ALL NOVEL Chapter 39: Secret (3)
Chapter 39: Secret (3)
Jenny spoke lightly, but the look in her eyes was ice-cold.
“Do you want to try? See if we can destroy your safehouse?”
For a moment, the three people inside and outside the door fell silent.
Yu Hong remained silent, his expression changing unpredictably, clearly deep in thought and hesitation.
After a long pause, he slowly spoke.
“This deal is unreasonable. I need to know why you are so sure that with my help, you can escape the Withered Maiden’s attacks? That you can survive?”
Outside the door, Jenny remained calm, taking a sip from her water pouch. As soon as she heard his words, she knew he was starting to compromise.
“This was part of my husband’s research. Later, I can offer it as compensation for you. But the condition is, you must help us through this crisis.”
“…How do you plan to get through it?” Yu Hong asked.
“Great Luminous Stones! We need enough of them!” Jenny replied.
“I can give you three at most. That’s all I have in stock.” Yu Hong answered, furrowing his brow.
“Three should be enough for a while. As long as we don’t face them head-on, it will last a long time!” Jenny quickly responded, showing a hint of joy on her face.
“But how do I know you’ll keep your promise and tell me the secret to avoiding the Withered Maiden?” Yu Hong asked.
“Here’s what I propose. I’ll give you part of the information, and then you place two pieces of the Great Luminous Stones outside for us to take. Afterward, I’ll tell you the last part, and then you give me the final stone.” Jenny quickly said. “It’s less secure for us, but it guarantees your part of the benefit. How about it?”
“Alright,” Yu Hong answered after a moment of silence, confirming his agreement.
He stood up, walked to the corner of the cave, and pulled out his stock of Great Luminous Stones. There were only five left in total.
The barriers and the main door needed frequent replacements, so there were only a few complete Great Luminous Stones left. He had been researching talisman arrays and hadn’t had time to make or restore the less efficient Great Luminous Stones.
He took out three of them, returned to the door, and sat by the side stone wall.
“I’ve got the stones. You can back off,” he said.
“Alright,” Jenny replied, her emotions more stable now. She grabbed a stick and helped her daughter down the stone steps, retreating.
From a distance, the two kept a close watch on the wooden door, paying attention to every movement.
After about half a minute, the wooden door made a crisp cracking sound, then slowly opened, revealing a narrow gap.
A hand appeared, holding a Great Luminous Stone, and carefully placed it outside.
This was the first one.
The hand retracted, then took out the second stone and placed it next to the first.
Crack.
The door closed again.
“Let’s go!” Jenny’s face lit up with joy. She quickly stepped forward, climbed the stone steps, and picked up the two Great Luminous Stones.
“Now, can you tell me how you avoid the Withered Maiden?” Yu Hong’s voice came from behind the door.
“We can tell you half,” Jenny said, giving her daughter a look. Her daughter understood and stepped back a little.
“The Withered Maiden and the Withered Shadows are essentially the same. Before attacking living beings, they cause a series of premonitions. We can detect these premonitions using instruments to prepare in advance, preventing them from attacking successfully.”
She paused before continuing.
“According to my husband’s research, by using the Red Value Detection Instrument, if you maintain the red value within a certain range, it will cause the Withered Shadows to hesitate, making them indecisive.”
“Do they have intelligence?” Yu Hong pressed.
“Uncertain.” Jenny replied. “Anything else you want to ask?”
“How do you know the red value range for the Withered Maiden?” Yu Hong narrowed his eyes.
“By adjusting it based on the average strength of the Withered Shadows, it’s not difficult. What’s hard is stabilizing the value. Usually, whether it’s the Withered Shadows or the Withered Maiden, before they appear, the red value rapidly rises to its maximum. This is the main reason we need your Great Luminous Stones,” Jenny quickly explained.
“Lastly, the Sunlight No. 1.” Yu Hong reminded.
“The secret to avoiding the Withered Maiden’s pursuit can be exchanged for three Great Luminous Stones. That’s enough,” Jenny said coldly. “If you still want Sunlight No. 1, you’ll need to give us more Great Luminous Stones!”
“I have more questions. If you’re willing to answer, I’ll give you another Great Luminous Stone.” Yu Hong continued.
“Four stones? Alright, but I need to assess the value of your questions.”
“Deal!”
They quickly reached an agreement.
“Now, tell me the red value range for avoiding the Withered Maiden. I’ll give you the third stone,” Yu Hong said.
“Alright, the red value range for avoiding the Withered Maiden is between 120 and 140! As long as it stays in this range, the Withered Maiden will be at a point where she’s about to appear but can’t. However, this point will continuously drain the red value. After maintaining it for half an hour, the Withered Maiden will retreat,” Jenny responded promptly.
“Good. Now, step back a little. I’ll give you the third one!” Yu Hong also agreed quickly. Although he didn’t fully trust her, at least it provided some reference value.
“Alright,” Jenny replied, slowly stepping back.
However, this time, she didn’t retreat too far. Instead, she circled around and hid to the left side of the wooden door.
She grabbed the wall effortlessly, as agile as a rock climber, and climbed to the left side of the wooden door in the cave.
After securing herself, she drew a black dagger from her waist and aimed it at the door.
The moment the door opened, she would leap down and immediately subdue the person inside.
With her professional combat skills, she could easily take down someone like Yu Hong, who was a weak man.
Time ticked by.
Soon.
The wooden door made a slight cracking sound.
The gap in the door grew larger and larger until it was wide enough for a hand to slip through and place a Great Luminous Stone outside.
At this moment, Jenny jumped down from the side, grabbing the wooden door with her body and pressing herself inside.
As long as she could get behind the door, with her fighting skills, Yu Hong was nothing to her.
Crack.
A gun was raised, aiming directly at her chest.
Just as Jenny jumped into the cave, ready to leap and restrain Yu Hong, a black barrel had already been aimed at her.
The gun didn’t budge, and the muzzle was only a few centimeters away from her chest. The person holding it was Yu Hong.
His expression remained calm as he reached out and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
Jenny was shocked. She swiftly retreated, rolling sideways to the ground with a thud, blood spreading from her chest.
She was hit in the right side of her chest at such a close range, but fortunately, her opponent’s marksmanship was poor, or perhaps the recoil from the gun was unfamiliar to him.
This mistake gave her the only chance to survive!
Jenny’s body went numb.
The bastard had a gun!?! He had a gun and was still so cowardly!? So fake!? She thought, her mind racing, realizing for the first time how treacherous human nature could be!
The purpose behind Yu Hong’s actions swirled in her mind, but she couldn’t figure out what he was trying to achieve by doing this.
Wounded and struggling, she quickly rushed to her daughter’s side and grabbed the wooden stick in her hand.
“Let’s go!!” She said harshly.
The intense pain made her face twist, but the pain also sharpened her mind.
She had been caught off guard this time, but once she had recovered, there would be many ways to deal with Yu Hong.
As long as he kept going out to collect firewood, fetch water, or find food, she would have a chance to ambush him and take him out. If worse came to worst, her husband’s last few chemical poisons could easily kill him without a trace, just by spraying them into his air vents.
The two ran quickly into the distance.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out.
Jenny fell to the ground with a cry, her back and waist bleeding profusely, staining her clothes.
Her daughter, Eve, was pulled down with her and fell beside her.
Seeing her mother’s injury, Eve was clearly stunned.
A few moments passed.
She trembled all over, reached out, and wanted to touch her mother, but was hesitant due to the Withered Maiden’s infection.
“Run!” Jenny raised her pale face, speaking weakly to her daughter.
When Eve didn’t respond, Jenny gathered all her strength and shouted.
“Run!!” She cried, stuffing the two Great Luminous Stones into Eve’s hands.
“Stop! Kneel down!” Yu Hong’s voice came from behind.
He still held the gun, aiming at Eve, and was stepping forward.
But Eve was clearly panicking. Gripping the Great Luminous Stones, she turned and ran.
She didn’t even glance back at her mother, running wildly toward the woods, stumbling, falling, then getting up again, not turning around, gradually increasing the distance between them.
“If you don’t want Jenny to die, stop and stay still!” Yu Hong shouted as he approached, aiming at her.
His voice echoed across the forest.
Unfortunately, Eve didn’t listen. It was as if she hadn’t heard him, continuing to charge ahead until she disappeared deep into the woods.
Yu Hong lowered his gun and looked at Jenny’s body, which had already bled a large pool on the ground, staining the surrounding grass.
It seemed she was done for.
“Anything you want to say?” He asked coldly.
Unlike the first time he had killed someone, Yu Hong now seemed to have adjusted to the rules of this world.
“Eve… She will survive.” Jenny’s pupils were unfocused. “She will… survive… and take revenge for me.”
“Nice fantasy,” Yu Hong said flatly. He didn’t even look at her anymore as he quickly headed toward the bunker where Jenny and Eve had lived.
He ran at full speed, chasing after them.
Finally, after using his second breath.
Bang!!
A large wolf’s fang club slammed into Eve’s head, knocking her to the ground.
In the forest, only thirty or forty meters from the post office, Yu Hong caught up with Eve.
Looking at the girl who was dazed and lying on the ground, he looked around and walked forward, prying the two Great Luminous Stones from her hands using the wolf’s fang club.
Of course, he didn’t touch her directly, fearing she might infect him.
“Goodbye,” he whispered to her.
“No, no!!” Eve struggled, her voice weak like a mosquito’s, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Bang!
Several muffled sounds rang out.
Yu Hong turned and left, leaving Eve lying there, completely unconscious.
Blood continued to flow from her forehead, spreading more and more.
Yu Hong didn’t kill her, because Eve hadn’t participated in Jenny’s threats. She was just a child, unaware of much.
She was young and didn’t understand many things.
So, he only broke her limbs, then knocked her unconscious.
(End of chapter)