Trouble 3 (Xie Qiong Kong Zhi Zhuo Xiao)

Plop.

Yu Hong and the other two collapsed onto the ground, their bodies limp and aching, gasping for air.

The heavy breathing rose and fell in waves throughout the cave, stirring up faint wisps of air.

"I told you. Trust me, right?" Yu Hong's face was pale as he spoke haltingly.

"This door?" Little Stutterer still couldn't understand. This wooden door hadn't been like this before—how had it changed in just one day? "What exactly did you encounter? What was that monster just now—" Yu Hong didn't answer. Instead, he looked toward Doctor Xu, trying to get information from her. Communicating with Little Stutterer was just too slow.

Doctor Xu's face was pale, blood slowly seeping from a wound on her calf. Hearing this, she carefully examined the reinforced wooden door, then looked around the rest of the cave.

"So this is the safe room you built yourselves." BOOM!!! At that moment.

A deafening roar cut off her words mid-sentence.

In the midst of the explosion, the wooden door shuddered violently again, and fine stone chips rained down around it.

Hiss! A muffled, strange screech came from outside.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!!! Then came a rapid series of frantic impacts.

This time, the force was far greater than before.

The reinforced wooden door trembled under the immense pressure, emitting faint vibrations.

The three froze for a moment, then snapped back to reality.

"It's that monster!! It didn't leave!!"

Doctor Xu screamed, her voice far sharper than usual, almost completely changed in pitch.

Without a word, Yu Hong and Little Stutterer rushed forward first, pressing their shoulders against the back of the door.

Seeing this, Doctor Xu gritted her teeth, got up, and joined them, bracing the wooden door.

BAM! BAM! BAM!!

One relentless impact after another shook the reinforced wooden door, and the screws securing the door frame began to loosen further.

"Hold it!!" Yu Hong roared.

One blow after another.

The three pressed against the door with all their might, countering the loosening caused by the impacts.

They all knew that if the door shattered, everything would be over.

So they gave it everything they had.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Until thirteen minutes passed.

Outside, the heavy rain gradually lightened, and some of the dark clouds in the overcast sky began to scatter.

Between the clouds, sunlight finally streamed down, like straight golden pillars of light.

BOOM!!

One final deafening crash.

The three shuddered violently. Obvious cracks had appeared around the wooden door, and it was about to break free from the stone wall of the cave entrance.

Hiss!!

The giant tick monster let out one last strange screech, finally stopped its assault, and began to retreat.

The screeching sound faded rapidly into the distance, then disappeared completely.

The three still pressed firmly against the door, not moving an inch, afraid it might launch a sudden counterattack.

They waited another ten-plus minutes.

Outside, golden sunlight gradually seeped through the gaps in the viewing window, and only then did Yu Hong know they should be safe.

Plop.

He collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Too exhausting. They had almost, almost been breached, the door nearly smashed through.

Given their state just now, if the door had been broken, the result was obvious. Certain death.

In their near-exhausted condition, the three couldn't have fled far.

Fortunately, it was all over.

Huff, huff, huff.

Their breathing sounded like bellows, sweat streaming down their foreheads and cheeks in unbroken lines, falling to the ground and leaving dark spots.

"It should be fine now. The sun's out." Yu Hong stood up and yanked open the viewing window with a shua, peering outside.

Through the steel wire mesh, sunlight streamed in, and a damp, chilly draft blew against his face, making him shiver slightly.

Scanning left and right through the window, he confirmed the monster had vanished, and only then did he fully relax.

He turned back to look at the two people who had also slumped to the floor.

"What was that thing just now? How did you two get tangled up with it?"

"That was a large Blood Tick from the Blood Tide. We usually call it Big Hide." Doctor Xu wiped the sweat off her face, casually rubbing it onto her grimy coat as she answered.

"But it shouldn't be showing up at this time. They usually only appear occasionally during the High Tide Period, and they're never this frenzied or dangerous!"

Thinking it over, she forced herself to stand.

"No, something's definitely wrong. We can't stay here. We have to pack up immediately and head for the Town Bunker! We can't hold off Big Hide on our own!"

A hint of anxiety crept into her expression.

"Yu Hong, held, it off!" Little Stutterer stood up, wiping her sweat with her sleeve as she pointed at the Reinforced Wooden Door.

She might as well not have pointed—the gesture only made Yu Hong and Doctor Xu notice the cracks and damage along the door's edge.

"What about next time? What happens when the High Tide comes?" Doctor Xu said in a low voice.

She turned to look at Yu Hong.

"I don't know how you managed to build such a sturdy door, but the High Tide is coming soon. Even one Big Hide almost broke through. Do you really think you can handle it? Do you think staying here will keep you alive?" She pointed at the cracks in the wooden door, raising her voice.

"..." Yu Hong fell silent. He pressed one hand against the door, staring at the text that appeared on its surface—Repair Time: 17 minutes.

The fact that it could be repaired even after being damaged was something he hadn't expected.

Besides, from an ordinary person's perspective, heading to the town was indeed the best choice. But his eyes flickered with hesitation.

If he went, a lot of his things would easily raise suspicion. And besides, hadn't he held it off? Sure, the door was nearly wrecked, but that was because he hadn't prepared enough. If he reinforced it with a few more braces or chains, it should be much easier next time.

"I don't want to go," Yu Hong said aloud.

"I, also—" Little Stutterer glanced at the cracked wooden door and started to speak.

But she was cut off before she could finish.

"Are you two insane? The door's almost broken, and you still won't leave? What if two Big Hides show up during the High Tide?!" Doctor Xu couldn't understand.

Her breathing grew rapid again as she stared at Yu Hong.

"I'm grateful you opened the door to save us just now, but this isn't the time for stubborn pride. Do you really think this busted door of yours can withstand the High Tide's assault?? You're asking to die, you know that?"

"Would going to the town be any safer? If more people gather together, wouldn't Ghost Shadows become an even bigger problem?" Yu Hong countered, his emotions actually settling down.

After the peak of fear and tension, his state had calmed.

"Yes, but the Committee is there. They have ways to deal with it. At the very least, it's safer than running into Big Hide out here!" Doctor Xu shouted.

Yu Hong shook his head. "Thanks, but I don't want to go." Right now, he felt everywhere was dangerous, everything outside was dangerous—none of it was as safe as the cave shelter he'd built himself.

At least the Black Mark was something he could see, something that could visibly improve his safety.

Once the door was repaired, as long as he added more reinforcements, he could handle Big Hide much more safely next time.

But he couldn't say any of that.

Because he had no way to explain how he'd done it.

In an environment this scarce of materials and parts, suddenly having a fully crafted security door appear was already highly abnormal in itself.

"You're insane!" Doctor Xu stared at Yu Hong in disbelief. "You've lost your mind! You're going to die!"

She pointed at the door.

"I don't know how you managed to buy a processed security door like this, but it won't hold back the Blood Tide. The High Tide isn't like normal times. If a Big Hide like that shows up, there could easily be several of them roaming together. You won't stop them!"

She kept pleading with him.

But no matter what she said, Yu Hong just shook his head.

He didn't believe the town had better safety measures than his own. Even if the Town Bunker might genuinely be safer.

He didn't want to entrust his safety to something outside his control, to rely on complete strangers.

So no matter what Doctor Xu said, he just shook his head.

Finally, seeing she couldn't convince Yu Hong, Doctor Xu turned to Little Stutterer.

"Yi Yi, he's impossible to reason with. We're leaving!"

Little Stutterer fell silent, then turned to look at Yu Hong.

"Stay, together," she stammered.

Clearly, Doctor Xu's speech hadn't convinced Yu Hong, but it had convinced her.

After all, the damaged Reinforced Wooden Door was already at its limit. If another Big Hide came and rammed it a few times, it would definitely be finished.

Yu Hong had no explanation to give, no reason to back up his decision.

He just stayed silent.

"Yu... Hong!" Little Stutterer looked at him. "Come, together."

She patted his arm, her gaze clear.

But Yu Hong only shook his head.

"You go on. I don't want to."

He knew that going to the Town Bunker would definitely be enough to deal with monsters like Big Hide—otherwise, the town would have already been swept away by the Blood Tide. They couldn't have gathered information on Big Hide either.

It really was more fitting for Little Stutterer and the others to go there.

But he didn't want to go.

He had no sense of safety in anything outside—only his own cave was secure enough! And even if he went there, with his current frail physique, once the Black Mark's power was exposed, the danger might be many times greater than staying in the cave.

After all, human hearts were often far harder to guard against.

Monsters were terrifying, but they were straightforward, simple and crude.

"Yi Yi, don't worry about me. I can fix the door on my own, no problem. As long as I don't provoke a few Big Hides. My cave entrance is high, not good for monsters to charge in—I just need to last a few days, rest assured." Yu Hong instead comforted Little Stutterer.

Little Stutterer blinked at him, wanting to persuade him further, but Yu Hong raised his hand to stop her.

"Go on, it's fine." Yu Hong softened his voice. "You've helped me for a long time anyway; now it's time to part ways. Of course, if you ever run into trouble in the future, you can come find me here. Whatever I can help with, I will."

He reached into his pants pocket, pulled out a piece of Enhanced Glowstone, and pressed it into Little Stutterer's hand.

"If he won't go, forget it! He's asking to die! Don't bother with him!" Doctor Xu had been persuading until her throat was dry, and seeing Yu Hong's unwavering resolve, she gave up too.

"Stubborn to the death! Let's go, Yi Yi, we're leaving now—if we hurry, we can still make it!" She grabbed Little Stutterer's hand, walked to the door, and peered through the Viewing Window to check the outside environment.

Little Stutterer, pulled along, turned back to tug at Yu Hong.

"Come, together." A hint of urgency showed on her face.

But her hand was pushed away by Yu Hong.

"Yu... Hong?" She was puzzled.

"I'll be fine. Go on. You and Doctor Xu together—more people can look out for each other." Yu Hong looked at her seriously.

"Doctor Xu, take care of Yi Yi. If you run into trouble, you can come to me. My place might not compare to the town, but it's enough to survive."