...
As the sky darkened, it continued to drizzle relentlessly.
The rainy season would last about half a month longer.
The camp was quite busy. Everyone was occupied with their tasks. Qi Chong was preparing dinner for everyone.
Wisps of smoke rose to the cave ceiling, then drifted outside the city wall.
It felt very homey.
Before dinner, in the shadow of the wall, Crippled Monkey aimed the God-Slaying Spear at the crocodile lying there, trying to pick his teeth.
He had done this several times before. Each time, Heyhey would squint with enjoyment.
Heyhey's tongue lay pressed against its lower jaw, not very nimble. It could barely lick its nose, let alone clean food residue from deep inside its mouth.
Probably no one had done this for Heyhey before, so Heyhey always enjoyed it when Crippled Monkey did.
But today, for some reason, every time he thrust the God-Slaying Spear, Heyhey dodged left and right.
"What's wrong, Heyhey?"
Crippled Monkey looked puzzled at the dodging crocodile, then down at his God-Slaying Spear.
After a while, he guessed a possibility and dithered,
"Is it because this afternoon you saw Young Master poke at feces with the God-Slaying Spear?"
The crocodile lying on the ground gave rapid, successive nods, its eyes full of grievance.
"Fine then."
Crippled Monkey peered down at the God-Slaying Spear in his hand, then strode inside all the way to the Life Workshop, where he saw the busy Qiu Junior.
"Qiu Junior, could you make spears at the Workshop? Make one for me."
"Sure, no problem."
Qiu Junior looked up at Crippled Monkey standing at the door, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and grinned as he agreed.
"Seriously?"
Just then, Chen Fan walked into the Workshop and looked at Qiu Junior in surprise. "The Workshop is level 4. I haven't upgraded it further. I remember spear isn't on the list of craftable items, is it?"
Upgrading the Workshop to level 5 required 500 Eerie Stones and no rare materials or Natural Treasures.
He had come to upgrade the Workshop a few levels since it wasn't expensive, yet all its products were necessities.
Unexpectedly, he had overheard Qiu Junior agreeing to Crippled Monkey's request.
"Yes."
Seeing it's the Station Master, Qiu Junior straightened up and put down his hammer right away, then explained,
"The special items craftable at the Workshop don't include a spear, but we got many tools here, like hammers, furnaces, etc. Using these, we can hammer Eerie bones into a simple spear. It's not too complicated—quite straightforward."
"Things with special effects, like Eerie-hide maps, can't be made with just a hammer. But simple items like spears or broadswords can be made. Of course, they won't be as good as Extraordinary Treasures—just barely usable."
"For example, today I requested some Eerie Materials from Wang Kui—mostly pelts and such—to make raincoats for you all. That way, you won't get soaked when you go out."
"..."
Chen Fan thoughtfully studied the raincoats and bamboo hats made from pelts.
Indeed, fine craftsmanship. These things weren't on the Workshop's list—all handcrafts by Qiu Junior.
Of course, most of the credit went to all the tools at the Workshop. Without them, even if Qiu Junior worked himself to death, he couldn't have made these by hand.
He knew about the request for Eerie Materials. Wang Kui had mentioned it, and Chen Fan had specifically told Wang Kui that if anyone requested such low-value materials, Wang Kui could decide on his own—no need to consult him.
Certainly, the only one who would request resources was Qiu Junior at this time.
But the camp would grow in size eventually. Better to set procedures now so things won't get messed up later.
Neither had he known what Qiu Junior used those materials for nor expected results to come so soon.
"Good job."
Chen Fan caught a hint of expectation in Qiu Junior's eyes and remarked with a broad grin, "Well done. You've got good initiative. I hadn't even thought of raincoats or bamboo hats, but you did and made them. Good work."
"Step outside for now. I'm going to upgrade the Workshop."
"Okay, okay." Qiu Junior agreed at once.
...
With 500 Eerie Stones, the Workshop had been upgraded from level 4 to level 5.
The panel hadn't changed much.
Just two more craftable items were added.
Namely, Eerie Nails and... Eerie Banners.
Eerie Nails.
As the name suggests, it is a special type of nail, terribly hard, forged from Eerie bones.
As for the Eerie Banner, it holds special significance.
Every force had its own "banner." From a distance, say several thousand meters away, you may make out a party passing, yet far from distinguishing a banner, let alone people's faces.
That's when the "Eerie Banner" plays a role.
Even from far away, with the Banner barely in sight, the design on it could be discerned, conveying which force the group belonged to.
It was a way to declare identity.
"The Rivernorth Chen Clan" had their own Eerie Banner, with a pattern of crossed swords.
He didn't upgrade the Workshop to level 6.
That required 2,000 Eerie Stones.
Better leave it until the rainy season draws to a close.
Now he had to finish building the Meat Grinder first. During the rainy season, resources must be prioritized for the defenses.
"Good."
Chen Fan looked toward Qiu Junior. "Make a batch of Eerie Nails as soon as possible. I need them urgently. By the way, no need to make Eerie Banners hastily before we brainstorm ideas about it."
"We need a proper name for our force."
"And also a design that looks both low-key yet impressive."
"After the rainy season."
"We'll take center stage as an emerging force."
"Yes!"
Qiu Junior took a deep breath and agreed.
...
It was unknown whether Qiu Junior was too efficient or Eerie Nails were too easy to produce, but Qiu Junior had already made a batch of Eerie Nails before dinner was ready.
"Phew..."
Chen Fan took the Eerie Nails and heaved a long breath. With a bone hammer dangling from his grip, he was marching toward the entrance of Warehouse No. 1. He had long wanted to nail that annoying wooden board over the entrance. With it leaning there, the camp seemed on the verge of bankruptcy.
Though it was nothing serious.
It was precisely getting these bits and pieces of work done that made the camp look ever more like a human settlement.