Breeding Farm

"Yes!"

Zhou Mo gripped the Great Knife in his hand, took a deep breath, jumped down from the Three-Wheeler, advanced on the Wooden Hut step by step, and kicked the door open.

A few breaths later.

He hurried back to the Three-Wheeler and reported, "Station Chief, there really is a batch of Doppelganger Wraith cubs inside. None of them can crawl, and their eyes are horrifyingly eerie."

As he spoke, he could not help but shudder.

That sight had truly been rather frightening.

The instant he entered, he saw the Doppelganger Wraith cubs staring straight at him. He seriously suspected he might relive that scene in his dreams tonight.

"Then that confirms it."

Chen Fan looked toward the Impostors outside the camp, bound by Beast Traps. When those Impostors saw Zhou Mo rush into the Wooden Hut, they became even more frenzied. He more or less understood what the Rainy Season was now.

Rainy Season.

Perhaps it was the season when Strange Entities reproduced.

If that was the case, then it was understandable why Strange Entities were so irritable during the Rainy Season. Looking through all of history, there was no creature that was not temperamental during breeding season. During this period, their territorial instincts would become exceptionally strong, forbidding any foreign creature from approaching.

That was also why Strange Entities would usually avoid Eerie Fire during the Dry Season, yet during the Rainy Season, they would charge into Eerie Fire like madmen.

"Head back to camp."

Chen Fan reached out and pulled Zhou Mo onto the flatbed. "Bring the brothers over and take all these Impostors back."

"Capture them alive?"

Zhou Mo froze slightly and turned to look at the Impostors bound by Beast Traps not far away. If they only wanted to dig out the Eerie Stones, they could do it now. There was no need to return to camp for more men.

"Yes, capture them alive."

Chen Fan nodded lightly.

When he had first arrived, he had seen a pair of Impostors mating. Normal humans carried a child for ten months, but the female Impostor's abdomen had rapidly swollen the moment mating ended. She was already on the verge of giving birth.

If they could make use of such reproductive speed, they might be able to obtain more Eerie Stones.

With only the time it took an incense stick left before Eternal Night descended.

Chen Fan returned to camp with Zhou Mo, Crippled Monkey, and the others. One Doppelganger Wraith after another was tied together with ropes, dragged across the ground, and brought back to camp.

By now, the camp's Safety Zone had expanded to a diameter of fifty meters.

There was much more room.

He walked to an empty area outside the camp's City Wall and spent 200 Eerie Stones to build a square enclosure five meters long and wide, like a cage. He intended to raise the "Doppelganger Wraiths" here.

He had Crippled Monkey and the others dig a deep pit along the walls inside the enclosure. They could be raised by stacking them like an arhat tower.

They had brought back, in total.

Twenty-seven adult Doppelganger Wraiths.

Thirty-seven Doppelganger Wraith cubs.

He named this place the "Breeding Farm." To be safe, he also built a Level-2 Arrow Tower atop the Breeding Farm's City Wall, ensuring the Doppelganger Wraiths could not escape. Given their strength, a Level-2 Arrow Tower was more than enough.

Besides, the five-meter-high City Wall was something the Doppelganger Wraiths could not climb over.

Today's expenses.

Had used up quite a few of his Eerie Stones.

He only had 268 Eerie Stones left.

Although killing that batch of Impostors had recovered a little, even including those Eerie Stones, he only had 301 in total. Not a single Exotic Treasure had dropped from the Impostors he had killed.

"A Le."

Chen Fan looked at A Le, who stood behind Qi Chong. "From now on, besides handling the Farmland with Qi Chong, this Breeding Farm is yours as well. You need to do everything possible to make this batch of Doppelganger Wraiths reproduce, so we can obtain more Eerie Stones."

"Yes!"

A Le shouted his response. Watching Crippled Monkey and the others drive the Impostors into the Breeding Farm with sticks, his eyes brimmed with excitement for this new challenge. He had raised pigs for so many years, but he had never raised wraiths before.

It was still breeding.

Yet following different people meant raising different things.

Only after finishing all this did Chen Fan return to the City Wall inside the camp. He looked at the gradually darkening sky and patiently waited for Eternal Night to descend.

The Three-Wheeler fitted with a Level-4 Arrow Fortress was also parked outside the city.

It was one of tonight's means of defending the city.

The idea of combining Arrow Towers with vehicles to create mobile Arrow Towers was not particularly difficult. At least, in the memories of his former self, the Chen Family had researched it for a time, but ultimately abandoned it. There was no way to apply it on a large scale.

There were many reasons.

For instance, the cost. He only needed 180 Eerie Stones to build a Level-4 Arrow Fortress, but other Builders generally needed more than 1,000 Eerie Stones. On top of that, they had to build an Eerie Fire.

The Eerie Fire had to be embedded in the vehicle.

When it was not in use.

Eerie Stones still had to be invested to maintain the Eerie Fire's consumption. After all, other people paid far more to build Eerie Fire than he did. It was difficult for them to treat Eerie Fire as a disposable building like he could.

Then there was the fact that horse-drawn carriages, powered by horses, would lose control when they encountered Strange Entities, because the horses would bolt madly. Along with the heavy consumption and the difficulty of recouping costs, there were many such factors.

This method was not suited for large-scale use.

But—

To him, these shortcomings were practically nonexistent.

So long as he had enough time, he could even put together a whole fleet of Arrow Carts and create an economy of scale.

Just then!

Darkness surged in from the horizon, and Eternal Night descended.

Night had fallen.

Chen Fan and the others kept watch atop the outer City Wall.

Meanwhile, Zhou Mo had already burrowed beneath the blankets in the Wooden Hut, preparing to sleep. Looking at the bedroll beside him, where someone had slept last night but which now lay empty, he remained silent for a long while before picking up a pen and writing in today's diary.

"Today was the fifth night since the Rainy Season descended."

"There are still more than half a month until the Rainy Season ends."

"Er Gou, who had always followed me, died in the jaws of Doppelganger Wraiths this evening."

"Can the camp... really survive the Rainy Season?"

"Heaven knows."

After finishing all that.

He hid the diary beneath his pillow, then stared dazedly at the ceiling of the Wooden Hut, not knowing what he was thinking.

Northbank City.

Tonight was exceptionally noisy.

"Quick, quick, quick!!!"

"Why haven't the Chen Family's Attendants arrived yet? The City Wall here can't hold any longer and urgently needs repairs!!!"

"Where are they?!"

Countless furious shouts and curses echoed atop Northbank City's City Wall.

Perhaps they were angry, or perhaps they were trying to suppress the fear in their hearts.

Northbank City, this natural Eerie Fire zone, lacked no light even after Eternal Night descended. A huge golden eggshell enveloped the entire city.

The City Wall, winding around the city like a long dragon, was now facing an immense trial.

The Arrow Towers installed atop the City Wall continuously fired crossbow bolts at the Strange Entities in the darkness.

"..."

The Wild Wolf Gang's leader stood atop the City Wall with his men. Looking at the Meatworm Wraiths outside the city, fearlessly crashing into the wall one after another, he took a deep breath, his face deathly pale, then pulled a token from his robes and smashed it against the City Wall.

At once—

The City Wall surrounding Northbank City glimmered with black light. A thick steel plate covered in bizarre formation patterns grew out from within the City Wall as though alive, wrapping around the entire wall.

The crumbling momentum immediately eased.

The City Wall, which had been on the verge of collapse beneath the mass self-destruction of Meatworm Wraiths, held firm once more.

Only then did he roar, his face slightly pale.

"Hold the line!

"The wind can't stay unchanged all night. Once it shifts, these Meatworm Wraiths will retreat!"

"Brothers, hold on a little longer!"

The Meatworm Wraith Tide was one of the most terrifying existences in the wilderness during the Rainy Season.

Wherever it passed, not even grass remained.

And tonight.

The Meatworm Wraith Tide had arrived at Northbank City, intending to dye heaven and earth green.