A Night of Desperation

Chapter 14: Experiment (2)

No response, no digits appearing.

“It doesn’t seem to work,” he thought, disappointedly lifting his head.

After resting for a moment, he recalled the two people he had seen earlier.

“Threats don’t just come from monsters and spectral figures—they might come from humans as well. Safety must always come first.”

“My physical fitness is poor—worse than even Little Stutterer’s. I haven’t fully adapted to life here either. In the short term, the fastest way to ensure my safety is through equipment.”

But he didn’t have anything suitable at hand. What could he do—strengthen the axe to use against others?

He glanced back at the axe, saw, nails, hammer, and other tools lying around.

Shaking his head, he felt little hope.

Still, he approached the axe, picked it up, and watched the digits appear on its surface, confirming the enhancement process.

“Since there’s still time, I might as well give it a try.”

After confirming the start, he placed the axe in a corner and covered it up.

He then walked to the door and peered outside through the observation window.

Outside, it was deserted and silent.

The wind rustled through the leaves with a soft swish; even the insects and birds were absent.

Click.

Yu Hong opened the door, carrying a bag of protein bars as he stepped out, warily scanning the surroundings.

He checked the steel-nail embedded wooden rod tied to his waist—this tool had been incredibly useful last time.

It was especially effective against spectral figures.

Although, according to Little Stutterer, spectral figures couldn’t truly be killed and would eventually reappear, the tool still bought him enough time in a pinch.

Closing the wooden door behind him, Yu Hong frowned.

“If someone finds this place, there’s nothing stopping them from taking everything inside.”

He touched the door lock.

The round keyhole was made of standard metal—cold and hard.

The wooden door originally didn’t have a lock, and he didn’t know how to make one. But after enhancing it, the lock appeared on its own, along with several keys.

This mysterious enhancement mechanism intrigued Yu Hong greatly.

Standing at the doorway, he gathered leaves and vines from the surrounding area, spreading them across the entrance to conceal it.

From a distance, the door was now far less noticeable.

It still wasn’t entirely safe, but it was better than before.

Once he finished camouflaging the entrance, he cautiously headed toward White Hill Village.

The protein bars alleviated their food shortage for now, but candles remained a pressing need.

There simply weren’t enough candles.

If the heightened danger period lasted the full six days, their current three candles would fall far short.

He had to get more.

Following the familiar mountain path, he walked for about ten minutes before catching sight of White Hill Village in the distance.

Just as he was about to approach, Yu Hong suddenly stopped.

His expression shifted as he glanced toward the village, quickly hiding behind a tree trunk.

Between his position and the old road leading into the village, a figure lay sprawled in the grass.

It was a thin, black-haired man in camouflage, lying motionless in a pool of blood that had soaked the ground around him.

“Dead?”

Hiding behind the tree, Yu Hong tensed up.

Remaining perfectly still, he observed the scene, even controlling his breathing to avoid attracting any attention.

Minutes passed, and the man didn’t move. Yu Hong deduced that the man was either dead or unconscious.

After carefully surveying the surroundings to ensure no one was lurking nearby, he cautiously stepped out and inched toward the figure.

Kneeling beside the man, he patted his shoulder.

“Hey?”

No response.

Yu Hong reached out to feel the man’s neck.

It was cold.

His heart raced—he was truly dead.

A corpse.

A freshly dead body of someone he had just seen alive earlier.

The thought sent a wave of nausea through him. His stomach churned, his breathing quickened, and his pupils dilated. He felt an overwhelming urge to vomit, and his hand, which had touched the body, now felt unclean.

Suppressing his revulsion, Yu Hong grabbed the corpse’s shoulder and flipped it over.

Thud.

The black-haired man fell onto his back, lying face-up on the ground.

A deep, dark-red hole was visible on the left side of his chest. His eyes were wide open, his mouth agape, as if frozen mid-scream.

Yu Hong dared not look any longer, quickly searching the man’s pockets.

He found no food or useful tools, only a cracked black radio.

Grabbing the radio, Yu Hong bolted.

He had no desire to linger near the corpse.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself for such sights, facing a dead body in reality was an entirely different experience.

Within moments, he reached Little Stutterer’s door and began pounding on it.

“Little Stutterer, open up!” he called, immediately reciting their agreed-upon code phrase.

The sharp knocks echoed through the quiet, dusky village.

Usually, Little Stutterer would respond quickly when Yu Hong knocked.

But this time, there was no movement inside.

“Little Stutterer?” Yu Hong’s voice grew louder.

His knocking and shouting reverberated through the deserted streets, the sound bouncing off the empty, dark houses.

The village grew even quieter.

“Little Stutterer!?”

Unease crept over Yu Hong. Was she not home?

He glanced around nervously, ensuring no spectral figures were nearby, and stopped knocking.

Where could she have gone?

Nightfall was approaching, and without a safe place to hide, the danger would be immense.

Yu Hong’s breathing quickened as he clutched the bag of protein bars in one hand and gripped the steel-nail rod with the other.

“Com-ing.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from within the house.

It was Little Stutter.

Yu Hong’s heart lifted, and he knocked again.

“Night’s falling fast. Let me in first.”

“Okay,” she replied from inside.

“I’m—com-ing.”

Relieved, Yu Hong scanned his surroundings, still wary of the white-clad figure from last time.

This village was far from normal.

It had far more spectral activity than the mountain cave, one of the reasons he was desperate to relocate.

Seconds passed.

“Are you coming or not?” Yu Hong frowned, the delay making him uneasy.

The sky was growing darker by the moment, and time was running out.

“Com-ing.”

Little Stutterer’s voice sounded again, this time very close, right behind the door.

But Yu Hong realized he hadn’t heard any footsteps inside the house.

In such an eerily quiet setting, footsteps should have been audible.

It was as if…

As if she had suddenly appeared behind the door.

A chill ran down Yu Hong’s spine.

Click.

The door slowly creaked open a crack.

Bang!

Without thinking, Yu Hong kicked the door open, barging in with his steel-nail rod raised.

“Die, die, die!”

Driven by sheer terror, he swung the enhanced rod wildly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Behind the door, a pale figure didn’t even have time to materialize before being struck and shattered into fragments that dissolved into nothingness.

“Little Stutterer!” Yu Hong shouted, rushing inside. Fear fueled his frantic search, rod ready to strike.

But the room was empty.

On the table lay a piece of paper with scribbled charcoal writing.

Panting heavily, Yu Hong noticed blood dripping from his nose.

Wiping it away, he saw the vivid red stain on his hand.

“That thing didn’t even touch me—how am I bleeding?”

Looking down, he saw a slash on his shirt.

Underneath was a small, knife-like wound on his chest, oozing blood.

Clearly, the spectral figure had somehow injured him.

Shutting the door and lighting a candle, Yu Hong slumped into a chair, catching his breath.

“This damned place,” he muttered under his breath.

“This damned, cursed place!”

The flickering candlelight stretched his shadow long across the floor, swaying as if alive.

Picking up the paper, Yu Hong read the messy scrawl:

“I went to get candles. Back tomorrow.”

There were no punctuation marks, no proper spacing—the writing was crooked, but at least legible.

Setting the note down, Yu Hong pinched his nose to stop the bleeding.

“I’ll build a shelter—a completely safe shelter where I won’t fear anything. I have to!”

He had enough of this wretched place, full of traps and deceptions.

Gripping the candle tightly, he sat by the bed, staring at the cracks around the door and windows—the entry points for the black insects.

Their attacks came unpredictably, every three to five days.

Little Stutterer had told him that when they first appeared, they were far fewer in number and less frequent.

But now, their numbers and the toll they took on candles were overwhelming.

After a while, his nosebleed stopped, allowing him to check his chest wound.

Luckily, the wound wasn’t itchy or inflamed. Without clean water, he could only endure it and hope against infection.

Satisfied that the wound was manageable, Yu Hong let out a sigh, listening to the howling wind outside.

A deep sense of loneliness crept over him.

“Maybe I’m the only one left in Baiqiu Village now.”

Most of the villagers had left long ago. Only Little Stutterer remained, living here alone.

Yu Hong had no idea how she survived, but it must have been grueling and perilous.

He sighed deeply, leaning back against the bed.

Something hard poked him from behind.

“Hmm?”

Reaching back, he pulled out the object.

It was the radio.

“Wait… can I enhance this broken radio?”

Just as he was about to set it aside, the thought struck him.

As soon as the idea surfaced, numbers appeared on the radio’s surface: 5 hours, 12 minutes.

(End of Chapter)