"Heaven's mandate is with me."

His name was Zhou Mo.

He was the Station Master of the Qiuhe Wang Family's Station 18.

He had loved martial arts since childhood and enjoyed wielding a saber.

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

But he had neither the opportunity nor the talent. He had fought tooth and nail to become a Level-Two Cultivator, then accomplished nothing more. He had spent several years drifting through his duties as a Station Master for the Wang Family and had thought he would carry on that way forever—until the rainy season arrived, he began following Chen Fan, and he saw Little Qiu risk his life outside the walls and offer it up to protect the camp.

The Rain was icy.

But his blood had never burned so hot.

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

His life had been worth it.

He, Zhou Mo, would no longer be a nobody. He believed the people on the wall would remember his name.

And yet...

"Mm..."

Zhou Mo remained standing in the Rain with his arms spread and his head raised. Feeling the cold Rain patter against his face, he could not resist wrinkling his nose. People said your life flashed before your eyes before you died, and time slowed down.

But he had never expected it to slow down this much.

He still hadn't died after all this time.

He was starting to regret it. He should not have given his saber to Little Qiu. Otherwise, he could at least finish himself off quickly now. Being struck by a Meatworm Wraith, then corroded by its exploding body, would probably hurt quite a bit.

No matter how much it hurts when I die, I can't scream. That would ruin the image.

He silently made up his mind.

A while later.

I'm still not dead?

Puzzled, Zhou Mo opened his eyes. Wasn't this final flash of his life taking a little too long? But when he looked around, he discovered that every Meatworm Wraith nearby had vanished at some point.

It was as though everything he had just experienced had been an illusion.

Not a single Meatworm Wraith remained, either inside the Camp or in the Gray Fog.

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

He stood bewildered in a pool of thick green liquid and looked toward the people on the wall, having absolutely no idea what had happened.

"Come on up."

Chen Fan, who had been holding back his laughter on the wall, finally laughed. "Stop posing. Your arms must be aching after holding them up so long."

"Heaven's mandate is with me."

Standing on the wall, Chen Fan murmured with a dazed sigh. His hands rested on the edge of the Parapet as he gazed into the distance. The Gray Fog around the Camp was now utterly clear of Strange Entities.

That wave of Meatworm Wraiths had withdrawn.

Or rather... it had been forced to withdraw.

Meatworm Wraiths had no limbs. Their entire bodies were balls of flesh, and they could not wriggle. Their only means of travel was the wind. Wherever the wind blew, the Meatworm Wraiths went.

That was also why their faces filled with pain when they approached the Eerie Fire, then turned cheerful again after leaving the Camp.

The Meatworm Wraiths could not control their own routes at all.

They could only follow the Wind Direction.

Like dandelion seeds, where they landed was entirely up to fate.

And at the very moment Zhou Mo threw the Eerie Stones inside the walls and spread his arms to await death, the Wind Direction changed. The gale blew westward. They had already been on the edge of the strange tide, so as soon as the Wind Direction shifted, the mass of Meatworm Wraiths scattered and vanished into the eternal night with it.

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

If the Wind Direction had been eastward, then never mind the single bag of Eerie Stones Zhou Mo had thrown inside—even ten bags would not have saved the Camp from destruction.

Actually...

If the gale that rose after nightfall had not blown south in the first place, he would never even have encountered these Meatworm Wraiths. Of course, that was not something he could control.

Now.

He finally understood why the female Strange Entity had retreated so quickly. A strange tide on this scale was enough to destroy a city. Even high-level Strange Entities had no choice but to give it a wide berth.

Anything that dared stand in its way would die.

Meatworm Wraiths had no concept of retreating out of fear. After all, they could not control their own movements. Even if they wanted to retreat, they could not.

As far as he could tell.

Meatworm Wraiths were probably a type of Strange Entity that became active during the rainy season. When the rainy season arrived, they roamed everywhere with the gales... forming strange tides.

They did not seem to have any particular target, either.

They simply wreaked havoc.

They killed whatever they encountered and ravaged whatever lay in their path.

"Zhou Mo."

Chen Fan took the saber from Little Qiu and handed it to Zhou Mo, who had returned to the wall. His expression was serious. "A Level-Two Cultivator might not be much use, but at level three, four, or five, you'll become useful as your level rises."

"As long as you stay in the Camp, I'll provide Eerie Stones for you to improve your Cultivation."

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

"I'll guarantee your Cultivation."

"You'll guarantee the Camp's safety."

"Yes!"

Zhou Mo accepted the saber from Chen Fan, looking rather embarrassed. His eyes shifted away as he said quietly, "Don't worry, Station Master. 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 turned somewhat white and begun peeling from the corrosion.

"It's fine."

Zhou Mo hurriedly waved his hand. "Luckily, the Torrential Rain diluted a lot of the liquid the Meatworm Wraiths left behind when they died. It didn't corrode much, just took off a layer of skin. Other than hurting a little, it's fine. It'll heal in a while."

"You looked pretty cool back there."

Wang Kui sidled over, slung an arm around his shoulders, and waggled his eyebrows. "Not a bad pose."

"Screw you!"

Zhou Mo was already embarrassed. Wang Kui's teasing instantly turned that embarrassment into anger. He shook off Wang Kui's arm and snapped, "Say another word and I'll beat you up! I'm a Level-Two Cultivator—handling you is no problem!"

"You're a real man."

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

"I wasn't that great..."

Zhou Mo's eyes darted away in embarrassment, and he could not meet anyone's gaze. If he had died back there, he certainly would have looked heroic. But since he hadn't, all that remained was embarrassment. It was a little more than he could take...

He was getting on in years, after all...

"..."

Chen Fan stood on the wall, smiling without saying anything, and let the others fool around behind him. Much of the tension had dissipated. Relaxing and joking around now would be good for both body and mind. Keeping their nerves stretched taut all the time would only cause problems.

He believed.

After tonight, the whole Camp would be stronger.

Not just in strength.

More importantly, in spirit.

A Camp was not something a lone-wolf Builder could create by himself. He needed a team of his own, and the team he had now looked pretty good. In that respect, he was quite lucky.

And...

Danger and opportunity often went hand in hand.

Once the danger passed, opportunity was what remained.

The Eerie Stones scattered across the ground outside the walls were the best reward he could ask for. Among them, several Exotic Treasures shone with White Light, as though reminding him that the time had come to reap his gains.

"Crippled Monkey."

Chen Fan looked toward Crippled Monkey beside him and instructed, "The female Strange Entity only withdrew to avoid the Meatworm Wraiths. With how vindictive she is, she'll definitely come back. Take those two fellows and collect all the Eerie Stones down there. Wrap your hands in the cloth clothes from inside so you don't hurt them."

"Yes!"

Crippled Monkey answered solemnly, then hurriedly limped off with the two men serving under Zhou Mo and Qi Chong, heading outside the walls to collect Eerie Stones and Exotic Treasures.

Within a group.

Everyone's feelings needed to be taken into account. Little Qiu and Zhou Mo had both had their moments tonight, while Crippled Monkey's bad leg had kept him from getting a chance to shine. If he still wasn't given something to do, he would start feeling down.

And there were those other two men.

The same principle applied.

They needed some work to do as well.

That way, everyone would have something to contribute when they talked, and no one would feel left out.