Over eighty kilometers away from Baiqiu Village, a man dressed in a gray mountaineering suit, carrying a large backpack and wielding a climbing stick, was making his way swiftly toward Baiqiu Village.
He wore a helmet and had a mask covering his face, moving quickly along a desolate and lonely road that seemed to stretch endlessly into the forest like a thin gray line.
As he walked, he paused to make a triangular mark on a tree with a small knife, then looked around to assess his surroundings.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching slowly from behind him.
He turned sharply, but there was nothing in sight.
“Damn, not again,” he muttered to himself.
He took off his backpack and hung it on a nearby branch, swiftly climbing up a large tree.
Once settled, he retrieved a large, dark green cover from his bag and wrapped it around himself.
In an instant, he blended into the environment and disappeared from sight.
The strange footsteps behind him also vanished.
After waiting a moment, he removed the cover, folded it, and put it back in his bag.
He jumped down from the tree and continued on his way.
Suddenly, he pivoted to the left, dropping low to the ground.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and dirt was kicked up next to him by the blast.
“Bai Mang, you’re dead for sure! Dare to touch my boss’s woman!” shouted a man with a thick accent from the direction of the forest.
The man’s expression remained unchanged as he swiftly drew a black dagger from his side and rolled on the ground to evade the next attacks.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots rang out in quick succession, hitting the spot he occupied just moments before and sending more dirt flying into the air.
Seizing the opportunity, he sprang up, launching himself off the ground with one hand and dashing toward the source of the gunfire like a cheetah.
Using swift sidesteps, he dodged several shots and finally closed in on the gunman.
“Damn!”
There were three gunmen, all strong and wearing stab-proof vests.
Upon seeing him, they discarded their guns and drew knives to surround him.
“Get him!”
The three men lunged at him with their weapons, but he easily ducked under their swipes.
Compared to his agility, they moved like clumsy iron blocks, swinging their blades but missing completely.
He bent low to evade the first man, his right hand lunging out to stab him sharply in the abdomen.
Rolling forward, he slashed the second man’s calf with his dagger, then rose to deliver a powerful punch to the third man’s ear.
In just a few seconds, the three men fell to the ground, and before they could react, he turned and dispatched each one with a swift stab to the throat.
Blood gushed out, a gurgling sound following, and then silence reigned.
He stood up, quickly looted the bodies, and resumed his journey with the backpack still on his back.
Heavy rain poured down from the heavens.
Inside a cave serving as a safe house, a lively fire crackled, driving away the dampness and chill.
The bright orange light cast a warm glow in the previously dark cave, although it was daytime outside.
Yu Hong stood in the open area of the cave, practicing his low-level heavy leg technique, executing each move with precision.
He had realized that if he didn’t use his internal energy and just focused on refining his leg technique, he could gather new internal energy faster than through higher-level body techniques.
This practice seemed remarkably efficient.
Thus, he dedicated himself solely to training this technique.
After a while, he stopped for a drink, rested, and continued to enhance his newly acquired rune formations.
Now he had over twenty standard formations, as it only took a bit over an hour to enhance one.
With a couple more days, he would have enough to exchange for a bulletproof gray lizard armor set.
During this time, he had also bargained with Li Runshan and managed to get forty-two rune formations.
After testing them and confirming their effectiveness, he carried this price forward in negotiations with the new arrival, Lao Zhou, agreeing to trade thirty rune formations for a second-hand gray lizard armor set.
“Almost there, almost there,” Yu Hong said as he downed a bowl of protein sweet soup.
He then got up and started adding weights to himself, binding items around his legs.
Continuing his practice with the added weight, he felt warmth spreading through his body, nourishing him.
In this dangerous environment, the warmth was a source of comfort and reassurance.
Thunder rumbled outside, and the rain intensified.
Raindrops pattered against the wooden door, creating a crisp sound.
The outdoors was cold and damp, visibility reduced to nearly nothing while the indoors felt like spring, warm and dry.
Yu Hong’s heart settled, and he immersed himself in the struggle of perfecting his heavy leg technique.
“I don’t need to know many moves; as long as I master one and can use it freely, it’ll be enough to defeat my enemies,” he thought deeply, immersing himself in training while also sketching rune formations during breaks, enhancing the rune boards.
After three consecutive days, the incessant rain finally came to a stop.
The forest looked washed clean, fresh and pure; the bloodstains on the ground had long been erased without a trace.
Yu Hong gathered the rune formations, stacked them together, and stuffed them into his backpack, heading towards the stone house that housed the post office.
He had collected enough formations, plus some to keep for himself, and now it was time to trade for Lao Zhou's used gray lizard armor set.
It didn't matter whether the armor was second-hand; he planned to enhance it anyway.
He arrived swiftly at the stone house, following the newly placed sign that pointed towards Lao Zhou’s location which was the previous residence of Old Yu.
Outside the cave, many items had been moved out, and Old Zhou was sitting on a wooden stool, carving furniture with a chisel.
Seeing Yu Hong approach, he quickly stood up.
“You came at the right time! I’m leaving the day after tomorrow. If you didn’t come now, our trade would have to wait.”
He set aside his carving tool and went back into the cave.
In no time, he emerged with a somewhat worn camouflage suit.
“This is my spare. Did you bring the rune formations?” Old Zhou asked, looking at Yu Hong.
“Of course,” Yu Hong nodded, “If I may ask, why do you need so many rune formations? It would be more convenient to give them to Old Li for trading with the supply team, don’t you think?”
“I might run into trouble outside. Rune formations are much lighter than big gray stones. They offer a broader area of protection. They’re quite useful,” Old Zhou replied with a forced smile.
“Alright then.” Yu Hong pulled out the rune boards from his backpack, placing them aside for Old Zhou to inspect while he checked the gray lizard armor set.
The armor indeed matched what was described—no damage, just a bit worn, with several bullet holes in the chest area.
However, the armor's metal plate remained intact, so it wouldn’t affect its usage.
The helmet and mask were in good condition, not damaged at all.
Yu Hong was quite satisfied.
Meanwhile, Old Zhou completed his inspection of the rune formations using the red value detector and wore a content expression.
“Pleasure doing business.” He forced a smile again.
“Pleasure doing business,” Yu Hong echoed, both men successfully avoiding the cunning merchant Old Li to reach a mutual agreement.
“May I ask how long you’ve been living here?” Old Zhou suddenly began to question stiffly.
“Not long, maybe a few months,” Yu Hong replied casually about his time here.
“Have you seen a younger man with a maroon birthmark shaped like the number 8, shorter than I am, pass by?” Old Zhou inquired quietly.
“Not really. Most of the time, we stay hidden in our residence, only going out occasionally, you know, it's rare to wander around,” Yu Hong shook his head slightly.
“Alright, thanks anyway.” A shadow flitted across Old Zhou’s eyes as he turned, clutching the rune formations, walking back toward the cave entrance.
Watching him go, Yu Hong guessed that he must have been looking for someone important to him.
Unfortunately, at this time of year, a person moving about alone would eventually run into trouble if they lingered too long.
With the gray lizard armor set in hand, Yu Hong didn’t dwell on it further; he turned and headed back to the cave.
On his way, he passed the stone house and saw Li Runshan playing a rock-throwing game with his daughter, Ai Senna, in the yard.
When Li Runshan caught sight of the armor in Yu Hong’s hands, his smile instantly vanished.
But Ai Senna was still cheerful, waving at him from afar.
“Uncle Yu Hong!”
Yu Hong waved back, feeling happier as he looked at the little girl’s round, chubby face shaking excitedly.
Without further conversation, he walked straight back to the safe house.
The ground was muddy and wet, carrying the twelve-pound armor was slightly more cumbersome than before.
Once back in the cave, he saw that his pant legs were covered in grass clippings and dark mud.
He closed the wooden door and laid the armor flat on the ground, placing his hand on top.
Anticipation filled Yu Hong once more.
A complete set of bulletproof clothing would elevate his safety to a new level.
He envisioned how to enhance it, considering the direction he wanted to go in for improvement.
Soon, after sorting everything in his head, he spoke the thoughts in his mind.
“Enhance the heavy bulletproof armor set, strengthen bulletproof capabilities, improve mask filtration effects. Add pockets inside for easier attachment of new components while enhancing flexibility.”
In that moment, the image of what he used to play in various shooting war games—the heavy machine gunners—appeared in his mind.
His requirements were quite extensive, so Yu Hong braced himself for a longer enhancement time.
Before long, a dark line formed, flowing into the armor as a clear countdown appeared.
“5 hours and 15 minutes.”
So short?
Surprised, he thought alone; although his requests were many, the extent of enhancement wasn’t that large.
The gray lizard armor was already bulletproof, and so minor adjustments to the design and slight enhancements were actually quite easy.
“Considering that, I can definitely add more content."
Reflecting on this, he took out the red value detector he had previously acquired and placed it on the armor set.
He pressed his hand against both the detector and the armor, repeating his request in his mind while adding another detail: it needed to have a red value detection function.
Soon, a new countdown emerged.
This time, the duration was much longer than before.
“17 hours and 21 minutes.”
Yu Hong let out a breath, confirming the enhancement.
(End of Chapter)