With a thud.
All three of them, Yu Hong, collapsed separately onto the ground, their bodies limp and breathing heavily.
The intense sound of their breaths echoed through the cave, stirring up tiny air currents.
"I told you... just trust me, alright?" Yu Hong said, his face pale, speaking intermittently.
"This door?" Stammering Yiyi still couldn't understand. The wooden door hadn't been like this before. How could it change so much in just a day...
"What did you encounter, and what exactly was that monster..." Yu Hong didn't answer but looked at Doctor Xu, hoping to get information from her since communicating with Stammering Yiyi was painfully slow.
Doctor Xu's face was ashen, and blood was slowly seeping from her calf. Hearing this, she carefully examined the reinforced wooden door and looked around at other parts of the cave.
"So, this is your self-built safety...." Boom!!!
At that moment.
A loud crash instantly interrupted her speech.
Amidst the crash, the wooden door shook violently again, causing small stone chips to fall around it.
Hiss!
A muffled, strange hiss came from outside.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
Then followed a series of rapid, frenzied impacts.
This time, the force was even stronger than before.
The reinforced wooden door trembled under the immense force, emitting continuous slight vibrations.
The three of them were stunned for a moment but quickly reacted.
"It's the monster!! It hasn't left!!"
Doctor Xu screamed, her voice sharper and almost unrecognizable compared to usual.
Yu Hong and Stammering Yiyi rushed forward without a word, pressing their shoulders against the back of the door.
Seeing this, Doctor Xu gritted her teeth and joined them, bracing the wooden door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
The series of massive impacts caused the reinforced wooden door to shake continuously, and the screws holding the door frame started to loosen more and more.
"Hold it!!" Yu Hong shouted.
One hit after another.
The three of them braced the wooden door with all their might, counteracting the impact-induced loosening.
They all knew that once the door was smashed open, everything would be over.
So they gave it their all.
A minute.
Two minutes.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Until thirteen minutes.
The heavy rain outside slowly subsided, and the overcast sky cleared a bit.
Sunlight finally pierced through the clouds, like golden pillars of light.
Boom!!
The last loud crash.
Their bodies jolted violently, and clear cracks appeared around the wooden door, on the verge of falling from the stone wall of the cave entrance.
Hiss!!
The giant tick monster let out one last strange hiss, finally ceasing its assault and beginning to retreat.
The hissing receded rapidly, then disappeared completely.
Yet, the three of them continued to hold the door tightly, not daring to move, fearing a sudden sneak attack.
They waited for well over ten more minutes.
The golden sunlight outside gradually seeped in through the viewing window's gaps, signaling to Yu Hong that it should be safe now.
With a thud.
He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
*So tired, almost, almost got overrun and smashed through the door.*
*Given their state just now, once the barrier was breached, the outcome was obvious. Death was inevitable.*
*At the verge of exhaustion, they wouldn't have been able to flee far.*
*Luckily, it was all over.*
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Their breaths sounded like bellows, sweat trickling down their foreheads and cheeks, falling to the ground, leaving a trail of black spots.
"It's okay now... it should be, the sun's out...." Yu Hong stood up, swiftly pulling open the viewing window to look outside.
Through the wire mesh, the sunlight streamed in, accompanied by a damp, cool breeze that tickled his face and sent a slight shiver through him.
Looking both ways out the window, he confirmed that the monster had indeed disappeared, and finally, he relaxed.
Turning back, he glanced at the other two who were also sitting exhausted on the ground.
"What was that thing, anyway? How did you provoke it?"
"That was a large blood tick from the Blood Tide, we usually call it Big Skin." Doctor Xu wiped her sweat and then casually rubbed her grimy coat, answering.
"But it shouldn't appear at this time, it usually shows up only during the peak period, and it's never been this aggressive and dangerous!"
Thinking about this, she managed to stand up.
"This isn't right, something's wrong, we can't stay here, we need to pack up immediately and head to the town's bunker! We can't handle Big Skin on our own!"
There was a hint of anxiety on her face.
"Yu Hong, it held!" Stammering Yiyi stood up, also wiping away sweat with her sleeve, pointing at the reinforced wooden door.
Her pointing made Yu Hong and Doctor Xu notice the cracked damage by the door.
"And what about next time? What if the peak period arrives and there are two Big Skins?" Doctor Xu said lowly.
She turned to Yu Hong.
"I don't know how you crafted such a sturdy door, but with the peak period approaching, we barely held off one Big Skin. Do you think it'll hold? Will staying here keep you alive?" she pointed loudly at the cracks on the door.
....
Yu Hong was silent. He placed a hand on the door, looking at the inscription appearing on it—repair time: 17 minutes.
*That it could be repaired even though it was damaged was something he hadn't considered.*
*Besides, to the average person, heading to the town indeed seemed like the best choice, but....*
His eyes flickered.
*If he went there, many things could easily go awry, and also... hadn't they fended it off?*
*Though the door was nearly broken, this time they were unprepared. Adding more reinforcing panels or chains should make it much easier.*
"I don't want to go," Yu Hong spoke.
"Me, neither..." Stammering Yiyi glanced at the cracked wooden door and then spoke up as well.
But as soon as she spoke, Doctor Xu interrupted her.
"Are you two crazy? The door's almost broken, and you're not leaving? What if two Big Skins come during the peak period?!" Doctor Xu was at a loss to understand.
Her breathing picked up again, and she stared at Yu Hong.
"I'm grateful you opened the door to save us, but this isn't the time for impulsive decisions. Do you really think this almost broken door can withstand the onslaught during the peak period? You're courting death, do you know that?"
"So, going to town won't be dangerous? Isn't it more problematic when people gather, like with the shadow?" Yu Hong countered, his emotions surprisingly stable at this point.
*After the intense fear and tension, he felt more at peace.*
"Yes, but the committee is there, they have ways to handle it, safer than facing Big Skin here!" Doctor Xu argued loudly.
Yu Hong shook his head. "Thanks, but I don't want to go." He felt that everywhere was dangerous now, outside especially. It wasn't as safe as his little cave dwelling.
*At least, the Black Mark now visibly enhanced his safety.*
*Once the door was repaired, with further reinforcements, he should be much safer if Big Skin came again.*
*But he couldn't say this.*
*He couldn't explain how he was able to do it.*
*In such an environment lacking materials and parts, suddenly producing a fully complete safety door was quite an abnormality.*
"Crazy!" Doctor Xu stared at Yu Hong, incredulous, "You're absolutely insane! You're going to die!"
She pointed at the door.
"I don't know where you got this manufactured safety door from, but it can't hold off the Blood Tide. Peak periods are different from normal times. A Big Skin like that, if it appears, there might be several during a peak period. You can't hold them off!"
She continued trying to convince him.
But no matter what she said, Yu Hong just kept shaking his head.
He didn't believe the town had better safety measures than he did, even if the town's bunker might actually be safer.
But he didn't want to place his safety in a place he couldn't control, among completely unfamiliar people.
So no matter what Doctor Xu said, he shook his head.
Finally, seeing she couldn't persuade Yu Hong, Doctor Xu turned to Stammering Yiyi.
"Yiyi, he's out of his mind. Let's go!"
Stammering Yiyi fell silent, turning her head to Yu Hong.
"To-get-her, stay," she stammered.
Clearly, despite Doctor Xu's words failing to persuade Yu Hong, they convinced her.
*After all, the damaged reinforced wooden door was indeed heavily compromised. If another Big Skin came and rammed it a few times, it would surely fall apart.*
*Yu Hong had no explanation or justification to support his decision.*
He simply remained silent.
"Yu, Hong!" Stammering Yiyi looked at him, "Come with us."
She tapped his arm, her eyes clear.
But Yu Hong just shook his head.
"You should go, I don't want to leave."
*He understood, going to the town bunker, they could definitely deal with monsters like Big Skin, otherwise the town would have been overrun by the Blood Tide, and it wouldn't have been possible to collect information on Big Skin.*
*It made sense for Stammering Yiyi and Doctor Xu to go there.*
But he didn't want to go.
*He didn't feel safe with anything beyond his little cave; it was the safest!*
*And even if he went there, with his currently frail body, once his Black Mark ability was exposed, the danger might be several times greater than in the cave.*
*After all, many times, the human mind was much harder to guard against.*
*Monsters were terrifying, yet straightforward, simple, and blunt.*
"Yiyi, don't worry about me. I'll fix the door by myself, no problem. As long as we don't provoke multiple Big Skins. My cave entrance is high, not suitable for monsters to charge, just a matter of enduring a few days, trust me." Yu Hong consoled Stammering Yiyi instead.
Stammering Yiyi blinked at him, wanting to persuade him further, but Yu Hong raised his hand to stop her.
"Go on, it's fine." Yu Hong said softly, "You've helped me long enough, it's time to part ways. Of course, if you ever have trouble, you can come find me here, and I'll help you if I can."
He reached into his pants pocket and handed Yiyi a piece of enhanced pyroxene.
"If he doesn't want to leave, let him be! Let him seek death! Don't bother with him!" Doctor Xu was completely hoarse from trying to persuade, and seeing Yu Hong's determination, she gave up as well.
"Stubborn to death! Let's go, Yiyi, we need to leave immediately, while there's still time!" She grabbed Yiyi's hand, walked to the door, looked out the viewing window to check the outside conditions.
Yiyi was being pulled along but turned back to reach for Yu Hong.
"Come, with us." She showed a hint of urgency on her face.
But her hand was gently pushed away by Yu Hong.
"Yu, Hong?" She looked puzzled.
"I'll be fine, go on, the two of you can look after each other." Yu Hong looked at her earnestly.
"Doctor Xu, please take care of Yiyi. If you encounter difficulties, you can come to me. My place may not be as good as the town, but surviving here is no problem."