Secret Four

Walking back to the safe house, Yu Hong's heart kept churning with the image of the unconscious Aifu.

He had actually wanted to kill her outright, but when it came down to it, he just couldn't do it....

He used to be just an ordinary person, an office worker; even though he had knocked out two soldiers in self-defense the previous time, he had never killed anyone!

Yes.

He had only knocked out two people; if they woke up in time, they could have survived.

So, he hadn't really killed anyone. As long as they didn't die immediately by his hand, it didn't count.

And this time was the same...

He couldn't bear to kill, couldn't bear to see a living, moving, and fussing life, an equal life, gradually fade away under his hands...

That indescribable feeling made him feel increasingly nauseous, wanting to vomit.

Perhaps he would get used to it in the future, but now, at least at this moment.

He still had mercy in his heart... He was still just an ordinary person.

When he arrived in front of the cave's safe house, Yu Hong gave the unconscious Jenny a few more hits with his club, breaking her limbs.

Then he took her keys and dagger before finally settling down in the house, starting a fire, stripping off his sweat-soaked clothes, and sitting bare-chested by the fire.

Without moving, he just sat quietly, the three talisman arrays stacked beside him, within arm's reach.

He remained silent for a long time, perhaps over an hour.

"Sigh...."

Yu Hong sighed, his eyes showing a hint of confusion and sadness as he watched the flames dance in the fireplace.

"I don't want this...."

He said quietly.

"But this is the situation, this is how people are outside.... It's not my fault...."

He reached out, taking the handgun from its holster at his waist.

This black aurora-forged handgun was now completely out of bullets; the shots fired just before used up the two rounds he had left in reserve.

Having no more bullets, it was time to try enhancing it.

He held the grip of the gun, and Yu Hong silently invoked.

'Enhance firearm, direction: automatic bullet replenishment.'

'Insufficient integrity.' The Black Mark clearly wasn't going to be fleeced so easily.

Turning a regular handgun into one with infinite bullets in one go obviously wasn't going to happen.

Yu Hong thought for a moment, then changed his approach.

'Enhance firearm, direction: reduce recoil, reload bullets once.'

'Insufficient integrity.'

The Black Mark's feedback still wasn't enough.

Yu Hong's brow furrowed immediately, and he started trying other directions for enhancement.

But it seemed that none of the directions allowed for replenishing bullets....

When he recalled the previously enhanced items, many would automatically complete or even come with a repair function, like the door.

So, he simply took a handgun and started with the most basic recoil enhancement.

Finally, the countdown began, and the time was 32 minutes.

Not too long.

Yu Hong just sat and waited quietly, organizing his thoughts and future plans.

In a short time, the countdown ended. The handgun in front of him blurred for a moment and then became clear again.

The clear handgun still looked the same, but its appearance was obviously much newer, and the aurora manufacturing mark had disappeared.

Yu Hong quickly picked it up, ejecting the magazine.

It was completely empty, which saddened him.

"It seems that it still can't replenish bullets, which means that bullets are considered a separate item from the handgun."

He gave up on the gun and stood up to begin exercising.

The Advanced Physical Training Method had given him a great deal of help up to now, not to mention his improved running speed and ease.

After exercising, he had some thick soup, and the sky outside was gradually darkening.

Yu Hong thought about Jenny and her daughter's situation and there was a puzzle in his heart that he couldn't unravel.

"If we go by what Doctor Xu said, Jenny's family is definitely not normal. Jenny herself obviously has combat training and even carries a dagger. Her daughter, Aifu, is proficient in ancient languages and several foreign languages, which are impossible to teach in such a small place due to insufficient educational resources."

"So, this means they must have lived in a large place with a good environment before, and strangely enough, even in order to explore the secrets of the Black Disaster, Jenny's husband should not have brought his whole family here. Family would obviously be safer in a large place."

"Why would he bring his family here willingly...?" Yu Hong couldn't figure it out.

However, the good news was, he planned to visit Jenny and her daughter's home tomorrow to see if he could find anything useful like the Sunshine No. 1.

It was now completely dark outside.

Yu Hong sat alone on the round stool, drinking the freshly cooked sweet soup.

Outside the door, the soft rustling was all the crawling sounds of black insects; as soon as they entered, they were burned by the firelight and turned into black smoke.

By now, he had become quite calm in the face of the Black Disaster's assault.

Compared to the Black Disaster, the shadow and the Evil Shadow posed a much greater threat to him.

He casually took out a wooden Array Plate he had drawn and began to strengthen it again.

"If only the fireplace could add firewood automatically, so I wouldn't have to care about it... Then I could sleep peacefully, not having to manually add wood every half hour."

He let out a sigh softly.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, he was fully armed with the Wolf Fang Club and left the house early.

First, he went to where Jenny had been lying.

This guy had crawled about ten meters across the grass, finally leaning against a tree, disappearing completely and leaving nothing but a heap of clothes scattered on the ground.

Yu Hong checked the clothes, ensuring there were no Black Marks or handprints, then rolled them up and put them in the safe house inside the cave.

These fabrics could also be used to make a lot of miscellaneous things, having a wide range of uses; now that the people who made leather and clothing were gone, they had to conserve the fabric.

Skipping over Jenny, Yu Hong continued to head toward the post office, quickly arriving at the spot where Aifu had fallen.

As expected, in the grass where Aifu had fallen, there was only a set of clothing left scattered and unmoving.

This time, however, Yu Hong did not dare to touch it carelessly, because there was a clear Black Mark on the trousers of these clothes.

He picked up some stones and threw them onto the clothes to weigh them down, making sure they wouldn't be blown around by the wind. Only then did he continue towards the post office gathering area.

Dr. Xu's dwelling was also nearby; he had to alert her in advance to avoid any misunderstandings.

After all, now there were only the two of them, both living people, in the vicinity...

When he passed by the post office, Yu Hong suddenly paused, unexpectedly stopping in his tracks.

Outside the stone house of the post office, there was actually someone sweeping the leaves and branches in the courtyard with a broom.

The person looked like a backpacker, wearing blue and white camouflage clothes, sporting an earthy yellow backpack and a duckbill cap, approximately 1.8 meters tall, very stout, with dark skin.

The other person also saw Yu Hong, put down the broom, and walked slowly toward him.

"Hello, I'm the new postman, Li Rushan."

He didn't come too close but stopped about five meters away.

"I'm Yu Hong, I live nearby," Yu Hong briefly introduced himself. "Are you really a postman?" He was somewhat skeptical.

"Here is my ID, medals, and tools," Li Rushan took out a dark blue booklet and flipped it open for Yu Hong to see.

The booklet indeed contained a red-stamped identity document with the Republic's United People's Army Postal System printed on it, followed by the national emblem, name, and document number.

The medals were much simpler; Li Rushan just lifted one hand, showing the inside of his coat, which was adorned with a dozen medals of varying sizes and colors.

"I'm an old soldier, served for more than ten years with the field forces, sigh... Who would've thought the world... could change so suddenly."

"The nearby towns were relocated, did you know?" Yu Hong asked.

"Yeah, I'm not from the town. The relocated towns have merged with Hope City, and now I'm a member of the city," Li Rushan explained. "I was sent from there. Hope City's number is 231. It's commonly known by its nickname, Baihe City."

He paused.

"Truth be told, not many people are willing to come to this place; after all, there aren't many living people left. But... this Baiqiu Village, there's a pyroxene ore mine nearby, along with a relic. The relics are just like that; although they are one of the sources of the Black Disaster, the more important thing turned out to be the accompanying pyroxene ore. Nowadays, the shadow and Evil Shadow are increasing, and in the past month alone, three towns have lost contact. The small towns near you are actually quite lucky to have been sealed off and relocated in time, else, heh..."

This person was obviously a chatterbox and seemed to have come down from a big place, having traveled a long distance and having a lot to say.

"The relic... accompanying pyroxene ore? So, you're saying that the luminous stone originates from the same place as the Black Disaster?" Yu Hong frowned.

"Most of them do. However, there is also a lot of pyroxene ore discovered separately. Oh, right, my superior asked me to contact a Silver Tower researcher named Freyne here; do you know him?" Li Rushan asked straightforwardly.

"I don't know him..." Yu Hong's mind flashed through images of Jenny and Aifu.

"Then they are probably gone," Li Rushan murmured, stuffing a dark-looking thing into his mouth and casually chewing.

"To be honest, I was pushed out by the city, offended some people, and got assigned here. You understand the environment outside. The shadow is everywhere, the Black Disaster is getting stronger, and once out here, you don't live for much longer. Most of the people sent out can't return."

"..." Yu Hong was speechless.

"But I actually volunteered to come here, I just couldn't stomach those disgusting things in the city," Li Rushan said.

"Let's talk about the Silver Tower researcher. Are you sure he was coming here? If he died here, would it be possible for someone else to be sent?" Yu Hong looked at him with a slightly hopeful gaze.

He didn't say if they would come, but whether they could. This suggested he was more hopeful that there would be a follow-up.

"I don't know, but I guess once things ease up top, someone will probably be sent again. After all, this place is one of the original sources of the Black Disaster. The initial protection runes were discovered in places like these," Li Rushan replied.

"Protection runes?" Yu Hong asked curiously.

"Yeah, the symbols on the luminous stones. Alright, I won't say any more, I still have to tidy up the post office."

"Wait, there's a Black Mark from the Evil Shadow Woman in your basement; be careful not to touch it," Yu Hong kindly warned him, in gratitude for all the information shared.

"Okay, thanks! I've seen it," Li Rushan smiled, his expression softening.

Clearly, as a postman, he must have more ways of handling things than an ordinary person. Even the traces left by the Evil Shadow were not too challenging to deal with as mere traces.

"Oh, by the way, I have two letters here for Xu Ruoying and Yu Hong," he suddenly remembered something, swiftly pulling out two envelopes from his bag, checking the addresses, and handing one of them to Yu Hong.

"This one's for you, Yu Hong, right?"

"Yeah... Thank you..." Yu Hong took the letter curiously, wondering who would have written to him from afar since he hadn't been in this place long.

Suddenly, he thought of someone.