007 Decision I

Bright golden sunlight spilled down.

White Mound Village, surrounded by dark green mountains and forests, was like a piece of dark chocolate embedded in a dark green cake—abrupt and eye-catching.

White Mound Village lay entirely atop a large gray-white hill, situated at its summit.

More than thirty Tiled Houses were scattered throughout the village.

At the western outskirts of the village, a pale-faced man was taking a leisurely stroll, glancing around from time to time with a nervous look.

The man wore a gray T-shirt and yellow casual pants. His clothes were grimy and covered in wrinkles, clearly unwashed for a long time. His hair had clumped into greasy, sweat-soaked strands, forming a Mohawk.

A pair of dusty sneakers, their original color impossible to discern, stepped unevenly over the muddy ground. He clearly was not used to the roads here.

There were no insect chirps or bird calls anywhere around White Mound Village. Only the faint sounds of the man's slow footsteps crossing the ground remained.

It's been about fifteen minutes.

Yu Hong took the phone from his pocket and switched it on. He had refused to replace this old-fashioned phone out of nostalgia, never expecting it to become a crucial aid here.

He had lain in bed for several days. Had it been a smartphone, it would have died long ago. But this old phone had a small screen, a large battery, and could remain on standby for over a week. It was also resistant to drops, wear, and water.

At a critical moment like this, it gave him considerable psychological comfort.

The phone interface clearly displayed the time: March 5, 2024, 15:32.

"Sigh..." Yu Hong let out a soft breath. That was the time from before he came here.

But now, it was meaningless.

Looking at the empty signal bars in the upper-right corner of the phone screen, he understood that he was probably no longer in his original world. Whether it was the reports in the newspaper, the common knowledge Little Stutterer and Doctor Xu had mentioned, or the bizarre situations he had encountered, all of it pointed to one fact: this was not his world.

He raised his head and looked at the brilliant sunlight.

Yu Hong lowered his head and made a mark in the mud beneath his feet, stacking several stones into a small triangular formation.

It was a marker to keep himself from getting lost.

Fifteen minutes had passed since Doctor Xu and Little Stutterer had left. During those fifteen minutes, he had spent some time circling the village.

But to his disappointment, this place seemed to have no living people besides the three of them.

Maybe all the living people are hiding and refusing to show themselves. After all, even daytime might hold great danger.

Yu Hong sighed inwardly, one hand gripping the Enhanced White Stone at all times.

His earlier experience had made him deeply understand that in this place, the White Stone's effects were his only guarantee of safety.

According to what Doctor Xu had said before leaving, there would be no Black Worms while the sun was out during the day. At most, he might encounter a very small number of Ghost Shadows.

And as long as he carried a White Stone, those Ghost Shadows were not especially dangerous during the day.

Because Ghost Shadows seemed to be very weak in daylight.

Yu Hong believed that. Otherwise, Little Stutterer and Doctor Xu could not possibly have kept going out so carelessly.

With his thoughts settled, he looked back at the markers he had made along the way. Once he confirmed they were still there, he continued onward.

Quiet.

Dead silence.

Rustle.

Rustle.

Other than the crisp sounds of him stepping through the grass, there was no movement at all.

Even the wind was so faint it was nearly inaudible.

More than ten minutes passed.

Yu Hong finally made a full circuit of the village, stumbling over uneven ground.

He stood at the original Gravel Road intersection, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and kept committing the places he had just discovered to memory—especially the important ones.

The most important among them was the well.

Earlier, he had spotted a well dug in the courtyard of one house from afar.

There were many footprints around the stone-built well, coming and going. It was clearly one of the few sources of drinking water available to the living people here.

Yet from more than ten meters away, he had felt a bone-piercing chill radiating continuously from the well.

Not even sunlight could suppress it. Feeling that something was wrong, he had not approached and had only memorized its location.

"Very strange. A small village on top of a hill actually dug a well at such a high place." Doubt rose in Yu Hong's heart. Wells were generally dug in low-lying areas, after all. Water flowed downhill.

But this place was different from everywhere else. Standing on the Gravel Road, he looked out around him again.

Around the village stretched endless dark green mountain forests.

The forests connected into one vast expanse, like a sea of trees.

There were no bird calls and no living creatures in sight. Even the dark green trees and grass gave off an uncomfortable, hair-raising feeling.

Yu Hong stared blankly at the only Old Highway leading to the outside world. After a long while, he turned and went back into the village.

Nothing happened along the way, and he returned to Little Stutterer's home.

Only after he had completely shut the Wooden Door did he let out a soft breath of relief.

"This place is too damned evil..." Thinking that he might have to live here for an unknown length of time, with no hope of ever returning, filled him with deep despair.

"I already looked around while wandering earlier. There are no vehicles, but there are tire tracks on the ground. That means there used to be cars here, but they were later driven away."

Yu Hong found a piece of charcoal in the corner piled with miscellaneous items and began drawing a map of White Mound Village on the wall.

The map was simple, just crude lines and small squares representing houses.

He marked the well, the Old Highway leading out, and Little Stutterer's home, where he was staying.

The three locations happened to form a triangular structure.

What should I do now? Yu Hong looked at the map, quickly suppressing the despair in his heart as he considered the road ahead.

I can't keep relying on Little Stutterer. I have to learn to handle these dangers myself first, and I also need to learn how to find food, water, and shelter on my own.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he held a Charcoal Pencil and wrote and drew on the wall.

Then he raised his hand and stared at the Black Mark on the back of it.

And this mark... If I don't want anyone to discover it, I have to live alone. In such an extremely dangerous environment, letting others know about my ability would be very dangerous!

Though he still did not know whether others possessed similar abilities, Yu Hong was certain that Little Stutterer and Doctor Xu did not.

That much could be seen from certain subtle details.

"First, learn how to find food and water, then move out!" Yu Hong quickly settled on his plan.

Having made his decision, he got up and returned to the bedside, intending to rest a little more while waiting for Little Stutterer to return.

Knock, knock, knock. Suddenly.

The door sounded again.

One knock after another, rhythmic and measured.

Yu Hong's throat bobbed as he looked toward the Wooden Door. He made no sound.

That kind of knocking was wrong.

But he ignored it, gripping the Enhanced White Stone tightly. He drew a deep breath and quietly lay down, preparing to rest.

Knock knock knock. The knocking continued.

Again and again.

But Yu Hong never made a sound, pretending he had heard nothing.

He lay on his side on the bed, his eyes fixed tightly on the doorway. The Enhanced White Stone was clenched in his hand, his body tense and ready to react at any moment.

Fortunately, after seven rounds, the knocking stopped.

What replaced it was the sense that someone was peeking through the window.

Looking inside through a gap in the sealing strips.

Yu Hong's scalp prickled. He turned and stared hard at the window, taking great mouthfuls of air in a low voice.

The intense sense of danger continuously stimulated his adrenaline. Blood rushed through his entire body, speeding up its circulation, and his face flushed bright red.

He did not know how much time passed.

The figure outside the window seemed to lose patience and quietly leave.

The window no longer blocked the light, returning to normal.

Yu Hong clutched the Enhanced White Stone tightly and felt that both the stone and his palm were drenched in sweat.

Lowering his head, he took deep breaths and adjusted his condition. Then he got up and picked up another White Stone, this one unused.

He looked at the number displayed on it: 2 days.

An unused one only needs two days to be enhanced? He let out a breath of relief.

Listening to the questioning voice in his ear, he silently gave the answer to begin the enhancement.

Very quickly, the number on the White Stone's surface vanished in an instant. The entire stone seemed to be covered in a slick layer of grease as the Black Mark began enhancing it.

Without even looking at it, Yu Hong stuffed it into his other pocket.

Then he lay down, narrowed his eyes, set an alarm on his phone, and drifted into a groggy sleep.

This time, he did not sleep long or soundly, waking up again before long.

Little Stutterer isn't coming back tonight. That means I'll be the only one staying in this house tonight. Yu Hong looked at the dim sunlight beyond the gap in the window, his heart sinking slightly.

He got up and went to the corner with the miscellaneous items, taking out a Big Candle Little Stutterer had given him before leaving, along with something similar to matches.

He prepared them and placed them beside the bed, where he could reach them at any time.

And so, Yu Hong lay half-reclined on the bed, staring blankly as he waited for nightfall.

Time slipped away bit by bit. Before long, the sky outside grew darker and darker, gradually sinking into blackness.

This time, it was very quiet. There were no Black Worms like last time, nor were there any Ghost Shadows.

It was as though everything had forgotten him, leaving only peace.

Amid his haggard waiting and vigilance, the night passed quickly.

Only when dawn came and Yu Hong saw bright sunlight streaming through the window did he finally let out a fierce breath of relief.

But though dawn had come and the night had passed without incident, the prolonged vigilance, tension, and ordeal had left his mind and body utterly exhausted.

It also made him want all the more to find a truly, absolutely safe place to rest.

He was not Little Stutterer. If this continued and he could not rest properly, he would die.

Getting up, Yu Hong filtered some water in the room and drank it. Then his stomach began to growl again.

Although he had eaten all of Little Stutterer's stored food yesterday, so much time had passed that his stomach had long since digested it all.

He went outside. With the sunlight just right, he wandered around the Gravel Road intersection again.

This time, he walked a stretch down the Old Highway, trying to find edible plants or insects.

But unfortunately, he found nothing on the road. Not a single insect was visible, and he did not recognize any of the plants.

Not one of the plants here was something he had seen before. Even common things like wild chrysanthemums and dandelions were nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, Little Stutterer and the other woman finally returned.

Thud.

Inside the house, Little Stutterer struggled to lower a large bundle from her back onto the floor.

Then she untied the bundle.

Inside were neatly packed portions of Dried Meat, Dried Mushroom, and dried insects.

Yu Hong moved closer to help. He found that the Dried Meat was mainly made up of blackish chunks of flesh, and he had no idea what animal they came from.

The Dried Mushroom was also broken into pieces, making it impossible to tell what variety it had been.

And the dried insects... "This is... cockroach?!" Yu Hong's expression changed slightly.

"It's One Bite Fragrance." Little Stutterer shook her head and corrected him. Then she casually picked up a thumb-sized Dried Cockroach and put it into her mouth.

"Delicious!" She gave a thumbs-up, chewing rapidly with crisp crunching sounds. Her round eyes opened wide, brimming with delight.

"..." Yu Hong was at a loss for words.