Chapter 351 - 351 Two hundred and eight

Words : 1354 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

351: Two hundred and eight. Confirm the refuge point. 351: Two hundred and eight. Confirm the refuge point. The Elm Forest borders Belfast and its area is also similar to that of Belfast, though to be precise, it is slightly smaller. It occupies the topmost part of the crescent-shaped bay, stretching out towards the distant coastline. Once, it teemed with life, with countless beings proliferating in this forest—at least before this winter. Then spring arrived, but the plants and trees did not grow. First, massive numbers of insects died, followed by small animals that fed on insects and plants. The disappearance of small animals led to the decline of predators, and finally, the top predators left. The ecology here collapsed from the bottom to the top. Lu Li and Barton were perhaps the sole two guests in this stretch of Elm Forest spanning dozens of miles. “See that cave over there? It used to be a bear’s den, deep and spacious, very much in line with your preferences, except it’s not on a cliff and you can’t see Belfast.” Barton nodded toward the mountainside on their side, where a faint outline revealed a dark cave entrance on the mountain. “Then it doesn’t meet my requirements.” Lu Li calmly corrected Barton. They had been walking through the Elm Forest for two hours already, and about ten minutes ago, the relatively flat and gentle terrain gave way to a mound. On clear days, Lu Li had observed this low mountain from Belfast, and by following the ascent of the low mountain, one would reach cliffs nearly a hundred meters above sea level. Barton’s pace had slowed considerably since the beginning, after all, he was fifty years old and missing a leg. Lu Li, noticing this, occasionally asked him some questions to divert his attention. “Where is Silent Hill?” “The direction we just passed through, in the very center of the Elm Forest.” “Why is it called Silent Hill?” This name might seem peaceful and serene in an ordinary context, but under this worldview, it carried an unsettling and ominous undertone. “Because it’s very dangerous and awful there, and even before the forest developed a consciousness, no one dared to approach it,” Barton replied. His sentences were getting shorter, indicating his physical strength could no longer maintain steady breathing. Fortunately, they were not far from their destination. “So why is it called Silent Hill?” “An irony,” Barton smirked. “I was involved in naming it too.” A name as serene as Silent Hill for a place so dangerous that no one dared to approach it was certainly amusing. “What’s the danger there, and why do you know about the cave and recommend it to me?” “Ask slower, I’m not as quick-witted as you young people,” Barton complained, but he still answered Lu Li’s questions. “The cave was discovered by people long ago, back when Silent Hill wasn’t as dangerous as it is now. As for why I recommended it to you... of course, I’m not trying to harm you, I just think it should be safe there now.” “You missed a question.” Barton was silent for a while, then slowly shook his head and said, “...I can’t say.” “Strange?” Lu Li guessed. “Hmm.” As Lu Li began to ponder, the surrounding silence returned in the absence of conversation, until a few minutes later, Barton stopped and said to Lu Li, “We’ve arrived.” The woods around them were no longer as dense as before, and as they continued forward, exposed rock replaced the soil, and Lu Li saw what Barton had referred to—the dimly visible dark entrance of a cave on the rock face under the curtain of rain. ... The oil lamp cast a dim light, barely illuminating a small area around it. And much of the cave remained in darkness. In the profound shadows, it seemed as if something was roaming and peering out. “Do you see those marks on the wall? They are hundreds of years old, said to be made by the people MacDonald I had ordered to observe the sea conditions from the cliff after he arrived on Ailen Peninsula. Later, it was occupied by bears and wolves for a while,” Barton’s voice echoed in the empty cave. “It’s close to the sea, has a broad view, and is hidden. One cannot see this place from the sea or from Elm Forest unless one walks here. No one would discover this cave otherwise, perfectly fitting your requirements.” Lu Li’s gaze shifted from the pickaxe marks on the wall and continued to walk deeper into the cave. Suddenly, a pitch-black and fierce shadow blocked Lu Li’s path. The cave had come to an end. This cave was less than six meters deep. “Too shallow.” Lu Li said as he raised the oil lamp to inspect the top of the cave. A height of about three meters was within his acceptable range. “If you don’t mind, you could pay someone to expand it.” Barton leaned against the cave wall and sat at the edge of the cave, a spot that wasn’t too dark and wouldn’t be splashed by rainwater. “Need to rest? I won’t tire but I think you need a break... a moment.” Barton suppressed the sound of his own heavy breathing. “I don’t need a rest.” Lu Li calmly asked, “Are you tired?” Brief interactions had let Barton understand some of Lu Li’s character. He stopped making excuses and loudly said, “I am fifty-two years old. Fifty-two! If I had married, by now I might have had grandchildren calling me grandfather!” “Understood.” Lu Li nodded, returned to the edge of the cave, and placed the oil lamp beside Barton, “You stay here, I’ll look outside.” “What’s there to see?” Barton stopped pretending to be nonchalant as he rubbed his remaining leg. “Surveying the surroundings.” “It’s good to be young, having so much energy. I am so hungry I can barely think,” Barton remarked with a sense of resignation, making sure his lack of energy sounded like it was due to hunger. Upon hearing this, Lu Li pulled out a package of leather paper from the outer pocket of his wool coat and handed it over. “What’s this? Food?” Barton unapologetically received the leather paper bag and opened it, revealing a can of beef that had been opened. Barton looked at Lu Li with astonishment, as if seeing him for the first time, “Who carries a can of food with them when they go out?” “A prepared person.” Taking an umbrella that had been set aside, Lu Li opened it and walked into the curtain of rain, his figure gradually fading. Barton paused, looked down at the compacted meat paste in the can, and swallowed his saliva uncontrollably... ... The terrain outside the cave was relatively flat, with layers of rock and soil mixed together. Several dead trees took root around the cave but were sparsely distributed. Lu Li walked straight ahead from the cave for a distance until he reached the edge of the cliff. It was about forty to fifty meters from the cave to the cliff edge. Unfortunately, the heavy rain obscured his view, and Lu Li was unable to assess the visibility from this spot, so he could only imagine it based on direction. Just as Barton had said, from this location, one could observe the entire expanse of the sea outside Crescent Bay and Belfast, as well as the lighthouse atop the jagged rocks. There was no time for Lu Li to wait until the rainy season ended to make further observations; it seemed he could only decide on this spot as his refuge. Lu Li could not spare the time to search for a better refuge, unless he opted to investigate the shelter built by the inspectors. If so, all of Lu Li’s preparations to date would have been in vain. So this was it.

Chapter 351 - 351 Two hundred and eight

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