The crocodile eagerly nodded, its eyes filled with joy. It was clearly delighted that its new friend was accepting its toy.
"So..."
He tentatively picked up another Exotic Treasure from the pile of toys. "Can I have this one too?"
It was a Building Blueprint.
-
[Exotic Treasure Name]: Wind Tower
[Exotic Treasure Level]: White
[Exotic Treasure Effect]: A special City Defense Building Blueprint. Can generate strong winds.
-
This time, the crocodile seemed to hesitate. After a moment of internal conflict, it reluctantly averted its gaze from the white-glowing Building Blueprint and gave another firm nod.
"Then how about this one? And this one, and this one..."
Chen Fan picked up the remaining three Exotic Treasures from the toy pile all at once, holding them out as he looked tentatively at the crocodile.
The next moment.
The crocodile’s spirits visibly deflated. Chen Fan could even see the glint of tears in its eyes, as if it were about to burst into tears at any second.
"Five hundred cuts of roasted meat!"
Seeing this, Chen Fan quickly held up five fingers. "I’ll give you five hundred cuts of roasted meat! Enough to fill a whole new storage room."
The moment he finished speaking.
The crocodile instantly perked up. Its eyes darted about in thought for a moment before it gave another firm nod, its tail thumping with excitement and anticipation.
"Whew..."
Chen Fan looked at the happy crocodile and felt a little embarrassed, as if he were bullying a child. "Hey, you like rare things, right? I’ll find you more toys in the future."
It was hard to tell if the crocodile understood.
The crocodile just rummaged in another corner, pulled out some vibrant green flowers, and quickly swallowed them before signaling that it was time to go back.
The man and the crocodile left the cave, following the main path once more.
They prepared to head down the mountain and return to camp.
But just then—
Chen Fan suddenly stopped in his tracks. He had only just noticed a Deep Pit near the cave entrance, filled with a massive amount of feces and Ghost Stones. He stood stunned for a good while before turning his head dazedly toward the crocodile. "Brother, is this...?"
The crocodile tilted its head and gave him a quizzical look before walking demonstratively to the edge of the Deep Pit and sticking its rear out over the opening.
A smelly dropping landed in the Deep Pit.
Then it looked back at him.
It was as if to say, ’It’s a dung pit. What’s so confusing?’
"So...?"
Chen Fan took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart. "Brother, can you give me this stuff?"
Worried the crocodile wouldn’t understand, he pulled a Ghost Stone from his pocket, brought it to his lips for a kiss, and then carefully tucked it away again, trying to demonstrate how important Ghost Stones were to him.
The next moment.
He saw an almost palpable look of disgust and fear in the crocodile’s eyes.
That expression...
It was the look of someone who had just seen a person eat shit.
Though confused, the crocodile generously nodded its consent. But then it patted its stomach and shook its head quickly and firmly. The meaning was crystal clear: it could help its friend carry dirt out of the canyon in its belly, but there was absolutely no way it was going to carry all this dung back in there.
"No problem!"
Chen Fan grinned. "Just leave the rest to us! Let’s go, brother, back to camp!"
After riding the crocodile swiftly down the mountain again, he hopped onto his Skeleton Horse and hurried back to camp along the canyon floor.
’That wasn’t a dung pit.’
’It was a gold mine!’
’With this batch of Ghost Stones, I can finish setting up my "Meat Grinder" defenses much faster and make the camp even more secure!’
...
「There was still some time before dark.」
Chen Fan, Zhou Mo, and the others arrived at the mountaintop, fully armed. With his sleeves rolled up, Zhou Mo stood at the edge of the dung pit, looked at the Ghost Stones caked in feces, and began to laugh with excitement, completely ignoring the foul stench in the air.
’A little dirt is good.’
’If it weren’t dirty, we’d feel uneasy taking it, worried it might shorten our lifespans.’
Everyone from the camp was present, except for Qi Chong.
Everyone rolled up their sleeves, grabbed shovels and other tools, and jumped into the dung pit. They wiped the filth off each Ghost Stone before placing it in the boxes they had brought up. These were the same five chests recovered from the Mourning Ghost leader.
"So many... so many..."
Wang Kui was ecstatic, the smile never leaving his face. He stood in the mushy, sloshing pit, carefully wiping each Ghost Stone clean before placing it in a box. For the man in charge of the Warehouse, a growing stockpile of Ghost Stones brought a unique and profound sense of satisfaction.
The men had a clear division of labor.
The once nearly-overflowing pit grew shallower, while the empty chests gradually filled to the brim.
"..."
Chen Fan stood off to the side in the rain, watching the scene with a broad smile. He didn’t join in. ’As the Lord, I need to focus on the big picture. It’s best to leave these meticulous tasks to my subordinates.’
He turned his head to look out into the heavy rain nearby.
The crocodile was lying on the ground, watching them with a complex expression. The emotion in its eyes was inscrutable.
...
Time passed, bit by bit.
All five large chests were filled to the brim. The quantity looked staggering, creating the feeling of having struck it rich overnight. This was mainly because the majority were Level 1 Ghost Stones. In truth, the total amount was less than what they had seized after killing the Mourning Ghost leader.
The final count was 4,492 stones.
After being thoroughly excavated, the already mushy pit had become even more of a soupy mess.
"Not bad at all."
Chen Fan looked with satisfaction at the crocodile, which had been lying on the ground nearby the whole time. He grinned. "Let’s go home!"
Just then.
The crocodile crawled over to another flat area, scraped at the ground a few times with its claws, and unearthed another pit, one that had been filled and covered over. It was impossible to know how long this pit had been buried, but it had clearly started to ferment.
The moment it was exposed, a pungent, aged aroma wafted over them, like that of a long-fermenting cellar.
The crocodile, however, quickly fled into the distance, refusing to come an inch closer.
Zhou Mo and the others, who hadn’t quite had their fill, were stunned for a moment. Then, they excitedly grabbed their tools and rushed over, their voices trembling with emotion.
"There’s more!?"
"We’ve struck it rich! We’ve really struck it rich this time, Chief!"
Novel Full