A Night of Desperation

Chapter 36: Trouble (4)

Jenny glanced at Dr. Xu and saw that she also wore an approving expression.

“Alright, let’s go back first. The food should be enough to get us through this high-risk period,” Jenny said.

Once the three of them reached a consensus, they quickly made their way back, picking up some dry firewood along the way.

It was slow when they left, but much quicker on the return, and within less than twenty minutes, they successfully arrived at the post office gathering site.

As they were about to part ways, Yu Hong suddenly thought of something and asked aloud.

“By the way, Jenny, I remember that it was several days between Old Yu’s return and the incident, right?”

“Yes, it was definitely several days,” Jenny nodded.

“Does this mean that even if he was infected, it could take several days before he spreads it to others?” Yu Hong furrowed his brows. “So the question is, what’s the method of transmission for the black handprints? Do you know?”

“Contact, it should be contact,” Jenny replied. “As long as you touch a black handprint or an individual with a black handprint, you could be infected.”

“Got it,” Yu Hong nodded and glanced at Dr. Xu while picking up his things. “Since it’s transmitted by contact, then when Old Yu first returned, who did he come into contact with?”

“…”

The other two fell silent.

They both recalled the situation and felt uneasy. Old Yu, being a butcher, had nearly come into contact with everyone. Looking at it this way, any one of them could have been infected.

“Let’s check again. Everyone, be cautious,” Yu Hong paused, his gaze turned toward the stone house.

“Also, there’s one more thing.”

“Mom!” Suddenly, Eve’s voice came from a distance. Her face looked somewhat haggard, and she was dressed in a gray thin sweater and black pants, walking quickly toward them.

When she got closer, instead of looking at the food in her mother’s hands, her eyes immediately fell on Yu Hong, her expression brightening with joy.

She immediately walked briskly towards Yu Hong.

“Brother Yu,” she said with a sweet smile, puffing her chest to subtly accentuate her body’s curves. “I heard you can make Great Luminous Stone. How many pieces do you have now? Could you sell me some more?”

“Eve!” Jenny scolded from the side, unable to hold back.

“It’s okay, Brother Yu is a good person, mom, don’t worry.” Eve unconsciously moved closer, reaching to hold Yu Hong’s arm.

“Stop!” Yu Hong suddenly took a step back, his gaze cold as he distanced himself.

“I want to ask you something.” He fixed his eyes on Eve.

“What… what question!?” Eve was startled by his sudden loud voice and stood frozen, not daring to move.

Jenny, on the other hand, was on high alert, her hand subtly resting on the hilt of the knife at her side.

She feared Yu Hong might harm her daughter. After all, in these times, there were many people with mental issues living alone.

Dr. Xu, without saying a word, also gripped the hilt of her short knife and slowly moved closer to Yu Hong, her eyes focused on Eve and Jenny.

Clearly, compared to Jenny and her daughter, she trusted Yu Hong more.

For a moment, the four of them were split into two sides, with a tense atmosphere brewing.

“Don’t be nervous, I just want to ask a question.” Yu Hong took a step back, signaling Dr. Xu to also back off.

“The footprints at the entrance of the post office stone house. Aside from the ones we left that day after we left, there was another set. Who do they belong to?”

His gaze shifted between Jenny and Eve.

“Don’t lie, I remember the footprints clearly from when we left that day. I made sure to remember the shape. But when I came back today, I noticed the footprints were different. Clearly, someone else has entered and exited the stone house more than once!”

As soon as he said that, the expressions of the three of them changed.

Jenny and Dr. Xu were both confused and fearful, while Eve was simply panicked.

Jenny glanced around and immediately noticed her daughter’s strange behavior. She was very familiar with Eve. Whenever Eve was anxious, she would stiffen, lower her head, and avoid eye contact, unconsciously pressing her hands against her thighs, wiping the sweat from her palms.

“Eve!!” Jenny suddenly shouted, her voice echoing through the woods.

“Was it you!?” She gritted her teeth, staring at her daughter with bloodshot eyes, hoping that Eve would deny it.

But Eve’s reaction caused Jenny’s hopes to collapse rapidly, leaving her in despair!

Pfft.

Eve covered her face with both hands, standing frozen in place, her face pale.

After a long pause, she slowly turned around.

Indeed, on the left side of her hip, a small black handprint was faintly visible.

The reason she had changed into black pants was clearly to cover up the gradually emerging black handprint on her body.

If it weren’t for Yu Hong’s suspicion, and if Eve hadn’t been questioned, the three might not have noticed the handprint hidden on her black pants.

Seeing the handprint, Yu Hong and Dr. Xu didn’t say anything further and quickly distanced themselves.

“The food’s been found. Let’s all scatter and calm down for a while,” Yu Hong quickly said.

“Jenny.” Dr. Xu called, seeing that Jenny hadn’t shown any sign of distancing herself from her daughter. She couldn’t help but remind her.

“If one person is infected, perhaps Great Luminous Stone can still help. But with two people, it’s different!” She paused. “Also…”

Dr. Xu’s gaze turned sharp as she stared at Eve.

“Keep an eye on your daughter.”

Her tone was rather blunt.

Jenny froze for a moment, her eyes reddening, as if she hadn’t heard the warning. She just turned her head, staring at her daughter with a fierce gaze, her chest rising and falling violently, her back to Yu Hong and Dr. Xu, crouching slowly beside Eve, as if deaf.

Dr. Xu didn’t say anything else. She quickly grabbed her things and left.

The two of them left one after the other, checking each other for any black handprints as they walked. After confirming that neither of them had any, they let out a sigh of relief.

“Eve definitely tried to infect us!” Dr. Xu gritted her teeth.

“Why would she do that!?” Yu Hong pulled out a half-changed Great Luminous Stone from his chest and exhaled. It was this item that had alerted him. He had initially been unsure about who had entered the stone house, but once the Great Luminous Stone showed abnormal behavior, he quickly identified the culprit.

“There must be some benefit, otherwise, both she and Old Yu wouldn’t have concealed it and actively made contact with others,” Dr. Xu speculated.

“I’ve always felt something was off.” Yu Hong spoke. “With Eve’s personality, in such a harsh environment, how could she not have any sense of vigilance? There are shadows and bugs everywhere, hasn’t she been scared?”

“Speaking of that.” Dr. Xu showed a hint of recollection. “Eve really is different from most people. I remember when Jenny’s family first arrived, her father was still around. He was a very frail old man, with no color on his face. He was at least 20 or 30 years older than Jenny. And…”

“And what?”

“And back then, Eve hardly ever came out. It was mostly her parents who showed up.” Dr. Xu recalled as she leaned against a tree.

“Later, Eve’s father suddenly said he was going out, but never returned. After that, Eve started going out. This girl is very capable, don’t be fooled by how silly she seems. Actually, she’s a linguistic genius, speaks four languages, and has deep knowledge of ancient linguistics. I don’t know why her family moved here.”

“Is there anything else unusual?” Yu Hong pressed.

“One more thing.” Dr. Xu’s brow furrowed deeply. “Their underground tunnel, no one’s ever gone in there. And they don’t allow anyone to visit. Also, several times during surge periods, when everyone was on the brink of collapse and several people died, their family was fine.”

“Looks like they have something going on.” Yu Hong nodded. Based on what he learned from Dr. Xu, they definitely had some hidden secrets.

“Definitely. Before, Eve went to town and brought back two guys who were pursuing her, but they quickly disappeared. I don’t know why, but I always feel like this girl is hiding something.” Dr. Xu frowned.

“Don’t get too close to them for now. If anything happens, come find me. If there’s any abnormality, tell me immediately.” Yu Hong took another piece of Great Luminous Stone from his waist pouch.

“I’ll lend you one piece of Great Luminous Stone for now. Be careful, it will emit slight heat when it changes color. Carry it close to your body, and you’ll be able to sense many places of danger.”

He handed the Great Luminous Stone to Dr. Xu. No matter what, she was the only medical professional around, and she was a familiar face with a good nature. If he could help, he would.

“Thank you!” Dr. Xu’s eyes flickered, and her face showed a trace of emotion. She quickly took the Great Luminous Stone. “I’m working on a herb right now, basically made from wild plants and minerals found nearby. It’s very helpful for wound infections, almost done. I’ll give you some when it’s ready!”

“Good!” Yu Hong’s eyes brightened. He hadn’t expected an extra reward. “Be careful.”

“I will!” Dr. Xu nodded firmly.

The two of them parted under the tree and returned to their respective shelters.

By the time Yu Hong returned to the safe house cave, the sky had already dimmed.

He put the firewood in the corner, started a fire, and began preparing food.

Sitting by the fireplace, he carefully thought back on the details of Jenny and Eve, his brow furrowing deeper.

‘The evil shadows are getting closer, quietly arriving beside the people around me. Eve is definitely done for. If Jenny stays with her, she’ll die too. That means, after this, only Dr. Xu and I will still have food issues left. Two more people will be gone.’

He sighed and poked the fire with a stick to ensure the oxygen could circulate better.

The red glow of the fire danced on his face, flickering in and out.

After adding more wood, Yu Hong stood up to check the protective symbols he was reinforcing on the walls. He had set up symbols all over the inner walls of the cave. But instead of reinforcing them to the extreme, he was strengthening them to a normal level.

Now, the walls and floor were covered with these symbols, designed to prevent evil shadows and malignant entities from entering the cave.

The threat of evil shadows was imminent, and he needed to be as prepared as possible.

These symbols all over the cave were the first step.

The second step was to create a portable temporary formation plate, which could be used to test the protection range of the symbol formations in other locations.

How large an area one symbol formation could protect was an important piece of data.

Only by confirming the range could he strengthen it on clothing, armor, and even on his body!

(End of Chapter)