Night of Despair

Dang, dang, dang.

Amid the sounds of pounding,

inside the safety shelter cave, Yu Hong let out a long sigh and took two steps back, looking at the extremely rudimentary fixing device he had crafted, securing the stolen stove along with the chimney near the middle of the cave wall.

"That'll have to do for now."

He put down the hammer, turned his head, and glanced at the sturdy door still being reinforced.

Displayed on the door was the remaining time: 9 days, 5 hours, 42 minutes.

Having done all this, he walked out of the cave and looked at the little stutterer who was tying up a large bundle of wild vegetables.

The chimney-moving incident had passed, but the emotions from that time still left a deep imprint on his heart.

To this moment, recalling it, he felt terrified and shuddered with lingering fear.

Such emotions made him desperately long for a completely safe solitary cabin.

A place where he could rest in peace and comfort.

Only with such a place, could he properly explore this incredibly dangerous world.

Pushing aside these thoughts, Yu Hong picked up the steel spike club from the side of the cave, noticing that some of the nails on it were bent. That wasn't the important part—the key was those three enhanced white stones.

The first enhanced white stone had turned completely black and lost its jade-like texture.

"It seems it's used up..." Yu Hong reached out, removed the white stone, and replaced it with a new one.

He still had one enhanced pyroxene, which was enough for now.

But since it seemed he could only reinforce objects one at a time, he couldn't enhance anything else until the wooden door was finished.

Therefore, these four enhanced pyroxene stones must be used as sparingly as possible.

"Based on previous usage, one enhanced pyroxene can scatter three shadows. So it seems one enhanced pyroxene could match thirty regular luminous stones!"

With this in mind, if he could spread the word and trade enhanced pyroxene for supplies, the difference in value might save him from worrying about supply replenishment.

Thinking along these lines, Yu Hong started to consider his upcoming arrangements and plans.

Time flew, and before long, the sky turned dim.

The little stutterer had packed up the bags and filled new water tanks. The two of them carried their belongings back to the house in Baiqiu Village.

They had just come from the cave, which had just been cleaned and was tidy and fresh.

Compared to the filthy darkness of the old house, full of moldy smells, Yu Hong couldn't bear to stay there another moment.

The night passed without a word.

Over the next few days, since he couldn't reinforce items, Yu Hong, together with the little stutterer, collected dry wood and stored it in the cave.

Now that there was a door installed, it could provide shelter from the wind and rain and also allow the storage of some firewood.

Then there was the preparation for the water filtration materials.

According to the little stutterer, all outside water was very dirty, drinking it directly could cause a strange illness and must be filtered.

And extra filters could only be bought in town.

So they had to make a trip to the town.

"It's over thirty miles to the town... I don't think I can make it," Yu Hong was well aware of his physical capacity.

If he forced himself to go, he might endure it, but the consequences like knee injuries, excessive fatigue, and possible new diseases would greatly slow down his responses to danger.

On the slope at the cave entrance, the little stutterer dug in the soil while nodding.

"There's another... way."

"What way?" Yu Hong sat down, resting on the stony surface at the cave entrance, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"The post... office..." the little stutterer replied, and then she started to explain in her halting and intermittent way.

Because speaking was too strenuous, she simply started writing with charcoal on the stone.

But she didn't know many words, so she had to write, gesture, and speak at the same time.

"If I can buy things through the post office, then why can't I have you buy things for me?" Yu Hong asked.

"Filters... can't... be... bought. You need... qualifications," the little stutterer replied.

Qualifications? What qualifications? Yu Hong wanted to ask more, but then he saw Doctor Xu approaching from afar, carrying a cloth bag.

"Yiyi, Blood Tide is coming soon. We need to go to town!"

She looked somewhat distressed, with a white bandage wrapped around her right arm—probably from an injury she suffered these past few days.

"Oh!" The little stutterer responded loudly.

Doctor Xu glanced at Yu Hong, ignoring him, and went back to Baiqiu Village with the little stutterer to pick out the items they needed to barter.

It wasn't long before the two had counted all the luminous stones.

"How come there is less than half?!" Doctor Xu was a bit shocked.

Usually, the little stutterer could get double this amount with each trade, but now...

"This little merchandise won't trade for much food! Not to mention, Yiyi, you're feeding two people now!" She couldn't help but ask out loud.

"Too... busy," Yiyi said with a goofy smile, rubbing her hands together awkwardly.

"What are you busy with? Making that damn safety house for Yu Hong?" Doctor Xu suddenly flared up.

"I already told him, no matter how thick the boards, they can't stop shadows or bugs! The safety house you're making is just a waste of effort!"

"It's... fine. I believe... in him!" Yiyi said, thumping her chest.

"You will be killed by him!" Doctor Xu exclaimed angrily. "If you're not well-fed, you'll lack strength and will be more susceptible to illness. I went to the post office yesterday; the postal worker is gone, and there's no way to buy medicine. Many important supplies also rely on him. We must conserve our food and spices to avoid shortages later."

"No... I won't!" Yiyi shook her head. She had one enhanced pyroxene from Yu Hong, who had asked her not to tell anyone, but she felt that Yu Hong was different from the others.

"You... you!!" Doctor Xu was so infuriated she wanted to rush over and bash Yu Hong's head in. But seeing the little stutterer's expression, she was left with a bellyful of anger that couldn't be vented.

Together, they could only step by step leave the village, walking along the old highway toward the distance.

In the meantime, Yu Hong had rearranged the safety shelter in the cave, checking all the sealant devices to make sure there were no issues, then began painting.

He had to make sure the waterproofing was thorough, and even the inner walls of the cave needed a coat, otherwise, once he began living there, the temperature difference would cause condensation and mold.

After reviewing everything, he didn't return to Baiqiu Village but instead, using the candles and blankets he brought along, curled up in the cave, prepared to try spending the night there.

Sigh...

Gradually, night fell.

The whistling wind howled outside the cave, and the temperature dropped rapidly to a slightly cool level.

Inside the cave.

Yu Hong sat cross-legged on a large plank, lit a candle, and then quietly calculated how many supplies he needed to prepare in order to safely get through the upcoming surge period.

"The last one was a five-day surge period. According to the principle of continuous strengthening, let's assume it's six days. One candle a day means I need at least twelve candles."

"Then I need to prepare six days' worth of food and drink. There's no time to make enhanced white stones for now, so that will have to wait until the wooden door is done."

"The wooden door will be done in three days, which is just before the surge period. Rather than betting on the safety of the reinforced door, it's better to make my own preparations."

Next to the candle, Yu Hong calculated while quietly listening to the wind outside.

Soon, the rustling sound arose again.

The ants brought by the Blood Tide once more began their assault.

But the vast number of ants could only enter through the designated openings, and their entry was slow. As soon as they came in, they were illuminated by the candlelight and quickly dissipated into nothing.

Yu Hong watched carefully for a while, and, feeling certain there was no problem, he felt at ease.

He then checked the rate at which the candles were being consumed. Believing everything to be fine, he placed the steel nail club by his side, lay down on the blanket, and slowly dozed off.

Soon, it was morning.

Stutterer and Doctor Xu returned together, bringing far less than last time.

Stutterer calculated it would only last them five days.

Thus, Yu Hong decided after some thought to have Stutterer mimic more complex patterns on the enhanced pyroxene.

Then, after testing these patterns to see their effects, he considered selling them if they were effective.

For the emergency, he also began helping Stutterer dig for wild vegetables everywhere.

Days went by.

They began to store water, and Yu Hong occasionally went to check on the wooden door's changes in the cave.

Before long, the countdown on the wooden door quickly reached its end.

To carefully observe the changes in the wooden door, on the last day, Yu Hong specifically asked Stutterer to borrow some food from Doctor Xu to deliberately send her away.

He then went to the cave's safe house area and quietly awaited the countdown's end.

Amidst a rumbling sound.

Inside the cave, Yu Hong sat on the ground, his eyes fixed on the wooden door, which hadn't changed a bit from twelve days ago.

He wanted to see exactly how the Black Mark's enhancement would appear and be completed.

More crucially, he planned to continue strengthening other items seamlessly, to avoid wasting the Black Mark's enhancement duration.

By now, the wooden door had turned a yellow-black color and was ticking with black digits that only Yu Hong could see.

0 days 0 hours 1 minute.

The final minute, just a little bit more, and the wooden door's strengthening would be completely done.

During this last minute, Yu Hong didn't dare blink, carefully watching the final changes.

One second.

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

Snap.

All of a sudden, Yu Hong's vision blurred momentarily.

When it cleared again, the wooden door had transformed into an even thicker, tighter-made massive wooden door.

The new door's surface had fine, wave-like patterns, its air gaps fitted with sturdy metal meshes, fine yet breathable.

In the center was a special peephole, through which one could see the outside scenery.

The wooden door's previously loose connection to the cave was now perfected, forming a dense circle of bolts. Just by looking at it, it seemed much more secure than before.

Yu Hong stood up, approached, and touched the wooden door.

Thud, thud, thud.

He tapped with his fingertips. It was very thick, hard, and resilient.

'It's not the same kind of wood as before…' He hadn't expected that the strengthening would actually change the door's material entirely.

'And extra materials have been added.' Yu Hong felt the thick metal mesh at the bottom and then opened the peephole above.

He ran his hands along the edges and didn't feel a single burr.

"Impressive…!"

With this, he quickly turned his attention to the surrounding walls.

His original plan was to strengthen the walls around the wooden door, but now, due to the food shortage, he intended to try strengthening other items first.

"First… this."

Yu Hong withdrew his hand from the door and returned to the stove, picking up a piece of dried lizard meat.

'Can food be strengthened?'

The thought crossed his mind.

Immediately.

A number appeared on the surface of the lizard meat in his hand: 3 hours.

'Three hours, eh?' Yu Hong calculated it in his mind. Without hesitation, he stuffed the meat back and directly picked up the entire bag of dried meat.

'What about now?'

On the outside of the cloth bag, new digits slowly appeared: 1 day 8 hours 4 minutes.

The numbers were both whole and fractional, quite precise.

'Let's see the effects.' Yu Hong immediately confirmed the enhancement inquiry.

Over a day's time was something he could afford.