Yu Hong planned to take this opportunity to test the value.
Immediately, he pressed his hand against the talisman array, and a thought rose in his mind.
Strengthen the talisman array. Direction: strengthen its effect to the upper limit.
At once, black lines flowed out of the Black Mark and poured into the talisman array. A clear countdown appeared.
2 days, 13 hours, 09 minutes.
That much!?? Yu Hong's heart jolted. He thought of the more than one hour of countdown he'd just spent.
Then he compared it to these two-plus days.
He immediately understood. The extent of the strengthening could indeed be adjusted, but he had to change it himself.
Begin strengthening? The Black Mark's cold mechanical voice rang in his ear.
Yu Hong drew a deep breath, intending to give it a try.
Yes!
He replied with certainty in his heart.
Hiss! In the instant after he answered, a trace of jade-like light flashed across the talisman array on the door.
Immediately afterward, all the strength and spirit in Yu Hong's body began rapidly flowing toward the back of his right hand, toward that mysterious and sinister Black Mark.
His entire body tensed. The Black Mark felt like a vortex, a bottomless black hole, crazily devouring everything within him.
His strength, spirit, and even flesh and blood seemed to be sucked dry by it.
As this terrifying absorption continued, he struggled desperately, trying to stop it, but it was completely useless.
All his strength was swallowed by the Black Mark.
Wait!! I can still recover! Yu Hong suddenly reacted and hurriedly circulated the two strands of Cooling Qi he had cultivated in his lower abdomen.
This was the special trump card he had forged through the Advanced Physical Training Method.
Guided by his thoughts, the first strand of Cooling Qi swiftly stirred and began circulating throughout his body, restoring his strength and spirit, which were on the verge of being exhausted.
But it still wasn't enough. Yu Hong could only feel the strength and spirit he had just recovered continuously being devoured by the Black Mark again.
Soon, the first strand of Cooling Qi was depleted, and he hurriedly mobilized the second. When the second strand was also nearly exhausted, the Black Mark seemed to have calculated Yu Hong's limit and stopped at exactly the right moment.
Everything returned to calm.
Huff! Huff! Huff!!
Yu Hong dropped heavily onto the floor and gasped for breath.
He felt that he had nearly been swallowed and absorbed, becoming part of the Black Mark.
Is this the upper limit of the Black Mark's strengthening?
He finally understood. Normally, the Black Mark probably only consumed a small amount of his strength and spirit, so he felt nothing.
But this time, it was strengthening the array to its absolute limit, causing it to begin devouring a massive amount of energy.
Still shaken, Yu Hong looked toward the talisman array behind the door.
The countdown there had finally begun moving. This meant the strengthening had officially started.
Next, I'll just wait honestly and see what it becomes after the strengthening.
Although it had been perilous just now, once Yu Hong settled down, he instead grew even more expectant about how far this talisman array could be strengthened.
After all, it had scared him half to death.
For the next two days, while the Black Mark was unable to strengthen anything, Yu Hong diligently practiced the training method each day.
That training method was essentially a running technique. The more he practiced, the more he felt his legs growing flexible, while his muscles seemed to slowly become stronger as well.
Early the next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, Yu Hong set up a small pot and threw in dried mushrooms, wild greens, and a protein bar. He added water and began simmering a thick soup.
There was a metal cover above the stove. He could place the pot directly on it to heat it without worrying about smoke leaking out.
Yu Hong stood beside the fire, holding a spoon in one hand and adding firewood with the other as he stirred the pot continuously.
The protein bar quickly melted and dissolved, dyeing the entire pot of soup a milky white.
A rich, sweet fragrance slowly drifted out alongside the aroma of mushrooms.
Within the milky-white broth, grayish-white mushrooms and dark-green wild vegetables occasionally rose above the surface with each stir of the spoon.
But Yu Hong's expression did not change as he silently continued stirring.
After waiting a while, he covered the pot with its lid.
The thick soup smelled fragrant, but its taste was hard to describe. Drinking it every day, for dozens of meals in a row, would make even the most delicious food nauseating.
While the soup simmered, Yu Hong sat down beside the stove and began fiddling with the Pistol he had just obtained.
After holding it up and examining it, he discovered that it seemed different from the guns he had seen on television in the past.
The safety was not at the back but on the side. It also came with a simple sight: a small circular lens marked with a red crosshair.
A line of text was engraved on the side: Aurora Manufacture.
There is only one bullet. That means the production of firearm ammunition has probably been severely restricted on a large scale. The production line may have run into trouble, but more likely, something happened at the mines. After all, if they can make Iodophor, producing bullets should be less difficult than making a slightly complicated Chemical Product.
Yu Hong fastened one gun, holster and all, to the small of his back. He had already loaded both bullets into it.
I've never used a gun, and I don't know how bad the recoil is. The best way to use it is to scare people. If I can avoid drawing it, I should. If I'm forced to use it, I should do so at close range to guarantee accuracy.
After finishing this, he began dismantling the Solar Power Generator he had bought from the Mailman.
He planned to use it only after strengthening it. As for the direction of the strengthening, it would be best to strengthen it toward increased durability. Once a machine like this breaks, I can't repair it, which means it would be completely scrapped. So extending its service life as much as possible is the core priority.
Soon, the soup in the small pot began boiling and releasing steam.
Yu Hong came back to himself, stood up, and covered the fire to save firewood.
Then he carried the pot down, took out a pair of twig chopsticks, and prepared to eat.
Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside.
The footsteps crushed branches and leaves as they rapidly approached, finally reaching the entrance to the Cave.
Bang, bang, bang! "Yu Hong! Are you there? Something happened! Something happened to Lao Yu!!" It was Doctor Xu, her voice frantic.
Yu Hong quickly stood up and checked the Large Glowstone behind the door. Seeing that it had not been consumed at all, he immediately knew she was human.
"What did I exchange with you last time?" For the sake of safety, he still had to verify their information.
"Iodophor! It was Iodophor!"
Click.
Yu Hong opened the door and saw Doctor Xu, her face drenched in sweat and her expression terrified.
She had not even put on a coat. Wearing only a close-fitting light-gray tracksuit, she had hurried over.
"What exactly happened?" Yu Hong asked in a low voice.
"Something happened to Lao Yu! The door to where he lives is locked, and there's no response no matter how much we knock. We suspect he's run into trouble! I heard you bought a stone-cutting tool set from the Post Office." Doctor Xu replied rapidly.
"Got it. I'll bring it and go over with you!" Yu Hong nodded quickly. "Wait a moment."
He pulled her inside, shut the door, and thus prevented the Ghost Shadow from getting in.
Then he quickly rummaged through the Cave and found the stone-cutting tool set. He casually picked up his beloved Glowstone Wolf Tooth Mace, stuffed a protein bar into his mouth, brought his waterskin, put on the Anti-Stab Suit, and donned his hood, padding the inside with a thick layer of newspaper.
Finally, after thinking it over, he also brought the Glowstone Ink he had just prepared.
While he hurriedly made his preparations, Doctor Xu, who had just entered, stared in bewilderment at this strange Safe House Cave.
It was completely different from her Safe House.
The ground was covered in mysterious lines and patterns like those on the surface of Glowstone. They looked like white marks ground into the floor with stones; some were incomplete, while others were fairly intact.
A huge jade-like talisman array on the wall caught her attention.
For some reason, the array gave her a gentle sense of security that made her feel very comfortable.
Besides that, what surprised and shocked her most was the Stove.
The Stove looked as though it had been made from crystal glass, blending seamlessly into the stone walls. The firelight burning inside shone clearly through, illuminating the Cave.
There was also a metal disk on top of the Stove that conducted heat for cooking.
The workmanship and the design. When Doctor Xu compared it with the crude fire pit in her own underground shelter, an indescribable bitterness welled up in her heart.
Look at him. He could even light a fire to cook and boil hot water on rainy days.
As for her, once she shut the door, the lack of ventilation meant she did not dare light a fire inside her Safe House at all. Otherwise, before the food could finish cooking, she would be smoked to death first.
Looking at the warm, transparent Stove, the longing in Doctor Xu's eyes was like that of a starving wild dog that had gone ten days or half a month without food and suddenly spotted a piece of smoked meat.
The greed that made her want to pounce on it and carry the whole Stove home made even Yu Hong feel a chill.
"Did you make this Stove yourself?" Doctor Xu could not help asking. Even Lao Yu's predicament could not suppress the yearning in her heart.
"Mm. I saved up the materials for a long time, but I can't replicate it. I couldn't make the main body myself; I only put it into the wall." Yu Hong answered quickly.
"It's wonderful." Doctor Xu's eyes were nailed to the Stove. Heaven knew how long it had been since she had been able to sleep peacefully beside a fire.
Once night fell and she shut the door, she had to extinguish the fire completely. Otherwise, she would inevitably smoke herself to death inside the room.
And now, the temperature had already begun to fall. The underground shelter was cold and damp at night, with the smell of mold everywhere. This place, however, not only had no moldy smell at all, it was even warm as spring. "Let's go. Didn't you say something happened to Lao Yu? We should head over." Yu Hong urged her from the side.
Only then did Doctor Xu reluctantly stroke the Stove before turning and leaving.
"Don't you have to put out the fire in this Stove?"
"No need. Once the firewood burns out, it extinguishes itself. It can also dry the room." Yu Hong replied.
The two of them locked the door from the inside and hurried toward the area where the Post Office was located.
More than ten minutes later, when they reached the Post Office, Jenny and her daughter were already standing outside the Stone House, holding something and checking all around.
The device's screen was red. It flashed continuously, displaying a changing number.
When Jenny saw Yu Hong and Doctor Xu arrive, her expression grew solemn as she turned and approached them.
"Something definitely happened. The red value inside has already reached a positive hundred and more!"
"What does that represent?" Yu Hong asked.
"It means there's an existence similar to a Ghost Shadow in the shelter beneath the Post Office," Jenny replied. "But the strange thing is, I checked, and neither the basement door nor the ventilation openings have been opened. Lao Yu couldn't possibly have failed to place Glowstone bags behind the door either."
"So we have to smash the door open and take a look! Whatever happened, Lao Yu still has plenty of dried meat, dried mushrooms, and the like. There's enough for all of us to eat for a long time. We have to salvage it." Jenny spoke quickly.
"We also have to consider how we'll get food from now on. Lao Yu definitely has detailed breeding notes and tools," Doctor Xu added.
"Are you saying we have to smash open the door and go inside?" Eve, Jenny's daughter, could not help interrupting. "It's definitely dangerous inside. I'm not going. Whoever wants to go can go, but I'm not going!"
Her expression shifted slightly as she took a step back, wearing an expression that said this had nothing to do with her.
Before you continue