Night of Despair

In the circular courtyard, as the black insects got closer to the luminous grass, their numbers dwindled. Many of the insects diverted and fled halfway through their approach.

They fled the white light, changed their crawling direction, and merged again into the rolling black tide outside.

In the end, only about one-tenth of the original number of black insects actually reached the safe house in the cave.

"Could it be that the luminous grass actually has this function!? No...wait, perhaps this is one of the core methods that large cities use to repel and isolate the Black Disaster."

—Reduce the Red Value of the environment.

This was the method Yu Hong had just thought of.

*He speculated in his heart, 'Could it be that the Red Value can actually affect the Blood Tide Black Insects in the Black Disaster... This means, perhaps essentially, the Blood Tide Black Insects and the shadow, Evil Shadow, are all of the same kind?'*

Yu Hong pondered.

He held up a candle, closed the glass window shutters, and retreated to the safe area.

Watching the black insects trickle in intermittently, he formed more conjectures and plans regarding the luminous grass.

*Could such a small amount of luminous grass really affect the Blood Tide? What if there were more? What if the entire courtyard were covered with it? Could it completely block the invasion of the Blood Tide Black Insects? Even Big Skin...*

A strong sense of anticipation arose in Yu Hong's heart.

*He had not expected something he casually synthesized to have such a significant effect.*

*Regarding the Blood Tide Insect Disaster, a catastrophe that severely affected people's sleep and rest, he had longed for a good night's sleep for a long time. In fact, it wasn't just him; others, including Old Li, Old Zhou, and Doctor Xu, were all the same.*

He had asked for solutions; if it were the shadow, Evil Shadow, the luminous stone could still be used to find ways to isolate and hide, but as for the Blood Tide, there was really no way.

The next morning, Yu Hong stepped out of the door under the morning light.

The day before, he had infused a bit of Inner Qi, and today he wanted to see what the result of this infusion would be.

As soon as he went out, a small patch of lush, vibrant speckled grass caught his eye.

"So much!?" Yu Hong stood dumbfounded at the door, staring blankly at the luminous grasses in the courtyard below.

What had been only a dozen plants the day before had now grown by more than half, reaching more than twenty. Their position had spread to occupy a third of the stony courtyard.

"Just one day..." Yu Hong marveled in his heart. He was immensely grateful for the assistance of the Black Mark; otherwise, in this dangerous and terrifying environment, he would have been doomed on the day the Stammering Yiyi left, with not even dust remaining.

Descending the steps, he confirmed that the newly grown luminous grasses were real and healthy, and quickly tested the Red Value data in the courtyard.

This time, the measurement taken at the edge of the courtyard was -13.

Much higher than before.

On the third day.

Yu Hong once again used Inner Qi to accelerate the growth of the luminous grass, this time using two bits in quick succession.

By the fourth day, most of the courtyard was covered in luminous grass.

And at the edge of the courtyard, the Red Value measurement had reached -41.

Late at night.

Yu Hong stood behind the wooden door, watching the courtyard outside through the glass window.

In the courtyard, the soft white light covered the entire space and extended to some surrounding areas.

From the area covered by the white light, the black insects avoided it, diverting around this region to head elsewhere.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

Soon, the sound of heavy footsteps came, as a large, blackened beetle emerged from the darkness, stepping into the white light area.

But after just a few steps into the courtyard, covering a third of the distance, Big Skin shook its small head, turned to the side, and left, soon disappearing into the thick night.

Seeing this scene, a look of surprise appeared on Yu Hong's face.

"Even Big Skin can be repelled...!" he thought with delight.

"A single Large Pyroxene Stone gives off a Red Value of only negative eighty or ninety. Yet the luminous grass here radiated a range of negative thirty to forty, and this was a constantly emitted value, increasing from far to near."

He had measured the data and found that the luminous grass had a Red Value reaching over a hundred up close, almost equivalent to stacking a Large Pyroxene Stone at the entrance of the cave at all times.

"Although I don't know how long it will sustain the consumption, this thing can replenish itself before it runs out, which is far more economical than luminous stones!"

Through the glass window, Yu Hong felt a strong sense of security looking at the scene in the courtyard.

Luminous grass was something he created unintentionally, never expecting it to have such a large impact.

Watching the Blood Tide Black Insects detour around, he suddenly thought, *since luminous stones and wild grasses could synthesize into luminous grass, what about Large Pyroxene Stones and other plants? What about trees? Or cockroach mushrooms, could synthesizing them with Large Pyroxene Stones result in newer and stronger transformations??*

If the synthesized results could all be controlled, then synthesizing cockroaches or lizards into bio-enhancements he could control, would it result in special strengthened creatures??

*At that moment, his mind was a chaotic whirl, swarming with countless ideas, countless combinations, filling him with more and more anticipation for the future.*

The next morning, he went out to the courtyard.

He did not look at the luminous grass; its effects were already very clear to him last night.

Yu Hong walked up to the rough, simple earthen mound in the courtyard. Looking at the mound that barely reached his knee, he extended his hand.

He pressed his palm against the rough, simple wall of the earthen mound.

*'Fortify the courtyard wall!'*

Yu Hong silently recited.

This was his test, a probe.

*All previous enhancements involved small items. This time, he planned to test an increase in the size of the enhancement.*

*From the enhancements made during this time, he discovered that the Black Mark's enhancements mainly originated from his perspective, the scope he viewed things.*

Simply put, the target of enhancement was primarily controlled by him, the size, concept, and boundary.

If he regarded a section as a whole, the Black Mark would do the same, taking in the whole section for evaluation, determining whether it could be enhanced, and providing a countdown value.

So...

At this moment, he planned to conduct an unprecedented test.

That was.....

*

*

*

Crunch, crunch.

In the deep mountains.

A towering figure like a bear walked briskly across the dry forest filled with fallen leaves, occasionally stopping to reassess the direction of his progress.

"Almost there." The figure abruptly stopped and carved a triangle into the bark beside him.

Looking up, he revealed a slightly worried face; it was White Python Guo Xudong, rushing all the way here.

He surveyed the area, then dashed forward a few steps and leaped up, grabbing a thick tree trunk with one hand.

Then, using his strength, he swung himself forward, flipped, climbed onto the trunk, and, after stabilizing himself, gazed into the distance.

On a small hill in the distance, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of a gray-white dilapidated building.

"Baiqiu Village, finally.... According to the information, that person should be nearby..."

He jumped down from the trunk, picked up his pace, and headed towards the village.

*'Two consecutive groups of people have disappeared near here; either there's some troublesome danger here, or it's the work of someone...'*

White Python made his way swiftly through the mountains and forests, silver-gray dagger appearing in his hand, held in a reverse grip.

Half an hour later.

He reached the gravel road outside Baiqiu Village, standing on the road, peering into the village.

Deep alleys, pitch-black doorways and windows, lifeless houses and walls.

White Python clutched a small bag of luminous stones in his other hand, slowly stepping into the village.

But he only took a few steps inside before stopping to carefully examine the ground.

Quickly, he seemed to have noticed something, stood up, and slowly retreated, exiting the village's boundary, then circled around Baiqiu Village.

Round after round.

He spent over an hour thoroughly examining and scouting out the entire village.

"No footprints of human activity..." White Python decisively turned, heading down the hillside.

"According to the information, if the person isn't in the village, they should be living in a nearby cave, which shouldn't be far. I need to search carefully...."

He muttered to himself, following a path away from the village, soon disappearing into the forest.

*

*

*

Yu Hong pressed one hand against the earthen mound in the courtyard.

With his eyes slightly closed, he quietly maintained this position.

After several minutes.

Once he regained his inner calmness, he repeated in his heart.

*'Fortify the courtyard walls, materialize reinforcement, make them taller and thicker.'*

Sss!

In an instant, a black line flowed from the Black Mark on the back of his hand, merging into the courtyard wall.

Soon after, a black countdown surprisingly appeared on the mound in front of Yu Hong.

'15 days, 6 hours, 44 minutes.'

"!!!" At the sight of the countdown, an indescribable joy spread across Yu Hong's face.

"It can actually be done!!" Although the time was long, requiring fifteen days, it was likely due to the large size, far exceeding any previous ordinary enhancements.

Yet a circle of walls, no matter how short or small, inherently weighed far more than those previous items.

With this thought, an idea flashed through his mind.

*If I improve the walls myself as much as possible, could it significantly shorten the reinforcement time?*

*Moreover, if the courtyard wall can be enhanced, what about a water puddle? Could it be enhanced into a well? Or, rather... could the entire cave safe house be enhanced together!? Even if it takes longer, if it could become a multi-room underground shelter in one go, it would save so much hassle.*

Knowing that the Black Mark's enhancement was based on his conceptual understanding, as a whole, for evaluation.

*If I imagine the entire underground planet as a single entity, could it enhance the planet directly?* Yu Hong speculated boldly in his heart.

Thinking of this, he put aside this unrealistic fantasy, yearning to complete the courtyard wall quickly.

But, unfortunately, he had run out of regular luminous stones and needed to go to the ore mine to replenish his supplies. Otherwise, the silver talisman arrays would suffice, but regular arrays and Large Pyroxene Stones would lack the materials.

Returning to the cave, in a great mood, he packed his backpack, grabbed his tools, locked the door, and headed straight for the Pyroxene Ore Mine.

And just shortly after he left, a sturdy figure like a bear quietly emerged from the forest, setting eyes upon the cave safe house surrounded by the courtyard.

The figure crouched down, moving to a spot behind a tree trunk, placing down his backpack, he retrieved a mask, helmet, and bulletproof gear, then carefully put them on one by one.

After preparing adequately, he slowly advanced toward the cave, revealing eyes that harbored a touch of concern.

It was none other than White Python Guo Xudong, investigating the surrounding area!