Jenny glanced at Doctor Xu and noticed she also seemed to agree.
"Alright, let's head back first. Anyway, our food should be enough to get us through this peak period."
After reaching an agreement, the three of them hurried back. Along the way, they also picked up some dry firewood.
The journey out was slow, but the return was much quicker. It took them less than twenty minutes to successfully get back to the gathering place at the post office.
Just when they were about to part ways, Yu Hong suddenly thought of something and spoke up.
"Oh right, Jenny, I remember it was several days from when Brother Yu came back until the incident happened, right?"
"Yes, it definitely was several days." Jenny nodded.
"Does that mean that even if someone is infected, they can delay for several days and infect others?" Yu Hong frowned, "Then the question arises, what is the mode of transmission for the handprint? Do you know?"
"Contact, it should be contact," Jenny replied. "As long as you touch the handprint, or an individual bearing the handprint, you might get infected."
"I see..." Yu Hong nodded, glanced at Doctor Xu while holding his stuff. "Since it's contact transmission, then who did Brother Yu come into contact with when he first came back?"
"...." The other two fell silent.
As they recalled carefully, a chill ran through both of them. Brother Yu, a butcher, had contact with almost everyone. From this point of view, any of them could be infected.
"Let's check again, everyone be careful...." Yu Hong paused, his eyes drifting towards the stone house.
"Also, there's something else...."
"Mom!" Suddenly, Aifu's voice came from not far away. She looked somewhat haggard, wearing a grey sweater and black long pants, and quickly walked towards them.
As she approached, she didn't even glance at the food in her mother's hand. Instead, her eyes swept over and landed on Yu Hong, lighting up with delight.
Immediately, she walked quickly towards Yu Hong.
"Yu... Brother Yu," she forced a sweet smile, pushed out her chest slightly, subtly accentuating her body curves. "I heard you can make Large Pyroxene Stones, do you have any left with you? Could you sell me some more?"
"Aifu!" Jenny, standing beside, couldn't stand it and scolded.
"It's okay, Brother Yu is a good man, mom doesn't need to worry." She discreetly moved another step forward and reached out to hold Yu Hong's hand.
"Stop!" Suddenly, Yu Hong stepped back, his gaze cold, maintaining distance.
"I have a question." He stared intently at Aifu.
"What... what question!?" Aifu was startled by his loud voice, and she stopped in her tracks.
Jenny, on the other hand, was wary of Yu Hong, silently placing her hand on the knife hilt on the outer side of her thigh.
She was worried that Yu Hong might hurt her daughter. After all, too many people living alone had mental issues these days.
Without saying another word, Doctor Xu also grasped the handle of the short knife tied around her waist, quietly moving closer to Yu Hong while watching Aifu and Jenny.
Obviously, she trusted Yu Hong more than Jenny and her daughter.
Amidst this tension, the four of them split into two sides, faintly confronting each other.
"Don't be nervous, I just want to ask a question...." Yu Hong stepped back, gesturing for Doctor Xu to also keep her distance.
"The footprints at the entrance of the stone house at the post office.... apart from ours from the day we left, there was another set, whose are they?!"
His gaze fell on Jenny and Aifu.
"Don't lie, I remember the shape of the footprints from when we left that day. But today when I came, I noticed the footprints were different. Someone definitely went in and out of the stone house more than once after that!"
Upon hearing this, the complexions of all three changed.
Jenny and Doctor Xu were puzzled and fearful, while Aifu was simply panicked.
Jenny glanced and immediately noticed something off about her daughter. She knew her daughter too well. Whenever Aifu was panicked, her body would stiffen, she would slightly lower her head, avoiding eye contact, and unconsciously press her hands on the outer sides of her thighs, wiping off the sweat that seeped through her palms.
"Aifu!!" She suddenly shouted loudly, the sound echoing through the forest.
"Was it you!?" She clenched her teeth, looking at her daughter in shock, her eyes slightly bloodshot, staring intently, hoping her daughter would respond with a 'no'.
But Aifu's reaction swiftly dashed her hopes, plunging it into despair.
Puff.
Aifu covered her face with her hands, standing still, her complexion pale.
It took a good while before she slowly turned around.
Indeed, the three of them could vaguely see a small black handprint on the left side of her buttocks.
The reason she changed into black pants was obviously to hide the gradually emerging black handprint on her body.
If it hadn't been for Yu Hong raising doubts, Aifu herself couldn't resist interrogating, and the three of them wouldn't have noticed the handprint on the black trousers without careful examination.
Upon seeing the handprint, Yu Hong and Doctor Xu didn't say a word and quickly moved away.
"We've found the food this time, let's all disperse and calm down for a while," Yu Hong quickly said.
"Jenny." Doctor Xu called out, noticing that Jenny didn't seem to intend on keeping her distance from her daughter. She couldn't help but remind her.
"One person being infected may still be repelled by the Large Pyroxene Stone... but it's different with two!" she paused, "And another thing."
Doctor Xu's gaze turned fierce, staring at Aifu.
"Keep an eye on your daughter."
Her words were quite discourteous.
Jenny stiffened, her eyes reddened, as though she hadn't heard the reminder, but just stubbornly turned her head, gazing at her daughter.
She stood motionless, her chest heaving dramatically, with her back to Yu Hong and Doctor Xu and crouching down slowly with Aifu, as if she was deaf.
Doctor Xu didn't speak again and quickly left with Yu Hong, carrying some items.
The two checked each other as they left, one after another, spinning around to make sure there were no black handprints on their bodies. After confirming they were clean, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Aifu definitely intended to infect us!" Doctor Xu gritted her teeth.
"Why would she do that?!" Yu Hong took out a Large Pyroxene Stone from his chest, which had changed color halfway, and let out a breath. It was this stone that had alerted him; initially, he was not sure who had entered the stone house. However, once the Large Pyroxene Stone reacted, he quickly identified the target.
"There must be some benefit, otherwise she alone, and Brother Yu alone, wouldn't conceal it and make contact with others deliberately," Doctor Xu speculated.
"I've always felt something was off," Yu Hong spoke. "With a personality like Aifu's, in such a tough environment, how can she still lack any sense of vigilance? With shadows and bugs all over, hasn't she been frightened?"
"Speaking of which," Doctor Xu revealed a hint of reminiscence, "Aifu truly is different from normal people. At the earliest, when I remember Jenny's family first arrived, her father was still here—a very frail old man with utterly pale face. He was much older, at least twenty to thirty years older than Jenny. And..."
"And what?"
"And at that time, Aifu rarely came out. It was usually her parents who appeared," Doctor Xu recalled, leaning against a tree trunk.
"Later on, Aifu's father suddenly said he wanted to go out one day, and then he never came back. After that, Aifu began to go out. That girl is quite impressive, don't be fooled by her naive appearance; she's actually a linguistic genius, knowledgeable in four foreign languages and deeply versed in ancient linguistics. I don't know why their family moved here."
"Any other anomalies?" Yu Hong pressed.
"Just one more thing," Doctor Xu suddenly frowned. "Their burrow, no one has ever entered. They also don't allow others to visit. Plus, several times during peak periods, when everyone was barely surviving and several people died, their family was always fine."
"This seems to indicate some issues," Yu Hong nodded, assessing the situation based on what Doctor Xu had reported. They seem to have some hidden secrets.
"Definitely. After Aifu went to town before, she even brought back two men who pursued her, but they quickly disappeared without a trace. I always feel something is wrong with this girl," Doctor Xu said, frowning.
"Let's avoid getting close to them for now, and if there's any problem, come find me immediately. Also, report any abnormalities," Yu Hong took out another Large Pyroxene Stone from his waist pouch.
"I'll lend you a Large Pyroxene Stone for now; remember to be cautious. The Large Pyroxene Stone emits a slight heat when it changes color, carry it close to your body, and it can help identify many dangerous places."
He handed the Large Pyroxene Stone to Doctor Xu. Regardless, she was the only medical personnel nearby and was also his acquaintance with decent nature. If he could help, he would.
"Thank you!" Doctor Xu's eyes flickered, her expression showing a touch of emotion. She quickly took the Large Pyroxene Stone, "I'm currently researching a type of herb, mostly made from wild herbs and minerals found nearby. It is very helpful for external infections, and I'm close to a breakthrough. I'll provide it to you for free once it's ready!"
"Great!" Yu Hong's eyes lit up, not expecting an additional gain, "Be careful."
"I will!" Doctor Xu nodded emphatically.
The two parted ways under the tree, each headed back to their respective dwellings.
When Yu Hong returned to the safety cave as dusk was falling,
Yu Hong placed the firewood in the corner, started a fire, and began to cook.
Sitting by the fireplace, he carefully recollected the details about Jenny and Aifu, his brow increasingly furrowed.
'Evil Shadow has been getting close, silently reaching people around me. It seems Aifu is definitely doomed. If Jenny stays with her and does not decisively separate, she too is bound to die. In this case, it looks like soon only Doctor Xu and I will remain... The food problem has not been solved, and we're down two members...'
He sighed. He stirred the bottom of the fire with a stick to allow more airflow.
The bright firelight flickered on his face, shining intermittently.
After adding the wood, Yu Hong got up, checking the talisman array still being fortified on the cave walls. He had set up talisman arrays in all parts of the cave walls, but it was a general fortification, not an extreme one.
At this moment, numerous talisman arrays densely covered all the walls and floor, aimed at preventing material-penetrating Evil Shadow and shadow from entering the cave.
The threat of Evil Shadow was within close reach; he must prepare to the utmost extent.
These talisman arrays spread throughout the cave were the first step.
The second step was to create a temporary Array Plate that could be carried and used. The purpose of making this was to go to other places to test the defensive range of the talisman arrays.
How large an area a talisman array could protect was crucial information.
Only after determining the area could he fortify this thing onto clothes, weapons, armor, and even on himself!