Night of Despair-Chapter 202 - : Key 200

Chapter 202: Key 200

Hiss!

The Dragon Lizard spewed black fire, charging toward the Black Ship.

But when the black fire landed on the ship’s body, it extinguished and disappeared in an instant, unable to ignite at all.

Yu Hong summoned two more Dragon Lizards to breathe fire together.

But it was useless; the black fire couldn’t ignite the Black Ship, not even prolonging the burning.

He thought for a moment, took out a Radiation Hand Grenade, pulled out the pin, and tossed it forward.

The grenade landed precisely inside the Black Ship, exploding in a ring of strong negative-value radiation.

But that ring of negative-value radiation dissipated like a splash of water in the ocean, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Yu Hong furrowed his brows and retreated from the wooden bridge.

Returning within the array’s range, he breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body seemingly relaxing from its tension.

*”Let’s not worry about it for now, see what happens next; if the array can’t withstand it, then think of another solution…”*

The Black Ship was clearly very dangerous. Someone as afraid of death as him would never easily risk his life.

Having decided on a plan, Yu Hong circled around and returned to the cave.

The empty camp had no other shadow but his own.

After dinner, he routinely cultivated Qi, then lay down to rest for a while.

Now that the nest had hatched two Dragon Lizards, in addition to the previous four, six Dragon Lizards patrolled around the camp. Coupled with the array’s protection, security was not a major concern.

So he slept soundly, feeling quite secure and peaceful.

Beep beep beep…

He didn’t know how much time had passed when a faint alarm woke him from his sleep.

Yu Hong, who had been lying on his back, sat up abruptly, causing his blanket to slide off.

Huff… huff…

He gasped heavily, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

With his eyes closed, more and more red appeared in the array’s imprint in his mind.

Yu Hong’s expression became solemn.

*”The burden on the wooden bridge is heavier!”*

Previously, it had only been a thousand red values per second consumption, but after waking up, it had increased to sixteen hundred per second!

The entire Wind and Fire Slaughter Spirit Array had a maximum output of only twelve thousand per second.

But the key was that this was continuous! If not stopped in time, the entire array’s recovery speed would be suppressed, leading to a continuously decreasing total amount.

If the consumption rate was greater than the replenishment rate, eventually, all reserves of the array would be completely depleted.

*”Is this consumption confrontation going to continue indefinitely?”*

Yu Hong got out of bed, realizing the situation was dire.

If the red value consumption was stable, that would be fine; he could slowly devise a solution.

But in just a few hours, the red value consumption per second had surged by hundreds.

If it kept rising like this until the array was depleted, the negative radiation of the cave safe house couldn’t withstand the erosion of the Black Ship on the wooden bridge.

*”I must solve this problem: either relocate the cave safe house or deal with the Black Ship, forcing it to change course!”*

With this in mind, he quickly got up, donned his gear, armed himself, and brought two Dragon Lizards back to the rear of the cave.

Standing at the edge of the array, on the black soil, Yu Hong glanced at the detector.

*”Time: 7:12 AM.”*

*”Red Value: 41.847″*

He opened the cover of the Atomic Lamp flashlight, and green light fanned out, illuminating the wooden bridge shrouded in the black fog ahead.

Swish!

On the wooden bridge stood a black shadow with long hair draped down, facing Yu Hong.

The moment it was illuminated, circles of invisible waves spread from the shadow, instantly covering all surroundings within hundreds of meters.

*”Kill him!”*

Yu Hong commanded in his mind.

Ssssshh!!

One by one, the Earth Pond Dragon Lizards swiftly rushed over, spewing black fire from all directions.

Lines of fire precisely landed on the shadow.

But all the fire lines were blocked by an invisible barrier in front of the shadow, and that barrier, like crystal glass, perfectly shielded all the black fire, scattering black sparks.

The shadow took a step forward, its figure suddenly flashed.

When it reappeared, it was already in front of Yu Hong, reaching out to grab him.

Yu Hong wanted to retreat, but oddly, he moved forward, charging toward the shadow.

*”Again with this directional interference!”*

His expression changed slightly, and he immediately took a step forward.

But this time, strangely, there was no interference; moving forward was still moving forward.

The two of them collided in the blink of an eye.

Hee hee hee…

The shadow let out an eerie laugh of joy, as if pleased with the prospect of a significant gain.

It spread its arms, shrouded in swirling black smoke.

A faint, indistinct murmur resounded, its language unintelligible, though the tone of joy was clearly discernible.

Puff!

The two collided completely.

The shadow fully embraced Yu Hong. Countless black smoke rapidly contracted over Yu Hong’s entire body.

Huff…

In a daze, a faint sound of airflow emerged.

Boom!!

Followed by a thunderous boom echoing like thunder.

Yu Hong jerked his head up, his expression fierce beneath his helmet, as a faint bright white flame ignited over his entire body.

The bright and intense flame engulfed him, reaching upward, making him appear to be thoroughly ablaze!

He grasped an iron ball with both hands and smashed it forward!

Boom!!!

The iron ball, burning with Inner Qi’s white flame, carried a terrifying impact, crushing the shadow fiercely.

The enormous explosive force compressed, twisted, and shattered half of the shadow’s upper body within moments.

The adhesive force of the iron ball prevented the remaining body of the shadow from escaping, drawing it upward, clinging to the ball, spiraling into the air.

After several loops, with a crash, the iron ball, dragging the shadow along, flew out, crashing heavily into the distant ground.

Amidst the clinking sounds of chains, Yu Hong retracted the iron ball, its surface vacant with nothing remaining.

The white flames enveloping him gradually dimmed and disappeared.

*”The Inner Qi burst consumed three paths… not bad…”*

Yu Hong had thought it would take several Radiation Hand Grenades to resolve the situation, but the Inner Qi burst’s power unexpectedly shredded the opponent’s form completely. Once the form was gone, the shadow seemed to vanish altogether.

*”Aside from the radiation counterstrike, tearing apart the opponent’s form with Inner Qi appears to be another solution.”*

*”Moreover… now nearing the Sixth Layer, has the Inner Qi burst evolved too?”* In the past, no anomalies occurred during an Inner Qi burst, yet now his entire body ignited with white flame.

Stabilizing himself, Yu Hong once more looked toward the wooden bridge. This time, he inhaled deeply and sent two Dragon Lizards in.

In no time, the two Dragon Lizards reached the Black Ship and charged onto it without hesitation.

Before long, the Black Ship began moving slowly, heading into the depths of the black fog.

Yu Hong seized the chance to rest and recover his Inner Qi, awaiting the outcome.

Before long, in about an hour or so, the two Dragon Lizards swiftly returned from the wooden bridge to the array’s range.

They appeared unscathed, without a scratch on them.

Yu Hong crouched down, examining them carefully.

Soon, he noticed a clue.

A thin layer of white dry ash was faintly covering the soles of the two Dragon Lizards.

*”There was no white ash on the wooden bridge or the ship…this ash… should have come from where the Black Ship’s destination is.”*

Reconfirming there was no danger,

Yu Hong sensed the array’s red value resistance; the resistance of the wooden bridge had increased, with several hundred red values per second more consumption in such a short time.

*”I can’t delay any longer!”*

He took a deep breath, and with a thought, all the Dragon Lizards in the camp gathered around him.

All six of them surrounded him.

Sensing the perfected Inner Qi within him, Yu Hong reminisced about the feeling when he shattered the shadow earlier, believing his power was somewhat secure.

Thus, he finally lifted his foot and stepped onto the wooden bridge once more.

Clack clack clack…

Following the wooden bridge all the way forward, he soon saw the dilapidated Black Ship again.

The detector’s values spiked to over a million.

This time, without hesitation, Yu Hong let the Dragon Lizards board first, then grabbed hold of the ship’s planks, stepping aboard.

The dilapidated deck was sturdier than he thought, not collapsing under the weight of his iron ball.

Soon, all the Dragon Lizards were aboard.

The Black Ship slowly moved forward, heading into the dense, unknown black fog, along the black river.

Though the Black Ship wasn’t fast, it seemed to be enveloped in a thick layer of distortion. Looking out through the distortion and the black fog yielded only a blur.

Yu Hong mainly tested whether his self-destructive tendencies would intensify aboard the Black Ship.

Fortunately, after staying on the ship for a while and confirming there was no issue, without increased burden, he had the Dragon Lizards scout the surroundings, ensuring no Black Disaster was present on the Black Ship.

The Black Ship was evidently a vessel leading somewhere, and he needed to confirm whether this means of transportation could ensure safety.

Otherwise, leaving with no way back posed an unmanageable risk.

*

*

*

The ruins of Black Tree Village.

Within a dark, expansive cave, in front of a towering ten-meter-high stone wall.

Two fully armed investigation teams had gathered, and someone was working together to use a long metal rod with clamps to press a printed synthetic material model onto the stone wall.

This giant stone wall bore an old, massive arch door diagram.

The arch door resembled an enormous sphere with countless radial runes intricately etched around it like the sun.

Numerous black runes spread outward from the arch door like light.

Inside the door were gray-white doors, also covered in countless symbol patterns.

Some of these symbol patterns were incomplete or damaged, while others were intact but had surfaces covered with what looked like dried lichen or rock growth.

Click.

The 3D-printed reparative model piece from New Aurora City fit perfectly into the depiction on the stone wall doors, leaving only a singular circular void in the center.

The investigators present couldn’t help but let out faint cheers.

Lin Yiyi, Xue Ningning, and Ou Li stood within the group, looking up at this key moment.

“It’s finally completed,” Xue Ningning sighed, “so now we should be able to complete the sealing of this node.” They encountered Yiyi’s second investigation team halfway and had relied on detectors to travel through crevices, shielding themselves with luminous stone blankets during danger, and lying low for hours.

The arduous journey finally led them to the investigation team.

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Thanks to the weapons of the investigation team, they smoothly made it to the Black Tree Village ruins.

“No, it’s not right!” Yiyi suddenly furrowed her brow as she observed the repairs on the stone wall.

Not just her, but a young girl not far away also voiced her dissent.

The celebrating investigators slowly quieted down and looked at the two.

“What do you mean, Yiyi?” The team leader, a tall, slender man named Wu Changsong, asked. He was also a mutant with a unique physique and strong decisiveness, which made him the team leader.

“There’s no change at all… Captain, don’t you feel it?” The young girl, Aisena, stepped forward.

“There’s clearly something crucial missing. I can feel it. That door is missing something key, like a key, to securely lock the gate,” Aisena said calmly.

Just the day before yesterday, she had celebrated her fourteenth birthday alone—a single candle and a piece of fried dough.

If her father, Li Rushan, were still here, he would have prepared a delicious cake for her. Even without a cake, he would have made a pot of sumptuous stew and sung a birthday song for her.

With Dad around…

She wouldn’t have to think about anything or worry…

Regaining her composure, Aisena suppressed the sadness in her heart.

“Indeed, something crucial is missing—a key,” said a communication officer from the investigation team, his voice clear through his respirator valve. Based on information from Aurora City, after repairing the seal, a stone key taken by the Meisha family must be found and inserted into the center of the stone wall gate to complete the sealing of this node.

“Key?”

Everyone felt a weight in their hearts.

“Aurora City’s already tracked down the Meisha family members’ movements near Donghe and mobilized troops to launch a crackdown.”