Night of Despair

Chapter 121: The Information of One

“What is that?”

Yu Hong gazed intently.

He discovered that it was a circle of ashes from luminous stone grass that had turned black.

This circle of ashes was located on the very outskirts of the luminous stone grass, like a black ring, encircling the courtyard of the luminous stone grass.

“Is that the Evil Shadow eroding the luminous stone grass?” Yu Hong speculated with a hint of uncertainty in his heart.

“In that case, the luminous stone grass also has some resistance to this thing…” Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

...

“That’s right, I indeed can’t use the Black Mark right now, but the luminous stone grass can be restored with Inner Qi. As long as I keep activating and fostering the luminous stone grass, I can indirectly use Inner Qi to resist the Evil Shadow outside!”

It was a desperate solution.

But under the current circumstances, where the Black Mark could not be used, cultivating the luminous stone grass with Inner Qi could completely serve as a substitute for the talisman board, resisting the bothersome dangers outside for a short time.

With this thought, Yu Hong felt invigorated. Placing one hand on the surface of the Black Mark, he instantly felt a faint and delicate connection with the luminous stone grass.

He could clearly sense that he could transmit Inner Qi through this thin connection.

“Just in time, my Inner Qi Technique has been enhanced and perfected; my current Inner Qi is completely different from before. I wonder if there will be any changes when it’s applied to the luminous stone grass.”

With this in mind, Yu Hong gently transferred a bit of Inner Qi.

Instantly, through the observation window, he saw the blackened circle of luminous stone grass begin to visibly turn green again.

After just a dozen seconds,

A new ring of tender luminous stone grass grew again in the area that had turned black.

“The new Inner Qi, it activates this fast?!” Yu Hong’s eyes were filled with surprise.

Previously, Inner Qi, once activated, would also need a whole night to recover.

But now, this new Inner Qi clearly had a much better effect, quickly initiating the replenishment of the luminous stone grass.

Undoubtedly, after the perfection and optimization of the Cultivation Technique, the effect of fostering the growth of the luminous stone grass was also strengthened. It was just uncertain if the newly sprouted luminous stone grass was any different from before.

Yu Hong was eager to go out and check, but remembering the following sound from behind, he suppressed this thought for now.

If, at the beginning, encountering a single shadow had scared him out of his wits, then now, after facing several Black Disasters in succession, his nerves had been toughened to an extraordinary degree.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid, but he knew that fear would only lead to a quicker death.

After observing outside the door for a while, Yu Hong narrowed his eyes and showed a thoughtful expression.

Moments later, he swiftly pulled down the shield and went into the basement to eat something, then began to practice his cultivation.

Since his Inner Qi was so effective now, his motivation to train in his Cultivation Technique had also increased.

If he could accumulate more Inner Qi, in the process of fostering the luminous stone grass, he would have an extra layer of security.

With the attack pattern of the person behind him unclear, he had to prepare as much as possible for anything.

*

*

*

Baihe City.

In the abandoned park area.

Among the desolate and dilapidated buildings, Lin Yiyi and a pale-faced Ou Li were carefully and quietly moving forward on the road, supporting the weakened Xue Ningning. They were followed by two team members who had entered the park with them.

After entering the park, it did not take long for them to find Xue Ningning, who had sustained serious injuries.

Aside from Xue Ningning, several of the other team members who had entered were missing, and the remaining two were also badly injured.

Xue Ningning herself, due to wearing a special metal ornament given to her by her sister, narrowly escaped peril. @@novelbin@@

She had thought that she was surely going to die. The ornament, originally silver-gray, had begun to slowly turn a pale color after being attacked, clearly being consumed gradually.

But what she did not expect was…

That stuttering Lin Yiyi, whom she had originally thought was holding them back, along with Ou Li, had actually rushed in together to rescue her.

Thinking of this, Xue Ningning’s heart was filled with complex emotions. Initially, she regretted letting the stuttering one and the other two join the team but now…

Looking at the stuttering one moving forward diligently, cautiously scanning for dangers, looking at the pale-faced Ou Li who still persisted in supporting her, Xue Ningning suddenly felt a bit of relief…

Perhaps, this was what they meant by ‘karma’…

It was just too bad…

Their coming here was futile.

“Don’t worry about me anymore…” Xue Ningning said weakly in a low voice, “Escape on your own… Staying here means death… It’s already targeting us… There’s no escape.”

Even though she was very grateful for their life-saving rescue, she also understood that many things couldn’t be turned around simply by daring to risk one’s life.

They were facing a Language Person, and moreover, one that was completely different from the one described in the records!

The data clearly showed that Language Persons mainly used sound to mislead people, affecting their thinking and vision, before attacking and killing them.

But in that instant just now….

She clearly hadn’t heard any sound, yet she was attacked….

Without any warning or preparation, suddenly three members of the entire team were devoured and disappeared.

Then, the remaining people used grenades and luminous stone bombs to no avail…. They simply couldn’t detect when the Language Person was approaching or attacking.

Their weapons were all expended on empty space.

“We’re already in, it’s obviously too late to escape now,” Ou Li said calmly. Although her complexion was pale, it was at these times that she became less panicked.

“I, will, help you!” Little Stutter exhibited a determined expression, showing his typical stubbornness.

“It’s no use… If I stay behind, I can act as a blood lure, keeping this mutated Language Person here, preventing it from spreading outside….” Xue Ningning said with a bitter smile, “Your coming here only means leaving behind two more corpses, nothing more…. It’s just a vain sacrifice.”

Everyone was an enhanced human, but even as such, when facing the Evil Shadow, they were just slightly larger ants, and the limits of humanity dictated that they couldn’t compare to them.

“You two coming in is just a hindrance, what’s the point?!” A surviving female team member couldn’t help but speak anxiously. “When you realized we hadn’t made it out, you should have immediately sought help, requested support from above! What’s the use in coming in here?! You won’t be able to escape either!”

“Enough, Ah Jun,” Xue Ningning reminded her, “Focus on the part you’re responsible for.”

The female team member’s name was Fang Shijun, one of the key members who had been extremely opposed to Xue Ningning’s decision to take on the burden in the first place.

She and another male team member, Chen Xinji, were the two best combatants of Team Three. Now, with the others devoured and missing, only the three of them were left.

The two of them were Xue Ningning’s left and right arms, and together with Little Stutter, who distracted the Evil Shadow’s attention, they had managed, with difficulty, to temporarily shake off the Language Person’s pursuit.

At that moment, they each took turns on guard duty and determining the direction of their path, using various professional instruments and equipment with great proficiency.

Fang Shijun alone had five types of detection equipment on her, which allowed for comprehensive analysis from five different dimensions, including magnetic fields, three types of radiation rays, and air molecule identification.

These high-tech devices required a lot of professional training to operate. An enhanced person like Little Stutter, even if strong and resilient, wouldn’t be able to use these devices, and facing the Evil Shadow, death was the only outcome.

This was the main reason other teams didn’t want Little Stutter.

Now, Fang Shijun and Chen Xinji each held portable devices, continuously operating and observing various data, and occasionally using their personal computers to perform complex calculations to determine the best escape routes.

“There are four kinds of special force fields in the entire park causing us sensory misdirection. We were about to calculate the optimal escape path, but their arrival… triggered a change in the force field. I suspect it has attracted new trouble, possibly noticed by other Language Persons, and now we have to recalculate. At this rate, none of us will be able to escape!” Fang Shijun became increasingly anxious and irritable.

“What does that have to do with us?!” Ou Li suddenly raised her voice, her tone unreservedly blunt, “How do you know we won’t be able to escape without even trying?”

“What can you do? Which of these devices can you operate? Tell me, what are you good for?!” Fang Shijun unapologetically stopped and confronted Ou Li.

“You think I wanted to come in?!” Ou Li’s face looked bad. Indeed, she only knew how to operate one or two of the pieces of equipment that the other was wearing.

“Then why did you come?” Xue Ningning said helplessly, pulling Fang Shijun aside to have her speak less.

“If it wasn’t for…” Ou Li was about to reveal the truth when she was ‘gently’ slapped on the forehead by Little Stutter.

Thump.

“Ou Li, she just, doesn’t, talk much. Her heart, is, kind.”

Little Stutter earnestly explained on behalf of his friend.

“….” Ou Li, dizzied by the overwhelming force, almost fell over. The words she was about to say were beaten out of her, and for a moment, her head buzzed, leaving her to only grunt twice, no longer speaking.

“You’re all good children….” Xue Ningning sighed. “It’s a pity… I’ve led you all to this…”

“How did, the Language Person, attack, you guys?” Little Stutter asked.

“I don’t know…. All of our detection methods were useless; we had no idea when it was getting close. Some even had luminous stone grenades in their hands and were devoured before they had a chance to detonate them,” Xue Ningning shook her head, her face looking grim.

“The Language Person’s attacks completely deviated from the accumulated burst pattern, instead striking suddenly….” She looked at the two girls, “So the biggest problem is that we have no way of detecting when it will attack, where it will attack, which area?”

The group fell silent in response. This indeed was the biggest problem they currently faced with the Language Person.

Unpredictable.

“Let’s go,” Xue Ningning said with resignation, signaling Fang Shijun to lead the way and continue changing their position.

The group moved swiftly, taking turns and retracing steps, following a special calculated path forward according to the simulations from their equipment.

Fang Shijun and Xue Ningning occasionally discussed in a low voice; they mentioned terms and data that Ou Li and Lin Yiyi couldn’t understand.

The two girls followed behind the team, feeling helpless and simply walked on in silence.

Suddenly, Fang Shijun’s face turned pale.

The path she was leading them to, a high wall now loomed directly ahead.

This wall completely blocked their way out.

Through the decorative hollows in the wall, they could see that beyond the wall was not a way out of the park but instead similarly gloomy buildings of the park complex.

“It’s wrong! We calculated incorrectly! This isn’t an exit!”

“Back up, let’s return to the last node and recalculate!” Chen Xinji said gravely.

The group quickly retreated, but soon they discovered that the path they had just taken was now different, even though they had passed between two buildings of five layers each.

Upon returning, they found those two buildings had completely changed; one became a dark factory, and the other a high-rise of over twenty stories.

But this place, this park, wasn’t supposed to have any high-rise buildings over twenty stories, right?!