Night of Despair

Eleven minutes passed by all too quickly.

As Yu Hong watched with anticipation, the thick wooden plank supporting the door hissed and blurred, and in less than two seconds, it turned into a black metallic rod!

The metal rod resembled an oversized chocolate bar with non-slip pads fixed at both ends to increase friction. The material seemed to be iron, but its color was much darker than that of iron.

Yu Hong picked up the rod and examined it closely.

"Although the structure is still very simple, the material has been strengthened... It's clearly a lot more durable than before... Amazing!"

He was astounded.

He then repeated the process and strengthened the second thick wooden plank as well.

After about ten minutes, two symmetrical black metal columns supported the door from behind, one on each side.

"This is much stronger than the three of us using our shoulders to prop it up."

Yu Hong nodded with satisfaction.

"Then, there's just one last troublesome issue."

Candles.

He was apprehensive about going back to Baiqiu Village, but all the things like candles, water filters, pots, and cups were there.

"I only have one candle here, definitely not enough... Unless I make a fire... Wait a minute!"

Suddenly, Yu Hong narrowed his eyes and looked toward the stove by the stone wall.

This little stuttering fireplace that had been snatched back for him, connected with a chimney, hadn't been officially used yet...

'What if I strengthen this?'

The thought sprouted a thick sense of anticipation in his heart.

He suddenly remembered the axe he had previously strengthened and searched the corner to find it.

The axe was different from before.

It used to be a simple wood-handled axe with many notches in the blade from chopping.

Now, after being strengthened, the axe had transformed into a larger forestry axe with a metallic handle.

The black handle featured a non-slip grip, and the silver-colored axe head was noticeably thicker than before, its edge glittering coldly.

One could say that the ordinary old axe had become a fine forestry axe in an instant.

Putting down the axe, Yu Hong walked over to the stove.

The stove was square, made of metal, and coated with black paint, looking like a short black table.

Yu Hong stretched out his hand and pressed against the edge of the stove.

The cold touch revitalized his spirit.

'Strengthen the fire... no, strengthen the lighting and heating system.'

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he quickly changed the name he used for the stove.

Hiss.

The Black Mark on the back of his hand released a strand of blackness that infiltrated the surface of the stove.

Soon, a set of numbers appeared on the surface of the stove: 12:07.

'Do you wish to strengthen the lighting and heating system?' the Black Mark's inquiring voice emerged.

'Yes!' Yu Hong responded forcefully.

Instantly, the numbers on the surface of the stove changed from static to a countdown.

'I hope it works,' Yu Hong thought with a sliver of hope.

There was still a gap of time before nightfall, and he had one candle on hand, so he was certain he could make it through the night and until daylight without any issues.

But if the strengthened stove still didn't meet his expectations tomorrow, he would have to risk entering Baiqiu Village to retrieve the candles and other supplies left by the stuttering boy.

Watching the numbers on the stove continuously decrease, Yu Hong found a dry spot to sit down, utterly exhausted.

The series of unexpected events that happened today caught him off guard, and the effort expended to repair the two support planks drained him...

Feeling an overwhelming weariness, he simply took out the candle ahead of time, held it close, and leaned against the steel-nailed luminous stone rod, gradually falling asleep.

"Old Yu?"

"Old Yu??"

A round of gently spoken calls awoke him from his slumber.

Yu Hong opened his eyes only to discover a familiar pretty face hanging over him, smiling at him.

It was Chen Huiru, a female colleague from his workplace.

"Old Yu's awake, you scared me to death; I thought something serious had happened. Thank goodness, it's just a scare," Chen Huiru turned her head to speak to someone in another direction.

"I told you Old Yu wasn't that fragile."

"This prank went too far; we're all from the same office, that's too much."

"Old Yu always boasts about his courage. Seeing him scared silly like this, I've got material for a whole year!" Laughter followed these words.

Very soon, Yu Hong rubbed his eyes and saw that he was sitting on the grass beneath the building where his office was located. Surrounded by greenery, his colleagues had formed a circle around him.

Each of them was smiling at him, talking all at once.

"Is it very lifelike?"

"That bug was a model I rented from a nearby production crew. Including you, it's scared four people now! You had it easy, Yuan Zhou almost wet his pants; we got it all on video!"

"Enough with that! It's all your fault for coming up with such a lousy idea!"

His colleagues laughed and joked around, encircling Yu Hong in the bright sunshine on the grassy lawn.

Their smiling faces were warm and harmonious.

As they talked, they began to join hands and circle around Yu Hong.

One circle.

One circle.

One circle.

"Look, Old Yu can't pull himself back together."

"It's hilarious!"

"Don't be mad; later, Brother Gao is treating us to dregs hotpot!"

"Let's snap a photo, say cheese~~"

Voices continually drilled into Yu Hong's ears.

He sat there dumbly, watching his spinning colleagues, their laughter genuine and warm.

'So it was all just a prank.' Yu Hong opened his mouth as he finally relaxed his tense nerves.

He stood up, reaching out to grab one of his more familiar colleagues.

Sss.

All was quiet in an instant.

The sound completely disappeared; the silence made Yu Hong's eyes blur momentarily.

He took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.

The cold stone floor was hard and real, pressing against his coccyx painfully.

He was still sitting on the ground, leaning against the moldy quilt, facing the countdown timer on the stove, motionless, with his hands wrapped around his knees.

The cave was quiet, with dim light pouring in from the main door window.

"It was a dream..." he sighed.

It was nearly dark.

Yu Hong's gaze shifted to the window.

"!!!"

Looking out the window, there was actually a blurred face quietly watching him through the wire mesh!

Watching him as he had just woken from his sleep!

"Who's there!?" Yu Hong abruptly stood up, his hand gripping the steel spike luminous stone rod, trying to get up.

But his legs were numb from not moving for a long time, and he almost didn't stabilize himself as he got up.

When he managed to stand steady with the support of the stove, he looked back at the window to find the face was gone.

"Huff... huff..." Yu Hong's face turned pale, guessing that it might have been a shadow since he hadn't heard any footsteps. And the way it moved in fits and starts, quickly traversing distances without coherence, was the hallmark of these shadows.

He had opened the window earlier for ventilation, allowing the air from outside to flow in through the wire mesh.

But he hadn't expected... that it would be found by the shadow so quickly...

"It's just dusk, not completely dark yet, and the shadows are starting to move again..."

Yu Hong stood up, approached cautiously, reached out, and pulled down the window shield.

Whoosh.

The light from the window vanished, leaving the cave in darkness.

Yu Hong switched to the other vent to exchange air, although it was slower, at least it wasn't as terrifying.

God knows how long that shadow had been watching him sleep.

Finishing these tasks and with the dim light seeping in through the vent hole, he checked the piece of enhanced pyroxene behind the main door.

The enhanced pyroxene had already turned half of its volume from jade quality to pale limestone color.

Yu Hong felt a chill when he saw it.

'Thank goodness for the enhanced pyroxene, otherwise... I might have died in my sleep without ever knowing.'

Sighing, he smelled a faint moisture in the cave, knowing it would get moldy if it wasn't dried soon...

Now, his only hope was to see what the situation would be after the stove was enhanced.

At this moment, the stove countdown had just over ten minutes left.

Yu Hong simply sat down on the spot, took a dried mushroom, and began to nibble on it.

He didn't look at the door anymore; his eyes were fixed on the stove.

The ten minutes passed quickly.

The stove's countdown was about to end.

Yu Hong became slightly tense as this enhancement could affect his subsequent plans.

Sss.

Just then, the numbers on the stove disappeared, and the entire stove, along with the chimney, became blurry.

After being blurred for a second, everything turned clear again.

At the same time, a brand new stove appeared before Yu Hong.

"!!? What is this...?" Yu Hong's eyes widened as he saw the new stove.

What appeared before him was a fireplace that completely integrated with the rock walls of the cave.

The fireplace was embedded perfectly into the rock, with itself and the chimney buried deep within the stone.

And the most critical point was not this. The material of the stove's exterior was completely transparent!!

It was made of a transparent synthetic material, similar to glass or crystal!!

Yu Hong stepped forward and tapped gently on the rim of the stove.

Thump thump!

Two muffled sounds, very solid.

'God, it's really dual-purpose for heating and lighting.' Yu Hong was at a loss for words.

A stove already served as a heater, and making it transparent naturally provided lighting...

This enhancement was pure genius!

He circled the new stove, observing it for a while until the light outside completely dimmed and a faint rustling noise emanated from outside.

He hurried to light a match and ignite a candle.

The enhanced candle had a windproof function and could collect its own soot, quite impressive.

With the candle placed on the stool, Yu Hong swiftly began stuffing the stove with firewood and kindling.

The kindling was the wood shavings he had saved earlier, ultra-thin and curly wood pieces that easily caught fire.

He paired these with some thoroughly dried straw and leaves.

Crackle...

Soon, a dim red flame lit up inside the fireplace, slowly brightening.

As the flame grew larger with time, dense white smoke rose above and into the chimney, drifting outside without lingering in the cave.

Slowly, the light from the transparent fireplace became brighter than the candle.

Another ten minutes passed and, as the fireplace stabilized, Yu Hong snuffed out the candle after adding thicker chunks of wood.

'Finally, it's done!'

He planted himself down on the log stool, contentedly watching the burning fireplace.

Waves of warmth seeped out through the transparent exterior of the fireplace.

This material actually had good thermal conductivity too.

As the warmth increased, the cold of the cave gradually dissipated, replaced by relaxation and warmth.

For a moment, the entire cave felt as warm and safe as spring, illuminated brightly.