NOVEL WEB Chapter 22: Exchange (2)
Chapter 22: Exchange (2)
The two individuals wore goggles and black face masks, dressed in the same way as the little stutterer earlier.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the cave, and the taller one stepped forward and knocked on the door.
“Yu Hong from Baiqiu Village?”
“It’s me. What is it?” Yu Hong replied, hiding to the side of the door.
He didn’t stand behind the door but instead leaned against the stone wall.
“I heard you have better luminous stones for sale?” the taller man asked, without revealing his identity.
(TL Note :- Changing white stone to luminous stone )
“What better luminous stones? I don’t know what you’re talking about, and who are you?” Yu Hong asked, his voice low.
“Don’t hide it. We’ve already seen the two luminous stones in Lin Yiyi’s possession. They’re impressive. If you have such skills, you shouldn’t be staying here. You should come with us to the town. There, you’ll be able to make full use of your talents and save more people,” the taller man persuaded.
“By the way, let me introduce myself. I’m Zhao Zhenghong, and this is Xu Yang. We’re from the town’s United Army.”
“United Army?” Yu Hong’s heart skipped a beat. “Sorry, I’m not interested in going to the town. I feel safer staying here alone. However, I can sell you some enhanced luminous stones, but not right now. I don’t have enough myself, and I don’t have time to make more.”
He had considered using enhanced luminous stones for bartering, but currently, he couldn’t mass-produce them. It took three days to make just one, which was a huge waste for him, considering the use of Black Mark.
“It’s a high-demand period, and many places need luminous stones. If you come with us to the town, you’ll be under the protection of a lot of people, and you can focus on making larger luminous stones. It’s far better than staying here and handling everything yourself,” Zhao Zhenghong continued.
“I forgot to mention, we’re local to Baiqiu Village, so I’m giving you a choice. You don’t have to come, but you must contribute your technology on how to make the enhanced luminous stones, okay?”
“In these difficult times, every additional enhanced luminous stone could save lives. Once you share the technology, it doesn’t mean you can’t make them yourself. It won’t stop you from hiding here and contributing to the greater good without much trouble, right?”
Zhao Zhenghong’s words were reasonable. If it were someone else, they might have been persuaded.
But unfortunately, Yu Hong’s enhanced luminous stones didn’t rely on his own technology but on Black Mark.
And Black Mark’s ability was something that couldn’t be exposed.
“Sorry, I only trade. As for the technology, it’s something you can’t master,” Yu Hong replied steadily.
With the reinforced wooden door, he didn’t think they could break in, so his refusal was firm.
Zhao Zhenghong’s eyes flickered, but instead of getting angry, he smiled.
“Alright, since that’s the case, we’ll visit again. You can think it over, Yu Hong. After all, staying here and suffering alone isn’t better than enjoying life in the shelter, with food and no worries, plus a girl to share your life with.”
He patted his companion, and the two turned and walked down the stone steps, heading into the distance.
Soon, the two vanished into the forest, leaving no trace.
However, just out of sight from the cave’s window, another figure, dressed in camouflage, silently pressed against the rock wall, hiding to the right of the door.
This figure was dressed the same as Zhao Zhenghong and his companion, holding a knife in one hand and standing motionless against the rock wall like a gecko.
From this position, as soon as the cave door opened, they could rush in and control whoever was inside.
At this moment, Yu Hong quietly pulled his eyes away from the peephole and sighed. He watched for a while and confirmed that no one was around before relaxing slightly.
“The kind of trade I want is not with people like them.”
He knew that the enhanced luminous stones would attract unwanted guests, but for the safety of the little stutterer, he hadn’t been stingy with his trade.
Since the fame of the enhanced luminous stones would spread, more people would likely come to trade with him.
After all, the old luminous stones were too bulky, and carrying them was inconvenient. Just like when the little stutterer dispersed the phantom, he had to throw the luminous stones one by one.
Snapping back to the present, Yu Hong didn’t go outside. Instead, he waited quietly in the cave.
He had food and water that could last for a day, so there was no hurry to go out.
If those two came back, it would be troublesome.
Leaning against the fireplace and feeling the warmth from it, Yu Hong thought to himself that perhaps living quietly in the safe house forever wasn’t such a bad idea.
Suddenly, his stomach rumbled loudly.
Yu Hong’s expression changed, and his good mood disappeared without a trace.
He quickly rushed to a corner, grabbed a small bucket, and pulled his pants down to use it.
Splash.
As soon as he positioned himself, a gush of sound erupted.
Yu Hong’s face turned pale.
He had diarrhea!!
The sharp pain in his stomach told him that this wasn’t just a simple case of catching a cold, but possibly an intestinal infection!
Soon, after wiping himself with leaves, Yu Hong stood up, but after just a short time, he felt his stomach churning again.
He opened the lid of the bucket once more and had another episode of diarrhea.
“This is troublesome!”
Yu Hong stood up and quickly started rummaging through his belongings. He soon found a small black box.
Inside the box were two deep blue capsules, the purpose of which was unclear.
But Yu Hong remembered that these were the cold medicine that Dr. Xu had given him. They weren’t antibiotics.
He had used up all his antibiotics. Later, when they ran out, the little stutterer exchanged some valuable items with Dr. Xu, but it still wasn’t enough. In the end, Dr. Xu, out of goodwill, made a loss on the exchange.
Only after taking the medicine did his body slowly improve.
“No, I need to find a solution!” Yu Hong closed the bucket, but the smell in the cave had already spread.
He had to open the peephole to allow fresh air to circulate.
“I need medicine, either anti-diarrheal or intestinal anti-inflammatory!” Yu Hong thought urgently. He suspected that the rainwater he had drunk, which hadn’t been boiled, might have caused the diarrhea.
But strangely, the water he had drunk before had been filtered through the little stutterer’s dirty filter and hadn’t made him sick. The rainwater, however, seemed odorless, yet it caused an upset stomach.
Yu Hong held his stomach and glanced at the newspaper on the comprehensive fitness exercise method, which was still in the countdown for reinforcement. Only a little over two hours had passed, so it still had time to finish.
He looked outside at the daylight. Biting his lip, he grabbed two boards and wedged them into his shirt and abdomen. Then, he picked up the steel nail luminous stone rod and headed for the door.
He needed to go to the other villagers’ homes in Baiqiu Village to check if the post office had medicine.
Otherwise, by tomorrow, the diarrhea would have left him exhausted, and his condition would be worse.
Also, he had to figure out how to stock up on more medicine. Maybe he could use Black Mark’s reinforcement once he returned.
Gripping the doorknob, Yu Hong twisted it forcefully.
Click.
The lock turned with a sound.
But Yu Hong stood still and waited quietly.
He even held his breath, listening for any noise outside.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, he pushed the door outward.
Then, with a bang, he quickly slammed the door shut again.
With a crisp sound, just as the door closed, a figure flashed past from the outside, tumbling down the stone steps and crashing into the grass.
“Damn!”
The person cursed as they stood up and muttered something in an unfamiliar dialect.
Seeing that there was no movement inside the cave, the person glanced at the sky, snorted coldly, and quickly turned and walked away.
Behind the door.
Yu Hong took a deep breath, sweat beading on his forehead, but his expression eased. He remained standing behind the door, unmoving.
After waiting for another ten minutes, he repeated the earlier tests and confirmed that there was no further movement outside. Only then did he slowly open the door.
The sunlight outside was bright, and it was the best time of day, just past noon.
“At least five hours until dusk. The post office is about a mile away, so it’s no problem to make a round trip. I can also ask other nearby villagers if they have anything to trade. If the post office has no medicine, someone else might.”
As for what to trade, Yu Hong brought along the filtration cup he had made. It was reinforced and had good workmanship, filtering much better than regular devices. It should be very popular for trading.
This cup was completely handmade by him, with a wooden cup that didn’t even have a handle. It was simple to make—just carve a round hole into a piece of wood.
For filtering, he used a piece of cloth and some charcoal, which was cheap and quick to reinforce.
It was perfect for trading.
With the filtration cup, the steel rod, some dried meat, and a water skin, Yu Hong set out, following the direction the little stutterer had given him, heading toward the post office.
Since he had been there many times, a small path had already been worn into the ground.
The grass on the road had been cleared, and it was shorter than the rest.
Plus, the little stutterer had marked the trees to prevent getting lost.
Yu Hong jogged along, without taking a wrong turn.
About half an hour later.
He finally reached the so-called post office of Baiqiu Village— a square white stone house.
The house was surrounded by a fence, and on the wooden door of the entrance hung a sign that read: Ring the bell before visiting.
Yu Hong glanced at the stone house and walked to the sign, only to find that the bell had fallen to the ground.
He picked it up. It was an egg-sized copper bell, and when shaken gently…
Ding dong!
The sound echoed.
He shook it continuously, the bell ringing, its sound spreading through the forest, in circles, as if responding to the wind.
He shook the bell for several minutes.
But there was no movement from inside the house. It seemed deserted.
“Stop shaking it. The postman has gone to the shelter in the town. There’s no one here.”
A cautious female voice called out from behind.
Yu Hong turned and saw a small woman with blonde hair, wearing a green men’s jacket, bowing down as she rose from a patch of grass.
(End of Chapter)