“Don’t try to fool . Don’t try to fool ,” Yu Hong muttered under his breath. He closed his eyes, shutting out the world, and focused only on the sound of his own voice.
The mountain cave’s safe house now had the full effect of a luminous stone chamber. Because of the rune Arrays used, the radiation levels were lower and safer than the original version.
“As long as I don’t go out, you can’t harm . As long as I don’t go out,” he repeated.
Now, as he thought back, he was increasingly certain that everything strange started when the Zhou Xiaoling sisters arrived.
Before they ca, his surroundings had been normal, with no sudden noises. But after their arrival, everything changed.
Yu Hong remained motionless, leaning against the wall like a statue.
The outside noises persisted for more than ten minutes, then gradually faded, leaving only the sound of rain.
Yu Hong didn’t move and continued to lean against the wall, waiting for ti to pass.
After another half hour, when he was certain there were no more sounds, he finally relaxed and stood up.
He poured a glass of water and drank it down in one gulp before checking the runic arrays in the safe house. Everything was intact, which eased his mind.
He now had three silver Runic arrays stored, over twenty standard Runic arrays, and more than ten Great luminous stones.
The Great luminous stones had a red value of around 80, the standard runes were around 100, and each silver rune was worth 500.
This level of protection didn’t even account for the fifty Runic arrays of various sizes engraved all over the cave’s walls to create the luminous stone chamber.
With these safeguards, Yu Hong wasn’t afraid of any ghostly or Evil Shadows invading.
But the voices…
‘If they weren’t Evil Shadows, could it be… ?’
Yu Hong repeatedly checked his red-value detector. The readings were all normal, and there were no negative signs on his body from ghostly presences.
He exhaled deeply, took off his bulletproof gear, and sat down by the fireplace to rest.
“Move him to the operating room. Everything’s ready over there.”
Suddenly, a steady male voice sounded in his ear.
Yu Hong’s entire body tensed, and he quickly heightened his vigilance, looking around.
But there was nothing, just like before.
He stood up.
Soon, he heard the sound of wheels rolling.
Then, the sound of a door opening and the ding of an elevator.
Yu Hong began to feel uneasy. Before long, a faint buzzing sound reached him.
“The anesthetic has been administered. It’s a little light, so he may have so awareness, but it’s not a big issue,” the male voice said again.
“Increase the speed. Be mindful of the angle when performing the craniotomy. I’ll try to make the incision as small as possible.”
“Understood, Doctor.”
The piercing buzzing sound—like a cutting saw—grew louder and clearer.
Yu Hong felt the hairs on his head stand on end. He could hear the saw’s sound coming from the very center of the cave.
He took a few steps, pinpointing the saw’s location. Instinctively, he backed away.
“Prepare yourselves,” the doctor’s voice said again. “I’m starting now.”
“Okay.” The nurse’s voice responded.
The sharp buzzing sound moved closer to Yu Hong.
Closer and closer.
It felt like an invisible saw, suspended in midair, was inching toward his head.
“Still trying to trick ?!” Yu Hong clenched his wolf-toothed club and swung.
But the club sliced through the air with no resistance—there wasn’t even the usual whoosh sound.
It was as if the world had beco a silent film. Yu Hong couldn’t hear anything except the approaching buzz of the saw.
Sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his heart pounded faster.
The entire safe house transford into an operating room in his ears.
“Restrain the patient. Don’t let him struggle or break free,” the doctor’s calm voice ordered.
“Got it,” two nurses replied.
The buzzing saw moved even closer.
Yu Hong’s sweat poured down, and his muscles tensed more and more.
He checked the red-value detector repeatedly, dropping the club and grabbing a silver rune formation.
But it was no use.
The detector showed normal readings, and the silver rune formation remained unspent.
The buzz was now so close it seed to brush his forehead, just barely touching his hair.
Almost there.
Almost ready to cut.
“Hold him down. He’s still struggling because of the light anesthetic,” the doctor’s voice commanded.
“I’ll count to three, then apply pressure together.”
“Okay!” “Got it.”
Yu Hong’s tension skyrocketed. He didn’t know which side to trust.
If he trusted the voices, he should flee imdiately.
If he trusted reality, he needed to stay in the safe house and remain still.
Thunk!
Suddenly, he rolled away from his spot.
But it didn’t help. All he could hear were the doctor, the nurses, and the saw.
Any other sounds he made—the rustling of objects he bumped into—vanished. Everything beca a soundless pantomi.
“Three.”
The doctor began counting down. The saw hovered at his forehead.
“Two.”
Yu Hong’s eyes widened. He brandished the silver rune, trying to ward off the voices, but nothing worked.
His body tensed until it hurt.
A bone-chilling sensation spread from his forehead, as though a sharp object was getting closer and closer.
“One!” the doctor’s voice shouted again. It felt like an echo.
“Aaaaahhh!!!” Yu Hong roared, unleashing a frenzied scream!
Gripping the silver rune in one hand and the wolf-toothed club in the other, his inner energy erupted, enveloping his body. A faint, transparent layer of hardened skin appeared beneath his flesh. ꞦаＮо฿ËS̩
“Go to hell!!!”
He charged forward, slamming his head into the corner piled with rune boards.
“Two!”
Yu Hong curled up in the corner, frantically pressing runes and luminous stones against himself. He chose to trust what he could see!
“Three!!!”
Buzz!!!
A loud buzzing exploded in his ears.
The cave lights flickered wildly, oscillating between bright and dark.
Transparent, water-like gel oozed from Yu Hong’s body, seeping through his clothes. The runes around his head emitted a powerful force that evaporated the gel as soon as it touched the air.
The runes across the cave glowed faintly, seemingly warding off an unseen threat.
All the luminous stones began to shine, especially the three silver Runic arrays, which radiated intense silver light.
They unleashed invisible energy, rging with the other Runic arrays to create a force field that suppressed the gel flowing from Yu Hong’s body.
The red-value detector’s numbers plumted—from 3500 at the start to 2000, then lower.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty seconds.
The detector hit zero and beeped an alarm.
Whoosh!
The gel stopped oozing. The last bit evaporated, leaving Yu Hong surrounded by spent rune boards turned gray and lifeless.
The three silver runes were also depleted, drained of their power.
Over half of the wall’s Runic arrays dimd, leaving only a third barely operational.
One minute later, silence returned.
“Ugh…” Yu Hong slowly stood up, shaking his head.
His eyes landed on the pile of spent rune boards.
His face darkened as he grabbed one to inspect it.
“All used up…”
He checked the silver runes. They too were drained.
“So I wasn’t wrong. The voices were trying to force out of the cave, away from the protective runes!”
Yu Hong’s mind cleared.
Thinking back, he understood. The voices—those of coworkers, surgery staff, Little Stutterer, and Doctor Xu—were all traps ant to lure him away from the safe house.
But he held firm. Even at the last mont, he didn’t give in to their deception.
“What were they? Could it be… the Whisperer?!”
Panting, Yu Hong grabbed the silver rune and began restoring it with the black seal.
When the countdown started, he put the rune board down and stood up.
Only then did he realize he was soaked with sweat.
Recalling the earlier events sent chills down his spine.
The voice of Little Stutterer, in particular, had almost convinced him to leave. Thankfully, he noticed the danger and rushed back just in ti.
“It seems safe now,” Yu Hong muttered as he checked the cave once more. After ensuring there were no more sounds, he spent half an hour tidying up before relaxing.
While waiting for the silver rune’s restoration, he walked to the door, opened the viewing window, and peered outside.
“!!”
The once-vibrant luminous grass in the courtyard had withered, turning black and lifeless, as if struck by a deadly frost.
Yu Hong’s expression darkened. He shut the window and stopped looking.
After scanning the cave, he sat cross-legged by the spent luminous stones. Covering himself with a luminous stone blanket, he closed his eyes to rest.
This ti, there were no sounds.
He slept peacefully until dawn.
When he awoke, bright sunlight stread through the window slits.
He threw off the luminous blanket and stood. The silver rune had finished restoring, so he swapped it with the one behind the door.
Grabbing another depleted silver rune, he began its restoration.
Dressed in reinforced white bear gear and wielding his wolf-toothed club, Yu Hong resud his daily heavy-leg training.
His inner energy had fully replenished. Now, he was ready to push toward the eighth layer. Once achieved, he’d only be one step away from the ninth layer, which would bring a full-body enhancent and unlock the second move of heavy-leg training.
Although he wanted to visit the post office and question Li Runshan, yesterday’s events still haunted him. His nerves hadn’t fully recovered.
(End of Chapter)
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