Huff, huff, huff!!
In the forest, Yu Hong gasped for air, looking at the two camouflage uniforms lying on the ground before him.
The outfits on these two made him think of Stammering Yiyi from before.
*"This clothing... could they be from the United Army?"* He couldn't help but recall the guy named Zhao Zhenghong who approached last time.
That guy claimed it was an invitation, but in reality, he had people secretly lurking by the door, planning an ambush as soon as he stepped out.
Someone like that is treacherous and cunning. Given the increased importance of Large Pyroxene Stone after the appearance of the Evil Shadow, it would be normal to send people to capture him again.
Squatting down, Yu Hong carefully checked the two individuals.
Soon, he found various miscellaneous items.
Two military olive knives, two bags of old version luminous stones, and two leather water bags, but none of these were noteworthy.
One item, however, surprised Yu Hong somewhat.
It was found on the guy who pulled a gun.
A greyish-white silver dollar.
The front of the silver dollar depicted a beautifully sharp tower, while the back displayed a common rune found on luminous stones.
"Could this be the currency commonly used in the town?" Yu Hong pondered as he held the silver dollar.
No matter what, he decided to stash it away for now. After gathering all the items, noticing the two still hadn't awakened, he saw no reason to stick around. Once he cleaned them out, he headed back the way he came.
Whether they survive would depend on their luck. If they wake before nightfall, they might make it, but if not...
Quickly, Yu Hong retrieved the items he had dropped and collected scattered dry wood along the way, carrying them back to the cave.
The encounter this time... without the effects of the Advanced Physical Training Method, with two instances of recovery from the cold, he might have already been captured and taken away as a tool.
Crack. Using the key to open the door, Yu Hong swiftly entered, closing it promptly behind him.
The sound of the heavy door slamming shut filled him with a profound sense of security.
He temporarily placed the items down near the fireplace to prevent them from getting damp and moldy.
Then, he sat down on a stool to contemplate the day's issues.
First, the items he had seized: two pistols, one silver dollar, two knives, two bags of old version luminous stones, and the rest were just miscellaneous items.
He took a pistol and toyed with it. Having never handled a gun before, he spent a good amount of time figuring out how to remove the magazine.
"....." Looking at the magazine in his hand, Yu Hong was a bit speechless.
Just one bullet in the magazine.... One bullet per gun...
"Is the official really this broke?" Yu Hong was at a loss.
He had no idea how the pistols could be transformed, but for now, he needed to prepare in other areas.
The appearance of the Evil Shadow in town was a matter that required prior preparation, not relying on luck.
*"Evil Shadow, Withered Woman? Regular luminous stones are useless.... Even the Large Pyroxene Stone could only be used to escape..."*
He gazed at the Large Pyroxene Stones placed in his cave.
There were three locations - around the ground and the doors - but their density might only be effective against shadows.
Taking out his last spare Large Pyroxene Stone, which he had kept in reserve.
He had thought it would be enough, but now....
"Now why can a luminous stone disperse shadows? According to what Stammering Yiyi said, even without the rune, a luminous stone can disperse shadows; it's just less effective. So... the question arises."
He reached out and caressed the rune on the Large Pyroxene Stone.
"Where did this pattern originally come from? How did the Black Disaster initially appear?"
He had a feeling that the rune on the luminous stone might be linked to the emergence of the Black Disaster.
*"The enhancement of the Black Mark rejects incomplete functionalities. So, I may be able to use this point to test if this rune alone can counteract shadows..."*
Thinking of this, Yu Hong pulled out a newspaper and a black charcoal pencil.
This charcoal pencil had been strengthened, transforming it into a regular-sized pen, yet the writing was much finer and clearer than the previous charcoal pencil.
Clearly, the raw material of the charcoal pencil had also been enhanced into some unknown form of charcoal.
Yu Hong didn't care about that; all that mattered was its functionality.
He laid the newspaper flat on another wooden stool, carefully placing the silver dollar beneath the paper.
Then, using the charcoal pencil, he pressed and rubbed against the rune pattern on the silver dollar.
Soon, a black rune emerged in front of him.
The background of the image was a gray-black color, with the pattern itself being a darker shade, making it clearly visible.
After completing the drawing, Yu Hong pressed his hand onto the image.
*"Enhance the shadow-dispersing rune, aiming to strengthen its effect!"*
He recited this silently in his heart.
Soon, black strands emerged from the Black Mark, but quickly retreated.
*"Insufficient completeness."*
Failed....
Yu Hong furrowed his brow and released his hand.
From the Black Mark, it was evident that the rune did not possess the ability to disperse shadows. At least not on its own.
"It seems I can't figure out this principle in a short time, so...."
He picked up a regular luminous stone.
He obtained quite a few of these from the two people earlier and the remnants of Stammering Yiyi.
He gathered them all, resulting in a total of four small bags on the ground.
Each bag contained ten pieces, pre-distributed beforehand.
*"Could it be that ten pieces are needed to completely disperse shadows?"* Yu Hong speculated.
He put down the regular luminous stones and picked up a piece that hadn't had a rune drawn on it yet.
Stammering Yiyi's tools for drawing on luminous stones were also present.
He compared the stones drawn by Stammering Yiyi and the ones he had just acquired, noticing that the rune colors on the stones were different, evidently painted with different pigments.
*"It seems the pigment doesn't greatly affect the runes. So... let me give it a try."*
Grabbing the reinforced charcoal pencil, Yu Hong began carefully drawing on another raw luminous stone surface.
He was sketching the original rune, not the enhanced version.
The original rune was straightforward, consisting of a circle with four letter-like strange symbols inside, a small circle in the center, and a symbol resembling a flame.
After practicing several times, Yu Hong quickly drew five luminous stones.
He placed these stones on the ground from left to right.
The arrangement wasn't random; it was according to the neatness of the runes.
From left to right, the runes became progressively neater, with smoother and clearer lines.
Having completed this task,
Yu Hong exhaled and again reached out, pressing onto the first luminous stone on the left.
*"Enhance into a Large Pyroxene Stone, direction: amplify effect."* He thought to himself.
Soon, a black line emerged, only to quickly retract with feedback sounding.
*"Enhance to a Large Pyroxene Stone?"*
But what Yu Hong cared about wasn't this question, but the time numbers that appeared on the surface of the luminous stone.
*"3 days 2 hours 18 minutes."*
He withdrew his hand and quickly noted down the time.
Then he extended his hand to the second luminous stone, repeating the same process.
Instantly, the second luminous stone displayed numbers as well.
*"3 days 1 hour 02 minutes."*
Then the third stone.
*"3 days 51 minutes."*
The fourth stone.
*"3 days 42 minutes."*
The fifth stone.
*"3 days 21 minutes."*
Retracting his hand, Yu Hong looked at the line of recorded numbers, and at last, a look of realization appeared on his face.
"Indeed.... The duration of enhancement was influenced by the completeness of the enhanced object. The smaller the difference between the pre- and post-enhanced object, the less time was needed for the countdown."
"From this, if I started using the enhanced rune from the Large Pyroxene Stone, drawing it on the luminous stone, the enhancement time would definitely be significantly reduced!"
Yu Hong hypothesized.
"That's because I saved part of the rune enhancement time!"
"Let's give it a shot!"
Immediately, he picked up a raw luminous stone and started replicating the complex rune on the Large Pyroxene Stone.
This complex pattern was much more challenging than the regular luminous stones.
If the complexity of the rune on a regular luminous stone was 1, then the advanced rune on the Large Pyroxene Stone was at a difficulty level of 4.
Not to mention, there were more than a dozen strange symbols needed to be inscribed on the advanced rune.
At a quick glance, it even reminded Yu Hong of some game arrays he had seen in memory.
As time flowed by, he became engrossed in crafting the advanced runes, entirely forgetting the change in daylight outside.
Unconsciously, the sky dimmed outside.
Yu Hong lit the fireplace and continued drawing.
The firewood he collected this trip was enough to last the night, and based on the information obtained, there was a real possibility that the threat of the Evil Shadow could reach this area.
If it didn't appear, that would be for the best, but if it did.... relying solely on those Large Pyroxene Stones would definitely not be enough!
So he needed to think of a strategy.
Finding a method to combat the Evil Shadow was naturally the top priority.
But in the absence of that, shortening the enhancement time of the Large Pyroxene Stones became all the more critical.
After all, even if he didn't use the Large Pyroxene Stones himself, they could be bartered with others, serving as an actual hard currency.
Time flew by as Yu Hong diligently practiced.
Fortunately, there was neither Blood Tide nor beetle interference tonight. Yu Hong continued drawing until late at night, and when he felt exhausted, he enhanced some jerky, which would take about three hours to complete, assured the countdown, and then fell asleep.
He awoke at dawn.
After eating and taking care of personal needs, he began practicing the Advanced Physical Training Method.
At noon, he went out to collect firewood, gather wild vegetables, and replenish water supplies.
In the afternoon, he returned to continue practicing drawing the advanced runes, taking breaks to enhance jerky, never wasting any Black Mark time.
Repeating this routine every day,
finally, by the afternoon of the fifth day, the drawing of the advanced rune was successfully completed!
In the cave, Yu Hong let out a long sigh of relief, a relaxed smile on his face as he held a freshly-drawn advanced rune luminous stone.
"Not bad.... Not worse than Stammering Yiyi's work!"
Eagerly, he put it down and placed his hand over it.
*"Enhance into a Large Pyroxene Stone, direction: amplify effect."*
With just a flicker of thought, the Black Mark responded.
A black line shot out from the back of his hand, quickly sinking into the luminous stone.
Soon after, a mechanical voice echoed in his ear.
*"Enhance to a Large Pyroxene Stone?"*
Yu Hong didn't reply but released his hand, keeping his gaze fixed on the advanced rune luminous stone.
The countdown had already appeared on it.
*"2 days 19 minutes."*
Bang!
Yu Hong struck the ground with a hearty slap.
"It worked!!"
He couldn't suppress his joyful laughter.
"As expected, my hypothesis was correct!! Reducing the gap between pre- and post-enhancements shortens the enhancement time!"
He could now produce a Large Pyroxene Stone in two days, reducing the time by a third compared to the previous three days!
This meant he could enhance more Large Pyroxene Stones more rapidly, ensuring his safety and exchanging for more resources!
After the initial thrill, Yu Hong quickly had a new consideration.
"The time for Large Pyroxene Stone was reduced, but regarding the Evil Shadow... I have no idea how formidable this entity could be... if the threat of the Evil Shadow was greater than I anticipated...."