An hour and fifty-one minutes, close to two hours, was not very long for Yu Hong.
He added some wood to the fire while he waited.
Unconsciously, the number of black insects outside the door decreased, and light faintly shone through the ventilation hole.
It was morning.
He slowly walked to the back of the door and opened the observation window.
Outside, the mountain forest was shrouded in a hazy gray fog, all blurry and indistinct. Sunlight illuminated the gray mist, turning everything into shades of gray and white.
Suddenly, Yu Hong smelled a pungent odor in his nose, causing him to step back two paces, his brows slightly furrowed.
He turned back to glance at the medicine being fortified; there were still a few minutes left.
He wasn't in a hurry and sat quietly, waiting.
In no time, the digital display on the black soil went straight to zero.
Its entire form twisted and blurred for an instant, then swiftly regained clarity in less than a second.
Once clear, the original soil had turned into six packets of black capsules.
The back of the capsules had labels: Anti-Diarrheal Medication, Usage: one capsule at a time, once a day. Side effects: abdominal pain, constipation, stomach discomfort.
Yu Hong looked delighted, quickly running forward, picking up the medication, prying one out and popping it into his mouth, then picking up the boiled filtered water from earlier, swallowing it down with several gulps.
Having taken the medicine, he felt much more at ease.
*The Black Mark's fortification ability had never failed; since it was marked as an anti-diarrheal medication, there must be no problem.*
The medicine wasn't effective yet, and with nothing to do, Yu Hong began to use tools to make a new water filter cup from some leftover wood.
As long as it was simply made, fortification would perfect it.
Along the way, he also shoved a protein bar into his mouth.
Rumored to last an entire day, he planned to try it out.
While holding a saw to work on his craft, he casually turned on the radio.
The station had been pre-set and hadn't been touched.
Once on, voices came through, in the form of a two-person interview.
"...The significant disaster in Youyun City in recent years isn't isolated. According to reports from the main station journalists, ever since the Black Disaster appeared, the frequency of unusual disasters nationwide has been on the rise. In contrast, the shadows and Blood Tide Monsters have not caused severe casualties. They did more damage in the initial stages of the Black Disaster. But in the subsequent stable environment, the real steep rise in casualties is caused by the Evil Shadows, which are more dangerous than the shadows."
"Evil Shadows are not afraid of ordinary luminous stones, their movement speed is incredibly fast, and they have a strong contagion. Although they appear infrequently, only surfacing occasionally, the hazards they cause far exceed the other two once they appear.
The disaster in Youyun this time caused over six hundred casualties, comparable to Char Town's initial case in Flaika...."
"Yes, so Professor Han, do you have any recommendations for us?" the radio host asked.
"My only recommendation is to try to head to the larger Hope City bases; they have more advanced weapons and stronger defenses. An individual cannot find a way to counter Evil Shadows alone. Thank you."
"Alright. By the way, you mentioned that the Silver Tower Joint Research Institute is about to release a protective survival manual for shadows and Blood Tide. Is this true?" the host asked.
"Yes, I heard about this news, but I'm not sure about the authenticity. However, the environment outside the city is worsening, shadows, Blood Tide, and Evil Shadows are increasing, and nighttime hours are getting longer and longer, leading to a greater demand for lighting. Personally, I feel the Silver Tower has the obligation and responsibility to release such a manual."
"One last question. A listener asked: In densely populated areas, when danger arises, more people die, the chances of being affected are greater. Just like the Pockf incident a year ago, and the music box incident five months ago, both caused massive casualties. Besides these, more incidents that went unreported occurred in different corners. What's your take on such concerns?"
"What I want to warn about is that investigations into these events point to Evil Shadows as the cause. Their high contagion can spread rapidly through any media contact. This is key to their causing large casualties.
For Evil Shadows, aside from isolating and clearing the areas they mediate, we currently have no effective dispersal means."
"What about high-concentration luminous stone bombs?"
"No, where Evil Shadows are more dangerous than shadows is their ability to quickly recover without injury after being dispersed. Hence, if encountered, depart swiftly. The increasing number of Evil Shadow events is also prompting all major Hope City fortresses to become more rigorous in checking inbound people, so I advise survivors outside to enter city shelters soon; otherwise, they might face being unable to enter and lack supplies...."
It then transitioned to the closing remarks and thanks, as this professor left the broadcast amid the host's gratitude. The program ended, turning into soothing music.
Yu Hong sat on the stool, momentarily lost in thought.
*He hadn't expected Hope City's seemingly safe base to be facing such considerable danger.*
'Right, where there are more people, there are naturally more attracted dangers.... If I were a shadow monster, I would also head to crowded areas to find food.'
Snapping back to reality, he let out a light sigh.
He stood and placed an unfinished wooden cup on the floor, then, as usual, wrapped it with cloth, sealed it with charcoal at the mouth.
Finally, he pressed it with his hand to fortify it.
The countdown appeared: 3 hours and 2 minutes.
"Hmm? Why had the time increased?" Yu Hong remembered the last fortification took only two and a half hours.
Why was it this time....
He looked over the newly made cup, its craftsmanship notably rough, just a square wooden bowl casually split with an ax, with a rough hole carved inside.
*Far inferior to the detailed wooden cup he carefully crafted the first time....*
'Could it be that the workmanship resulted in increased time?' He secretly guessed.
He noted this down in his mind.
After resting for a while, feeling slightly better, he began fortifying the water filter cup; then he stood up to clean, dispose of the trash and feces, change into newly acquired clothes, and go out to collect wood and fetch water from puddles.
After a series of tasks,
time quickly flew by three hours.
The cup was fortified and was no different from the first.
He tested it; indeed, the results were satisfactory.
That day, he didn't venture far and spent the entire day near the cave collecting firewood.
The dry lumber was soaked by rain, but it was suitable for making small things.
In a blink, three hours had passed again, and Yu Hong had fortified another water filter cup.
With the previous one, he had two in total.
He paused, deciding not to continue, instead picking up the toolkit he had been using.
This set was pieced together by Stammering Yiyi, including a saw, ax, chisel, shovel, screwdriver, and more—quite comprehensive.
Yu Hong planned to thoroughly fortify it for future use; otherwise, waiting for it to break before fortification could be troublesome and might turn into repairs.
In the cave, he gathered all the tools, used a rag to wrap them, and then pressed his hand on the cloth.
'Fortify the toolkit, direction: firm enhancement.'
A flash of black thread. A countdown appeared on the rag immediately: 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Quite brief.
Yu Hong withdrew his hand, deep in thought.
'It seems the fortification is closely related to my requirements. The more difficult the request, the larger the span, the longer the time. But there needs to be a level of completeness; only I don't know how low it has to be.'
He estimated in his heart, finding a temporary place to sit and rest.
The effect of the diarrhea medication was good; in six hours, he hadn't gone to the bathroom once, and his body felt unaffected.
The remaining medicine could be stored for future use and could even be used for trade in vital moments.
Feeling physically better, in the afternoon, Yu Hong went out one last time, roaming around to familiarize himself with his surroundings. Afterward, he returned to the safe house and went to sleep early to rest.
He planned to exercise at night following the Advanced Physical Training Method.
Before sleeping, he couldn't waste the fortification time from the Black Mark, not leaving it idle.
So he went to check the toolkit.
Approaching the corner, Yu Hong was stunned.
In the corner, the previously tattered various tools were now all secured by a black metal mount.
Every tool on it had shed its previous old and damaged state, now all fresh and new.
Moreover, the surface of the tools appeared to have a layer of gray-black unknown material, increasing thickness and making them look much sturdier.
"Impressive... this effect, just in an hour...." Yu Hong marveled, reaching out to take down a saw.
The saw's teeth had broken in some places before, but now upon close inspection, all the fractures had vanished, and the teeth were unprecedentedly sharper.
Once again amazed in his heart, Yu Hong began to search for the next fortification target.
For now, in the cave, food, drinking water, tools, were temporarily ensured.
Only the resting place... needed enhancement.
His gaze fell on the thick, smelly quilt.
'This fortification comes with cleaning as well; let's fortify the quilt once and see. If it could become a non-mold, lightweight, and easy-wash type, that would be even better....'
Thinking this, he approached the gray-white quilt Stammering Yiyi had given him, squatted, and extended his hand.
'Fortify the bedding, direction: mold-proof, insect-repelling, lighter and easier to wash.'
The thought flashed in his mind.
A black line flashed from the Black Mark on the back of his hand, instantly burrowing into the quilt.
The countdown appeared: 10 hours and 14 minutes.
*That long?!* Yu Hong was taken aback. But thinking it over, he realized he requested quite a bit, and given the larger volume of the bedding, these might have caused it.
*Ten hours, from night to dawn, I can wait!*
He settled his mind and quickly confirmed the Black Mark's prompt.
Instantly, the black countdown on the quilt began to move.
The firelight flickered. Inside the cave, Yu Hong started jogging in place in the center, beginning his workout.
All the while, he paid close attention to his breathing, mental envisioning, and muscle exertion.
The three together were quite challenging to synchronize.
He constantly tried, repeated, occasionally stopping to add wood, as time flowed by effortlessly.
Gradually, as the latter half of the night approached, he began to grasp the synergy of the three.
During his jog, faint sounds of water flow began to reach his ears.
The sound started small at first.
Over time, it gradually grew louder and louder.
Even the influx of black insects outside couldn't suppress the sound.