"The Flower Crippled Monkey Planted Has Bloomed!"

After the elders withdrew.

The Chen Family Patriarch sat alone in the council hall. In just a few short days, he had aged considerably. His temples had gone gray, exhaustion filled his eyes, and only his back remained as straight as possible, like that of a lion.

Decades ago.

While traveling abroad, he had met Chen Fan's mother, an unattached Level 4 Builder.

At the time, the Chen Family's original Builder had already died of old age, leaving the Chen Family in the predicament of having no Builder. He immediately began pursuing her fervently, married her into the Chen Family, and she gave birth to Chen Fan.

After their marriage, he had always treasured her in the palm of his hand.

He had never dared neglect her.

But after a serious illness, she had died young.

The Chen Family fell once more into the predicament of having no Builder. At that time, the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association had been willing to marry their daughter to him, with a Level 5 Builder as her dowry. He knew exactly what the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association had in mind.

Though the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association had a Builder, having a Builder alone was not enough to develop a faction.

He had set his sights on their Builder.

They had set their sights on his Chen Family.

He believed they could never outplay him. As long as he found a new Builder, he could wipe out the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association at any time. And during their clashes over the past dozen years, he had had no time to bother with Chen Fan. His primary task had been developing the Chen Family, not being a kindly father.

Until—

Chen Fan was sent to the Wasteland and became a Builder.

Making all his efforts over the years seem rather absurd.

It had even made him doubt himself for a time.

But he had still adjusted.

If Chen Fan could survive the Rainy Season, he would personally seek him out and speak with him through the night. If Chen Fan was willing to serve the Chen Family wholeheartedly, he could immediately destroy the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association and devote all his strength to supporting Chen Fan.

But if Chen Fan had grown resentful because of his neglect over the years and was unwilling to return to the Chen Family—

Then this hidden danger had to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible.

"..."

There were no outsiders left in the council hall, yet he still refused to bend that ramrod-straight back of his.

He did not believe he had done anything wrong.

He had merely—

Been a little unlucky.

Within the Chen Residence.

After several elders left the council hall, they exchanged glances. Only then did the First Elder rasp, "The Patriarch is getting old. The Chen Family's future needs a new helmsman. If Chen Fan can survive this Rainy Season, what do you think about welcoming him back as the family patriarch?"

"Agreed."

The elders offered few opinions, merely nodding lightly amid the rain.

No one mentioned Chen Quan.

In terms of bloodline, Chen Fan was the Chen Family's legitimate eldest son.

In terms of strength, if Chen Fan could survive the Rainy Season, he would be several times stronger than Chen Quan, who relied on his maternal family.

In terms of temperament, Chen Fan had endured in silence for years before escaping his predicament at the first rainfall. Chen Quan's childlike scheming could not compare at all.

As long as Chen Fan could truly survive the Rainy Season.

And was willing to take charge of the Chen Family.

Several hundred years ago, Eternal Night had invaded.

This world had undergone countless earth-shaking changes.

Those changes had transformed the world.

People had even forgotten what this continent had originally been called. They only knew it was now called the Eternal Night Continent.

Dawn arrived.

As Eternal Night receded, another night had passed.

"..."

Standing atop the City Wall, Chen Fan finally let out a sigh of relief. There had been no Strange Tide last night. Only dozens of strange entities had charged into the camp now and then, leaving Eerie Stones and corpses scattered everywhere.

At daybreak—

As usual, he began taking stock of the camp's assets.

But when he passed the Eerie Fire, he froze slightly. Why were there only forty-five Eerie Stones inside? He had clearly replenished it to fifty yesterday. Normally, maintaining the Eerie Fire overnight would consume one stone, and the Arrow Tower had barely been activated. It should not have consumed four Eerie Stones. Besides, the Eerie Fire's second upgrade reduced the attack consumption of city-defense structures.

After a long while—

He finally realized.

It should have been that ten-thousand-meter road.

Yesterday, he had laid a ten-thousand-meter road across the wilderness with Copper Pipes. After the Rainy Season, he planned to use it as a Highway, serving as a hub connecting Northbank City and Flat City. The Eerie Fire could flow through the Copper Pipes, forming a Safety Zone within one meter of the pipes.

The Eerie Fire flowing back and forth across such a vast distance had accelerated the consumption of Eerie Stones.

Once he understood that—

He immediately severed the connection between the camp and that road.

The Copper Pipes were only in the laying stage for now and had not yet reached the point of use. Consuming Eerie Stones on them was purely a waste.

There had not been many Strange Entities last night.

The few that had appeared had rushed into the camp as though fleeing for their lives, scattering in panic. From that, it could be inferred that the Wasteland had certainly not been peaceful last night.

At the edge of the camp.

"Be careful on the road."

Chen Fan stood outside the camp, looking at Zhou Mo, who was controlling the Three-Wheeler, and a young boy. The boy had originally followed Wang Mazi, but Chen Fan had now assigned him to act alongside Zhou Mo.

The Three-Wheeler's performance had already been tested.

It would not collapse.

The Level 4 Arrow Fort had become drastically lighter, far lighter than the Arrow Tower. Placed on the Three-Wheeler together with the Eerie Fire, it would reduce the speed to a certain extent, but would not have too great an impact.

They could now head to more distant abandoned stations and bring back the resources from those sites.

"Alright."

Zhou Mo nodded with a resolute expression. He no longer had his usual excitement. His brother's death yesterday had made him realize that even daytime in the Wasteland during the Rainy Season was not absolutely safe.

After seeing Zhou Mo off—

Chen Fan swept his gaze over the busy crowd around him, preparing to return to the Wooden Hut to sleep.

Just then—

"Stationmaster!"

Qi Chong's shout suddenly rang out from beside the Farmland. "It bloomed! The flower Crippled Monkey planted has bloomed!"

"Oh?"

Chen Fan froze slightly, only then remembering the matter. Smiling, he walked toward the Farmland to look at the flower.

When they had opened up this Farmland—

Crippled Monkey had taken a seed from inside his room and buried it in the soil. Later, the seed had truly broken through the earth and grown into a flower bud. He had even built a crude little Wooden Hut over that bud.

"Quite pretty."

Chen Fan stood beside the Farmland with a smile, looking at the flower that had broken through the soil in a corner of the field. Its stem was crystal-clear and jade-white, while its peony-like petals were brilliantly red, as though dyed in blood.

But—

Very quickly, his smile gradually froze.

Why was there a panel beside that flower?

-

"Exotic Treasure Name": Human-Blood Wraith Flower.

"Exotic Treasure Grade": Green.

"Exotic Treasure Effect": Matured. Can be used as a special forging material.

-

After a long silence, he silently pulled a piece of Wraith Hide from his clothes. It had dropped after that female wraith died. On the panel for this blank piece of Wraith Hide, a sentence was clearly displayed: "Must be watered with a Human-Blood Wraith Flower before it can appear."

He had never known where to find a Human-Blood Wraith Flower.

He had never expected it to be far away in the sky, yet right before his eyes.

But if the seed Crippled Monkey had picked up back then was a seed-type Exotic Treasure, why had no panel appeared when he saw that seed?

"Stationmaster."

Qi Chong said eagerly, "I've never seen this kind of flower. It looks like a rare and precious flower. After the Rainy Season, maybe we can take it to North River Market and exchange it for some Eerie Stones. It looks extraordinary, after all."

"It certainly is extraordinary."

After pausing for a moment, Chen Fan smiled. "When we eat later, give Crippled Monkey an extra chicken drumstick."

"You get one too."

(End of chapter)