A Night of Desperation

Chapter 21: Exchange (1)

Fortunately, this time, there were no unexpected issues. Yu Hong smoothly moved out the dried meat, mushroom jerky, and other supplies from the house, as well as some unmarked white stones that hadn’t been inscribed with runes yet. He also grabbed the iron pot and other tools. There wasn’t much else of use in the house.

By the time he returned to the cave, over an hour had passed. Panting, he put the items down and organized them neatly.

The door reinforcement was also just completed.

After a blurry flicker, the reinforced board was perfectly embedded into the back of the door, fusing seamlessly with it. As a result, the entire door was at least half thicker than before.

The heavy door was noticeably more difficult to open and close, but it made Yu Hong feel more secure.

Once he finished these tasks, he closed the door and sat down on a wooden stool inside the cave, beginning to boil water.

While the water boiled, he used a charcoal pencil to write and sketch on a piece of newspaper.

The charcoal pencil was thick and hard to write with, but Yu Hong gritted his teeth, enduring the discomfort. He carefully wrote a line of text.

‘Comprehensive Physical Training Plan’

Then, below this line, he added the following numbered items:

‘1——Jogging for fifteen minutes every day.’

‘2——At least thirty push-ups a day, ten per set.’

‘3——At least thirty sit-ups a day, ten per set.’

These were simple plans for physical exercises.

Yu Hong then extended his hand, pressing it onto the newspaper.

The thought of reinforcement flashed in his mind.

Immediately, the black mark on the paper rippled, and a black line flowed into the newspaper.

‘Completeness insufficient.’

A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in Yu Hong’s ears.

“??”

He froze for a moment, withdrew his hand, and frowned at the paper.

This was an experiment he tried—writing a few basic exercise methods and guiding his thoughts to see if the black mark could enhance them into more effective and powerful training methods.

But now, it seemed…

“Completeness insufficient? What does that mean? What’s missing?”

He picked up the paper and examined it closely.

“There are exercise methods, and the frequency is also there… Wait! I understand.”

Suddenly, his expression changed. He grabbed the charcoal pencil and started adding more.

‘4——Supplement protein, carbohydrates, and trace elements every day.’

‘5——Train six days a week, rest one day, and ensure at least ten hours of sleep daily.’

After tapping the charcoal powder off the paper, Yu Hong nodded, placed it down, and pressed his hand on it again, focusing his thoughts.

Soon enough.

‘Would you like to reinforce the Comprehensive Physical Training Plan?’ The black mark’s voice inquired.

At the same time, the countdown to reinforcement appeared on the paper: 5 days, 12 hours, 16 minutes.

Yu Hong was delighted. He knew his test was a success!

However, seeing the long time required—five days—he didn’t confirm immediately. He released his hand, canceling the reinforcement.

Now was the peak period; if he reinforced it now, the black mark would temporarily be unavailable. He decided to wait until after this period.

‘Since it’s feasible, let’s try again!’

Excited, Yu Hong turned the page and wrote another title: Martial Arts

Under this, he wrote down basic martial arts techniques he’d seen online, struggling to piece together an adequate set, covering offense, defense, dodging, and pursuit. After thinking hard and completing it, he placed his hand on the paper again, full of expectation.

‘Reinforce Martial Arts, with a focus on fantasy cultivation style!’

In that moment, after watching too many novels, Yu Hong’s heart was full of hope for the future. He nervously awaited the black mark’s response.

The black mark rippled again, and a black line flowed from it into the paper.

‘Completeness insufficient.’

A feedback sound followed promptly.

Yu Hong’s expression of hope froze. Although he had guessed this might happen, he still felt a bit disappointed seeing it for real.

Then, thinking for a moment, he decided to change tactics. He pressed his hand on the paper with the Comprehensive Physical Training Plan.

‘Reinforce the Comprehensive Physical Training Plan, with a focus on life evolution!’

Hiss.

The black mark surged again, flowing into the paper.

Soon, the feedback came again.

‘Completeness insufficient.’

Yu Hong wasn’t disappointed this time. Instead, he raised his hand again, pressing it onto the paper.

‘Reinforce the Comprehensive Physical Training Plan, with a focus on human extreme training methods.’

Hiss.

The black line reappeared, surging into the paper.

This time, the black mark was silent for a long while.

Finally.

‘Would you like to reinforce it into human extreme training methods?’

“Success!!!” Yu Hong let out a low exclamation, unable to suppress the smile spreading on his face.

Then, he looked at the numbers that had appeared on the paper.

“.”

His smile slowly faded, replaced by disappointment and speechlessness.

The numbers appeared in the middle of the so-called Comprehensive Physical Training Plan:

‘678 days, 12 hours, 06 minutes.’

“.” Yu Hong was speechless. He stood up and paced around for a bit.

After a moment, he sat back down.

‘Maybe I set the difficulty too high. I’ll try adjusting it lower.’

Once more, he pressed his hand on the paper.

‘Reinforce the Comprehensive Physical Training Plan, with a focus on advanced physical enhancement.’

This time, he didn’t try to push it too high. Since he now understood that harder things needed more time, he lowered his expectations and just focused on the most basic level, with a slight lean towards internal martial arts.

Sure enough, the black mark’s inquiry returned.

‘Would you like to reinforce it as advanced physical enhancement?’

Numbers also appeared on the paper. Compared to before, these numbers were much more reasonable: 9 hours, 16 minutes.

‘Yes!’ This time, Yu Hong gave a definite answer.

This time, with the reinforcement requiring just a sleep’s worth of time, he was eager to see how the enhanced version differed from regular training methods.

After boiling the water in the cave, he ate some dried meat, drank some water, and was about to go out to gather firewood when he suddenly heard someone shouting.

“Yu, Hong! Yu, Hong, are you there?”

A familiar voice came from afar.

With the sound of branches snapping underfoot, someone was quickly approaching the cave.

Yu Hong’s expression changed. He rushed to the door, peering through the peephole to look outside.

In the bright forest, a small figure in camouflage was rapidly approaching.

The person was wearing a steel helmet, brown hiking boots, a camouflage tactical vest, goggles, and a black breathing mask.

With this gear, no one could tell who they were.

But Yu Hong recognized the voice—it was Little Stutterer, Lin Yiyi!

“Yiyi, is that you?” He quickly called out. “1726495!”

“2, 3, 2!” Little Stutterer hesitated for a moment and immediately responded.

“It’s you!!” Yu Hong quickly opened the door, cautiously checking the surroundings, and went out to meet her.

The two quickly met on the sloped ground in the forest.

“You’re alright! That’s great!!” Little Stutterer grabbed Yu Hong’s hand, both relieved and happy.

“I thought you… were… gone!” She gestured with her hands while pulling out a letter from her vest pocket.

“I’m leaving! Read the letter.” She showed her face, a mix of happiness and helplessness.

“Where are you going?” Yu Hong, noticing her outfit, had a bad feeling.

“I’ve been recruited into the United Army. I must go with the main force to a distant place!” Little Stutterer answered, gesturing to the letter.

“All the details are in here.” She said helplessly. “As long as you’re okay, that’s good.”

For a moment, Yu Hong didn’t know what to say.

In this environment, being drafted into the military was an extremely dangerous situation.

But now, it was too late.

He quickly took the letter and unfolded it to read.

The handwriting was much smoother than before, so it was either someone else had written it for her, or Little Stutterer had practiced and gotten better at it.

The letter explained that once she arrived at the town, she used the enhancement crystal to disperse three consecutive illusions, and because of her strong physique and great strength, the local defense forces had taken an interest in her.

Little Stutterer didn’t mind joining the army. At least she’d have food and water, no more hunting and scavenging to survive. She would have clean clothes, gear, and housing, much better than when she was in the village.

The letter also mentioned that the town’s defense team had noticed the enhanced white stone’s effects and might come to Yu Hong to negotiate an exchange.

Although Little Stutterer didn’t know where the enhanced white stone came from, she could see through their intentions.

“Be careful!” Little Stutterer warned seriously.

“Got it!” Yu Hong nodded. He had already prepared mentally for the possibility of the defense team coming for the enhanced white stone before he sent it with Little Stutterer, but he didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

“I’m leaving. The time’s up.” Little Stutterer said one last time.

She turned and ran off. After running about ten meters, she suddenly turned around and looked at Yu Hong.

“You can write a letter, at the post office!” She shouted, pointing in the direction of the previous postal worker’s residence.

After the order collapsed, Baiqiu Village’s only external communication method had been through the post office.

The postal workers, paid with state-issued supplies, trained their physical fitness every day. Their only job was to stay in contact with various regions, relaying intelligence and information about local specialties to higher-ups.

The letter also mentioned that postal workers also had the task of being a general goods merchant. They would take local products to the distant gathering places, sell them, and buy necessities in return, making a profit from the price difference.

Lastly, the letter mentioned that postal workers could help deliver letters for a fee, but only for nearby posts, and it wasn’t cheap.

In the forest, Yu Hong watched Little Stutterer as she gradually disappeared into the trees.

He understood that it would be incredibly hard to meet again.

Standing at the cave entrance, his heart was filled with emotion.

Little Stutterer was the one who had guided him from the very beginning. Without her, he might have died in the wilderness or succumbed to illness.

‘Safe travels,’ he silently wished in his heart.

Turning around, he went back inside, about to close the door.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound outside.

The sound was messy but not hurried or concealed, indicating that the person wasn’t trying to hide their presence.

Yu Hong turned back quickly, closed the door, and looked out through the peephole.

Outside, two figures in camouflage clothing emerged from the forest.

Both men were over 1.8 meters tall, with broad shoulders and sturdy builds, each holding a slender metal rod, pushing through the bushes as they approached the cave.

(End of this chapter)