Fortunately, there were no unexpected events this time. Yu Hong smoothly moved out dried meat, dried mushrooms, and other supplies from the house, and also brought out some luminous stones that hadn't yet been marked.
He finally grabbed the iron pot and other tools. Other than that, there wasn't anything useful left in the house.
When he returned to the cave, it was over an hour later. He was out of breath as he placed the items properly, categorizing them neatly.
The reinforcement of the main door was also just finished.
After a blur of flickering, the reinforced boards perfectly fit into the back of the door, merging as one seamless piece. This caused the entire door to be at least half as thick again as before.
The heavy door was clearly much more difficult to open and close than before. But it also made Yu Hong feel a stronger sense of security inside.
After he finished these tasks, he closed the door and sat on a wooden stool inside the cave, beginning to boil water.
While boiling water, he started writing and drawing on a newspaper with a charcoal pencil.
The charcoal pencil was thick, making it difficult to write, but for his own health, he endured the discomfort and, after some thought, carefully wrote a line of words.
"Comprehensive Physical Training Method"
Then, under this line, he used numbers to make a list of titles.
"1—Jog for fifteen minutes every day."
"2—Do at least thirty push-ups every day, in sets of ten."
"3—Do at least thirty sit-ups every day, in sets of ten."
Just these three lines, a simple content plan.
Then, Yu Hong reached out his hand and placed it on the newspaper with the writing on it.
A thought to reinforce it flashed through his mind.
Instantly.
The surface of the Black Mark rippled, releasing a black line that drilled into the newspaper.
"Insufficient completeness."
A mechanical voice suddenly resonated in Yu Hong's ears.
"??"
He froze, withdrew his hand, and stared at the newspaper, frowning slightly.
*This was an experiment he was conducting, casually writing some training methods, with the idea of guiding the direction from within, to see if the Black Mark could enhance them into various strong and effective training methods.*
*But looking at it now...*
"Insufficient completeness? What does that mean? What is missing?"
He picked up the newspaper and examined it carefully.
"The training methods are there, the frequency is set.... Isn't that enough... wait! I understand now."
Suddenly, his expression became serious. He picked up the charcoal pencil and began adding more underneath.
"4—Pay attention to supplementing protein, carbohydrates, and trace elements every day."
"5—Practice six days a week, rest one day, ensure at least ten hours of sleep every day."
He tapped the carbon powder off the newspaper and nodded this time. Placing it down, he placed his hand on it and once again flashed the thought.
Very quickly.
"Do you want to enhance the Comprehensive Physical Training Method?" Finally, the inquiry from the Black Mark appeared.
At the same time, the newspaper displayed the countdown time required for enhancement: 5 days, 12 hours, and 16 minutes.
*Yu Hong was overjoyed, knowing his experiment had succeeded!*
According to the displayed time, it took a full five days. He didn't confirm it immediately but released his hand, canceling the enhancement.
*It was the peak period now. If he enhanced it now, the Black Mark would be temporarily unusable. He would do it once the peak period was over and there was more time.*
"Since it's confirmed to be feasible, let's try again!"
Now, with renewed interest, Yu Hong flipped the newspaper over and wrote another title: Fighting Skill.
Under this, he compiled basic fighting techniques he had vaguely seen online before. After pondering deeply, he struggled to put together a set, including attack and defense, dodging, and pursuit. Once he had completed it comprehensively, he pressed expectantly on the newspaper.
"Enhance the Fighting Skill, direction: fantasy mythical cultivation style!"
*At this moment, filled with desire for the future, having read many novels, he anxiously awaited the Black Mark's response.*
The surface of the Black Mark rippled, then a thin black line trickled out, merging into the newspaper.
"Insufficient completeness."
A response quickly echoed.
*Yu Hong's face was filled with anticipation, which halted. Although he had guessed that this situation was likely, seeing it for real left him a bit disappointed.*
He thought it over, then switched the page and placed his hand on the Comprehensive Physical Training Method again.
"Enhance the Comprehensive Physical Training Method, direction: Life Evolution!"
Sizzle.
Once more, the Black Mark emitted a black line, flowing into the newspaper.
The feedback quickly arrived again.
"Insufficient completeness."
*Yu Hong wasn't disheartened. He lifted his hand again and pressed on it once more.*
"Enhance the Comprehensive Physical Training Method, direction: Human Limit Training Method."
Sizzle.
The black line resurfaced, rushing from the Black Mark into the newspaper.
This time, the Black Mark was silent for a long while.
Finally.
"Do you want to enhance to the Human Limit Training Method?"
"It worked!!!" Yu Hong let out a low cheer, unable to suppress the smile on his face.
Then, he looked at the figures appearing on the newspaper.
"....."
The smile on his face slowly vanished.
It was replaced by disappointment and speechlessness.
The numbers appeared on the newspaper, right in the middle of the so-called Comprehensive Physical Training Method.
"678 days, 12 hours, and 06 minutes."
"..." Yu Hong was at a loss for words, standing up and pacing a few circles.
He quickly sat back down.
*It seemed that I set my expectations too high. I should try to lower them a bit.*
He pressed his hand on the newspaper again.
"Enhance the Comprehensive Physical Training Method, direction: Advanced Physical Enhancement."
This time, he didn't act recklessly. Since he already understood that the more difficult things required more time, he no longer reached for the heavens but rather set it to the lowest requirement.
*In his mind, he briefly considered leaning towards the direction of inner strength and martial arts.*
Indeed, this time, the Black Mark inquiry appeared again.
"Do you want to enhance to Advanced Physical Enhancement?"
The numbers also appeared on the newspaper. Compared to before, this time the numbers were much more reasonable: 9 hours and 16 minutes.
"Yes!"
This time, Yu Hong finally gave a definite answer.
*With this time frame, he could achieve it after a nap. He was eager to see what the difference between the enhanced content and a general training method would be.*
While he boiled water in the cave with anticipation, he ate some dried meat and sipped some hot water. Before he could go out to gather firewood, a shout came from outside.
"Yu, Hong! Yu, Hong, are you there?"
A somewhat familiar voice called out from afar.
With the sound of footsteps crushing twigs, someone quickly approached the cave.
Yu Hong's expression changed. He rushed to the door and peered out through the peephole.
In the bright forest outside, a small figure in full camouflage quickly approached.
The figure wore a steel helmet, brown mountain boots, camo tactical vest, goggles, and a black respiratory filter mask.
With this gear, no one could recognize who she was.
But Yu Hong judged from her voice that she was Stammering Yiyi, Lin Yiyi!
"Yiyi, is that you?" he called out quickly. "1726495!"
"2, 3, 2!" Stammering Yiyi froze and immediately replied.
"It's you!!" Yu Hong opened the door cautiously, checked the surroundings, and went out to meet Stammering Yiyi.
The two quickly converged on the forest slope.
"You, are okay, that's, great!!" Stammering Yiyi grabbed Yu Hong's hand, her relief mixed with joy.
"I, thought, you, weren't, here!" She gestured while pulling a letter from the outer pocket of her vest.
"I.... have to, leave! The letter, you read it."
She showed an evident mix of happiness and resignation on her face.
"Where are you going?" Yu Hong asked, seeing her outfit and feeling a sense of foreboding.
"I, was, conscripted, into the, united, army, must, immediately, follow, the main, force, to a distant, place!" Stammering Yiyi struggled to explain, pointing to the letter.
"Everything, explained, in, here." She said helplessly. "You're, fine, that's, good."
*For a moment, Yu Hong didn't know what to say.*
*In this environment, being conscripted was undoubtedly extremely dangerous.*
*But now the die was cast....*
He quickly pulled out the letter and spread it open to read.
The handwriting was much smoother than before, clearly either someone else had written it for her or Stammering Yiyi had practiced to become more familiar with it.
The letter explained that as soon as she arrived in town, due to the enhanced pyroxene she held, she managed to defeat three consecutive shadows and her physique was strong, as well as her strength, so she caught the attention of the garrison forces.
As for conscription, Stammering Yiyi didn't have much resistance.
At least in the army, there was food to eat and water to drink, without having to search all over by herself, alternating between hunger and fullness.
She could have clean clothes, equipment, and lodging, which was much better than being alone in the village.
The end of the letter also mentioned that the effect of the enhanced pyroxene had been noticed by the town's garrison team and that they might come to trade with him later on.
Although Stammering Yiyi didn't know where the enhanced pyroxene came from, she discerned what those people were thinking.
"Be, careful!" Stammering Yiyi earnestly warned.
"Yes! Understood!" Yu Hong nodded. Before sending the enhanced pyroxene with Stammering Yiyi to the town, he was mentally prepared for this, but he hadn't thought it would happen so quickly.
"I'm, leaving, time, is up." Stammering Yiyi said at last.
She turned around and ran towards the distance. After running more than ten meters, she suddenly turned around and looked at Yu Hong.
"You can, write letters, post office!" she shouted, pointing in the direction where the postal worker lived in the woods.
The external communication method of Baiqiu Village, ever since the collapse of order, had always relied on the post office.
The postal worker was the only channel for maintaining external contact.
They received salaries and supplies from the state, trained their physical abilities daily, and their only duty was to connect various locations, allowing the higher-level unit to grasp multiple pieces of information and specialties in their district.
Stammering Yiyi's letter also mentioned that postal workers shouldered the task of being a general store. He would take the specialties of the surrounding residents to distant settlements, sell them, and then buy necessary supplies for everyone, thereby earning the price difference.
Additionally, there was a letter-writing service, where the postal worker could help deliver letters for a fee. However, it was limited to nearby bases, and the price wasn't cheap.
In the forest.
Yu Hong watched as Stammering Yiyi went farther and farther away, gradually disappearing into the forest.
*He understood in his heart that meeting again this time was truly difficult.*
*Standing at the cave entrance, he couldn't calm down for a long time.*
*Stammering Yiyi was the person who guided him from the very beginning. Without her, he might have died at the start in the wilderness or from disease.*
'May you have a safe journey.'
He silently said this in his heart as he turned and walked into the door, just about to close it.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps on leaves came from outside.
The sound was very chaotic, but not hurried or sneaky, clearly indicating that the arrivals didn't intend to hide themselves.
He turned back, quickly closing the door and peering out through the peephole.
Outside the window, two camouflaged figures emerged from the forest.
Both were over six feet tall, broad-shouldered and burly, each holding a slender metal staff, pushing aside the grass as they approached the cave.