The sound of a heavy thud resonated in the air.
Yu Hong ripped off his reinforced suit, tossing it aside, after noticing that one of the alloy plates on the suit's arm had been severely deformed.
This deformation had also resulted in a nasty bruise on his forearm.
"That thing packs a punch!" Yu Hong muttered under his breath, feeling shaken.
This was the first time he had encountered such a fierce creature, one that dared to attack even in broad daylight.
Compared to those blood-sucking insects that feared the light, this bizarre bird was many times more dangerous and lethal.
He quickly applied some iodine on himself, leaning against the wall as he exhaled slowly.
His gaze fell upon the wooden door now punctured with a gaping hole, and for a moment, he felt utterly helpless. ‘I hope nothing happens tonight.
By the way, how's the Radiant Stone Grass?!’
The thought hit him hard; if there was a problem with the Radiant Stone Grass in the yard outside, then Wei Shanshan and her mother were bound to face trouble.
That grass was his lifeline; before the rescue team arrived, he had to ensure their safety.
After gathering himself, Yu Hong approached the door to peek outside through the hole.
The outer wooden door was half-open.
Qiu Yanxi was staring blankly into the messy courtyard, while her daughter Wei Shanshan was busy picking up sticks and piling them in one corner, seemingly planning to light a fire for warmth.
Though one was still while the other was active, both mother and daughter wore extremely pale expressions that painted a troubling scene.
Suddenly, Qiu Yanxi turned her head and caught sight of Yu Hong watching them.
A spark of recognition lit up her eyes, and she forced out a somewhat stiff smile in his direction.
"Such trouble," Yu Hong sighed, assessing the state of the Radiant Stone Grass in the yard.
The center of the courtyard was wrecked by the fierce brawl between him and the strange bird, leaving many patches of grass mangled and some black earth overturned, an utter chaos.
With a firm grasp on the situation, he turned around to gather some talismans and pulled out a Radiant Stone mat before stepping back outside to the front of the wooden cabin.
The two women noticed him emerge and hurriedly huddled close together, their bodies tensing as they stood still, waiting for him to speak.
Yu Hong tossed the talismans and the Radiant Stone mat on the ground beside the wooden cabin.
"Be careful tonight. Take these and keep them as a backup."
"Yes!" Qiu Yanxi replied nervously.
She had intended to swap ideas with Yu Hong about the method for dispersing the blood-sucking insects, but after witnessing the earlier encounter, her thoughts changed.
Once he finished speaking, Yu Hong turned and headed back, shortly closing the wooden door and nailing a wooden plank over the large hole as a temporary fix.
Everything fell silent.
Qiu Yanxi stood in place, ensuring there were no further movements from Yu Hong before releasing a heavy sigh of relief. “Shanshan, come here for a moment,” she called to her daughter.
The two entered the wooden cabin, gathered the items on the ground, and felt a bit safer.
At least at the post office, they wouldn't have access to such a stash of talismans.
"That Mister Yu is definitely a Radiant Stone practitioner!" Qiu Yanxi whispered to her daughter, "When you talk to him, do your best to go along with him. Practitioners can be temperamental and unpredictable, and you never can tell what they're thinking. Just keep your head down, do as you're told, and don't ask unnecessary questions!"
"What does it mean to 'do as you're told?'" Wei Shanshan stammered, still shaken from the recent battle and feeling her legs tremble.
Her mother’s careful warnings only made her feel more anxious, causing her to break into a cold sweat.
"It means whatever he tells us, we must do it. Do not question him or voice any opinions. We’ll sort everything out when the rescue team arrives!" Qiu Yanxi said quietly, recalling the fierce struggle she had seen through the crack in the door, her heart heavy with worry.
"The creatures outside are getting stronger, and they are even bold enough to attack in broad daylight. I'm worried; if something happens to the rescue team, we might have to rely solely on Mr. Yu to survive. You need to keep an eye on him and see what he needs help with. Pitch in where you can, like gathering sticks or repairing the wall."
"Okay!" Wei Shanshan nodded quickly.
Qiu Yanxi released a breath. “However dangerous it may seem outside, if we can stick close to Mister Yu, we’ll be much safer than if we were with anyone else. That explosion earlier—who knows what the situation is like at the post office…”
A shiver ran through her as she thought about the post office, recalling those who looked down on them and took advantage of their misfortune, such as Song Ming and his crew.
A part of her felt a nasty thrill at the thought of their potential downfall.
Reflecting on the intense clash between Yu Hong and that strange bird, she realized that among Radiant Stone practitioners, she had never witnessed such overwhelming strength.
"This Mister Yu might be one of the very top-tier practitioners, no wonder he dares to live alone in the wild," Qiu Yanxi sighed.
"Mom, do you think we can survive and go back home?" Wei Shanshan couldn't help but ask in a hushed tone.
"We will! We definitely will!" A glint of determination sparked in Qiu Yanxi's eyes.
That night, despite the attack from the strange bird, there were no blood-sucking insects around.
The shadow-like creatures seemed to have dwindled significantly too.
Yu Hong kept his communicator on, but no sounds came from the post office anymore.
He didn’t get a good night’s sleep, constantly worried that the hole in the wooden door would invite those shadowy beings, and that harm could befall the two women outside, especially since the Radiant Stone Grass in the yard had also been damaged.
Fortunately, nothing occurred.
The next day, as he watched the countdown timer in the basement, he felt a flutter of hope.
With time ticking away, he suddenly realized that although he had demanded the exterior remain unchanged, he needed to cover the large hole in the door to prevent exposure.
After some thought, he gathered some tools and wooden boards, heading to the doorway, where he set to work, hammering away to secure two large panels over the gaping hole.
No matter what, it was best to cover it up first.
He could put on a facade once everything was fixed.
While he was hammering away, he noticed in the yard that Qiu Yanxi and Wei Shanshan were diligently picking up the broken stones from the courtyard wall and reapplying them.
They seemed to have found some sandy dirt from somewhere, mixing it with water to create a dark gray cement-like material, carefully reattaching the stones to the wall, mending the gaps left by the battle.
Nearby, they gathered a substantial amount of firewood, sufficient to last them a while.
Feeling satisfied, Yu Hong nodded at them in acknowledgment of their efforts.
"Mr. Yu, is there any news from the rescue team at the post office?" Qiu Yanxi asked, emboldened by his apparent good mood.
"Not for now," Yu Hong shook his head.
"It seems something went wrong over there. The situation outside the yard is dire, with heightened ominous energy that could attract danger at any time. Until we know more, I can’t take the risk of going out to check."
"When we went out to gather wood, we didn’t dare stray too far. It felt like something was always watching us nearby," Qiu Yanxi admitted, her complexion much improved, showing a serious attitude now, no longer daring to harbor any reckless thoughts.
"You’ve gathered enough firewood, so try to stay inside as much as possible," Yu Hong suggested, thinking carefully before turning back to the cabin, bringing them an energy-generating solar device along with a light bulb.
"Charge it during the day, use it for light at night. It should hold off normal blood-sucking black insects. Just be careful."
"Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Yu!" Qiu Yanxi exclaimed, joy filling her face as she profusely thanked him.
"If there’s anything we can do to help, just let us know. We can wash things, do some small crafts, or mend clothes—we’re capable too!"
"Well, there isn’t much water, so let’s stick to this," Yu Hong said, feeling satisfied with their attitude.
In dire times, doing whatever one could was the mind of someone truly wanting to survive.
He returned to the cave and closed the door behind him.
Quickly, he descended into the basement where the countdown showed only two minutes left.
During those last two minutes, Yu Hong decided to sit cross-legged, waiting silently on the ground of the basement.
Each moment passed slowly.
Finally, the countdown hit zero.
In that instant, the entire cave and the stone walls shimmered and momentarily blurred.
Within less than a second, everything returned to clarity.
Calm settled in.
Yet as Yu Hong sat cross-legged on the ground, he distinctly felt a difference from before.
He reached out to touch the ground and surprised to find it had lost the rough texture of stone.
Instead, it had transformed into a smooth and even surface.
Though nothing had been coated, the variance from the previous roughness was a noticeable improvement, with enhanced density and slightly better hardness as well.
Rising to his feet, filled with anticipation, Yu Hong ran his hand along the walls.
The surrounding walls had also been smoothed out, with their hardness increased.
‘This should be a basic enhancement resistant to impact,’ Yu Hong thought, feeling pleased as he took a slow tour of the basement, noticing he hadn’t found the added chamber he requested earlier.
‘Not here, it must be on the other side.’
He followed the steps out of the basement and returned to the cave.
Indeed, in the opposite corner of the cave, there was another entrance to a similar-sized basement.
He quickly descended through that entrance.
The space below was a square room similar to the first basement, with the inner walls hardened as well.
Apart from that, it was entirely empty.
Even so, Yu Hong felt quite satisfied.
He carefully checked everything, ensuring there were no issues before returning to the first level of the cave, focusing on the crucial door enhancements.
At the door, the previously damaged panel now stood wholly restored.
The door's design remained the same, yet the density of its materials had increased significantly.
Yu Hong reached out to touch it, noting a cool metallic feel beneath his fingertips.
He opened the newly fixed panel, now replaced with a dark silver metal slab instead of wood.
Then he noticed the observation window behind it.
The original window had been fitted with a wire mesh, but now before him stood a reinforced layer of thick, transparent glass.
He tapped on it.
Thud, thud, thud.
It was hard and solid.
He nodded in satisfaction. ‘This strength has increased significantly—impressive!’
Closing the window, he checked the connection between the door and the stone wall.
All the nails used to join them had vanished, replaced by a seamless transition between the door panel and the stone as if molded together by cement.
Yu Hong gently elbowed the door, which didn’t even tremble, remaining extremely stable.
‘This is perfect; the strength has improved another level!’ Looking at the brand-new high-strength door brought Yu Hong a wave of security.
The danger of being pierced by the strange bird should be hard to experience again.
Having confirmed that the entire safehouse's enhancements exceeded his expectations, he sat back down, beginning to contemplate his next enhancement target.
(End of Chapter)