"Farming honors the clan, raising pigs glorifies the ancestors."

Tonight was the third night since the rainy season began.

Chen Fan brought Crippled Monkey and the others up to guard the City Wall, ready to face whatever danger the night held. Zhou Mo and the others who had spent the day running around went to bed early on his orders.

But...

They stood guard until dawn broke.

"..."

Chen Fan frowned slightly as he watched the darkness retreat like a tide. Another night had passed.

Day had come.

Last night could almost be described as perfectly peaceful.

There was no meatworm wraith tide, no Female Wraith sitting in a sedan chair, not even any strange entities passing by. The Camp's surroundings had been silent, without a single sound.

That should have been a good thing.

But...

Too many strange entities would overwhelm him, but too few wouldn't work either. He had specifically built ten new Arrow Towers to withstand the onslaught of strange entities during the rainy season. Why hadn't he seen a single one last night? Where had they all gone?

Killing strange entities was currently his main source of eerie stones.

If he couldn't find a single strange entity, where was he supposed to get eerie stones?

He narrowed his eyes and pondered for a while before turning to Crippled Monkey and the others, who had stood in the rain with him on the City Wall all night. "All right, it's dawn. Pack up and go back to your rooms to sleep."

This didn't make sense.

The rainy season couldn't possibly be this peaceful.

Something was wrong. He would have to be even better prepared tonight.

Just then—

He looked toward the Farmland outside the wall and suddenly smiled. Under the first rays of sunlight, the seedlings rapidly grew and bore plump, round fruit that looked wonderfully appealing.

The first batch of crops had ripened. It was time to harvest!

"Station Master."

Brimming with energy, Zhou Mo jogged up the steps to the City Wall. "We've all had plenty of sleep. What are our tasks today?"

Chen Fan looked at Zhou Mo and Qi Chong, who stood behind him, and paused before speaking.

"Qi Chong, you won't be going out into the field today."

"Pick all the fruit in the Farmland later."

"Zhou Mo, you're in charge of bringing back the resources from the nearby destroyed Stations today. Wang Kui and the others already cleared out most of the closer ones at the start, so the remaining Stations are farther away. Don't get greedy. Safety first."

"Understood!"

Zhou Mo stood in the pouring rain, grinning as he shouted with boundless enthusiasm.

"Station Master... I..."

Standing beside him, Qi Chong lowered his head, shame and embarrassment flashing in his eyes. "I..."

"It's all right."

Chen Fan shook his head and smiled as he patted Qi Chong on the shoulder. "There's plenty to do inside the Camp too. It's no less valuable to the Camp than going out into the field."

Yesterday, Qi Chong had been sent out on that assignment.

Except...

He hadn't brought back a single eerie stone.

Not long after leaving the Camp with the Ghosthide Map, Qi Chong had failed to hold it tightly enough, and a gust of wind had blown it away. Completely lost, he had wandered around in the storm all day.

Only as Eternal Night was about to descend had he managed to find the Camp by sheer luck.

He really had been lucky.

Somehow, he had survived all that.

Ghosthide Maps were a nonrenewable resource for the Camp. Including the one in his own possession, they had only had five altogether. After Qi Chong lost one, only four remained. He didn't dare send Qi Chong out again.

He couldn't risk losing another map and getting two people killed in the bargain.

That would be far too heavy a loss.

"I..."

Qi Chong's lips moved several times, but in the end, he couldn't get a word out. He simply lowered his head, not daring to meet Chen Fan's eyes.

"Then I'll be off, Station Master?" Zhou Mo asked cheerfully from beside them.

"Go ahead."

Crippled Monkey and the others had already gone to sleep.

Chen Fan stood beside the Farmland, thoughtfully watching Qi Chong pick fruit with his trouser legs rolled up. Actually, the man was quite skilled at farmwork. He casually asked, "Used to be a farmer?"

"Yeah."

Qi Chong wiped the rainwater off his face and hurriedly straightened up to answer. "After Eternal Nightfall, farming became a lot of trouble. Strange entities don't damage the Farmland, but farmers have to travel back and forth between the City and the fields outside. It takes a long time."

"A lot of trade associations opened farms in Large Natural Safety Zones. Before joining the Wild Wolf Gang, I worked at a farm owned by the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association in Northbank City."

"We only grew ordinary crops."

"I've never grown anything like these."

"Good."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded lightly. "From now on, you'll be in charge of this Farmland."

Then he turned his gaze to the subordinate behind Qi Chong. "Your buddy works pretty efficiently too. What's his name?"

"Station Master."

The rather rough-looking man answered in a low, muffled voice. "My name's A Le. I used to work at the same farm as Big Brother Qi, raising pigs. Later, I left the farm to join him."

"Raising pigs?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Good."

This time, Chen Fan couldn't help laughing. One of these two buddies farmed and the other raised livestock. They had given him exactly the pair he needed.

"From now on, you'll handle the Camp's animal husbandry. We don't have anything for you to raise yet, so for now, help your Big Brother Qi farm. Once we have livestock, you can take charge of them."

"Whatever you say, Station Master."

"Put this fruit and the ghost materials we harvested yesterday in that Wooden Hut beside us later."

"Will do."

He took out two eerie stones and built a Wooden Hut inside the Camp, outside the City Wall, intending to use it as a warehouse.

They had killed quite a few Mantis Entities last night.

Their mantis arms were ghost materials.

They could be used for forging.

He had no use for them at the moment, but he could collect them now and use them later.

It would take a while to finish picking everything. Chen Fan didn't wait any longer and turned toward his Wooden Hut to sleep. Everything else could wait until he woke up.

He pushed the door open and entered.

Thanks to the "1.0 heating system," the room was wonderfully warm, without the slightest chill. It was still somewhat damp, but much less so than before.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another cross marked on the Rainy Season Countdown Calendar on the wall. He smiled without saying anything.

Zhou Mo must have marked it before heading out.

That guy...

He really liked his little rituals.

"Big Brother Qi."

In the Camp's Farmland, A Le carefully picked the rain-soaked fruit as he asked in his muffled voice, "We didn't finish the task yesterday, and we lost a Ghosthide Map too. Did the Station Master scold you this morning? When I woke up, I saw you talking on the City Wall, but I didn't dare go up."

"No."

Qi Chong shook his head. "But he probably won't let me go out into the field anymore. You heard him just now. He wants me to look after this Farmland from now on."

"Isn't that a good thing? I think farming is much safer than going out into the field. We almost didn't make it back yesterday. Besides, Big Brother Qi, farming is what you're good at."

"But I joined the Wild Wolf Gang because I thought farming would get me nowhere. Now I'm a farmer again. Didn't you come to join me because you thought raising pigs would get you nowhere too?"

Qi Chong sighed helplessly. He genuinely wanted to make something of himself. Otherwise, he would never have become a Station Master. It was hardly a safe job. But he had realized... he really didn't seem to have what it took.

"No."

A Le shook his head. "I've never thought raising pigs would get me nowhere. It takes skill. My pigs were always the heaviest when they were ready for market, and my piglets had the highest survival rate. With that skill, I'll never go hungry, no matter where I go."

"It's just that after you left, Big Brother Qi, I had nobody to talk to. I felt lonely, so I came to find you."

"Besides, farming this time isn't the same as before."

"Who was your boss before, Big Brother Qi?"

"A minor supervisor at a farm owned by the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association."

"And now?"

"A Builder..."

"What you do doesn't matter. Who you do it with does."

Still working, A Le continued in his low, muffled voice, "Follow the right person, and you'll rise through the ranks. Do the right work, and you'll get rich. Do the right work for the right person, and you'll get both."

"..."

Qi Chong froze, staring blankly at the busy A Le. Only after a long while did he finally come to his senses. Everything in his mind suddenly fell into place, as if he had been struck by a revelation. He felt full of energy. Never in his life had he been so enthusiastic about farming. Grinning, he swore affectionately.

"You little rascal..."

"You know, if the Camp makes it through the rainy season and the Farmland keeps expanding, wouldn't my position become much higher than a Station Master in the Wild Wolf Gang?"

"Definitely. Much, much higher."

"Then wouldn't you get a high-ranking position too?"

"Heh-heh."

Only after seeing that Big Brother Qi had come around did A Le give a simple, good-natured chuckle.

"Farming honors the clan, raising pigs glorifies the ancestors. Put us together, and we'll bring glory to the whole family."