Chapter 12 : Accumulation (2)

Knock ! Knock !

Amidst a series of knocking sounds.

In the safe cave house, Yu Hong exhaled deeply and took two steps back, looking at the extremely rudimentary fixing device he had just built, which fixed the stolen stove along with the chimney to the middle section near the cave wall.

"For now, this will do."

He put down the hammer and glanced at the door that was still being strengthened.

The door displayed the remaining time: 9 days, 5 hours, and 42 minutes.

After finishing these tasks, he walked out of the cave and saw Little Stutterer tying a large bundle of wild vegetables outside.

The recent chimney incident was over, but the emotions from that time still left a deep imprint on his heart.

Thinking back to that moment still filled him with lingering fear and immense terror.

This emotion made him desperately want a completely safe, solitary house.

A place where he could rest peacefully.

With such a place, he could safely explore this extremely dangerous world.

Collecting his thoughts, Yu Hong picked up the Wooden stick he had just used. Some of the nails were bent, but that wasn't the main issue; the main issue was the three pieces of strengthened white stone.

The first piece of reinforced white stone had turned completely black, losing its jade-like texture.

'Seems like it's used up.' Yu Hong removed the piece of white stone and replaced it with a new one.

He still had one piece of strengthened white stone left, which was sufficient for now.

However, since strengthened could only be done one at a time, he couldn't strengthened other items until the wooden door was finished.

So he had to use the four pieces of strengthened white stone sparingly.

"Based on previous usage, one piece of strengthened white stone can fend off three shadows. So, one piece of strengthened white stone is equivalent to thirty common white stones!"

With this comparison in mind, if he could spread this information and exchange strengthened white stones for supplies, the difference might allow him to not worry about supply shortages.

As he thought about this, Yu Hong began to consider future plans and arrangements.

Time flew by, and soon it was getting dark.

Little Stutterer finished packing the bag and filled the new water tank. The two returned to the house in Baiqiu Village.

They had just returned from the cave, which had been cleaned and was tidy with fresh air.

In contrast to the dirty and dark old house filled with moldy air, Yu Hong didn't want to stay here for another moment.

The night passed uneventfully.

In the following days, unable to strengthened anything, Yu Hong and Little Stutterer collected dry firewood and stored it in the cave.

The cave now had a door, which could block the wind and rain, and store some firewood.

They also prepared equipment for filtering water.

According to Little Stutterer, the outside water was very dirty, and drinking it directly would cause a strange illness, so it had to be filtered.

However, the extra filters could only be bought in town.

So they had to go to town.

"Going to town is over thirty miles. I don't think I can make it," Yu Hong said, knowing his physical limitations.

He might be able to push through, but the resulting knee injuries, extreme fatigue, and potential new illnesses would greatly slow his response to dangers.

On the slope near the cave entrance, Little Stutterer nodded while digging the soil.

"There are... Another way."

"What ways?" Yu Hong sat down on a stone surface at the cave entrance, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Post, office," Little Stutterer replied, then began to explain in detail, though with difficulty. She used a charcoal pencil to write on a stone.

However, knowing few words, she had to write and gesture simultaneously.

"The post office can buy things for us, so why can't I ask you to buy them?" Yu Hong asked.

"Filter, can't, buy. Need, qualification," Little Stutterer answered.

Qualification? What qualification? Yu Hong wanted to ask more but saw Dr. Xu approaching with a cloth bag in the distance.

"Yi Yi, the peak period is coming; we need to go to town!"

She looked somewhat displeased, her right arm is bandaged, probably from an injury in recent days.

"Okay!" Little Stutterer responded loudly.

Dr. Xu glanced at Yu Hong but ignored him, heading to Baiqiu Village with Little Stutterer to collect things for exchange.

Soon, they tallied all the White stones.

"Why is it less than half?!" Dr. Xu was shocked.

Usually, Little Stutterer could collect twice as much as this, but now...

"This amount won't exchange for much food! And you have two people to feed!" she couldn't help but say.

"Too, busy." Little Stutterer smiled sheepishly, rubbing her hands.

"Busy with what? Building a useless safe house for Yu Hong?" Dr. Xu was furious.

"I told him, no matter how thick the wood, it can't block shadows and bugs! The safe house you built is a waste of effort!"

"No worries. I, trust, him!" Little Stutterer patted her chest.

"He'll get you killed!" Dr. Xu yelled, "Without enough food, you'll be weak and prone to illness. I checked the post office yesterday, the mail carrier is gone,There is no way to buy medicine, and many important supplies depend on him. We must save food and supplies to avoid running out later!"

"Not, happen!" Little Stutterer shook her head. She had received a strengthened white stone from Yu Hong. Though she promised not to tell anyone, she knew Yu Hong was different from others.

"You...!!" Dr. Xu almost wanted to strangle Yu Hong. But seeing Little Stutterer's expression, she swallowed her anger.

The two left the village, walking along the old road into the distance.

Meanwhile, Yu Hong rearranged the safe house in the cave, checking all the seals to ensure everything was in order, then started painting.

Waterproofing was necessary, and the cave walls also needed a coat to prevent condensation and mold.

After finishing everything, he didn't return to Baiqiu Village but stayed in the cave with candles and blankets, preparing to spend the night there.

Slowly, night fell.

The wind howled outside the cave, and the temperature dropped quickly, making it slightly chilly.

Inside the cave, Yu Hong sat cross-legged on a large wooden plank, he lit a candle, and calculated the supplies needed for the upcoming Peak period to stay safe.

"The last Peak period lasted for five days. Assuming it will last six days this time. Each day needs one candle, so at least twelve candles."

"Then, six days of food and drink. Strengthened white stones can't be made for now, I have to wait until the wooden door is done."

"Three days after the wooden door is done will be the Peak period. Rather than gamble on the wooden door's strengthened, I better be prepared for the worst."

In the candlelight, Yu Hong calculated while listening to the wind outside.

Soon, rustling sounds began again.

The blood tide brought back black bugs.

But the bugs could only enter through planned openings, and their speed was slow. As soon as they entered, they were dispelled by the candlelight.

Yu Hong watched for a while, confirmed everything was fine, then relaxed.

He checked the candle's consumption rate, felt it was fine, placed the wooden stick beside him, and lay down on the blanket, slowly dozing off.

Morning came quickly--

Little Stutterer and Dr. Xu returned,They bring fewer supplies than before.

Little Stutterer calculated that it would only last five days.

Yu Hong decided to have Little Stutterer draw more complex patterns from the strengthened white stone.

He planned to test these patterns, and if they worked, sell them.

For now, they continued collecting wild vegetables together.

Days passed--

They also started storing water, and Yu Hong occasionally checked the wooden door in the cave.

Soon, the timer on the wooden door reached its end.

To observe the wooden door's changes, Yu Hong asked Little Stutterer to borrow some food from Dr. Xu, thus sending her away.

He then went to the safe house cave, waiting for the countdown to end.

Rumbling sounds filled the cave.

Yu Hong sat on the ground, His eyes was fixed on the unchanged wooden door.

He wanted to see how the black mark's strengthened would complete.

He also planned to strengthen other items seamlessly to avoid wasting the strengthened time.

The wooden door was now painted yellow and black, with black numbers visible only to Yu Hong.

0 days, 0 hours, 1 minute.

The last minute, almost there.

Yu Hong didn't dare blink, watching the final changes.

One second.

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

Bang.

Suddenly, Yu Hong's vision blurred for a moment.

When it cleared, the wooden door had turned into a thicker, denser one.

The new door had water-wave-like textures, thick metal mesh for ventilation, and a viewing window to see outside.

The door's loose connection to the cave wall was replaced with dense screws, making it much sturdier.

Yu Hong stood up. He approached, and touched the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

He knocked lightly. It was solid, hard, and resilient.

"Not the same wood as before," he thought, he was mazed that the strengthened could directly replace the original material.

"A lot of extra materials were added." Yu Hong touched the air vents below, which was very thick. He then opened the viewing window above.

He reached out and touched the edge, but didn't feel any burrs.

'.sharp.!'

Thinking of this, he quickly looked at the surrounding walls again.

Originally, his plan was to reinforce the wooden door first, then the surrounding stone walls. However, due to the food shortage, he decided to try strengthened other things first.

"First, this."

Yu Hong withdrew his hand from the door and returned to the stove, picking up a piece of dried lizard meat.

'Can food be strengthened?'

This thought flashed through his mind.

Immediately, a number quickly appeared on the surface of the dried lizard meat in his hand: 3 hours.

'Three hours, huh?' Yu Hong calculated in his mind. Then, he stuffed the meat back and picked up the whole bag of meat.

'What now?'

New numbers slowly emerged outside the cloth bag: 1 day 8 hours 4 minutes.

The numbers were precise, with both zeros and integers.

'Let's see the effect.' Yu Hong immediately confirmed the strengthened.

He could endure the wait of a day and more.