A Night of Desperation-Chapter 97: Power (1)

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As the wooden door opened, Yu Hong stepped out, clad in a thick, reinforced White Bear Suit.

“Old Li, what couldn’t be said over the communicator that made you come all the way here?” He frowned, glancing at the two men behind Li Runshan.

“I need more Rune Arrays to set up a secure chamber. Can you spare some? The reward is negotiable!” Li Runshan quickly stated.

“How many?”

“At least thirty.”

“I can’t get that many in a short time. You’ll have to wait four days,” Yu Hong shook his head. “Besides what I need for myself, I can only give you twenty-two. Regular Luminous Stones can also be used for a secure chamber—why not go to the mining area?”

“A small team went there… and never came back,” the second man behind Li Runshan said. “By the way, Mr. Yu, do you happen to have anything that can repel the Many-Eyed Birds? If so, we’re willing to pay a high price for it!”

“Something special? Against the Many-Eyed Birds?” Yu Hong’s face, partially concealed under his helmet, showed a brief hint of surprise.

“You must understand, Mr. Yu—the people we’re protecting are all high-ranking United Army officials’ family members. If we can lend a hand at a critical moment, the benefits we gain in return will far outweigh what we’re offering now,” the man continued. “Weapons, equipment, supplies—just a minor request within the United Army, and we can get anything we need.”

“That’s a tempting offer,” Yu Hong admitted. If he really had something like that, he would certainly be willing to trade.

“But unfortunately… I don’t have anything like that.”

“Do you not believe us, Mr. Yu?” the second man pressed on. “At this point, the VIPs in the first team are our last lifeline. If something happens to them, the higher-ups will be furious. Not only will the rescue team be called off, but we’ll also be remotely wiped out along with the monsters. Mr. Yu, you might not understand the current mindset of the United Army generals—human lives are just numbers to them. If we fail to protect those key individuals, then everyone here… will die.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Yu Hong scoffed. “I’m not part of your first team. Even if they’re furious, they won’t come after me.”

“The higher-ups don’t have time to investigate such details. Our lives alone aren’t worth the risk for a rescue team to come all this way. And if you refuse to help, you’ll naturally be implicated as well. The reality is, we’re all stuck in this mess together,” the second man said in a low voice.

“Heh, what’s your name?” Yu Hong smirked at the blatant coercion.

“Ge Shenghao. Mr. Yu, do you think I’m lying?” Ge Shenghao asked calmly. “I won’t deny it—we want to survive. Now that we know you have a way to avoid the Many-Eyed Birds, what do you think we’ll do? Stay put and wait for death? Or… make another choice?”

Yu Hong fell silent.

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That was an implicit threat.

He looked at Li Runshan, who gave him a subtle shake of the head—signaling that cooperation was the best course of action.

Yu Hong didn’t want to break ties with the rescue team either. If they did arrive, he had plenty of things he could trade with them. But if he completely severed relations with the authorities, there would be no way to acquire resources from the post office in the future. 𝙍ÀΝọꞖЁṨ

“I’d love to cooperate, but unfortunately… I really don’t have a way to avoid the Many-Eyed Birds,” Yu Hong said again.

Ge Shenghao and his companion frowned—they hadn’t expected that response.

The third man’s face darkened, and he instinctively reached for his gun, but Ge Shenghao stopped him with one hand.

“Well, since we’ve gotten this far, it seems Mr. Yu truly has nothing. In that case, let’s drop the subject. But surely, you can provide us with more Rune Arrays or Luminous Stones?”

“What do you have to trade?” Yu Hong asked.

“We have plenty of clothing, equipment, bedding, diesel, gasoline, medicine, and more. What do you need?” Ge Shenghao countered.

Yu Hong thought for a moment. These people had a rich supply of goods—no surprise, considering they had escaped from the supply team.

“Do you have an oxygen generator?” he asked quickly.

“Oxygen generators are a must in underground safehouses these days,” Ge Shenghao explained, “but the key issue isn’t the machine—it’s the constant supply of oxygen-producing materials. The most common type uses electrolysis, which requires a steady supply of electrolytes, as well as a high-performance water filtration system. The water used for oxygen production should ideally be purified to avoid damaging the machine.”

“So, an oxygen generator needs water, electricity, and electrolytes?” Yu Hong asked with a frown.

“Not just that. Safety is a major concern. The hydrogen gas produced during electrolysis is highly flammable, so even if you get an oxygen generator, you need to be very careful about potential hazards,” Ge Shenghao warned.

“I’ll take one. What’s the trade?” Yu Hong asked.

“We used to have several, but we lost most of them on the way. We still have three left—we can give you one, along with ten pounds of electrolytes, which should last a long time. In exchange, we need thirty Rune Arrays. Deal?” Ge Shenghao offered.

“Twenty. I don’t have any more than that,” Yu Hong shook his head.

“Deal.”

Ge Shenghao didn’t argue. The Many-Eyed Birds could attack again at any moment—they had to complete the trade quickly and return to the post office basement.

“Bring the machine first. I have the Rune Arrays ready anytime,” Yu Hong said.

“I’ll go get it!” The third man wasted no time, turning and disappearing into the mist.

Taking advantage of the wait, Yu Hong asked a question that had been on his mind.

“How did you manage to drive away the Many-Eyed Birds just now?”

“We fired five single-soldier automatic-tracking micro-missiles,” Ge Shenghao sighed.

“And still lost three men… The second and third teams were completely wiped out,” Li Runshan added from the side. Too many people had died these past few days.

“If they had died fighting like warriors, I wouldn’t feel this way. But to be helplessly slaughtered like that…”

“As far as I know, the Many-Eyed Birds are strong, but missiles should still be able to kill them, right?” Yu Hong frowned.

“They can, but the fog obscures visibility. By the time we spot the Many-Eyed Birds, they’re already too close. The missiles don’t have time to lock on properly. At such short range, they can’t even adjust their trajectory—they just fly straight,” Ge Shenghao explained. “And if we fire them too close, we’re not killing the Many-Eyed Birds—we’re blowing ourselves up.”

Yu Hong imagined the predicament and fell silent. After a brief pause, he started asking about the group’s situation and status, engaging in casual conversation with them.

Before long, the person who had gone to retrieve the oxygen generator returned with two others, each carrying something in their hands.

It was a rectangular machine with a gray-white exterior, a black power cord trailing from the back, and a plastic attachment resembling a breathing valve on one side, presumably for oxygen intake.

In addition to the machine, there was also a large bag of granular material resembling salt, packed in a plastic bag.

Without much discussion, Yu Hong quickly went back and retrieved twenty rune arrays, placing them on the ground outside the courtyard.

The other party did the same, leaving their items on the ground, and both sides proceeded with the exchange.

After securing the rune arrays, Ge Shenghao and his companion wasted no time, picking up their supplies and leaving immediately.

Li Runshan gave Yu Hong a few extra glances, made a subtle gesture, and then followed after them.

Soon, the three figures disappeared into the thick fog.

Yu Hong didn’t quite understand what Li Runshan’s signal meant, but he didn’t dwell on it. He simply picked up the oxygen generator and returned to the cave.

Just as he was about to close the door—

Qiu Yanxi’s voice suddenly came from behind.

“Mr. Yu, could you help us find another place to hide? That monster bird… If it even brushes against the house, we’ll all be—”

The woman stood in the courtyard with her daughter, her face full of tears, looking pitiful.

“Wait a moment.” Yu Hong thought for a moment. Leaving them directly in the courtyard was indeed a problem.

He stepped back inside the safehouse and inspected the two underground rooms, one on the left and one on the right. The newly constructed underground room was closer to the outer wall.

‘Temporarily converting one of the underground spaces into a guest room could work. The problem is the door—there’s no way to reinforce two doors at once without severely slowing down my Black Mark progress.’

Qiu Yanxi and her daughter were still important, as they were connected to the energy supply issue.

After some thought, an idea suddenly struck Yu Hong.

‘I could just dig a small stone cave outside. It doesn’t need to be big, just large enough for the two of them to hide and sleep in. No need to hold it to my own standards.’

With that in mind, he quickly grabbed his tools, opened the door, and stepped outside.

Boom!!

He had only taken two steps, just reaching the doorway—

A violent explosion erupted in the direction of the post office.

Blazing flames shot into the sky from that direction.

Yu Hong frowned deeply. He was worried about Li Runshan and Aisena, but the distance was too great, and with the monster bird possibly lurking around, he didn’t dare to rush over recklessly.

Standing at the cave entrance, he gazed at the distant flames for a while before turning away, promptly beginning to carve out the cave he needed into an empty rock wall.

Since the two only needed a place to sleep, Yu Hong dug out a rectangular cave about two meters deep, one meter wide, and one meter high. He placed a stone slab at the entrance as a door, leaving a small gap for ventilation.

With his current strength and endurance, the entire process took just over ten minutes.

“If you don’t want to sleep in the wooden house, you can sleep in here,” Yu Hong instructed, pointing at the cave.

“…”

Qiu Yanxi and her daughter stared at the hole in stunned silence. Wrapped in a Luminous Stone blanket, they could barely squeeze inside together.

They hadn’t expected Yu Hong to come up with something like this.

Yu Hong didn’t care about their thoughts. After solving the issue, he returned to the safehouse, picked up his previously reinforced handgun, and checked it. After the Black Mark reinforcement, his handgun’s ammunition had been replenished over time.

The gun had proven extremely useful to him. In contrast, his longtime weapon—the spiked club—was starting to feel inadequate.

Inside the room, Yu Hong listened to the continuous explosions coming from the post office while holding the spiked club in one hand, recalling the suggestion Li Runshan had given him earlier.

‘I really do need to upgrade my weapon… A meteor hammer, perhaps?’ A thoughtful look crossed his face.

‘A simple meteor hammer isn’t very practical. I’m not skilled with it, and against the Many-Eyed Bird, it’s best to have a weapon that latches onto the target upon impact, allowing for follow-up attacks.’

‘What kind of weapon could accomplish that?’

Soon, an image of a uniquely structured weapon formed in Yu Hong’s mind.

After glancing at the recently discovered secrets of the Vortex Rune, he decided to prioritize weapon enhancement first. The Many-Eyed Bird could appear at any moment, and there were certainly more than just one lurking outside. If he didn’t increase his combat power soon, no matter how useful the Vortex Rune was, he wouldn’t even get the chance to use it.

(End of Chapter)