Night of Despair

"I don't know," the postman shook his head, "but the more people there are, the bigger the influence and the authorities will pay more attention. Silver Tower will support us to the greatest extent. That's better than us roughnecks trying to figure things out on our own, right? You don't think they would come to rescue just for a few of you, do you?"

Yu Hong fell silent for a moment, then asked,

"Is the Large Pyroxene Stone useful against the Evil Shadow?"

"It's said to be somewhat useful. Some people have escaped because of the Large Pyroxene Stone. And theirs were even lower grade than yours," the postman nodded.

He had noticed from the marks on the surface of the Large Pyroxene Stone he had obtained, that these items were very likely made by the man in front of him. Even if they weren't made by him, they were definitely made by someone he knew, and recently, because they were too new.

He talked so much also because he wanted to earn rewards for recommending talented individuals.

The Joint Forces Alliance always had various benefits and rewards for recommending talents, which was also why he was willing to talk to Yu Hong.

"Thanks for your kindness, bro. I've decided not to go. Maybe if more people from our area leave, the Evil Shadow would no longer find this place appealing, you know?" Yu Hong said softly.

The postman frowned, scrutinized Yu Hong's expression, couldn't make out anything, so he tried to persuade him some more. Seeing that Yu Hong was still unmoved, he eventually gave up.

"Sigh... no matter what, it's impossible to stay around here. Since you don't want to go, I wish you luck in overcoming the hardships."

"Thank you for your kind words, bro," Yu Hong nodded, "and I wish you smooth sailing and all the best."

With a sigh, the postman got up and walked towards the stone house.

Yu Hong also stood up, ready to leave with his belongings.

But just as he got up, he heard a noise behind him and immediately turned to look.

It was Dr. Xu, leaning against a tree trunk with a bag, apparently having waited for a while.

"Did I hear right that you can make water filters?" Dr. Xu adjusted her glasses and asked.

"Trade?" she asked.

Recalling how she had once looked down on Yu Hong, thinking he was a drag because of Yiyi, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment now.

But there was no helping it, a good water filter was essential for maintaining health. Since it could be cleaned and reused, it offered very high value for money.

"I have another one, let's trade," Yu Hong was not biased against her; although the woman was sharp-tongued, she was sincere. Her attitudes towards people were all written on her face, no wonder she got beaten up in town.

"What do you want to trade? I have extra iodophor for disinfection, want it?" Dr. Xu asked.

"Can you still produce iodophor?" Yu Hong asked in surprise.

"Yes, many industrial chains are well-established in the large urban areas," Dr. Xu nodded. "One bottle of iodophor for your water filter, how about that?"

"Okay," Yu Hong nodded.

Disinfectant was indispensable; many times, an infected wound was a matter of life and death. Prompt treatment of the wound could often eliminate the need for anti-inflammatory drugs.

He quickly traded with Dr. Xu. About 200 milliliters of iodophor for a water filter.

After finishing the trade, Yu Hong was prepared to return.

Suddenly, a soft call stopped him.

Turning around, he saw Jenny, whom he had traded with before.

"Young Yu, that... Large Pyroxene Stone, do you still have it? Want to trade?"

Jenny approached slowly with the blonde, beautiful girl beside her.

"They're all gone; you're too late," Yu Hong replied, his gaze pausing on the pretty girl next to Jenny before moving away.

Looking clean and beautiful was fine, but it depended on the situation. At this time, to actually dare to use filtered water for a bath...

Hearing the voice, Dr. Xu, not far away, turned back to look at the two, her brow furrowed as she scanned the pretty girl, seemingly wanting to say something. But soon she held back and gave Yu Hong a calm look before turning to leave.

After Dr. Xu left, only Jenny, the pretty girl, and Yu Hong remained at the scene.

"None left, huh? That's too bad.... Can I pre-order the next batch of Large Pyroxene Stones then?" Jenny asked, frowning.

"I can't say for sure now; I'm not even sure I can get my hands on some," Yu Hong didn't want to become a tool for producing Large Pyroxene Stone, it depended on whether he had time to stick around and enhance with the Black Mark.

"Okay, the water filter you made before was very useful; I hope we can trade again next time," Jenny said, slightly disappointed.

"No problem," Yu Hong nodded.

"Mom, aren't you going to introduce us? He made the water filter himself? That's amazing!" the blonde, pretty woman suddenly spoke.

After speaking, she didn't wait for Jenny to respond but reached out to Yu Hong.

"Hello, I'm Aifu. You're Yu Hong, right?"

Yu Hong glanced at her clean, fair palm and still shook hands with her.

Only, he hadn't expected that she would casually scratch the back of his hand without leaving a trace.

Yu Hong noticed that this girl named Aifu gave him a secretive smile. Before he could figure out what it meant, they parted ways.

"Right, happy to meet you. If you have anything good to trade, feel free to look me up, candles, food, or other odd items, I might be interested," Yu Hong said simply.

In this environment, he didn't care whether someone was beautiful or not, only whether they could get the things he wanted.

His current safe house was far from his ideal state.

At the very least, he wanted to create a safe house that could be self-sufficient in food, water, and energy.

A safe house that could support at least a few years without needing to go outside for trade.

And right now, it was far from that.

"Do you trade Large Pyroxene Stones, or something like the water filters?" Aifu asked curiously.

"Mainly Large Pyroxene Stones," Yu Hong replied.

"That's good to hear; I have some junk here, not with me right now, but next time you come I'll show you and see how many Large Pyroxene Stones it could trade for," Aifu said with a smile.