Night of Despair

The condensation and strengthening of the fourth cold stream brought joy to Yu Hong's heart and greatly improved his mood.

After wiping off his sweat, he took a break, then moved to the corner of the wall to start preparing tools for excavating a new private room.

*"To cultivate mushrooms and lizards and the like, I must first open a separate room. But where to start, and how to open it, needs careful consideration."*

He scratched the ground with a knife, thinking about the structure and positioning plan.

Not long after, it became dark outside.

It wasn't until it was completely pitch black that he suddenly realized the shadow hadn't come knocking today.

Usually, the shadow would occasionally knock on the door, disguising itself as either an adult or a stranger in an attempt to get someone to open the door.

But this time, in the newly completed all-enclosed luminous stone space, he didn't hear any knocking at all.

*"It seems that the luminous stone hiding method worked...."* Yu Hong walked to the door and gently pulled open a crack in the board to look outside.

Outside, it was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

Once he confirmed there were no bugs, he lit the fireplace, dragged over the sleeping bag, and slept peacefully next to the warmth.

The warm fireplace made the entire cave less cold, and without the sudden knocking of the shadow, he was no longer worried about being suddenly startled awake.

Yu Hong slept until nearly noon the next day.

He would have continued sleeping if his throat hadn't been too dry, forcing him awake.

Inside the sealed cave.

Wrapped in his blanket, he lay there, staring at the sunlight seeping through the cracks of the door, feeling soft and unwilling to get up.

*"It's been so long since I've slept so soundly...."* Yu Hong lay there quietly, staring at the door, motionless.

He suddenly remembered how he used to enjoy being wrapped in a blanket at home, gazing at the bright sun outside while the air conditioning was on, refusing to leave the bed.

Now, the feeling was just like returning to the past...

But imagination aside, life had to go on.

After a moment of persistence, Yu Hong crawled out of his sleeping bag and began following his previous plan, starting to chisel out a new room in the cave.

With reinforced tools in hand, he first drew a circle on the ground with charcoal in the cave's corner.

Then he began chiseling along the circle.

The continuous clang of hammering resounded, smashing the hard rock, creating a cloud of dust that filled the whole cave.

Yu Hong couldn't bear the dust and had to spray some water over it, using Jenny's clothes to cover himself.

Excavation work was undoubtedly monotonous, but since Yu Hong needed to wait for the leg technique's enhancement to end, he spent the next three days eating, sleeping, exercising, and then digging.

He threw pile after pile of rocks outside, forming a simple line of stone for a yard perimeter.

When he was tired, he would regenerate with the cold stream, and when sleepy, he would take a nap. With the support of the cold stream, his progress was very rapid. Had it not been for the blisters that made his hands painful later, he might have gone even faster.

In three days, he had already excavated a circular hole more than a meter deep in the cave's corner.

Inside the hole was a simple and rough staircase that allowed him to descend.

But a depth of just over a meter was only the beginning, and Yu Hong intended to make this a long-term project, excavating several private rooms to serve as functional spaces.

And all the excavated stones could be piled outside to form a yard or a pit for a small pond to collect water.

The yard could be reinforced later to create a larger defensive perimeter.

The pond could supplement water sources during droughts. With water, he could even plant some vegetables in the yard.

Some common wild vegetables could be transplanted for large-scale cultivation.

Once he got started, Yu Hong felt full of energy, finding joy in building a home.

Another day passed, and it started to rain lightly outside. Yu Hong went nowhere, did nothing, and just rested in the cave, focusing on the nearing end of the leg technique enhancement.

The shadow still hadn't disturbed him, and he had covered the entrance of the pit with a wide board painted with a talisman array, creating another luminous stone secret room environment.

As the countdown on the board continued to decrease,

Yu Hong's mood gradually became a bit impatient. The strong sense of anticipation made him stare unblinkingly at the countdown's numbers.

*"What exactly will be enhanced?"*

*"This is definitely a more complete and professional leg technique than the physical training method I previously pieced together randomly. With more than four days of enhancement time, it should definitely be stronger than my previous high-body method."*

Yu Hong's expression froze, and his eyes fixated on the numbers.

*"01 minute."*

That final minute felt as long as a day.

Various thoughts surged through and circulated in Yu Hong's mind.

Finally....

Pop.

With a light sound, the board instantly blurred.

Immediately, the thick stack of leg technique transcription boards rapidly shrank, condensing into a standard book-sized black leather book.

The cover of the book clearly read: "Enhanced Leg Skills."

*"So the name was just the one I had before the enhancement? They didn't change it at all?"* Yu Hong stared speechlessly at the cover.

*"But the name doesn't matter; what's important is the content!"* He reached out eagerly.

He opened the first page.

*

*

*

Li Rushan carefully cradled his daughter and placed her inside a box covered in countless pieces of luminous stone, closed the lid, confirmed she was sleeping soundly, and returned to the desk to pick up the communicator he was adjusting.

"This is indeed one of the origins, and I've already investigated the Black Disaster traces. The outbreak route matches the one detected," he said softly to the communicator.

"Very good, if possible, I hope you can collect some pyroxene marrow," a gentle female voice responded from the communicator.

"I'll try my best. I thought someone had dug out pyroxene marrow here, but it turned out to be just a similar material and useless," Li Rushan replied. "Also, the situation here is rather troublesome. I just arrived and encountered an Evil Shadow, which devoured at least a hundred people, along with some polluted people with Blood Tide marks. There was a mutation, but fortunately, I handled it in time. Without a carrier, it's unlikely she can return in the short term."

"Thank you for your efforts," the woman sighed.

"It's okay. I also need to attempt getting Aisena to contract the luminous stone disease to see if it can counteract the marks..." Li Rushan replied softly.

"The radiation near the Pyroxene Ore Mine is too intense. You must observe Aisena's condition at all times, and pay attention to the frequency of changing the luminous stones..." the woman advised.

"I understand." Li Rushan nodded.

"It's a pity... if only Mili were still around..." the woman lamented.

Li Rushan remained silent, not saying a word.

"Alright, make sure to report anything you need help with timely, and I'll do my best to arrange assistance," the woman said softly.

"Thank you, Commissioner," Li Rushan squeezed out a few words.

The communication cut off immediately.

Turning off the communicator, Li Rushan sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Knock, knock, knock.

A gentle knock could be heard.

"Is Daddy home? It's Aisena."

His daughter's voice came softly from outside the door.

Li Rushan glanced at the box where his daughter was sleeping, didn't move, and just closed his eyes to rest, regulating his breathing.

"Daddy, open the door.... I'm the real Aisena, it's scary outside.... something is chasing me..."

The voice outside continued, soft yet eerie.

Li Rushan remained oblivious as if long accustomed.

He casually pulled out a blanket from under the desk, covered with countless tiny pieces of white luminous stone powder.

He lifted the blanket in one motion, covering himself completely.

The voice outside abruptly stopped, disappearing entirely, like an illusion.

*

*

*

Inside the cave safehouse.

Suppressing his excitement, Yu Hong gently opened the first page of the black book.

His eyes were glued intently to the page's contents, not blinking.

The four days of enhancement time far exceeded the nine hours for the high-body method, indicating the strength of this leg technique was definitely beyond the high-body method!

Gulp.

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he stared at the page.

*"The enhanced leg technique is tailored to the user's existing qualities, spirit, and state. It has no universal effect, so please use it cautiously.*

This was the top line of the instructions.

Below it was the specific content.

*"The First Move: Low Sweep Leg."

The name hadn't changed, but the content had become much more complex.

Below was a detailed diagram of the human body's blood vessels and meridians.

On the gray figure, red and blue arrows indicated the direction of the cold stream's flow and the number of times.

At the bottom was a special visualization diagram depicting a metallic castle monster with thick limbs.

Its limbs were built with metal, sturdy and powerful, one front leg lifted in a forward, forceful stomp gesture.

Yet, as Yu Hong scrutinized it, he bizarrely discovered that the black lines of the castle monster seemed closely related to his body's meridians.

He quickly scanned upward, comparing it with the human meridian diagram.

Upon closer examination, Yu Hong was shocked to find the patterns on the castle monster's body aligned with parts of the human meridians.

Below that was a line of fine, neat text.

*"The leg technique differs from fist techniques. Once initiated, it must succeed, or else you risk losing balance due to defense and deflection.

So balance and grounding on the earth, unmoving and unwavering, are the foundation of leg techniques."

Yu Hong squinted, turning to the next page.

*"The average person's leg strength far exceeds that of fists, but due to balance issues, once a leg technique is used, it's best to settle the fight in one strike. Therefore, leg techniques should either not be used, but if used, they must hit and defeat the enemy."

Below were the sequential drawings of the first move, Low Sweep Leg.

All were black-and-white illustrations of a short-haired man with rippling muscles, standing on the ground, body slightly bowed, one leg swiftly lifted for a low sweep forward.

Behind him, a sketch of the castle monster also raised its leg for a low sweep forward.

New text followed at the bottom.

*"The second prerequisite for leg techniques is that the legs must be solid, tough, and unbreakable."

"Therefore, it's essential to diligently train the leg bones and muscles, strengthening them and enhancing their defense."

*"Then, by wearing alloy leg guards and adding sharp objects to increase penetration, utilizing the solid leg bones and muscles to absorb the recoil from the impact of the alloy leg guards, this forms the foundation of the strongest leg technique."*

"....."

Yu Hong was speechless.

This leg technique... seemed somewhat off...

He quickly reviewed the following content.

He discovered the next two moves had the same names but had been transformed into special leg techniques that paired visualization with exertion techniques, requiring leg armor for enhanced lethality.

The last page contained supplementary content.

*"The visualization is synthesized and filtered based on the individual's real state, with a thousand people having a thousand visuals. It's incompatible for others and may cause danger, so please exercise caution."

"When the enhanced leg technique is mastered, it can increase movement speed, accelerate Inner Strength refinement, nourish leg muscles and bones, and, combined with an Inner Strength burst, its power can greatly increase."

"Core Tip: The main focus of this leg technique is to amplify power by leveraging force, the greater the personal load, the greater the explosive force of the technique, and the stronger the physical tempering."

"....." After going through the enhanced leg technique, Yu Hong indeed felt it was very strong, very strong.

But strong as it was, there seemed to be a slight difference from the martial arts inner strength leg technique he had imagined....