Novel Full Chapter 78: "My Father Was a Blacksmith.
Chapter 78: Chapter 78: "My Father Was a Blacksmith.
The permission he granted this Token was...
...to pass through the City Wall of Cave No. 1.
It was equivalent to a gate key with set permissions.
"Lame Monkey."
Chen Fan summoned Lame Monkey, who was waiting at the entrance, and tossed the Token to him. As Lame Monkey’s blood seeped from his fingertip into the Token, it officially activated. With this Token, Lame Monkey could now pass through the Level 3 City Wall of Cave No. 1 without any obstruction.
"Not bad."
He glanced around and nodded.
’This Life Workshop is quite useful. It can craft a lot of handy items that can make a camp more orderly, but... it’s also a place that requires a lot of manpower.’
He was severely short-staffed.
He only had eight people.
’Where am I going to find someone to station in this Life Workshop? I’ll worry about it later.’
After casually crafting another Level 3 Wooden House, he gave an instruction: "Find someone to help you move all these clothes and miscellaneous items from the Life Workshop into the new Wooden House I just built."
...
He walked over to the altar and dipped his pricked finger into the milky-white liquid that resembled a stone well. The wound on his fingertip healed instantly.
This was another of the camp’s important structures.
It ensured the safety of both bodies and the City Walls.
It was currently only Level 1.
’It’s really not enough.’
After spending 100 Ghost Stones, he upgraded the altar to Level 2.
-
[Altar upgraded to Level 2. Healing effect enhanced.]
[Please select an Upgrade Direction.]
[1: Further enhance healing effect.]
[2: Retains potency away from the altar for one month.]
[3: Reduce cost of producing Holy Water.]
-
Chen Fan’s first instinct was to choose the first Upgrade Direction, but after a moment of thought, he selected the second one instead.
Previously, the Holy Water from the altar would lose its potency after being removed, rendering its healing effects useless.
But after choosing the second Upgrade Direction...
...he could now store the Holy Water in porcelain vials. If he got injured while out, he wouldn’t need to rush back to the camp; he could just drink the Holy Water to quickly heal his wounds.
This Upgrade Direction offered much greater functionality.
He didn’t linger.
He spent another 300 Ghost Stones to upgrade the altar to Level 3.
-
[Altar upgraded to Level 3. Healing effect enhanced.]
[Please select an Upgrade Direction.]
[1: Further enhance healing effect.]
[2: Increase the production frequency of Holy Water.]
[3: Reduce the cost of producing Holy Water.]
-
This time, he chose the first Upgrade Direction: further enhance healing effect.
He didn’t need to increase the frequency.
Currently, the only things connected to this altar were the main City Wall of Cave No. 1 and the City Walls of the five unmanned outposts and the old camp. As long as they didn’t all face danger simultaneously, the production speed was definitely sufficient.
’Even if the production speed isn’t enough...’
’...I can just build a few more.’
Upgrading to Level 4 required 500 Ghost Stones and... one of the following: an Earth Core Spring Stone, an Exquisite Pearl, or a Purple Lotus. He had never even heard of these things, so reaching Level 4 was out of the question for now.
But for now, Level 3 was more than enough.
After all this was done...
...the Eternal Night would descend again in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
He walked out of Cave No. 1 and looked toward the Vehicle Workshop housed in Cave No. 2. He spent 1,260 Ghost Stones to build a 21-meter-long Level 2 City Wall at the entrance of Cave No. 2.
For its Upgrade Direction, he chose "Blend with surroundings."
At this point—
...the basic construction and upgrade work for the night was more or less complete.
The camp had once again undergone significant changes.
After returning to its lair to replenish its saliva, the crocodile also marked all the shallow pits Chen Fan had blasted into the rock face during the day. After it had eaten its fill later, it could start digging.
"Does this thing even need to sleep?"
Chen Fan stood at the base of the City Wall, looking at the crocodile sprawled obediently on the ground, waiting to be fed. If he remembered correctly, the creature hadn’t shut its eyes in days. How did it seem to have no need for sleep at all?
He could finally get some rest himself.
Qi Chong was busy building a fire to cook dinner for everyone, with Big Fish helping out by washing vegetables at his side.
Ah Le had taken over Qi Chong’s post by the Farmland, lying on the ground and constantly praising the Sunflowers in the fields.
Zhou Mo and Wang Mazi were busy starting a fire to roast meat for the crocodile.
Wang Kui was alone in the Warehouse, organizing the Ghost Materials, Ghost Object Bones, and other items they had collected over the past few days. He was grouping identical items together to make them easier to find later, so they wouldn’t have to rummage through a messy pile.
Meanwhile, Xiaoyu had run off to the Life Workshop to study something or other. Ever since the Life Workshop had been built, Xiaoyu had shown a great interest in the structure.
Lame Monkey stood beside the crocodile, holding the Godslaying Spear and picking its teeth. The creature couldn’t clean its own teeth, and a lot of meat scraps had accumulated in its mouth. It now had its eyes narrowed in enjoyment.
Soon...
...night fell.
Darkness enveloped the entire Wilderness, just as it always did.
Even during the dry season, when Ghost Objects almost never attacked the Ghost Fire, a tense atmosphere would still hang over the Wilderness outposts after the Eternal Night descended. After all, it was always better to be safe than sorry. Yet now, in their camp during the rainy season, the arrival of darkness was met with a scene brimming with vitality.
Everyone was busy.
"Busy is good. Busy is good."
Chen Fan stretched lazily on the City Wall, gazing out at the Celestial Pit, which was completely covered by Ghost Fire. He admired the camp he had built piece by piece. Just then, a somewhat eager voice sounded from behind him.
"Station Chief, try this."
He turned to look.
Xiaoyu was holding a... rocking chair, made from Ghost Object Bone.
"A rocking chair?"
Chen Fan was slightly surprised. He took the rocking chair from Xiaoyu and ran his hand over it. The surface was incredibly smooth, like it was carved from jade. He had indeed seen that this item could be crafted in the Life Workshop, but the process was extremely complex; he hadn’t even considered trying.
"I remember the process for this rocking chair being quite complex, right?"
"My father was a blacksmith, so I picked up a few things growing up."
"Station Chief, you’ve been working yourself to the bone for the camp these past few days. Everyone sees it. But my own abilities are limited, and I can’t help much. When I saw that a rocking chair could be made in the Life Workshop, I wanted to do my part to help relieve some of your stress."
"Station Chief, why don’t you try it?"
"I’ll give it a try."
Chen Fan placed the rocking chair on the City Wall. The moment he lay back, the accumulated fatigue from the past several days seemed to melt away.
I have to say...
...it had been a very long time since he’d been able to lie back like this.
"Not bad at all."
He couldn’t help but smile. He patted the armrest with satisfaction and waved his hand at Xiaoyu. "This was very thoughtful of you."
"Since you’re interested in the Life Workshop, go check it out more often when you have free time. From now on, you’ll be in charge of it."
"Yes, sir!"
A flicker of excitement flashed in the depths of Xiaoyu’s eyes. He suppressed his emotions, took a deep breath, and clasped his fist in his palm.
"Then you rest, Station Chief. I’ll get back to my work."