Strengthening Two (Thank You, Immortal Exiled, Alliance Master Qitian)

Yu Hong planned to take the opportunity to test this value.

Immediately, he pressed on the Symbol Array, and a thought arose in his mind.

'Strengthen the Symbol Array, in the direction of: enhancing its effect, up to the limit.'

Instantly, black lines flowed out from the Black Mark, converging into the Symbol Array, and a clear countdown emerged.

'2 days, 13 hours, 09 minutes.'

So much!?? Yu Hong was shocked. He thought of the hour-plus countdown from just now.

Comparing that to these two-plus days.

He immediately understood that the extent of this enhancement could indeed be adjusted. But he needed to actively change it himself.

'Begin strengthening?' The Black Mark's cold, mechanical voice sounded in his ear at this moment.

Yu Hong took a deep breath, intending to give it a try.

'Yes!'

He replied affirmatively in his mind.

Chi! In an instant, the moment he replied.

The Symbol Array on the door flashed with a Jade Quality light.

Immediately afterward, Yu Hong's entire body's physical strength and spirit rapidly began to flow towards the back of his right hand, towards that mysterious and eerie Black Mark.

His whole body tensed, feeling as if the Black Mark was a vortex, a bottomless black hole, frantically devouring everything in his body.

Physical strength, spirit, even flesh and blood, seemed as if they were about to be completely absorbed.

Along with this terrifying absorption, he tried hard to struggle, to stop it, but it was useless.

All his strength was swallowed into the Black Mark.

'Wait!! I can still recover!!' Suddenly, Yu Hong abruptly reacted, hurriedly mobilizing the two wisps of cool energy he had cultivated in his lower abdomen.

This was a special trump card he had forged through the Advanced Physical Training Method.

With a thought.

The first wisp of cool energy moved rapidly, beginning to circulate back and forth throughout his body, revolving, restoring his almost completely depleted physical strength and spirit.

But it was still not enough. Yu Hong only felt that the physical strength and spirit he had just recovered were being continuously devoured by the Black Mark.

Soon, the first wisp of cool energy was exhausted, and he quickly mobilized the second wisp. Just as the second wisp of cool energy was about to be exhausted, the Black Mark seemed to have accurately calculated Yu Hong's limit and stopped just in time.

Everything returned to calm.

Huff! Huff! Huff!!

Yu Hong sat down on the ground with a thud, panting heavily.

He felt that he had almost been devoured and absorbed just now, turning into a part of the Black Mark.

'Is this the upper limit of the Black Mark's strengthening?'

He finally understood that the Black Mark likely consumed a small amount of his physical and mental energy on a daily basis, so he didn't feel much.

But this time, it was about strengthening to the maximum limit, which caused it to start devouring the required energy in large quantities.

Yu Hong looked at the Symbol Array behind the door, still in shock.

The countdown there finally started moving, which meant that the strengthening had officially begun.

'Next, I'll just wait patiently and see what it's like after the strengthening.'

Although it was dangerous just now, Yu Hong calmed down and became even more eager to see to what extent this Symbol Array could be strengthened.

After all, it had scared him quite a bit just now.

For two days, the Black Mark couldn't be strengthened, so Yu Hong honestly practiced the Advanced Physical Training Method every day.

That training method was basically a running method. The more he practiced, the more he felt his legs becoming more flexible, and his muscles seemed to be slowly growing stronger.

Early the next morning.

The sky was just beginning to dawn when Yu Hong set up a small pot, threw in Dried Mushrooms, wild grass, and a Protein Bar, added water, and began to boil a thick soup.

Above the Fireplace was a metal lid, which could be used to directly place the pot on for heating, without worrying about smoke seeping out.

Yu Hong stood by the fire, holding a spoon in one hand and adding firewood with the other, constantly stirring the pot.

The Protein Bar quickly melted and was crushed, dyeing the entire pot of soup milky white.

A rich, sweet fragrance slowly floated out, accompanied by the mushroom aroma.

In the milky white soup, grayish-white mushrooms and dark green wild vegetables occasionally protruded from the water's surface as the stirring spoon moved.

But Yu Hong's expression remained unchanged as he silently stirred.

After waiting for a while, he put the lid on the pot.

This thick soup smells fragrant, but the taste is hard to describe. Moreover, drinking this every day, eating dozens of meals in a row, even the most delicious thing will make you want to vomit.

While the soup was simmering, Yu Hong sat down, leaned against the Fireplace, and began to play with the Handgun he had just obtained.

After gesturing with the Handgun, he found that this gun seemed different from the ones he had seen on TV before.

The safety of the gun was not on the back, but on the side. And it also came with a simple sight, which was just a small circle lens with a red crosshair.

A line of text was engraved on the side: Aurora Manufacture.

'Only one bullet means that the production of gun bullets has likely been severely restricted, possibly due to a problem with the production line, but more likely it's because something happened at the mine. After all, even povidone-iodine can be made, the difficulty of bullets should not be as high as this slightly complex chemical product.'

Yu Hong attached the Handgun, along with its holster, to his lower back. He had already loaded both bullets into one.

'I haven't used a gun before, and I don't know what the recoil is like. The best way to use it is to scare people. Avoid firing if you can, and if you have to, use it at close range to ensure accuracy.'

After doing this, he began to disassemble the Solar Power Generator he had bought from the Postman.

He planned to strengthen this thing before using it. As for the direction of strengthening... 'It's best to strengthen it in the direction of improving durability. Once this machine breaks, I won't be able to repair it, which means it will be scrapped. So, extending its lifespan as much as possible is the key.'

Soon, the soup in the small pot began to boil and steam.

Yu Hong came back to his senses, got up to cover the fire, and save firewood.

Then he took the small pot down, took out the twig chopsticks, and prepared to eat.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside.

The footsteps crushed twigs and leaves, approaching rapidly until they reached the entrance of the Mountain Cave.

Knock knock knock! "Yu Hong! Are you there? Something happened! Something happened to Lao Yu!!" It was Doctor Xu, her voice very urgent.

Yu Hong quickly got up, checked the large Glowstone behind the door, and confirmed that there was no consumption, immediately knowing that the other party was human.

"What did I exchange with you last time?" For safety's sake, he still had to verify the information.

"Iodine tincture! It's iodine tincture!"

Crack.

Yu Hong opened the door and saw Doctor Xu, her face full of sweat, her expression quite horrified.

She didn't even wear a coat, just a close-fitting light gray tracksuit, and rushed over.

"What exactly happened!?" Yu Hong asked in a deep voice.

"Something happened to Lao Yu! The door to his place is locked, and no matter how much we knock, there's no response. We suspect he's in trouble! I heard you bought a set of stone chiseling tools from the Post Office here..." Doctor Xu replied quickly.

"Got it, I'll bring them right away and go over together!" Yu Hong nodded quickly, "Wait a moment."

He pulled her into the door, closed it, to prevent the Eerie Shadow.

Then he quickly rummaged through the Mountain Cave for the stone chiseling tool set, picked up his favorite Glowstone Wolf Tooth Mace, stuffed a Protein Bar into his mouth, took his water bag, put on his stab-proof vest, put on his hood, and padded it with a thick layer of newspaper.

Finally, he thought about it and decided to bring the freshly prepared Glowstone Ink.

He was preparing in a hurry. Doctor Xu, who had just entered, looked around the strange Safe House Mountain Cave in a daze.

It was completely different from her Safe House.

The ground was covered with mysterious Symbol Array lines like those on the surface of Glowstone, which seemed to be white marks ground out of the stone. Some were incomplete, and some were relatively complete.

A huge Jade Quality Symbol Array on the wall attracted her attention.

For some reason, this Symbol Array gave her a gentle sense of security, making her feel very comfortable.

Besides that, what surprised and shocked her the most was the Fireplace.

This Fireplace was like it was made of crystal glass, integrated with the mountain rock wall, and the burning fire inside could be clearly seen, illuminating the Mountain Cave.

There was also a metal disc on the Fireplace, which could conduct heat for cooking.

This workmanship, this design... Doctor Xu compared it to the simple fire pile in her cave... and felt an unspeakable sadness in her heart.

Look at him, he can even make a fire to cook and drink hot water on rainy days.

As for herself, once she closes the door, there is insufficient ventilation, and she doesn't dare to make a fire to cook anything in the Safe House at all. Otherwise, before the food is cooked, she will be smoked to death first.

Looking at this warm and transparent Fireplace, the desire in Doctor Xu's eyes was like a stray dog ​​that had been hungry for ten days and a half months, seeing a piece of smoked meat that could fill its stomach.

The greed that made her want to pounce on it and move the entire Fireplace back home made even Yu Hong on the side feel a chill.

"Did you make this, Fireplace, yourself?" Doctor Xu couldn't help but ask. Even if something happened to Lao Yu, she couldn't suppress the desire in her heart.

"Well, I've been saving materials for a long time, and they can't be replicated. The main body isn't something I can make; I just stuffed it into the wall," Yu Hong quickly replied.

"That's great..." Doctor Xu's eyes were glued to the Fireplace; heaven knows how long it had been since she had slept soundly by a Fireplace.

Once night fell, after closing the door, she had to completely extinguish the fire, otherwise, she would inevitably suffocate herself in the house.

And the temperature was already starting to drop these days; the Mountain Cave was cold and damp at night, filled with the smell of mildew. But here, not only was there no mildew smell, but it was even as warm as spring. "Let's go. Didn't you say Lao Yu had an accident? We should go over there," Yu Hong urged from the side.

Only then did Doctor Xu reluctantly touch the Fireplace and turn to go out.

"Do you not need to put out the fire in your Fireplace?"

"No, the fire will go out by itself when the firewood is burned out. It can also dry the house," Yu Hong replied.

The two locked the door and quickly rushed towards the direction where the Post Office was located.

More than ten minutes later.

When the two arrived at the Post Office, Jenny and her daughter were already standing at the door of the stone house, holding something and testing everywhere.

The screen of that thing was red, flashing and showing a changing number.

Seeing Yu Hong and Doctor Xu arrive, Jenny's expression was grave, and she turned and walked closer.

"Something really happened; the red value inside has reached more than one hundred!"

"What does that mean?" Yu Hong asked.

"It means that there is something like an Eerie Shadow in the shelter under the Post Office," Jenny replied. "But the strange thing is, I checked, and the basement door and vents have not been opened. Lao Yu couldn't have not put Glowstone bags behind the door either."

"So we have to smash the door open and take a look! No matter what happened, Lao Yu has a lot of Dried Meat, Dried Mushroom, and the like, enough for us to eat for a long time; these must be rescued," Jenny said quickly.

"We also have to consider how to get food next. Lao Yu must have complete breeding notes and tools there," Doctor Xu added.

"Don't tell me we have to smash the door open and go down there?" Jenny's daughter, Eve, couldn't help but interject. "It must be dangerous inside; I'm not going. Whoever wants to go can go; anyway, I'm not going!"

Her expression changed slightly, and she took a step back, with an expression that had nothing to do with her.