Jenny spoke lightly, but the look in her eyes was ice-cold.
"Want to try? Try seeing whether we can cripple this Safe House of yours?"
For a moment, the three people inside and outside the door fell silent.
Yu Hong said nothing, his expression shifting unpredictably. Clearly, he was thinking and hesitating.
After a long silence, he slowly spoke.
"This deal isn't reasonable. I want to know why you're so certain that with my help, you can escape the attacks of the Withered Woman and Evil Shadow? That you can survive?"
Outside the door, Jenny's expression didn't change. She removed her water pouch and took a sip. The instant she heard those words, she knew the other side was showing signs of compromise.
"This was one of my husband's studies. Later, I can give it to you as compensation in exchange. But on one condition: you have to help us get through this crisis."
".How are you going to get through it?" Yu Hong asked.
"Large Glowstones! We need enough Large Glowstones!" Jenny replied.
"I can give you three at most. That's all the stock I have." Yu Hong replied, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Three should last for a while. As long as we don't face it head-on, they can hold out for a long time!" Jenny quickly said, a trace of joy appearing on her face.
"But how do I know you'll keep your promise and tell me the secret of avoiding Evil Shadow?" Yu Hong asked.
".How about this? I'll tell you part of it first. Then you put two outside the door for us to take. After that, I'll tell you the final part, and you give me the last one." Jenny spoke rapidly. "This is less secure for us, but it guarantees your interests. How about it?"
"Fine." Yu Hong was silent for a moment before answering decisively.
He got up and walked to the corner of the Cave, where he dug out his stored Large Glowstones. There were five left in total.
The clubs and the main door had to be replaced frequently, so only a few intact Large Glowstones remained. After all, he had been studying rune formations lately, and Black Mark had no spare time to produce the Large Glowstones, whose manufacturing and recovery cost-effectiveness was somewhat low.
He took out three of them, returned behind the door, and sat beside the stone wall.
"I've brought them. Move back."
"All right." Jenny was much calmer by now. Using the club to pull her daughter along, she descended the stone steps and retreated.
From a distance, the two of them stared intently at the Wooden Door of the Cave, watching for every movement.
About half a minute later, the Wooden Door slowly made a crisp cracking sound. Then the door panel slowly opened, revealing a narrow gap.
A hand holding a Large Glowstone extended out and gently placed it on the ground outside.
That was the first one.
The hand withdrew, then brought out a second and placed it beside the first.
Crack.
The door closed again.
"Go!" Joy flashed across Jenny's face. She hurried forward, climbed the stone steps, and picked up the two Large Glowstones from the ground.
"Now you can tell me how you avoid Evil Shadow, right?" Yu Hong's voice came from behind the door.
"I can tell you half." Jenny glanced at her daughter, who was also showing joy, and gestured for her to move a little farther away.
"Ghost Shadow and Evil Shadow are actually the same. Before attacking living people, they both trigger a series of omens. We can use instruments to detect these omens, allowing us to predict them in advance and make preparations so they can't successfully appear and attack."
She paused, then continued.
"According to my husband's research, as long as we use the Red Value Detector to keep the red value within a certain range, it will make Ghost Shadow hesitate, waver, and become caught in an uncertain state."
"Do they have intelligence?" Yu Hong pressed.
"Not sure." Jenny replied, "Anything else you want to ask?"
"How did you determine Evil Shadow's red-value range?" Yu Hong narrowed his eyes.
"Adjust upward based on Ghost Shadow's average numerical strength. That isn't difficult. The difficult part is stabilizing the value. Generally speaking, whether it's Ghost Shadow or Evil Shadow, before appearing, they cause the red value to surge rapidly until it reaches the limit. That's the fundamental reason we need your Large Glowstones." Jenny spoke quickly.
"Lastly, Sunshine One." Yu Hong reminded her.
"The secret to avoiding Evil Shadow's pursuit is already more than worth three Large Glowstones." Jenny's voice turned cold. "If you want Sunshine One too, fine—but you'll need to trade more Large Glowstones for it!"
"I still have some questions. If you're willing to answer them, I can give you another Large Glowstone." Yu Hong continued.
"Four in total? Fine, but I need to judge the value of the questions."
"Fine!"
The two quickly reached another agreement.
"First, tell me the red-value range for avoiding Evil Shadow. I'll add the third Large Glowstone." Yu Hong said.
"All right. The red-value range for avoiding Evil Shadow is between 120 and 140! As long as it stays within this range, Evil Shadow will remain at the point where it's about to appear but unable to appear. However, this state continuously consumes released red value. After maintaining it for half an hour, Evil Shadow will retreat." Jenny answered readily.
"All right. Move farther away, and I'll give you the third one!" Yu Hong was equally brisk. He naturally wouldn't truly believe her, but at least he now had something to use as a reference.
"All right." Jenny replied and slowly retreated.
But this time, she didn't really move far away. Instead, she circled halfway around and hid to the left of the Wooden Door.
Then, with one hand, she grabbed hold and climbed effortlessly up the wall to the left of the Wooden Door like a rock climber.
After that, she secured her body in place, drew a black-lacquered dagger from the small of her back with her right hand, and aimed it at the Wooden Door.
The moment the Wooden Door opened, she could leap down from this position and instantly pin down the person inside.
With her professional combat skills, it would take only a few seconds to subdue a thin man like Yu Hong.
Seconds passed.
Soon.
Crack.
The Wooden Door opened a narrow gap.
The gap grew wider and wider, until it was wide enough for a hand to extend through and bring out a Large Glowstone.
At that moment, Jenny leaped down from the side, seized the Wooden Door, and shoved herself inward.
As long as she could squeeze behind the door, with her combat ability, a mere Yu Hong—Crack.
A Pistol had already risen, aimed at her chest.
Just as Jenny jumped into the Cave and was about to rise and pounce, suppressing Yu Hong—
A dark muzzle had already been raised and fixed on her.
The muzzle did not move at all. It was only a dozen centimeters from her chest, and the person holding the gun was Yu Hong.
His expression was calm as he reached out and pulled the trigger. Without the slightest hesitation.
Bang! Jenny was horrified. Her body jerked backward. She rolled and leaped out through the door, landing on the ground with a splat and scattering droplets of blood.
She had been shot in the right side of her chest from such close range. It was only thanks to the opponent's terrible marksmanship—perhaps he didn't understand the recoil of a Pistol—that she had survived.
That blunder gave her her only chance at life! Jenny's entire body went numb!
That bastard actually had a gun!? If he had a gun, why the hell had he been acting so cowardly!? Putting on such an act!? Her mind was in complete turmoil. For the first time, she truly experienced the treachery of the human heart!
Yu Hong's purpose and intentions churned through her mind again and again, yet she couldn't figure out why he had done this.
She struggled to her feet, took a single step, and rushed to her daughter's side, grabbing the Wooden Door from the girl's hands.
"Go!!" she barked.
The violent pain twisted her features faintly. But that pain also made her mind grow increasingly clear.
This time, she had been caught completely off guard. Once she returned and treated her wounds, she would have plenty of ways to kill Yu Hong.
As long as he still had to come out to gather firewood, fetch water, or find food, she would have a way to ambush and kill him. If necessary, all she had to do was quietly spray a few bursts of the last chemical poison powders her husband had left behind into his ventilation openings, and she could kill him without a trace!
The two of them quickly ran into the distance.
Bang! Another gunshot rang out.
Jenny collapsed at the sound, pitching forward onto the ground. A patch of red slowly seeped through the clothes at her lower back and waist, spreading wider and wider.
Eve was beside her and was dragged down with her, tumbling to the ground.
Seeing her mother's injuries, Eve was plainly stunned.
Several breaths later.
Her whole body trembled. She reached out, wanting to touch her mother, but did not dare because of the Evil Shadow infection.
"Run!" Jenny propped up her face and spoke pale-faced to her daughter.
When her daughter did not respond, she summoned all her strength.
"Run!!" she screamed, stuffing the two Large Glowstones into Eve's hands.
"Stop! Get down!" Yu Hong's voice came from behind.
He still held the gun, aiming at Eve as he approached step by step.
But Eve was clearly panicking. She grabbed the Large Glowstones, turned, and fled.
She didn't even look at her mother on the ground again. She charged frantically toward the distant woods, stumbling and falling before scrambling back up, never looking back as she gradually opened the distance.
"If you don't want Jenny to die, stand right there and don't move!" Yu Hong walked behind Jenny with the gun raised, aiming at her as he shouted.
His voice traveled in circles into the distance, echoing through the forest.
Unfortunately, Eve remained unmoved, as though she hadn't heard him at all. She continued charging forward and soon disappeared deep into the woods.
Yu Hong lowered the gun and looked down at Jenny. She had already bled a large pool onto the ground, staining a small patch of the surrounding grass red.
It looked like she wasn't going to make it.
"Anything you want to say?" he asked coldly.
Unlike the first time he had personally killed someone, long ago, he now seemed to have adapted to the basic rules of this era and environment.
"Eve. She'll survive." Jenny's pupils had already begun to grow unfocused. "She'll. survive. And avenge. me."
"A beautiful fantasy." Yu Hong's expressionless face turned away from her. He hurried toward the bunker where Jenny and Eve lived.
He ran with all his strength, giving chase the whole way.
Finally, after using a second strand of Cooling Qi—
Bang!!
A thick Wolf Tooth Club smashed into the back of Eve's head, knocking her to the ground.
In the woods, on a patch of grass thirty or forty meters from the Post Office, Yu Hong caught up with Eve.
Looking at the dizzy girl sprawled on the ground, he glanced left and right, then stepped forward and pried the two Large Glowstones from her hands.
Naturally, he didn't use his hands. He used the Wolf Tooth Club.
Eve had been infected by the Withered Woman Evil Shadow. Who knew whether direct physical contact would infect him too?
"Goodbye." He spoke softly to the girl.
"No, don't!!" Eve struggled, her voice as faint as a mosquito's. Tears slid down her cheeks in an unbroken stream.
Bang! Several more dull thuds sounded.
Yu Hong turned and left, carrying the Wolf Tooth Club. Eve was left behind, completely unconscious.
Blood continued to flow down Eve's forehead, more and more, more and more. Yu Hong had not smashed her to death. After all, Eve had not participated in Jenny's threats. She was still only an ignorant child.
She was young and didn't understand many things.
So he had merely broken all four of her limbs, then smashed her unconscious.
Before you continue