Arrow Tower upgraded to level 4, becoming an "Arrow Fort"

This had been the unchanging order of this region for nearly a hundred years.

But from this day onward...

That order would change because of him. There would no longer be a single Station on the Wasteland.

He planned to...

Build a Highway between the two places.

A Highway built from Copper Pipes, with Eerie Fire flowing through them. Even after nightfall, the road would remain shrouded in Eerie Fire, allowing traffic to pass around the clock and greatly accelerating the movement of caravan goods.

It would also bring him a substantial income.

Previously, the Camps on the Wasteland had pocketed every toll collected in this region. But once the Highway opened, all that income would be his.

More than that!

He could replace North River Market and become the new gathering place for trade.

After all, the Eerie Fire, Arrow Towers, and other structures he built here cost less than those elsewhere, and their selling prices were lower too.

There was an enormous profit to be made.

170 kilometers equaled 170,000 meters.

He only needed seventeen days.

Then he could finish laying this Highway.

But...

How to hold on to those profits was another major problem. The three major factions of Northbank City would inevitably retaliate furiously. He had to build up sufficient strength during the golden opportunity offered by the Rainy Season.

After the Rainy Season...

He would wipe out the three major factions and open the Highway.

About twenty minutes later.

Chen Fan looked at the hundred-odd meters of Copper Pipe he had already laid. After a moment of silence, he glanced around the wilderness and headed back into his Camp.

Things were a little more complicated than he had imagined.

Although laying Copper Pipes was now free...

He still had to build them himself and couldn't hand the work over to anyone else. Laying all those Copper Pipes one step at a time would mean making several trips across the Wasteland. Who knew how long that would take?

He had to finish developing the Cart first.

Then he could drive it out to lay Copper Pipes and build his own Highway.

"Qi Chong!"

"Come here. I've got a job for you."

Walking into the Camp, Chen Fan called over Qi Chong, who was busy in the Farmland. Qi Chong was transplanting all the wheat they had brought back from the other Camps into it.

"Station Master, the Farmland's too small. We're running out of room. Could we get another plot?"

"We'll talk about that later."

Two hours later.

"This is much better."

Chen Fan looked with satisfaction at the Cart he had modified. This time, he named it the "Three-Wheeler 2.0."

He had removed one wheel.

There were two wheels at the back and one at the front.

The front wheel was connected to a Copper Pipe that passed through the Wooden Board and stood upright above it. Moving the handle fitted onto that Copper Pipe from side to side would turn the wheel left or right, steering the vehicle.

That gave the vehicle steering capability.

It needed two people to operate it together.

One stood at the front of the Wooden Board to steer, while the other stood at the back, constantly triggering the Ground Spikes to provide forward momentum.

The Three-Wheeler's acceleration...

Wasn't steady.

Since it had only one cylinder, and its power depended on how quickly the Ground Spikes reset, its speed lurched noticeably as it moved. As for two, four, or eight cylinders... that was more complicated. He would improve it later.

Laying Copper Pipes from a moving vehicle would be much faster.

"Get on."

"I'll steer."

An hour later.

Standing on the Three-Wheeler with both hands on the Control Lever, Chen Fan looked at the connected Copper Pipes stretching out behind the vehicle and smiled in satisfaction. With a vehicle to help, the work went much faster.

In less than an hour...

He had laid ten kilometers of Copper Pipe, using up his entire free allowance for the day.

They only needed to make a few more trips like this.

Once the Rainy Season ended, the Highway could open!

"How are you holding up?"

He looked back at the panting Qi Chong. "Can't keep going?"

"Of course I can!"

Gasping for breath, Qi Chong pulled a waterskin from inside his clothes and drained it. Then he quickly stuffed several dry flatbreads into his mouth and chewed in big bites. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he raised his aching arms and stood before the Ground Spikes, panting. "I'm not tired. This isn't much different from transplanting rice seedlings."

"Good. Then let's... head home!"

Chen Fan cheerfully turned the Control Lever and gazed toward the horizon from the Wooden Board. His body had already adjusted to the jolting as they bumped their way back toward the Camp.

They had done enough testing for today.

The Three-Wheeler was ready for regular use.

He planned to build two more.

One would let Zhou Mo visit the other Stations and bring back resources.

One would be for him to lay Copper Pipes.

And one would let Wang Mazi head out and check for activity on the Wasteland during the day, scouting the area while he was at it.

After returning to the Camp...

Chen Fan cheerfully toured the grounds. He was in quite a good mood today and wanted to see which parts of his Camp urgently needed improvement. Finally, his gaze settled on a Level-3 Arrow Tower.

As one rainy night followed another...

The Strange Entities would grow stronger and increasingly savage. Zhou Mo had told him all of this.

He felt he needed a more powerful Arrow Tower.

Then...

He climbed onto the City Wall and spent 100 eerie stones to upgrade the Arrow Tower that hadn't learned Arrow Rain Storm to level 4!

The next moment—

The Arrow Tower turned into a phantom image, constantly shifting and collapsing.

Until it collapsed into... a cube of brown stone brick, one meter long, wide, and high.

It no longer resembled an Arrow Tower at all.

A dark rectangular opening appeared on one face of the stone block, which blended almost seamlessly into the City Wall. Through the opening, he could clearly see a Crossbow Mechanism embedded inside, gleaming coldly.

-

"Arrow Tower upgraded to level 4, becoming an 'Arrow Fort.' It must be installed in a fixed location and cannot be moved freely. Power increased."

"Please select an upgrade path."

"1: Increased firing speed."

"2: Increased power."

"3: Reduced energy consumption."

-

"..."

Chen Fan studied the Arrow Fort before him thoughtfully. After the upgrade, it occupied far less space. It was sturdier and also better concealed.

He chose increased firing speed.

This Arrow Tower had already received several power boosts. It needed a firing-speed boost now. Based on his experience playing games in his previous life, an AD build without attack speed would deal far less damage.

He gave the attack command.

Flaming arrows wrapped in searing fire shot from the Crossbow Mechanism inside the dark opening, striking the barren ground thirty meters beyond the wall with pinpoint accuracy. He couldn't tell yet whether their power had changed, but the increase in firing speed was clearly visible.

Just then—

"Hmm?"

He frowned slightly, looking at Zhou Mo, who was running bedraggled toward the Camp through the rain nearby. Soon, Zhou Mo dashed inside and came before Chen Fan, gasping for breath.

"Have some water. Take your time."

Unless he was mistaken, Zhou Mo had run into trouble.

"I ran into wraiths!"

Zhou Mo took the waterskin Chen Fan offered and drained it. A trace of fear flashed deep in his eyes as he said in a trembling voice, "On my way back to the Camp, I came across a group of people... having sex out in the open."

"There were more than thirty of them."

"They were having a wild orgy."

"The moment I saw them in the distance, I turned around and ran without a second thought."

"We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's no way people would be out here, so they could only be Doppelganger Wraiths. The instant they saw me, they went berserk and all came chasing after me."

"Luckily, I'm a Level-Two Cultivator, so I could run fast."

"But..."

"My younger companion was a little too slow. Those Doppelganger Wraiths caught him, tore him apart alive, and devoured him. Even the resources we'd picked up from the other Camps today were dropped there in the panic..."

"Station Master... I..."

"..."

Chen Fan patted Zhou Mo's shoulder without speaking immediately. Only after a long silence did he look toward the Arrow Fort beside him and... the Three-Wheeler parked in the Camp. Suddenly, he thought of a way to extend a Builder's reach.

"Now isn't the time to grieve."

"Come on. I'll take you back to kill them."