Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Evernight Descends, Time to Get to Work
"I understand."
The bronze-skinned man said thoughtfully, "Station Chief, are you saying that Chen Fan’s mother might have left him some kind of fallback plan?"
"That makes sense. After all, she was a Level 4 Architect. She wouldn’t have been short on wealth."
"That’s right."
Wang Kui nodded. They had reached his station by now. He lowered his voice and instructed, "That’s why we’re fostering this goodwill. I’ve worked for the Wang Family for so long; five Ghost Stones are nothing to me."
"It’s no great loss even if they’re wasted."
"But if it pays off, he’ll remember this act of goodwill and will surely repay us somehow."
"Even if he doesn’t repay us, it doesn’t matter."
"When you’re out in the world, it’s never a bad thing to make more friends and fewer enemies."
"Oh, right—"
"When I send you to deliver the supplies later, watch your tone. Don’t make it seem like charity. Good intentions can easily turn into bad blood."
"Don’t worry, Station Chief. Leave it to me!"
...
"Young Master."
Jiangbei Chen Family Site No. 37.
Lame Monkey stuffed the small knife back into his clothes and watched the departing backs of Wang Kui and his man. "They probably think we’re going to steal their business in the future," he said hoarsely. "They might not have good intentions. Should we make a preemptive strike?"
"No need."
Chen Fan shook his head but didn’t say much else. He simply took the hemp rope from Lame Monkey, tied it to a Beast Trap, and waited for night to fall.
His plan was simple.
Once the Eternal Night descended, as soon as he sensed movement in the Beast Trap, he would immediately pull it back into the safe zone, kill the Ghost Object with his knife, and then put the Beast Trap back out into the darkness.
This way, he could reuse the Beast Trap.
Low Level Ghost Objects could be killed with an ordinary knife like this.
For Ghost Objects of a slightly higher Level, an ordinary knife like this wouldn’t be able to cause any damage at all.
The Ghost Objects that could be caught by a Beast Trap were all of a very low Level, so there was no risk of backlash.
After a bit of testing, Chen Fan went back inside the house to catch up on sleep, leaving Lame Monkey to stand guard outside. They planned to take turns sleeping so they could work through the night.
...
"Young Master, Young Master."
Chen Fan was shaken awake. He stepped out of the house and saw a brawny, bronze-skinned man with extremely coarse skin. The man was incredibly sturdy and was currently standing outside the camp with a handcart, grinning and waving at him.
It was the subordinate who had been following Wang Kui earlier.
Before he could even speak,
the brawny man spoke first, explaining, "Station Chief Chen, before your site here was abandoned, Station Chief Wang borrowed some food and water from your camp. After your Chen Family withdrew from this camp, he never had a chance to return it."
"Now that the Chen Family has reactivated this site, he immediately sent me over to return what was borrowed without a moment’s delay."
"Anyway..."
"I won’t stay long. There’s still work to be done back at the station."
After the brawny man left,
Lame Monkey, his face full of suspicion, walked over to the handcart. On it were two large, full vats. One was filled with clean, purified water, and the other was packed with food: dozens of dry biscuits, rice, assorted vegetables, and... two roast ducks, still steaming hot.
GULP.
Lame Monkey’s throat bobbed uncontrollably before he declared decisively, "Young Master, it must be poisoned!"
"It’s not poisoned."
Chen Fan shook his head. "The moment he revealed my identity, he knew I wouldn’t live long. There’s no need to poison me and bring trouble upon himself."
"Not poisoned?"
Lame Monkey frowned, skeptical. "Then is he really just returning what he borrowed? Is this Wang Kui so true to his word?"
"Of course not."
Chen Fan picked up five Ghost Stones from the bottom of the vat, weighed them in his hand, and suddenly laughed. "Think of it as an investment. He thinks I might not die after all and is betting on my future."
"So you’re saying it’s a gift?"
"Yes."
"Then... then why did he say..."
"He was afraid of hurting my pride. He’s quite thoughtful."
"But if that’s the case, isn’t he worried we won’t feel obligated to repay the favor, since he claimed it was just returning something?"
"..."
Chen Fan patted Lame Monkey on the head. "Go inside and get some sleep. I’ll take watch now."
"Yes, sir!"
...
After Lame Monkey went inside,
Chen Fan began to take stock of his camp’s current assets. He had to admit, this angel investment had come at the perfect time. It meant he wouldn’t have to worry about food in the short term, and those five Ghost Stones would also be a great help.
There were still two Ghost Stones in the Ghost Fire, enough to keep it burning for two days.
He couldn’t touch those two Ghost Stones. He had to leave himself at least a one-day buffer; he couldn’t cut it too close.
Adding the five new ones, he now had a total of six Ghost Stones.
’Six Ghost Stones...’
He looked at the five basic structures available on his Eternal Night Lord Panel.
-
[Five basic structures are currently available for construction.]
[Level 1 City Wall]: Can withstand the attacks of Low Level Ghost Objects. Cost: 10 Ghost Stones per meter.
[Level 1 Farmland]: Can significantly shorten the maturation cycle of plants. Cost: 2 Ghost Stones per plot.
[Level 1 Arrow Tower]: Can inflict a certain amount of damage on Low Level Ghosts. Cost: 10 Ghost Stones.
[Level 1 Wooden House]: Provides decent protection from cold and wind. Cost: 2 Ghost Stones.
[Level 1 Sacrificial Tower]: Can be used to obtain special resources. Cost: 20 Ghost Stones.
-
’The City Wall...’
’It’s so fucking expensive.’
’Ten Ghost Stones for just one meter. The safe zone of my Ghost Fire is ten meters, which means I’d need a 32-meter wall. That’s 320 Ghost Stones. There’s no way I can afford that right now.’
’If I really run into a Ghost Tide that attacks the Ghost Fire, then I’ll just have to accept my fate. It would just be my bad luck.’
After a moment of thought,
he used his only six Ghost Stones to create three more Level 1 Beast Traps.
And so—
he now had four Beast Traps. The price was that his pockets were completely empty; he didn’t have a single Ghost Stone left.
Next,
he just had to wait for the Eternal Night to fall and get to work!
...
HUFF...
Chen Fan patted his full, round belly and let out a long breath as he watched the thick darkness hurtling in from the horizon.
He was full. The roast duck was delicious and wonderfully greasy.
Four steel Level 1 Beast Traps, each tied with a hemp rope, were placed on the desolate ground outside the circle of light.
The next moment!
The thick darkness enveloped everything completely. The light from the Ghost Fire formed a protective shell around the two of them, like an eggshell. That rustling sound once again filled the air—countless Ghost Objects had arrived with the Eternal Night!
"Lame Monkey."
Chen Fan’s expression was slightly tense as he said in a low voice, "I’ll be in charge of pulling the ropes. You’re responsible for the killing blow. Be careful!"
"Understood."
Lame Monkey was also a little nervous. This was his first time trying to kill a Ghost Object head-on. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous.
Finally,
after half an hour, one of the hemp ropes suddenly twitched. The movement was slight, but Chen Fan noticed the difference immediately. He took a deep breath, gripped the rope with both hands, and slowly began to pull the Beast Trap back from the darkness.
The moment the Beast Trap was pulled into the circle of light,
a monkey-like Ghost Object with its lower leg caught in the trap was dragged into the light.
It was a Monkey-headed Ghost.
