A Night of Desperation

TL Note:- Happy New year everyone on this occasion of New year imma upload bonus chapters for every novel I translate (Casino Wizard , Instant Kill, Time-Stop Spellcaster And A Night of Desperation {you should try this one its pretty good} ) love you all and thank you for reading my translated novels.

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Chapter 27: Setback (3)

“Scavenging. Good luck, plus I’m pretty handy at fixing things,” Yu Hong replied simply.

“By the way, let me ask you something.” He scanned the people around him. “Do you know where the dried lizard meat we’ve been eating comes from? Could we raise them ourselves?”

Dr. Xu pointed to a balding man standing a bit away from the crowd. “You’ll want to talk to Old Yu. The mushrooms, cockroaches, and lizards we eat all come from him.”

The old man was hunched over, wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt. His eyes were dull, and he coughed occasionally as if he had asthma.

“We call him Yu Toad because of his big belly, and he’s always hunched over, wheezing like a toad. If you want to ask, you’ll have to approach him yourself,” Dr. Xu said quietly. “And I’d advise you to hurry—others have already asked him about it.”

Yu Hong nodded but wanted to ask more questions when suddenly the sound of a door opening came from the stone house.

A heavy wooden door creaked open, and out stepped a middle-aged man with a buzz cut. He was dressed in camouflage fatigues, with a large red postal emblem prominently displayed on his chest.

“Anyone coming with us, step up to register!” the man shouted.

The crowd surged forward.

Yu Hong stepped back, waiting for everyone to register.

Several others did the same, but most people rushed forward.

*

*

*

At the Mountain Cave Safehouse

Two strong figures clad in camouflage uniforms with helmets and masks quickly emerged from the forest, approaching the mountain cave.

“This is the place.”

One of them stopped at the stone steps beneath the cave entrance and looked up at the wooden door.

“Looks pretty sturdy. It’s up to you now,” he said, glancing at the other.

The second man set down his backpack and opened it, pulling out a set of long, thin metal tools.

“I’ve opened plenty of locks. This one’s no problem,” he chuckled. “We’ll empty the place first, and then we wait to ambush the guy.”

“Alright. Everything else is fine, but the Great luminous stone is the priority.”

“It’s the only thing that can help with the mess we’re in this time. HQ is desperate for it, so—”

“Enough chit-chat. Just open the door.”

The two bantered while keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. They climbed up to the heavy wooden door.

The man with the tools inspected the keyhole.

“This lock is so pristine. Who knows how long it’s been since someone last touched it,” he muttered.

Ever since the Black Plague outbreak, his skills as a petty thief had earned him a spot in the joint forces. Without the alliance, there would be no luminous stones, and without those, encountering a shadow creature would mean certain death.

“Stop wasting time and hurry up,” the other man urged impatiently from behind.

“Yeah, yeah. Stop rushing me.” The locksmith inserted his tools into the keyhole carefully.

The sound of clicks and scrapes filled the air as he focused on the feedback from the lock.

One minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

Ten minutes passed.

Sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his hands started to tremble.

“This isn’t right! This lock is nothing like any I’ve seen before!” His voice quivered.

Captain Zhao had brought him along specifically for his expertise in locks. If he couldn’t deliver, he might lose his special privileges within the team.

“Can you open it or not?” The other man was visibly annoyed.

“I… I…” The locksmith hesitated. The lock was unlike anything he’d encountered; its very mechanism seemed to defy basic principles. Without dismantling it for study, there was no way he could crack it quickly.

“This lock is… different!” he stammered, pulling out his tools to try again.

“Forget it!” The other man yanked him back. “I scouted earlier, and there’s no one inside. Let’s hide nearby and ambush that Yu Hong guy when he comes back.”

“So, we’re not opening it?”

“Forget the damn lock! Let’s go find a hiding spot!” the other man snapped.

*

*

*

At the Post Office Stone House

All the registered evacuees had returned home to pack their belongings and prepare to leave.

After chatting briefly with Dr. Jenny and others, Yu Hong noticed the postman was now free and approached him.

Yu Hong’s goal on this trip was to purchase food, and if he could trade for something valuable, it would be a bonus—especially the solar generator Dr. Jenny had mentioned earlier. If he could get it and enhance it himself…

The thought filled him with excitement. Having electricity would make many things much easier.

The postman, a stoic-looking man, was reviewing a newly written registry. He had a stick of some kind of food in his mouth—it looked like chocolate but darker.

Seeing Yu Hong approach, he glanced up briefly.

“Here to register? Name?” he asked.

“No, not to register. I’m looking to buy some food. Got anything?” Yu Hong got straight to the point.

“Not registering?” The postman looked surprised but quickly returned to his indifferent demeanor. He had seen many overconfident people who thought they could handle the dangers without evacuating—usually those who hadn’t yet encountered real threats.

“Yeah, I’ve got some food. Not much. Dried lizard, dried cockroach, dried mushrooms. What’ll it be?”

“Take a look at what I’ve got to trade first.” Yu Hong pulled out his prepared items.

He revealed a water filter cup and several large luminous stones, all stored in a single bag.

“A water filter cup? Did you make this? And these Great luminous stones?” The postman’s interest was piqued. While the filter cup was finely crafted, he had top-tier gear from the authorities and wasn’t lacking. But the luminous stones were a different matter.

Especially recently, with shadow creatures prowling, only newly discovered luminous stones had proven effective.

“Where’d you get these?” He instinctively reached for a stone but was stopped when Yu Hong stepped back.

“I made them myself,” Yu Hong replied. “Are they worth trading?”

“Let me check first.” The postman pulled out a small black box the size of an egg, with a gray LCD screen and a round button underneath—rudimentary but functional.

“This is a Red Value Detector. It’s used to measure the quality of luminous stones and the ambient blood tide concentration,” he explained.

“This thing can measure that?” Yu Hong was surprised. He hadn’t known the authorities had tools capable of assessing luminous stones, let alone something called a blood tide.

“It’s a product from the Silver Tower research labs. Pretty reliable,” the postman said, pressing the button.

The device emitted two quick beeps as the screen lit up with a red glow.

He brought the device close to one of the luminous stones, stopping just centimeters away.

Beep!

The detector emitted a sharp sound, and the numbers on the screen began fluctuating rapidly.

Yu Hong caught a glimpse of the values: the numbers jumped from 0 to -78, fluctuated a few times, and finally stabilized at -81.

“Wow, -81! Impressive!” The postman exclaimed. “Ordinary luminous stones are usually around -20. This one’s top-notch!”

“Name your price,” Yu Hong said decisively.

“Two pounds of dried lizard meat for one stone,” the postman offered after a moment’s thought. “I’ll take all four of yours.”

Food wasn’t a concern for him, but luminous stones were lifesavers in critical moments—something you could never have too many of.

“I’m not trading all of them for meat. I heard you’ve got a solar generator on its last legs?” Yu Hong asked quietly.

“That thing still works! Don’t call it broken,” the postman retorted, frowning. “If you want it, two stones.”

“The solar battery’s about to give out, isn’t it? Two stones is too much. How about one?” Yu Hong bargained.

The two haggled for several minutes. Pressed for time, the postman finally relented.

In the end, they settled on two luminous stones for the solar generator and a broken air purifier. The remaining stones were exchanged for meat and a small atomic lamp—something Yu Hong insisted on.

The atomic lamp, made from radioactive materials, emitted cold light and required no energy source, lasting over a decade. While its brightness diminished over time, it was perfect as a secondary light source in the cave.

After completing the trade, Yu Hong bundled everything together. The solar generator, when folded, was no larger than a medium-sized bag. Along with the other items, the total weight was only about 10 kilograms.

Yu Hong hefted the bundle. Thanks to weeks of physical training, he felt much stronger, and the weight barely registered.

As the postman stored the luminous stones safely, he gave Yu Hong a scrutinizing look.

“Brother, let me give you some advice. Leave with the others as soon as you can. This bunker won’t hold. Shadow creatures are one thing, but you don’t want to face the Evil Shadows.”

“What do you mean, brother?” Yu Hong frowned.

Perhaps pleased with his haul of luminous stones, the postman, chewing his snack, looked around cautiously. After ensuring no one was nearby, he lowered his voice.

“Evil Shadows are different from regular ones. Regular shadows stay confined to specific areas and rely on stealth and ambush tactics. Evil Shadows move freely, and no one knows how they travel. One moment, they’re here; the next, they’re there.”

He paused for effect.

“I’ll tell you this much. This isn’t really a secret anymore since most people are leaving. Just don’t go blabbing.”

“Got it. I won’t say a word,” Yu Hong assured him, lowering his voice.

“I heard from insiders… the Evil Shadow wiped out an entire street in the town—both civilians and joint forces alike. Not a single survivor. The number of dead… it’s impossible to count. There were just too many,” the postman said grimly, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

“The joint forces didn’t call for reinforcements?” Yu Hong asked urgently.

“The Silver Tower focuses on shadow research. Their response was to isolate and abandon the town,” the postman sighed. “Listen, brother, every Evil Shadow is unique, with its own abilities. The Silver Tower gives each one a codename. The one in our town is called ‘Withered Maiden.’ Its specific abilities are unknown, still under study. There’s no way to fight it—only retreat.”

“And what about the survivors around here?” Yu Hong pressed.

“They’re on their own,” the postman replied grimly. “That’s why I’m telling you to leave. Once the town’s deserted, the Evil Shadow will eventually move on, likely to the nearest inhabited area. And we’re a bit too close for comfort.”

Yu Hong fell silent, deep in thought, weighing his options.

After a moment, he asked another question.

“Even if I leave with the others, what’s to say there won’t be an Evil Shadow wherever we go next?”

(End of Chapter)