024 Exchange Four (Chun JiuLian BaoDeng Alliance Leader)

024 Exchange Four (Chun JiuLian BaoDeng Alliance Leader)

"If you still have good stuff like those Water Filter Cups, he'll definitely sell them." Jenny smiled.

Water filtration had always been a major headache for her. Before this, she had used the Water Filter Jugs sent from the bunker, but those things could only filter out coarse impurities. The filter cartridges had to be replaced before long.

As for the Water Filter Cup in her hand, she had just inspected it quickly. Its filter cartridge had five layers, so the results should be pretty good.

"Would you mind if I tried it?" She took a leather waterskin from her belt pouch and gestured with it.

"Of course." Yu Hong stepped back a little and let her pour water into the Water Filter Cup.

Very soon, clear water streamed out. Jenny's eyes lit up at the sight of its quality. Cleaner water was in extremely high demand—for example, when washing wounds.

After the trade was completed, the two of them each stepped back and quickly went their separate ways.

On his way back, Yu Hong found the soil Jenny had mentioned, dug out a clump, and brought it back to the Cave.

He was going to try strengthening it. If this soil really had antidiarrheal effects, then the Black Mark should be able to strengthen it into Antidiarrheal Medicine with fewer side effects.

This was his true trump card! Once the time was right, if the strengthening duration was suitable, he would gain another way to exchange supplies for goods.

Elsewhere.

Jenny quickly crossed the woods and stopped before a patch of grass. She bent down, pushed aside the weeds, and pried a pull ring out of the ground.

Grabbing the pull ring, she yanked it upward.

A wooden board disguised as a patch of grass immediately rose upright.

Beneath the board was a simple underground passage.

She dove inside, crawled more than ten meters through the dim passage, and soon reached its end.

At the end stood a dark-gray, circular metal door.

Knock, knock, knock.

She knocked on the door, then, without waiting for a reply, took out a key, inserted it into the keyhole, and unlocked the circular door.

Behind the door was a small, square room. An Atomic Lamp hung on the wall, its pale-green glow dyeing everything the same color.

This was the bunker where she lived alone. Tables, chairs, cabinets, a bed, and tools filled it, along with many tools and materials for tanning leather.

Jenny crawled out of the passage, closed the door behind her, stretched, then walked to the cabinet. She poured the filtered water from the cup into a small pot and waited for it to boil.

Then she walked to the bookcase, sat down, took out a charcoal pencil and some newspaper, and prepared to record what she had encountered with Yu Hong that day.

"Mom, did you just go out?" Suddenly, a clear female voice came from another room behind her.

This bunker had a small hall and three rooms. One was a leatherworking room, one was a bedroom, and the last was a storage room.

The voice was coming from the bedroom.

"Was that Eve? When did you get back?" Joy appeared on Jenny's face as she turned toward the voice.

"I got back not long ago." A girl with a blonde ponytail walked out of the bedroom. She wore a jade-green hoodie and tight jeans. Her features were exquisite, and she seemed to be wearing light makeup.

She was Jenny's daughter, Eve, and also the prettiest girl in this survivor settlement.

"Is there anything to eat, Mom? I just looked around, and there's nothing." Eve sounded dissatisfied.

"There's still some." Jenny stood up and quickly dug a small bag of dried meat out of the corner. She opened the bag, grabbed half of it, and prepared to hand it to her daughter.

Unexpectedly, Eve snatched away the entire bag.

"There's still this much? Thanks, Mom. I knew you were the best." She happily stepped forward and kissed Jenny, then quickly slipped out through the exit.

Jenny's hand remained suspended in midair. Even the dried meat in it had been taken away.

She gave a bitter smile but did not stop her.

She had not had time to say that this was most of her food reserve for the High Tide Period. Eve had taken all of it, leaving her only enough to boil thin soup every day and scrape by. Jenny let out a breath, then suddenly smiled again.

"So eager for food. She must be starving. No matter what, it's good as long as I can help her."

She did not think about why her daughter, who was doing so well, had suddenly run back from town, nor did she think about why Eve had not spared a thought for her.

She only knew that ever since her husband died, Eve was the only family she had left in this world.

She's still young in this regard. She'll grow sensible in time.

After comforting herself, she lowered her head and continued processing the old clothes that had recently arrived.

Taking old clothes apart and remaking them into new, well-fitting garments was one of the businesses she traded in.

...Click.

The Cave door opened.

Yu Hong hurried inside. The familiar stench rushed into his face, making him feel at ease.

After closing the door, he pulled open the Viewing Window to ventilate the place.

He picked up a protein bar and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing slowly. At the same time, he placed the freshly dug soil on a sheet of newspaper.

Finally, he dragged over a round wooden stool, plopped down opposite the fireplace, and quietly watched the newspaper bearing the Comprehensive Physical Training Method flicker with its countdown.

There were still a little over five hours left on the countdown.

Yu Hong simply stopped wandering around and sat quietly on the stool, waiting for the time to run out.

One hour, two hours. Three hours. Outside, the sky began to darken.

The wind in the mountains also grew stronger, letting out louder, mournful howls.

Yu Hong stood up and rolled his waist and legs. He reached out and pulled down the shutter over the Viewing Window.

At the same time, he replaced the Enhanced Glowstone that had been depleted by half with the only intact piece of Enhanced Glowstone he possessed.

After doing all this, he picked up the small pot, which had cooled, poured out the boiled water inside, and took a shallow sip from the cup to prevent dehydration.

After the rain outside, one day isn't enough to dry things, and I don't have much dry firewood. Tonight, I'll just have to make do and hold out a little longer.

He calculated how much firewood remained, then took out a candle and placed it somewhere he could grab easily.

Then he flopped down onto the blanket, his eyes fixed on the door as he waited for night to arrive.

Before long, about twenty minutes later,

the sky turned completely dark.

The familiar rustling and crawling sounds came again.

Yu Hong quickly rose and used the embers in the fireplace to light the candle.

The candlelight flared up, illuminating the entire Cave.

Taking advantage of the time, he began feeding the fireplace.

At night, the temperature outside had already dropped to only a few degrees at most.

As the black insects poured in rapidly, Yu Hong gradually coaxed bright flames from the fireplace, setting it ablaze.

Piece after piece of dry firewood was added, and the burning flames illuminated the entire Cave.

Time continued to pass in this dull routine.

In the middle of it, Yu Hong had diarrhea twice more, both times showing signs of complete dehydration. His face grew increasingly pale, and his lips lost more and more color.

Finally.

Under his constant watch, the Comprehensive Physical Training Method being strengthened finally finished.

After a blur, the newspaper from before instantly turned into a thin black manual.

The manual was about the length of a palm, and its width was also roughly that of an adult palm. Neatly printed on its cover were the words: Advanced Physical Training Method.

Yu Hong's eyes shone when he saw this. He quickly set down the firewood in his hands, walked over, and picked up the booklet.

In the firelight, he impatiently flipped open the first page.

At once, a diagram illustrating standard running movements appeared before him.

The diagram showed a bald man without a stitch of clothing on his body.

The man had no skin, allowing every muscle, tendon, and bone beneath it to be seen clearly.

The areas exerting force were colored red, with the direction and intensity of the force also marked.

Yu Hong glanced at the words above the diagram: Basic Qi Training Exercise.

"Isn't this just running?" He carefully checked the details on the diagram and confirmed that it was indeed an extremely detailed running guide.

But he clearly remembered that during the strengthening, he had deliberately guided it toward Immortal Martial arts, internal energy, and similar directions.

At the time, he had thought that although the name was Advanced Physical Training Method, it would not matter if the direction deviated a little.

And this was the result?

Yu Hong furrowed his brows, exhaled, and patiently continued flipping through the pages.

The contents of the second page eased his frown somewhat.

The second page contained an internal-energy breathing diagram to accompany the running.

It was the same skinless bald man. Inside his body, red and blue arrows marked the rhythm, number, timing, and route of exhalation and inhalation.

Beside it was a note in small print explaining that while running, one needed to visualize a special pattern.

The pattern appeared on the third page.

Yu Hong flipped to the third page.

It was the Visualization Diagram.

It was a strange pattern resembling a puddle of black mud mixed with silver sand.

At a glance, Yu Hong felt slightly dizzy, as though his eyes were about to be sucked inside.

He did not dare look any longer, because small print below said: Do not view before the training period.

He turned the page again.

The last pages listed some herbal materials that needed to be taken in combination. Yu Hong examined them carefully and was surprised to find that all of them were commonly seen in the surrounding woods.

There were also precautions and warnings.

This training method was custom-designed according to the user's physique, mental state, environment, and other foundations. Anyone other than the intended user must not use it. Any consequences from attempting it will be your own responsibility.

"So intelligent?" Yu Hong felt more and more that the Black Mark was mysterious and powerful.

After closing the last page, he suddenly realized that this so-called Advanced Physical Training Method had only given him a diagram for jogging and training.

The rustling black insects were still pouring madly in through the doorway.

The noisy sounds pulled Yu Hong back from his thoughts.

He quickly set down the booklet and hurried to the fireplace to add firewood.

As he added wood, he carefully recalled the training method he had just read.

It doesn't say I have to run outdoors. Running in place indoors should work too. I'll try it inside first.

Unfortunately, the idea was good, but after only two minutes of running, his legs went weak and all his strength vanished.

He had eaten nothing and only drunk water, while the diarrhea had dehydrated him. His body had long since run out of replenishment and entered a state of weakness.

At that thought, Yu Hong quickly came to his senses. He suddenly remembered that he had not taken any medicine, and his diarrhea had not yet stopped.

He immediately shoved a piece of firewood into the fireplace, walked to the clump of soil he had dug up during the day, reached out, and touched it.

Strengthen Antidiarrheal Medicine. Direction: reduce side effects.

If this clump of soil truly had natural antidiarrheal effects, then the Black Mark should be able to strengthen it successfully.

But if it was useless to begin with, the Black Mark might once again show insufficient completeness and be unable to strengthen it.

This would also serve as a way to verify whether its effects were genuine.

Yu Hong stared at the soil without blinking and waited quietly.

Hiss.

Very soon, a thin black line flowed out from the Black Mark on the back of his hand and burrowed into the soil.

Immediately afterward, a familiar countdown appeared on the surface of the soil.

This time, against the soil that was already black, the countdown was no longer black. It was an eye-catching red.

"1 hour 51 minutes."

It worked!! Yu Hong's eyes lit up, and relief spread across his face.

Although he felt there had been no reason for Jenny to deceive him, only after seeing the result did he finally relax.

In this dangerous environment where medicine was scarce, being able to steadily produce enough Antidiarrheal Medicine would be a great boon both to him and to everyone else.

Strengthen Antidiarrheal Medicine? The Black Mark's cold, mechanical voice slowly rang out.

Yu Hong licked his cracked lips.

Yes!