A Night of Desperation

Chapter 303: No. 1

Yu Hong noticed the footprints but remained outwardly undisturbed.

If it were the most elite enhanced mutant, perhaps it would be possible. Zhang Kajing might also possess such quality.

Following the camp’s exit, he escorted the person to the post office area, found some materials, and lit a bunch of fire for warmth.

Then he returned to the camp, waiting for the Black Mark enhancement to be completed.

Nearly five months of enhancement, and now it was finally nearing completion.

Upon returning, standing at the entrance of the safehouse in the cave, Yu Hong bathed in the blizzard, silently gazing at the cave door.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Four minutes...

In an instant, the entire cave door blurred momentarily.

Then quickly, a faint layer of gray-black color seeped into the door and around its perimeter.

Yu Hong noticed that the fine cracks that were previously present had now vanished, with the door merging into one with the surrounding rock.

He glanced at the Black Mark on the back of his hand, proceeded to unlock the door with the key, but discovered the key had transformed into something else—a cylindrical object with a top embedded with multi-colored crystal fragments resembling tiny gems.

Inserting the key into the lock and twisting it.

Click.

Yu Hong pulled open the cave door, looking forward to the long-awaited safehouse inside.

As the door opened wider, Yu Hong could also see the inside.

The layout on the first floor remained unchanged, but the walls and floor had all become smooth and clean, as if coated with an additional layer of silver semi-transparent paint.

He entered, closing the door behind him.

Click.

Hum.

With the closing of the door.

The entire cave automatically emitted a sound of heavy chains and gears in motion.

Then, with a puff, the door closed even more tightly.

Yu Hong observed the door that seemed unchanged, then swiftly descended to the basement.

The three basements were now interconnected, merged into one.

At this moment, at the right end of the basement wall, stood a black stone pillar with a black wooden ship’s helm embedded on it.

"Isn’t this an object from the Black Ship?" Yu Hong instantly recognized it.

Not just that.

Above the helm, he also saw an oval transparent glass window.

Through the glass, one could see the endless black river waters outside...

Wait! River water? Black??

Yu Hong froze, feeling that something was amiss.

"This is a basement. Shouldn’t it be parallel to the underground outside? Why is it the Black River??"

A thought began to arise in his mind, he quickly approached, held the helm, and looked out the window.

The black river water churned and surged, its surface shrouded in black mist.

This was indeed the scenery around the Black Ship.

Only before, he saw it at the dock just after boarding, but now, it was inside the basement of his own camp.

’It looks like it was a success!’ Yu Hong felt extremely content. He successfully integrated the Black Ship into the camp’s safehouse system. This meant that he could now use the camp as a larger vessel, carrying him around to different places.

Letting go of the helm, Yu Hong looked towards the other end of the basement.

The merged basement was as large as two floors combined, such a vast area.

The Black Ship’s helm and window were located in the right corner of the basement.

Meanwhile, in the left corner of the basement, a similar silver-gray steel steering wheel was embedded in the wall, resembling a car’s steering wheel.

Also, above the steering wheel on the stone wall, was another oval window leading outside.

Through the transparent glass, Yu Hong could see the desolate sky and mountains shrouded in blue light mist outside.

This was indeed the scenery outside the cave.

He also saw Baiqiu Village, covered in snow, with only a few rooftops visible.

After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and gripped the steering wheel.

A gentle twist.

Snap.

A piece of paper filled with small print dropped out from beneath the wheel.

He picked it up and unfolded it to see that it was an instruction manual for operating the current camp safehouse.

After quickly scanning through, he pressed a button underneath the steering wheel.

Click.

A crisp sound, and the entire camp suddenly resounded with a deep humming.

’What sort of power has been directly transferred here? The mere nuclear engine from before is definitely far from sufficient.’ Yu Hong, clueless, looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound.

Soon, he discovered a significantly enhanced nuclear engine in another corner of the basement.

The exterior of the nuclear engine was covered in vine-like patterns that resembled black threads.

’It seems to have merged with the power core of the Black Ship... no wonder it took so long... this does seem to be well worth it.’

Yu Hong nodded, satisfied.

He returned to the steering wheel and looked outside through the window.

The humming gradually faded, replaced by the safehouse cave starting to shake slightly.

Then.

Whoo...

With a sound likened to a ship’s horn.

The cave safehouse abruptly stopped, and then the scenery outside began to move, clearly entering movement mode.

At this moment, outside the camp.

The entire mountain area of the Black Wind Camp began to emit slight vibrations.

Hum...

It didn’t take long for a large, irregular-shaped stone to slowly split off the mountain.

Then, this stone piece protruded four huge wheels from beneath and began to move slowly towards the distance, leaving.

The camp moved away about several tens of meters, then quickly returned to its original location, seamlessly fitting back into place.

Everything was restored to how it was before, to the point where, without careful examination, one could not see any trace of movement.

Within less than two minutes, the wind and snow completely buried any crevices.

Underground.

Yu Hong was in high spirits as he sat in front of the steering wheel.

"Finally, we can leave. However, the Ultimate Gate is still here; I can’t go too far away... Otherwise, it would greatly inconvenience my cultivation."

He pressed another button as instructed by the manual.

Click.

To the right of the stone wall in front of him, suddenly, a fissure opened to reveal a computer screen the size of a human face.

The screen automatically displayed the entire situation of the camp.

Against a black background, a spherical white house slowly floated and rotated.

On the surface of the house, a small cutaway section was revealed, like an animated cross-sectional demonstration.

Inside the cutaway, three layers of protection were indicated with dotted lines.

’1—Outer protection: Wind and Fire Slaughter Spirit Array modified (partially malfunctioning due to extremely low temperatures).’

’2—Middle protection: Yingshan Civilization Rune Array (effective only against the Black Disaster).’

’3—Inner protection: Walls made of multiple reinforced materials.’

The three layers of protection were clearly marked out in white, grey, and black colors.

Yu Hong quickly clicked on the outermost layer, and the semi-transparent Wind and Fire Slaughter Spirit Array instantly magnified, looking like a three-dimensional network.

"Good, it’s just a bit low on endurance, but it doesn’t affect the overall functionality."

"With the base movement sorted out, next up is the Secret Technique."

Returning to the first floor, he sat back at the desk and turned on the communicator. Listening to the rustling noise coming from it actually gave him a sense of security.

Taking up the pen, he wrote out the Qingchen Temple’s Guanwu Daoist Skills on a white sheet of paper, and then, he placed his hand on it.

’Enhance the Guanwu Skill, aim: to add control over Cultivators of Daoist Skills, requiring all those who practice this Technique not to betray me. Once betrayal occurs, the Technique will completely fail.’

Hiss.

As soon as the requirement was broadcasted.

A black line flashed on the back of his hand, swiftly flowing into the paper.

’Do you want to enhance the Guanwu Skill?’

The Black Mark question appeared.

At the same time, a countdown emerged: 7 days 11 hours 42 minutes.

"Yes."

After nearly five months of enhancement, Yu Hong now considered a few more days to be a trifle.

Instantly, the countdown on the white paper twitched and began its tally.

Having completed these tasks, Yu Hong returned to the underground chamber, sat in front of the helm of the Black Ship, and watched the Black River outside the wall windows churning relentlessly.

’Now, let’s try returning to the world of Huangsong Island.’

He fumbled for a moment, and indeed, he found another button beneath the ship’s helm.

Gently, he pressed it.

Hiss!

Instantaneously, a black mist flashed across the glass window.

The entire cave trembled slightly and began to sway gently as though actually on a real ship.

Subsequently, the black river water visible through the window began to flow backward slowly, meaning that the cave was moving within the Black River.

’In such a situation, what would the camp’s cave look like in reality?’

Suddenly, an inkling of curiosity rose in Yu Hong’s heart.

Right away, he let go of the helm and swiftly returned to the first floor and peered out through the doorway’s observation window.

But outside, darkness reigned; shrouded in blackness, nothing was visible, as if soaked in the gloomy waters of the Black River.

Faintly, the sound of flowing water could be heard, along with the whispering voices of shadows.

’Has it become something like a submarine structure?’ Yu Hong pondered in his mind.

Standing at the doorway, he waited a while.

Very soon.

Thump.

The entire cave trembled slightly, and complex white patterns lit up across the inner wall—these were various Array Talismans unique to the Yingshan Civilization.

Yu Hong quickly checked the underground chamber.

From the window, he saw the cave stop entirely.

Amidst the surrounding mist, he could faintly make out a desolate wild beach.

That was the secluded beach he had been using recently, situated along a section of the coastline southwest of Taizhou City.

’Back!’ Yu Hong felt relieved internally. ’As long as I can travel back and forth normally, nothing else is a big issue.’

Returning to the first floor, he opened the door.

A breath of warm air rushed in, carrying the scent of the sea breeze.

Stepping out of the door, he stood on a protruding rock, just large enough for one person to stand.

With a leap, he floated lightly down onto the beach, then looked back.

At sea, amidst the swirling black fog, a peculiar object with a spherical top and rectangular bottom quietly floated on the Black River.

The object was covered in greyish-white unknown materials, its surface constantly lit up with white lines and symbols shining brightly against the surrounding black mist.

"This thing... It’s been strengthened, but... Why does it feel a bit like a cup lid?" Yu Hong found it indefinable.

Now sure that he could return to the world of Huangsong Island, he hopped back into the cave and took the Black Ship back to the camp. He then fetched Zhang Kajing back for a rest.

Seven days later.

On the first level of the cave, Yu Hong’s figure reappeared in front of the wooden table.

He stretched out his hand and picked up a dark blue booklet that had just emerged on the table.

’A bit late, the enhancement has already finished.’

Yu Hong looked around the table and confirmed that the booklet in his hand was definitely the result of his casually written Guanwu Skill enhancement.

He glanced over the booklet, its cover emblazoned with the large characters of Guanwu Skill.

Swish.

He quickly turned to the first page.

’This book is also named Guanwu Jade Spirit Skill, rooted in and enhanced from the Guanwu Skill with an integration of Wuji Palace’s Spirit-controlling Decision. Cultivators must acknowledge the first practitioner—the original cultivator. Thereafter, any cultivator practicing this Technique shall not act against the original. Any breach will lead to a complete failure of the cultivated Technique, self-induced chaos in their Power, with the only recourse being Dissolve the Skill.

Note: Any subsequent cultivator practicing this Technique will contribute toward the condensation of Spirit Light for the original practitioner. The more Spirit Light accumulated, the more protection and enhancement the cultivator gains.’