Yu Hong's smile slowly faded.
He needed information—enough information about the Evil Shadow. If he could find that survivor who had escaped death, the person who had still managed to live after being attacked by the Withered Woman, perhaps he could obtain firsthand information.
Unfortunately, the town had already relocated. That person had probably left long ago.
Thinking of this, he chose not to strengthen anything. Instead, he stood up and paced around the Cave.
Before long, he suddenly stopped and walked to the main door, looking outside through the Viewing Window.
The woods at dusk were deathly silent.
White Mound Village, faintly outlined among the distant trees, was just as quiet.
As he gazed at the scenery outside,
Yu Hong suddenly thought of something. His brows had been slightly furrowed, but now his expression turned contemplative.
He pulled over the cover panel, his eyes falling on the strengthened Glowstone Wolf Tooth Mace.
The mace had originally been nothing more than an extremely crude Steel Nail Glowstone Rod. But now it had been perfected considerably. Of course, this thing had already been strengthened once, so a second strengthening was useless.
Therefore, he was not looking at the mace itself, but at the idea of placing Large Glowstone inside it.
Since a single piece of Large Glowstone isn't effective enough, what if I combine several pieces into one? Or even grind the Large Glowstone into powder, mix it into ink, and use it to draw advanced runes?
Could that strengthen the effect and shorten the time?
***More than ten kilometers from White Mound Village, White Stone Town.
On the long, winding central street, dry yellow leaves rolled across the ground in the wind, scraping out a rustling noise.
The flat gray concrete road was riddled with potholes and crisscrossed with cracks.
The storefronts lining both sides of the street had long since shut down.
The dim yellow sunlight divided the street into two halves—light and shadow.
Bang! Suddenly, the door of a shop was slammed open from within.
A burly, bearded man in gray sportswear stumbled out of the shop and sprinted toward the end of the street.
His head was drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with blood vessels, and one hand clutched a piece of Large Glowstone.
The jade-like color of the Large Glowstone was rapidly turning pale from top to bottom.
That meant it was being consumed at an astonishing rate.
"Don't—don't kill me! Don't come any closer!"
The man's emotions had already collapsed.
He cried out, and the lone voice made the street seem even more desolate.
"Please! Don't come any closer!"
He shouted through sobs as he staggered forward, glancing back from time to time with a terrified expression, as if something were chasing him from behind.
Yet there was clearly nothing behind him—only a quiet, empty street.
Thud.
Suddenly, the man lost his footing and fell to the ground.
A clear black handprint slowly emerged on his back.
The handprint was not large, as if a child had pressed it there. Yet it could now show through his clothes, appearing clearly on his coat as though it had been painted with ink.
Hiss.
In an instant, a large amount of black liquid rapidly seeped out from the handprint.
The liquid dyed the man's clothes black, then spread to both his arms and his face, staining them completely.
As his body darkened, the man's figure rapidly withered, as if all the moisture had been drained from him.
He struggled, muffled sobs and cries escaping his throat. But after only a few seconds, his cries vanished.
The man's entire body stopped moving as well, turning completely into a charred, dried corpse.
A gust of wind swept past.
The Dried Corpse abruptly vanished, leaving only a pile of clothes behind.
***The next day.
White Mound Village Post Office.
In the woods, in front of the stone building of the Post Office,
Jenny, Doctor Xu, Yu Hong, and Lao Yu had gathered together.
Jenny looked somewhat haggard, as if she had not rested well the previous night. Her eyes were also unfocused, as though she were lost in thought.
Doctor Xu held a strip of dried meat, biting into it from time to time with narrowed eyes.
Lao Yu was the one specifically responsible for raising lizards and making dried meat. He also looked far worse than before.
"Lao Yu, didn't you leave? Why did you come back?" Doctor Xu asked.
"I turned back halfway." Lao Yu shook his head. "Halfway there, they suddenly said they were going to confiscate half our supplies and that everyone had to pay up. Heh heh heh. If I hadn't remembered the way back, they really would have harvested me like a leek!" Lao Yu sneered.
He turned his head, and his eyes fell on Yu Hong.
"Young man, Jenny said you can get Large Glowstone? Are you sure you can obtain it steadily over the long term?"
"I can, though sometimes I need to rest." Yu Hong nodded. He had originally planned to take over Lao Yu's lizard-breeding Cave with Jenny, Doctor Xu, and the others.
After all, they needed a stable source of food. Before leaving, Lao Yu had already said that he would hand his breeding Cave over to whoever remained.
He had not expected Lao Yu to return so soon. Still, it was a good thing he had come back. Their own attempts at breeding lizards certainly would not be as good as having Lao Yu do it himself.
"That's all I needed to hear. Now that we have candles and Large Glowstone, as long as we're careful, there's a good chance we can survive in peace. Since everyone's gathered this time, I suggest we all move into the underground basement of the relocated Post Office. It's the sturdiest place, and the rooms are large and fully equipped. Living together will also let us look after one another," Lao Yu suggested.
"I have no objections. I've brought all the candle-making tools over, so I'll be responsible for supplying candles from now on. It isn't difficult to make them, anyway." Doctor Xu responded.
"I'll pass. I'm used to living alone." Yu Hong refused.
"Either way works for me." Jenny nodded.
"One fewer person is fine too. Then it's settled. Jenny will handle clothing, repairs, and modifications. I'll handle food. Yu Hong will handle Large Glowstone. Doctor Xu will be responsible for making candles and providing temporary medical care. From now on, it'll just be us here. We'd better watch out for one another and work hard," Lao Yu said, clearly having anticipated that Yu Hong would refuse.
"Any news about the Evil Shadow in town?" Yu Hong could not help asking.
Until he figured out how powerful that Evil Shadow was, his heart remained heavy. He always felt that something might happen.
"A little. They say it has something to do with the Black Handprint. If you see a Black Handprint in the wild, don't touch it under any circumstances. Stay far away." Lao Yu lowered his head and coughed several times.
"Anything else?" Jenny asked.
"Also, don't think about going into town to scavenge. Quite a few of the people who stayed behind went to town, and many of them died." Lao Yu gave a strange smile. "In this world, you take it one day at a time. Treasure every day you get."
After agreeing to meet again at the originally appointed time, the four returned to their respective residences.
Once Yu Hong confirmed that their food source was reasonably stable and their candle supply was also adequate, he felt considerably more at ease.
When he returned to the Cave, the floor was covered with Glowstone rune diagrams he had drawn.
They had all been drawn during his practice, though not with charcoal pencils—he had merely scribbled them out with stones.
Looking at the chaotic room, Yu Hong sighed. He knew there was still much to do.
After shortening the strengthening time for Large Glowstone, he had officially begun strengthening it the previous day.
Before knowing how much Large Glowstone it would take to dispel the Evil Shadow, he could only make as much of it as possible.
At the same time, he also had to explore new and more complete ways to resist the Evil Shadow.
He put a protein bar in his mouth, took off his shirt, and began practicing the Advanced Physical Training Method again.
After practicing for an hour, he found a hammer. He squatted down in a corner of the Cave and began grinding forcefully.
He had already smashed a piece of Original Glowstone into fragments. His main task now was to grind it fine enough.
If the effect of dispelling the Ghost Shadow comes from Glowstone and runes working together, then drawing runes directly with Glowstone powder should definitely work!
As Yu Hong ground the material, he kept thinking about whether there were any better methods.
After roughly half an hour, the Glowstone powder was ready.
He added a little carbon powder, poured it into a wooden bowl, then added water and stirred it into a standard batch of Glowstone Ink.
After succeeding, Yu Hong glanced out the window. Darkness was beginning to fall again.
Why does it feel like night is coming faster and faster? His brows drew together slightly. He walked over and pulled the cover panel over the Viewing Window.
Ever since the Ghost Shadow had frightened him once, he had never left the panel open while sleeping again.
After closing the panel, he did not light the fireplace this time. Instead, he lit a candle and placed it on a wooden stool.
Then he took a wooden sliver, dipped it in the Glowstone Ink, and carefully began drawing Large Glowstone runes on the stone wall beside the fireplace.
The stone wall was uneven, so he had used a chisel and hammer beforehand to carve a Large Glowstone rune the size of a washbasin into it.
Since he had already practiced thoroughly elsewhere, carving runes on the wall posed no difficulty for Yu Hong.
After all, the requirements were not high. A rough approximation was enough, and the rune was large. Compared to drawing on a small piece of Glowstone, it was far easier.
Yu Hong carefully wiped away the fine dust on the wall, then slowly filled the carved rune lines with Glowstone Ink.
The lines were very thin, so not much Glowstone Ink was needed.
After roughly ten minutes, the entire carved rune on the wall was complete.
Yu Hong took a step back and admired his masterpiece.
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, the main door was struck in a steady rhythm.
"Is anyone there?" an unfamiliar woman's voice came from outside. "It's almost dark. Could you let me in so I can hide for a while?"
"I heard something! There's someone inside, right?"
The voice outside continued.
Yu Hong's expression did not change, as if he had heard nothing. He glanced at the main door and saw the Large Glowstone behind it slowly yet firmly changing color from top to bottom.
He exhaled, pulled over the stool, and sat behind the door with his back against the side wall, quietly waiting and watching.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking continued without pause.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
At last, everything fell silent again.
The Large Glowstone behind the door had already been depleted by one-third.
Yu Hong quickly removed it and replaced it with a fully charged piece.
He used the Black Mark to recharge the Large Glowstone, then stood up and returned to the sleeping bag, lying on his back to rest.
The amount of Large Glowstone consumed determined how long it took to recover.
The Ghost Shadow that had knocked this time was not strong. It only needed two hours to fully recharge.
Yu Hong folded his hands behind his head and lay on his back beside the candle.
The greatest advantage of a candle over the fireplace was that it did not require adding firewood.
As for the light from the Atomic Lamp, according to what Jenny had told him, it could not dispel the Blood Tide Black Worms.
Only open flames could.
Fortunately, I only bought the Atomic Lamp to see what it would look like after strengthening. If I could directly strengthen it into something like an energy reactor... He began to fantasize.
As the days passed, he had long grown accustomed to living in this dangerous forest.
He had grown accustomed to falling asleep in a state where danger could appear at any moment.
Knock, knock, knock.
Late at night, candlelight swayed.
A burst of knocking jolted Yu Hong awake from his sleep.
He glanced at the panel covering the main door. It was still pitch-black outside, so he knew it was another Ghost Shadow. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, got up, and picked up the small pot used for boiling water, drinking deeply to replenish his fluids.
After finishing the water, he stood up and ignored the knocking, walking over to the Glowstone Ink rune he had drawn during the day.
The washbasin-sized carved rune had already dried completely.
The recharged Large Glowstone on the floor below had also been restored to its original state by the Black Mark.
Yu Hong paid no attention to the Large Glowstone. Instead, he reached out and gently pressed his hand against the large rune on the wall.
This was his first attempt. If it succeeded, his utilization of Glowstone would be far, far higher than before.
Before you continue