Chapter 13: "You Can't Seriously an to Work Us to Death."
????“Builder, huh…”
??Trailing behind Wang Kui, the bronze-skinned man couldn’t conceal the flicker of envy in his eyes. Builders might not be the strongest among Practitioners, but their status was unassailable.
??After all, no matter how formidable a Practitioner beca, there was only so much one could do. When night fell, everyone—no exceptions—had to huddle by the Ghostfire.
??In this world, survival ant fortifying your ground and enduring.
??There was no such thing as so heroic Practitioner charging into the darkness, slaughtering Ghostbeasts at will. That was pure fantasy.
??“This ti, the Chen Clan really lost a treasure. If the Chen Clan Head finds out, he’ll probably cough up blood from rage.”
??“But… Station Master, shouldn’t we report this to our clan? Chen Fan definitely won’t return to the Chen Clan now, and he’s a freshly awakened, unaffiliated Builder. If we can get our family to recruit him, that’d be a huge achievent for us.”
??The man’s gaze darted with barely contained excitent.
??“Xiao Qiu…”
??Wang Kui didn’t answer imdiately. After a mont, he clapped the man’s shoulder. “I joined the Wang Clan at twenty. Been Station Master for thirteen years now. You know what this job really is?”
??“Sounds glamorous, right? At least you get to throw your weight around a bit.”
??“But the truth? It’s just scraping together resources for the clan in a forsaken hellhole. If we’re honest, we’re nothing but worker bees in a hive. Our fate is to work ourselves to death, or die during a Ghost Tide. Ten Ghoststones a month—that’s it.”
??“I may bear the Wang na, but I’m not truly one of them. There’s no way I’m ever getting promoted.”
??“You’ve been with
for three years. Wherever I go, I bring you along. But you should start thinking about your own future. Ever wonder where we’ll end up?”
??“Reporting this might earn us so credit.”
??“But what would that actually get us?”
??“And besides—”
??“If Chen Fan only awakened as a Builder after arriving in the Wasteland, do you really think it was just luck? Anyone with sense can see he must’ve been targeted and suppressed by his clan back ho. He ca here to finally act freely. This was all part of his plan.”
??“What does that tell you?”
??“It ans Chen Fan’s been planning to strike out on his own for a while.”
??“If you report him now, yes, maybe while he’s still weak, he’ll feel pressured to join the Wang Clan. But then, what do you think happens to us? You think Chen Fan won’t hold a grudge? You think the Wang Clan would hesitate to throw us under the bus if it suited them?”
??“You need to weigh the risks.”
??“But if Chen Fan really does build his own force, and he owes us a favor, couldn’t we seize the chance to join him? Even if it’s a new group, being a core mber in sothing fresh is better than being a worker bee in the Wang Clan, isn’t it?”
??A look of admiration flashed across the man’s face. He thumped his chest. “You always see things so clearly, Station Master. Don’t worry—I’ll follow your lead. I won’t act on my own.”
??“Good.”
??Wang Kui grinned and gave the man a hearty slap on the back. “Let’s head back to camp. I’m glad you’re thinking this way. You know, I’ve spent years mulling sothing over: every force needs its worker bees, but… after thirteen years, shouldn’t a worker bee get a little promotion?”
??“They can’t seriously an to work us to death, right?”
??“Don’t you think?”
??…
??“Young Master.”
??Crippled Monkey approached, glancing at the two ceramic jars Wang Kui had delivered by cart. “They’ve sent another jar of water and so food.”
??“Not bad.” Chen Fan’s eyes narrowed slightly, though a genuine smile never reached his lips. He hadn’t wanted to reveal himself as a Builder so soon, but those two Arrow Towers were impossible to conceal. Sooner or later, soone would put the pieces together.
??If Station Master Wang decided to report him, the pressure would co down fast.
??He needed to strengthen the camp as quickly as possible. That way, even if outside forces ca knocking, he could hold out. It would be wise to design an escape route too—if things went south, he could always start over sowhere else.
??So far, Station Master Wang seed shrewd.
??Hopefully, he would see the value of long-term gains rather than getting blinded by imdiate rewards.
??Chen Fan glanced toward the camp’s edge, at the patch of farmland he’d just finished planting. The crops wouldn’t mature for another three days—nothing to do but wait.
??He still had eight Ghoststones left.
??Not enough.
??The bigger problem was, for now, there was no way to get more Ghoststones. Last night, the Beast Trap hadn’t caught a single Ghostbeast. Odd, really—by all logic, Ghostbeasts should always be prowling the darkness. It wasn’t as if they could be wiped out from this whole patch of land.
??“Well, I’ll just have to try.”
??After so thought, Chen Fan gestured for Crippled Monkey to follow and tucked the remaining Ghoststones into his coat. He hauled the cart out of the waystation, heading deeper into the Wasteland.
??Truth cos from practice.
??Guesswork alone wouldn’t cut it.
??…
??About an hour later.
??This stretch of Wasteland was mostly flat, barely a hill or hollow in sight. Looking back, he could still see the two Arrow Towers faintly in the distance.
??“This spot will do.”
??Chen Fan pulled out the Ghostskin Map and checked his location. This patch of wasteland wasn’t large, and he was already near its northern edge. No waystations nearby.
??To the east lay Jiangbei Market.
??To the west, Pingcheng.
??South was desert; north, the sea.
??From here, another two or three hours north and he’d reach the coast.
??Most travelers crossing the Wasteland shuttled back and forth between Jiangbei Market and Pingcheng. The southern region was a no-man’s land. When crossing the Wasteland, people always took the shortest route between two points.
??So the central waystations were packed, day in and day out.
??But this place—originally Chen Clan’s Waystation No. 37—sat up north, far from the main route. Naturally, few travelers ever passed by. In all these days, the only person he’d t was that blue-robed man.
??He walked another hour north.
??Now, there was truly no one around.
??And certainly no waystations.
??This was practically a dead zone.
??“Hoo…”
??Chen Fan let out a slow breath, closed his eyes, and drew out three Ghoststones, tossing them into the air. Instantly, the stones lted into a milky-white liquid, and a hazy image of a Ghostfire began to form above the ground.
??As the liquid flowed into the phantom, it gradually grew more solid—but not quite like the Arrow Towers, which had materialized in an instant.
??He grabbed a handful of dry grass and tossed it in.
??Only then did the phantom fully solidify.
??A simple, ancient-looking Ghostfire settled firmly onto the earth.
??“Y-Young Master?”
??Crippled Monkey, standing to the side, began to breathe faster, eyes wide in disbelief. Ghostfire was considered a basic structure, and its Recipe was common knowledge. He rembered it required all sorts of materials. Yet the Young Master had just thrown in a handful of dry grass, and that was it.
??And only three Ghoststones spent?
??A single Ghostfire sold for around sixty Ghoststones at the market!
??The profit margin was insane!
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