Night of Despair-Chapter 93 - : Rune One

Chapter 93: Rune One

The new research method required the consumption of an enhanced duration using the Black Mark, but luckily, after Yu Hong combined the Vortex Rune with the luminous stone, there were only a few minutes left on the countdown.

He waited for a short while and then obtained a small pyroxene bearing a completely new set of runes.

Picking up the luminous stone, he examined the runes on its surface.

‘The new runes integrate the enhancement rune with the Vortex Rune, and it’s not just a simple combination. The placement and order of the internal symbols have changed. However, the material of the luminous stone remained the same, the ordinary one.’

He took out the enhancement detector and pressed it beside the luminous stone.

Beep.

...

The detector’s LCD screen displayed the value: -7.221.

“There’s not much difference from before the detection…” Yu Hong frowned slightly. He had checked the data before taking out the stone, and the numbers only fluctuated around this value.

The Red Value of an ordinary Luminous stone was actually quite low, primarily determined by its volume.

And generally, after being mined, ordinary luminous stones would slowly break into similarly sized pieces over time.

‘Maybe the Vortex Rune itself doesn’t have an immediate effect, maybe it needs time to ferment…’ Yu Hong took out paper and pen to make another record.

The paper already held a large number of attempts, using the Black Mark, he had already eliminated many possible directions.

‘What if I just use the Vortex Rune alone for drawing?’ Yu Hong thought of another method.

He quickly took another small pyroxene and began drawing a Vortex Rune on it with a charcoal pencil.

Then, he tested it again with the Red Value detector and noted the data.

But the result was still useless, without any change.

Yu Hong was not discouraged and began to use other items as carriers for the Vortex Rune.

He continued testing little by little.

The sky gradually started to darken again.

“Huh? Why is it getting dark so quickly?” Yu Hong snapped out of his experiments and looked through the door’s peephole.

He took out an enhanced communicator, which had transformed into a square plastic box surrounded by four speakers.

At the very top, there was a row of buttons and dials, each marked with functions and numbers on one side.

Yu Hong examined it and found the switch on the lower side, flipping it on with a click.

Hiss…

Instantly, a burst of clear electrical static noise emanated from the speakers.

But quickly, the static vanished, replaced by faint voices.

“…four days, in four days we will face….”

“…too many people, still a lot of supplies…. reduce…. kick out…”

“I disagree, everyone has come together through the hardest times, now as we approach….”

Several people seemed to be arguing on the other end of the communicator, with Old Li’s voice also among them.

He seemed calm, listing the longest time the existing supplies could last, but the rest wasn’t very clear.

Yu Hong tapped the communicator, generating a few snapping static noises.

The noise was loud, immediately catching the attention of the other side.

“Old Li? Can you hear me?” he asked in a deep voice.

“Uh, very clearly, is your signal that good?” Li Rushan seemed surprised. Clearly, he wasn’t aware of the quality provided by the Black Mark’s products.

“Not bad, let’s get to the point, I need to consult you on something,” said Yu Hong quickly. He had agreed with the other side to activate the communication every day at a fixed time, but the electricity used for communication should not be wasted frivolously. If there was nothing to discuss, he would choose to turn it off to save power, then wait until the next day.

This function was actually quite inconvenient and outdated, Yu Hong really wanted to complain about why they couldn’t make it like a telephone, with either a ringing or a vibrating alert, instead of needing both devices to be on to establish contact.

“What is it?” Li Rushan was also pleased with the quality of the call.

“I went to the ruins cave and found another rune similar to the luminous stone rune, but this rune seems to be useless; I wonder if you have any research on it on your side?” Yu Hong asked bluntly.

He didn’t believe the others who explored the ruins wouldn’t research the Vortex Rune, so if he could get some clues through the channel of the mail service, it could save him a great deal of time and effort.

“Oh, that one…. Indeed, there has been research on it, to be precise, not just these two runes in the ruins, but several others you haven’t seen and that haven’t appeared in the market. But… the only one truly found useful is the enhancement rune for the luminous stone,” Old Li quickly replied.

“Since it’s useless, then why is it on the stone walls of the ruins?” Yu Hong frowned.

“That, I don’t know. Maybe the scholars studying the ruins might know something, but I just tried contacting the headquarters, and found that our previous anti-interference communication is now also subject to strong interference, with a very unstable signal. I suspect the environmental changes outside are also having a big impact on communication,” conveyed Li Rushan, his tone filled with concern.

“No matter what, let’s prepare for a drawn-out fight,” Yu Hong said.

“Enough, let’s not talk anymore, it’s getting dark soon. I hope there won’t be a Blood Tide tonight,” Li Rushan said.

Yu Hong responded, and the two disconnected.

Sigh.

He took a long exhale.

‘The mail service’s communication is affected too? If we lose contact with the upper levels….’

A flicker of concern crossed his eyes.

Without contact, it was likely that supply teams wouldn’t come often. No… with the current increase in outdoor hazards, it was very likely that supply teams wouldn’t come at all in the future.

“If the luminous grass outside can’t disperse the Blood Tide, then it will be up to the door of my cave to withstand it. But the current strength of the door is likely insufficient to cope with the Blood Tide….”

Having swiftly assessed the potential dangers, Yu Hong decided it was necessary to fortify the door.

The mother and daughter in the courtyard outside would leave sooner or later; there was no need to worry about them. However, if the supply team couldn’t make it, they would have to rely solely on themselves, being completely self-sufficient.

“Fortify the door, and also need to increase the volume of the safety shelter, making space for storage and cultivation…. Separate areas for washing and excretion would be best too, to prevent moisture from causing mold. A training space is needed as well… and a testing laboratory…. It’s best to leave as many compartments as possible at once, to prepare for future expansions.”

Having confirmed his future plans, Yu Hong roughly sketched a map of the underground chamber structure, preliminarily deciding to develop five compartments. One of which needed to be fairly large, intended for indoor training and experimentation.

Having decided the position for each compartment, he glanced outside.

The sky outside the door had completely darkened, but there was no Blood Tide tonight, only quiet darkness.

There was no moonlight in the sky; the moon was obscured by clouds, with only occasional specks of starlight serving as the lone sources of illumination.

Outside the cave, the luminous grass swayed gently with the wind, dispersing a soft and bright white halo.

Yu Hong had slept during the day, and now feeling energetic, he simply cooked some protein soup. After eating, he began to train.

He focused mentally and trained for three hours, exhausting his physical strength as much as he could. Just as Yu Hong was about to finish up and prepare to rest, suddenly, in the last moment of his training,

Hiss…

A faint noise emanated from deep within his abdomen.

A large number of unknown, exotic particles were penetrating his pale skin and fatty layer at that moment, passing through the red muscle layer, and incessantly burrowing into the location of Yu Hong’s Dantian.

These particles were much finer than dust, seeming solid yet also able to easily pass through solids, as if illusory.

This strange state lasted for about ten seconds before slowly disappearing.

“This is…!?” Yu Hong gently touched his abdomen, finding the skin slightly cold there, as if it had just touched ice, chilling to the bone.

And inside his abdomen, he could clearly feel a new, cold strand of Inner Qi slowly forming there.

“The first Inner Qi of the second layer is finally cultivated!” Yu Hong compared it with the description in the Heavy Leg Skill, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Without Inner Qi in his body, though his physique was greatly enhanced, it still wasn’t enough to give him peace of mind.

Now that he had accumulated Inner Qi again, it brought him a great sense of security.

“With Inner Qi now, I will start expanding the basement tomorrow!” he thought, feeling reassured.

Inner Qi was not only a strong asset for stamina but also could accelerate the recovery of luminous grass and provide more energy for strengthening the Black Mark. Its uses were quite extensive.

With tomorrow’s plan set in his mind, Yu Hong prepared to finish up and go upstairs to rest.

But just then, a flash of inspiration in his mind halted his steps, and he stood frozen in place.

“Wait! If the wall can be comprehensively strengthened, and the array can be comprehensively strengthened, why can’t the safety shelter also be?!”

Standing in the green light, the brightness in Yu Hong’s eyes grew more pronounced.

He stood silently for a moment, then suddenly crouched down, pressing a hand onto the ground.

“Strengthen the entire safety shelter, direction: increase the number of chambers by 5. Enhance wall hardness, improve moisture resistance.”

After silently setting his requirements, Yu Hong waited eagerly for the feedback from the Black Mark.

Hiss.

A black line separated from the Black Mark, merging into the ground.

And then, the wait.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

Finally, a cold mechanical voice echoed by his ear.

“Shall the entire safety shelter be enhanced?”

At the same time, a huge countdown in black digits appeared on the ground beneath Yu Hong’s feet.

“24 days 11:07 hours.”

“It really works!!!” Yu Hong’s eyes widened, his spirits greatly lifted.

He knew exactly what this meant. For future expansions and modifications of the safety shelter, he no longer needed to learn techniques elsewhere or seek help from others; relying solely on the continuous synthesis and strengthening provided by the Black Mark was sufficient!

“Since strengthening the entire safety shelter is feasible, then strengthening each chamber separately must also work!”

With his spirits lifted and a joyful expression as if a new avenue of thought had been opened, Yu Hong quickly stood up and walked to the wall, lightly pressing his hand against it.

“Enhance this chamber, direction: add connecting chambers, quantity: 1.”

This time, he didn’t add five chambers at once but just one. He avoided requesting other enhancements, solely to determine how much time strengthening a chamber would take.

Soon, the black line flowed out, and a countdown appeared on the wall.

“4 days 11:02 hours.”

“Only just over four days! This is much faster than digging by myself!” Yu Hong was thrilled, a smile spreading across his face.

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Even though his strength had greatly increased and his physique had been significantly enhanced, chiseling through stone was much more difficult than digging through soil. Thus, even with his current strength, digging out a decent chamber in four days was impossible.

“The key is, after the Black Mark strengthens it, it’s very likely that everything will be perfectly finished for me—the smoothness of the walls, the integrity of the entire chamber, the aesthetical aspects, all will be much better than what I could achieve on my own.”