Night of Despair

The radio's purpose was to receive external signals, and if it, too, could be enhanced, perhaps there would be a different kind of gain.

Staring at the numbers above,

'Five hours, just in time to finish as dawn is about to break, it's worth a try.'

Up to now, Yu Hong hadn't noticed any side effects from enhancing with the Black Mark, the only cost being the consumption of his mental energy.

The axe should also have completed its enhancement by now, he confirmed in his heart in response to the enhancement inquiry sound beside his ear.

In an instant, the radio in his hand blurred and then became rapidly clear again, with numbers appearing on its surface: 5:11 a.m.

Seeing the countdown begin, Yu Hong set it aside, sat alone on the bed, holding a candle, took a long exhale, and felt increasingly isolated and afraid.

This fear stemmed not only from the strange shadows and monsters that might appear around him at any moment but also from the unfamiliar corpses lying out in the wild.

So he just sat there, motionless, with thoughts swirling in his mind.

It wasn't until dawn broke that he felt somewhat relieved.

After drinking some water, Yu Hong left the house, where outside the sunlight was not strong and dark clouds were gathering—clearly it was going to rain.

The air was damp and chilly, and as he walked on the ground, he felt a coldness around his ankles.

As he walked, he suddenly paused and turned to look at one of the houses.

Within the darkness there, a white shadow flickered in and out of sight.

He took a deep breath, grabbed the radio, and quickly quickened his pace towards the safety shelter in the cave.

Ten minutes later.

He reached the safety shelter.

Bang.

The enhanced wooden door was shut, and the lock bolted.

It was only then that Yu Hong relaxed a bit, collapsing onto the ground beside his bedroll.

Picking up the radio, he inspected it carefully and found that the numbers had disappeared.

The entire device had become as good as new without a sound.

The previously broken parts had also been mended.

'Could it be that my enhancing ability, apart from strengthening items, can also fix broken things?'

A thought crossed Yu Hong's mind.

He flipped the radio over, opened the battery compartment, and to his surprise found two blue-skinned AA batteries inside.

Suppressing his astonishment, he reattached the battery cover, and turned on the switch.

Click.

A sound echoed from the radio.

Hiss, hiss...

Followed by a series of familiar hissing sounds.

'It really works!?' Yu Hong was amazed.

After turning the radio over and over in his hands and making sure it was functioning perfectly, he put it up to his ear.

The sound was crystal clear, without any spikes, and he was even more satisfied.

'Let's tune it to the local stations...'

Since arriving in Baiqiu Village, he had been on the run, busy adapting to the environment and dealing with dangers.

Now that the cave safety shelter was somewhat established,

At least here he was sheltered from the strange shadows and monstrous insects, and his heart relaxed considerably.

With a more relaxed mind, Yu Hong turned the large round knob on the front of the radio, adjusting the frequencies.

As the knob slowly turned, a series of hisses varied in volume.

Quickly, he passed over an extremely quiet frequency band in a flash,

Yu Hong hurriedly returned to that position, and with a fine adjustment, a sad tune drifted out from the radio.

The music sounded like a lament, slow and drawn out, the tune deep, involuntarily making one's heart heavy.

Before Yu Hong could guess what program it was, a voice came from the radio.

"We remind everyone again, due to a shortage of batteries, please turn on the radio at this time every day, adjust the frequency, and remove the batteries after listening to save power,"

A magnetic male voice emanated from the radio.

"This is the National Special Disaster Response Management Bureau, I will provide daily reports on specific disaster conditions across the country and give insights into the actual changes in the dangers within the Black Disaster, as well as some prediction research from Silver Tower. Please take this seriously."

Hearing this, Yu Hong's expression tightened, aware he had found the right station, and immediately placed the radio down to listen in silence.

He had been staying near Baiqiu Village because of his physical limitations and could not yet travel to larger places farther away.

Moreover, even in larger locations, it was not possible to obtain the latest national research findings.

Therefore, the content he was receiving on the radio was extremely precious to him.

The radio continued to relay information.

"According to the National Security Department's statistics, there are currently seven hundred fifty-nine areas where the Black Disaster is occurring and spreading. Each area is primarily infested with blood mites, with occasional shadow appearances."

"Research from Silver Tower has found that the overall intensity of the Black Disaster is on the rise over time.

The strength of the shadows is also slowly increasing, and all local districts are advised to be prepared."

"The surge period is approaching, during which all Black Disasters will exhibit a significant increase in invasiveness. The light resistance of the blood mites is increasing gradually. This trait greatly increases the energy demands on lighting devices."

Yu Hong listened carefully, much of what the broadcaster said was new to him.

Particularly the trend of the overall Black Disaster intensifying, which renewed a sense of crisis in his heart.

He now had only a small amount of enhanced pyroxene left; the rest were either embedded or placed in dark corners around the cave, serving as a hidden safeguard for the safety shelter.

And with this small portion of enhanced pyroxene, if he encountered shadows during the surge period, even if it was only one or two a day, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Upon hearing this, he decided to enhance more luminous stones immediately. Just as he picked up a piece to begin with, a rumble of thunder sounded from outside.

Wind howled fiercely in response.

At first, a few scattered raindrops hit the outside of the wooden door, making a noise. Then the raindrops became more and more numerous and dense.

Amidst the sound of rushing water,

In just a few seconds, the rain fell heavily.

The dense rain hit the exterior of the door, making a crisp sound.

Yu Hong immediately reacted, found a wooden barrel he had made in the corner, opened the door, and placed it just outside the edge.

This was used to collect rainwater.

Rainwater was at least much cleaner than sewage.

Yu Hong closed the door and listened to the thunderous noise outside as the rain poured down.

Looking inside the cave, it was dry and quiet—a stark empty space.

A sense of peace and stability suddenly welled up in his heart.

Returning to the dirty, smelly blankets, he plonked himself down and exhaled a long breath.

It was foul-smelling, but safe.

With the shortage of drinkable water in this situation, who would dare to bathe?

The amount of water needed for a bath...

Suddenly, an idea struck Yu Hong. He thought about going out to bathe in the rainwater but worried about getting sick, catching a cold, or developing a fever. In times like these, without any medicine, if one were to catch pneumonia...

He immediately suppressed the thought and sat quietly in the cave, staring out of the observation window at the gloomy sky.

The radio continued to broadcast tirelessly.

"...Due to the explosive increase in shadow numbers in various regions, the Response Management Bureau will dispatch patrol teams immediately to conduct routine inspections and collect detailed shadow data."

The broadcaster had barely said a few words when his voice abruptly broke off, and he began to breathe heavily.

"Breaking news: A malicious shadow incident has occurred in Hope City Number 43 at Wuliang Mountain, resulting in hundreds of casualties. As such shadows exhibit high transmissibility, all external communications with this Hope City are suspended until further notice, and all regular transportation in and out are severed."

"Please note, the location of the malignant shadow incident is Hope City Number 43 on Wuliang Mountain."

The broadcaster repeatedly emphasized the address, his voice heavy and tense.

Yu Hong listened on the side, utterly bewildered.

'That's it?' He looked confused. No rescue measures? Just isolation? They wouldn't even allow supplies to be delivered?

But no matter how long he waited, the broadcaster didn't bring up the news again and instead continued with the official's latest exploration achievements, research data reports from an organization called Silver Tower, and so on.

He never mentioned that Hope City in peril again.

Not once.

Yu Hong squatted beside the radio, listening for more than ten minutes, still with no sign of any news.

Finally, he seemed to understand.

Perhaps the official stance on the shadows and the Black Disaster was nothing more than containment and waiting for their intensity to subside, with no other solution at hand.

Standing up, he sighed, walked to the door, and looked outside.

With a swish, he pulled open the side area of the observation window, adding a spacious, square window to the door.

The window was fitted with a layer of sturdy glass through which the continuous downpour could be seen.

Through the rain, the forest outside seemed to twist and blur.

Boom.

Another clap of thunder echoed.

Yu Hong's thoughts suddenly turned to little Yiyi who stuttered. He wondered how she was doing.

She must have been caught in the rain halfway through her journey.

He hoped she was safe.

In this kind of weather, it was impossible for him to rashly go out looking for her. Besides, Yiyi was physically much stronger than he was. Even if he found her, he would only be a burden.

With this in mind, Yu Hong sat down on the ground, relaxing his body.

Taking advantage of the moment of safety and quiet, he turned off the radio and picked up a luminous stone to continue enhancing.

The most troubling issues now were twofold: there might not be enough candles, and the scarcity of enhanced pyroxene.

There was one last day left, the final deadline before the surge period arrived. They could go out together one more time to get more candles.

As for the luminous stones, he could only continue enhancing them while asking Yiyi to expedite her drawing.

'If, as the radio said, the overall strength of the Black Disaster is increasing, then... how will ordinary people who face a scarcity of resources in the wild survive?' A faint fear suddenly rose in Yu Hong's heart.

He was easily frightened, cowardly, and timid, but because of that, he tended to think of problems as extremely complex and dangerous.

It was an extremely abnormal notion.

However, in this environment, such traits seemed to play a useful role.

'If there are no people left outside, even with the power of the Black Mark, I won't survive without food.

So I must find a way to solve the food problem. Be self-sufficient.'

With some degree of safety secured, Yu Hong shifted his focus to food.

'And a water filtration system, I have to get one set up too. These aren't things I can make myself. I've got to think this through carefully.'

*

*

*

Boom.

In the forest, heavy rain pelted down, with the dense drops almost forming a mist that enveloped the woods, obscuring the view.

It should have been bright in the morning, but the downpour made everything look gray and gloomy.

The vast forest resembled a piece of bread covered in green mold.

On the fringe, two figures moved quickly towards Baiqiu Village like two sesame seeds.

Both were clad in black raincoats, holding walking sticks, and running with a familiar, swift pace.

"Quick, quick, quick! It's getting dark; those damn things are going to come out soon!" the person in the back urged, panting heavily.

"I know... we're almost, there..." The figure in front was petite and stammered in response—it was little Yiyi, returning from outside.

They hurried along until they reached the edge of the village and onto the gravel path where they raced down.

Thud.

Reaching the front of the house, Yiyi took out the keys to open the door, ready with a luminous stone to throw at a moment's notice.

Fortunately, there were no incidents.

They entered the house smoothly and without mishap.

Just as the two got inside, a flash of lightning illuminated the gravel path, casting a ghastly white glare.

For a brief moment, the bright light revealed the vague silhouettes of several figures standing on the path.

As quickly as the lightning appeared, it vanished, and with it, the figures faded away, like shadows of bubbles.