Chapter 39: “You’ve Gotta Be Fucking Kidding —That Works?!”
????“The ancestors were right after all,”
??“Many hands truly do make light work.”
??There was barely an incense stick’s ti left before Eternal Night fell.
??Outside the camp, beneath a curtain of dreary rain, Chen Fan gazed at the crude contraption before him—a “cart,” if one was feeling generous—and let out a long, heartfelt sigh. With everyone in the camp pitching in, it had taken only an hour to assemble the first vehicle this world had ever seen.
??The drive shaft’s skeleton was ford from the bones of a Bamboo Ghostbeast.
??Several surprisingly flat planks had been nailed together to serve as the body.
??No chassis. No windows.
??Just a single, thick, lonely plank—about thirty centiters thick.
??At its center, a stubby copper pipe, twenty centiters tall and sawed halfway down, was set flush into the wood. At the base of this pipe, wrapped in Monkey-Head Ghostbeast hide, was a Groundspikes trap—the so-called “Groundspike Engine,” serving as the cart’s power source.
??And that wasn’t all—
??A handful of gears, whittled from Mantis Ghostbeast blades, were mounted beneath the plank, linking the drive shaft to four wooden wheels, each rimd with Monkey-Head Ghostbeast hide.
??Above the “engine,” a slender copper pipe jutted up, serving as the control lever.
??As long as you pressed that pipe down by hand, it would trigger the Groundspikes.
??The drive shaft would channel the force through the gears, spinning the wheels and propelling the entire plank forward.
??But…
??“...”
??Chen Fan’s mouth twitched. It was so damn crude. Who knew how fast it could go, or if it would even hold together? It might fall apart the mont you started it, or worse—break down halfway out in the Wasteland.
??“Zhou Mo, give it a try.”
??“I’m on it!”
??...
??Zhou Mo showed not a hint of fear—instead, he looked positively eager, hopping onto the wooden plank while Crippled Monkey and the others watched with bright eyes. He gripped the slender copper control rod.
??And stabbed it down hard.
??Instantly!
??The Groundspikes fired.
??The force shot through the drive shaft, spinning the gears, and the wheels began to turn.
??The vehicle… moved.
??Zhou Mo’s eyes lit up. Feeling the Groundspikes snap back into place, he stabbed the slender pipe down again, sending another burst of energy into the wheels. They spun faster.
??Once, twice, three tis.
??The wheels picked up speed.
??The crude wooden cart shot out of the camp, barreling toward the Wasteland, its monkey-hide-wrapped wheels surprisingly suited to the rough terrain.
??“Woohoo!!”
??Everyone watched Zhou Mo’s shrinking silhouette, his wild whoops echoing through the rain.
??“It’s that fast?!”
??Crippled Monkey stared in disbelief. “That thing’s faster than most cals—almost as quick as a horse! And… you don’t even have to exhaust yourself pulling it.”
??“It’s not that easy,” Chen Fan sighed. The control lever had to be jabbed down again and again—pure manual labor. He, for one, wouldn’t last long doing it.
??Just then—
??From the rainy distance ca Zhou Mo’s panicked shout: “Station Master! How do I stop this thing?!”
??With only half an incense stick left before Eternal Night, running off now was basically a death sentence.
??“Let go!”
??“I let go and it’s still going!”
??“Wait a bit after you let go!”
??The cart gradually slowed to a halt. Zhou Mo’s voice rang out through the rain: “Station Master, how do I turn around?!”
??“Jump off, pick up the cart, and point it back at the camp.”
??Braking was just letting off the “gas.”
??Turning? You had to get off and physically move the cart.
??That was all they could manage with what they had—crude, but functional.
??Before long—
??Zhou Mo, standing atop the plank, gleefully maneuvered the cart back toward camp. But he misjudged the timing; even letting go of the control rod early, the cart’s montum sent it barreling past the camp entrance.
??Only when Zhou Mo, panting heavily, hoisted the entire cart onto his shoulder and carried it back did he finally look at Chen Fan, face flushed with excitent.
??“Station Master! With this thing, I can reach waystations even farther out and bring back more Ghoststones and supplies!”
??“You’re stronger than you look,” Chen Fan remarked, eyeing Zhou Mo. “But this is just the first prototype. Over the next few days, have Qi Chong and the others test it when they’re not farming—see if any problems co up.”
??“For now, you keep running to the nearby waystations.”
??“I’ll hand it over once it’s been properly tested.”
??“Don’t want you stranded halfway to hell if it falls apart.”
??Truth be told, only Zhou Mo had the muscle for this thing. No one else could keep up.
??If your arms gave out, the engine died.
??Maybe, with so ti, he could figure out a way to automate it—to make it run without human effort.
??“All right!”
??“It’s getting dark. If you’re on night watch, get to the Wall. If not, get so sleep. Dismissed!”
??...
??Half an incense stick later—
??Endless darkness surged forth, swallowing the world whole. Only the glow of Ghostfire kept the camp encased within its Safe Zone.
??On the Wall—
??Chen Fan stood beneath the crude rain shelter Qi Chong had built that day, feeling the chill night wind and drizzle as he stared out at the Gray Mist beyond the camp. He wondered if tonight would be as uneventful as the last.
??“They’re here!”
??Almost as soon as night fell, Chen Fan saw shapes erging from the Gray Mist—Ghostbeasts, one after another.
??Monkey-Head Ghostbeasts.
??Bamboo Ghostbeasts.
??Mantis Ghostbeasts.
??And, perched atop a palanquin borne by four Bamboo Ghostbeasts, the all-too-familiar Female Ghostbeast.
??The sa monsters as last ti.
??But this ti, there were more. Last ti, they’d faced maybe a hundred Ghostbeasts. Tonight, there were over three hundred, encircling the camp from all directions, ready to attack at any mont.
??So that’s why last night was quiet. Most of the local Ghostbeasts had probably been intercepted by this Female Ghostbeast.
??Wait—
??Why were nearly a hundred Flesh Maggot Ghosts trussed up and tossed on the ground, writhing helplessly at the forefront of the monsters?
??Were the Ghostbeasts fighting among themselves?
??“Everyone ready?”
??Chen Fan glanced at the ten Level 2 Arrow Towers and two Level 3 Arrow Towers mounted atop the Wall. He let out a small sigh of relief. They should be able to hold. He still had over three hundred Ghoststones in reserve—if things went south, he could reinforce the camp at any ti.
??That Female Ghostbeast clearly had brains. Maybe she thought their last failure was due to attacking pieceal—so this ti, the monsters had gathered en masse before launching the assault.
??With a shrill, crazed cackle, the all-out attack began.
??No probing, no feints.
??Three-ter-tall Bamboo Ghostbeasts advanced through the Gray Mist, picking up Flesh Maggot Ghosts and hurling them with all their might at the Wall as soon as they got close.
??The Arrow Towers fired instantly.
??Bolts whistled through the air, striking the airborne Flesh Maggot Ghosts and detonating them in mid-flight—bursts of eerie green fla lighting up the night.
??But so slipped through, smashing into the Wall and exploding in a spray of ghostly green fluid. Wherever it splattered, the Wall began to corrode, pockmarking the surface in monts.
??They were using Flesh Maggot Ghosts as grenades.
??And, damn, it was working.
??“Motherfucker!”
??Chen Fan ducked behind the battlents, peeking out at the explosions outside the Wall. He couldn’t help but curse.
??“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding —who the hell cos up with this shit?!”
??Now he understood what the Female Ghostbeast had been up to last night.
??She’d trailed the Ghostbeast Swarm, snatched a batch of Flesh Maggot Ghosts, and turned them into her own personal hand grenades.
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