Night of Despair

Chapter 85: Dim Grey

Startled, Yu Hong found a few large rocks that he had previously discovered and, with his fists, hammered them all into pieces to verify that his strength was indeed no illusion. Only then did he truly appreciate the exaggerated effect of the full-body enhancement granted by the Heavy Leg Skill.

Strength, explosive power, energy, stamina—he discovered after simple tests that all aspects had improved, some significantly, others less so, with the primary increases in strength and explosive power while the rest had only slightly increased.

But even so, that greatly improved his mood.

Soon, just before nightfall, he returned from the woods to the cave and, before he even approached, noticed a large, crudely cut white stone lying in a corner of the courtyard from afar.

He paused slightly, quickened his pace, entered the courtyard, and approached the stone.

The stone was almost as tall as he was, with a diameter of just over a meter, standing upright in a corner of the courtyard next to the steps leading to the entrance of the safehouse. There were clear footprints on the ground from when it had been carried over.

Yu Hong reached between the stone and the mountain wall to pull out a piece of paper with writing on it: “The promised luminous stone has been delivered—Xu.”

‘Xu Fan?’ Yu Hong’s mind instantly made the connection.

This guy was quite efficient. He said he would dig up luminous stone and, in no time, had delivered a large chunk. Such a piece would last him a long time.

Add to that the fact that the concentration of the Red Value in the courtyard’s luminous stone grass was not insignificant, so there was no worry about passersby shadows draining the pyroxene ore completely.

Having ascertained who had delivered the luminous stone, Yu Hong climbed the stone steps, opened the door, and returned inside the house.

There were only a few days left until the luminous stone grass array was successfully strengthened and completed. During this period, he decided to honestly stay in the safehouse and guard the array for the last few days.

That was what he thought, and that was what he did.

For the following days, Yu Hong honestly hid in the house, not even going to the post office, but merely adapting to the newly enhanced aspects of his physical condition.

Finally, the last day of the array arrived.

He stood by the door early in the morning, watching the countdown numbers on the ground, quietly waiting.

During the tedious waiting time, he occasionally looked up to gaze at the situation in Baiqiu Village in the distance.

‘The newcomers from Baiqiu Village before?’ Yu Hong was curious about how these people had survived these days.

The nights now were occasionally marred by flying Biters, which posed a greater danger than before.

In Baiqiu Village, one could vaguely see people coming and going, seemingly transporting something.

A raised stone wall had been built around the perimeter of the village, partially obscuring some houses inside.

‘Are these people fortifying the village? Are they planning to turn it into a fortress?’ Yu Hong wondered.

He practiced his skills while glancing at the array and the village during breaks.

The second layer of the Heavy Leg Skill required the accumulation of new Inner Qi. It was still nine stages, but having found the knack, Yu Hong increased his body’s load, which sped up the accumulation significantly.

He estimated in his mind that, given the current progress, he would be able to condense the first strand of Inner Qi for the second layer within a week.

‘The second layer’s Inner Qi is clearly harder to condense than the first, requiring much more. I estimate the effect of the Inner Qi burst will be much stronger. Using it as a reserve energy source for strengthening the Black Mark will definitely allow me to enhance even more things,’ Yu Hong thought with anticipation.

The outside world was too dangerous; his greatest wish now was to quickly make the safehouse self-sufficient.

Self-sufficiency had to first ensure fundamental security. Then came energy, water, food. So, the array he was enhancing was the beginning he had high hopes for.

While planning for the future in his head, he suddenly heard faint footsteps from not far in the woods.

The sound of shoes on dry leaves and branches was particularly grating this season. Not even the wind could mask these jarring noises.

Coming to his senses, Yu Hong looked towards the source of the sound.

He was standing outside the house, away from the radiation field, and his view was unobstructed by the courtyard wall. He quickly spotted the newcomer.

A short man in a black and gray long-sleeved hoodie, accompanied by one male and two females, was approaching.

The short man had dark skin and a resolute face, but his eyes betrayed a wistful sorrow. He seemed to be in his thirties, his gait was steady, giving off a cautious and methodical air.

The three behind him were different, all appearing to be under thirty, with a strong student vibe.

One of the young men, fair and handsome despite his dirty, sooty face, didn’t lose his distinctively soft demeanor.

The other two girls, one wearing a red short-sleeved T-shirt with jeans and a swinging high ponytail, had a cold demeanor, average looks, but a body featuring long legs and a perky behind, with a slender waist—a standard “back-view killer” from behind.

The other girl looked cute, with chubby cheeks painted with dimples, black double ponytails, flat-chested and short, giving off a petite and adorable vibe, very much in a two-dimensional style. It’s just that at this moment, the girl’s eyes were red, clearly having just cried.

When Yu Hong noticed them, the four people also spotted Yu Hong, and their eyes instantly lit up as if seeing a savior, and they quickened their pace towards him.

Soon the distance between them closed, and the four stopped ten meters away from Yu Hong. They stood there unarmed, seemingly not worried at all that Yu Hong, decked out in bulletproof gear, might harm them.

This particular sense of relaxation involuntarily made Yu Hong think of students who had just left school to enter society.

“Hello, may I ask if you are Mr. Yu, Yu Hong? We are the sports team from Wu Shan College that just settled here. We escaped from Yuhe and, to introduce myself, I am Song Mingshi, the instructor leading the team. Postman Li Rushan mentioned that we could exchange some Great Luminous Stone Arrays here; I wonder if that’s true?”

The short and sturdy man leading the team took a step forward and spoke very politely, with a very humble posture.

Song Mingshi?

Yu Hong sized up the man and noticed a large slingshot and a short forearm-length dagger at his waist. Glancing at the other three, they only carried sticks…

Clearly, this instructor Song Mingshi was the one responsible for combat in this small group.

And judging by this man’s movements, he wasn’t much stronger than an ordinary person; his actions did not have that instinctive control over strength that Old Li had when he moved.

A very dangerous group of people.

Yu Hong made his assessment. Of course, the danger he referred to was not that the group would be harmful, but that they were likely to encounter danger at any time.

After experiencing various dangers one after another, Yu Hong was very clear on how naive and vulnerable these people were.

“I am Yu Hong, I’m sorry, but the Great Luminous Stone and talisman arrays have a bit of an issue at the moment and are not for sale. Maybe in some time,” he calmly replied.

“Not for sale??” Song Mingshi froze, and it was even more evident on the faces of the three students behind him, showing varying degrees of unease.

“Mr. Yu, we were originally with the supply team, but then midway, the supply team had an accident, and everyone was forced to scatter. The two teachers, thirteen students, and I haven’t had a full meal in two days. Plus, with the shadow that keeps appearing around us, we truly need the luminous stones to help set up an isolation zone. Could you… perhaps spare us a little…” Song Mingshi pleaded.

“The supply team had an accident??” Yu Hong’s heart tightened, and his expression under the helmet turned solemn instantly. “Were they a supply team coming this way?” he asked quickly.

“Yes. Something unknown happened on the way, and most of the supply team disappeared all of a sudden. Without the guards and leader, everyone split the supplies and ran, not daring to stay with the vehicle fleet,” Song Mingshi said helplessly.

“When did this happen?” Yu Hong asked again, his expression becoming grave. Without the supply team, he and Old Li wouldn’t be able to replenish their food, and it looked like they’d have to rely on their own production. This meant that they must add more labor.

“About five days ago,” Song Mingshi replied.

“This is troubling…” Yu Hong exhaled. The Language Person crisis had just passed, and everything was beginning to settle down, but now there was another issue with the supply team…

“What exactly did Li Rushan tell you? How did he direct you to find me?” After a pause, Yu Hong asked again.

“Mr. Li took some silver dollars from us and gave us your address. If possible, I wonder if we can also exchange silver dollars for some food and medicine?” Song Mingshi revealed the real reason. This group being able to travel with the mountain supply team and now having persuaded Li Rushan was obviously because they had money.

No wonder these people were able to settle in Baiqiu Village and remain unscathed; clearly, they were loaded with supplies…

“We don’t need money; who knows when it will become worthless in these times. What else have you got to exchange? Let’s hear it.” Yu Hong asked casually. If they really needed something, he wouldn’t mind exchanging some items for it. After all, the Great Talisman Array would be strengthened and completed today.

“We brought some non-luminous mushroom spores newly researched by Silver Tower, called Pig’s Leg Mushrooms. We also have the latest models of water purifiers, repair tools, hand-cranked generators, and quilts,” Song Mingshi replied quickly.

“Anything else?” Yu Hong frowned.

“This… you don’t want these?” Song Mingshi asked somewhat helplessly. @@novelbin@@

“They’re useless for me. Also, how long do you plan to stay here? I definitely can’t provide enough food for so many people,” Yu Hong asked.

“… After resupplying, we plan to head to Baihe City. We’ve heard that quite a few refugees have gathered there.” Song Mingshi’s face became a bit more anxious when he realized that Yu Hong had no interest in what they had to offer. “In that case, we’re not in a rush for the Great Luminous Stone; if it’s really not possible, we’ll go to the mining area to dig for ordinary luminous stones. But what about anti-inflammatory drugs? We have several people in our group who have persistent fevers; I wonder if Mr. Yu could exchange some for us…”

“I can give you some medicine, one day’s dosage in exchange for five silver dollars per person; is that okay?” Yu Hong said gravely. He wasn’t a philanthropist; in such an environment, giving things away for free would only make others take you for a fool and keep trying to con you.

“You… that’s too…!” Song Mingshi’s face changed slightly, the price was too high, not even knowing the effectiveness of the medication, how long a course of treatment would take, or how soon it would be effective.

If it turned out to be very weak and needed a long-term intake…

“Moreover, I only have three portions right now, and I need to keep some for myself. I won’t have time to make more for now,” Yu Hong said unapologetically. “Take it or leave it.”

He realized these people completely misunderstood the situation; the importance of anti-inflammatory drugs at this time was simply immeasurable in silver dollars. In fact, silver dollars were worthless with the supply team unable to reach here.

In this isolated environment, a dose of anti-inflammatory drugs was literally a life saver; Yu Hong was willing to trade and was actually helping them.