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Yu Hong was panting heavily, his entire body flushed as he stared at the completely grayed-out rune array. One-third of the rune patterns inside the cave had also lost their effectiveness. He finally dropped the now completely depleted silver rune array and quickly supported Aisena.

Now, it was time to deal with the final trouble—

The second form of the Whisperer.

He untied Aisena’s ropes, fed her some water, and let her lie flat to rest. Then, he sat down himself to recover.

The recent battle had drained him significantly. He had to explosively release two full strands of inner energy just to forcefully disperse the transparent humanoid entity.

He had an ominous feeling—if that entity had fully materialized, Aisena would have been in extreme danger.

And that gelatinous substance… it seemed even stronger than when he was infected last time.

As he rested, he didn’t have to wait long before a knock came from outside.

“Yu Hong, it’s me.” Li Runshan’s voice carried through. “Aisena… my daughter… is she okay?”

His voice was filled with cautiousness, worry, anxiety, and fear—so many emotions mixed together, making it hard to associate with the usual him.

Yu Hong waited six seconds, exhaled, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“She’s fine. We made it through safely. Did you find a vessel?”

Hearing this, a long sigh of relief came from outside.

Six seconds later, Li Runshan responded.

“I found two more corpses. I burned them both.”

Yu Hong waited a moment before his brow furrowed again. “You didn’t notice anything else unusual?”

“No,” Li Runshan answered. “But near the bodies, I found footprints of a third person… I suspect someone else has been infected and has taken the Evil Shadow elsewhere.”

His voice was low and heavy.

“In that case, there’s no time to worry about anything else. You should report this immediately through your channels and alert the nearest Hope City to be on guard,” Yu Hong said seriously.

To be honest, if he had to face the Whisperer’s second form, he wasn’t in great shape right now—it would be extremely dangerous. The first form had already depleted most of his resources, so the second form would definitely be even stronger. If that happened…

Oddly enough, hearing that the infected had left, Yu Hong actually felt a small sense of relief.

Grabbing his spiked club, he confirmed that the red-value detector showed no movement. Only then did he open the door and quickly hand over the unconscious Aisena.

“Remember, you owe me twice now,” Yu Hong said seriously.

Li Runshan carefully held his daughter, his exhausted face easing only after confirming she was unharmed. He gave Yu Hong a firm nod before turning and quickly disappearing into the forest.

Huff.

Yu Hong exhaled deeply and turned to look at the door.

The once ten-centimeter-thick door had now been gnawed down to just a few centimeters, with some areas almost chewed through.

Sighing, he closed the door and began waiting for the rune arrays to recover.

The Whisperer’s danger might have left—for now. But it could still return. The threat was far from over, and he had to be fully prepared.

‘Additionally, I must develop a self-repairing weapon to resist the Evil Shadow… and upgrade the detector. Getting my hands on an anti-Shadow martial technique is also a priority.’ ṘŊȮBËᶊ

‘There’s too much to do. I have to act fast. If the Whisperer returns, I’ll be dead for sure in my current state!’

With that thought, the exhaustion from the recent battle suddenly hit him all at once.

He slumped against the wall, shoved a protein bar into his mouth, and forced himself to rest and recover.

This recent attack by the Whisperers inflicted significant losses on both Li Runshan and Yu Hong.

The sudden surge in the Evil Shadow’s Threat left them both shaken. For several days afterward, they shut themselves indoors, relying on their stockpiles to get by.

Once the latest surge had finally subsided—

Yu Hong fully restored all his warding formations, and the entrance was repaired to its original state. Outside, the Luminous Grass flourished once more, teeming with vitality.

It seemed as if everything had returned to the peaceful state before the Whisperers’ attack.

But this time, Yu Hong was no longer complacent. He understood that this was just a fragile illusion.

As soon as he had recovered, the first thing he did was seek out Old Li to cash in on a favor.

Inside the Post Office Stone House

Under the dim candlelight, Li Runshan picked up the radio and slumped into the seat across from Yu Hong, casually switching on the station.

“You sure you want to cash it all in?” His face was unshaven, clearly exhausted from tending to his daughter’s health these past few days.

“I’m sure. If I don’t turn these favors into tangible help now, I might never get the chance later,” Yu Hong said seriously.

Li Runshan studied him for a long moment.

“You’re right. I’ll give you everything at cost this time. What do you need?”

“A de-humidifier. Can you get one?” Yu Hong asked. “Also, the Sunlight series coatings.”

“The dehumidifier isn’t an issue. The Sunlight series is trickier—it’s a special supply material in high demand everywhere. It repels Blood Tide and Shadows, making it universally useful,” Li Runshan admitted.

He had already guessed that Yu Hong wanted to solve his water supply problem, so he pondered for a moment.

“You saved Nana’s life. No matter what, I have to help you with this. You’re trying to secure a water source, right?”

“Yes,” Yu Hong nodded without hesitation.

“This kind of problem can only be solved with large-scale engineering. But for you, I’ll pull some strings and get you a broken underground water supply system. It’s made of metal pipes infused with a small amount of Sunlight material, drawing water from deep underground.”

Li Runshan paused before continuing.

“Many organizations are after these systems—they’re top-tier, highly sought-after goods. I can’t get you a fully functional one, not with my limited connections as a mere courier. But if you’re fine with a damaged one, I can pull some strings.”

“Will it be vulnerable to Black Insects?” Yu Hong’s eyes lit up.

“No. Sunlight materials have a strong repelling effect on Black Insects. Unless they’re Blood Tide mutants, there shouldn’t be any issues. Many Hope Cities rely on these for their water supply,” Li Runshan explained.

“Why didn’t you mention this before when I asked?”

“Back then, you weren’t exactly a VIP customer,” Li Runshan said matter-of-factly. “Honestly, even if I got one for you, if you couldn’t repair it, it would be completely useless. So, if you really want it, think it through carefully.”

“Bring it over. I should be able to fix it,” Yu Hong replied solemnly.

He was certain that the underground water resources beneath his residence were abundant. After all, the surrounding area was full of mountains and forests yet lacked streams—there had to be a significant underground water supply.

“Alright.” Li Runshan nodded. “Wait for my news. It should arrive in about two weeks.”

“The price?” Yu Hong asked.

“On me.” For once, Old Li was uncharacteristically generous, closing his eyes as he spoke. “Now, tell me about the second favor.”

“Help me find a completely secure delivery channel. I need to send something to someone,” Yu Hong said seriously.

After encountering the Whisperers, he became increasingly worried about Little Stutterer’s situation. The sheer deceptive nature of these sinister entities made him uneasy.

“Sending something… I can give you access to our internal courier network, but you’ll have to cover the cost yourself. I can guarantee security, though,” Li Runshan mused.

“It won’t be intercepted mid-route, will it?” Yu Hong asked warily.

“No. It’s an unspoken rule within our postal system—couriers don’t open or tamper with each other’s packages,” Li Runshan reassured him.

He glanced at Yu Hong and continued, “But this service only allows shipments once every two months, and you’ll still have to pay for postage. It’s just slightly cheaper than regular courier services. You can use both in combination.”

“Great!” Yu Hong nodded. “I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

“It’s nothing. Honestly, helping you is also helping myself at this point,” Li Runshan admitted.

Adversity reveals true character. After the Whisperers’ attack, he was convinced that Yu Hong was someone he could trust.

In this era of despair and terror, encountering someone with a fundamentally good nature was already a rare stroke of luck. And Yu Hong wasn’t just a decent person—he was also highly capable.

After all, not just anyone could survive alone in the wilderness for so long.

Hiss-

A static-filled hiss crackled from the radio speaker.@@novelbin@@

“This is a nationwide broadcast on August 18, 2022, at 14:32. We will now rebroadcast the latest compiled reports on the Black Disaster.”

A female anchor’s voice, smooth yet heavy with emotion, resonated through the room.

“According to intelligence from the United Military, since early July, five city-level Hope Cities have fallen to the Black Disaster, displacing over a million civilians. Casualty numbers remain uncountable.”

“Silver Tower researchers have confirmed the emergence of three new Blood Tide variants—Tidal Crawler, Devourers, and Broodmother. All three evolved from low-grade Blood Tick larvae. Due to their enhanced capabilities, their threat level has been escalated to War-Class.”

“In addition, the mass death event in Rongjing City has been identified as the work of a new War-Class Shadow: The Withered Black Maiden. Silver Tower has dispatched a team to investigate countermeasures against her.”

“Meanwhile, Aurora City reports that the United Military encountered a Nightmare-Class Shadow. The Third and Fifth Armies are now trapped in the mist, unable to withdraw.”

The radio continued to relay the latest updates, reporting the grim progress of ongoing battles.

Most of the news was bleak—death, destruction, losses. Only a handful of Hope Cities had successfully defended against the recent onslaughts.

Even the Blood Massacre incident in Yuhe City was being reported.

“According to field investigators, the recent Whisperer outbreak in Yuhe City was of medium scale, rated Level Four in danger. Initially, the surrounding Ghostly Shadows were only Levels One to Three, but the sudden appearance of a Level Four entity strongly suggests contamination from an external source.”

Inside the stone house, the two men listened to the broadcast in silence.

Only when it began repeating did Li Runshan reach over and switch it off.

“The threat levels range from One to Nine. Whisperers are only Level Four—now you understand why so many people are flocking to Hope Cities, right?” Li Runshan sighed.

“If people could reliably detect Whisperer infections early on, they’d be manageable. The real danger is that there’s no way to identify them before they start killing—that’s the worst part,” Yu Hong said, frowning.

“Exactly. That’s what doomed Yuhe City. Hundreds of outbreaks in just a few days. The United Military’s entire defensive line was wiped out, and the city’s leadership was nearly annihilated,” Li Runshan added.

“A Level Four entity is already this strong… I can’t even imagine how terrifying War-Class or Nightmare-Class threats must be,” Yu Hong murmured.

“The One to Nine scale doesn’t measure raw power—it measures how difficult an entity is to handle. Lower levels have obvious weaknesses and are easier to counter. Higher levels are nearly impossible to deal with,” Li Runshan explained. “And they move. So, if you ask me, you should really head for a major Hope City. Staying alone in the wild—if you ever run into a higher-level threat, you’re as good as dead.”