"It's not charity. It's an investment."

"..."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, silently observing everything before him. After activating the "Eternal Night Lord" panel, he had received blueprints for five basic buildings and one special building.

The "Beast Trap" was that special building.

A Beast Trap was not particularly difficult to make, but only a Beast Trap made by a Builder possessed special building effects and could damage strange entities.

The remaining five basic buildings were—

"City Wall," "Farmland," "Arrow Tower," "Wooden Hut," and "Sacrificial Tower."

After watching for a while, he quietly withdrew and headed back to his Camp.

As he approached the Camp, he spotted Crippled Monkey sitting on the ground, weaving Hemp Rope while constantly scanning his surroundings.

Seeing Chen Fan return, he hurried to his feet and came forward to report.

"Young Master!"

"I've woven a three-meter Hemp Rope, but we don't have the right supplies. There's no Limewater, and I haven't dried it in the sun. This Withered Grass isn't as good as Hemp Stalk, either, so it might not be very sturdy."

"That's fine."

Chen Fan shook his head. "As long as it's usable, it'll do. It doesn't need to be that sturdy."

"Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"Have some dry rations."

"We don't have much left. I'll be fine skipping a few meals. I used to go hungry all the time."

"No need." Chen Fan turned to look deeper into the Wasteland, his brow furrowing slightly. "We have work to do tonight. You need a full stomach to have any strength. Don't worry about food. I'll find a way."

The Chen Family had dumped him at this Station with no intention of letting him return alive, so naturally, they had left him little in the way of dry rations. The nearest Market, North River Market, was still a long way away.

The other Stations nearby probably had no shortage of food and water, though.

With the Chen Family's reputation, he might be able to trade eerie stones for some food.

Just then—

Two figures appeared on a distant slope and strode toward their Camp. Once they drew near, the middle-aged man in front looked at Chen Fan with a slightly odd expression and cupped his hands in greeting.

"You must be the Station Master of the North River Chen Family's Station 37?"

"I'm Wang Kui, Station Master of the Qiuhe Wang Family's Station 17."

A smile appeared on Chen Fan's face, and he returned the cupped-hand salute. "A pleasure to meet you, Stationmaster King. I'm Chen Fan."

He had seen these two before.

They were from the Station he had just been observing, though he had no idea why they had come to see him.

Wang Kui cleared his throat before asking tentatively, "Stationmaster Chen, as far as I know, your family's Station 37 has been abandoned for over a month. Why have you suddenly put it back into use?"

"Not many travelers pass along this stretch, and there's little money to be made. Have you heard something?"

"Our families might not be particularly close, but those of us sent out to do these miserable jobs should stick together out here, even if we belong to rival families. If a strange tide breaks out, neither of us will survive."

"After all, the glory belongs to our families, but our lives are our own. Wouldn't you agree?"

Chen Fan did not answer right away. He could more or less guess what Wang Kui was thinking, and the man was clearly overthinking things.

But before he could speak—

The man behind Wang Kui exclaimed in surprise, "Your name is Chen Fan? The North River Chen Family's bastard?"

"..."

Chen Fan nodded expressionlessly. "Yes."

"Slap your mouth."

Understanding flashed in Wang Kui's eyes as he turned to the Subordinate behind him and feigned anger. Then he forced a smile and said helplessly, "My subordinate has no manners. I've spent so long in the Wasteland that I haven't kept up with outside affairs, either."

"My Station still needs someone in charge, so I'll take my leave."

Without lingering, he turned and left with his Subordinate.

Out in the Wasteland.

Walking over the cracked earth with the Subordinate, Wang Kui frowned slightly and asked, "What's Chen Fan's background, exactly? Tell me in detail."

Ever since he had entered the Wang Family's service, he had spent almost all his time at the Stations—a full thirteen years.

He was transferred to a different Station every year, though.

He really knew nothing about this sort of gossip.

"It's a pretty well-known story."

The bronze-skinned man behind him picked at the dry flakes on his face and grinned. "That old Chen Family patriarch inherited his position when he was young. Back then, the Chen Family wasn't nearly as powerful as it is now, mainly because they didn't have a Builder."

"But I'll give him this."

"The Chen Family Head was pretty handsome in his youth. He met a female cultivator, a Level 4 Builder with no background, just an independent cultivator. He shamelessly pursued her until he won her over, and they had a son—Chen Fan."

"With that Level 4 Builder's help, the Chen Family gradually established itself in North River."

"But the woman died when Chen Fan was still little. Then the Chen Family Head married into an alliance with the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association and had two sons and a daughter. They're the current heirs. Her dowry included the services of a Level 5 Builder as a retainer."

"The Chen Family's current Builder retainer came from the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association."

"Think about it. The new wife had a Builder backing her, so of course she wanted her own sons to inherit the Chen Family. Chen Fan's standing just kept falling. At first, the Chen Family Head still held out a little hope. Since Chen Fan's mother was a Builder, he wondered if Chen Fan might awaken as one, too."

"A retainer certainly isn't as reliable as having a Builder in your own family."

"The result was obvious. His awakening failed, and Chen Fan lost all standing. Sending him here probably had nothing to do with hearing any rumors. Most likely, they sent him here to die."

"..."

Wang Kui frowned slightly. "How does that make him a bastard? I thought he was born to a maid or something. Isn't he clearly the legitimate eldest son of the first wife?"

"Well, if his Level 4 Builder mother hadn't died, he'd be the legitimate eldest son of the first wife. Once she died, he became a bastard."

"True."

Wang Kui let out a long sigh. "These great families really are full of dirty business. Here's what we'll do..."

He thought for a moment before speaking.

"Since they sent him here to die, they probably didn't leave him any eerie stones or food. Later, take some food and water from our Camp over to them. Then... give them five eerie stones, too."

"Huh?"

The bronze-skinned man froze. "Station Master, the family will come to collect the accounts in half a month. If we give away five eerie stones, the books definitely won't balance."

"I'll pay out of my own pocket. It won't come out of the station's accounts."

"Oh, right..."

The man scratched the back of his head. "Then that's fine. But why the sudden charity, Station Master? Those two are doomed. Even if you give them five eerie stones, they won't last more than a few days."

"It's not charity. It's an investment."

Wang Kui shook his head. "They're in an almost hopeless situation right now, but when we met just now, Chen Fan didn't ask us for help. And that cripple's eyes were full of wariness and suspicion, without a trace of despair or fear."

"What does that tell you?"

"It tells us their situation might not be quite so hopeless."