A Night of Desperation-Chapter 92: Rune Pattern (2)
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Excited by his discovery, Yu Hong decided not to continue reinforcing rune arrays that evening. Normally, he would enhance the rune arrays at night, calculating reinforcement times and bundling multiple arrays together so that by the next morning, he would have several improved ones ready.
But this time, he planned to test the Black Seal’s ability to strengthen a chamber.
Placing one hand on the stone wall, Yu Hong silently gave his command:
“Reinforce the entire safe house. Direction: Add a new room of the same size as this chamber, extending further into the mountain. Keep the exterior unchanged, enhance the strength of the main door, integrate it seamlessly with the stone walls, and increase impact resistance.”
A black line flickered, and a countdown appeared: 6 days, 9 hours, 42 minutes.
“Do you want to reinforce this chamber?” the Black Seal inquired.
“Yes!” Yu Hong responded eagerly.
Immediately, the underground chamber flickered slightly before returning to normal. The countdown on the wall began ticking down.
Satisfied, Yu Hong withdrew his hand.
“Six days… Although the Black Seal will be unavailable for now, once this is completed, I can continue expanding this way!”
“By the time the reinforcement is done, the rescue team should have arrived. Once I get the intel, I’ll retrieve the nuclear generator. If I solve the energy issue, water supply should be easily taken care of as well.”
Using the Black Seal’s reinforcement and synthesis abilities, Yu Hong figured he could seamlessly integrate the water supply system and nuclear generator into the safe house’s infrastructure.
This would save him from extensive planning and modifications. If it weren’t for the Black Seal, he wouldn’t even know where to start when it came to installation and integration.
With the countdown in motion, Yu Hong returned to the upper cave, lay down, and fell asleep. His mood was light, and he slept soundly until nearly noon the next day.
He could have continued sleeping, but loud noises from outside disturbed his rest.
***
Outside the Safe House – Walled Courtyard
Wei Shanshan and Qiu Yanxi stood close to their wooden hut, confronting a group of over ten people outside the stone wall.
It was nearly noon, and the sun was shining brightly.
The group consisted of both men and women, wielding machetes, wooden clubs, daggers, and even firearms. Some wore academy uniforms similar to Wei Shanshan’s, others were in camouflage gear, and one girl, absurdly dressed, wore a tight-fitting mini dress that exposed her pale thighs. 𝙧ἁŊô𝐛Êș
Despite their differing appearances, they all shared the same expression—fear. Some were even trembling.
“Rune arrays! Great Luminous Stones! We need more of them!”
“Hand them over!! Give us the rune arrays!!”
At the forefront was a young woman, likely in her early twenties. Her figure was better than Wei Shanshan’s but not as impressive as Qiu Yanxi’s. Her face was unremarkable, marred by stress-induced red sores at the corners of her mouth.
She gripped a compact submachine gun, pointing it directly at the mother and daughter within the walls.
“So many people died last night! You had those rune arrays and Luminous Stones, yet you refused to share them with us!? Why!?” The woman’s voice trembled with rage and fear, her hands shaking as she clutched her weapon.
“Li Jingyuan!” Qiu Yanxi forced herself to stay calm despite the gun pointed at her. Her body trembled, but she spoke loudly, “Weren’t you all taking shelter at the post office? What happened? What’s going on? Take a deep breath! It’s broad daylight—the safest time! There’s no need to panic right now!”
As a teacher, her authority still held some sway over her former students.
“Ghostly Shadows… Too many Ghostly Shadows!! We couldn’t hold them back! The post office refused to let us stay! They ran out of rune arrays and Luminous Stones too! We lost eight people last night alone!!”
The woman’s voice was hoarse as she screamed, “There are too many Ghostly Shadows outside! We can’t stop them! Without Luminous Stones and rune arrays, we’re all going to die—tonight!!”
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Her bloodshot eyes widened.
“I don’t want to die!! I need Luminous Stones! Give me Luminous Stones!!”
“There’s a mine nearby—you could go there and dig for some—”
Before Qiu Yanxi could finish, two gunshots rang out.
Bang! Bang!
The bullets struck the ground near her feet, sending dirt flying. Some of it sprayed onto her legs, leaving tiny red welts.
“Go to the mines? Do I look like a fool to you!?” Li Jingyuan screamed. “Going there is as good as dying! Normal Luminous Stones are useless! I need Great ones! Give me Great Luminous Stones!!”
“I can call Mr. Yu out and arrange a fair trade—”
“Fair trade? My ass! We have guns and numbers! Why the hell should we trade!? He should share everything with us!!”
“Share it all!!”
“Yeah! Share it!!”
“If he won’t share, we’ll kill him!!”
“Either way, we’re dead!! Let’s go for it!!”
The group’s mental state had clearly collapsed. They were on the edge, driven mad by desperation.
“There are Great Luminous Stones over there!! I see them!!”
Someone pointed to a massive chunk of stone in the courtyard.
“Damn it! Grab it!!”
With a wave of her hand, Li Jingyuan sent several young men charging towards the Luminous Stone.
“There are rune arrays too! And food! Drag that bastard out! This place belongs to us now!!”
One of the taller men yelled and sprinted toward the entrance of the safe house.
These people had been exiled from the post office shelter—discarded by those with more power and influence.
When the rune arrays and Luminous Stones ran out, they found themselves defenseless. Many had died in a single night.
That brutal reality shattered their last hopes. They tried attacking the United Army’s survivor camp but were driven off, leaving behind more bodies.
Desperate and with nowhere to turn, they thought of Yu Hong’s safe house.
Starving and desperate, they rushed here, clinging to this last chance of survival.
“Charge!! Get inside!! Those two are fine—there must be enough Luminous Stones here for all of us!!”
“Why should just a few people hoard all this!?”
“If we’re going to die anyway—screw it!!”
Li Jingyuan joined the charge, completely ignoring the mother and daughter at the wooden hut.
Over a dozen people swarmed into the courtyard, trampling over the luminous grass as they charged toward the wooden door.
The leading young man raised his gun, aiming at the door’s lock, ready to fire a burst.
Whoosh—
The wooden door suddenly swung open. A dark shadow lunged out, striking the young man square in the chest.
Boom!!
The gunman was sent flying backward, his chest caving in with a sickening crack as his sternum shattered. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he slammed into the stone wall, then collapsed to the ground, motionless. A pool of blood quickly spread beneath him.
The sudden turn of events froze the charging group in place.
All movement stopped as every gaze snapped toward the now-open door.
Inside.
Yu Hong, towering at nearly 1.9 meters in full armor, stepped out.
He was clad in a complete set of reinforced White Bear ballistic gear, resembling a walking tank. In one hand, he held a massive wooden shield; in the other, a spiked mace. Weighing over 300 pounds, he took a single step forward and lightly hopped down onto the courtyard grass.
Thud.
His boots sank deep into the ground.
As his body landed, a faint shockwave rippled outward, dispersing across the courtyard.
The air stirred, sweeping through the luminous grass, bending it outward in waves centered around Yu Hong.
Whoosh—
A stream of condensed white vapor hissed from the breathing valve of his helmet, curling into twin trails along its sides.
“I gave you fairness.” He raised his head, looking at the group before him.
“And this is how you repay me?”
His deep voice jolted the nearest few back to their senses.
“Fairness!?” someone screamed. “You hoarded all the large Luminous Stones and rune arrays while watching us die! That’s your so-called fairness!?”
“Kill him!!”
“Shoot!!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Li Jingyuan was the first to raise her submachine gun and unleash a barrage at Yu Hong.
Gunfire rang out as bullets struck his heavy ballistic armor, sparking on impact.
More gunfire erupted as two others also opened fire, their bullets hammering against his armor and wooden shield, sending splinters flying.
“Fools.” Yu Hong raised his shield, hunched his shoulders, and charged.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
With three thunderous strides, he barreled forward like a raging rhinoceros, slamming into the first three attackers.
They had no time to dodge. The massive wooden shield smashed into them head-on, sending them flying like bowling pins, rolling across the ground.
Without pausing, Yu Hong stormed toward the courtyard wall, lifting his shield with one arm and swinging it down.
Boom!
The shield struck Li Jingyuan directly.
The sheer force sent her hurtling sideways. She didn’t even have time to scream before she crashed into the outer wall, leaving a streak of blood midair before slumping lifelessly to the ground.
Yu Hong spun around, sweeping his spiked mace in a wide arc, swatting two more assailants like ragdolls.
Then, tossing aside his shield, he grabbed another attacker by the collar and hurled him sideways.
Crack!!
The sickening crunch of breaking bones echoed as the man’s body collided with two others, sending another shower of blood across the courtyard.
Finally, Yu Hong flung his spiked mace.
It spun through the air, howling, before slamming into two fleeing men.
Their upper bodies crumpled inward on impact, and they collapsed to the ground, dead on the spot.
The mace rolled across the courtyard until Yu Hong casually walked over and picked it up again.
“A pack of weak fools.”
He sighed.
Straightening up, he surveyed the blood-soaked courtyard filled with corpses, shaking his head before stepping toward a young man still struggling to crawl.
His lower body had been completely crushed beneath the shield.
“You…!!” The young man gasped, his pain-ridden eyes glaring at Yu Hong as if trying to say something.
Thud.
The spiked mace came down, shattering his neck.
Life faded instantly.
Yu Hong silently withdrew his weapon.
He wasn’t someone who enjoyed killing.
But sometimes, a man had to do what had to be done.
With the deed finished, he turned his gaze toward Qiu Yanxi and her mother.
The two stood frozen before their wooden hut, blood splattered across their clothes. Their expressions were blank, as if paralyzed by fear.
“Go inside and rest.” Yu Hong sighed. “Killers will always be killed in return. I didn’t want this either—it was their fault.”
“…”
Qiu Yanxi’s eyelids twitched.
A bizarre sense of absurdity surged within her.
She watched Yu Hong shake his head and sigh, as if filled with regret, before turning and stepping back into the cave—leaving behind a courtyard littered with mangled corpses.
Clutching her daughter’s head tightly, Qiu Yanxi suddenly recalled a madman they had encountered on the road.
“…It’s not my fault… They forced me to eat them! They forced me!!”
His voice sounded eerily identical to Yu Hong’s.
(End of Chapter)
