Chapter 215: Blue 1

The blackout at the camp brought Yu Hong an unexpected peace.

The lights kept weak Blood Tide Monsters at bay, but they also attracted the powerful Black Disaster.

All things considered, it was a win.

In the basement of the cave.

Yu Hong operated the main control computer of the production line, setting it to automate the production of Radiation Hand Grenades.

The materials were semi-finished products he had processed.

Then he sat down on a bench to observe the outside world through the dragon lizard’s eyes.

During this time, a large number of high-risk Black Disasters continuously passed by the camp, but this time, they were not Evil Shadows, but Blood Tide Monsters.

‘The Black Giants are ranked between Level 9 and War Level. According to Zhang Kaijun, it’s illogical that such formidable giants are still a bit short of War Level.’

Yu Hong sighed inwardly.

He picked up a charcoal pen and began to etch one of the four runes he had recently acquired onto a blank wooden board.

After careful study and test-engraving with Inner Qi, only two of the four runes proved useful.

The other two, for some reason, were completely ineffective.

Through Yingshan Rune translations, Yu Hong learned that these two runes were Solidify and Separate.

These two runes were clearly for special purposes and played an irreplaceable role in certain areas.

‘First, I can use Separation to purify, and then Solidify the materials, allowing me to produce the resources I need continuously.’

Yu Hong quickly thought of how to use these two runes.

They were also the most basic two links in the Yingshan Rune System.

Inside the cave, Yu Hong was engrossed in etching a talisman array on the wooden board, unlike any structure he had created before.

Time slipped by unnoticed.

When the wall-mounted detector showed it was 7:16 in the morning, Yu Hong set down the pen and examined the slightly complex compound array in front of him for any mistakes.

‘Previously, the Yingshan Rune System mainly helped me with weapons, gear, and the camp’s security. I didn’t expect it would also have an effect on Inner Qi cultivation.’

He picked up the wooden board and blew off the nonexistent dust.

‘Now that the Rune System is mostly complete, I might as well try to extract the mysterious power from luminous stones to create a lasting weapon against the Black Disaster with higher purity and greater power.’

This was his test, his experiment, but it wasn’t particularly urgent.

After putting down the wooden board, he picked up the experiment logbook and recorded his current progress.

Then he went to the shower room to take a bath.

Hiss.

The water from the pipes had dwindled even more.

If it weren’t for the further drop in temperature outside, causing the water drawn to be cooler as well, the nuclear generator’s cooling might also be in jeopardy.

After the shower, Yu Hong looked at the water stream that had thinned to the width of a finger, frowning deeply.

He reached out, scooped up a handful of water, and sniffed it, detecting a faint acrid smell.

Discarding the water, Yu Hong quickly went outside to check on the reinforcement progress. There were still seven days left until the Black Mark was strengthened, a full week.

He switched on the communicator.

After a short wait,

“Have you noticed it too?” Zhang Kaijun’s voice sounded increasingly weary.

“Yeah, it seems we have a serious groundwater issue. You weren’t online yesterday, but I heard Aurora City is trying to deal with it. They’re digging tunnels,” Yu Hong’s information came from Xin Zhilei. “Hopefully, they’ll succeed. The situation with the investigation team isn’t great either. The Meisha family holds the key, and that’s been confirmed. But we can’t find the two members of the Meisha family who entered East River Territory before.”

“How are you dealing with the Blood Ticks in the strata?” Zhang Kaijun asked.

“Just keep shining the large spotlight on them, and it’ll be fine once we dig through the Black Worm layer,” replied Yu Hong. “It’s getting colder outside, and now we have a water issue. I feel like something bad might happen.”

“How much worse can it get?” said Zhang Kaijun.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!!

Suddenly, there was a series of heavy footsteps approaching from outside, which then quickly grew distant again.

Yu Hong, having already spotted the Black Giant through the dragon lizard’s surveillance, noted that the giant was just passing by and not heading towards the camp, which is why he had remained still.

“Yu Hong, do you think we still have hope for the future?” Zhang Kaijun suddenly asked.

Yu Hong was surprised; he never expected the usually cold Zhang Kaijun to suddenly ask such a question.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “That’s why Aurora City is striving to deal with the Black Disaster while also seeking the key. If the key is useful, maybe the Black Disaster can be contained.”

“Do you believe it?”

“Do we have a choice?” replied Yu Hong.

Silence.

Both men lapsed into silence simultaneously.

The communication ended, with Wei Song and Xin Zhilei never having appeared.

Yu Hong returned to the bathroom, turned on the tap, and as the water came out slightly black, he sighed and gently shut it off.

‘I can’t rely on Aurora City to solve the problem. Even if they succeed, my position is too far to resolve the water-supply issue. I need to deal with the water source quickly while we still have sufficient reserves.’

He made up his mind.

Then, putting on his gear, he left the camp and headed to the back.

The atomic lamp turned on, illuminating the eerie grey-black wooden bridge at the back of the camp.

The bridge extended silently into the dense Black Fog, secret and unnoticeable.

Yu Hong closed his eyes and checked the array.

Then he took out a detector and extended it in the direction of the wooden bridge.

Swiftly, the numbers on the detector changed rapidly, skyrocketing from dozens to over a thousand.

‘The erosion of the array has begun again. Seems there’s trouble at the Black Ship…’

He exhaled, lowered his face mask.

‘I’ll deal with the wooden bridge first and on the way, complete the Night Text translations in the machine. Then I’ll come back to sort out the water issue. By that time, the Black Mark’s reinforcement of the fence should also be complete.’ Compared to the water source, the array was degrading faster, so priorities had to be set.

Familiar with the route, he now carried a large iron ball as he strode onto the wooden bridge.

Surging with inner Qi, the potent Red Value radiation surrounding him was steadily neutralized by the negative radiation emitted from his Qi.

The Thunderbolt Leg Technique was specifically augmented with a Black Mark integration to counter the Black Disaster, boasting a strong specificity.

So far, the effects had been quite satisfactory.

But now, having cultivated the Thunderbolt Transformation to the sixth layer, he was closing in on completion.

His current focus was on strengthening his body’s adaptability, allowing the Thunderbolt Transformation to gradually adapt to his physique, while also speeding up activation, stepping and forming hand signs, trying to minimize the duration.

Once he had sufficiently practiced these techniques, it would be time to reinforce a new martial art.

With these thoughts flickering through his mind, Yu Hong soon caught sight of the massive Black Ship moored at the end of the wooden bridge.

Whoosh.

Several dragon lizards swiftly leaped aboard, checking for safety.

Shortly after, plumes of black smoke rose slowly, signaling safety from the dragon lizards.

Yu Hong leaped aboard, his single hand bracing against the railing as he lightly landed.

With a creaking sound, the Black Ship began to move, heading slowly into the depths of the Black Fog.

“Hope to complete the Night Text and make clear the content of that Daoist Scripture.”

Standing on the deck, Yu Hong looked towards the bow, although he could see only the thick Black Fog.

Still, his heart was filled with anticipation.

Intuition told him that whether it was Aurora City or Gray City, or any other large strongholds, they had all turned into stagnant waters.

Just dealing with the successive Black Disasters was enough to overwhelm them, leaving no capacity to delve into the truth of the Black Disaster.

And without a stable defense line, there was simply no chance of delving deeper to understand the situation.

After about ten minutes of sailing, the Black Ship slowly came to a halt.

Thump.

The vessel gently brushed against something hard, causing a slight shudder.

Yu Hong walked over to the port side and looked down.

The Black Fog began to dissipate.

A rudimentary wooden jetty, resembling the wooden bridge, appeared before him.

The jetty stretched straight into the distance: ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters…

“Hm??” Suddenly, Yu Hong paused in confusion. “No Black Fog?? There’s actually no Black Fog here??!”

He looked along the bridge into the distance. The scenery was clearly visible for a long way.

The long black wooden bridge, solid and straight, ended at a jumble of dark red rocks.

In the rocks, there was a black metal sign, inscribed with unfamiliar Night Text.

Yu Hong activated the translation device on his cheek. For his first exploration, he intended to primarily probe and explore, not planning to take much action. So, he wore the translation device to collect samples.

“Sample collected, scene recording, current progress 8%,” a sweet female voice rang in his ear.

Whoosh whoosh.

Two dragon lizards were the first to leap off the Black Ship, with Yu Hong following suit, stepping onto the wooden bridge and quickly walking towards the stone beach.

Clack.

The moment his boots touched the stones.

Dong…

A prolonged tolling of a bell unexpectedly sounded gently near Yu Hong’s ear.

The bell sound seemed like a spring, washing over him from head to toe in an instant.

Strangely, a sense of peculiar relief slowly arose from deep within his heart.

Yu Hong raised his head. Directly before him,

Under the dark, lightless sky, stood a sharp, knife-like grey-white mountain peak, rising to the heavens.

At the summit, there was a sky-blue, vertical pupil-like crevice.

Through the crevice shone a pure, bright light, a pure blue halo that seemed like the lingering color of a sky that once existed.

‘This place…’ Yu Hong’s heart skipped a beat, sensing the Black Ship might have brought him to an extraordinary place.

He surveyed his surroundings; behind him was the Black Water River, enveloped in Black Fog, and the wooden jetty.

On both sides, endless grayish-white mountains stretched, but beyond a certain distance, farther away, they were also submerged in Black Fog.

Only this mountain in front of him seemed protected by some strange force, preventing the Black Fog from approaching.

Crunch.

Crunch.

He lifted his foot and took steps towards the mountain peak.

The blue vertical pupil crevice at the top of the peak, like a magnet, continually drew him closer.

Dragon lizards kept guard around him, always alert to potential threats.

Before long, he arrived at the base of the mountain.

In between the bare gray-white stones, clusters of bizarre rocks and pillars formed a stone forest hiding a winding staircase leading upwards.

The stairway was only a little more than a meter wide, and on a strange rock at its entrance, blue Night Text was carved.

After recording it with the translation device, Yu Hong approached the stairs.

Looking up.

The unobstructed stairway had small platforms at intervals.

The platforms wound upwards, twisting and turning, seemingly connecting to the unseen end of the peak.

At this moment, Yu Hong was surprised to see a person on the first platform ahead.

The figure wore a tattered black and gray robe, hair draped over the shoulders, prostrate on the ground, head quietly bowed to the earth, completely still.

‘Is that… a Daoist robe?’ Yu Hong found the attire somewhat familiar.

After a moment’s thought, he stepped onto the stairway.

Step by step, warily scanning his surroundings, he climbed.

The dragon lizards scrambled ahead of him, approaching the figure.

But there was no response, just the silent figure kneeling statically.

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