An hour and fifty-one minutes, or two hours, was not a long time for Yu Hong.
He added firewood while waiting patiently.
Unconsciously, he noticed that the number of black insects outside had decreased, and light was gently shining through the ventilation holes.
Dawn had arrived.
He slowly walked to the back of the door and opened the viewing window.
Outside, the forest was shrouded in a hazy gray mist, everything appearing unclear.
The sunlight illuminated the fog, turning everything into shades of gray and white.
Suddenly, a choking smell wafted into Yu Hong's nose, causing him to step back and frown slightly.
He glanced back at the enhanced drug, noting that there were still a few minutes left.
There was no need to be in a hurry; he sat quietly, waiting.
Before long, the numbers on the surface of the black soil directly returned to zero.
Its whole body twisted and blurred for less than a second before quickly regaining clarity.
As it cleared, the original soil transformed into six black capsules arranged neatly.
The back of the capsules bore words: Anti-diarrheal medication, usage: One capsule at a time, once a day.
Side effects: Abdominal pain, constipation, gastrointestinal discomfort.
Yu Hong's expression brightened, and he dashed over to pick up the medicine.
He popped one into his mouth and washed it down with some previously filtered cool water.
After taking the medicine, he felt a wave of calm wash over him.
The reinforcing power of the black mark had never failed.
Since it had marked the capsules as anti-diarrheal, there could be no mistake.
With the medicine taken and not yet effective, Yu Hong found himself with nothing to do, so he picked up some tools and began crafting a new water filter cup from leftover wood.
As long as it was rudimentary, the reinforcement would perfect it.
He even grabbed a protein bar and stuffed it into his mouth.
This thing claimed to replace a full day’s worth of nutrition, so he planned to give it a try.
While sawing away at the wood, he casually turned on the radio.
The station had been set up previously and had not been touched.
As soon as he turned it on, voices emerged, engaging in a conversation.
"The significant disaster in Youyun City over the past two years is not an isolated incident. According to our reporters' statistics, since the emergence of the Black Catastrophe, various unusual disasters have been on the rise nationwide. The casualties caused by the Specters and Blood Tide creatures have actually been relatively low; they initially caused more damage, but in a stabilized environment, the real surge in casualties is attributed to the more dangerous Malevolent Shadows."
"Malevolent Shadows are not afraid of ordinary Radiant Stones, move at incredible speeds, and possess strong contagious properties. Though they appear infrequently—rarely making an appearance—once they show up, the harm they cause far surpasses the previous two."
"The disaster in Youyun has resulted in over 600 casualties, making it comparable to the initial case in Char Town during the incident in Frickar."
"Professor Han, do you have any advice you can give us?" asked the radio host.
"Advice? There is only one: try to relocate to larger Hope City outposts. They have more advanced weapons and stronger defenses. One person cannot hope to find a method to combat Malevolent Shadows alone. Thank you."
"By the way, you mentioned that the Silver Tower Joint Research Institute is about to release a survival manual for dealing with Blood Tide and Specters. Is that true?" the host inquired.
"Yes, I’ve heard about this. Whether it’s genuine or not, I'm unclear. However, the external environment is worsening, and both Blood Tide and Specters are increasing, with nights growing longer, making the demand for lighting greater. I personally believe that the Silver Tower has the obligation and responsibility to release such a manual."
“One last question. A listener asked: In crowded gathering places, if danger arises, many lives are at stake and the chance of being affected increases. Just like the event in Bokefu a year ago, or the music box incident five months ago, both led to massive casualties. Moreover, there are more untold events occurring in various corners. What are your views on such concerns?”
"I must warn about these incidents, which upon investigation appear to be caused by Malevolent Shadows. Their high contagiousness allows them to spread rapidly through anyone who comes into contact with their medium. This is key to the large number of casualties. As for Malevolent Shadows, we currently only have isolation and dispersal tactics for their points of emergence, and no effective means to dispel them."
"What about high-concentration Radiant Stone bombs?"
"That won’t work. The dangerous aspect of Malevolent Shadows compared to Specters is that once dispersed, they can recover extremely quickly without sustaining damage. Therefore, when encountering them, one must leave at once. With the increasing number of Malevolent Shadow incidents outside, Hope Cities are tightening their checks on enterers, so I advise survivors outside to quickly enter the city bunkers, or else they may face difficulties with entry and lack of resources."
After this, the broadcast ended with closing remarks, and the professor left the studio with gratitude expressed by the host.
The show came to a close, replaced by soft music.
Yu Hong sat on his stool, momentarily entranced by what he had heard.
He hadn't expected that the seemingly safe Hope City outposts also faced such great dangers.
"Indeed, the more people there are, the more risks there are too. If I were a Specter, I’d also go where people gather to hunt."
Returning to his thoughts, he let out a quiet sigh.
He stood up, placed a rough wooden cup on the ground, and, as usual, wrapped some charcoal in cloth to seal the cup's opening.
Finally, he pressed down and began reinforcing it.
A countdown timer appeared: 3 hours 02 minutes.
"Eh? Why has the time increased?" Yu Hong recalled that the last reinforcement only took two and a half hours.
He examined his newly crafted cup, noting that the craftsmanship was quite crude, simply carved out from a block of wood with rough edges, with a badly chiseled hole in the center.
It was far inferior to the first cup he had crafted carefully.
"Could it be that the craftsmanship affected the time?" he pondered, harboring suspicions.
He made a mental note of this.
After resting for a while and feeling somewhat better, he began reinforcing the water filter cup.
Then he tidied the space, disposed of waste, changed into a new set of clothes, and went outside to gather firewood and fetch water from puddles.
After a series of tasks, three hours passed in the blink of an eye.
The cup had been reinforced; it was no different from the previous one.
He picked it up and tested it, finding that the effect was indeed good.
This day, he didn’t roam aimlessly, instead staying close to the cave and gathering firewood.
Though the dry wood was somewhat wet from the rain, it would still serve well for small crafts.
Another three hours passed, and Yu Hong managed to create another water filter cup.
With the two he now had, he paused, deciding not to continue but rather to pick up his toolset.
The set was put together by Little Stammer, containing a saw, axe, chisel, shovel, screwdriver, and more—quite a comprehensive collection.
Yu Hong planned to reinforce it properly for ease of use in the future, as waiting for it to break down before reinforcing would be troublesome.
It might turn into a repair job.
Inside the cave, he placed all the tools together, wrapped them in a rag, and pressed his hand upon the fabric.
"Reinforce toolset, goal: durability enhancement."
With a hiss, the black line flashed briefly.
A countdown appeared on the cloth: 1 hour 12 minutes.
It was a short interval.
Yu Hong withdrew his hand, pondering.
"It seems this reinforcement is closely linked to my requests. The more difficult the requirements, the greater the span, making the time longer. Additionally, there’s a need for completeness—I just wonder how much is the minimum completeness required."
He estimated in his mind and found a spot to sit and rest.
The anti-diarrheal medication worked wonders; in six hours, he hadn’t had to relieve himself once, and his body felt fine.
He decided to save the remaining medication for future use, but should a critical moment arise, it could also be used for trading.
Feeling better, Yu Hong finally went outside in the afternoon to familiarize himself with the surroundings before returning to the safe house to take a nap ahead of time.
Unable to sleep at night, he intended to follow a high-level physical training regimen to strengthen his body.
Before resting, he intended to make good use of the reinforcing duration of the black mark, not allowing it to sit idle.
Thus, he first checked the condition of the toolset.
Upon reaching the corner, Yu Hong was stunned.
In the corner, all the once-tattered tools were now fixed in place by a black metallic rack.
Each tool looked entirely new, devoid of previous damage.
Moreover, the surfaces of the tools seemed to have acquired a layer of dark gray unknown substance, their thickness increased, making them appear far sturdier.
"Wow, impressive effect in just an hour," Yu Hong marvelled, reaching for a saw.
The saw's serrated edges, which had been damaged before, were now perfectly intact.
Furthermore, the sharpness was significantly better than before.
Feeling another wave of admiration, Yu Hong began searching for his next reinforcement target.
At present, food, water, and tools were all secure in the cave; only the sleeping area needed enhancement.
His gaze landed on a thick, musty cotton quilt.
"This reinforcement should also clean it. Let’s see if I can make it mold-resistant, lighter, and easier to wash."
With this thought, he approached the gray-white quilt that Little Stammer had given him, knelt down, and extended his hand.
"Reinforce bedding, goal: mold resistance, pest repellent, lighter for easier washing."
He envisioned his requirements in his mind.
The black line shot from the mark on his hand and quickly penetrated the quilt.
A countdown timer appeared: 10 hours 14 minutes.
"Such a long duration?!" Yu Hong was taken aback for a moment.
Then he thought better of it; his requirements might have been a bit excessive, plus the larger size of the bedding could be the reason for this.
Ten hours—from now until dawn—was worth the wait!
He assured himself and quickly confirmed the inquiry of the black mark.
Suddenly, the black countdown on the quilt began to flow.
As flames began to rise, Yu Hong started jogging in place within the cave, initiating his exercise regimen.
He maintained awareness of his breathing, focused his mind, and coordinated his muscle exertion.
Coordinating the three was still quite challenging.
He continuously practiced and repeated, occasionally pausing to add firewood, as time flowed steadily.
Slowly, in the latter part of the night, he began to find a rhythm in the coordination.
While jogging, he gradually heard faint sounds of flowing water nearby.
At first, the sound was very soft.
As time progressed, the sound slowly grew louder and louder.
Even the influx of black insects outside couldn’t drown out this sound.
(End of this chapter)