Night of Despair

The sky was dusky yellow, on the verge of twilight.

Before the cave safety shelter.

Thud, thud, thud.

A rapid succession of knocks echoed.

Jenny stood in front of the door, holding a knife in one hand and knocking with the other.

"Yu Hong, got any business to offer?" She glanced at the sky, knowing night was falling soon and that she must hurry.

"What business?" Yu Hong moved behind the door, with just a door separating them as he asked.

He hadn't expected Jenny to come this late, but it was also anticipated; sooner or later, she would show up.

"It's about my daughter, my mistake, I apologize to you. But everyone has their own interests, everyone wants to survive. I hope you can understand that," Jenny spoke quickly, her gaze vigilantly scouring the surroundings.

Yu Hong, within the door, just sneered at her words.

She'd nearly infected him and Doctor Xu with that serious matter, and she framed such a grave situation so lightly.

He had thought Jenny was still relatively normal, but now it seemed she was not much different from her daughter.

"What are you trying to say? We have nothing to talk about," he responded coldly.

"I want to buy all your Large Pyroxene Stones, for something you absolutely can't refuse," Jenny insisted.

"The peak period is coming, and I don't think there's anything I couldn't refuse," Yu Hong remained unmoved.

"You might want to hear me out first," Jenny continued, not surprised by Yu Hong's answer.

She went on, "You certainly don't know how Aifu and I happened to come to this place. Baiqiu Village is just a very remote village, why would our family make the long journey here?"

Yu Hong remained silent. From this perspective, it was indeed peculiar.

"My husband was previously a researcher working with the Silver Tower Joint Research Institute. Silver Tower doesn't just refer to one place but to a consortium of research institutions spread across the world," Jenny continued.

"In his research, he discovered some places in the world that were the original sites where the Black Disaster first appeared and proliferated. Baiqiu Village was one such case. So..."

"So he brought me and our daughter here, in search of the origin. He taught Aifu from a young age, both of them well-versed in ancient languages. They discovered an underground ruin near this village."

Jenny paused, exhaling.

"Of course, these aren't the most important things. The most crucial is that my husband took a liquid metal from inside Silver Tower, which could be used like spray paint; its name is 'Sunshine No. 1'."

"This liquid metal is the only substance recognized in current research able to block and insulate against shadows," Jenny said with a sigh.

"I still have a small bottle of this metal, which I can use to trade with you. For all your Large Pyroxene Stones!"

'Sunshine No. 1?'

'There's such a thing?'

Yu Hong was half-doubtful, silent for a moment. Oddly, Jenny didn't rush him but stood outside the door and continued.

"Think it over. Right now, Aifu is hiding in a 'Sunshine No. 1' room, temporarily insulated from Evil Shadow, but she can't hide forever. The moment she steps out, she might be immediately entwined by Evil Shadow. So, after the peak period, I will come again! I hope by then you have made a decision..."

After speaking, Jenny quickly left the doorway and disappeared into the woods with agility like a panther.

Not long after, she returned to her dwelling within the cave.

Locking the door securely, she stood by the silver metallic door, where her daughter was.

Crouching down, Jenny noticed the bag of luminous stones on the ground outside the silver metallic door had turned into white powder without her knowing when.

Her face changed instantly.

"Aifu, are you still there?" she asked urgently.

"I'm here, Mom!" Aifu hastily responded from inside.

"According to the attack pattern, the next assault should be in six hours. I've judged using the Red Value detector that the environmental Red Value will peak above two hundred before the attack! Luminous stones can neutralize the Red Value as much as possible, preventing the peak and its materialization to assault. So all I can do now is find as many luminous stones and Large Pyroxene Stones as possible to place by your side to neutralize the environmental Red Value!" Jenny said gravely.

At this moment, she was entirely different from how she had presented herself to Yu Hong and Doctor Xu.

She clearly knew so much more, without any concealment or pretense.

"I understand... It's going to be okay... It's just this Black Mark that's crazily driving me to infect more people. It gives me a feeling that, as long as I can infect enough people, I can avoid harm!" Aifu shouted back from inside.

"It's okay, just like before, with your father's legacy here, I will cure you! It's going to be all right, Aifu," Jenny consoled.

"I believe you, Mom," Aifu responded in kind.

Then, Jenny began to prepare food for the two of them, getting ready for the peak period.

*

*

*

Night slowly fell.

Yu Hong stirred the fire in the hearth, simmering a pot of soup he had just added.

The door and the silver talisman array were restored; now he had to keep the Black Mark, preparing it for whatever might be strengthened next.

Jenny's words from the afternoon kept echoing in his ears.

'Ancient languages? A source point for the Black Disaster? Sunshine No. 1?'

These things, these names, draped a layer of mystery over Baiqiu Village, which he had thought was just any ordinary village.

In fact, Yu Hong had always been curious about one thing—where did the red runes on the surface of the luminous stones come from? They didn't seem like a product of modern technology.

And in this technologically sound society, facing shadows and Blood Tide, there must be their own response methods. What were these methods?

And now, Jenny had provided a possible answer.

It was very likely Sunshine No. 1.

Thinking of this, he stood up and walked to the corner, where he took out a stack of newspapers that had been moved from Stuttering Peng's side and began to search through them page by page.

Quickly, his movements paused as he picked out one of the newspapers.

This newspaper carried a report that mentioned Sunshine No. 1.

'....Regarding the newly developed special liquid metal, Professor Peng Siwei translated it as Sunshine No. 1. This liquid metal solidifies upon contact with light, and its initial discovery was around several Black Disaster origin sites. The production of its material is believed to have been generated alongside the Black Disaster.'

"There really is such a thing..." Yu Hong's face showed a hint of surprise.

He then thought of Dr. Xu's words, how Jenny and her daughter had encountered extremely dangerous high tide periods many times and had safely survived.

Combining that with Aifu's out-of-place demeanor and personality.

Looking at it this way, Jenny and her daughter must have a secret, and not an ordinary one.

"Judging from the tone of her voice just now, she seemed very certain that she and her daughter could withstand the high tide period. It might just be the effect of Sunshine No. 1."

Thinking of this, Yu Hong felt a stirring of interest in his heart.

Bang!

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the direction of the front door.

He turned to look at the wooden door.

It appeared to be shaking slightly as if some giant animal was madly ramming it from the outside.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The continuous, thunderous impacts were ceaseless.

Black insects started to rush in through the ventilation holes like sand.

These bugs had black shells, dense and short limbs, and fierce, centipede-like jaws.

But no matter how ferocious they were, the moment they entered the safehouse, they were melted by the light of the fire, turned into black smoke, and dissipated into nothingness.

Yu Hong's expression remained calm; the high tide period was not a significant threat to him now. He just needed to wait for Big Skin to leave and then quickly repair the door.

Taking advantage of this time, Yu Hong kept an eye on the door's integrity while constantly drafting standard talisman arrays and reinforcing them with the Black Mark.

He drew all these talisman arrays on ordinary wooden boards and then stacked them together, linking them with wooden nails prepared beforehand.

In this way, a large talisman array Array Plate made up of nine wooden board talisman arrays was successfully completed.

During the full six days of the high tide period, Yu Hong had made three such talisman array Array Plates. Two of them were made from simple talisman arrays, while the last one was built around a silver talisman array core, known as the Silver Core version.

It was to be ready for the potential arrival of the Evil Shadow Woman at any time.

Soon, the high tide period ended.

The next day, at dawn.

Yu Hong opened the door, ready to go out and gather dry wood, and soon he heard a soft sound of footsteps approaching.

He returned to the stone steps at the entrance of the cave and looked out from a high vantage point.

He saw Jenny and Aifu hurrying toward him from the distance in the woods.

Six days had passed, and Jenny looked even more haggard; her eyes were dark and sunken, and she had lost a lot of weight.

Her daughter, Aifu, was the same, her previously bright blonde hair had lost its luster, and she seemed fearful and apprehensive.

But regardless, it had been six days... and she was still alive, her life not taken by the Evil Shadow, which itself was not normal.

Seeing the two approaching, Yu Hong didn't say a word. He quickly went back inside, closed the door, and quietly waited for them to arrive.

His initial impression of Jenny and her daughter had already blurred, replaced by a special sense of mystery with a tinge of enigma.

Soon, the two stood outside the wooden door, separated from Yu Hong by only a door panel.

"It's been six days, what have you decided? Maybe you need to try its effects," Jenny's hoarse voice asked from outside.

"How do I know what you're saying about Sunshine No. 1 is true? After all, you don't have what I need, and the exchange between us is not equal," Yu Hong replied indifferently.

"People always want to survive," Jenny said, "Is Aifu wrong for wanting to live?"

"She's not wrong," Yu Hong said, "But that has nothing to do with me. I have no reason to help you."

"But we have no other choice..." Jenny said as she grasped a stick, with her daughter Aifu holding the other end.

They were connected by this single stick.

"I've told you, this has nothing to do with me," Yu Hong said calmly. He had no interest in dealing with someone like Aifu, who wanted to secretly infect others.

"You have the ability! That makes it your business," Jenny raised her voice.

"I have no obligation to help you," Yu Hong countered.

"But we have no other choice," Jenny replied, "Don't force us..."

Her eyes grew more profound and dangerous.

"How am I forcing you? By not having the ability to save you, am I forcing you??" Yu Hong was almost amused with anger, having only heard of such people before, never expecting to encounter them in real life.

"Faced with the threat of death, people will do anything to survive," Jenny's gaze became even calmer.

Behind her, her daughter Aifu took a step forward, standing out.

"But if you help us now, we will be very grateful to you," Jenny continued.

"I don't need your gratitude," Yu Hong said lowly.

"Then we'll die together," Jenny smiled. "From now on, Aifu will just sit by your door continuously, and if she dies here, the Withered Woman's Black Mark will stay at your door forever, turning this cave safehouse into a breeding ground for Evil Shadows. The moment you leave, the Evil Shadow's Black Mark will stick to you!"