Night of Despair-Chapter 115 - : Prevention First

Chapter 115: Prevention First

The next morning,

Yu Hong had taken anti-inflammatory medicine and gone toward the post office.

It wasn’t even ten o’clock yet, and he saw Old Zhou standing next to a stone house, quietly talking to Li Rushan.

This made him slightly furrow his brows.

“Old Li,” he called out softly.

Li Rushan looked up and waved at him.

...

“You’ve come at just the right time, I just finished selecting a cave for Old Zhou. We were discussing the troubles at the frontlines. Now that you’re here, we can all listen together.” Li Rushan’s expression wasn’t as jovial and lighthearted as before, it was somewhat solemn now.

“Where’s the Multi-eyed Bird? Why is it standing outside?” Yu Hong walked closer, entering the yard.

“Attacks from the Multi-eyed Bird generally last one to three waves; after constant failures, it will swiftly change targets. From what Old Li told me about the attack patterns here, it’s highly unlikely the Multi-eyed Bird will come back now.” Zhou Xueguang, having rested overnight, seemed much better, and his injuries were well-treated, bandaged with white gauze.

“Then why are you guys making such faces?” Yu Hong asked with a frown.

“The real danger in the Black Disaster isn’t the Blood Tide Monster, but the ‘shadow’ species. Whether ordinary shadows or various Evil Shadows, they all attack like assassins, unpredictable and hard to defend against,” Zhou Xueguang sighed.

“We were discussing the situation at the frontlines where the dangers are most numerous. Old Zhou is giving us tips so we can think of more response strategies in the future,” Li Rushan explained.

“Ah…” Zhou Xueguang sighed, “The most troubling thing about the Multi-eyed Bird is not its strength, but the fundamental reason it’s classified as War Level… is actually its reproduction.”

“…Reproduction? You don’t mean the kind of reproduction I’m thinking of, do you?” Li Rushan paused, his expression turning grim.

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. The Multi-eyed Birds that leaked from the frontlines were initially just two, the rest… all bred during this time…” Zhou Xueguang said helplessly.

“…..” Yu Hong’s expression froze; having personally driven back multiple attacks by the Multi-eyed Bird, he knew how troublesome they were.

“But now, the most dangerous things aren’t those, but the high-risk Black Disaster coming from the frontlines!” Zhou Xueguang said.

“Let’s talk inside.” Li Rushan picked up a wooden barrel for collecting rainwater and entered the stone house.

Though the stone house was dilapidated and had numerous issues, at least the roof was intact, sufficient to block sunlight and heavy rain.

The three men moved further inside and sat in the living room.

“The Black Disasters at the frontlines are more dangerous than the Language Persons, which types will come here? Old Zhou, don’t scare us now. Are you sure high-risk beings will come?” Li Rushan still had a daughter to care for; hearing what was just said, he was perturbed.

“The high-risk Black Disasters generally don’t appear together, it seems they also compete among themselves when hunting humans. In our area, the main threats are the Withered Woman and the Interrupt People,” Zhou Xueguang spoke lowly, “The Withered Woman is at War Level, encountering her almost certainly means death with no means to counter. The Interrupt People belong to the same system as the Evil Shadows, with over ten different branches, extremely fast at slaughtering, like the Language Person, unpredictable, and the worst part, if you’re even slightly careless, you are gone.”

“I know about the Withered Woman… an enhanced version of the Withered… never seen the Interrupt People though, tell us how we can deal with them,” Yu Hong said gravely.

“The method is simple, the Pyroxene Secret Room works the same, capable of hiding oneself. Interrupt People can’t attack or touch you, like the Language Person, and only at the very moment of an attack can you truly make contact with them. To temporarily escape and defend, the Pyroxene Marrow Solution used must be at least one liter per application, any dilution and it won’t protect,” Zhou Xueguang sighed, “The Interrupt People are the most common and dangerous Black Disasters at the frontlines, killing the most because they are so hard to defend against unlike Language Persons who need time to build up.”

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“High concentration Pyroxene Marrow Solution…” Yu Hong’s expression was serious; he didn’t have Pyroxene Marrow, only Large Pyroxene Stone. But according to what was described, these so-called Interrupt People probably required the silver talisman array to deal with…

“Judging by the time I’ve returned from the frontlines, there’s likely just over a month left before a large-scale Black Disaster will cover this area. Both of you, prepare yourselves… food and water too, the danger outside will increase several levels,” Zhou Xueguang continued.

“…. Fuck! How are ordinary people supposed to live with this!?” Li Rushan’s face looked terrible as he punched his thigh.

“In fact, the environment should have worsened long ago, it’s just that the frontlines have been blocking the most troublesome and dangerous Black Disasters, but now, they just can’t hold back anymore,” Zhou Xueguang said quietly.

“You just said, at most a month more!?” Yu Hong’s face also turned grim. Just the current outside dangers had already troubled him; if they were to escalate further… he felt he might not even dare to step outside. And for other survivors, without sunlight materials for hiding, stepping outside could mean death.

“I’m only guessing, the Black Disaster’s movement isn’t fast, but its direction is steady, predictable. Moreover, Black Disasters are mutually exclusive, within a certain period, only one high-risk Black Disaster will appear and attack. So many times at the frontlines, we would deliberately lure relatively easier-to-handle known Black Disasters to cover and drive away the troublesome ones,” Zhou Xueguang said.

“So, in our direction, the ones we are likely to encounter are the Withered Woman and Interrupt People?” Yu Hong asked again.

“Yes, these are the main Evil Shadow dangers our sector of the frontline has been dealing with. Other creatures like the elephant worm, Eagle Worm, Phantom Jellyfish are somewhat dangerous, but they can still be temporarily repelled by laser sweeps and large-scale bombings,” Zhou Xueguang nodded.

Yu Hong and Li Rushan exchanged a look, both reading the worry in each other’s eyes.

“If the information Old Zhou provided is true,” Li Rushan said gravely, “then it means that we must reduce the frequency of going out as much as possible. I asked him what the measures in place at the front lines are, and he said to minimize outings and, if one must go out, to only do so through the underground sunlight tunnels. But even the sunlight tunnels aren’t absolutely safe, as the sunlight materials vary and cater to different dangers; although they can prevent one from being discovered by most dangers, there are still few that may penetrate…”

“That’s why at the front lines, the biggest issue is actually food,” Zhou Xueguang nodded. “Every resupply mission costs many lives. Rather than saying our fortress is resisting the Black Disaster, it’s more like we are attracting it, allowing them to attack us instead of breaking through the front lines to attack more vital areas…”

“What about Silver Tower? What about Aurora City? Is there really no solution at all? Can’t even nuclear bombs kill it?” Yu Hong couldn’t help but ask.

“Silver Tower has already lost contact,” Zhou Xueguang replied, his face growing even more morose. “If not for that, we wouldn’t have completely lost hope and fled from the front lines. Without Silver Tower providing various intelligence and sunlight materials, staying there meant waiting for death. In fact, even so, none of humanity’s existing weapons can kill any Black Disaster; we can only repel them time after time.”

“…Then, if even the front lines can’t manage, what can we do by fleeing inland? It’s just a later death,” Li Rushan challenged.

“No!” Zhou Xueguang objected strongly. “It’s true we can’t cope with the Black Disaster, but it can be contained. As long as we put enough distance between us, by creating sufficient isolation space, they will stay put and not venture out! That’s also why the country decided to abandon the original cities and build new Hope Cities.”

Yu Hong and Li Rushan fell silent, quietly digesting the news brought by Zhou Xueguang.

“I’m somewhat relieved now that I ran into you on my way back,” Yu Hong admitted with a wry smile. “The information you brought was timely. If danger came and we weren’t prepared… it would have been too late.”

“I’ve contacted the higher-ups, and they also had no information. It now seems, they might be intentionally withholding it, afraid of causing panic,” Li Rushan said somberly.

For a time, all three were silent.

The official armed forces were collapsing, even the highest research institution, Silver Tower, had lost contact, and humanity’s hope for tackling the Black Disaster seemed lost.

Is there any hope left for humanity?

Several minutes passed… with no one speaking.

The only sounds in the room were the three men’s oppressive breathing.

“If….” Yu Hong exhaled, breaking the silence. “I mean, if we don’t rely on supply troops, but on ourselves, Li, can your farm manage it?”

“It’s no problem… Basic food needs are fine. If I supply at full capacity, I should be able to provide food for seven or eight people, but you have to consider, if it becomes more dangerous outside, what about wild vegetables? Lacking in trace elements and dietary fiber, we would still be doomed,” Li Rushan replied, shaking his head.

“We have to find a safe way to move outside… I remember there is still some sunlight material-based secret room in someone’s house, right?” Yu Hong asked.

“Are you talking about Jenny…?” Li Rushan realized. They had discussed this too, but since the main function of the secret room’s sunlight materials was their surface coating, they couldn’t be easily moved, so they had to give up on that idea.

“Also, the days are getting shorter outside. What if, and I mean what if, the days got even shorter… If trees and wild plants can’t grow, what will we do? Rely entirely on mushrooms?” Yu Hong inquired.

“Silver Tower had anticipated this possibility before and launched a variety of night mushrooms, precisely to deal with this. But I don’t have the spores here,” Li Rushan answered.

“Where can we get them?” Yu Hong asked.

“There’s a mushroom research institute in Yuanfeng City; they might have it,” Li Rushan responded. “I’ll make a trip there.”

Yu Hong brought back Zhou Xueguang, delivering crucial intelligence. He also had to make some contributions after that, especially if the supply teams couldn’t deliver in the future, and he still had three people to take care of, including managing things related to Large Pyroxene Stone.

“What about Aisena?”

“She’s got her two sisters looking after her, no problem,” Old Li was clearly confident about those two beautiful women.

“As long as you are sure,” Yu Hong said no more.

“I often encounter Language People, Withered Women, and such Evil Shadows on the front lines; I’ll write down precautions,” despite his injuries, Zhou Xueguang didn’t want to waste time doing nothing.

“I’ll lend you my car. But you’ll have to reattach the solar panels yourself,” Yu Hong took off the car keys and tossed them to Old Li. A solar-powered car would save a lot of time on the road.

“…Alright! Having a car makes things a lot easier!” Li Rushan was thrilled. “Remember to take care of Nana; my two girlfriends are looking after the farm, no big issue there, I’ve already trained them on everything.”

“Okay!” Yu Hong nodded. “I also should get the nuclear power engine installed. With that, if we don’t have sunlight or the sun, we can still ensure an energy supply!”

“I’ll come to you to recharge when the power goes out!” Li Rushan joked, not expecting that the other’s trip would actually bring back a nuclear power engine set.