Chapter 14: “It’s Moving! It’s Moving!”
????“…”
????
Chen Fan ignored Crippled Monkey’s excitent. His attention was fixed on the Ghostfire before him, preparing to bind it as his own with a drop of blood. He hesitated, glancing between his thumb and pinky, then finally stuck his index finger in his mouth and scraped blood from his gum, letting it drip into the Ghostfire.
??Close enough for a blood-binding ritual.
??And with that—
??This patch of barren land was officially his base.
??He’d been transmigrated here for several days now, but he still hadn’t adjusted. He barely slept, and his gums wouldn’t stop bleeding.
??“I’m not going back tonight.”
??He dug through the cart, pulled out a Beast Trap, and tossed it to the ground. As he busied himself, he announced, “We’re working here tonight.”
??He suspected that Ghostbeasts wandered the darkness, never truly eradicated from any territory. But that was only a theory—truth required proof.
??Tonight would be the test.
??This place wasn’t nearly as safe as his main Camp. Still, based on experience, the Ghostbeasts roaming this stretch of Wasteland shouldn’t be too powerful. They wouldn’t dare charge the Ghostfire recklessly. The kind of massive Ghostbeast that had attacked his fire that night had only shown up under special circumstances.
??“Understood!”
??Crippled Monkey’s eyes shone with excitent as he nodded, quickly setting about laying Beast Traps along the Camp’s periter. Despite his limp, he moved with surprising speed and precision.
??Truth be told—
??In this world, few people worked slowly.
??Those who did… were already dead.
??Here, where death could co at any mont, there was no room for idlers or the pampered.
??…
??“Hoo…”
??Squatting in the Wasteland, Chen Fan gazed out at the cracked, brown earth, shifting his hips to find a comfortable position as he prepared to relieve himself. The wind was fierce today, stinging his skin as it whipped past.
??The weather was turning colder—winter was on its way.
??Before leaving, he’d given the Arrow Towers new orders: any creature entering the Camp should be given a warning shot. If it didn’t leave, shoot to kill.
??He wasn’t worried about anyone raiding his place.
??With two Level 2 Arrow Towers standing guard, who could possibly steal his ho?
??After a while—
??He carefully plucked a handful of wild grass, checked for burrs, and wiped himself, then rinsed with a splash of water.
??Crude, but it did the job.
??He never liked using grass. As a kid, he’d once wiped with nettles—left him with a lifelong trauma.
??…
??Night fell.
??The mont the sun disappeared, a darkness thick as ink swept in from the horizon, swallowing the land whole.
??Not a trace of light remained.
??The only glow ca from the Ghostfire beside him.
??This makeshift Camp had nothing but the Ghostfire—no buildings, not even the most basic wooden hut, nowhere to take shelter from the wind.
??“No good.”
??Chen Fan curled up on the ground, his face pale.
??He’d already used up all the Ghoststones in the main Camp’s Ghostfire. Before leaving, he’d tossed in one last Ghoststone there. Setting up this new Camp’s Ghostfire had burned through three more, plus another as fuel.
??Now, he had just three Ghoststones left in his pocket.
??Honestly—
??He really didn’t want to spend two Ghoststones to build a wooden hut. That was pure extravagance. But tonight, for so reason, the temperature had plumted, and the wind howled—if this kept up, he was seriously worried he’d freeze to death.
??Not just cold—bone-deep, hypothermia-inducing cold.
??Even if he didn’t die, he’d almost certainly fall gravely ill. Catching a chill out here in the Wasteland ant there’d be nowhere to get treatnt.
??The Ghostfire, after all, gave off no heat—only its eerie light, nothing like real flas.
??Nearby, Crippled Monkey clutched his spear, shivering uncontrollably.
??It was brutally cold tonight.
??“…”
??Chen Fan gritted his teeth. These three Ghoststones were all he had left as a safety net. The main Camp’s Ghostfire could only burn for one more night. He really, really didn’t want to use up his last backup.
??Right then—
??Drip.
??A cold raindrop splashed onto the back of his hand.
??He froze, looking up into the pitch-black sky, palm outstretched. Rain—falling fast.
??In the blink of an eye, the drizzle turned to a downpour, sheets of rain hamring down, growing heavier by the second.
??That settled it.
??He didn’t hesitate any longer. He pulled out two Ghoststones and tossed them into the air. Instantly, the ghostly outline of a wooden hut, traced in pale white light, shimred into being above the Camp. Bathed in a milky-white glow, it solidified and thudded down within the periter.
??“Crippled Monkey, get inside!”
??Chen Fan dove into the hut, glancing back at Crippled Monkey, who was still outside gripping his spear, staring at the taut ropes on the ground as the rain poured down.
??He’d been hesitating, wondering if they could tough it out.
??Not anymore.
??If it had only been cold and windy, maybe they could have endured. But now, with rain lashing down and no shelter, they’d freeze to death for sure.
??Forget saving his backup plan.
??First priority: don’t freeze to death tonight.
??If—
??If tonight yielded nothing, then this whole experint would be a failure.
??Standing at the hut’s entrance, Chen Fan looked out at the ropes stretched across the Camp, utterly still in the rain. He sighed silently. He couldn’t say his decision was wrong—he was trying, after all.
??But his margin for error was razor-thin.
??One failure, and he’d burned through nearly all his reserves.
??“Young Master…”
??Crippled Monkey stood nearby, clutching his spear, at a complete loss. Tonight’s events had caught him completely off guard. He wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do—a wave of helplessness washed over him.
??“It’s fine.”
??Chen Fan shook his head, voice gentle. “There’s always a way. Worst case, tomorrow I’ll swallow my pride and pay Station Master Wang a visit.”
??Truth was, if he could just get to Jiangbei Market, he could make a fortune in no ti with his low-cost Ghostfire. The problem was, he didn’t have the strength to hold onto that wealth. If he went, odds were high he’d end up caged like livestock.
??Just then—
??“It’s moving! It’s moving!”
??Crippled Monkey’s excited shout snapped Chen Fan’s attention to the ropes outside. One of them was jerking violently—sothing had been caught in the Beast Trap.
??Chen Fan’s face lit up with joy. Before he could react, the other four ropes began to thrash as well.
??Five creatures, all caught at once!
??“Go!”
??Chen Fan, his voice urgent and thrilled, dashed out into the rain, not caring about getting drenched. He grabbed one of the ropes and yanked hard, dragging the Beast Trap into the Camp. Clamped in its jaws was a grotesque Ghostbeast.
??It looked like an oversized silkworm cocoon.
??Fat and chubby, about the size of a human toddler, its bloated form was deeply unsettling.
??Its mouthparts were even more revolting, taking up nearly nine-tenths of its head.
??He didn’t have ti to study it.
??Crippled Monkey was already charging out into the rain, spear raised high.
??He leapt, aid straight for the head—and struck clean through in one swift motion.
??Efficient. Decisive.
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