Yuhong decided to take this opportunity to test the value he had discovered.
Without hesitation, he pressed his hand against the talisman array, letting a thought rise in his mind. 'Enhance the talisman array, aiming to strengthen its effect until the limit.'
Instantly, black lines flowed from the black imprint, merging into the talisman array, and a clear countdown appeared before him. '2 days 13 hours 09 minutes.'
So much!?
Yuhong was taken aback.
He recalled just having spent over an hour on a countdown earlier.
Comparing it to this over two days, he quickly understood that this strengthening level was indeed adjustable but required his active intervention.
'Do you wish to start the enhancement?' The cold, mechanical voice of the black imprint echoed in his ears.
Yuhong took a deep breath, fully intending to give it a try. 'Yes!' he affirmed in his heart.
Zzz!
In that instant, right after his reply, the talisman array at the door flashed with a jade-like glow.
Following that, all of Yuhong's strength and spirit swiftly began to flow into the back of his right hand, into that mysterious and strange black imprint.
He felt his entire body tense up, sensing that the black imprint was like a vortex, an endless black hole, madly swallowing everything about him.
His strength, spirit, even his very flesh felt like it was being drawn in.
Along with this terrifying absorption, he desperately tried to struggle, to stop it, but it was utterly futile.
All his strength was devoured by the black imprint.
'Wait!! I can recover!!' Suddenly, Yuhong realized, hastily summoning two strands of cool energy from his lower abdomen.
This was a special trump card he had crafted through advanced physical training.
With a focused thought, the first strand of cool energy began to rapidly circulate through his body, returning his nearly depleted strength and spirit.
Yet it was still not enough; Yuhong felt the little recovery he managed being incessantly drained by the black imprint.
Soon, the first strand of cool energy ran out, and without hesitation, he summoned the second.
Just as the second strand was about to run out, the black imprint seemed to have calculated his limit perfectly and finally stopped.
Suddenly, everything returned to calm.
Huff! Huff! HUFF!!
Yuhong plopped down onto the ground, breathing heavily.
He felt that he had almost been completely absorbed and transformed into a part of the black imprint. 'Is this the limit of enhancement for the black imprint?'
Finally, he understood that on normal days, the black imprint likely consumed only a small amount of his strength and spirit, which was why he hadn’t noticed it.
But this time, it was enhancing to the absolute limit, leading to a massive absorption of energy.
With his heart still racing, he looked at the talisman array behind the door.
The countdown had finally begun moving, meaning the enhancement had officially started.
'Next, I can only wait quietly to see what happens after the enhancement.'
Despite the recent scare, Yuhong settled down, even looking forward to how far this talisman array could be enhanced.
After all, he had just been deeply frightened a moment ago.
With two days time during which the black imprint couldn't enhance, Yuhong devoted himself to diligent practice of the exercise method each day.
The training method was essentially a running practice that made him increasingly aware of his legs becoming more flexible, and his muscles slowly growing stronger.
The next morning, just as the day was breaking, Yuhong set up a small pot, toss in some dried mushrooms, wild herbs, protein bars, and water to start cooking a hearty soup.
Above the fireplace was a metal lid that allowed him to place the pot on top for heating, without worrying about smoke escaping.
Yuhong stood by the fire, stirring the pot with one hand while adding firewood with the other.
Before long, the protein bars melted, and as he stirred, the entire pot of soup became a milky white.
A strong, sweet aroma gradually wafted out, mingling with the mushroom scent.
In the milky soup, grayish-white mushrooms and dark green wild vegetables occasionally bobbed up with the stirring spoon.
Yet Yuhong's expression remained unchanged as he continued stirring, waiting patiently.
After a while, he covered the pot.
While the soup smelled great, the taste was another story altogether.
Drinking this every day would lead to nausea, regardless of how delicious it was.
Taking advantage of the time while the soup simmered, Yuhong sat down, leaning against the fireplace, and began to fiddle with the handgun he had just received.
As he examined it, he realized that this gun seemed different from what he had seen on television before.
The safety was on the side rather than the back, and it had a simple sight on top, which was just a small circular lens with a red crosshair drawn on it.
On the side, a line of text was engraved: "Aurora Manufacturing."
'It has only one bullet, meaning that likely the production of gun ammunition has faced massive restrictions, possibly due to issues with the production line or perhaps problems at the mine.
After all, if they could make iodine, bullets should be less complicated than such a slightly intricate chemical product.'
Yuhong secured the handgun and holstered it at his lower back, having already loaded two bullets into it.
'I’ve never used a gun before and have no idea how strong the recoil is; the best application is to use it for intimidation.
If possible, I should avoid firing unless absolutely necessary, ensuring accuracy at close range.' After preparing, he began disassembling the solar generator he had purchased from the postman.
He intended to enhance this before using it, thinking about the direction of enhancement. 'It should definitely focus on improving durability.
Once this machine breaks down, I won’t be able to repair it, which means it would be wasted.
So extending its lifespan is crucial.'
Before long, the soup in the small pot began to boil, steam rising.
Snapped back to reality, Yuhong stood up to cover the fire, saving firewood.
He then lifted the small pot, grabbed a pair of twig chopsticks, and prepared to eat.
Suddenly, a hurried sound of footsteps approached from outside.
The footsteps cracked twigs and leaves as they quickly neared the cave entrance and soon arrived at the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Yuhong! Are you there? There’s trouble! Something happened to Old Yu!!" It was Doctor Xu, her voice filled with urgency.
Yuhong swiftly got up, checked the black marble behind the door, confirmed it hadn’t consumed anything, and instantly knew it was indeed a human.
"What did I exchange with you last time?" He had to clarify in consideration of safety.
"Iodine! It was iodine!"
Click.
Yuhong opened the door to see a sweaty Doctor Xu, her face expressing considerable fear.
She hadn’t even put on her coat, only donning a form-fitting light gray tracksuit as she dashed over.
"What’s going on!?" Yuhong asked in a serious tone.
"Something happened to Old Yu! His place is locked up tight; no matter how hard we knock, there’s no response. We suspect he’s in trouble! I heard that you bought a set of stone carving tools from the post office."
Doctor Xu quickly replied.
"I understand! I’ll grab my things and head over with you!" Yuhong nodded quickly, "Just hold on."
He pulled her into the cave, shutting the door to prevent any strange shadows from entering, then quickly rummaged through the cave for the stone carving tool set.
He also grabbed his beloved black stone wolf-tooth club, stuffed a protein bar into his mouth, filled his water pouch, donned his stab-proof attire, and put on a hood.
Finally, he decided to take along the recently concocted black stone ink.
Amidst his flurry of preparations, Doctor Xu stood by, somewhat stunned, surveying this peculiar safe cave.
It was completely different from her own safe house.
This place was filled with the mysterious symbol patterns etched on the surface of the black stone, appearing as if stone had been ground into white traces on the floor—some incomplete, others quite intact.
A massive jade talisman array on the wall caught her attention.
For some reason, this talisman array gave her a sense of gentle safety, making her feel at ease.
However, what shocked her the most was the fireplace.
It looked as if it were made from crystal glass, merging seamlessly with the rocky wall, the flames burning within could be seen clearly, lighting up the cave.
Above the fireplace, there was a metal disc that allowed for cooking.
The craftsmanship and design...
Comparatively, the simple fire pit in her safe house made her heart ache with an indescribable sorrow.
Look at this place; they could even start a fire and cook food on rainy days.
They could drink hot water.
Whereas in her own, once the door was shut, airflow was insufficient.
She did not dare to start a fire or cook anything in her safe house; otherwise, half-cooked food would lead to her being suffocated instead.
Gazing at the warm, transparent fireplace, Doctor Xu's longing was akin to a hungry wild dog seeing a piece of smoked meat after having starved for ten days.
That kind of greed made her wish she could pounce on it and take the fireplace home; even Yuhong felt a shiver at her reaction.
“Did you make this fireplace yourself?” Doctor Xu couldn’t help but ask.
Even with Old Yu’s troubles, it still couldn’t suppress her craving.
“Yes, I’ve been gathering materials for quite some time, and I can’t replicate it. The main structure isn’t something I could create; I just managed to set it into the wall.” Yuhong quickly responded.
“Really nice.” Doctor Xu’s eyes were glued to the fireplace; God knows how long it had been since she had peacefully slept next to a stove.
When night fell and the door was closed, she had to completely extinguish the fire or risk being smoked to death in her own house.
With the temperature already beginning to drop, the cave turned cold and damp at night, filled with the stench of mildew.
But here, there wasn’t a hint of mildew; it was warm like spring.
“Let’s go. Didn’t we say something has happened with Old Yu? We should head over.” Yuhong urged.
Reluctantly, Doctor Xu patted the fireplace before turning to leave.
“Don’t you need to extinguish the fire in this fireplace?”
“No need; it goes out by itself once the firewood is burned up. It’s perfect for drying out the place.” Yuhong answered.
The two of them securely locked the door and quickly headed towards the gathering place at the post office.
More than ten minutes later.
When they arrived at the post office, Jennie and her daughter were already standing at the entrance of the stone house, holding a device while scanning the area.
The device had a red screen, flashing and displaying a changing number.
When they saw Yuhong and Doctor Xu arriving, Jennie’s expression turned serious as she walked over.
“Something definitely happened; the red value inside has already reached over one hundred!”
“What does that mean?” Yuhong asked.
“It means there’s a presence similar to a strange shadow in the underground shelter of the post office,” Jennie explained. “But curiously, I’ve checked, and both the basement door and the ventilation shaft have not been opened. Old Yu wouldn’t have left his black stone bags unattended behind the door.”
“So we need to break down the door to see! No matter what has happened, Old Yu still has plenty of dried meat and mushrooms in there, enough for us to eat for a long time, and these must be rescued!” Jennie insisted.
“We also need to think about how to handle food afterward. Old Yu must have comprehensive cultivation notes and tools,” Doctor Xu added.
“Are we really going to break open the door to go inside?” Jennie's daughter, Eve, interjected. “It must be dangerous in there! I’m not going! Whoever wants to go can go; I’m definitely not!”
Her face slightly paled as she took a step back, wearing an expression that indicated this had nothing to do with her.
(End of Chapter)