“No, it’s fine now.” Little Stutterer sighed with relief, took off her raincoat hood, and then looked away.
The other person also removed her hood, revealing Dr. Xu’s tired face.
“This trip… we encountered more strange shadows than before on the way back, and the consumption of the Huishi stone was too high. Also, the monster we encountered last night has been officially reported and assessed. It shouldn’t have been in this area.”
This ti, Little Stutterer had borrowed food from Dr. Xu, and as a form of paynt, Dr. Xu had asked her to accompany her on a trip. She exchanged so dried at and mushrooms in return.
At first, Dr. Xu thought she was just helping out of kindness, but during the journey, if it hadn’t been for Little Stutterer’s tily assistance—pulling her out of danger several tis—she might have…
Dr. Xu felt a wave of fear as she thought about it.
“This ti… I don’t know.”
Bang!!
Suddenly, there was a loud bang.
The wooden door of the house was violently slamd.
The huge impact shook the door panel, causing chunks of the wall to fall off.
The door fra trembled violently, clearly loosening up.
“What is that!?” Dr. Xu’s heart raced in panic. “It’s that monster! It’s following us! Why!?”
It was the sa one they had encountered at their temporary shelter the previous night.
“Hold! Hold it!” Little Stutterer dashed forward and braced her shoulder against the wooden door.
Bang!
But another loud crash sent her tumbling backward.
The monster outside was too powerful. There was no way to stop it.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!!
The door was being struck again and again. The nails holding the door fra in place were slowly loosening, one by one, pulling out.
Dr. Xu’s heart raced, frozen in place, unable to react.
“It’s it. That thing. How could it—”
Her son had died in a similar situation.
At that ti, she and her family reacted imdiately, rushing to brace the door. But the force of the blows from outside was sothing they couldn’t resist.
In less than half a minute, the door shattered. Her son had tried to draw the monster away, and in the chaos, he ran out, far away.
She only saw his shadow being caught by that monster before they fled.
Boom!!!
Just then, the wooden door shattered completely, sending debris flying toward the frozen Dr. Xu.
It looked like the debris was about to hit her in the forehead.
Suddenly, Little Stutterer reached out and grabbed Dr. Xu, pulling her to the side and rolling away.
Whoosh!!
After the door shattered, the massive black monster outside was pushed in by the force of the impact.
Seizing the mont it stumbled, Little Stutterer grabbed Dr. Xu and sprinted away.
She dashed out the door, running as fast as she could along the rocky path.
“Where… do we go?” Dr. Xu stamred, her voice shaking.
Little Stutterer’s mind raced through various places.
Her own house had been reinforced, and it couldn’t withstand that monster’s force. If they went anywhere else, it wouldn’t hold up long.
What should she do?
What should she do?
What should she do!!?
Sweat mixed with her hurried breaths, dripping down her temples.
After running out of the village, Little Stutterer unknowingly found herself at the forest clearing where she had worked with Yu Hong during the day.
Realizing the danger, she quickly turned and headed in another direction, not wanting to lead Yu Hong into danger.
But carrying soone while running in the rain, even with her extraordinary physical strength, she began to tire rapidly.
What should she do??
Her mind kept racing, but no matter how she thought, without the protection of a house or the barrier of the Huishi stones, they couldn’t resist the strange shadows, let alone the monsters.
“Yi Yi, put down. If I die, then so be it. I can’t drag you down with !” Dr. Xu said, her voice breaking, faintly coming from her shoulder.
Little Stutterer didn’t respond, her head down, running full speed toward the distance.
Bang!!!
Suddenly, she veered left, changing direction and charging forward.
A large tree beside her was violently struck by the black monster behind her, producing a muffled sound.
The tree swayed and the trunk bore deep dents, almost toppling over.
*
*
* *
Yu Hong placed the radio down, removed the batteries, and covered it with dry leaves.
This would be the key to getting information from the outside world in the future.
So, it had to be kept in good condition.
After finishing that, he glanced at the Huishi stone, which was still being enhanced. The surface showed a faint countdown, barely noticeable, requiring careful observation to see.
Phew.
He exhaled and noticed his breath turning into a faint white mist.
“The temperature has dropped this much?”
Standing up, he moved to the stove, planning to start a fire to warm up. The smoke pipe was connected to a vent on the door, ensuring safety when lighting the fire.
However, looking at the firewood in the stove, Yu Hong knew it wouldn’t last long.
“I wonder when Little Stutterer will co back. If only we could find so coal or sothing…”
The cave here was far more secure than her house.
The doors and windows at her place were only half as thick as those at the cave, and the materials used were much softer—old wooden boards.
What was missing now was a solution to heating and food.
If those were solved, this could beco a proper safe haven.
Bang!!
Suddenly, Yu Hong thought he heard a faint sound from outside.
“What’s that noise?” He furrowed his brow. In this rainy weather, any sound would definitely be from a monster or a strange shadow.
He stood up, intending to check the noise outside.
However, just as he stood, a pale face suddenly appeared in the observation window, scaring him.
Even with the enhanced Huishi stone blocking it, getting frightened and ntally exhausted was inevitable.
With that thought, Yu Hong sat back down.
Bang!
Another loud sound followed.
Yu Hong’s face changed. He imdiately got up and rushed to the observation window, pulling the cover aside to look outside.
He saw Little Stutterer and Dr. Xu being chased by the black monster.
“Damn!”
Looking at the monster, Yu Hong’s heart froze.
In the heavy rain, several dozen ters away in the forest, a massive creature resembling a giant tick, more than two ters tall and over four ters long, with a completely black body, was chasing the two won.
Silent.
Stalled.
Yu Hong stood at the door.
Bang!
He suddenly threw the door open.
“This way! Hurry, over here!!” He yelled toward Little Stutterer.
His body was tense, trembling, his blood rushing through his veins, and his face turned bright red.
The overwhelming fear and anxiety urged him to quickly shut the door, afraid the monster would notice him.
But Little Stutterer had saved him before, helped him so much.
Even in fear, Yu Hong had his principles, his bottom line as a human being.
Gripping the steel Huishi rod by the door, he struggled to control himself, refusing to let fear take over and lock the door, to hide.
“Over here!! Yi Yi!!”
Yu Hong stepped out into the rain and yelled.
“Run this way!!” He shouted.
He knew that, out here in the increasingly darkening environnt, if a strange shadow appeared, the result would be certain death.
Instead of that, he preferred to hide with them, hoping that the reinforced wooden door would hold up against the monster’s attack.
As long as they could hold on for a bit, it was still dayti, and once the clouds cleared, the monster would retreat…
Far away, Little Stutterer and Dr. Xu heard the sound and turned to look. Not only them, but the monster also noticed the noise and turned toward the direction of the sound.
Seizing the opportunity, Little Stutterer gritted her teeth and prepared to run in another direction.
“Trust ! Yi Yi!” Yu Hong’s voice ca again.
Little Stutterer stopped for a mont and looked at him.
From afar, she saw the fierce determination on his face.
“Co!!” Yu Hong yelled, reaching out to her.
Whoosh!
The black monster charged again, the wind it created blowing Little Stutterer’s hair back.
Even the rainwater couldn’t resist the strong gust.
At that mont, Dr. Xu was the first to react, pulling Little Stutterer and rushing toward Yu Hong.
Her movent triggered the monster.
The giant black monster followed, charging toward the cave entrance where Yu Hong was.
The beast, resembling a huge black tick, charged like a monstrous war machine with eight legs, charging toward the cave with a thunderous force.
Its rhino-like size was terrifying, a completely different kind of fear compared to the strange shadows.
Yu Hong took a step back, standing on the side of the door, looking at the approaching monster. His legs shook uncontrollably.
A month ago, he had been just an ordinary office worker. Now, he was facing this terrifying, unknown creature!
Fear.
Intense fear.
His whole body froze, almost unable to move.
His right hand, gripping the door handle, trembled violently, wanting to shut the door quickly.
But Yi Yi and Dr. Xu hadn’t arrived yet!
Dr. Xu, that was fine, but Little Stutterer was different. She had saved him back then, so now, he had to save her.
Bang!
Yu Hong slapped his own legs hard.
“Afraid of what, damn it!”
“Stop!!”
“Stand still, damn it!!”
He yelled in his heart, staring fixedly at Little Stutterer and Dr. Xu, who were getting closer.
Twenty ters.
Fifteen ters.
Ten ters.
Five ters!
One ter!!
Swish!
In an instant, Dr. Xu and Little Stutterer burst through the door.
Just as they entered, Yu Hong slamd the door shut and locked it behind them.
Bang!!!
In less than a second, a massive crash hit the door, shaking the entire cave.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!!
The black monster began furiously slamming into the reinforced door.
It seed to be angry, furious that Yu Hong had stolen its prey.
But no matter how hard it slamd, the door only trembled and showed no signs of damage.
“Phew, phew, phew… What is this??” Little Stutterer collapsed to the ground, looking back, confused, at the door in front of her.
She stared at it in disbelief.
She rembered that the door she and Yu Hong had worked on before wasn’t like this.
This door seed much more advanced and sturdier than the previous one.
“After you left, I improved this door and reinforced the surroundings.” Yu Hong noticed her confusion, sitting down and panting, explaining.
“…?” Little Stutterer stared at him blankly, noting the vast difference between the original wooden door and this reinforced one.
“Never mind that, help hold the door!” Yu Hong quickly got up and ran to the back of the door.
Dr. Xu and Little Stutterer scrambled to their feet and helped brace the door.
The banging continued, but with the three of them working together, the monster outside was unable to break the door.
The banging lasted for about a dozen more strikes. When it realized it couldn’t break through, the monster finally turned and left, disappearing into the rain.
(End of Chapter)
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