Secret Three
Jenny's words were spoken lightly, but the expression that shone through her eyes was particularly icy.
"Would you like to try, try and see if we can't destroy this safe house of yours?"
For a moment, the three people inside and outside the door all fell silent.
Yu Hong remained silent, his expression changing, evidently pondering and hesitating.
After a long silence, he slowly began to speak.
"Such a trade is not fair. I need to know why you are so sure that with my help you can escape the assault of the Withered Woman Evil Shadow? That you can survive?"
Outside the door, Jenny's face remained impassive as she took a drink from her water bag. The moment she heard these words, she knew the other party was considering compromise.
"This was also one of my husband's research topics. I can give it to you later as compensation for the trade. But you must help us get through this crisis first."
"...How are you going to get through it?" Yu Hong asked.
"Large Pyroxene Stones! Only enough Large Pyroxene Stones will do!" Jenny replied.
"I can only give you three at most. That's all I have in stock," Yu Hong replied, frowning deeply.
"Three should last us a while, as long as we don't face them head-on, they can hold out for quite some time!" Jenny quickly said, a hint of joy crossing her face.
"But how do I ensure that you will keep your promise and tell me the secret to avoiding the Evil Shadow?" Yu Hong said.
"...How about this? I'll tell you part of it, then you place two stones outside the door for us to pick up, and afterward, I'll tell you the final part. Then, you give me the last stone," Jenny suggested quickly. "This is less secure for us, but it ensures your interest. What do you say?"
"Agreed." Yu Hong fell silent for a moment before affirmatively replying.
He stood up and went to a corner of the cave, where he dug out his stash of Large Pyroxene Stones. He had a total of five left.
The Wolf Fang Club and the door often needed to be replaced, so there were only these few intact Large Pyroxene Stones. After all, he had been researching the talisman array recently and the Black Mark couldn't spare the time to create and restore the less cost-effective Large Pyroxene Stones.
Taking out three of them, he returned to the rear of the door and sat down beside the stone wall.
"I've got the items. You back away."
"Okay." Jenny, too, had steadied her emotions somewhat. She took her daughter off the stone steps and backed away.
From a distance, the two watched the wooden door of the cave closely, paying attention to every movement.
About half a minute later, the door emitted a crisp crack and slowly began to open, revealing a slit.
A hand held a Large Pyroxene Stone and gently placed it on the ground outside.
This was the first one.
The hand withdrew, took out the second stone, and placed it beside the first.
Crack.
The door closed again.
"Go!" Jenny's face revealed joy as she quickly approached, climbed the stone steps, and picked up the two Large Pyroxene Stones from the ground.
"Now you can tell me how you avoid the Evil Shadow, right?" Yu Hong's voice came from behind the door.
"I can tell you half," Jenny said, glancing at her equally joyful daughter, signaling her to back off a little.
"The shadow and the Evil Shadow are actually the same. Before they attack a living person, they will cause a series of omens. We can detect these omens with instruments and make predictions in advance, preparing ourselves so they can't appear and attack smoothly."
She paused before continuing.
"According to my husband's research, using the Red Value detector, as long as you keep the Red Value within a certain range, it will cause the shadow to hesitate, to waver, and to be indecisive."
"Do they have consciousness?" Yu Hong pressed.
"Uncertain," Jenny replied. "Anything else you want to ask?"
"How do you know the Red Value range of the Evil Shadow?" Yu Hong asked with narrowed eyes.
"Based on the average intensity of the shadow's Red Value, adjusted upwards. It's not difficult. The hard part is how to stabilize this value. Generally, whether it's the shadow or the Evil Shadow, their appearance will cause the Red Value to spike rapidly, reaching the upper limit. This is the fundamental reason why we need your Large Pyroxene Stones," Jenny quickly said.
Finally, Yu Hong mentioned, "Sunlight No. 1..."
"The secret to evading the pursuit of the Evil Shadow is far more than enough in exchange for three Large Pyroxene Stones," Jenny said coldly. "If you want Sunlight No. 1 as well, more Large Pyroxene Stones will be needed for the trade!"
"I have a few more questions, if you're willing to answer them, I can give you another Large Pyroxene Stone," Yu Hong continued.
"Four stones? Okay, but I need to judge the value of the questions."
"Agreed!"
The two quickly reached another agreement.
"Now, first tell me the Red Value range you use to avoid the Evil Shadow. I'll supply the third Large Pyroxene Stone," Yu Hong said.
"Okay... The evasive Red Value range for the Evil Shadow is between 120 and 140! As long as it's maintained within this range, the Evil Shadow will be in a state of almost appearing but unable to appear. However, maintaining this state will continuously consume and release Red Value. After half an hour, the Evil Shadow will retreat," Jenny replied readily.
"Good, back away and I'll give you the third stone!" Yu Hong also responded promptly. Although he wouldn't truly believe it, it at least had reference value.
"Okay." Jenny agreed and slowly backed off.
But this time, she didn't really back far away but instead circled halfway and hid on the left side of the wooden door.
Then, with a single grab, she effortlessly climbed like a rock climber onto the wall on the left side of the cave door.
After securing her position, she pulled out a black-painted dagger from behind her waist with her right hand, aiming at the door.
As soon as the door opened, her position would allow her to leap down in an instant and capture the person inside.
With her professional combat skills, it would take only seconds to subdue a frail man like Yu Hong.
Seconds ticked by.
Soon.
Crack.
The wooden door gently opened a crack.
The crack widened and widened until it was large enough for a hand to stretch out and take out a Large Pyroxene Stone.
At that moment, Jenny leaped from the side, firmly grasped the wooden door, and squeezed her body inside.
As long as she could get behind the door, with her fighting abilities, Yu Hong would be no match...
```
Click.
A handgun was raised, aiming at her chest.
Just as Jenny dived into the cave and was about to rise and pounce, pinning down Yu Hong.
A dark muzzle had already been raised, targeting her.
The gun barrel remained motionless, only a few centimeters from her chest, and the person holding the gun was Yu Hong.
His expression was calm as he stretched out his hand and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
Jenny was shocked, her body swiftly retreating, as she rolled sideways out of the door and landed with a thud on the ground, scattering droplets of blood.
She was hit on the right side of her chest... At such close range, it was only thanks to the other person's terrible marksmanship, or perhaps their ignorance about the recoil of the firearm.
This oversight gave her the only chance at survival!
Jenny was utterly stunned!
The guy actually had a gun?! With a gun, he acted so cowardly?! So pretentious?!
Her mind was in turmoil, experiencing for the first time the evil in people's hearts!
Yu Hong's motives and intentions tumbled over and over in her mind, but she couldn't figure out why he would do this.
Struggling to her feet, she sprinted to her daughter's side and snatched the wooden stick from her hands.
"Run!!" she commanded harshly.
The intense pain made her face contort slightly. But this pain only sharpened her mind further.
She had been caught off guard this time, but once she took care of her wounds and got back, she had plenty of ways to kill Yu Hong.
As long as he still had to come out to gather firewood, fetch water, or find food, she could ambush and kill him. If that didn't work, the last few kinds of chemical poison powder left by her husband could be silently sprayed into his breathing holes and kill him imperceptibly!
The two of them hastily ran towards the distance.
Bang!
Another shot rang out.
Jenny fell to the ground in response, sprawling forward, with a patch of blood slowly seeping into her clothing on her lower back, spreading wider and wider.
Aifu, pulled by her mother, fell to the ground with her.
Seeing her mother's injuries, Aifu was visibly stunned.
After a few moments.
She trembled, reaching out a hand to touch her mother, but dared not make contact due to the contagion of the Evil Shadow.
"Run...!" Jenny propped up her face, palely instructing her daughter.
Seeing no response from her daughter, she mustered all her strength.
"Run!!" she yelled, shoving two Large Pyroxene Stones into her daughter's hands.
"Freeze, kneel down!" Yu Hong's voice came from behind.
He still held the gun, aimed at Aifu, and approached step by step.
But Aifu panicked, grabbed the Large Pyroxene Stones, turned, and fled.
She didn't even glance at her mother on the ground again, frantically dashing towards the distant forest, stumbling and falling, then getting up again, not looking back, gradually increasing the distance.
"If you don't want Jenny to die, stay where you are and don't move!" Yu Hong shouted, aiming at Jenny with the gun as he walked to her rear.
His voice echoed in the woods.
But unfortunately for him, Aifu appeared indifferent, as if she hadn't heard a word, continuing to surge forward, soon vanishing into the depths of the forest.
Yu Hong lowered his gun and looked down at Jenny on the ground, who had already bled a large pool on the grass, coloring a small area of the ground red.
It looked like she was done for.
"Got any last words?" he asked indifferently.
Different from the first time he had killed someone long ago, now he seemed to have adapted to the basic rules of this era and this environment.
"Aifu... she'll survive..." Jenny's pupils had begun to dilate. "She'll live... to avenge me..."
"A pleasant fantasy," Yu Hong said expressionlessly, no longer looking at her, and quickly headed towards the bunker where Jenny and Aifu had been living.
He ran at full speed, chasing furiously.
Finally, after using the second stalk of cool air.
Thud!!
A large Wolf Fang Club viciously struck the back of Aifu's head, knocking her to the ground.
In the woods, on a grassy area some thirty or forty meters away from the post office, Yu Hong caught up with Aifu.
Looking at the dazed girl on the ground, he glanced around, then approached and pried the Large Pyroxene Stones out of her hands with the Wolf Fang Club.
Of course, not with his hands, but with the Wolf Fang Club.
Aifu was infected with the Withered Woman Evil Shadow, and who knew if direct body contact would also be contagious.
"Goodbye," he said softly to the girl.
"No... don't!!" Aifu struggled, her voice as faint as a mosquito's, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Thud!
Several more muffled sounds followed.
Yu Hong turned, carrying the Wolf Fang Club and left. Only leaving behind Aifu, who had completely passed out on the spot.
Blood kept flowing down Aifu's forehead, more and more...
Yu Hong didn't kill her, after all, Aifu hadn't been part of Jenny's threats, and she was just an ignorant child.
Young, and not understanding many things.
So, he just broke her limbs and finally knocked her unconscious.
```