Danger I (Thanks, Gray Tombstone Silver)

Danger I (Thanks, Gray Tombstone Silver)

Crack.

At last, the door shut completely.

Yu Hong let out a heavy breath.

"What the hell is this place!?"

He locked the door and straightened up, only to suddenly think of the Little Stutterer from before.

No matter how he looked at it, this place was bizarre. The Little Stutterer seemed like a good person, but how had she survived here? He took two steps back and let out a long breath.

Thud.

Suddenly, his back seemed to bump into something.

It was icy cold and somewhat hard. It seemed to be a person!!

Yu Hong's entire body froze.

He lowered his head and saw a pair of white shoes on the floor behind him, standing quietly behind him. That thing had actually come in!?? When!?

Bang!!

A tremendous crash rang out.

The Wooden Door was smashed open, and a short figure rushed in, flinging a handful of grayish-white objects.

"Ah!!"

At the same time, the Little Stutterer's voice was like a suona tearing through the silence, jolting Yu Hong awake from his rigid stupor.

He felt a spray of tiny grayish-white shadows brush past his cheek and strike the white-clad figure behind him.

Pfft pfft pfft pfft!

A dense pattering sound, like something striking cloth, rang out. Yet along with it, Yu Hong's whole body abruptly relaxed, and he staggered several steps forward, nearly falling.

He had already been weak and drained of strength. Now, after such a fright and such violent emotional swings, he was even more exhausted in body and mind.

After only a few steps, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.

Rolling over on the floor, he saw the Little Stutterer standing in the doorway, gripping a Thick Wooden Club and viciously smashing it into the White-Clad Figure.

Even stranger, the White-Clad Figure was like a leaking balloon. With a pfft, he softened and deflated, then quickly burst apart like foam, turning into scraps of cloth and vanishing completely.

Before the scraps even reached the ground, they shattered again, faded away, and left nothing behind.

As if everything that had just happened had been an illusion.

Huff, huff.

The Little Stutterer panted heavily, lowering the club as thick as her forearm. Her face was flushed, veins bulging on her face and hands. Fine beads of sweat were clearly visible even in the dim light.

"People... weak... dangerous. Outside... go out less. Less!" She turned to Yu Hong and spoke seriously.

Yu Hong nodded without realizing it.

Only then did he feel the burning pain in his back, as if a layer of skin had been scraped away.

Rolling over on the ground, he suddenly discovered that where his back had touched, a few drops of blood had actually been left behind.

Seeing this, the Little Stutterer hurried forward and helped him up.

The two of them exerted themselves together, and the Little Stutterer's strength immediately became apparent.

She was actually stronger than Yu Hong, a grown man—and by quite a lot!

She dragged Yu Hong up in one pull, turned him around, had him brace himself against the doorframe, and took off his shirt.

Then, from somewhere, she produced a jar of something and began smearing it over his back.

Very quickly, a coarse pain spread across his back.

Yu Hong endured it, knowing that she was saving him and treating his wound.

"What medicine is this?"

"My grandpa... left behind Wound Medicine Powder," the Little Stutterer answered haltingly.

"Works... well!"

Silence.

Yu Hong recalled the White-Clad Figure from just now. A heap of questions filled his heart.

After sorting through them for quite a while, he finally spoke again.

"That White-Clad Figure just now... what was it?"

"Ghost Shadow," the Little Stutterer answered.

"Ghost shadow?"

"Was he human?" Yu Hong asked again.

"Don't know."

Yu Hong only felt that his materialist beliefs, built up over many years, were on the verge of collapse. Especially since the other party had vanished right before his eyes—that scene gave him an indescribable sense of falseness and unreality.

He thought for a long while, until the light outside the window grew dimmer and dimmer. Then he spoke.

"Then... was that White-Clad Figure a ghost?"

"No." The Little Stutterer answered, "In... the newspaper."

Speaking was truly too difficult for her, so she simply paused treating his wound, bent down to pick up the newspaper, rustled through it until she found a page in the middle, and handed it to Yu Hong.

Yu Hong took it and saw the headline.

"Ghost Shadow Experiment Achieves Major Breakthrough"

Below it was the detailed report.

'According to the Human United Research Institute's public announcement, the essence of Ghost Shadows is closely connected to the Blood Tide. However, after careful analysis, the experiment details released by the institute indicate that Ghost Shadows themselves possess no memories. They retain only the human appearances they had in life, but none of the corresponding memories or emotions. They merely instinctively hunt and kill any living creature that approaches them or notices them, with their own kind as their primary targets.

In other words, Ghost Shadows are more like a new kind of hunter with an extremely high degree of camouflage. They cannot be killed, only driven away. Even if completely dispersed, they will soon reappear, and they possess the special ability to pass through the vast majority of existing matter.

In experiments conducted by certain institutions, there is even suspicion that they may not exist in reality at all, but within our brains, as special signals akin to self-induced hallucinations.'

After quickly reading the report, the chill in Yu Hong's heart instantly spread through his entire body.

Danger!

Too dangerous!! What the hell was this place!! Why was it so dangerous!? He had only gone outside for a moment! Was he even supposed to live!? Clutching the newspaper, he panted heavily and calmed himself for a while, then read it over and over several times.

Thud.

Yu Hong sat gloomily at the edge of the bed, watching the Little Stutterer put away the things she had used to treat his wound.

Then she began sorting through a woven bamboo basket filled with a mess of rotten mud and roots.

Because the room had no ventilation, the thick fishy stench of rotting mud immediately spread through it.

After sitting there for a while, Yu Hong only felt parched and feverish.

"Is there any water?" he asked dejectedly.

The Little Stutterer paused, then raised a hand and pointed at an inconspicuous Black Small Vat in the corner.

The vat was only the size of a human head, its exterior marked with blurry patterns of birds, branches, and flowers.

Yu Hong got up, walked over, crouched down, and lifted the lid.

A shallow layer of yellow water, carrying a faint stink, appeared before his eyes.

"..." He had no words. Just looking at it, he knew this water definitely could not be drunk.

It already stank. Suddenly, a black metal object shaped like a Teapot was passed to him from the side.

It was the Little Stutterer.

She shook the Teapot.

"Filter."

She mimed scooping water and pouring it into the opening at the top of the Teapot.

Only then did Yu Hong notice something like a filter screen at the top of it.

He fell silent for a moment, took the Teapot, found a water dipper beside the vat, and began scooping water into it little by little.

At last, he filtered one small dipperful of water.

Holding the Teapot, he found a Wooden Cup and poured the water into it.

Sss.

A clear stream of water with a faint odor poured down, filling one-third of the cup before stopping.

Yu Hong stared at the foul water. Though it had been filtered, it was still... He did not want to drink it, but his severe thirst and dehydration made him understand that if he, already sick and injured, became any more dehydrated, he would definitely be finished.

Just as he hesitated, the Little Stutterer snatched the cup from his hand and drained it in one gulp.

Clack.

She set the cup on the edge of the vat with a sharp sound.

"Drink. No... problem!"

Only then did Yu Hong pause. He stepped forward, scooped more water, filtered another cup, then held it in midair.

Hmm. He paused, raised the cup, and was about to drink.

But then he slowly lowered it again.

He raised it again to drink.

Very quickly, he slowly lowered it again. Beside him, the Little Stutterer's eyes followed his hand up and down, utterly bewildered.

After repeating this several times.

Yu Hong took a deep breath and gripped the cup tightly, his face growing paler and paler.

Couldn't this water be cleaner? He worried that before the water could replenish him, it would kill him first. The Little Stutterer being fine after drinking it did not mean he would be fine too. The difference in constitution between people could sometimes be far greater than one imagined.

'Strengthen the Wooden Cup?'

Suddenly, a faint voice entered his ears.

Clack, the cup was set on the Wooden Table beside him.

Yu Hong's expression changed slightly. He looked around, only to find the Little Stutterer standing obediently nearby, staring at him in confusion.

'Strengthen the Wooden Cup?'

The voice came again.

Yu Hong looked everywhere around the room, but no matter what, he could not find anyone speaking.

So he focused his gaze on the wooden cup on the table.

Very quickly, a faint number surfaced on the cup's surface: 3 days.

Other than that, there was nothing.

Yu Hong's expression changed at once. His first thought was that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after blinking repeatedly, he found that the number was still there.

Suddenly, he seemed to think of something. He lowered his head and looked at the Black Mark on the back of his right hand.

Sure enough.

The mark was as large as an egg, and the black area rippled with a watery sheen.

This thing is behind it! Yu Hong instantly understood.

For a moment, emotions churned in his eyes and his heart roiled. Standing there, countless thoughts appeared from nowhere in his mind.

But very quickly, he remembered that the Little Stutterer was still beside him.

He hurriedly raised his hand and showed the mark on its back to her.

"Can you see the thing on my hand?"

"..." The Little Stutterer shook her head, looking utterly confused. "Nothing... there."

"..." Yu Hong lowered his hand, then looked at the cup again. Confirming that the number was still there, he roughly formed a few guesses.

Under the Little Stutterer's confused gaze, he turned and walked elsewhere.

The room was not large and had only a few furnishings.

One wardrobe, one dining table that also served as a desk, two bedside cabinets, one old-fashioned vanity mirror, and two stools.

Other than that, there was only a pile of miscellaneous items in the corner, where the small water vat had been placed as well.

He wandered around once, then finally stopped in front of the Wooden Door.

Reaching out, he placed his hand on the door.

Recalling what had just happened, a thought rose in his heart again.

Couldn't this door become better?

Sss.

Suddenly, it was as if a fine thread had darted out from the mark on the back of his hand and burrowed into the Wooden Door.

Very quickly, a black number appeared on the door: 16 days.

'Strengthen the Reinforced Wooden Door?' The faint voice sounded again. It was impossible to tell whether it was male or female, utterly emotionless, like a mechanical voice.

Yu Hong looked at the number, and something faintly became clear in his eyes.

This number is probably the time needed for strengthening. Then what will it become after being strengthened?

He withdrew his hand and turned to look at the cup. The number on the cup had already disappeared.

And how does this strengthening work? Will it make much noise? Can it be strengthened endlessly? Are there any limits?

One question after another emerged from his heart.

"What are... you... doing??" the Little Stutterer could not help asking.

"My head got dizzy just now, and my brain went haywire. It's a little muddled." Yu Hong sighed, not mentioning the number or the Black Mark.

Before he understood the exact situation, he did not plan to reveal it to anyone.

The urgent matter was to find something to test the strengthening effect of this Black Mark.

The Wooden Door would take too long, and there was no guarantee it would not make a disturbance.

Yu Hong wandered around again and quickly fixed his eyes on an inconspicuous little object—the White Pebble the Little Stutterer had thrown earlier.