Arrow Tower

The next moment—

The 10 Eerie Stones on the ground suddenly shattered one after another, turning into milky-white liquid that flew into the air.

At the same time, a phantom Arrow Tower formed from white lines appeared in the air. As the milky-white liquid poured into the phantom tower, the originally illusory Arrow Tower gradually became solid and ancient-looking.

Chen Fan willed it.

The Arrow Tower settled steadily near the Eerie Fire, standing at the very center of the camp.

-

"Building Name": Arrow Tower.

"Building Grade": White.

"Building Level": Level 1.

"Building Effect": Can inflict a certain amount of damage on low-level Ghost Beings. Will automatically attack Strange Entities that enter the Eerie Fire's range, or attack other living creatures according to the lord's orders. Requires one Eerie Stone embedded as an energy supply for attacks.

PS: Upgrading to Level 2 requires 20 Eerie Stones.

-

At a glance—

The wooden Arrow Tower, over three meters tall, stood in the middle of the camp. It was pitch-black from top to bottom, while the ballista atop it gleamed brightly. Its mechanisms reflected a cold light beneath the sun, every gear meshing perfectly.

There was a notch at the bottom of the Arrow Tower, just large enough to hold an Eerie Stone.

"Not bad."

A trace of pride inadvertently surfaced in Chen Fan's eyes. This thing gave him much more of a sense of security. He had scouted Stationmaster Wang's camp before; it looked decent enough, but it did not have anything like an Arrow Tower.

Fully automated attacks.

There was no need to station an archer inside the tower. It even had a rapid-fire ballista, and one look told him its power would not be small. In any case, it was definitely stronger than a Beast Trap.

After all, the Beast Trap's main purpose was to bind Strange Entities and then endure the night. Once dawn came, those Strange Entities that could not leave would die the moment they saw daylight.

It was just that—

He hesitated slightly. The Strange Entity that had escaped the Beast Trap last night was definitely a big one. Could this Level-1 Arrow Tower really withstand it?

He still had 25 Eerie Stones.

Should he upgrade it to Level 2 first?

After thinking it over, he stopped hesitating. Better to have excess firepower than insufficient firepower. If that big thing really came tonight and his Arrow Tower was not powerful enough, then no matter how many Eerie Stones he saved, he would not live to spend them.

The next moment!

The 20 Eerie Stones on the ground shattered at once with a thought from him, turning into milky-white liquid that poured into the Arrow Tower.

Immediately afterward, a panel popped up before him.

-

"Arrow Tower upgraded to Level 2."

"Please select an upgrade path."

"1: Add a rapid-fire ballista to the top of the Arrow Tower."

"2: Increase the ballista's power."

"3: Increase the ballista's firing speed."

-

"Eh?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Fan's eyes. He truly had not expected upgrading a building to come with upgrade paths. Did every upgrade allow one upgrade path to be chosen?

All three upgrades could directly increase the Arrow Tower's strength.

However, the first and third options both enhanced the Arrow Tower's ability to kill small fry. What he needed to deal with now was the big thing that might attack tonight, so the second option naturally suited him best.

After confirming the second upgrade path—

The Arrow Tower before him began to change slowly. The originally all-wooden structure seemed to sprout a stone framework as though it were alive, becoming a wood-and-stone construction that was far sturdier.

The bolts on the ballista at the top became darker and harder, and slightly larger as well.

Just looking at them made one imagine the sensation of being pierced through.

"Not bad!"

He nodded in satisfaction and embedded an Eerie Stone into the groove at the bottom of the Arrow Tower. The Level-2 Arrow Tower looked much more reassuring.

He wondered what level the thing that had escaped the Beast Trap last night had been. Level 2 should be enough to deal with it, right?

Even if it was not enough, there was nothing he could do. This was already his limit.

"Phew."

Only after finishing all this did he prepare to sleep peacefully. He had four Eerie Stones left, so he would not build Farmland for now. He still did not know how quickly the Arrow Tower consumed Eerie Stones, so he needed to keep some bullets in reserve.

The Eerie Fire could only last one more night as well. He had to save some for that too.

He had killed a total of 37 Monkey-Head Ghosts last night.

But—

Only one Exotic Treasure had dropped—the Monkey-Head Mushroom Seed. The drop rate really was low enough.

As for a Level-3 Arrow Tower—

He took a look. Upgrading the Arrow Tower to Level 3 required 50 Eerie Stones, so it was impossible for the time being.

Sleep first.

Chen Fan slept rather soundly this time. In his daze, he was awakened by noisy voices outside.

He stretched, instinctively reaching toward the bedside table for a pack of cigarettes so he could have a wake-up smoke, but grabbed empty air. After a brief pause, he looked around at his surroundings and came to his senses. Shaking his head with a smile, he washed up simply and walked outside.

The sky was gradually darkening.

The sun was about to set. In at most the time it took three incense sticks to burn, Eternal Night would descend.

Crippled Monkey stood in the camp outside, gripping a spear as he stared warily at a mother and daughter pair. His voice was hoarse. "Get lost immediately, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"What's going on?"

Chen Fan lazily stretched as he looked at the heavy Arrow Tower in the center of the camp, smiling in satisfaction.

"Young Master."

Crippled Monkey hurried over with a limp. "This mother and daughter have no Eerie Stones, but they want to stay here tonight."

"Two sirs."

The middle-aged woman outside the camp, dressed in ragged clothes and wearing a headscarf, dropped to her knees on the Wasteland the instant she saw Chen Fan. Her face was full of the exhaustion and weathering of a long journey. She was pale, and her dry, hoarse voice carried a note of bitterness.

"We were originally a family of three, but the child's father was killed by bandits along the way. Now only my daughter and I remain, and all our travel money was stolen."

"It will be dark soon."

"Please, my lord, show mercy and take in my daughter and me tonight. Otherwise, otherwise—"

Behind the woman stood a graceful young girl of around sixteen or seventeen, tightly clutching her mother's sleeve. Her eyes were filled with terror at the approaching darkness, making her look utterly pitiful.

"Very good."

Chen Fan glanced at the setting sun, then let his gaze fall upon the mother and daughter's feet. Suddenly, he laughed. Taking the spear from Crippled Monkey's hand, he thrust without the slightest hesitation, striking the woman squarely in the head.

Blood sprayed forth.

He immediately pulled out the spear and rushed outside the camp. In two or three strides, he caught up with the young girl, who had begun fleeing after realizing something was wrong, and stabbed her directly through the back of the heart!

His movements were clean and efficient.

Under the evening glow, dusk deepened.

The light blooming from the bonfire, like the only camp on a lonely Wasteland, provided ample security.

Chen Fan leaned on his spear as he walked into the camp. He shook the white-glowing stone in his hand and smiled at Crippled Monkey. "When you encounter this sort in the future, don't drive them away. Kill them on the spot."

"Otherwise, wouldn't you say we would have missed this stroke of fortune?"

After dying, the mother and daughter's bodies rapidly shrank, transforming into Strange Entities even smaller than Monkey-Head Ghosts. They looked like dead infants, extremely unsettling.

(End of chapter)