A Night of Desperation

Chapter 17: Trouble (3)

Thud.

Yu Hong and the other two fell to the ground, their bodies limp and exhausted, gasping for air.

The loud breathing created a rhythmic sound in the cave, stirring up tiny whirlwinds in the air.

“I told you. Didn’t I say you should trust me?” Yu Hong said, his face pale and his voice weak.

“This door?” Little Stutterer still couldn’t understand. The wooden door wasn’t like this before, how did it suddenly change in just a day?

“What exactly did you encounter? What was that monster just now?” Yu Hong didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Dr. Xu, trying to get information from her. Communicating with Little Stutterer was simply too slow.

Dr. Xu’s face was pale, with blood slowly seeping from a wound on her calf. Upon hearing this, she carefully examined the reinforced wooden door, then looked around the cave.

“This is your idea of a safe place?”

Boom!!!

At that moment, a huge explosion interrupted her.

In the sound of the explosion, the wooden door shook violently again, and small bits of stone flew off the edges.

Hiss!

A muffled and eerie screeching sound came from outside.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

Then came a series of rapid, violent crashes.

This time, the force was far stronger than before.

The reinforced wooden door trembled under the massive force, emitting tiny vibrations.

The three of them froze for a moment, then quickly reacted.

“It’s that monster! It hasn’t left!!”

Dr. Xu screamed. Her voice was sharper than usual, nearly changing pitch entirely.

Without hesitation, Yu Hong and Little Stutterer rushed forward and braced the door with their shoulders.

Seeing this, Dr. Xu gritted her teeth, got up, and joined them in holding the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

The continuous heavy blows made the reinforced wooden door sway and the screws fixing the door frame began to loosen.

“Hold it!!” Yu Hong shouted.

One after another.

The three of them struggled to hold the door, trying to prevent the vibrations from the impact from loosening it further.

They all knew that if the door were to break down, it would be the end.

So, they were putting all their strength into it.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

And finally, after thirteen minutes…

The heavy rain outside began to subside, and the dense clouds in the sky cleared a bit.

Sunlight finally began to shine down from the gaps in the clouds, like straight golden rays.

Boom!!

The final explosion.

The three of them felt a violent jolt through their bodies, and cracks had appeared around the door, threatening to tear it off the stone wall.

Hiss!!

The massive tick-like monster let out one final strange screech and then stopped crashing against the door, retreating.

The screeching sound quickly faded, then completely disappeared.

The three of them continued to brace the door, motionless, afraid the creature might come back with a surprise attack.

They waited for more than ten minutes.

The golden sunlight slowly filtered in through the inspection window, and Yu Hong finally knew it was safe.

Thud.

He collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

He was so exhausted. They had almost been overrun. If the door had been breached just then, the outcome would have been clear: certain death.

In their state, if the door had been breached, they wouldn’t have been able to escape.

Thankfully, everything was over.

Huff, huff, huff.

The three of them gasped like a bellows, sweat streaming down their faces, dripping onto the floor and forming a trail of dark spots.

“It should be okay now. The sun’s out,” Yu Hong said as he stood up, swiftly pulling open the inspection window and looking outside.

Through the wire mesh, the sunlight poured in, accompanied by a damp, chilly breeze that brushed against his face, making him shiver slightly.

After scanning both sides through the window, he was certain that the monster had disappeared, and he finally relaxed.

Turning around, he looked at the other two, who were also sitting on the ground.

“What was that thing? How did you guys attract it?”

“That was a large blood tick from the blood tide. We usually call it the Big Skin,” Dr. Xu wiped away the sweat on her brow, rubbing it on her dirty clothes as she replied.

“But it shouldn’t have appeared now. It only shows up occasionally during peak times, and it’s never this aggressive and dangerous!”

Thinking this, she forced herself to stand up.

“We can’t stay here any longer. Something must have gone wrong. We have to pack up and head for the town’s bunker! We can’t stop the Big Skin on our own!”

Her face grew tense with anxiety.

“Yu Hong, we held it off!” Little Stutterer stood up, also wiping the sweat from her face, pointing at the reinforced wooden door.

She shouldn’t have pointed it out because, when she did, both Yu Hong and Dr. Xu noticed the cracks at the edge of the door.

“What about next time? What if the peak season comes?” Dr. Xu said grimly.

She turned to Yu Hong.

“I don’t know how you made such a sturdy door, but the peak season is coming soon. We could barely stop one Big Skin now; do you really think you can handle it? Do you think staying here will keep you safe?” She pointed at the cracks in the door, raising her voice.

Yu Hong fell silent. He placed a hand on the door and stared at the words that appeared on it: Repair time: 17 minutes.

It was still possible to repair it, which he hadn’t expected.

Also, although going to the town might seem like the best choice, he wasn’t so sure.

He looked uncertain.

If they left, a lot of things could go wrong. Besides, they had just managed to hold it off, didn’t they? Though the door had almost broken, it was due to a lack of preparation. With a few more reinforcements, it would be much easier to handle next time.

“I don’t want to go,” Yu Hong said.

“I… I don’t either,” Little Stutterer looked at the cracked wooden door and spoke hesitantly.

But she was interrupted by Dr. Xu.

“Are you both crazy? The door is about to break, and you still don’t want to leave? What if two Big Skins show up next time during peak season?!” Dr. Xu couldn’t understand.

Her breathing grew rapid again as she stared at Yu Hong.

“I’m very grateful that you opened the door and saved us, but this is no time for stubbornness. Do you really think your almost broken door can withstand the peak season’s onslaught? Do you want to get yourself killed?”

“Is it really safer in the town? With so many people, wouldn’t the strange shadows be even more dangerous?” Yu Hong retorted, his emotions more stable now.

After the intense fear and anxiety, he felt much calmer.

“Yes, but the committee is there. They have ways of handling it. It’s at least safer than staying here with the Big Skin!” Dr. Xu said loudly.

Yu Hong shook his head. “Thanks, but I don’t want to go.” At this moment, he felt that everywhere outside was dangerous. His self-made cave was safer than anything else.

At least the black marks he could see now provided some measure of safety.

After the door was repaired, he just needed to reinforce a few more panels or add chains, and next time, dealing with the Big Skin would be much safer.

But he couldn’t explain all this.

In an environment where materials and parts were scarce, suddenly having such a well-made safety door was already abnormal.

“Crazy!” Dr. Xu stared at Yu Hong, “You’re really crazy! You’ll die!”

She pointed at the door.

“I don’t know how you got this security door, but it won’t stop the blood tide. Peak season is different from usual. If the Big Skin shows up like before, there could be several next time. You won’t be able to stop it!”

She kept trying to persuade him.

But no matter what she said, Yu Hong only shook his head.

He didn’t believe that the safety measures in the town would be better. Going to the town’s bunker might indeed be safer.

But he didn’t want to rely on places or people that were beyond his control.

So, no matter how much Dr. Xu tried to persuade him, he shook his head.

In the end, seeing she couldn’t convince him, Dr. Xu turned to Little Stutterer.

“Yiyi, he can’t be reasoned with. We’re leaving!”

Little Stutterer fell silent, then turned to look at Yu Hong.

“Stay… together,” she stuttered.

Clearly, Dr. Xu’s speech hadn’t convinced Yu Hong, but it had convinced her.

After all, the reinforced wooden door was already at its breaking point. If another Big Skin charged at it, they were definitely finished.

Yu Hong couldn’t offer any explanation or supporting reason for his decision.

He just stayed silent.

“Yu… Hong!” Little Stutterer looked at him, “Come with us.”

She patted his arm, her eyes clear.

But Yu Hong just shook his head.

“You two go. I don’t want to go.”

He knew that going to the town’s bunker would indeed be able to handle the Big Skin. Otherwise, the town would have been overrun by the blood tide by now, and they wouldn’t have been able to collect information about the Big Skin.

Little Stutterer and Dr. Xu were better off there.

But he didn’t want to go.

He didn’t feel safe anywhere outside; only his cave felt safe.

At least with the black marks, he could see and improve his safety.

Even if he went to the town, with his current weak body, if he exposed the ability of the black marks, the danger might be far greater than staying in the cave.

After all, people’s hearts are often the hardest to guard against.

The monster might be terrifying, but it was straightforward, simple, and crude.

“Yiyi, don’t worry about me. I’ll fix the door myself. It’ll be fine as long as I don’t provoke a few Big Skins. The cave entrance is high, which makes it hard for monsters to charge in. I just need to hold out for a few more days. Don’t worry,” Yu Hong reassured Little Stutterer.

Little Stutterer blinked, looking at him, wanting to say more, but Yu Hong raised his hand to stop her.

“Go on. It’ll be fine.” Yu Hong lowered his voice, “You’ve helped me for a long time, and it’s time we part ways. But if you run into trouble in the future, you can come here. I’ll help if I can.”

He pulled out a reinforced glowing stone from his pocket and handed it to Little Stutterer.

“He can choose to die if he wants!” Dr. Xu was dry-mouthed from trying to persuade him. Seeing Yu Hong’s unshakable attitude, she gave up.

“Stubborn as a mule! Let’s go, Yiyi. We need to leave now if we’re going to make it!” She grabbed Little Stutterer’s hand and walked to the door, looking out through the inspection window to check the surroundings.

Little Stutterer was being pulled away but turned to look at Yu Hong one last time.

“Come on, together.” A hint of urgency appeared on her face.

But her hand was pushed away by Yu Hong.

“Yu… Hong?” She was confused.

“I’ll be fine. Go with Dr. Xu. You two can look out for each other.” Yu Hong looked at her seriously.

“Dr. Xu, take care of Yiyi. If you run into trouble, come here. It may not be as good as the town, but it’s safe to survive.”

(End of Chapter)