Eternal Night Lord!

After Crippled Monkey left the Wooden Hut, Chen Fan finally got up and began checking what was inside.

He had sent Crippled Monkey out to solicit customers with a sliver of hope, but he knew full well it was useless. Night was almost here, and travelers on the nearby Wasteland had long since found places to settle down.

This station had actually lasted this long.

Perhaps the previous stationmaster had left behind some Eerie Stones, but he turned the entire Wooden Hut upside down and still failed to find a single one.

The whole Wooden Hut was utterly bare.

One wooden bed.

Enough rations and water for two people to last three or four days, one table, one chair—there was nothing else.

They had truly reached the end of the road, with mountains exhausted and rivers spent.

"."

Chen Fan sat silently in the chair for a long while before making up his mind. He had noticed a small dirt slope nearby; standing atop it would offer a better view. Once the sun rose tomorrow, he could go there to solicit customers. Perhaps he could draw in passing travelers.

This way of doing things might earn the displeasure of nearby stations.

But the Chen Family was no small Lineage. The Chen Family name should be enough to bluff the other party. If it was not, there was nothing he could do. He was nearly dead anyway; if he kept looking before and after every step, he might as well kill himself outright.

Just then—

He suddenly felt his heart lurch.

Instinctively, he pushed open the Wooden Hut door and looked into the distance. Sure enough, dense darkness was sweeping in from the horizon at terrifying speed, devouring the dusk like a bloodthirsty monster.

Nightfall in this world did not come through a gradual exchange of light and dark.

It switched over in an instant.

Like pouring a jar of ink onto a sheet of white paper.

And once darkness descended, countless Strange Entities would emerge within it.

"Crippled Monkey!"

This was his first time witnessing such a scene. His expression changed as he instinctively called for Crippled Monkey to come inside, only to find no sign of him outside. After scanning the area, he finally spotted Crippled Monkey stumbling toward the Wooden Hut across the wilderness!

He was a full hundred meters away.

Crippled Monkey was crippled, after all, and seemed to be injured as well. He moved painfully slowly. At this rate, he definitely would not make it back to the Wooden Hut before darkness covered everything.

Behind Crippled Monkey walked a middle-aged man in a blue robe, his hands clasped behind his back. He followed just one step behind at an unhurried pace, a faint, elusive smile in his eyes, as though he had no fear whatsoever of the dense darkness about to swallow them.

"Hoo."

Chen Fan took a deep breath. With a grim expression, he gauged his physical condition and estimated the time left. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he charged out of the Wooden Hut and sprinted toward Crippled Monkey!

The instant he ran several meters away from the Wooden Hut—

That lingering terror surged into his heart. He could even smell the thick stench of blood in the air, along with the faint yet bone-chilling sensation prickling across his back!

Driven by fear—

He ran even faster than usual. When he reached Crippled Monkey, he had no time to say a word before hoisting him over his shoulder. Fortunately, Crippled Monkey was thin; though it took effort, Chen Fan could still manage.

"Fuck!"

Chen Fan could not help roaring, as though venting his emotions, or perhaps fighting back against the unknown terror. He instinctively turned his head to glance at the dense darkness rapidly sweeping in from the horizon. He had no mind to spare for the traveler Crippled Monkey had brought over; carrying Crippled Monkey, he lowered his head and dashed madly for the Wooden Hut!

One step.

Two steps.

He had never felt a hundred meters stretch so far.

Finally!

The instant he clearly felt the almost tangible darkness sweep past his back, he rushed into the golden circle. His body fell uncontrollably to the ground. He struggled to climb back up, panting heavily as he stared at everything before him with fear in his eyes. Darkness had completely engulfed the entire station.

The light emitted by that Eerie Fire was like a transparent golden eggshell, enveloping the entire Wooden Hut and forming a golden circle on the ground.

Outside the circle—

There was dense darkness with zero visibility. No moonlight, no clouds—only the occasional eerie sound, along with pale, sharp claws flashing past now and then within the darkness.

Eternal Night had descended.

And now—

Only then did he notice that the middle-aged man in blue robes who had been following behind Crippled Monkey was standing inside the golden circle, looking at the two of them with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"Hoo."

Chen Fan took a deep breath. The instant he saw Crippled Monkey outside the safe house, he knew Crippled Monkey must have risked his life to solicit customers from the dirt slope. The view there was good enough, but now was not the time to discuss that. He stood up, steadied his emotions, then looked at the blue-robed man and spoke in a low voice.

"This is Station No. 37 of the North River Chen Family."

"Non-Chen Family members must pay one Eerie Stone to stay the night. Chen Family members or their allies must present a North River Chen Family passage token."

He could tell that the man before him was no ordinary person.

"How nice."

The blue-robed man took an Eerie Stone from his robes and flicked it into Chen Fan's arms, smiling. "Seeing you two reminds me of those days when I struggled and fought. Once upon a time, I was just like you, fighting desperately for a single Eerie Stone."

"Is there only one room in your station?"

"Yes."

Chen Fan nodded. "This is an ordinary station."

The man nodded and said nothing more. He simply turned and entered the Wooden Hut, closing the door behind him.

Only after the man entered did Chen Fan force down the excitement in his heart. He could clearly feel his heart pounding wildly. It was not merely because he had earned an Eerie Stone, but because—

His cheat had arrived!

The instant the man flicked that Eerie Stone to him, Chen Fan felt a current of heat rapidly flow through his body, forming an ancient bronze panel deep within his mind.

-

"You have obtained one Eerie Stone."

"Endless Night Lord Panel activated."

"You may consume Eerie Stones to upgrade, construct, and strengthen various buildings within your domain."

"Buildings currently within the domain:"

"Level 1 Eerie Fire": Safe range diameter: 10 meters. Upgrade requires 10 Eerie Stones.

"Currently available for construction: 5 basic buildings, 1 special building."

"Level 1 Beast-Trap Snare": Can inflict a certain amount of damage on low-level Strange Entities. Construction requires 2 Eerie Stones.

-

"Hoo."

Chen Fan clenched the Eerie Stone in his hand tightly and looked toward the dense darkness beyond the golden circle, gulping mouthful after mouthful of cold air into his lungs. He looked rather bedraggled, his body covered in dead grass, yet a sharp light burst from his eyes!

He knew that he now possessed the key to surviving in this world.

But—

A key was only a key. How long he could survive depended on how he used it!

Right after that—

He barely hesitated before walking to the Eerie Fire. Three Eerie Stones lay quietly within the flames.

Two of them were still completely intact.

The other was somewhat dim.

Under normal circumstances, these three Eerie Stones would be enough for him to survive three nights on the Wasteland.

(End of chapter)