Chapter 43: Arrow Tower Upgraded to Level 4—Now an "Arrow Bastion"
????For nearly a century, the balance of power in this region had remained untouched.
??But from this mont on—
??That balance would shift because of him. Soon, the Wasteland would no longer be dotted with scattered Waystations.
??He was going to—
??Build a highway between the two strongholds.
??A highway forged entirely from Copper Pipes, with Ghostfire coursing through their veins. Even after nightfall, the road would shimr with Ghostfire’s glow, allowing caravans to journey day and night without pause. Not only would this supercharge the flow of goods, it would also—
??Make him rich beyond asure.
??Until now, the tolls on these routes had always lined the pockets of various Camps and Waystations scattered across the Wasteland. But once his highway was complete, every coin would flow straight into his hands.
??In fact—
??He could even supplant Jiangbei Market as the region’s new center of trade.
??After all, the Ghostfire, Arrow Towers, and other structures he could provide cost less to build and could be sold at prices far below the competition. The profit margin was enormous.
??One hundred seventy kiloters—one hundred seventy thousand ters.
??Seventeen days.
??That was all he needed to lay the entire highway.
??But—
??How to protect those profits? That was the true challenge. The three great factions of Jiangbei City would go mad trying to reclaim their share. He’d have to seize the Rainy Season’s golden window to build up his strength.
??Once the rains ended—
??He would crush the three major factions and open the highway for good.
??...
??A cup of tea later.
??Chen Fan glanced at the hundred ters of Copper Pipe he’d already laid. After a mont of silent calculation, he scanned the Wasteland around his Camp, then turned and strode inside.
??The situation was more complicated than he’d hoped.
??Laying Copper Pipe was free, yes.
??But forging the pipes required his own hands—he couldn’t delegate the work. If he tried to lay the entire highway by hand, it would take him a hundred lifetis.
??He needed to finish developing the cart first.
??Then he could ride out, lay the pipes, and build the highway himself.
??“Qi Chong!”
??“Co here, I’ve got a job for you.”
??Chen Fan strode into the Camp and called out to Qi Chong, who was busy in the Farmland, transplanting wheat from other Camps.
??“Station Master, the Farmland’s too small. It won’t be enough. Can we get another plot?”
??“We’ll talk about that later.”
??...
??One hour later.
??“That’s much better.”
??Chen Fan eyed the modified cart with satisfaction. He’d dubbed this version the “2.0 Trike.”
??One wheel removed.
??Two wheels in the back, one in the front.
??The front wheel was attached to a Copper Pipe, running through a wooden plank. By turning the handle embedded in the pipe, you could steer the wheel left or right, and the whole cart would follow.
??Now it could finally turn.
??It needed two operators.
??One person up front to steer, the other standing at the back, constantly triggering the Groundspikes for propulsion.
??Acceleration on this trike was far from smooth.
??With only a single cylinder and its power dependent on how fast the Groundspikes could reset, the ride was jarring—hardly comfortable. As for double, four, or even eight-cylinder models... that would have to wait for another day.
??But laying Copper Pipe by cart was leagues faster than doing it on foot.
??“Hop on.”
??“I’ll steer.”
??...
??Half an hour later.
??Chen Fan stood atop the trike, hands gripping the controls, grinning as he looked back at the line of Copper Pipes trailing behind him. With this vehicle, progress was astonishing.
??In less than half an hour,
??He’d laid ten kiloters of pipe—using up his entire free quota for the day.
??Just a few more trips like this—
??And the highway would be ready to open as soon as the Rainy Season ended!
??“How are you holding up?”
??He glanced at the panting Qi Chong behind him. “Done already?”
??“I could do this all day!”
??Qi Chong, gasping for breath, gulped water from his canteen, stuffed a few hard biscuits into his mouth, wiped the sweat from his brow, then leaned against the Groundspikes, arms shaking. “I’m fine—this isn’t much different from transplanting rice.”
??“Good. Then let’s—head ho!”
??Chuckling, Chen Fan spun the control handle, standing on the wooden plank and gazing toward the horizon. His body had already adapted to the jolting ride, bumping along toward the Camp.
??Testing was basically complete.
??This trike was ready for regular use.
??He planned to build two more.
??One for Zhou Mo, to collect resources from other Waystations.
??One for himself, to lay Copper Pipe.
??And one for Wang Mazi, to scout the Wasteland by day—call it cartography, call it reconnaissance, whatever worked.
??...
??Back at Camp.
??Chen Fan strolled through the grounds, cheerful as could be, inspecting every corner for urgent improvents. His gaze finally settled on the Level 3 Arrow Tower.
??With each passing day of rain and darkness—
??The Ghostbeasts would only grow stronger, more ferocious—Zhou Mo had warned him of this.
??He needed a more powerful Arrow Tower.
??Without hesitation,
??He climbed onto the Wall, spent 100 Ghoststones, and upgraded the Arrow Tower that had yet to unlock the Arrow Rain Storm skill—pushing it to Level 4!
??In the next instant—
??The Arrow Tower shimred, its form warping and collapsing in on itself.
??Until all that remained was a one-ter cube of brown stone.
??No trace of the old Arrow Tower remained.
??One face of the stone cube now bore a pitch-black rectangular opening, blending seamlessly with the Wall. Through that darkness, a gleaming, deadly crossbow chanism was visible within.
??—
??“Arrow Tower upgraded to Level 4: now ‘Arrow Bastion.’ Must be fixed in place; cannot be relocated. Power increased.”
??“Please choose an Upgrade Path.”
??“1: Increase firing speed.”
??“2: Increase power.”
??“3: Reduce energy consumption.”
??—
??“...”
??Chen Fan studied the Arrow Bastion before him, deep in thought. The upgraded tower took up less space, was sturdier, and much more concealed.
??He chose to boost its firing speed.
??He’d already increased its power several tis. Drawing on his past gaming experience, he knew a damage dealer was nothing without attack speed.
??He issued the attack command.
??Flaming bolts, each trailing scorching fire, shot from the black maw of the Bastion’s crossbow, striking the Wasteland thirty ters beyond the walls. The power was hard to judge, but the increased rate of fire was obvious.
??Just then—
??“Hm?”
??He frowned, eyes narrowing as he caught sight of Zhou Mo sprinting through the rain toward the Camp, soaked and bedraggled. Zhou Mo burst in, panting, and rushed to Chen Fan’s side.
??“Have so water. Start from the beginning.”
??If nothing had gone wrong, Zhou Mo wouldn’t look like this.
??“There were Ghosts out there!”
??Zhou Mo gulped down the water, terror flickering in his eyes, his voice trembling. “On my way back, I ran into a group of people... screwing their brains out in the open on the Wasteland.”
??“There must have been over thirty of them.”
??“An orgy—just pure, animal chaos.”
??“The mont I saw it, I turned and ran without a second thought.”
??“We’re in the heart of the Wasteland—no one sane would be out here. That ans they had to be ‘False Human Ghosts.’ The instant they spotted , they all went berserk and chased after .”
??“Good thing I’m a Level 2 Practitioner and managed to outrun them.”
??“But...”
??“My little brother wasn’t so lucky. He was slower and got caught—those things tore him apart and devoured him alive. Even the supplies we picked up from other Camps got left behind in the chaos...”
??“Station Master... I...”
??“...”
??Chen Fan silently patted Zhou Mo’s shoulder, letting the mont linger. Then he glanced at the Arrow Bastion and the trike parked nearby. Suddenly, inspiration struck—a way to expand the Builder’s reach.
??“Now’s not the ti to grieve.”
??“Co on. We’re going back for blood.”
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