A Night of Desperation-Chapter 91: Rune Pattern (1)
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The new research method required consuming the enhancement time of the Black Seal. Fortunately, after Yu Hong synthesized the Vortex Rune with a luminous stone, the countdown was only a few minutes.
After waiting briefly, he obtained a small luminous stone with an entirely new rune pattern.
Picking up the stone, he examined the rune on its surface.
‘The new rune isn’t just a simple combination of the Enhancement Rune and the Vortex Rune. The internal symbols have shifted positions and order. However, the material of the luminous stone remains unchanged—still an ordinary luminous stone.’
He took out the Red-Value Detector and pressed it against the stone.
Beep.
A numerical value appeared on the LCD screen: -7.221.“No difference from before the test.”
Yu Hong frowned slightly. He had already measured this stone before, and the results had fluctuated around this number.
The red value of ordinary luminous stones was generally small and mainly determined by their size. Typically, after being mined, luminous stones would gradually break into pieces of roughly uniform size over time.
‘Maybe the Vortex Rune doesn’t take immediate effect—perhaps it needs time to ferment.’
Yu Hong took out a pen and paper and recorded his findings. The white paper was already filled with numerous past experiments. Using the Black Seal, he had ruled out many potential directions.
‘What if I try drawing the Vortex Rune separately?’
He quickly grabbed a small luminous stone and used a charcoal pen to draw a vortex rune on it.
Then, he tested it again with the Red-Value Detector and recorded the data.
No change.
Still useless.
Unfazed, Yu Hong tried applying the Vortex Rune to different materials.
He continued his meticulous trial-and-error approach.
The sky gradually darkened.
“Huh? Why did it get dark so fast?”
Snapping out of his experiments, Yu Hong looked toward the door’s viewing window.
He took out his enhanced communicator, now a square plastic box with four speakers on its sides. The top featured a row of buttons and dials, each labeled with functions and numbers.
After inspecting it briefly, he found the switch on the lower side and flipped it on.
Ssshh—
A burst of static crackled from the speakers.
Soon, the noise faded, replaced by faint voices.
“…Four days, at most four days before we face…”
“…Too many people, and supplies are still… Reduce numbers, drive them out…”
“I disagree. We all survived the worst together, and now we’re…”
A dispute seemed to be taking place on the other end, and Yu Hong recognized Old Li’s voice among them.
Old Li sounded calm as he reported the longest duration their supplies could sustain them, but the rest of the conversation was unclear.
Yu Hong slapped the communicator, causing a loud crackling noise.
It immediately caught the attention of those on the other side.
“Old Li? Can you hear me?” he asked in a deep voice.
“Yes, loud and clear. Your signal is that strong over there?” Li Runshan sounded surprised—clearly unaware of the quality of Black Seal enhancements.
“It’s decent. Let’s keep it short. I have something to ask you.”
Although they had agreed to communicate at a fixed time daily, power consumption was a concern. If there was nothing urgent, they would shut it off to save energy and wait until the next day. ℞𝓪Ŋ𝙤ᛒĚṠ
This setup was inconvenient and outdated. Yu Hong wanted to complain—why couldn’t it function like a regular phone, with a ringtone or vibration for notifications? Why did both devices have to be on at the same time to connect?
“Go ahead. What is it?”
Li Runshan was also satisfied with the call quality.
“I explored a ruin cave and found another rune similar to the luminous stone Rune. But it seems useless. Do you have any research on this?”
Yu Hong didn’t hesitate to ask directly.
He didn’t believe other ruin explorers would ignore studying the Vortex Rune. If he could gather clues through the post office’s channels, it would save him a lot of time and effort.
“Oh, that one? Yeah, we’ve looked into it.”
Li Runshan replied promptly.
“Actually, the ruins contain more than just these two runes. There are several others you haven’t seen before, ones that have never appeared on the market. But the only one that has been proven useful is the Enhancement Rune we currently use.”
Yu Hong frowned.
“If it’s useless, why was it drawn on the ruin walls?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the ruin scholars would have some insights. But when I tried contacting the higher-ups earlier, even our previous anti-interference communication was heavily disrupted. The signal is extremely unstable now. I suspect the changing external environment is affecting communications.”
Concern tinged Li Runshan’s voice.
“Regardless, we should prepare for a long-term battle.” Yu Hong said.
“Alright, I won’t waste more power. It’s almost nightfall—let’s hope there’s no Blood Tide tonight.”
With that, they ended the call.
Yu Hong exhaled deeply.
‘Even the post office’s communication is affected… If contact with the higher-ups is lost…’
A hint of worry flickered in his eyes.
Without communication, supply teams might stop coming. If the wilderness continued growing more dangerous, future supply missions could become impossible.
‘If the luminous grass outside can’t repel the Blood Tide, I’ll have to rely on my cave door to hold them off. But the current door might not be strong enough.’
Assessing potential risks, Yu Hong decided—he needed to reinforce the door.
The mother and daughter in the courtyard would eventually leave; they were not his concern. But if supply teams stopped arriving, they would have to rely entirely on themselves—complete self-sufficiency.
‘Reinforcing the door isn’t enough. I need to expand the safety bunker, create storage and farming areas, and separate washing and waste areas to prevent moisture buildup. A training space, an experiment lab… I should plan for as many rooms as possible for future expansion.’
With his future plans in mind, Yu Hong sketched a rough blueprint of an underground chamber layout. He initially planned five rooms, with one being significantly larger for indoor training and experimentation.
Once the layout was set, he glanced outside.
The sky was completely dark, but tonight, there was no Blood Tide—only silent darkness.
The moon was hidden behind clouds, and only occasional glimpses of starlight peeked through.
Outside the cave, the luminous grass swayed gently in the wind, emitting a soft, luminous white glow.
Yu Hong had taken a nap during the day, and now he was full of energy. He decided to cook some protein soup, ate a meal, and began training.
For three hours straight, he concentrated on his training, exhausting his stamina as much as possible. Just as he was about to finish and prepare for rest, at the very last moment of stopping—
Hiss.
A faint sound emerged from deep within his abdomen.
At that moment, countless unknown and strange particles from the outside world passed through his fair skin, penetrated the red muscle layer, and continuously poured into his dantian.
These particles were far finer than dust. They appeared solid, yet they could easily pass through physical matter, as if they were illusions.
This strange phenomenon lasted for more than ten seconds before gradually fading away.
“This is…!?”
Yu Hong gently touched his abdomen and found that his skin there had turned slightly cold, as if he had just touched an ice block—bone-chilling.
Inside his body, he could clearly feel it—a new, cold stream of inner energy had begun forming in his dantian.
“The first inner energy of the second level is finally here!”
Comparing this sensation to the descriptions in Heavy Leg Technique, Yu Hong finally exhaled in relief.
Without inner energy, even though his physique had greatly strengthened, he still didn’t feel completely secure.
Now that he had finally accumulated inner energy, he felt an immense sense of security.
“With inner energy in place, I can start expanding the underground shelter tomorrow!”
Feeling reassured, Yu Hong finalized his plan.
Inner energy wasn’t just a powerful endurance booster—it could also accelerate the recovery of luminous grass and provide more energy for Black Seal enhancements. Its applications were extensive.
With tomorrow’s plan settled in his mind, Yu Hong finished his training and prepared to head upstairs to rest.
But just then, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, making him stop in his tracks.
“Wait! If the outer wall can be strengthened as a whole, and formations can be strengthened as a whole, then why not the entire safehouse?”
Standing under the faint green light, the gleam in Yu Hong’s eyes grew brighter.
He remained still for a moment before suddenly crouching down and pressing one hand against the ground.
“Enhance the entire safehouse. Parameters: increase the number of compartments by five, improve wall hardness and moisture resistance.”
With a deep sense of anticipation, he waited for the Black Seal’s response.
Hiss.
A black line emerged from the Black Seal, merging into the ground.
Then, he waited.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
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Five seconds.
Finally, a cold mechanical voice echoed in his ears.
“Enhance the entire safehouse?”
At the same time, a large black countdown timer appeared on the ground beneath him.
“24 days, 11 hours, 7 minutes.”
“It really works!!”
Yu Hong’s eyes widened in excitement.
He knew exactly what this meant—going forward, he wouldn’t need to learn construction techniques or seek help for expanding and modifying the safehouse. As long as he kept synthesizing and enhancing with the Black Seal, everything could be done automatically!
“If I can enhance the entire safehouse, then I should be able to enhance individual compartments separately!”
Excitement surged through him as he realized the possibilities.
Without hesitation, he stepped to the wall, placed his hand on it, and whispered his next command.
“Enhance this compartment. Parameter: add one connecting compartment.”
This time, he didn’t increase five compartments at once. Instead, he only added one, without requesting any other upgrades. His goal was to determine how long a single compartment enhancement would take.
Soon, the black lines spread out, and a countdown timer appeared on the wall.
“4 days, 11 hours, 2 minutes.”
“Only four days! That’s way faster than digging it myself!”
Yu Hong’s heart trembled with excitement, and a smile spread across his face.
Although his strength had greatly increased and his physique had improved, digging through rock was still far more difficult than digging through soil. Even with his current strength, it would have been impossible for him to carve out a proper compartment in just four days.
“The best part is, once the Black Seal enhances it, everything will likely be perfected—smooth walls, complete structural integrity, and even aesthetics—all far better than if I did it manually.”
(End of Chapter)
