Night of Despair

After applying the medicine, Yu Hong quickly left the house and once again stood beside Guo Xudong's body.

Looking at this bear-like strong guy, *his heart was still racing.* This guy was indeed a formidable fighter, especially with that rhythm that suppressed him every time he wanted to fight back, yet couldn't gather his strength.

Each time he was about to counter, just as he gathered energy, he was interrupted. *This feeling was extremely uncomfortable.* From this, he could also deduce that the opponent was definitely an expert in combat.

If he didn't have his five strands of Inner Qi continuously exploding and recovering, forcefully breaking this uncomfortable rhythm, the outcome might have been uncertain.

*"There can be no next time... Close combat is more important to me now than firearms. I must strengthen it..."*

Crouching down, Yu Hong quickly scavenged the belongings off the body.

Soon, he pulled out the most noticeable item—a black handgun.

He skillfully removed the magazine, finding nine bullets inside, fully loaded!

Having played countless times with the two handguns in the safe house, his actions with a similar gun were much more adept now.

"Fully loaded!" Yu Hong couldn't help but laugh out loud.

All along, he had hoped to obtain guns and bullets to enhance them with the Black Mark.

He thought it would take a long time, but unexpectedly, he obtained one so soon.

"This guy didn't use the gun, clearly intending to control me through close combat.... It seems this wasn't a chance encounter, but a targeted attack against me..."

He knew that exposing the Large Pyroxene Stone easily attracted attention because the Large Pyroxene Stone was similar to the luminescent stone marrow within the pyroxene mines, and the luminescent stone marrow was also valuable, playing a crucial role in many finished products.

Therefore, it was normal for someone to come after him for profit, trying to obtain the technology.

The previous two attacks, combined with this third one, although he didn't know if they were from the same force, *but...*

"I can't let this continue." Yu Hong furrowed his brows, quickly stripped the belongings from the corpse, then returned to the cave, locking the door tightly.

Sitting in a safe place, he lit the fireplace, and his heart instantly felt much more secure.

As the sky outside gradually darkened, he laid out the spoils he had collected on the ground.

Besides the handgun, the attacker also brought some good items.

A folded black blanket covered in many gray-white stone particles.

A military metal canteen, complete with a filter nozzle.

A pouch containing over a dozen of those old silver coins.

A box of high-calorie compressed cookies.

A sharp silver-black short knife.

A set of damaged bulletproof gear.

Yes, he had stripped off all the bulletproof gear from the corpse.

Other than that, keys, underwear, a cigarette box, a pendant, etc., Yu Hong didn't take them back, as they were useless and tainted with a lot of blood.

"The biggest gain this time... is this..." Yu Hong picked up the black handgun, satisfied as he aimed it forward.

The nine bullets were enough to last him a long time.

But the critical point wasn't this; it was the full magazine that allowed him to enhance it with the Black Mark.

*"So now, how should I enhance the handgun?"* Yu Hong sat down and pondered, holding the gun.

*"Firearms are useless against Blood Tide and shadows. Their greatest use is against people, but my marksmanship isn't great, and my alertness and combat skills are poor...."*

After thinking it over, he felt that the most urgent task wasn't to practice shooting or enhance the gun. Holding the gun now, he couldn't unleash maximum damage.

And once enhanced, if it were snatched, it would pose a significant threat to him.

*"Therefore... I shouldn't enhance its power but focus on other aspects. Besides, what I need most now isn't a gun. With enhanced bulletproof gear, the real threat to me should be melee experts, so I need to rapidly improve my close combat skills."*

*"And this ambush was mainly because my reconnaissance ability is too weak. The previous simple bell trap was useless against true experts.... I must find a truly effective reconnaissance method to ensure security."*

After carefully sorting out his thoughts, Yu Hong suddenly understood why there was only one bullet in the guns of the previous two attackers.

This handgun really only had some use against people; otherwise....

He sighed, listening to the rustling sound of crawling insects outside the door once more.

Turning to look at the door, this time, no black bugs came through the vents outside, he could only hear sounds coming from outside.

*"The luminous stone grass in the yard is working..."* He had this thought.

Relaxing his body a bit, he bit into a protein bar, leaning against the fireplace like this, quietly watching the doorway, feeling the warm heat of the fireplace radiate over, and slowly, his eyelids closed, entering the land of dreams.

This time, he was really too tired.

Knocked down again and again, he stood up each time, often exhausting his strength only to rely on Inner Qi to recover, ultimately relying on an outburst of Inner Qi to win through a surprise attack, but throughout, his nerves were highly tense.

If it weren't for the reinforced Gray Lizard Gear, he might have been knocked down in one blow. The opponent's power explosiveness and technique were too strong, in a completely different class.

The next day, besides collecting firewood and replenishing water, he didn't go anywhere else, just staying in the cave to heal, as after all, his toenail had flipped, and it was quite painful.

Leaning against the fireplace, he suddenly thought that the chimney might also be connected to the outside world.

So, he searched for a while outside the cave for the chimney's exit, discovering it was sealed with a sturdy wire mesh, several layers deep. To prevent accidents, he also painted some Talisman Arrays on the inner wall of the chimney exit using Large Pyroxene Stone powder.

Although difficult, a few consecutive days of recovery and array painting felt quite fulfilling.

On the third day, the solar generator enhancement was completed.

Inside the cave.

Yu Hong sat observing the completed solar generator carefully.

Originally, the solar generator had separate solar panels and a main control box, connected by wires.

Now, the whole solar generator had become a unit. Entirely black, it was a foldable solar panel. It was covered in a layer of transparent and sturdy glass, and the total capacity increased from the previous fully charged three bars to now six bars.

The rest couldn't be seen for now, and only usage would reveal more.

Yu Hong placed this device at the cave entrance, letting the sunlight outside shine in, illuminating the panel, and then casually enhanced a luminous stone before returning to rest and sleep.

This cycle of life continued until the fifth day.

Feeling somewhat recovered, Yu Hong got up to move around, putting on the repaired reinforced suit, preparing to go out.

His injuries had healed quite a bit, and in fact, from the start, they weren't too severe; it was more that the flipped toenail was troublesome. The dizziness had subsided by that night.

This outing, his goal was to trade with Old Li and Old Zhou, to see if he could find a lamp. With the solar generator's large-capacity battery, he was now equipped to keep a lamp illuminated for a long time.

Simultaneously, he needed to inquire about learning combat and reconnaissance skills.

He left the cave.

Outside, the grass was lush, and the yard was already full of luminous stone grass. Its emitted Red Value Radiation quickly caused the numbers on his collar to soar to over -100.

Such high radiation, Yu Hong dared not linger, quickly leaving the yard and hurrying towards the post office.

As for the corpse outside the door, it had already been reduced to clothes and shoes a few days ago, which he had buried in a pit he dug.

Walking through the woods, over ten minutes later, Yu Hong arrived at the post office entrance, seeing Li Rushan playing a chess game with Aisena.

The father and daughter sat at the stone house entrance, absorbed in their game.

Aisena was in a pure white little dress, her chubby little face full of collagen, exceptionally cute.

Opposite her, Li Rushan noticed Yu Hong's approach and quickly stood to greet him.

"Haven't seen you in a few days, what can I get you?" He asked Yu Hong with a kindly smile.

"Do you have a light bulb?" Yu Hong asked.

"Of course... I don't. You'll need to place an order." Li Rushan replied.

"Also, I'd like to purchase basic combat technique instruction." Yu Hong stated again.

"Oh? Looks like you've run into some trouble." Li Rushan observed, noting some unnatural movements.

"Yes, just a small problem... It's resolved." Yu Hong nodded.

"That's good. The prices are marked, prepare your items for exchange. Also, there's a letter for you." Li Rushan turned and fetched an envelope from inside the house, handing it to Yu Hong.

"By the way, you remember those people who came a while ago, right? They came in cars, I found the cars nearby. Inside... it's pretty bad."

"... Were there any survivors?" Yu Hong asked.

"All dead. From old to young, the cars crashed too. I was thinking of salvaging some good stuff." Li Rushan shook his head. "But according to my info, this group won't be the last. More people will pass through here, there are a few vacant safe houses, and someone might settle. They might come to buy stones from you, so be aware."

"Alright." Yu Hong nodded, taking the letter, recognizing the address as Stammering Yiyi's place, immediately understanding it was a letter from Yiyi.

"Besides that, the Talisman Array and Large Pyroxene Stone you traded last time were well received. My superiors hope you can supply Large Pyroxene Stones long-term. What do you say?" Li Rushan asked further.

Yu Hong was briefly surprised, then thought for a moment and shook his head.

"The crafting method for Large Pyroxene Stones is random. I can't guarantee output, so I can't supply them steadily."

"Alright..." Li Rushan shrugged, "What type of combat techniques do you want to purchase? Stand-up techniques? You bought leg techniques last time, or maybe knife skills?"

"Real combat sparring..." Yu Hong said gravely. He was fed up with being suppressed.

This answer made Li Rushan pause slightly. Goodness, going straight for the hardest mode.

But recalling the match he'd observed before, he could understand.

"Actually, Old Zhou is an expert in this area. I can only lay the foundation. However, he's not good at teaching, way behind me in enlightenment. So, you came to the right person!" Li Rushan smiled, revealing a mouthful of black teeth.

"Your teeth?" Yu Hong blinked, puzzled and asked.

"Oh, brushed with charcoal powder, haven't cleaned up yet." Li Rushan grinned. "Looks like your injuries aren't fully healed. Wait until you're completely better, and we can start, okay?"

"Okay." Yu Hong nodded.

Having ordered bulbs and wires, he also went to see Doctor Xu, who was still immersed in making herbal medicine, clearly intending to mass-produce.

"I've met with Li Rushan's supply team. We've agreed on the price. Once I accumulate 300 portions of anti-inflammatory powder, they'll take me to the nearest Baihe City."

Doctor Xu's face showed a glimmer of hope that wasn't there before, as she vigorously stirred the herbal mush with a wooden stick, drenched in sweat.

"You're planning to leave?" Yu Hong was slightly taken aback, standing at the door and asking.