Heaven's Mandate Is Mine.

His name was Zhou Mo.

The stationmaster of Station No. 18 of the Qiuhe Wang Family.

He had practiced martial arts since childhood and loved wielding a blade.

Ever since he was young, he had dreamed of becoming a hero when he grew up.

But he had neither the opportunity nor the talent. He had fought desperately to become a Level 2 Cultivator, only to make no further progress. He had muddled through several years as a stationmaster for the Wang Family, thinking he would keep muddling through forever—until the Rainy Season arrived, he followed Chen Fan, and watched Little Qiu risk his life to leave the city and defend it with his life.

The heart that had always wanted to become a hero stirred once more.

The rain was freezing.

But his blood had never once burned so hot.

If Little Qiu could do it, why couldn't Zhou Mo?

This life had been worth it.

Zhou Mo would no longer die unknown. He believed the few people atop the city wall would remember his name.

However.

"Mm."

Zhou Mo had been standing in the rain with his arms spread and his head raised. Feeling the cold, refreshing downpour splashing over his face, he still could not help scrunching his nose. They said that before death, one saw one's life flash before one's eyes, and time slowed down.

But he had not expected it to slow down this much.

He had not died after ages.

Now he regretted it a little. He should not have given his blade to Little Qiu just now. Otherwise, he could at least have given himself a quick death. Getting hit by a Meatworm Wraith and then suffering its self-detonating corrosion would probably hurt quite a bit.

Even if it hurt when he died later, he could not cry out, or it would ruin his image.

He silently made up his mind.

After a long while.

Still not dead?

Zhou Mo opened his eyes in confusion. Was this life-flashing-before-his-eyes thing lasting a little too long? But when he looked around, he discovered that all the Meatworm Wraiths around him had vanished at some point.

As if everything that had happened before had been an illusion.

Not a single Meatworm Wraith could be seen, whether inside the camp or within the gray fog.

Only the viscous liquid beneath his feet reminded him that none of this had been an illusion.

He stood blankly amid a pool of green, sticky liquid and looked toward the people on the city wall, having no idea what had happened.

"Come up."

Chen Fan, who had been holding back laughter atop the City Wall, finally could not hold it in anymore. "Stop striking that pose. Holding your arms up for so long must be exhausting."

"Heaven's mandate is mine."

Chen Fan stood atop the City Wall, dazed and sighing with emotion. Both hands rested on the edge of the battlements as he looked into the distance. The gray fog around the camp was now exceptionally clean, without a single Strange Entity in sight.

That batch of Meatworm Wraiths had retreated.

Or rather, they had been forced to retreat.

Meatworm Wraiths had no limbs. Their entire bodies were balls of flesh, and they could not even wriggle. Their only way of traveling was to rely on the wind. Wherever the wind blew, the Meatworm Wraiths went.

That was also why the Meatworm Wraiths had looked miserable when they approached the Eerie Fire, yet became overjoyed after leaving the camp.

Because the Meatworm Wraiths could not control their own path of advance at all.

They could only follow the wind.

Like dandelions, where they landed depended entirely on heaven's will.

At the very moment Zhou Mo threw the Eerie Stones into the city and spread his arms to await death, the wind changed. A gale blew westward. They had already been on the edge of the Strange Tide, and once the wind shifted, the massive swarm of Meatworm Wraiths instantly scattered and vanished into Eternal Night with the gale.

That was why he had said it was heaven's will.

If the wind had blown eastward, then let alone Zhou Mo throwing in one sack of Eerie Stones—even if he had thrown in ten sacks, the camp would have been doomed to destruction.

Actually.

If the gale after nightfall had not initially blown southward, he would never have encountered that batch of Meatworm Wraiths at all. Of course, that was not something he could decide.

At this moment.

He finally understood why that female wraith had retreated so quickly. A Strange Tide on such a scale was enough to destroy a city. Even high-level Strange Entities had no choice but to retreat three paces.

If they dared stand in its way, they died.

There was no such thing as fear or retreat in the eyes of the Meatworm Wraiths. After all, they could not control their own movement paths in the first place. Even if they wanted to retreat, they could not.

By his judgment.

Meatworm Wraiths should have been a type of Strange Entity that became active during the Rainy Season. After the Rainy Season descended, they wandered everywhere with the gales, forming Strange Tides. They seemed to have no particular goal.

They simply wreaked havoc.

Whatever they encountered, they ruined.

"Zhou Mo."

Chen Fan took the Great Knife from Little Qiu and handed it to Zhou Mo, who had returned to the City Wall. His expression was serious. "A Level 2 Cultivator may be useless, but Level 3, Level 4, Level 5—as your level rises, you'll eventually become useful."

"As long as you stay in the camp, I'll use Eerie Stones to support your cultivation from now on."

"You'll be responsible for the camp's security."

"I guarantee your cultivation."

"You guarantee the camp's safety."

"Yes!"

Zhou Mo awkwardly accepted the Great Knife Chen Fan handed him. His gaze wandered as he said softly, "Stationmaster, don't worry. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen to the camp."

"Is your hand all right?"

Chen Fan looked at Zhou Mo's hand, which had been corroded until it had turned somewhat pale and begun peeling.

"It's fine."

Zhou Mo hurriedly waved his hand. "Luckily, the torrential rain diluted a lot of the liquid left behind after the Meatworm Wraiths died, so it did not corrode me too badly. I just lost a layer of skin. Other than hurting a little, it's nothing. It'll heal after a while."

"You looked pretty cool just now."

Wang Kui came over, threw an arm around his shoulders, and waggled his brows. "Not a bad pose."

"Screw you!"

Zhou Mo had already been embarrassed. Wang Kui's teasing immediately made him fly into a rage from embarrassment, and he flung Wang Kui's arm away. "Say it again and I'll beat you up! I'm a Level 2 Cultivator—beating you up won't be a problem!"

"You're a real man."

Crippled Monkey gave his assessment with an admiring expression. "Better than me."

"It was all right."

Zhou Mo looked away somewhat sheepishly, not daring to meet everyone's eyes. If he had died back then, it would definitely have been cool. But since he had not died, all that remained was embarrassment. He really could not take it.

He was getting old, after all.

"..."

Chen Fan stood atop the City Wall, smiling without speaking as he let the people behind him fool around. The tense atmosphere had faded considerably. Letting them relax with some horseplay now was good for their physical and mental health too. Keeping their nerves strung tight all the time could easily cause problems.

He believed.

After tonight, the entire camp would become stronger.

Not merely in strength.

More importantly, in unity.

A camp was not something a lone Builder could create. He had to have his own core group of people. This group looked pretty good now. In that respect, he was quite fortunate.

And.

Crisis and opportunity often went hand in hand.

Once the crisis was overcome, what remained was opportunity.

The Eerie Stones scattered across the ground outside the City Wall were his finest reward. Several Exotic Treasures among them gave off white light, as though reminding him that it was time to reap the harvest.

"Crippled Monkey."

Chen Fan looked at Crippled Monkey beside him and ordered, "The female wraith only yielded to the Meatworm Wraiths. With her grudge-holding temperament, she'll definitely come back. Take those two brothers and pick up all the Eerie Stones below. Wrap your hands with the cloth clothes in the house. Don't hurt yourselves."

"Yes!"

Crippled Monkey answered with a solemn expression, then hurriedly limped out of the city with the subordinates of Zhou Mo and Qi Chong to collect the Eerie Stones and Exotic Treasures.

In a group.

You had to take care of everyone's feelings. Little Qiu and Zhou Mo had both performed tonight, while Crippled Monkey had not had a chance because of his bad leg. If they did not let him do some work soon, Crippled Monkey would start feeling upset.

And the other two as well.

For the same reason.

They needed to be given some work too.

That way, everyone could talk together without feeling excluded.

PS: It's almost the end of the month. The monthly tickets in your hands, dear readers, should hurry up