He looked at the level 1 Animal Trap in front of him.
Currently, there are 5 Animal Traps in the camp. In recent days, he has earned a lot of Eerie Stones with them. Crafting an Animal Trap cost only 2 Eerie Stones.
Upgrading an Animal Trap to level 2 isn't expensive either, requiring only 10 Eerie Stones.
He decided to test the upgrade.
Immediately, the 10 Eerie Stones on the ground shattered, turning into a milky white liquid that flowed into the Animal Trap next to the farmland. A panel slowly appeared before him.
「Animal Trap upgraded to Level 2, becoming 'Spike Trap'. Must be fixed in place and cannot be moved freely. Can be triggered multiple times.」
「Please choose an upgrade direction.」
「1: Blends with the surroundings, very stealthy, extremely difficult to detect.」
「2: Enhanced power.」
「3: Faster retraction of spikes.」
The original Animal Trap had transformed into the surreal image of a square Spike Trap, 1 meter in length and width, awaiting placement.
He chose the second upgrade direction and placed it right in front of the farmland.
It looked rather out of place.
On the cracked, barren ground, there was a square patch with dozens of neatly arranged holes, resembling the heart of a tree infested by woodworms. He picked up an Eerie Creature corpse nearby, which Crippled Monkey had yet to bury in the farmland, and threw it on the holes.
The next moment!
Click!
With a light sound, dozens of thick, black wooden spikes shot out from underground like striking vipers at a speed barely visible to the naked eye. They instantly pierced the Eerie Creature's corpse.
The power was more than a notch above the Animal Trap.
Then, the thick wooden spikes slowly retracted. After a few breaths, they pulled back into the holes, ready to trigger again if stepped on!
This compensated for a major flaw of the Animal Trap: the inability to be triggered repeatedly. The power also took a great leap.
"Not bad."
Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction. It was cheap, effective, and free—requiring no Eerie Stones to power it. As long as it didn't break, it could be used indefinitely.
If he had chosen the third upgrade direction, the spikes would retract even faster, allowing for more frequent triggering.
However, he felt that the most important ability for a Spike Trap was to deliver an instant, fatal blow, killing any Eerie Creature that stepped on it.
Speed alone wouldn't matter if the force were insufficient.
…
He still had 46 Eerie Stones left.
Chen Fan stood by the farmland and looked toward the gradually darkening horizon in the distance, squinting slightly. In his panel, there was a structure called the 「Sacrificial Tower」, which cost 20 Eerie Stones to build.
Its description was rather vague.
「Level 1 Sacrificial Tower」: Can obtain special resources. Cost to build: 20 Eerie Stones.
He definitely didn't plan to keep too many Eerie Stones on hand tonight. He was contemplating whether to build a few more Spike Traps or construct the Sacrificial Tower. The former would immediately take the camp's defenses a step further.
As for the latter, judging by the description, it was likely related to the mid-to-late stages of the camp. The special resources it provided probably wouldn't be of much use in the short term. Moreover, those resources wouldn't be given for free—he'd likely have to exchange Eerie Stones for them.
It seemed like a structure that consumed resources.
After a while, he took out 40 Eerie Stones, upgraded the remaining 4 Animal Traps to level 2, and chose the second upgrade direction for all of them. He arranged them neatly on the side of the farmland closest to the edge of the camp.
The farmland was 5 meters wide.
One Spike Trap was 1 meter wide, so five Spike Traps were 5 meters wide.
They matched the farmland perfectly.
The arrangement looked neat and harmonious, almost therapeutic for anyone with OCD.
"It got better now."
Chen Fan looked with satisfaction at his masterpiece. With these five Spike Traps, his farmland should be well-protected. The Archery Towers on the city walls would deal with the fish that slipped through the net. In the end, he decided to put the Sacrificial Tower out of his mind for now.
First, he needed to survive the night.
As long as he survived, he'd have plenty of time to figure out what the Sacrificial Tower was. Otherwise, no matter what miraculous effect the tower boasted, it wouldn't matter to him.
Moreover, he felt that for now, the farmland was more important than the Archery Towers. Once the 「Eerie Stone Vein Seed」 matured, it would yield a batch of Eerie Stones. He wasn't sure how many, but there might even be a pleasant surprise.
"Everything is ready. All we need to do is wait until the right time!"
He looked toward the horizon. This was the best he could do. As long as the Eerie Tide tonight didn't kill him, he could further strengthen the camp with the Eerie Stones that Eerie Creatures would drop and raise its limits!
It was an opportunity, but also a crisis.
Everything depended on whether he could survive the night.
Just then—
"Young master!"
The voice of Crippled Monkey came from the city wall. Crippled Monkey leaned over the parapet and shouted toward him, "The wooden hut has been dismantled."
"Good."
Chen Fan turned and walked toward the city wall. As he approached, the wall in front of him suddenly retracted into the ground. He entered the camp and looked at Pockmark Wang and the others in the pouring rain, as well as a neat stack of wood in the corner and a few porcelain vats filled with bedding.
He took 2 Eerie Stones from his pocket and tossed them into the air.
Immediately, the ethereal image of a wooden hut appeared in the center of the camp. As the melted milky white liquid from the Eerie Stones flowed into it, a sturdy and imposing wooden hut settled firmly on the ground.
It was clearly a notch above the previous crude shack.
The weather was getting colder, and it was raining heavily.
The old cabin couldn't even block the wind, let alone the rain. Spending these 2 Eerie Stones was absolutely necessary.
He walked into the hut, took out another Eerie Stone from his pocket, and inserted it into a recess at the entrance. Then, he looked at Pockmark Wang and the others outside. "Come in. The rain is heavy. Get things in order before it gets dark."
"There's a fire inside. Go warm yourselves in case catching a chill."
Wang Kui had brought back not only these six people but also clothes, food, and other daily necessities. These items now had to be sorted out, but that wasn't something he needed to attend to—Crippled Monkey could handle it perfectly well.
"Yes!"
Pockmark Wang nodded emphatically before hurriedly calling the others to take things out of the porcelain vats and tidy up the hut.
…
"Hurry up!"
Out on the wasteland, Wang Kui and Qiu Junior happened to meet that fellow stationmaster from the Ravine Wang family on the way. The stationmaster, wearing hemp clothes and carrying a long blade, was running through the rain with his subordinate.
"It's almost dark. It'll be too late if we don't hurry back."
Wang Kui shouted at the top of his lungs against the pouring rain. They had been sent to collect supplies from the neighboring abandoned stations, and now, with the task completed, they were heading back.
The visibility in the wilderness was usually high, but in the heavy rain, it had dropped significantly. Without an Eerie Hide map, they would surely get lost.
"It's just ahead."
Wang Kui glanced at the Eerie Hide map in his hand, panting as he ran as hard as he could. However… the next moment, he suddenly screeched to a halt, staring blankly ahead.
He looked at the Eerie Hide map in his hand again.
He hadn't taken a wrong turn.
This was the Rivernorth Chen Clan's No. 37 station.
But… when had that city wall appeared?
He remembered it hadn't been there when he left.