North River Market

"200 Eerie Stones..."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the panel before him. His original plan would have let him get through the development phase comfortably, with plenty of room to spare. But the Rainy Season's sudden early arrival had completely disrupted his plans, catching him off guard.

Now he had to strengthen the Camp as much as possible to have any hope of surviving.

He had two choices before him.

With 200 Eerie Stones in total, he could spend 100 to upgrade both Level 2 Arrow Towers to Level 3.

Or...

He could gather 320 Eerie Stones and build a circular City Wall thirty-two meters long, creating a defensive barrier within the Camp.

Of course, it would enclose the Safe Zone of a Level-1 Eerie Fire, not a Level 2 Eerie Fire. Building a wall around the entire Level 2 Eerie Fire Camp would cost far too much.

As for which option would strengthen the Camp more...

Naturally, it was the latter.

With a City Wall blocking the Strange Entities charging into the Camp, the Arrow Towers would have far more opportunities to fire repeatedly, rather than being overwhelmed by the strange tide.

But he did not have that many Eerie Stones on hand.

If Wang Kui brought back enough Eerie Stones after gathering the people from the other Stations, he would build the City Wall before nightfall. Otherwise, he could only prioritize upgrading the Arrow Towers and building traps and other structures.

He could not afford to wait.

Last night had only been an appetizer. Only heaven knew whether he could survive tonight.

He looked toward Crippled Monkey, who was still digging in the nearby Farmland to bury the Strange Entities' corpses. Quite a few bodies had already been buried there. He would not have to worry about fertilizer for a long time.

They had killed a full forty-seven maggot-like Strange Entities yesterday, yet not a single exotic treasure had dropped.

He found himself missing that Mother and Daughter.

If he had known, he would not have killed them. He could have penned them up outside the Camp. Perhaps he could have set up some sort of Strange Entity production line.

"North River Market."

It was the largest Market within several hundred miles, situated in the western district of Northbank City. Its Market Master was a Level 2 Builder.

It was so famous that people often called a trip to Northbank City a trip to North River Market.

The Torrential Rain continued without pause.

Countless merchants and visitors wandered among the shops and stalls sheltered beneath oil-paper umbrellas. Everyone knew that, with the Rainy Season arriving early, the strange tide that had swept across the entire wilderness thirty-seven years ago might erupt again!

They had to prepare in advance, just in case.

"The Rainy Season has come early."

A shopkeeper from the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association stood at the entrance, gazing at the downpour outside with a face full of worry and unease. "Who knows how many people will die this time, or whether Northbank City can hold out?"

"Shopkeeper."

Just then, a shop assistant returned from outside, entering the shop through the Torrential Rain. He first took off his wet clothes and wrung them out hard, then casually wiped the rain from his face and said unconcernedly, "We don't really need to be so nervous."

"Northbank City's City Defenses were built jointly by the North River Chen Family, the Qiuhe Wang Family, and the Wild Wolf Gang."

"Those expensive City Walls keep all of Northbank City safely protected."

"And there's an Arrow Tower every ten paces."

"The Strange Entities have never broken through in all these years. They won't this time, either."

"..."

The shopkeeper looked at the assistant with a complicated expression but said nothing. Ignorance truly was bliss. During an ordinary Rainy Season, Northbank City's location and extensive Level-1 City Walls would indeed keep it safe.

But with the Rainy Season arriving early this time, a strange tide was very likely to strike!

He had lived through the strange tide thirty-seven years ago.

Of the entire City's population, fewer than one in a thousand had survived. He had witnessed it himself. The only reason he had survived was that he had acted slyly: seeing things take a turn for the worse, he had slipped into the Wild Wolf Gang's central territory ahead of time. Its Core Area's Level-3 City Walls and City Defenses had kept him alive.

That was also why he had stayed with the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association all these years.

The Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association and the North River Chen Family were now effectively one.

Every major faction had its own Core Area, where the City Walls were of a higher level and the City Defenses were more powerful.

If the city fell...

The core members would retreat urgently to their faction's Core Area, where they could cling to life.

After a long while...

The shopkeeper finally clasped his hands at the entrance and gazed toward the unbroken gray skies and Torrential Rain in the distance, murmuring.

"Heaven preserve us."

"Please let there be no strange tide."

An early Rainy Season only made a strange tide highly likely, not certain. Naturally, it would be best if none appeared.

In a world like this...

Living long enough to die of old age was far too difficult.

Northbank City, the North River Chen Family.

In a sprawling courtyard, a pale-faced middle-aged man with an unsteady gait held a Ghosthide Map in both hands. Wearing an ingratiating expression, he approached a youth in a pavilion to report.

"Young Master, Jiangbei Chen Family Station No. 37 is still lit. It seems he was lucky last night, and no Strange Entities attacked the station."

"But the Strange Entities will become increasingly active during the Rainy Season. He probably won't be so lucky tonight."

"Mm."

The youth seated in the pavilion toyed with a Jadeite Bead Bracelet, a glimmer of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. He accepted the Ghosthide Map from the man and stared fixedly at Station 37, situated in the deepest reaches of the northern Wasteland.

It was as though he wanted to stare the Station's light out of existence.

According to the plan...

That Station should have gone dark long ago. After all, they had given the brat only three Eerie Stones. He had not expected it to remain lit after several days. Clearly, the brat had been lucky: even at a Station that remote, someone had passed through and stayed the night.

But that luck should have run its course.

The Rainy Season had arrived early, and a strange tide would run rampant.

He could not imagine how a station without a single City Defenses structure could survive.

Although they always called that fellow a bastard, everyone in the Chen Family knew perfectly well that he was actually the eldest legitimate son of the family's first wife, with an unquestionable rightful claim to the inheritance, at least in name.

Until that fellow died, he could not rest easy.

His own mother was the only daughter of the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association's president, and the current mistress of the Chen Family. Once that fellow died, he would possess an absolute and legitimate right to inherit.

"Oh, right—"

The youth frowned slightly. "Were there any loose ends in sending Chen Fan deep into the Wasteland?"

"No."

The middle-aged man shook his head solemnly. "Everything was done by the rules. According to the Chen Family's ancestral instructions, every Chen Clan Member must spend a year on rotation at one of the family's Stations upon reaching adulthood. It was Chen Fan's turn."

"We gave him three Eerie Stones before he left. That was also stipulated in the ancestral instructions."

"Every procedure was followed."

"It's just that..."

The man grinned. "We sent him to an abandoned Station where hardly anyone ever passes through. Even if the master investigated, he wouldn't find any fault with it."

"Besides."

"How could the master possibly not know about this? He tacitly approved it long ago."

"After all, the master still has to rely on that Level 5 Builder retainer your mother brought with her."