The next moment—
The 10 Eerie Stones on the ground instantly shattered, transforming into milky-white liquid that flowed into the [Eerie Fire] seed at the center of the camp. A panel slowly appeared before him as well.
-
“The Eerie Fire has risen to Level 2. The safe zone has increased to a diameter of 20 meters. Its deterrent effect on eerie creatures has been strengthened.”
“Please choose an upgrade path.”
“1: Increase the safe zone to 30 meters.”
“2: Further strengthen its deterrent effect on ghostly creatures to a certain extent.”
“3: Slightly reduce the consumption of defensive structures within the camp when activated.”
-
“...”
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. He had chosen to spend 10 Eerie Stones to raise the core structure, the [Eerie Fire], to Level 2. Its basic effects had been strengthened, and at the same time, three upgrade paths had appeared once again.
He was somewhat curious. The native Architects of this world definitely could not see this panel when upgrading structures, so how did they decide their upgrade paths?
Completely at random?
After thinking for a moment, he chose the third upgrade path.
With two Level 2 Arrow Towers present, he had some confidence in his camp’s safety for now. There was no need, for the time being, to make the Eerie Fire’s deterrence toward eerie creatures even stronger. As for the first upgrade path, although it was very practical, from a long-term perspective, the one with the highest return was definitely still the third upgrade path.
The Arrow Towers’ consumption was not too high.
In last night’s battle, the two Arrow Towers had only consumed one-tenth of the Eerie Stones embedded in them. But in the future, there would definitely be more defensive structures. This upgrade path would reduce a great deal of his consumption and directly increase the camp’s strength.
After he made his choice.
The [Eerie Fire] began to slowly change. Its base looked even more ancient and unadorned, and two milky-white energy veins extended across the ground like blood vessels, connecting to the bases of the two Level 2 Arrow Towers.
“Hoo.”
Chen Fan let out a light breath. At this point, his camp’s range had reached a diameter of 20 meters, which was enough for now. Raising it to Level 3 would require 50 Eerie Stones.
He did not linger.
He immediately spent another 2 Eerie Stones to create a plot of farmland and placed it at the edge of the camp.
Five meters long, five meters wide.
A square plot of farmland.
As the illusory image of the farmland slowly solidified in midair, a square patch of already-cultivated land appeared at the edge of the camp.
If ordinary crops were planted, such as wheat and the like, the maturation cycle would be greatly shortened. But if “seed-type rare treasures” were planted, their maturation cycle would not be shortened.
That did not matter much, though.
The two piles of seeds in his hand both had rather short maturation cycles.
“Quehou!”
Chen Fan looked toward Quehou, who was crouching beside the Eerie Fire studying the two white veins, and shouted, “Time to work. Move all the monkey-headed ghost corpses out from behind the wooden hut and bury them in the farmland.”
“Got it!”
By the time all the eerie creature corpses had been buried in the farmland, it was already noon.
Chen Fan took the lion’s mane mushroom seeds and the Eerie Stone vein seeds from his clothes, burying them in the farmland one by one. There was no need to water them—at least the panel had not said so, which meant there was no need.
A good while later.
“Hoo.”
Chen Fan stood where he was, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and let out a long breath. Farming was physical labor too. There were a total of 17 lion’s mane mushroom seeds.
And a total of 12 Eerie Stone vein seeds.
He did not know exactly how much they would yield.
However, this matter did remind him of something. In the future, he would definitely obtain more and more seeds, and the growing environment for each type of seed would be different.
For example, lion’s mane mushroom seeds did not require eerie creature corpses as fertilizer, but Eerie Stone vein seeds did.
As the farmland grew larger and larger, he and the eerie monkey alone definitely would not be able to handle it.
So he had to build up a force. He needed to find people to help him farm and take good care of this land.
Only, when he turned his head and looked at Quehou not far away, who was using the Godslayer Spear to loosen the soil, his eyes narrowed slightly. Subordinates as loyal and hardworking as Quehou were not easy to find.
“Young Master.”
Quehou had also finished his work by now. He jogged over with a limp, his movements looking somewhat comical, and reported with a grin, “Just now, I found a few seeds under the bed in the house. I couldn’t tell what crop they were, so I found a corner in the farmland and buried them there.”
“Maybe they’re fruit tree seeds or something. That way, we won’t lack fruit to eat in the future.”
“...”
Chen Fan smiled and said nothing. They were probably something like wheat seeds. After so much time had passed, whether they could still sprout was another question. But he would not say that and dampen Quehou’s enthusiasm.
Just then—
“Station Chief Chen?”
A startled voice came from beside him. Wang Kui had arrived at the edge of the camp with his men at some point.
“It seems we’ve only been apart for two days, haven’t we? What is all this...?”
Standing within the camp’s range, Wang Kui looked at the Eerie Fire that had clearly risen to Level 2, then at the two Arrow Towers that looked anything but easy to provoke. His eyes were filled with blank confusion.
What was going on...?
Wasn’t Chen Fan the Chen family’s illegitimate son, persecuted and sent to the wasteland to die?
What was with these Arrow Towers?
And two of them?
He had not seen many stations with Arrow Towers. A station was just a temporary foothold and basically would not be threatened by eerie creatures. Who would spend such a huge price to build Arrow Towers there? They were generally placed in the family head’s territory or at important hubs.
If Chen Fan had not been an illegitimate son, it might have made sense. The Chen family could have sent him down here to gain some experience, then arranged for a Level 5 Architect from the family to build two Arrow Towers to escort him along the way.
As for now...
A trace of understanding flashed deep in Wang Kui’s eyes, as if this was only to be expected. The situation was obvious now. Chen Fan’s mother had indeed left him a backup plan, and this backup plan was very likely related to Architects.
If that was truly the case.
Then this time, the Chen family might regret it until their hearts ached.
A thousand thoughts churned in his mind, but on his face, he revealed only a hint of helplessness. “Station Chief Chen, you really fooled me badly. I thought you... but in the end, you’re this...”
“...”
Chen Fan looked at the two large vats on the cart behind Wang Kui and chuckled. “Here to return things again? Looks like the previous station chief here borrowed quite a few things from your station.”
“Station Chief Chen, please don’t make fun of me.” Wang Kui turned his head somewhat awkwardly. “It seems that little bit of kindness I finally managed to muster turned out to be useless.”
“Not at all.”
Chen Fan shook his head and looked at Wang Kui, saying softly, “Station Chief Wang’s kindness is something I, Chen, will remember. The things you sent last time truly helped me quite a bit.”
“If there is a chance in the future, I will certainly repay you generously.”
“Good, good, good.”
Wang Kui’s tone could not help but carry a trace of excitement. “Then I’ll return to the station first. If anything comes up, just send someone to find me at any time.”
He left the cart behind him.
Then, taking his subordinates with him, he headed back toward his own station. Even his footsteps could not help but become light and buoyant. This time, he had really made the right gamble. Chen Fan had very likely already become an Architect.
Five Eerie Stones to buy a favor from an Architect.
Was there any deal more worthwhile than that?