A Night of Desperation

At this moment, hearing Yu Hong’s self-introduction, the bearded man nodded.

“I’m Zhou Kaiming, but just call me Old Zhou. I know a bit of everything. If you need anything, feel free to ask. My prices are negotiable.”

“Alright,” Yu Hong nodded. After maintaining a polite distance, he shifted his gaze to Li Runshan.

“Brother Li, where’s the supply team?”

“They left, more than half an hour ago,” Li Runshan said with a smile. “They can travel through the night, and they probably arrived just as dawn broke.”

Seeing Yu Hong’s slightly disappointed expression, a sly smile flickered on Li Runshan’s face.

“Don’t worry. I remembered what you mentioned last time about needing a bulletproof vest set. I kept an eye out for you and happened to get a set of Grey Lizard gear—helmet, gloves, boots, the whole package. Interested?”

“Huh? Really?” Yu Hong asked in surprise.

“Of course. Why would I lie to you?” Li Runshan nodded. “It’ll cost you twenty silver coins. But if you don’t have silver, you can trade with other valuable goods. For example, those Great Luminous Stone of yours—they’re quite handy. I went to a mine a few days ago, and there were shadows everywhere outside. I barely broke through thanks to your Luminous Stone. The only downside is they run out quickly.”

“That’s true. But you should protect this technique of yours. Turning regular Luminous Stone into large ones similar to Luminous cores is quite profitable. If word gets out, a lot of people will want it. If you ever consider selling this technique, let me know first. I’ll offer you the highest price!” Li Runshan smiled.

“Indeed, such a technique is a steady source of income in smaller places. But cities like Hope likely have similar synthesis and refining methods. The purified Luminous Stones they produce have incredibly high purity,” Old Zhou chimed in. “I used to have a drinking buddy who showed me. He was a patrol captain in Aurora City, overseeing a district that had a refinery like that.”

“That’s not the same. Xiao Yu can handle it all by himself,” Li Runshan shook his head. Then he turned back to Yu Hong. “Enough talk. Want to see the goods?” He started walking toward his stone house.

“Sure,” Yu Hong nodded, keeping his distance. He stopped by the stone house’s fence, standing still like Old Zhou.

“Speaking of bulletproof vests, I have a spare set. It’s old and used, but still decent. Also a Grey Lizard set. Want it?” Old Zhou suddenly asked in a low voice.

“???” Yu Hong was puzzled, but before he could reply, Li Runshan burst out of the stone house.

“Old Zhou, what’s the meaning of this? Stealing my business?” The smile vanished from Li Runshan’s face. He was holding a sturdy camo suit, noticeably different from their current gear.

Their clothing was mostly dark green and black, while this set was yellow and gray-black. It came with boots, a helmet, and a mask.

“This is a full set, brand new, complete with a filtered mask—way better than your used stuff,” Li Runshan walked up, showcasing the suit.

“In terms of bulletproof levels, the Grey Lizard set is Grade Four, mid-tier quality. It offers excellent protection against shrapnel and most standard handgun bullets. It even includes high-strength ceramic plates and alloy panels for extra defense. It can double as an anti-stab suit.”

He quickly explained.

“Of course, if you’re shot at close range, the concern isn’t whether it’ll hold up, but whether the impact will leave you with broken bones or internal injuries.”

“How much?” Yu Hong asked immediately. The suit was impressive, and if he could enhance it, it would far outperform his current stab-proof gear.

“Fifty silver if you pay with Great Luminous Stone,” Li Runshan said, raising five fingers.

“Fifty!?” Yu Hong’s expression changed. He expected it to be expensive but not this costly. Unless he spent all his time making Great Luminous Stone, it’d take ages to gather enough.

“I’ve designed a rune array on wooden boards using Luminous Stone powder. Its effect is even better than Great Luminous Stone. Can I trade with that?” Yu Hong quickly proposed.

“If its effect is really better than Great Luminous Stone, absolutely,” Li Runshan’s eyes lit up. He enjoyed dealing with inventive people like Yu Hong, who always seemed to have unexpected surprises.

In his eyes, Yu Hong was undoubtedly such a person. Furthermore, his background was likely not simple—judging by the finely processed protein bars he once brought out, Yu Hong probably had ties to some organization or faction, perhaps even a researcher in disguise.

Yu Hong quickly pulled out a sample rune-etched wooden board and handed it to him.

“This is a sample I carry with me. You can test it out. We can finalize the deal tomorrow.”

“No problem,” Li Runshan accepted the board with a smile, clearly in high spirits.

Afterward, Yu Hong bought some fresh mushrooms and returned to his safe-house cave for training.

Training, digging, and resting, by midday, the reinforced boots were finally finished.

Inside the cave.

A pair of brand-new black leather men’s knee-high boots quietly lay on the wooden table in front of Yu Hong.

He reached out and picked up the boots, squeezing and patting them here and there, when suddenly there was a crisp sound.

Ssshh!

A black sharp spike suddenly shot out from the bottom of the boots, pointing in front of the toes.

The spike was triangular in shape, with a blood groove in the middle, and the tip was extremely sharp, flashing a faint cold light.

Yu Hong nodded in satisfaction and pressed a switch, causing the spike to retract.

He placed the boots on the ground, took off his previous boots, and put these on.

Then he stood up and moved around a bit.

‘They fit perfectly, with breathable holes on the surface. They aren’t suitable for rainy days, but that’s fine, just add a layer of protection.’

Suddenly, he pressed his toes forward.

Ssshh!

Two spikes popped out at once.

When his toes pressed down again, the spikes slowly retracted.

Seeing this, Yu Hong smiled with satisfaction.

‘Next, it’s the Gray Lizard suit. If I get it, I’ll have full-body protection. Even a handgun won’t be much of a concern.’

Wearing the new boots, he left the cave and kicked the nearest large tree.

Ssshh!

The surface of the tree was easily pierced, and a hole appeared.

‘So sharp!’

Yu Hong became interested and began casually testing the spikes’ power.

He kicked the ground, and a hole appeared in the earth.

He kicked a stone, and a hole appeared in the stone.

He kicked some branches and leaves, and they were easily sliced and cut through.

‘Both sharpness and piercing power are great. Now, let’s try using the cool energy, or internal energy, and see how much it increases the effect.’

With this thought, he returned to the cave and rested quietly. After two hours, when his two internal energy reserves were restored, he got up again, put on the spiked boots, and went outside.

Standing in front of a large tree, Yu Hong focused, rooted his legs into the ground, and stood still.

Concentrate.

Gather strength.

Kick!

Suddenly, Yu Hong’s right leg shot out like a spring and hit the tree trunk hard.

Boom!

The rough black-barked tree trunk exploded, sending chunks of bark and wood flying.

This was very different from before; previously, it only pierced a hole, but now, after the spike penetrated, it caused a small explosion.

‘Is this the effect of the cool energy?’ Yu Hong retracted his leg and carefully examined the spike.

He confirmed that the spike’s edges hadn’t bent or been damaged and felt relieved.

“The power is huge. With a sneak attack, it could likely decide the outcome in one strike.”

Standing in the open area, he began training his leg technique again.

This time, without using cool energy, he gradually felt a faint warmth flowing from his legs, spreading throughout his body.

When visualizing his training diagrams, this warm current became more evident, as if nourishing his entire body.

After practicing his leg techniques for a while, he began digging again.

By evening, after dinner, Yu Hong leisurely sat by the fireplace to rest.

He picked up a bag of dried mushrooms, ready to eat them for a small nutrient boost.

‘Wait!’

Suddenly, he remembered that he had never tried to enhance dried mushrooms to the limit.

Not just dried mushrooms, maybe wild vegetable dry grass could be tested as well.

“I can try to see what it can be enhanced to.”

The success of his leg technique filled Yu Hong with anticipation for the future.

He was about to use the black imprint to enhance the Gray Lizard suit, which would take a long time. So, he decided to find something with a short enhancement time.

He picked up a bag of dried mushrooms, opened it, and saw that it was full of black umbrellas and yellow-stemmed cow leg mushrooms. A rich, oily fragrance wafted out, giving a sense of peace.

Yu Hong reached out and pressed on the mushroom bag.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

‘Enhance dried mushrooms to the limit. The direction is…’ Various images of medicinal mushrooms flashed in his mind.

‘Do you wish to enhance the dried mushrooms?’ The black imprint kindly didn’t cut off the request directly.

He only glanced at the countdown that appeared.

‘12 days, 16 hours, 32 minutes.’

His heart sank. He quickly let go of his hand and swapped to another item, pressing it onto the wild vegetable dry grass.

‘Enhance wild vegetables to the limit, focusing on multi-vitamin supplementation.’

This time, the black imprint responded normally, and the countdown appeared swiftly.

‘3 hours, 51 minutes.’

“This time is manageable. I hope it will enhance something useful.”

He put down the wild vegetable bag, took off his boots, and a wave of foot odor quickly filled the cave, making even him hold his nose.

“Hopefully, socks can be enhanced to absorb sweat, prevent odor, and inhibit bacteria, so I don’t get fungal foot diseases.”

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Yu Hong went to the wild vegetable bag again, and in front of his eyes was a small square paper box, about the size of a palm.

The box was labeled: Multi-vitamin Tablets (200 pieces).

He picked up the box, and it made a rustling sound as if many pills were inside.

He opened the box and found a wooden round bottle inside.

Taking the bottle, he twisted the cap and poured out a pill.

The pill was dark green, speckled with white and black dots, and smelled faintly of grass.

Yu Hong looked at the back of the bottle, which read: The Multi-vitamin Grass Tablets can supplement the fiber and trace elements needed by the human body, maintain acid-base balance, promote bowel movement, prevent and treat various vitamin deficiencies, and have good therapeutic effects on osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly people. Warning: Take one tablet per time, once a day, to meet the normal needs of an adult male.

‘Is this really possible??’ Yu Hong was speechless. With this, he could sell the product. Two hundred tablets would be enough for one person for over half a year!