Another Attempt I (Xie Lan Die Zhi Yi-Alliance Leader)

Chapter 19: 019 Another Attempt I (Xie Lan Die Zhi Yi—Alliance Leader)

The eleven minutes passed quickly.

Under Yu Hong's expectant gaze, the Thick Wooden Bar bracing the door suddenly blurred with a hiss. In less than two seconds, it turned into a pitch-black Metal Rod! The Metal Rod looked like an enlarged chocolate bar, with nonslip pads at both ends to increase friction and keep it fixed. Its material seemed to be iron, yet its color was much darker.

Yu Hong picked up the rod and examined it carefully.

"Although the structure is still very simple, the material has been reinforced. It's obviously much sturdier than before. Amazing!"

He was awestruck.

Immediately afterward, he reinforced the second Thick Wooden Bar as well.

A dozen minutes later, two black Metal Rod supports stood behind the door, one on the left and one on the right, bracing it symmetrically.

"This is far stronger than the three of us bracing it with our shoulders."

Yu Hong nodded in satisfaction.

"Then there's one last troublesome problem."

Candles.

He didn't quite dare return to White Mound Village, but the candles were all over there, along with the water filter, pots, cups, and other things.

"I only have one candle here. It definitely won't be enough unless I make a fire. Wait!"

Suddenly, Yu Hong narrowed his eyes and looked toward the Stove beside the stone wall.

The Stove that Little Stutterer had helped him snatch back, complete with its flue, still hadn't been officially put to use. What if I reinforce this?

The thought arose, and intense anticipation surged through Yu Hong's heart.

He suddenly remembered the axe he had reinforced earlier and went to dig it out from the corner.

The axe was already different from before.

Previously, it had merely been an ordinary axe with a wooden handle, and chopping wood had left quite a few chips along its blade.

After reinforcement, it had become a Lumber Axe with a metal handle, larger all around.

Its black, long handle was covered in nonslip grooves, while the silver axe head was visibly thicker than before. Its blade glinted coldly.

It could be said that this ordinary old axe had instantly become a fine Lumber Axe.

Yu Hong set down the axe and walked over to the Stove.

The Stove was square and made of metal, its surface coated in black paint. It looked like a short, black table.

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

The icy touch jolted his spirits.

Reinforce fire—no, reinforce the Lighting and Heating System.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and he quickly changed the name he had given the Stove.

Hiss.

A thin black line flowed from the Black Mark on the back of his hand and burrowed into the surface of the Stove.

Soon, a number appeared on the Stove's surface: 12:07.

Reinforce the Lighting and Heating System? The Black Mark's questioning voice appeared.

"Yes!" Yu Hong answered forcefully.

In an instant, the numbers on the Stove changed. The previously static digits suddenly became a countdown.

I hope it works. A trace of anticipation rose in Yu Hong's heart.

There was still some time before dark, and he had one candle, so getting through the night would definitely be fine. He would have no problem lasting until dawn.

But if the reinforced Stove tomorrow still failed to meet his expectations, he would have no choice but to take the risk of entering White Mound Village and bringing back the candles and other supplies Little Stutterer had left behind.

Watching the time on the Stove steadily decrease, Yu Hong found a dry spot and sat down, utterly exhausted.

The series of upheavals that had happened today had caught him completely off guard. On top of that, repairing the two wooden supports had consumed too much of his strength. Sleepiness surged over him, and he simply took out the candle ahead of time, kept it within reach, leaned against the Steel Nail Glowstone Rod, and slowly fell asleep.

"Lao Yu?"

"Lao Yu??"

A soft series of calls jolted him awake.

When Yu Hong opened his eyes, he found a familiar, pretty face suspended before him, smiling at him.

It was Chen Hui Ru, a female coworker from his workplace.

"Lao Yu's awake. You scared me to death. I thought something serious had happened. Thank goodness, thank goodness—it was only a scare." Chen Hui Ru turned toward the others and spoke.

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

"That joke went too far this time. We all work at the same place. That was over the line."

"Lao Yu's always bragging about how brave he is. Seeing him scared into this sorry state, I've got enough material for a whole year!" Laughter rang out.

Soon, Yu Hong rubbed his eyes and discovered that he was sitting on the lawn beneath his workplace, surrounded by coworkers amid a sea of emerald green.

Every one of them was looking at him with a grin, chattering over one another.

"Pretty realistic, huh?"

"That bug was a model I rented from a film crew nearby. Including you, we've already scared four people! You got off easy. Yuan Zhou was so scared he nearly wet himself. We even recorded it all!"

"You still have the nerve to say that! It was all because of your terrible idea!"

His coworkers laughed and joked as they surrounded Yu Hong in a circle on the sunlit lawn.

Their smiling faces were warm and harmonious.

As they continued talking, they joined hands and began circling around Yu Hong.

One circle.

Another circle.

And another.

"Look at Lao Yu—he still hasn't come to his senses."

"This is hilarious!"

"Don't be upset. Brother Gao's treating us later. Let's go eat Zao Po Hotpot!"

"Capture this moment in a photo—cheese~~"

Voice after voice burrowed into Yu Hong's ears.

He sat there blankly, watching his coworkers spin around him. Their smiles were so real, so warm.

So it was all just a prank. Yu Hong opened his mouth, and his tightly wound nerves finally relaxed.

He stood up and reached out to grab one of the coworkers he knew best.

Hiss.

Everything fell silent in an instant.

All sound vanished. In the utter stillness, Yu Hong's vision blurred.

He suddenly drew in a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.

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

He was still sitting on the ground, still leaning against the Stinky Cotton Quilt, facing the Stove as it continued counting down. He hadn't moved, his arms wrapped around his knees.

The Cave was utterly quiet. Dim light spilled in through the door's window.

"It was a dream..." He sighed.

It was almost dark.

Yu Hong shifted his gaze toward the window.

"!!!"

Outside the Viewing Window, there was actually a blurry human face, silently watching him through the wire mesh! Watching him as he had just awakened from his dream!

"Who!?" Yu Hong lurched to his feet, gripping the Steel Nail Glowstone Rod as he tried to stand.

But his legs had been still for too long. The moment he rose, they went numb, and he nearly lost his balance.

By the time he caught hold of the Stove and steadied himself, the face outside the Viewing Window had vanished.

"Huff, huff." Yu Hong's face went pale as he realized that it might have been the Ghost Shadow. He hadn't heard any footsteps at all. Moreover, the other party's movements had been jerky, crossing stretches of distance in a single leap without any continuity. That was the Ghost Shadow's greatest characteristic.

Earlier, he had opened the Viewing Window to let in some air, allowing outside air to flow through the wire mesh.

He hadn't expected the Ghost Shadow to discover it so quickly. "It's only dusk, not even dark yet, and the Ghost Shadow's already active again."

He stood up and cautiously approached. Reaching out, he pulled the Viewing Window's cover shut.

Swish.

The light from the window vanished, and the Cave fell into darkness.

Yu Hong switched to the ventilation hole on the other side. It was slower, but at least it wasn't so terrifying.

Who knew how long that Ghost Shadow had watched him while he slept?

After finishing, he used the little light filtering in through the ventilation hole to inspect the Enhanced Glowstone placed behind the door.

Half of the Enhanced Glowstone's volume had already changed from a jade-like texture to a pale, ashen gray.

Yu Hong shuddered at the sight.

Thank goodness I have the Enhanced Glowstone. Otherwise, sleeping alone, I might never have known how I died.

He sighed. Then he smelled a faint dampness in the Cave and realized that if he didn't dry it out soon, mold would grow. His only hope now was to see what the reinforced Stove would be like.

There were still more than ten minutes left on the Stove's countdown.

Yu Hong simply sat down where he was, took out a dried mushroom, and nibbled at it bit by bit.

He no longer looked toward the door. His eyes stayed fixed on the Stove.

The dozen or so minutes passed quickly.

The numbers on the Stove were about to finish.

Yu Hong's nerves tightened slightly. This reinforcement might determine his plans going forward.

Hiss.

Just then, the numbers on the Stove vanished, and the entire Stove, flue and all, blurred.

The blurred state lasted for one second before everything came back into focus.

At the same time, a completely new Stove appeared before Yu Hong.

"!!? What is this?" The instant he saw the new Stove clearly, Yu Hong's eyes widened.

The thing before him had completely exceeded his expectations.

What appeared before him was a fireplace perfectly integrated into the Cave's rock wall.

It looked as though the fireplace had been fitted seamlessly into the rock. Both it and its flue were buried deep within the stone.

But that wasn't even the most important part. The outer shell of this Stove was entirely transparent!

It was made entirely of a transparent synthetic material resembling glass crystal! Yu Hong stepped forward and lightly knocked on the outer edge of the Stove.

Bang, bang!

Two muffled knocks. It was extremely hard.

Incredible. It really does both heat and illuminate. Yu Hong was speechless.

The Stove had already provided heat. Making it transparent naturally gave it a lighting function as well. This reinforcement was simply inspired! He walked around the new Stove and observed it for quite some time, until the light outside had completely faded and faint rustling sounds could be heard.

Only then did he hurriedly take out a match and light the candle.

The reinforced candle had windproof properties and could collect soot on its own. It was quite impressive.

Yu Hong placed the candle on a stool and quickly began stuffing firewood and kindling into the Stove.

The kindling was the wood shavings he had saved earlier—ultra-thin strips shaved off while cutting wood. They curled tightly and caught fire easily.

He added some thoroughly dried grass and leaves as well.

Crackling sounds rang out, and before long, a dark-red flame slowly brightened inside the fireplace.

The flame gradually grew larger. Above it, gray-white smoke billowed into the flue and drifted outside, leaving not a trace inside the Cave.

The flame slowly grew brighter, taller, and larger.

Gradually, the firelight in the transparent fireplace grew brighter than the candle.

More than ten minutes later, once the fireplace had stabilized, Yu Hong added thicker logs and then blew out the candle.

Finally, it worked!

He dropped from a squat onto the log stool and gazed contentedly at the burning fireplace.

Waves of warm air seeped through the fireplace's transparent shell.

The material's thermal conductivity was unexpectedly excellent as well.

As the waves of heat increased, the Cave's bitter chill gradually dispersed, replaced by relaxation and warmth.

For a moment, the entire Cave was warm as spring, bright, and safe.