Enhanced Four

At that moment, hearing Yu Hong introduce himself, the bearded man nodded as well.

"I'm Zhou Kaiming. Just call me Old Zhou. I know a little about everything, so come ask me if you need anything. The price is negotiable."

"Sure." Yu Hong nodded. After keeping his distance from the other man, his gaze fell on Li Runshan.

"Brother Li, what about the supply team?"

"They left. They've been gone for over half an hour." Li Runshan smiled. "They can travel through the night, you know. They arrived just after dawn."

Looking at Yu Hong's disappointed expression, a trace of slyness flashed across Li Runshan's smile.

"Don't worry. I remembered you mentioning last time that you needed a set of bulletproof armor, so I kept an eye out for one. I happened to get my hands on a Gray Lizard Set. It has everything—helmet, gloves, and boots included. Want it?"

"Hmm? Really?" Yu Hong asked in surprise.

"Of course it's real. What would I gain from lying to you?" Li Runshan nodded. "The price is twenty Silver Coins. Of course, if you don't have Silver Coins, you can pay with other hard currency. For example, those Large Glowstones of yours. They're pretty useful. I went to the mine a couple of days ago, and there were too many Ghost Shadows outside. I only managed to break through and get out thanks to your Large Glowstones. The only drawback is that they're consumed a little too quickly."

"That's for sure. But compared to the bagged ordinary Glowstones from before, where you had to carry a whole bag for one trip, isn't the amount much lighter?" Yu Hong laughed. He didn't care what the other man had gone to the mine for. As long as there was demand, there was room for an exchange.

"That's true, but you have to protect this technique properly. Turning ordinary Glowstones into Large Glowstones similar to Glowstone Marrow brings a substantial profit. If word gets out, plenty of people will want it. If you ever want to sell the technique, you can consider me first. I'll definitely offer you the highest price!" Li Runshan smiled.

"Indeed, a technique like this would bring in wealth by the cartload even in a small place. But Hope City also has similar synthesis and refining techniques. The refined Glowstones they produce are extremely pure." Old Zhou, who was standing nearby, couldn't help adding, "A friend I used to drink with once showed me some. He used to be a Patrol Captain in Aurora City, with dozens of people under him. The district he managed even had a refining plant like that."

"Can that really be compared? Xiao Yu can do it all by himself." Li Runshan shook his head. He then looked at Yu Hong again. "Enough about that. Want to take a look at the goods?" He turned and walked toward the house.

"Sure." Yu Hong nodded. Keeping his distance, he walked to the stone house's fence and stood there, just like Old Zhou.

"Speaking of bulletproof armor, I have a spare set. It's a little old and has been worn, but otherwise it's fine. It's also a Gray Lizard Set. Do you want it?" Old Zhou suddenly lowered his voice and asked.

"???" Yu Hong looked utterly bewildered. Before he could reply, he saw Li Runshan charge out of the stone house in a single stride.

"Old Zhou, what do you mean? Are you stealing my business?" The smile on his face slowly disappeared. He held a sturdy set of camouflage clothing, whose pattern differed from the ones they were wearing.

Their clothing was mainly dark green and black, while this set was mainly yellow and gray-black. It also came with a pair of boots, a helmet, and a face mask.

"My set is fully equipped and brand-new, with even a filtration mask included. It's much better than your old one." Li Runshan approached, picked up the set, and displayed its front and back to Yu Hong.

"Among the five bulletproof grades, the Gray Lizard Set is grade four, which puts it in the middle range. It offers extremely high protection against flying fragments and can stop most ordinary handgun bullets commonly found on the market. It also has high-strength ceramic plates, alloy plates, and other protective designs built in. It can even be used as an Anti-Stab Suit."

He gave a swift introduction.

"Of course, if you're shot at close range, what you need to worry about isn't whether it can stop the bullet, but whether the bullet's tremendous impact will break your bones or cause internal injuries."

"How much?" Yu Hong asked quickly. This set was indeed excellent. Once strengthened, it would definitely be far more effective than the Anti-Stab Suit he was wearing. He was already tempted.

"If you pay with Large Glowstones, I'll charge you fifty." Li Runshan held up one hand.

"Fifty!?" Yu Hong's expression shifted. He had guessed it would be expensive, but not this expensive. Unless he spent all his time making Large Glowstones, when would he ever produce fifty?

"I designed a Glowstone powder talisman array on a wooden board. Its effect is better than a Large Glowstone. Can I use it for the trade?" Yu Hong asked quickly.

"If it really works better than a Large Glowstone, then of course." Li Runshan's eyes lit up. What he liked most was dealing with research-oriented talents. People like that could always produce sudden surprises.

In his eyes, Yu Hong was exactly that kind of person. Moreover, Yu Hong's identity was definitely no ordinary one. Someone capable of producing those finely processed protein bars likely had an organization and power behind him, just like Li Runshan did. He might even be a researcher stationed here under a concealed identity.

Yu Hong quickly took out an ordinary talisman-array board and handed it over.

"This is a sample I carry with me. You can take it and test it. The trade can wait until tomorrow too."

"No problem." Li Runshan accepted the talisman-array board with a smile at the corners of his mouth, clearly in a very good mood.

Yu Hong had nothing else to do, so he bought some fresh mushrooms and returned to the Safe House Cave to train.

He trained, dug holes, and rested. By noon, the strengthened boots were finally complete.

Inside the cave.

A pair of brand-new black men's knee-high leather boots sat quietly on the wooden table before Yu Hong.

He reached out and picked them up, squeezing and tapping them here and there. Suddenly, there was a crisp snap.

Hiss! A black spike suddenly sprang from the sole of the boot, pointing forward near the toe.

The spike was triangular, with a blood groove running down its center. Its tip was razor-sharp, glinting with a faint, icy light.

Yu Hong nodded in satisfaction and pressed the switch. The spike retracted.

He placed the boots on the ground, took off his old boots, and put the new ones on.

Then he stood up and moved around a little.

They fit perfectly. There are even ventilation holes on the surface, so they aren't suitable for rainy days. But that's fine. I can just add a layer of cover.

Suddenly, he pressed his toes forward and down.

Hiss! Two spikes sprang out at once.

He pressed down with his toes again, pushing them against the ground, and the spikes slowly retracted.

Seeing this, Yu Hong smiled in satisfaction.

Next is the Gray Lizard Set. Once I get it and protect my whole body, I won't have to worry too much even about handguns.

Wearing the new boots, he left the cave and kicked the nearest large tree.

Hiss! The tree's surface was easily pierced, leaving a hole behind.

So sharp!

Yu Hong grew interested and began casually testing the spikes' power.

He kicked the ground, leaving a hole in it.

He kicked a rock, leaving a hole in the rock.

He kicked tree branches and leaves, and they were easily cut and severed.

Their sharpness and piercing power are both excellent. Now, let's try using Cooling Qi—in other words, inner energy—and see how much stronger they become after amplification.

With that thought, he returned to the cave and rested quietly. After two hours, when his two streams of Cooling Qi had recovered, he rose again and went outside wearing the Spiked Boots.

Standing before a large tree, Yu Hong gathered his mind and calmed his breath. He rooted both legs to the ground and stood motionless.

He circulated his energy.

He gathered his strength.

He kicked!

In an instant, Yu Hong's right leg shot out like a spring and slammed into the tree trunk.

Boom! The rough black-barked trunk exploded, sending large chunks of bark and wood flying.

It was completely different from his earlier kick. Before, the spike had merely pierced a hole. Now, after the spike stabbed in, it triggered a small-scale explosion.

Is this the power of Cooling Qi? Yu Hong pulled back his leg and carefully examined the spike.

Only after confirming that the spike's edge had not bent or been damaged did he relax.

"The power is tremendous. With a surprise attack, the opponent would be caught off guard and the outcome would basically be decided in one strike."

Standing in the open space, he began training his leg techniques again.

This time, he did not use Cooling Qi. Gradually, he vaguely sensed strands of warm current gathering from both legs and flowing upward through his entire body.

The traces of that warm current became even clearer when he visualized the training diagram. It seemed to be nourishing his entire body.

After practicing his leg techniques for a while, he began digging pits.

By nightfall, after eating dinner, Yu Hong leisurely sat down beside the fireplace to rest.

He picked up a bag of dried mushrooms and was just about to open it and chew them dry, treating it as a way to replenish trace elements.

Wait!

He suddenly remembered that he had never tried strengthening dried mushrooms to their limit.

Not only dried mushrooms—even dried wild vegetables and grass might be worth trying.

"I can try and see what they can be strengthened into at most."

The success of his leg techniques filled Yu Hong with expectations for the future.

He was about to use the Black Mark to strengthen the Gray Lizard Set, which would probably take a very long time. So he planned to find something with a shorter strengthening period.

He picked up a bag of dried mushrooms and opened it. Inside were Cattle Leg Mushrooms with black caps and yellow stems. A rich, oily fragrance drifted out, giving him a sense of comfort.

Yu Hong reached out and pressed his hand against the cloth bag of dried mushrooms.

Strengthen the dried mushrooms to their limit. Direction:

All kinds of lingzhi and spirit medicines flashed through Yu Hong's mind.

Strengthen the dried mushrooms? The Black Mark was surprisingly cooperative and didn't cut him off immediately.

But when Yu Hong glanced at the countdown that appeared, he saw:

12 days, 16 hours, 32 minutes.

His heart instantly turned cold. He hurriedly released the bag, switched to another item, and pressed his hand onto the dried wild vegetables.

Strengthen the wild vegetables to their limit. Direction: multivitamin supplementation.

This time, the Black Mark's feedback was still perfectly normal, and the countdown quickly appeared.

3 hours, 51 minutes.

"This amount of time is still manageable. I hope it can strengthen them into something useful."

He set down the bag of wild vegetables and took off his boots. A wave of foot odor immediately spread through the cave, making even him cover his nose.

"It would be great if I could strengthen my socks into something sweat-absorbing, deodorizing, and antibacterial later. Then I wouldn't have to worry about fungal infections or athlete's foot."

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Yu Hong returned to the bag of wild vegetables. Floating before his eyes was a square paper box only as long and wide as his palm.

Printed on the surface of the box were the words: Multivitamin Tablets (200 Tablets).

He picked up the box, and it immediately rattled as if it contained a great many pills.

He opened the box. Inside was a round wooden bottle.

He took out the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and poured out a tablet.

The tablet was dark green, covered with specks of white and black. It gave off a faint grassy fragrance.

Yu Hong picked up the bottle and examined the back. It read: Multivitamin Grass Tablets can replenish the fiber and various trace elements required by the human body, maintain the body's acid-base balance, lubricate the intestines and promote bowel movements, prevent and treat multiple vitamin deficiencies, and provide good therapeutic effects for osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly people. Note: Take one tablet at a time, once a day. This can meet the requirements of an adult male in a normal state.

This actually works? Yu Hong was speechless. If that was the case, wouldn't he have another product to sell? These two hundred grass tablets would be enough for one person to take for more than half a year!