Chapter 122: Information (4) |
Yu Hong sat in front of the communicator, turned on the machine, and quietly waited.
He had to find a way to notify Aisena and the others, advising them to stay hidden as much as possible. Staying in the underground Luminous Stone chamber was the safest option.
While waiting, he took the opportunity to refine his internal energy through meditation.
He had fully completed the first layer of internal energy cultivation. Now, practicing the second layer was significantly smoother, and condensing internal energy was much faster.
At this point, he was about one-third away from completing his second internal energy cycle. Based on his previous progress, in just a few more days, he would fully attain it. With that, his chances of survival would greatly increase.
After all, the Black Mark sometimes required internal energy as a backup power source.
Time passed little by little. Soon, Yu Hong ate some nutrient paste, rested for a while, and finally, it was almost 10 o’clock.
“Uncle Yu Hong, are you there?” Aisena’s voice came through the communicator right on time.
“Nana? Listen to me carefully!” Yu Hong straightened up, knowing that she might be in danger. He quickly explained Li Runshan’s situation and the precautions they needed to take.
“What about your two sisters? Make sure they don’t run around.” Yu Hong reminded her again.
“We understand, but Sister Song Wei went out earlier. She hasn’t returned, so we brought supplies to look for her,” Lin Haini quickly replied. “But don’t worry, the Luminous Stone runes on the doors and windows of the stone house are intact. Staying inside should be relatively safe.”
“I suggest you go back immediately,” Yu Hong frowned.
“But Song Wei isn’t here. She has the key to go in and out.”
“Let Nana return first!” Yu Hong decisively ordered.
“…Understood.” Lin Haini wasn’t someone who lacked awareness. Hearing the tone in his voice, she immediately agreed.
“That’s all. From now on, don’t contact me at the stone house. If there’s an issue, Old Li will go directly to the post office to talk to you.”
“Got it!”
Click.
The communication cut off. Yu Hong let out a deep breath.
“I hope they’ll be okay.”
There were already too few people left around him. If he lost even the last few people he could talk to, it would be too much to bear.
He stood up, started a fire, and began cooking. As the fireplace slowly warmed up, he walked to the door and looked outside.
In the courtyard, the Luminous Stone grass swayed silently in the dark night breeze.
Near the wooden house, by the window, Li Runshan stood in a daze, staring at the glowing grass. He was at a loss for words.
Yu Hong looked at him, sighed inwardly, and pulled the cover back down.
Time Passed…
One day. Two days. Five days. Ten days.
The entire Baiqiu Village remained eerily quiet. Everyone hid in their secret chambers, avoiding the outside world.
Yu Hong had no idea how Nana and Lin Haini were doing, nor did he know about Zhou Xueguang. He only knew that he and Li Runshan were struggling to endure.
Without firewood, even if they had light, they still had to go outside to collect it.
Fire meant safe drinking water. In this environment, where most water sources were toxic, without fire to boil and purify it, they would face severe dehydration.
Humans can survive a week without food, but not without water. Without it, death was inevitable.
So, with just two days left until his Black Mark enhancement was complete, Yu Hong had no choice but to leave the safe house and carefully collect some dry firewood.
Crack.
The wooden door slowly opened.
Morning light filtered through the gray mist, evenly illuminating the surroundings of the cave, making the white even whiter and the dark colors fade.
Yu Hong donned a white bear suit, carried a wolf-toothed club, and tucked all his remaining Luminous Stone runes into his pocket before carefully descending the stone steps.
Walking to the wooden house, he slipped a few nutrient pastes through the window gap.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m planning to go back,” Li Runshan said in a deep voice. “It’s been too long. That thing should be gone by now. I can’t stay here forever.”
He paused.
“Thanks for taking care of me these past few days, but no matter what, I have to go back today.”
During the nights he spent here, he had also seen the glowing Luminous Stone grass, but he never asked about it.
Being able to keep them safe in such a dangerous environment was already an immense kindness.
“I’ll go with you,” Yu Hong thought for a moment. Since he was already heading out to collect firewood, he might as well accompany Old Li. Two people together would be safer.
Of course, it wasn’t because he wanted to check whether the sunlight materials had arrived. Definitely not.
Yu Hong stood outside the wooden house, quietly waiting for a while, adjusting the restless internal energy in his body.
Over this period, he had drawn five new Vortex Rune Boards. The advantage of this newly discovered rune was that it didn’t require Black Mark enhancement—just a simple infusion of internal energy into the ink was enough to form it.
Including his previous runes, he now had six in total, all of which had been charged for a considerable time and were fully saturated.
This gave him the confidence to step outside and gather firewood.
Soon, the wooden house door opened.
Li Runshan, looking haggard with unkempt hair and beard, stepped out in a disheveled state.
He nodded at Yu Hong and immediately took the lead, walking ahead. Yu Hong followed closely behind, keeping a distance of no more than five meters.
As they passed through the courtyard wall, heading toward the post office, Yu Hong constantly bent down to pick up firewood. In contrast, the eager-to-return Li Runshan disappeared into the mist ahead.
Tap.
Suddenly, a light sound came from behind Yu Hong.
He had planned to hurry forward, but upon hearing the noise, his expression stiffened, and he turned around.
In the gray mist, about ten meters away, a shadowy figure stood still in the grass.
The person wasn’t tall, rather thin, and due to the thick mist, their appearance was obscured.
They seemed to be wearing old clothes—something like work attire from decades ago. A gray shirt on top, black trousers below, and messy hair, clearly indicating they were male.
Before Yu Hong could react, the mist thickened, and the figure vanished.
“Hello?” Yu Hong clutched his firewood, cautiously calling out.
Tap.
Another eerie sound came from even closer behind him.
His heart tightened, and he spun around abruptly.
Nothing.
Just dense fog.
He carefully scanned the mist, trying to sense any hidden figures.
His instincts screamed that this presence wasn’t following the “three kills rule” Zhou Xueguang had mentioned.
Tap.
A third sound. Right behind him.
It was so close that if he turned too quickly, he might brush against whatever was there.
Yu Hong’s blood felt frozen, goosebumps rising all over his body.
A pale face, reeking of decay, hovered right behind his neck.
‘Now!’
His eyes widened sharply beneath the visor.
With a sudden motion, his right arm slammed against his chest.
Crack.
At that very moment, the fourth strange noise echoed from behind him, overlapping with the sharp crunch of his suit’s outer layer. The two sounds spread together.
Whoosh!!!
In an instant, terrifying invisible radiation exploded outward in waves, centered on Yu Hong.
Detonating five Vortex Rune Boards simultaneously unleashed an overwhelming Luminous Stone radiation blast, surpassing a staggering negative three thousand units.
The detector’s alarm shrieked in a frenzied, ear-piercing wail!
An invisible, spherical shockwave expanded rapidly around Yu Hong, forming a massive sphere over ten meters in diameter.
Within the sphere, a hazy figure surfaced from the fog—warped and distorted, like a reflection disturbed by rippling water, as if someone had pressed pause on a movie.
The figure stood behind Yu Hong, frozen mid-motion, its hand outstretched, unable to move.
Then—
Boom!!
Yu Hong spun around, lifted his leg, and unleashed an explosive surge of internal energy.
A low sweeping kick!!
In the instant the figure appeared to be locked in place, he struck with full force—his foot connecting squarely with its legs.
With a crisp snap, the legs shattered like brittle sugarcane.
Immediately after, Yu Hong swung his wolf-toothed club in a wide arc.
A terrifying force cut through the air with a piercing whistle. In the blink of an eye, the attack landed—
But it hit nothing.
The club passed straight through the figure, slamming heavily into a nearby tree instead.
Boom!
Wooden splinters scattered.
Yu Hong wrenched the club free. Without hesitation, he turned and ran.
Within two seconds, he had disappeared into the mist, clutching the firewood in one arm as he sprinted back toward the cave.
He ran full speed all the way back to the Luminous Stone courtyard. With a swift leap, he vaulted over the low wall, rolled across the ground to absorb the impact, and came to a stop.
The firewood scattered across the ground, but that icy, bone-chilling sensation on his back was finally gone.
Yu Hong stood up and turned to look beyond the courtyard wall.
That same shadowy figure stood quietly outside, though its form had grown even more indistinct than before.
It was facing him. Watching him.
‘The Vortex Rune explosion worked, but it only seems to temporarily freeze these entities.’ Yu Hong furrowed his brows, replaying the scene in his mind.
‘These Shadowy figures experience a rigid state when exposed to high levels of negative Luminous Stone radiation.’
He made a mental note of this reaction.
Taking a deep breath, he clutched the firewood and slowly retreated into the cave. Only after securely locking the door did he finally exhale in relief.
‘The firewood issue is solved. I can hold out for at least two more days. If I endure just a bit longer, I’ll secure a perfect safe house with both power and water!’
‘However… when I kicked that thing, I could physically hit it, but my wolf-toothed club passed right through. It seems like my new internal energy does have some effect on these twisted entities—perhaps a form of damage or control. But the effect is weak.’
Standing at the entrance, Yu Hong glanced at the Shadowy figure still lingering outside the courtyard. He picked up a pen and paper and began recording his observations.
This information would become material for his next Black Mark enhancement.
Just as he was about to turn away—
His gaze sharpened.
The Shadowy figure beyond the courtyard wall… lifted its leg and stepped forward!!
It took a step into the courtyard—into the field of Luminous Stone grass!!
Hiss…
In an instant, the grass around it turned black, crumbling into dust, disintegrating into ash.
“This thing…!!” Yu Hong’s heart clenched. Without hesitation, he pressed a hand against the Black Mark and poured the last of his internal energy directly into the Luminous Stone rune.
\[Rune charge complete. Activate second imprint?\]
“Hm???”
Yu Hong’s eyes widened in shock.
