Trouble I (Thanks to Alliance Leader Luo Bu Wan Ya)

Trouble I (Thanks to Alliance Leader Luo Bu Wan Ya)

The Radio's purpose was to receive signals from the outside. If it could be enhanced too, perhaps it would yield something different.

He looked at the numbers above it.

Five hours. It'll be done just before dawn. I can try it.

So far, Yu Hong had not discovered any adverse effects from Black Mark enhancement. At most, it drained some of his mental energy.

The axe had probably finished enhancing by now. In his heart, he gave an affirmative response to the enhancement prompt at his ear.

In an instant, the Radio in his hand blurred, then quickly cleared again. Numbers appeared on its surface: 5 hours 11 minutes.

Seeing the Countdown begin, Yu Hong set it aside. He sat alone on the bed, clutching the candle and letting out a long breath, feeling ever more lonely and afraid.

That fear came not only from the Ghost Shadows and monsters that could appear around him at any moment.

It also came from the unfamiliar corpses lying out in the wilderness.

He sat there without moving, thoughts churning in his mind.

Only when dawn arrived did he relax a little.

After drinking some water, Yu Hong left the house. The sunlight outside was weak, dark clouds massing overhead. It was clearly going to rain today.

The air was damp and clammy. As he walked across the ground, cold seeped around his ankles.

As he walked, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at a house.

In its darkness, a white shadow flickered in and out of view.

He took a deep breath, grabbed the Radio, and quickened his pace toward the Mountain Cave Safe House.

More than ten minutes later.

He reached the Safe House.

Bang.

The Reinforced Wooden Door slammed shut, and he locked it from the inside.

Only then did Yu Hong relax slightly. He dropped down beside the bedding on the ground.

Picking up the Radio, he examined it closely and found that the numbers on it had disappeared.

The entire device had silently become completely new.

The parts that had been broken before had also been restored.

Could it be that my enhancement ability can repair broken things as well as enhance items?

Yu Hong's heart stirred.

He turned the Radio over and opened the battery compartment. To his surprise, there were actually two blue AA batteries inside.

Suppressing his shock, he put the cover back on and flipped the switch.

Click.

A sound immediately came from the Radio.

Then came waves of familiar static.

It really works!? Yu Hong was astonished.

He turned the device over in his hands again and again. Only after confirming there was nothing wrong with it did he lift it to his ear.

The sound was remarkably clear, without any harsh interference. He was even more satisfied.

Let's see if I can tune into a local station.

Since arriving at White Mound Village, he had been running himself ragged, busy adapting to the environment and dealing with danger every day.

Now, at last, the Mountain Cave Safe House had taken a rough shape.

At the very least, hiding here could keep out Ghost Shadows, monsters, and insects. His heart immediately eased considerably.

With his mood slightly lighter, Yu Hong turned the large round dial on the front of the Radio and adjusted the frequency.

As the dial slowly turned, bursts of static rose and fell continuously.

Soon, with a swish, an extremely quiet frequency flashed past.

Yu Hong quickly turned it back to the previous position. After a slight adjustment, a mournful melody drifted from the Radio.

It sounded like funeral music, slow and drawn-out, its tune low and heavy enough to make one's heart sink.

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

"Another reminder to everyone: due to the shortage of batteries, please turn on your Radios at this time every day, adjust the frequency, and remove the batteries after listening to conserve power."

A deeply resonant male voice came from the Radio.

"This is the National Special Disaster Response Administration. Every day, I will provide specific disaster information from various regions, as well as actual changes in the various dangers within the Black Calamity. I will also provide some predictive research on the Black Calamity from the Silver Tower. I hope everyone will treat this with the utmost seriousness."

Yu Hong's expression tightened when he heard this. He knew he had found the right station. He immediately set the Radio on the ground beside him and listened quietly.

He had always been active near White Mound Village. Because of his physical limitations, he could not go to larger places farther away for the time being.

And even if he could reach such places, there was no way he could obtain the latest national research findings.

So the information he could hear through this Radio was incomparably precious to him.

The Radio continued speaking.

"According to National Security Department statistics, there are currently 759 Black Calamity zones still occurring and spreading throughout our country. Every zone is primarily infested with large numbers of Blood Ticks, with Ghost Shadows appearing occasionally among them."

"According to Silver Tower research, the overall intensity of the Black Calamity has been rising over time."

"The strength of Ghost Shadows is also slowly increasing. We hope urban areas across all regions will prepare response plans."

"The High Tide Period is approaching. During this period, all Black Calamities show a substantial increase in their harmful effects. Among them, the light resistance of Blood Ticks gradually increases. This characteristic greatly raises the energy demands of lighting tools."

Yu Hong listened carefully. Much of what the broadcaster said was unfamiliar to him.

Especially the overall trend of the Black Calamity growing stronger. That made a sense of crisis rise in him once more.

He only had a small amount of Enhanced Glowstone left. The rest had either been embedded or placed in dark corners throughout the Cave, becoming hidden safeguards for the Safe House.

And with just this little Enhanced Glowstone, if he encountered Ghost Shadows during the High Tide Period, he would not be able to withstand even one or two a day.

Hearing this, he immediately decided to enhance more Glowstone. Just as he picked up a piece and prepared to begin, thunder rumbled outside.

Then a violent wind began to howl and whine.

At first, scattered raindrops struck the Wooden Door outside, making faint sounds. Then the drops grew more numerous and denser.

Amid the rushing sound of rain.

In only a dozen or so seconds, the downpour came pouring down.

Dense raindrops pounded against the door outside, producing a rapid, crisp patter.

Yu Hong reacted at once. He found a wooden bucket he had just made in the corner, opened the door, and set it at the edge outside.

It was for collecting rainwater.

Rainwater was far cleaner than foul water, at least.

After closing the door, Yu Hong listened to the rolling thunder and the rain blanketing everything outside.

Then he looked at the dry, quiet, empty Cave.

A trace of peace and stability immediately settled in his heart.

Returning to the filthy, reeking bedding, he sat down hard and let out a long breath.

It stank, but it was safe.

With so little drinking water, how could he dare to bathe?

The water needed for bathing... Yu Hong suddenly felt tempted to go outside and use the rainwater to wash himself, but he worried about falling sick, catching a cold, or running a fever. There was no medicine in times like these. What if he got pneumonia? He immediately suppressed the thought and sat quietly in the Cave, gazing at the dim sky beyond the Viewing Window.

The Radio was still playing continuously.

"...As the number of Ghost Shadows in various regions shows an explosive upward trend, the Response Administration will begin dispatching Patrol Teams today to conduct routine inspections in various regions and collect detailed data on Ghost Shadows."

After only a few sentences, the broadcaster's voice suddenly cut off, and his breathing grew rapid.

"Emergency news bulletin: a severe Ghost Shadow incident has occurred in Mount Wu Liang Hope City 43, causing hundreds of casualties. Because this type of Ghost Shadow is highly contagious, all outside contact with this Hope City is now suspended, and all normal transportation in and out will be cut off."

"Please note, the location of the severe Ghost Shadow incident is Mount Wu Liang Hope City 43."

The broadcaster repeated the address again and again, his voice grave and tense.

Yu Hong listened from the side, utterly bewildered.

And that's it? His face was full of confusion. No rescue measures, just immediate isolation? They would not even allow supplies to be delivered? Yet no matter how long he waited, the broadcaster never mentioned the news again. Instead, he continued discussing the latest official exploration results, research data reports from an organization called the Silver Tower, and so on.

There was no further mention of that Hope City in danger.

Not a single word.

Yu Hong crouched beside the Radio and listened for more than ten minutes, but there was still no sign of anything.

At last, he seemed to understand.

Perhaps the authorities had no way to deal with Ghost Shadows or the Black Calamity except to seal off the area and wait for its intensity to pass.

He stood, sighed, walked to the door, and looked outside.

With a splash, he pulled open the side section of the Viewing Window. A broad, square window immediately appeared in the door.

On the other side of the window was a layer of sturdy glass, through which he could see the rain streaming down outside.

Through the rain, even the mountains and forest beyond seemed warped and blurred.

Rumble.

Another clap of thunder sounded.

Yu Hong suddenly thought of Little Stutterer. He wondered how she was doing now.

She should have gotten caught in the rain halfway there.

He hoped she was all right.

In this weather, there was no way he could recklessly go out to look for her. Besides, Little Stutterer's physical constitution was far stronger than his. Even if he found her, he would only become a burden.

Thinking that, Yu Hong sat down hard on the ground and relaxed.

While he was alone, safe, and undisturbed, he turned off the Radio and picked up the Glowstone to continue enhancing it.

The two most troublesome problems now were that he might not have enough candles and that he did not have enough Enhanced Glowstone.

Tomorrow was the last day, the final deadline before the High Tide Period arrived. They could still go out together one more time to trade for more candles.

As for Glowstone, he could only enhance it while having Little Stutterer work overtime drawing more.

If what the Radio said is true, if the Black Calamity as a whole keeps growing stronger, then how will ordinary people with scarce resources in the wilderness survive in the future? A faint fear suddenly rose in Yu Hong's heart.

He was someone who frightened easily, timid and afraid of trouble. But because of that, he always imagined problems as extraordinarily complicated and dangerous.

It was an extremely abnormal way of thinking.

Yet in this environment, such a trait seemed to be serving him quite well.

If there's no one left outside, then even if I have Black Mark enhancement, I won't survive without food.

So I have to find a way to solve the food problem myself. I need to become self-sufficient.

With his safety now receiving at least a little assurance, Yu Hong turned his attention to food.

I also need to set up a water filtration system. None of this is something I can make myself. I need to think it over carefully.

*Rumble.

Heavy rain poured through the mountain forest. The rain was so dense that it nearly formed mist, shrouding the woods and obscuring the view.

Morning should have been bright, but the downpour had crushed it into a blanket of gray gloom.

The broad mountain forest looked like a loaf of bread covered in green mold.

At the edge of the forest, two figures, like two sesame seeds, were hurrying toward White Mound Village.

The two wore black raincoats and held hiking poles, running quickly with practiced steps.

"Quick, quick, quick! It's getting dark! Those ghostly things will be coming out soon!" The figure behind panted heavily as he urged the other on.

"I know. Almost... there..." The smaller figure in front answered with a stutter. It was Yi Yi, Little Stutterer, who had just returned from outside.

Very soon, the two reached the foot of White Mound Village, stepped onto the Gravel Road, and charged forward all the way.

Bang.

Reaching the house door, Little Stutterer took out the key to unlock it. In one hand, she held Glowstone ready to scatter at any moment.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.

The two entered the house safely, a close call but no real danger.

The instant they entered, lightning suddenly flashed across the Gravel Road outside, illuminating everything in a ghastly white.

In that instant of blazing light, vague human figures standing on the Gravel Road were revealed.

Soon, the lightning vanished, and the figures scattered away with it, like bubbles bursting.