been targeted by the shadow.

His entire body felt icy cold, the kind of stiffness that was creeping up again, attempting to immobilize him.

The power of the enhanced white stone was ceaselessly flowing, combating the stiffness.

"I...."

"I...!!"

Yu Hong trembled all over, standing in place unable to break free, his hands tightly clutching the enhanced white stone, like a machine about to fall apart.

Sweat profusely seeped from his forehead and temples, his pupils already dilated, the intense fear almost flooding his inner being.

'I... am so scared....'

"This is too terrifying..."

"Why, why are there such terrifying things here?!"

'Why....'

'Why....'

'Why....'

'Why....'

In that instant, countless whys, like crawling reptiles, frantically filled Yu Hong's entire body and mind, filling every thought and consciousness.

Yet at this moment, he was caught in a bizarre confrontation; the power of the shadow and the power of the enhanced pyroxene were neutralizing each other, using his body as their battleground.

In such stiffness.

Yu Hong suddenly felt some movement behind him.

Click.

He heard a faint sound.

It seemed like the sound of shoes stepping on the muddy floor inside the house.

The rustling sounds of walking shoes continued, one after another, seemingly approaching slowly from behind him.

One step.

Just then.

Footsteps approached rhythmically, neither hurried nor slow, heading straight toward Yu Hong.

Subsequently, the wooden door of the house silently began to close, shutting out the bright sunlight and stammering, slowly sealing off the outside world.

Yu Hong was terrified. He stood trembling in place, tears and sweat streaming down his cheeks.

But at that moment, there was nothing he could do, only to watch helplessly as the door of the house was slowly shut.

Helpless.

A strong sense of helplessness surged continuously from the depths of his heart.

"I...." he began to speak.

Snap.

Suddenly, a hand tightly grasped his from behind!

Ah!!!!!

In an instant, Yu Hong's body jerked as if struck by lightning, emitting a piercing scream.

He jumped up violently and pulled a thick wooden club from the side of his trousers, swinging it furiously backward.

The club, studded with numerous steel nails and embedded with three enhanced white stones, swept through the air with a dull whoosh.

Amid the noisy whistling, a loud crash sounded.

Bang!!!

The club smashed viciously onto a white shadow behind Yu Hong, splitting it in two, dissipating it into fragments.

"Ah ah ah ah!!!!"

Yu Hong, holding the steel-nailed club, turned and without stopping, charged toward another gray shadow by the bedroom door.

Quickly.

Bang!!!

Another loud crash.

The club relentlessly struck the wooden door frame, creating a deep indentation.

And that gray shadow, under this fierce counterattack, immediately shattered into a gray cloth fragment, scattering on the ground and evaporating.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

At this moment, Yu Hong's eyes were bloodshot as he still crazily smashed towards where the gray shadow had been.

Not until splinters flew from the door frame, beginning to loosen and wobble, did he come to his senses.

Seeing the shadow had vanished, he hastily grabbed the club and rushed out to the sunlight.

Huff!

Huff!

Huff!

Amid intense panting, he slowly bent down and crouched on the ground.

Yiyi stood beside him, dumbfounded, not knowing how to comfort him.

She had initially planned to rush in to help, but seeing Yu Hong's sudden outburst, she too was frightened, only able to stand helplessly, waiting for the outcome.

The result was that Yu Hong had emerged by himself, having furiously smashed two shadows into pieces, then with an expression of utter fear, ran out the door and crouched, gasping for breath...

"Yu..." After a while, Yiyi hesitantly asked in a soft voice.

"Sorry..." Yu Hong's voice trembled, his body drenched in sweat as if he had just been pulled from water.

"I was just... just too scared..."

After calming himself for a while, his emotions slightly stabilized.

He slowly stood up, turned around, and looked at Yiyi.

His expression was pained, helpless, pitiful.

"They... they... scared me...."

He continuously waved the steel-nailed club in his hand as if using body language to express his intense emotions.

"I was so scared...."

Yu Hong's facial muscles trembled.

"So, I could only smash them to death... I... I know what I'm doing... but... if I don't smash them... I'm afraid... afraid they would chase after me...!"

"It's... it's okay..." Yiyi blinked, taking a step back due to the swinging club, feeling a bit unnerved.

"Now, it's okay... relax... relax!!" Yiyi raised her hands, trying hard to soothe him.

Yu Hong also realized his demeanor was off, and began to take deep breaths.

Inhale.

Exhale.

After thirty repetitions,

He finally felt much more stable.

"Thank goodness, I had prepared for everything in advance." He put down the thick club, feeling an immense weariness.

He was the kind of person who always made thorough preparations for anything he did.

Like this time when entering the house for the chimney pipe. He had allocated the few enhanced white stones he possessed in advance.

Three were embedded in the club, which he reinforced by carving pits and tying them firmly with rope.

Now it seemed, this method had been very effective.

"Is it... over?" Yiyi asked cautiously, watching him.

"Sorry..." Yu Hong swayed his body helplessly, "I got too agitated..."

"....." Yiyi shook her head, indicating she wasn't scared. "Actually... before... I've... seen..."

She picked up the stove and chimney pipe, walking back with Yu Hong.

On the way, she also talked about others she had seen before who, like Yu Hong, had fallen into extreme fear.

They too, like him, would explode in fury, resisting.

But Yu Hong was different from them.

Those people, after resisting, would exhaust their strength and let themselves fall into greater peril.

But Yu Hong had smashed the shadows and then ran off to a safe area before allowing himself to collapse from exhaustion.

In reality, under extreme emotional bursts in such situations, it is highly improbable that someone would remember to conserve strength.

But Yu Hong did.

Not only did he smash the shadows, but he also kept enough energy to turn and run.

That made him quite exceptional.