After confirming the plan to see if repairs could be made in the future, Yu Hong sent Old Li off and returned to his safe house to begin his training of the Heavy Legs technique.
Perhaps it was the good news he had received, or maybe it was from having kept quiet for several days, but finally, he felt he could speak freely again.
As Yu Hong trained, he sensed the improved flow of energy within him; his internal qi gathered much faster than before.
Within less than ten minutes of training, a new strand of internal qi quietly coalesced and flowed into his lower abdomen.
He successfully obtained the eighth strand of internal qi.
Next, he aimed to gather the ninth strand, which, according to the description of the Heavy Legs technique, would allow him to strengthen his entire body in one fell swoop, earning him the qualifications to enter the second layer.
Yu Hong was quite excited about this.
So far, the Heavy Legs technique had only enhanced his ability to perform sweeping kicks, leaving many of his other weaknesses untouched.
Without protective gear, he doubted he could even take on an ordinary soldier armed with a gun.
Of course, he also had a gun now, and it would simply come down to who was faster and more accurate.
The Heavy Legs technique would have little use in that regard.
After downing a big glass of water, Yu Hong set the cup down, feeling his body grow stronger and his mood uplifted.
In recent days, he had devoted all his time to fortifying the Great Flourite and the talisman formations while guarding against the Yu Ren.
He had even reinforced two pieces of the silver talisman formation.
Now that everything was back to its previous state, he felt ready to attempt his earlier ideas.
Sitting by the door, Yu Hong picked up a red-value detector and placed his hand on it.
"Enhance the red-value detector: direction: increase detection strength, improve sensitivity, and raise durability."
Strengthening the detector solely against the Yu Ren seemed unwise, as there would surely be other lurking troubles ahead.
Therefore, he opted to enhance the detector’s sensitivity as a whole.
Soon, a black line emerged, and a countdown appeared on the detector: "5 hours 12 minutes."
"Not bad," Yu Hong nodded slightly.
Just as he was about to confirm the enhancement, a thought flashed in his mind.
He paused, withdrew his hand, and grabbed a sheet of white paper he had bought in bulk from Old Li's supply team—one thousand sheets, enough for a long while.
Holding the paper, Yu Hong scribbled a title with a charcoal pencil: "Countermeasures Against Yu Ren Attacks."
He then quickly wrote down various pieces of information he had received from Li Runshan, detailing them one by one.
"First: The attacks from the Yu Ren will fully erupt in the final stages, so preparations with a large amount of Flourite-like items are necessary to counter the explosion threat."
"Second: The attacks from the Yu Ren are mainly sound-based, specifically involving dialogue. The process can be identified as: hearing a sound, responding, allowing the Yu Ren to successfully inhabit."
"Third: The Yu Ren require a corpse as a vessel and will choose targets within a certain range around the corpse."
In no time, he had filled the page with dense and comprehensive writings.
Yu Hong put down the pencil and checked, ensuring there were no mistakes.
He then placed his hand on the page.
"Enhance the countermeasures against Yu Ren. Direction: complete the methods and perfect them as much as possible."
He was feeling anxious yet hopeful; if this enhancement could be completed, then any future threats would surely be manageable.
Just then, the black line flickered.
"Insufficient completeness."
The feedback from the black seal rang in his ears.
Yu Hong’s heart skipped a beat; letting go, he looked back at the paper while recalling how he had strengthened the Heavy Legs technique.
After a moment of thought, he decided to abandon the specific enhancement direction and instead give it a vague intention in his heart.
He reached out again and placed his hand on the paper.
"Enhance the countermeasures against Yu Ren."
He did not specify a direction this time, only making it clear in his heart that he wanted the enhancement, then quietly waited.
Before long, a black line flew out from the back of his right hand, flowing through his fingers and merging into the paper.
"Do you wish to enhance the countermeasures against Yu Ren?" The black seal passed the test! A smile broke out across Yu Hong's face, which he could hardly contain.
Looking at the countdown on the paper that now read: "3 hours 56 minutes."
Only four hours! He quickly replied, “Yes!”
The countdown on the paper began to tick down, decreasing by one minute to signal the start of timing.
Yu Hong sighed in relief and carefully took the paper, placing it far from the fireplace and securing it with two talisman boards for protection.
He then quickly donned his gear and went out to gather firewood and forage for vegetables.
Four hours is not a long time.
By the time Yu Hong returned and sorted the firewood and wild vegetables, the countdown was nearly finished.
He anticipated pulling out the paper and laying it flat on the wooden table, waiting in silence.
The last minute on the countdown still stood still.
Soon, soon he would truly know if this method could yield the desired results.
Yu Hong was very much looking forward to it.
If this method worked, it would mean he could effectively utilize the black seal to collect and integrate various pieces of information, thereby developing better solutions for dealing with the Black Calamity!
*
Not far from the post office on the road, the sun shone coldly, and a gentle breeze brought a faint scent of withered leaves.
Five buses had been turned to charcoal, dark and silent, parked by the side of the road.
Inside the vehicles, there was nothing—no bodies at all.
But on the other side of the steep slope, hidden among the bushes, lay two decayed corpses of men.
They lay side by side in the grass, cloaked in camouflage, their eyes wide open and smiles on their faces, as if they had been enjoying themselves right before death.
The direction the two corpses faced was none other than the five buses on the road.
Li Runshan and Yu Hong had searched this area before, but due to the vast search radius, they could only glance over briefly.
It may also have been some kind of special force that distorted their vision, as they had not noticed the disguises of these two men while searching.
Thus, they were completely unaware that there were still two corpses killed by the Yu Ren hiding nearby, unburned.
*
Inside the stone post office, Li Runshan was still out foraging for vegetables, leaving Isenna alone in the stone house.
She sat at the wooden table and boredly played with a wooden figurine.
She rotated the figurine’s arms back and forth as if spinning it around.
Squeak.
It made one turn.
Squeak squeak.
Another turn followed.
Squeak squeak squeak.
Then a third turn.
Suddenly, Isenna froze.
She stared at the wooden figurine, confused, for she hadn’t been the one to turn its arms just now.
But then, where had that sound come from?
Thinking of this, she lifted her small face and glanced out the window.
There was nothing outside.
In a flash, Isenna jumped off her stool, ran to the bed, wrapped herself tightly in the Flourite blanket, clutching the wooden figurine as she huddled underneath the bedding.
She pulled the Flourite blanket over her head completely, remaining silent with an expression of calmness, waiting for time to pass by.
Ten minutes later, there was still no abnormality outside.
Isenna had yet to lift the Flourite blanket, remaining hidden beneath it.
But then, she heard footsteps coming from outside the house.
The sound grew closer, and with the protection of the Flourite blanket, she couldn't hear the disturbing sounds that might have signaled a spine-chilling threat.
Thus, she knew these footsteps did not belong to any such entity.
Yet, she still didn't move, choosing instead to remain quietly concealed.
Tap tap tap.
The footsteps reached the door and stopped.
Then came the sound of a key being inserted into the lock and turned.
The door opened with a soft click.
Suddenly, it slammed shut, locked from the inside.
"Nana, I'm back!" her father, Li Runshan’s voice rang out cheerfully.
“Daddy!!” Isenna flung the Flourite blanket aside, her face lighting up as she shouted and jumped off the bed.
Silence.
Yet, the scene inside the stone house made her smile gradually fade.
There was no father in the stone house, no sound.
Only light streamed through the gaps in the window, forming beams that illuminated the drifting dust in the air.
It was eerily quiet.
“Daddy?” Isenna called out cautiously.
*
Under the lamp light, Yu Hong stared intently at the paper now beginning to blur.
The words on the white paper transition from a fleeting haze to vivid clarity.
New lines of text appeared, smaller, denser, and more orderly than before.
The title remained unchanged: “Countermeasures Against Yu Ren Attacks.” Below were detailed entries and the earlier notes Yu Hong had penned.
But the difference was that now each entry was accompanied by additional specifics.
For example, the specific red value range during a Yu Ren eruption is an upper limit of ten thousand and a lower limit of three thousand.
The actual range for a Yu Ren’s vessel can affect everything within a three-kilometer radius, randomly producing Yu Ren infections, contrary to Old Li’s claim of just one kilometer.
Furthermore, the process of a Yu Ren attack isn't limited to inquiries and responses; any sound made within five seconds after a Yu Ren's noise will also meet the conditions for infection.
As Yu Hong scrutinized the paper, the gravity of the situation deepened with every line he read.
Until the very end.
At the bottom of the paper, there was a blood-red warning: “Warning: If a Yu Ren kills more than ten thousand medium to large life forms during an attack, an evolutionary effect will occur, granting them a second form. The second form will explode simultaneously once all vessels within a certain range are destroyed, manifesting as…”
At this moment, Yu Hong suddenly recalled the intel shared by Li Runshan: “This time, Yuhe City was devastated. The sudden eruption of shadowy Yu Ren caused at least two hundred thousand deaths; the entire prefecture-level city of Hope City fell into ruin within just a few days!”
Two hundred thousand people!?
“Wait! If there are over two hundred thousand people, that must mean they have already reached their second form! But when we burned the buses, why didn’t the second form appear?!” At that moment, Yu Hong felt a wave of unsettling realization wash over him.
Suddenly, his scalp tingled with alarm, and an intense sense of danger surged within him. “The second form can only appear if all the vessels have been destroyed, but the fact that we didn’t encounter the second form means…”
“The vessels weren’t completely burned!!!”
This is bad!!
Yu Hong shot up, pressing the wooden board onto the paper, grabbing the silver talismans as he rushed out the door to warn Li Runshan.
No matter what, if Li Runshan died, he would be left all alone.
When that happened, not only would supplies and reinforcements be cut off, but also external communication would cease entirely!
And what about Isenna? Even after witnessing so many deaths, Yu Hong still didn’t want a cute girl who liked him to perish due to their one moment of negligence.
With a loud bang, he slammed the wooden door shut, grabbed all the talismans, and rushed toward the post office wielding a wolf-tooth club.
(End of Chapter)