A Night of Desperation

Chapter 28: Setback (4)

“I don’t know,” the mailman shook his head. “But the more people involved, the greater the impact, and the higher-ups will take it seriously. The Silver Tower will provide maximum support. It’s better than us untrained brutes trying to figure things out ourselves. Do you think the higher-ups would dispatch a rescue team for just a few of you?”

Yu Hong remained silent for a moment before asking:

“Does Great luminous Stone work against the Evil Shadows?”

“They say it helps a bit. Some people have managed to escape with its aid, even with stones smaller than yours,” the mailman nodded.

By examining the surface of Yu Hong’s Great Luminous Stone, the mailman deduced that it was likely handcrafted, possibly by Yu Hong himself or someone he knew recently. This fueled his eagerness to engage further—motivated by the military alliance’s incentive program for recommending skilled individuals.

“Thanks for your concern, brother, but I’ve decided not to leave. Maybe if enough of us stay behind, the Evil Shadows won’t bother with this area anymore,” Yu Hong replied softly.

The mailman scrutinized Yu Hong’s expression but found no clues. After some more attempts to persuade him, he finally gave up.

“Well, whatever the case, this area isn’t safe. If you insist on staying, I wish you luck.”

“Thank you for your kind words. I wish you a safe journey and good fortune,” Yu Hong nodded.

The mailman sighed and returned to the stone house, while Yu Hong gathered his belongings, preparing to leave.

As he stood up, he noticed someone behind a tree trunk—Doctor Xu, holding a bag, seemingly waiting for a while.

“I heard you can make water filters?” she asked, adjusting her glasses.

“Want to trade?”

Recalling her previous disdain, where she considered Yu Hong a burden, Doctor Xu’s cheeks flushed slightly. However, the value of a reliable water filter in maintaining health was undeniable.

“I only have one left. Let’s trade,” Yu Hong replied calmly.

“What do you want in return? I have extra iodine disinfectant. Interested?” she asked.

“Can iodine still be produced?” Yu Hong was surprised.

“Yes, the production chains in larger cities are quite intact,” she nodded. “One bottle of iodine for one water filter. Deal?”

“Deal.”

After trading a 200-milliliter bottle of iodine for a water filter, Yu Hong prepared to return.

However, another voice stopped him.

It was Jenny, accompanied by a beautiful blonde girl.

“Do you still have Great Luminous Stones to trade?” Jenny asked.

“No, you’re too late,” Yu Hong replied, his gaze briefly pausing on the blonde girl.

Pretty and clean are certainly good, but it also depends on the environment. At this time of year, it’s surprising that some people dare to use filtered water to bathe.

Hearing the sound, Dr. Xu, who had not gone far, turned around when she saw the two of them. She frowned, quickly scanned the beautiful girl, and seemed like she wanted to say something. However, she quickly held back, glanced calmly at Yu Hong, and turned to leave.

Once Dr. Xu left, only Jenny, the two of them, and Yu Hong were left on the scene.

“Is that all? What a pity. Can I pre-order the next batch of Great luminous stone?” Jenny frowned and asked.

“Can’t say for sure now. I’m not sure if I can get the goods,” Yu Hong replied. He didn’t want to become a tool for producing Great luminous stones; it depended on whether he had time to stay and reinforce the black marks.

“Alright, the filtered water cup you made before worked really well. I hope we can exchange again next time,” Jenny said, slightly disappointed.

“No problem,” Yu Hong nodded.

“Mom, aren’t you going to introduce me? He actually made the filtered water cup himself? That’s amazing!” the blonde, beautiful woman suddenly spoke up.

Without waiting for Jenny to respond, she stretched out her hand toward Yu Hong.

“Hello, I’m Eve. You’re Yu Hong, right?”

Yu Hong looked at her clean, fair hand, then shook it with his own.

To his surprise, Eve subtly scratched the back of his hand without leaving a trace.

Yu Hong noticed the smile Eve gave him, but before he could figure out what it meant, they let go.

“Yes, nice to meet you. If you have anything good to exchange, feel free to find me—candles, food, or other odd things. I might be interested,” Yu Hong said briefly.

In this environment, he didn’t care whether she was beautiful or not. What mattered was whether she could get him the things he needed.

The current safe house was still far from his ideal state.

At the very least, he wanted to create a safe house that was self-sufficient in food, water, and energy.

A safe house that could support at least a few years without needing to trade outside.

But right now, it was still a long way off.

“Are you going to exchange for Great luminous stones? Or something like the filtered water cup?” Eve asked curiously.

“Mostly Great luminous stones,” Yu Hong replied.

“That’s great. I happen to have some miscellaneous items. They’re not here right now, but next time you come, I can show you what I have. Let’s see how many Great luminous stones we can exchange for,” Eve smiled.

Yu Hong nodded.

He had a feeling that Eve was a bit unreliable and unstable, but since Jenny was around, he didn’t have much to say.

This trip had exchanged all his items, and he had gained a lot, especially the solar power generator, which was the biggest gain. If it could be reinforced, life at the safe house would be much easier in the future.

The atomic lamp was also a good addition—an uninterrupted light source. Although it was a bit dim, it saved him from having to constantly light fires, and maybe he could finally get a good night’s sleep.

Soon, with the items he had exchanged in hand, Yu Hong and Jenny agreed on the next exchange date—exactly one month later—and then turned to leave.

On the way back, they saw the postman gathering the nearby residents who were ready to leave.

One by one, they were standing in an open space, listening to the postman loudly explaining the rules for leaving together.

Dr. Xu and Jenny’s mother weren’t among them, clearly planning to stay.

Yu Hong left the post office carrying a stick and large bag, walking steadily toward the cave.

On the way back, he was still very cautious, constantly paying attention to any movements around him, fearing that an unexpected threat might ambush him.

Since it was still early, he also took the opportunity to gather some dry firewood along the way.

In such an environment, the safe time during the day was extremely precious and should never be wasted; he had to do something productive.

Soon, carrying his package, stick, and some dry firewood in his arms, Yu Hong returned to the vicinity of the cave.

Just ahead, on the backside of the cave wall, two figures in camouflage clothing were quietly pressed against the stone, waiting silently.

As soon as Yu Hong approached the cave entrance and tried to climb the stone steps to open the door, he would definitely pass by their ambush.

Yu Hong slowly walked toward the cave, getting closer and closer.

Suddenly, his gaze froze as he noticed the new muddy footprints on the stone steps.

Bang!

Yu Hong dropped his things and immediately ran!

Without hesitation, without delay.

He turned and dashed into the forest in the distance.

By the time the two people in ambush reacted, he had already run more than thirty meters!

“Damn it! Chase him!” The two immediately started running after him.

They had received a life-or-death mission from Team Zhao. If they failed to capture him and return, the punishment would be severe—half of all rations would be cut.

But if they captured him, all rations would double, a huge difference.

The three of them—one ahead and two behind—were soon running wildly through the forest.

Yu Hong had already covered a long distance, so his physical strength was greatly depleted. As he ran, he quickly started feeling exhausted.

The forest flew past his ears, the wind howling, and his feet were constantly moving.

This explosive running at full speed caused his stamina to plummet rapidly in an exaggerated manner.

After a short while, he was gasping heavily, sweating profusely.

Fortunately, his legs, after being trained for a while, didn’t give out and weren’t cramping or weak.

“Quickly!! He’s almost done for!”

Running, Yu Hong heard voices behind him getting closer.

He didn’t know who they were, but he knew that anyone hiding near the safe house was not doing so with good intentions.

Run! Run!

He pushed his legs to the limit, trying to squeeze the last bit of strength from his body.

In a blink, another hundred meters passed.

The three had completely left the cave’s surroundings and entered a completely unfamiliar area, far from Baiqiu Village.

The ground here was even harder to walk on, with untouched grassy slopes everywhere.

Up and down, through sharp or thorny plants, Yu Hong’s protective clothes left scratches while the two behind him were actually injured.

With a series of muffled groans, the two didn’t give up and continued to chase Yu Hong.

The distance between them was only about ten meters, slowly closing in.

Yu Hong’s lungs felt fiery, gasping for air, and he felt himself becoming oxygen-deprived. No matter how fast he breathed, it couldn’t keep up with the rapidly consumed oxygen.

‘I can’t make it.’

‘My stamina isn’t enough. I can’t hold on.’

Sweat soaked his clothes, and his hands kept pushing aside the thorns and grasses ahead.

With the sound of heavy breathing growing closer, Yu Hong could no longer hold out.

His mind raced, and with a focused thought, a cool energy in his lower abdomen quickly began circulating.

The cool energy flowed upward, passing through his chest, neck, forehead, and top of his head, down his spine to the tailbone, then through the perineum, and back to his abdomen.

As soon as the cool energy flowed out, something miraculous happened.

Yu Hong’s body, which should have been exhausted, seemed to receive a long rest and quickly regained its composure.

His sweat stopped, his lungs stopped heaving, and he didn’t feel tired anymore.

It was as though the long distance he had just run was all a mirage.

Everything returned to the way it was before he left to trade goods.

And so, Yu Hong kept running.

He led the two behind him around the area near the cave.

One circle, two circles, three circles.

At least a mile had passed, and despite running full speed, Yu Hong was near exhaustion.

But the two behind him, now panting heavily, had legs that could barely hold them up.

“Yu… Yu Hong! Stop, please!”

“I can’t… I can’t let him keep running!” one of them finally couldn’t hold back, pulling out a gun from his waist.

At that moment, Yu Hong, whose stamina had been completely restored, released another surge of cool energy.

His physical strength was instantly restored, and he turned to charge.

Boom!

The person who was about to draw his gun was hit head-on, rolling violently down the slope.

The rolling bodies collided with the other person who was still climbing.

Ahh!!

Two screams echoed as they both tumbled down the slope.

Exhausted, they were quickly knocked out by Yu Hong, who took a stick and knocked them both on the head.

Bang! Bang!

With their heads struck hard, they collapsed, unable to get up.

Yu Hong quickly grabbed the guns from their bodies, a wave of fear rushing through him.

“They even carried guns!!” He shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if he had hesitated for just a moment.

A surge of intense fear made him strike them once more, just to be sure.

Bang! Bang!

This time, they didn’t get up.

With the hollow sticks, the blows weren’t fatal, but their heads were swelling with blood.

(End of Chapter)