Night of Despair

Chapter 44 : Second Letter (Thanks to Nuoyan Zuiyu, the Alliance Hierarch)

"Red Value Detector!" Yu Hong laughed, his impression of the device was deep. Without it, as Jenny had described, evading would have been utterly ineffective.

Snap.

Dr. Xu turned on the button to try it out.

Hiss.

Immediately, a red light emerged from the detector, and the data on the LCD screen began to change rapidly.

The data soared at an alarming rate.

50!

80!

120!

230!!

The red light from the detector grew increasingly dazzling.

Yu Hong and Dr. Xu were both stunned for a moment.

Bang!!

Suddenly, Yu Hong reached out and shoved Dr. Xu hard, and they collapsed to the ground separately.

In the instant they split apart, a black shadow appeared behind Dr. Xu, stretching out its hand towards her.

Beep!!!

The sharp alarm of the Red Value Detector sounded.

Yu Hong rolled on the spot, jumped up, and swung the Wolf Fang Club at the black shadow.

The Wolf Fang Club swooshed through the air and smashed directly onto the head of the black shadow.

But eerily, the Wolf Fang Club seemed to strike into a patch of Black Fog, whiffing through the air underneath the shadow without contact.

The three Large Pyroxene Stones inside it also instantaneously turned into a cloud of ash, disintegrating into nothing.

The Red Value Detector suddenly paused, and the numbers plummeted, dropping by two hundred.

Then it was 150, 100, 60, 30.

It stopped at 30, but within a few seconds, the numbers began to surge upwards again.

"Let's go!" Yu Hong rushed over to pull Dr. Xu up, and the two of them sprinted away towards the distance.

The alarm from the Red Value Detector on their bodies quickly sounded again.

The sharp alarm echoed through the surrounding woodland.

And in the place they left behind, at Jenny's tunnel entrance.

A black shadow was rapidly regaining its form; in a mere three seconds, the Evil Shadow had completely reformed and suddenly vanished from the spot.

Huff! Huff! Huff!!

Yu Hong gasped for breath, running while checking the Large Pyroxene Stones on his body.

The three inside the Wolf Fang Club were all gone, turned into white ash.

The talisman array he carried on his body and three other Large Pyroxene Stones were still there.

"Just like that, it destroyed my three Large Pyroxene Stones. That must have been the Evil Shadow!" He tried to steady his breathing and shouted loudly.

Dr. Xu hurried along behind him, seemingly even a bit more fit than he was.

But it made sense—he thought—whoever was less fit wouldn't have survived until now.

"Where are we, huff, going now!?" she asked.

"To my place! It's the only place that might be able to stop that thing!!" Yu Hong replied urgently.

"I didn't grab my medicine!?" Dr. Xu's face changed.

"Survival is more important! We can get it later!" Yu Hong said.

The two rapidly dashed through the woodland, with nothing seeming to chase or catch up behind them. However, they felt an indescribable chill in their hearts, closing in quickly.

Zi!

Trees on both sides retreated swiftly, and the grass beneath their feet was stamped with clear footprints.

Zi!

Suddenly, Yu Hong halted his steps and looked straight ahead.

His abrupt stop nearly caused Dr. Xu, who was following, to collide with him.

"What..." Before Dr. Xu could ask, she, too, saw what was in front of them.

A black figure was standing quietly behind a large tree ahead, revealing only half of its unkempt black hair.

A ragged black dress, messy and dry black hair, and an unseen face. Along with the rapidly rising Red Value data, all these signs pointed to the identity of the figure—Evil Shadow!

Yu Hong slowly backed away, but Dr. Xu suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

"Behind us... there's one too!"

Dr. Xu's voice trembled as it reached him.

Yu Hong slightly turned his body, tensely looking behind him.

Sure enough!

Another figure in a black dress stood behind a tree.

No... not just behind!

He shivered all over as he saw that behind every tree around them, a figure with black hair was slowly moving out.

Ten.

Twenty!

Thirty!

Fifty!!

Possibly even more!

They densely gathered behind the trunks, heads lowered, long hair hanging over their faces, standing quietly and waiting, encircling the two of them.

"How... how are there so many!!?" Dr. Xu's voice altered, as if she had lost her normal tone and become someone else.

"Do you have Jenny's things with you!?" Yu Hong took a deep breath and asked in a low voice.

"I have... I have them," Dr. Xu responded.

Their backs to each other, their clothes soaked with sweat, they didn't dare make any rash movements.

"Hold tight." Yu Hong took another deep breath, suppressing the fear in his heart and grabbed the only talisman array hidden inside his clothing.

"Stay close to me!"

His voice softened.

"I'll count to three, and we run."

Dr. Xu turned pale and nodded urgently.

By then, she had no idea what to do and finally realized what level the Evil Shadow, which had driven the combined forces of an entire town away, was truly at.

"1."

Yu Hong held the talisman array firmly, ready to pull it out.

"2."

His other hand touched the position of the three Large Pyroxene Stones, ready to grab and throw at any time.

All around, the forest was deathly silent; even the wind had vanished at this moment. Only a deep oppression remained, closing in, trying to overwhelm the two of them.

"3!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Hong charged forward, sprinting toward the direction of his cave.

He didn't look at the Black Fog ahead; instead, he ran headlong into it.

He raised the talisman array in one hand and threw a Large Pyroxene Stone forward with the other.

Simultaneously, Yu Hong called upon a cool current within his body to recover his strength.

"Keep up with me!" he yelled.

The three Large Pyroxene Stones he threw flew towards the Black Fog ahead but disintegrated into white powder before they could get close.

Then, he reached forward with the talisman array in his hand.

The shape of the Black Fog twisted rapidly, becoming fuzzy and indistinct as it was disturbed by the three Large Pyroxene Stones.

Then, as the wooden board of the talisman array rapidly approached, accompanied by the sharp alarm of the Red Value detector, the talisman array came into instant contact with the Black Fog.

Pfft!!

There was a flash of white light, like the sound of a light bulb exploding.

The talisman array and the Black Fog shattered at the same time, dissipating into nothingness, with pieces of broken wood scattered on the grass around.

It was at that moment that Yu Hong and Doctor Xu broke free from the enclosure and fled at full speed towards the cave.

The two of them ran desperately, with no dare to pause for a moment.

They ran through forests, slopes, and rocky grounds. What would normally take ten minutes or even half an hour, they forcibly shortened to just ten minutes.

Both were drenched in sweat, their muscles gradually weakening, their lungs on fire, and white spots beginning to blur their vision.

"Quick!!" Yu Hong summoned another thread of cool air, regaining his strength instantly; most of the negative condition of his body was also gone.

Only then did he realize that this cool air could not perfectly restore the body's condition but only replenish a large amount of energy for the short term while the physical trauma remained.

"I... can't... keep up..." Doctor Xu was gasping for air behind him.

This full-speed sprinting if she could keep it up for ten minutes was already a demonstration of her strong physical fitness. However, in an environment lacking many trace elements, the sprinting was still a massive burden.

That she had managed to persist until now was already pushing her limits.

"We're nearly there! Hurry!" Yu Hong stretched out his hand to the front, grabbing her arm with a backward swipe.

But in that quick glance back, he saw yet another black figure appearing not ten meters behind them.

"They're coming again!! Quick! We're almost there!!" He pushed harder, sprinting forward.

Just ahead was the safety of the cave shelter's stone wall, the door coming closer, clearly visible.

They were about to arrive!!

Hisss!

Suddenly, a black figure flickered, appearing less than a meter behind the two.

The Black Fog reached out, barely missing Doctor Xu at the back.

A cold presence enveloped the two instantly, attempting to slow them down.

But thankfully, it was just short.

Bang!

Finally, Yu Hong made it!!

He threw himself against the door, took out the key to unlock it in a frenzy, then rushed inside, tumbling in with Doctor Xu.

Pfft!

The door, hooked by a foot, locked itself shut.

Behind the door, the silver talisman array lit up suddenly with a silver glow, blocking the Black Fog that rushed towards them from outside.

But at this moment, Doctor Xu could no longer see; she collapsed on the ground, her eyes blinded by snowflake-like spots, she couldn't see anything. Her body convulsed violently, her leg muscles visibly twitching rapidly.

Soon after, she slumped sideways to the ground, curling into a ball, her mouth unconsciously open, saliva mixed with sweat streaming down from the corner of her mouth.

She felt herself gradually losing control over her body, starting with her legs, slowly losing all sensation.

This loss of feeling was climbing upwards, quickly reaching her thighs, engulfing her entire lower limbs.

In the distance, she thought she heard something fiercely slamming against the door, making a loud noise.

That sensation of loss climbed up swiftly, passing her lower body, reaching her abdomen, about to reach her chest.

Bang!

Yu Hong helped Doctor Xu up against the stone wall, then picked up the talisman array and walked towards the door.

Three talisman arrays had already been used up, leaving two, one of which was the strongest version with a silver rune as the core. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Reaching the entrance, he stuck the talisman array to the back of the door.

Bang!

Another loud noise struck the door.

Accompanied by the silver gleam from the talisman array, a Black Fog outside suddenly disappeared.

But there were too many Black Fogs; a new one rushed towards them immediately.

Bang!!

The new Black Fog also dispersed under the shining silver light, vanishing.

Yet more Black Fogs continued to approach.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

One blow after another, violent impacts shook Yu Hong himself to trembling.

The silver glow from the talisman array in his hand dimmed quickly, losing effect. He quickly swapped it for another new talisman array and pressed it against the back of the door.

One after another.

The white and silver lights of the talisman array interwove, rapidly dimming.

As the light was about to be snuffed out completely, supposedly only able to hold for a couple more times, the door would be breached.

The noise suddenly quieted down.

The white light of the talisman array gradually faded, extinguished. Half of the runes remained unbroken. This meant the Evil Shadows outside had either left or been completely eradicated...

Yu Hong didn't dare to move, staying still, sweating as he waited.

He held out for over ten more minutes.

When he was sure there was no more activity from the talisman array, confirming that the Evil Shadows outside really had disappeared or left,

he finally relaxed his grip on the talisman array, collapsing to the ground.

Bowing his head, he saw his hands marked with red from the talisman array imprint, his body trembling involuntarily.

"Fuck!" His face contorted as he clenched his fists tightly, trying to calm the panic in his body.

Yes, he still had the physical strength—his current bodily state was purely psychological.

This direct confrontation made him truly realize just how perilous the Evil Shadows were.

So close.

It was so close...