Night of Despair

Chapter 99: Power One

With the wooden door opening,

Yu Hong, clad in his ponderous fortified polar bear suit, walked out from within.

“Old Li, what’s so urgent you couldn’t discuss over the communicator? Had to make a trip here?” He frowned and glanced at the two people behind Li Rushan.

“I’m short on talisman arrays for the secret chambers on my end. Can you arrange to get me more here? The compensation will be generous!” Li Rushan quickly said.

“How many do you need?”

“At least thirty.”

...

“…I can’t produce that many in a short time; you’ll need to wait four days,” Yu Hong shook his head, “Besides the twenty-two I can spare for you, my own needs included, ordinary luminous stones can also be used to construct secret chambers. Why don’t you go to the mining area?”

“A squad went there and never came back.” The second person behind Li Rushan spoke up, “May we inquire if Mr. Yu has any special items that can avoid the Multi-eyed Birds? If so, we are willing to purchase them at a high price!”

“Special items? Multi-eyed Birds?” A slight astonishment flickered across Yu Hong’s face beneath his helmet.

“You must be aware that the squad we’re protecting consists of the United Forces high command’s families. If we could lend a hand in their time of need, the benefits we’d receive later on would far exceed the minor contributions of the moment,” he continued. “We can obtain all sorts of weapons, equipment, and supplies with a mere adjustment within the United Forces.” @@novelbin@@

“Very tempting terms…” Yu Hong was indeed intrigued; had he possessed such items, he certainly would have been willing to trade.

“But I don’t have anything of the sort… Too bad.”

“Do you not trust us?” The second person persisted. “At this point, the VIPs in the squad are our last lifeline. If something happens to them, the superiors would be so enraged that not only would the rescue team not come for us, but we would also be cleansing with remote devices and monsters. Perhaps Mr. Yu is unaware of the current disposition of the United Forces’ high-ranking officers. To them, human lives are mere numbers…If we fail to protect those of importance, every single one of us present will have to die.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Yu Hong retorted in disbelief. “I’m not part of your squad, so even if they’re furious, they wouldn’t come looking for me.”

“The higher-ups won’t bother investigating these details—our lives aren’t worth enough for the rescue team to risk journeying this far for us. And since you stand by without helping, you’ll naturally be implicated as well. At the end of the day, we’re all grasshoppers on the same rope here,” the second person stated gravely.

“Heh… What’s your name?” Yu Hong laughed at the man’s presumptuous arguments.

“Ge Shenghao. Does Mr. Yu think it’s unbelievable?” Ge Shenghao responded coolly. “I won’t deny that we want to live too. Now that we know you have a way to avoid the Multi-eyed Birds, what do you think we’ll do? Just sit here and wait for death? Or… make some other possible choices?”

Yu Hong fell silent.

This was… a veiled threat…

He looked at Li Rushan, who shook his head subtly at him, signaling to just go along with it.

Yu Hong, too, was reluctant to fall out with the rescue squad; if they really did come, he had numerous items he needed to trade. If he completely turned against the officials, many items would then be unobtainable from the postal service.

“I would really like to cooperate with you, but unfortunately… I truly don’t have any method to evade the Multi-eyed Birds,” Yu Hong spoke again.

His words made Ge Shenghao and the other person tense up, clearly not expecting him to respond in the same manner.

The third person’s expression turned icy, and they moved to draw their gun, but Ge Shenghao stopped them with one hand.

“…Now that things have come to this, it seems Mr. Yu truly has no solution. Since that’s the case, let’s not dwell on it. You should be able to provide more talisman arrays or Large Pyroxene Stones, right?”

“What will you offer in exchange?” Yu Hong asked.

“We have plenty of clothing, equipment, bedding, and we even have diesel, gasoline, and medical supplies. What do you need?” Ge Shenghao asked in return.

Yu Hong pondered for a moment; this group indeed had a wealth of items, not surprising since they escaped from a supply team.

“Do you have an oxygen generator?” he quickly thought of something he might need.

“Of course, we have oxygen generators. In this era, they’re essential within underground shelters. However, it’s not the machines that are vital, but the continuous supply of materials for oxygen production. Currently, the common type is the electrolysis oxygen generator, which needs a steady supply of electrolytes and a high-performance water filter. The water used in oxygen production must be pure to avoid damaging the equipment,” Ge Shenghao explained earnestly.

“So, the oxygen generator needs water, electricity, and electrolytes—these three things?” Yu Hong inquired, frowning.

“Not just that; given its high safety requirements, the hydrogen gas produced post-electrolysis can be highly flammable and explosive, so even if you get an oxygen generator, you must be aware of safety hazards,” Ge Shenghao answered.

“Just want that, how will we trade?” Yu Hong asked.

“We had quite a few before, but lost and damaged most of them on the road. We still have three left, and we can part with one for you. As for the electrolytes, we can give you ten jin, which should last you a rather long time. All this in exchange for thirty talisman arrays, is that fair enough?” Ge Shenghao offered.

“Twenty, I don’t have more,” Yu Hong shook his head.

“Deal,” Ge Shenghao did not insist, as the Multi-eyed Birds could reappear for an attack at any moment, and they had to complete the exchange quickly and return to the postal service’s underground chamber.

“Bring the machine first; I can give you the talisman arrays anytime,” Yu Hong continued.

“I’ll fetch it!” The third person, without another word, turned and left, quickly disappearing into the thin mist.

Seizing the moment, Yu Hong voiced the doubt that had just crossed his mind.

“May I ask, how did you repel the Multi-eyed Bird earlier?”

“Single-soldier automatic tracking micro-missiles, we fired five of them,” Ge Shenghao sighed.

“And still lost three people… The second and third squads are all gone,” Li Rushan lamented from the side. There had been too many deaths these last few days…

If he had died like a warrior in battle, he wouldn’t have felt so moved, but to be slaughtered alive without any power to resist…

“As far as I know, although the Multi-eyed Bird is strong, it shouldn’t be able to withstand missiles, right?” Yu Hong frowned as he spoke.

“It can be blown up, but because of the mist, by the time the Multi-eyed Bird is spotted, it’s already too close. It’s too late for missile lock-on, and at such a short distance, it’s impossible to even maneuver—the missile can only be fired straight,” Ge Shenghao replied. “And if it’s too close, firing wouldn’t kill the Multi-eyed Bird, it would blow up our own people.”

Yu Hong could imagine that predicament and also fell silent for a moment. Then he asked about the situation and condition of these people, making idle chat now and then.

Shortly after, the person who had gone to fetch the oxygen generator returned with two others, all holding something in their arms.

That was a box-shaped machine with a gray-white exterior, dragging a black power cord from its bottom and connected on one side to a plastic piece resembling a breathing valve, presumably for inhaling oxygen.

Apart from the machine, there was also a big bag of salt-like granules, packed in a plastic bag.

Without much ado, Yu Hong quickly went back to fetch twenty talisman arrays and placed them on the ground outside the courtyard.

The other side did the same, and both parties exchanged their items.

After receiving the talisman arrays, Ge Shenghao and his companion didn’t say much more, took their things, and left.

Li Rushan took an extra look at Yu Hong and gave him a look before following the others and departing.

Soon, the three figures disappeared into the mist.

Yu Hong didn’t understand what Li Rushan’s look meant, but he was too lazy to care too much and carried the oxygen generator back into the cave.

Just as he was about to close the door…

Suddenly, Qiu Yanxi’s voice came from behind.

“Mr. Yu, could you please help us find another place to hide… that strange bird from before… as long as it touches the house a little, we would all…”

The woman stood in the courtyard with her daughter, their expressions tearful.

“Wait a minute,” Yu Hong thought for a bit. Having the two of them staying right in the courtyard indeed posed a problem.

He went back inside to the safe house and looked at the two basements, one on each side of him. The newly created basement was closer to the outer wall.

‘If one of the basements is temporarily converted into a guest room, that would not be bad. It’s just the door that is problematic. I can’t strengthen both doors; that would severely delay the progress of the Black Mark.’

Qiu Yanxi and her daughter were still very important, as they were related to the energy issue.

After some thought, Yu Hong suddenly had an idea.

‘I can just dig out a small stone cave from the outside. It doesn’t need to be big, just enough for those two to hide and sleep in. There’s no need to meet my own standards.’

With that in mind, he quickly grabbed his tools, opened the door, and went outside.

Boom!!

He had taken only a couple of steps out and had just stepped outside the door.

A loud explosion came from the direction of the post office.

A blazing flame rose into the sky from that direction.

Yu Hong frowned deeply, worried about Li Rushan and Aisena, but given the distance and the possibility of the strange bird appearing, he didn’t dare to rush over rashly.

Standing at the entrance, he looked towards the direction of the flames for a while. Without lingering, he quickly began carving the shape of the cave he needed on an empty section of the mountainside.

Since the two only needed to sleep inside, Yu Hong dug a small rectangular hole, two meters deep, one meter wide, and one meter high. He used a rock as a door, only leaving a gap for ventilation.

With his current strength and endurance, the whole process took him just over ten minutes.

“If you don’t want to sleep in the wooden house, you can stay in here,” Yu Hong said, pointing to the hole he had dug.

“…,” Qiu Yanxi and her daughter were speechless as they looked at the hole, which, with a blanket of luminous stone, was barely enough for the two of them to squeeze in.

They hadn’t expected Yu Hong to come up with such a contraption.

Yu Hong didn’t care about their thoughts. After resolving the issue, he went back inside the safe house, picked up the reinforced pistol previously replenished, and refilled the bullets after the Black Mark enhancement.

The weapon had been of great help to him, but his old favorite, the Wolf Fang Club, seemed to be falling behind.

Inside the house, as Yu Hong listened to the continuous explosions from the direction of the post office, he lifted the Wolf Fang Club with one hand and recalled Li Rushan’s suggestion.

‘It is indeed time to strengthen the weapon… the Meteor Hammer, huh?’ A thoughtful expression crossed his face.

‘A simple Meteor Hammer isn’t practical, and I’m not skilled at using it. Against creatures like the Multi-eyed Bird, the best thing would be to grip it tightly after striking it once and then inflict more damage.’

‘What kind of weapon can achieve this?’ Quickly, an idea for a weapon with a special structure appeared in Yu Hong’s mind.

Glancing at the Vortex Rune, whose secrets he had just uncovered, he decided to start with strengthening the weapon first. The Multi-eyed Bird could reappear at any moment, and there were definitely more than one outside. If he didn’t quickly improve his ability to repel them, the Vortex Rune would be useless no matter how good it was.