Night of Despair

The sun shone brightly, and the shadows of the trees swayed.

The clothes left behind by Aifu after being devoured were blown around by the wind but remained stationary due to the weight of the stone holding them in place.

On the grass, a small black centipede slowly emerged from the soil, moving towards the pile of clothes.

The centipede didn't crawl directly on top but circled around the clothes again and again.

After finding it couldn't get inside the clothes, the centipede seemed impatient and turned to crawl elsewhere.

Thud!

At that moment, a black hand extended from the pile of clothes, pinning the centipede down.

Whoosh.

The black hand retracted into the clothes and vanished, taking the centipede with it.

Not long after, the pile of clothes seemed to be grabbed by something and pulled to the side, causing the stone to roll away.

The clothes appeared to be moved by the wind, rolling continuously, as if animated, heading towards the previous gathering place of the post office.

*

*

*

With a swish, the envelope was torn open, and the letter inside was unfolded.

Yu Hong carefully read the hard-won letter.

'I am Lin Yiyi. I have been at this coastal base for three days. According to the regulations, our squad will be stationed here for a long time, so you can send future letters directly here. The address is at the end. But remember not to send any important items, as they might get lost halfway.'

"It is indeed Yiyi," Yu Hong breathed a sigh of relief, and seeing that Stammering Yiyi was okay, he felt his worries ease.

He continued to read.

'I left in a hurry that day, but I don't regret leaving. Baiqiu Village is becoming more and more unfamiliar and dangerous to me.'

There were marks of erasure here, indicating that some words were written but later deleted.

'My father and grandfather disappeared, and one day my mother went out and never came back.

I remember then that the food at home ran out, so I ate mice and bugs. Later, even the mice and bugs became scarce, and I had eaten bark and mud. Then my stomach swelled, and my mind became increasingly unclear. I realized then that I couldn't eat mud and bark anymore, so I walked out.'

'I stayed outside one night. You wouldn't believe it, but luckily, there were no black bugs that night, and I survived. The place I stayed was the Pyroxene Ore Mine near the village. If you ever find yourself in a pinch, you can go there too. But remember not to stay too long... When I returned from there, I had a fever that very day. I don't remember much of what happened afterward, only that a grandfather, who wanted to break into the house to steal things, saved me.'

*I was very young then, and quite foolish, not understanding anything, so I gave everything to him. Whenever I was on the brink of survival, he would come out and give me a little food. But after I grew up a bit, I never saw him again. Maybe he died.*

'Alright, I've said so much, I just wanted to tell you that I'm okay, really, so don't worry. By the way, this letter was written by my roommate Anselin. She's a very nice person and treats me well. If you have anything good, you can send some to her.'

Seeing this last sentence, Yu Hong couldn't help but laugh. It was clear that this sentence couldn't have been said by Stammering Yiyi; it was probably added by her roommate herself. The fluency of the language might also have been polished by this person.

But it didn't matter. At least this content proved that Stammering Yiyi was indeed all right.

Moreover, she had the mood to reminisce about the past, indicating she should be in a relatively stable environment.

After reading the letter, he turned the paper over and indeed found a rather sloppy map on the back.

The map depicted Baiqiu Village, the post office, the town, the Pyroxene Ore Mine, and the ruins, among other places.

Lines connected these locations, with numbers written next to them.

Yu Hong examined it closely and realized that these numbers seemed to represent the time Stammering Yiyi estimated it took her to walk between these places.

His expression softened. With this rudimentary map, he now had a clear idea of the locations of the mine and the ruins.

As he was about to fold the letter and store it away, his gaze seemed to linger on a particular spot on the map.

He paused, unfolded the map again, and examined it closely.

Indeed.

On the map, right next to the ruins, there was a small black dot.

This black dot was inconspicuous on the map, but next to it was a carefully crossed-out red X, with a small line of text: 'Whatever you do, don't go there!'

"Even Baiqiu Village doesn't have this mark. It seems this place is far more dangerous than Baiqiu Village," he carefully memorized this location.

After storing the letter, he quickened his pace, heading towards the burrow where Jenny and her daughter lived.

Soon enough, he arrived at the entrance of the burrow.

He stopped.

He glanced around the burrow area, making sure there was no one else, and then took a Large Pyroxene Stone from his pocket and approached the door step by step.

He crouched in front of the door, inserted a key, and gently turned and pulled it upward.

Click.

The wooden door, disguised as a lawn, made a clear unlocking sound and was then pulled open.

Yu Hong peered inside and saw a dark and deep tunnel.

Lingering hesitantly on his face.

*In a place like this, once you go down inside and someone blocks the entrance, you're as good as dead.*

If Jenny and her daughter were still here, they would know if there were any other exits inside.

But he was not the owner and didn't know what dangers and exits were inside.

Whoosh.

He promptly closed the wooden door again and locked it. Then he turned and left.

'I need someone to keep guard outside so I can attempt to go in and search.'

Actually, there was another way, but it wasn't appropriate to use it at this moment.

Quickly leaving Jenny's, he headed straight to Doctor Xu's residence.

Unlike Jenny's, the burrow where Doctor Xu lived was just an ordinary hill cellar.

The door was sturdy, with a cross-shaped window on one side. From the outside, it looked as if this hill had been completely hollowed out.

Knock, knock, knock.

Yu Hong stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Who is it!?" Doctor Xu's cautious voice came from inside.

"It's me, Yu Hong."

"When was the last time we parted ways?"

"Before the peak burst, you'd better check if the Large Pyroxene Stone reacts first." Yu Hong reminded.

There was a moment of silence behind the door, and a few seconds later, the wooden door clicked open.

Doctor Xu's face emerged, looking a bit tired and haggard, but her eyes were much brighter than before.

"You're just in time! My herbal medicine succeeded!" Her tone was full of excitement. "I tested it on mice and found that it can indeed replace the treatment and disinfection of wounds' inflammation! It only works a little weaker than mycin. Of course, I'm also making my own penicillin and erymycin, but I can't solve the pollution interference. I need better sterilization equipment...."

She pulled Yu Hong inside, locked the door, and then eagerly headed further into the house.

This cellar had three rooms in total: one was the bedroom with a bed, another was piled with various utensils and tools, clearly a workspace, and the third one was a storage room, seemingly doubling as a bathroom.

The entire underground house had a strong musty smell, cold and damp, typical of most basement cellars.

"Come, over here!! The herbs I promised you, they're truly finished this time!" Doctor Xu's face was flushed, seemingly in a state of euphoria.

She pulled Yu Hong into the workspace and pointed at a dish of green, mud-like paste being stirred.

"Here it is! I did it! I tried it on mice; the inflammation completely vanished! It's a brand-new anti-inflammatory drug. If society still functioned, I'd surely make a fortune! Earn lots and lots of money!"

"Amazing!" Yu Hong nodded, appreciating Doctor Xu's skills much more now.

If this herbal medicine could indeed be used, it meant they would subsequently have a consistent supply of herbal remedies. This was undeniably a significant benefit for them, especially with the severe shortage of medicine.

However, his current visit wasn't to see Doctor Xu's new medicine.

Once she had calmed down a bit from her excited rambling, he collected his thoughts and seriously said to Doctor Xu, "Do you remember Jenny's daughter, Aifu? The one who tried to infect us with the black handprint?"

"Of course. It's been so long; she's dead, right?" Doctor Xu frowned, her emotions calming slightly from excitement. She vaguely sensed that Yu Hong's sudden visit might indicate something out of the ordinary.

"She is dead," Yu Hong nodded. "And her mother, Jenny, is dead too."

"Jenny's dead too?" Doctor Xu showed slight surprise but soon accepted it.

"Makes sense; her daughter probably infected her too with that thing. Better off dead; I've seen their true colors," she paused, then looked at Yu Hong.

"Did you know there's a new postman?"

"Yes, I just met him. His name is Li Rushan. He seems like a decent person," Yu Hong nodded.

"He can deliver letters," Doctor Xu continued, "Yiyi sent me a letter. I plan to reply, but the cost is rather high." She frowned.

Yu Hong was also considering this. The Large Pyroxene Stones were heavy, difficult to send, and might get lost along the way. No, they would certainly be taken.

"That's just right. Jenny and her daughter are dead, but their goods and supplies are still there..." Yu Hong said quietly.

Hearing this, Doctor Xu's eyes also brightened.

A moment later, the two of them were back at Jenny's burrow.

Yu Hong lifted the cover, revealing the dark tunnel below, then looked at Doctor Xu.

"Who's going in?"

Though he trusted Doctor Xu more than others, entering a sealed tunnel at this time still made him anxious.

"I will," Doctor Xu said without hesitation, and she bent over and crawled into the tunnel.

Soon, she disappeared into the darkness.

Yu Hong stood watch at the entrance, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

After about five minutes, there was movement from the tunnel again. Doctor Xu emerged, struggling to drag a large plastic bag from the tunnel.

"Got it!" She was covered in dirt, her hair drenched with sweat, her gray blouse also soaked, revealing her full curves, but she didn't mind.

"There were quite a few good things inside, but... I didn't dare take much. There were many things I didn't dare touch."

"What do you mean?" Yu Hong frowned, pulling her out.

"Although there were no visible marks on many items inside, the Large Pyroxene Stone I carried reacted immediately when I got close," Doctor Xu said, pulling a Large Pyroxene Stone from around her neck, used as a pendant. The stone was more than half faded to ash color.

"But I did manage to get the most important items out; the rest can be taken later," her expression shifted as she pulled a black box from her pocket, resembling a pager, palm-sized, with a gray LCD screen in the middle.