Accumulation II (Xie Mo-ci Burns the Midnight Oil to Become Alliance Leader)

Clang, clang, clang.

Amid a burst of hammering.

Inside the Mountain Cave Safe House, Yu Hong let out a long breath, took two steps back, and looked at the incredibly crude fixing rig he had made. He had secured the stolen Stove and its chimney together against the middle section near the cave wall.

"This will do for now."

He set down the hammer and turned to look at the door that was still being enhanced.

The door displayed its remaining time: 9 days, 5 hours, 42 minutes.

After finishing that, he walked out of the Cave and looked at Little Stutterer, who was tying up a large bundle of wild vegetables outside.

The incident with the chimney had passed, but the emotions from that moment had still left a deep brand in his heart.

Even now, when he recalled what had just happened, he still felt lingering dread and boundless fear.

Those feelings made him desperately want a completely safe little home to live in alone.

A place where he could rest peacefully and properly.

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

Pushing those thoughts aside, Yu Hong picked up the Steel Nail Wooden Stick he had just used from beside the Cave. Some of the nails on it had been hammered crooked. But that was not the important part. The important part was the three Enhanced White Stones.

The first Enhanced White Stone had already turned completely black, losing its jade-like texture.

Looks like it's been used up. Yu Hong reached out, removed that White Stone, and replaced it with another.

He still had one Enhanced Glowstone left, enough for now.

But since enhancement apparently could only be done one at a time, he could not enhance anything else before the Wooden Door was finished.

So he had to conserve those four Enhanced Glowstones as much as possible.

Based on previous use, one Enhanced Glowstone can support dispersing three Ghost Shadows. That means one Enhanced Glowstone is worth thirty ordinary Glowstones!

In that case, if he could advertise that comparison and trade Enhanced Glowstones for supplies, the difference in value might mean he would no longer need to worry about replenishing supplies.

As he thought, Yu Hong began considering his future arrangements and plans.

Time flew by, and before long, the sky had begun to dim.

Little Stutterer had also packed up the cloth bag and filled a fresh water jar. The two carried their things back to the house in White Mound Village.

They had only just returned from the Cave, which had just been cleaned and was neat, tidy, and filled with good air.

Compared with the old house's filth and gloom, saturated with the smell of mold, Yu Hong did not want to stay here for another moment.

The night passed without incident.

Over the next few days, unable to enhance anything, Yu Hong and Little Stutterer gathered dry firewood everywhere and stored it in the Cave.

Now that it had a door, it could shield them from wind and rain, and they could store at least some firewood there.

Then came the preparations for filtering water.

According to Little Stutterer, all the water outside was unclean. Drinking it directly would cause a very strange illness, so it had to be filtered.

And extra filters could only be bought in town.

So they still had to make a trip to town.

"It's more than thirty li to town. I don't think I can hold up." Yu Hong knew his own physical limits well.

If he forced himself to walk, he might manage it, but the resulting knee injuries, excessive exhaustion, and possible new illnesses would greatly slow his reactions to danger.

On the slope outside the Cave entrance, Little Stutterer nodded as she dug through the soil.

"There is... another... way."

"What way?" Yu Hong sat down on the spot to rest against the stone ground at the Cave entrance, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"The... Post Office," Little Stutterer answered, then began explaining carefully in fits and starts.

Since talking was too laborious, she simply used a Charcoal Pencil to write on the stone.

But she did not know many characters, so she could only write while gesturing and speaking.

"The Post Office can buy things on people's behalf, so why can't I ask you people to buy it for me?" Yu Hong asked.

"Fil... ters can't... be bought. Need... qualifications," Little Stutterer answered.

Qualifications? What qualifications? Yu Hong wanted to ask further, but then he saw Doctor Xu approaching from afar with a cloth bundle on her back.

"Yi Yi, the High Tide Period is coming soon. We have to make a trip to town!"

Her expression was somewhat ugly, and her right arm was wrapped in white gauze. She had probably been injured over the past few days.

"Okay!" Little Stutterer answered loudly.

Doctor Xu glanced at Yu Hong and ignored him. She and Little Stutterer returned to White Mound Village first to count the things they would take for trade.

Before long, the two had finished counting all their Glowstones.

"Why isn't it even half as much?!" Doctor Xu was shocked.

Usually, every time they went to trade goods, Little Stutterer could produce twice as much as this. But now—"This little can't trade for much food at all! And Yi Yi, there are two people eating on your side now!" She could not help asking.

"Too... busy." Yi Yi rubbed her hands with a foolish grin, somewhat embarrassed.

"What have you been busy with? Building some damned Safe House for that Yu Hong?" Doctor Xu immediately flared up.

"I told him clearly already—even the thickest Wooden Boards can't stop Ghost Shadows and bugs! The Safe House you're building is nothing but wasted effort!"

"It's fine. I... believe... him!" Little Stutterer patted her chest.

"He'll get you killed!" Doctor Xu snapped. "If you don't eat enough, you'll have no strength, and you'll get sick easily. I went to check the Post Office yesterday, but the Mailman had gone who knows where. There was no way to buy medicine, and a lot of important supplies can only come through him. We have to save food and seasonings, in case there's nothing available later!"

"No... he won't!" Little Stutterer shook her head. Yu Hong had given her an Enhanced Glowstone. Though she had promised him not to tell anyone, she knew in her heart that Yu Hong seemed different from the others.

"You, honestly!!" Doctor Xu wanted nothing more than to rush over and beat Yu Hong to death. But seeing Little Stutterer's expression, she could only swallow a bellyful of anger.

The two could only carry their things out of the village step by step, leaving along the Old Highway toward the distance.

On the other side, Yu Hong rearranged the Mountain Cave Safe House, checked the sealing fixtures everywhere, and only began painting after confirming there were no problems.

The waterproofing had to be done properly, and the Cave's inner walls had to be painted too. Otherwise, once people began living here, temperature differences would inevitably create condensation and mold.

After checking everything, he did not return to White Mound Village. Instead, with the candle and blanket he had brought, he curled up inside the Cave and prepared to try spending a night here.

Whoosh. Slowly, night fell.

Outside the Cave, the wind howled mournfully, and the temperature quickly dropped until it was faintly chilly.

Inside the Cave.

Yu Hong sat cross-legged atop a large Wooden Board, lit a candle, and quietly calculated how many supplies he needed to prepare in order to safely get through the approaching High Tide Period.

"The most recent one lasted five days. Going by the principle that they keep getting stronger, I should count it as six days. One candle a day means I'll need at least twelve candles."

"Then I have to prepare food and water for six days too. I don't have time to make Enhanced White Stones for now. I can only wait until the Wooden Door is finished."

"After the Wooden Door is done, there'll only be three days left before the High Tide Period. Rather than gamble on the safety of the enhanced Wooden Door, I'd better make other preparations myself."

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

Soon, rustling sounds began again.

The Black Worms brought by the Blood Tide had begun their assault once more.

But the mass of Black Worms could only enter through the opening he had arranged. They did not come in quickly, and as soon as they entered, they were illuminated by the candlelight and quickly dissipated into nothing.

Yu Hong watched carefully for a while. Only after confirming there was no problem did he relax.

He checked the candle's burn rate again and decided it was probably fine. Then he placed the Steel Nail Wooden Stick by his hand, lay down on the blanket, and slowly drifted into a light doze.

Soon, dawn came.

Little Stutterer and Doctor Xu returned together. This time, they had brought back more than half less than before.

Little Stutterer calculated that it was only enough to feed them for five days.

After thinking it over, Yu Hong decided to have Little Stutterer copy the more complex pattern on the Enhanced Glowstone.

Then they would test the effect using that pattern, and if it worked, sell it.

As for the immediate emergency, he also began helping Little Stutterer dig wild vegetables everywhere.

The days passed one by one.

The two began storing water again, while Yu Hong periodically went to the Cave to check on the Wooden Door's changes.

In the blink of an eye, the time displayed on the Wooden Door was quickly nearing its end.

To observe the Wooden Door's transformation closely, Yu Hong deliberately asked Little Stutterer on the final day to borrow some food from Doctor Xu. He was intentionally sending her away.

He himself went to the Mountain Cave Safe House and quietly waited for the Countdown to end.

Amid a low rumble.

Inside the Cave, Yu Hong sat on the ground, his eyes fixed on the Wooden Door, which had not changed in the slightest from twelve days ago.

He wanted to see carefully exactly how the Black Mark's enhancement manifested upon completion.

More importantly, he intended to seamlessly continue enhancing other things, so he would not waste the Black Mark's enhancement time.

On the Wooden Door, now painted yellow and black, black numbers that only Yu Hong could see flickered.

0 days, 0 hours, 1 minute.

One final minute remained. Just a little longer, and the Wooden Door's enhancement would be completely finished.

During that last minute, Yu Hong did not even dare blink, staring intently at the final changes.

One second.

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

Snap.

Yu Hong's vision suddenly blurred for an instant.

When it cleared again, the Wooden Door had become an enormous door that was thicker and made from a denser material.

The surface of the new Wooden Door bore delicate wave-like patterns. Its ventilation opening was fitted with thick metal mesh, dense but breathable.

There was also a dedicated Viewing Window in the middle, through which he could see the scenery outside.

The formerly loose connection between the Wooden Door and the Cave had also been completely improved, transformed into a large ring of dense screws. It looked much sturdier than before just at a glance.

Yu Hong stood and walked forward, touching the Wooden Door.

Knock, knock, knock.

He curled his fingers and rapped against it. It was thick, solid, hard, and resilient.

It's not the same wood as before. He had never expected that enhancement would directly replace the original material.

It even added quite a few materials. Yu Hong touched the ventilation mesh below. It was extremely thick. Then he opened the Viewing Window above.

He ran his hand along its edges and could not feel the slightest burr.

"Amazing!"

With that thought, he swiftly looked toward the surrounding walls.

His original plan had been to enhance the surrounding Stone Walls after enhancing the Wooden Door, but because food was in short supply now, he planned to first try enhancing something else.

"First... this."

Yu Hong withdrew the hand touching the door, returned to the Stove, and picked up a piece of Dried Lizard Meat from beside it.

Can food be enhanced?

The thought flashed through his mind.

Immediately.

A number rapidly emerged on the surface of the Dried Lizard Meat in his hand: 3 hours.

Three hours? Yu Hong calculated in his mind. Then he shoved the dried meat back and picked up the entire bag of dried meat instead.

What about now?

A new number slowly appeared on the outside of the cloth bag: 1 day, 8 hours, 4 minutes.

The number included both round and uneven figures, looking remarkably precise.

Let's see the effect. Yu Hong immediately confirmed the enhancement prompt.

He could afford to wait a little over a day.