Yu Hong took some anti-inflammatory medicine and headed to the post office.
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It was not yet ten in the morning when he saw Old Li standing by the stone house, talking quietly with Zhou Xueguang.
This made his brows furrow slightly.
“Old Li,” he called softly.
Li Runshan looked up and waved at him. “You came at the right time. I just took Old Zhou to pick out a burrow. Now we’re talking about the troubles at the front lines. Since you’re here, let’s all listen together.” His expression was more serious than usual, lacking his usual playful demeanor.
“What about the Multi-eyed bird? Why are you standing outside?” Yu Hong walked over and entered the courtyard.
“The Multi-eyed bird’s attacks usually last for one to three waves. If it keeps failing, it will quickly switch targets. Based on what Old Li told me about the previous attack patterns, the Multi-eyed bird likely won’t be coming back here,” Zhou Xueguang said. After a night of rest, he seemed much better, and his wounds had been well treated, covered in white bandages.
“Then why do you both look so grim?” Yu Hong frowned.
“In the Black Disaster, the real danger isn’t the Blood Tide creatures but the Shadow entities. Whether it’s ordinary Shadows or various Evil Shadows, they’re like assassins—impossible to guard against,” Zhou Xueguang sighed.
“We’re talking about the front lines. That’s where the greatest dangers are. Old Zhou is sharing his experiences so we can think of more ways to prepare,” Li Runshan explained.
“Sigh.” Zhou Xueguang sighed again. “The biggest trouble with the Multi-eyed bird isn’t its strength. The real reason it’s classified as Level Four is its reproduction rate.”
“Reproduction? You don’t mean what I think you mean, do you?” Li Runshan’s expression froze, looking uneasy.
“It’s exactly what you think. In fact, the Multi-eyed birds that made it past the front lines were just two originally. All the others were bred in the time since,” Zhou Xueguang said helplessly.
Yu Hong’s expression stiffened. He had personally repelled many Multi-eyed bird attacks and knew how troublesome they were.
“But right now, the biggest threat isn’t them. It’s the high-risk Black Disasters from the front lines!” Zhou Xueguang stated.
“Come inside,” Li Runshan said, picking up a wooden bucket of collected rainwater and heading into the stone house.
Though the house was in poor condition, with issues everywhere, at least the roof was intact, providing shelter from the sun and rain.
The three entered the living room and sat around together.
“What high-risk Black Disasters from the front lines might come here? Old Zhou, don’t scare us. Are you sure high-risk ones will show up?” Li Runshan asked anxiously. He still had a sick daughter to care for, and the thought made his heart sink.
“High-risk Black Disasters usually don’t appear together. They seem to compete with each other for hunting grounds. In our direction, the two most dangerous ones are the Withered Black Maiden and the Intermittent Man,” Zhou Xueguang said in a low voice. “The Withered Black Maiden is war-class. If you encounter her, you’re almost certainly dead—there’s no way to fight back. The Intermittent Man is a system of Evil Shadows with over ten variants. They attack and kill at lightning speed, just as hard to guard against as the Whisperer. The worst part is, if you let your guard down even a little, you’ll disappear.”
“I’ve heard of the Withered Black Maiden… but an upgraded version of the Withered Maiden? I’ve never seen the Intermittent Man. Tell me how to deal with them,” Yu Hong asked seriously.
“The method is simple—the Luminous Stone Chambers work. They can hide a person’s presence. The Intermittent Man can’t be repelled or physically interacted with, just like the Whispering Men. The only time you can truly make contact with them is in the moment they strike. To temporarily escape or defend against them, you need a high concentration of Luminous Stone Solution—at least at the Luminous Stone Core level. And you need at least a full liter at once. If the concentration is diluted even slightly, it won’t work,” Zhou Xueguang sighed. “The Intermittent Man is the most common and most dangerous Black Disaster on the front lines. It kills the most people because it’s impossible to guard against. The Whispering Men still need time to build up, but the Intermittent Man doesn’t.”
“High-concentration Luminous Stone Core Solution…” Yu Hong’s face darkened. He didn’t have Luminous Stone Core, only Great Luminous Stones. Based on the description, dealing with the Intermittent Man might require a Silver Rune Array.
“From the time I left the front lines, I estimate we have just over a month before a large-scale Black Disaster reaches this area. You two should start stockpiling—food, water, everything. The outside world is about to become several levels more dangerous,” Zhou Xueguang warned.
“Damn! How the hell are normal people supposed to survive this?!” Li Runshan’s face darkened, and he slammed his fist onto his thigh.
“The environment should have worsened long ago. The only reason it hasn’t is because the front lines have been holding back the most dangerous Black Disasters. But now… they just can’t hold them back anymore,” Zhou Xueguang said quietly.
“You said… just over a month?!” Yu Hong’s face turned even grimmer. The current dangers were already troublesome enough. If things got even worse… he might not even dare to leave his home. As for other survivors, without Sunlight Materials for hiding, they’d be dead the moment they stepped outside.
“This is just my estimate. Black Disasters don’t move fast, but their direction is stable and predictable. They also don’t overlap—only one high-risk Black Disaster will appear in a given area at a time. On the front lines, we often use this to our advantage, deliberately luring in the lesser-known but easier-to-handle Black Disasters to drive away the more dangerous ones,” Zhou Xueguang explained.
“So, in our area, the most likely threats are the Withered Black Maiden and the Intermittent Man?” Yu Hong confirmed.
“Yes. Our front-line defense mainly dealt with those types. Other creatures, like insects, are minor threats. As for the Blood Tide, the most dangerous ones are the Elephant Beetles, Eagle Bugs, and Phantom Jellyfish, but they can be temporarily repelled with laser sweeps and large-scale bombardments,” Zhou Xueguang nodded.
Yu Hong and Li Runshan exchanged worried glances.
“If Old Zhou’s information is accurate, then we’ll have to drastically reduce how often we go outside from now on.” Li Runshan’s expression was grim. “I asked him how the front lines handle this situation. He said the best approach is to minimize outdoor activity. If you must go outside, the only option is to use underground Sunlight Passageways. But even those aren’t completely safe. There are many types of Sunlight Materials, each designed to counter specific dangers. While they can prevent most threats from detecting us, there are still a few that can break through and launch surprise attacks.”
“So, at the front lines, the biggest issue is actually food supply,” Zhou Xueguang nodded. “Every supply run costs lives. Rather than saying our fortresses are resisting the Black Disasters, it would be more accurate to say we are using ourselves as bait—drawing the Black Disasters toward us so they don’t break through to attack the rear.”
“What about Silver Tower? What about Aurora City?” Yu Hong couldn’t help but ask. “Is there really no solution? Not even nuclear weapons?”
“Silver Tower has lost contact.” Zhou Xueguang looked even more dejected. “If that weren’t the case, we wouldn’t have lost all hope and fled the front lines. Without Silver Tower’s intelligence reports and Sunlight Materials, staying there would just be waiting for death. But even if we still had their support, humanity’s current arsenal can’t kill a single Black Disaster—we can only repel them, over and over again.”
“If the front lines can’t handle them, then what’s the point of fleeing inland? Just to delay death a little longer?” Li Runshan asked bitterly.
“No!” Zhou Xueguang suddenly looked serious. “It’s true that we can’t fight Black Disasters—but we can isolate them! As long as the distance is great enough and we give them enough space to remain undisturbed, they will stay in place indefinitely! That’s why the government abandoned the old cities and built the new Hope Cities!”
Yu Hong and Li Runshan fell silent, absorbing the weight of Zhou Xueguang’s words.
After a while, Yu Hong forced a bitter smile. “Now I’m really glad I ran into you on my way back. The information you brought came just in time. If the danger had arrived before we prepared… it would’ve been too late.”
“I tried contacting the higher-ups, but they haven’t responded. Now it seems it’s not that they don’t have information—they’re just keeping quiet to prevent panic,” Li Runshan said darkly.
For a moment, the three men said nothing.
Outside, even the United Army had collapsed. The United Nations’ top research institution, Silver Tower, had gone dark. Humanity’s ability to fight the Black Disasters seemed nonexistent.
Did humanity still have any hope?
Minutes passed in heavy silence.
Finally, Yu Hong exhaled and broke the quiet. “If,” he said, “and I mean if—we stop relying on supply teams and survive on our own, Old Li, can your farm sustain us?”
“No problem. I can supply basic food for seven or eight people at full capacity,” Li Runshan replied. “But you have to consider—if things get more dangerous out there, what about wild vegetables? Without trace minerals and dietary fiber, we’ll still be doomed.”
“We have to find a way to move safely outside. I remember someone had a sealed chamber made of Sunlight Materials, right?” Yu Hong asked.
“You mean Jenny?” Li Runshan reacted immediately. They had talked about this before, but Jenny’s chamber mainly relied on surface coatings of Sunlight Material, making it difficult to relocate.
“Also, the daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter. If—just if—daylight shrinks even more and wild plants stop growing, what do we do? Survive solely on mushrooms?” Yu Hong asked.
“Silver Tower anticipated this possibility and developed Night Grass Mushrooms to counter it. But I don’t have any spores,” Li Runshan admitted.
“Where can we find them?” Yu Hong asked.
“There’s a mushroom research institute in Yuanfeng City. They might have some.” Li Runshan hesitated. “I’ll go check it out.”
Yu Hong had brought back Zhou Xueguang and his critical intel. Now, it was time for him to contribute. If the supply teams really stopped coming, he would still have to feed three people. And when it came to Great Luminous Stones, he’d need Yu Hong’s help.
“What about Aisena?”
“She has her two sisters taking care of her. No problem,” Old Li said confidently. He clearly trusted the two beautiful women.
“As long as you know what you’re doing,” Yu Hong replied, not pressing further.
“I encountered the Intermittent Man and the Withered Black Maiden many times at the front lines. I’ll write down what to watch out for,” Zhou Xueguang said. He was still injured but didn’t want to waste time.
“I’ll lend you my car. Just make sure to reinstall the solar panels when you’re done,” Yu Hong said, tossing the keys to Li Runshan. A solar-powered car would save him a lot of time on the trip.
“Great! That makes things so much easier!” Li Runshan was overjoyed. “Take care of Nana for me. My farm is in good hands—my two girlfriends are managing it, and I already taught them everything.”
“Got it,” Yu Hong nodded. “I need to install the nuclear generator. With it, even if there’s no sunlight, we’ll still have power.”
“If we run out of electricity, we’ll come to you for a charge!” Li Runshan laughed. He hadn’t expected Yu Hong’s trip to bring back a fully functional nuclear generator.
(End of Chapter)