"Exotic treasure name": Monkey-Head Mushroom Seed.

The Monkey-Head Ghost was still alive.

It was visibly opening its Zhang Zui and roaring, yet not a sound could be heard. It seemed extremely agitated.

It looked up at Chen Fan, opened its bloody maw to reveal a mouthful of fangs, and roared silently in threat. Taiwanese Novel Website

It struggled furiously, but could not break free.

Every swipe of its claws left a trail of black vapor in the air.

"Shhk!"

Crippled Monkey had already thrust his spear at the first opportunity, striking the Monkey-Head Ghost squarely in the mouth. He quickly withdrew it and stabbed again. Before long, the Monkey-Head Ghost stopped breathing and collapsed where it stood.

"Nicely done."

Chen Fan let out a long breath of relief. So far, things were going fairly smoothly. He might collect more than ten eerie stones tonight!

This was a very good start.

Tomorrow, he could use those eerie stones to make more Beast Traps and keep the snowball rolling. Soon, he would escape his current shortage of resources.

The original knife had been too short.

It was all too easy to get hurt.

So he had pulled a stick off the Wooden Hut and tied the knife to its end, making a crude Spear. It worked quite well.

"Dig it out."

Chen Fan tossed the Beast Trap back into the darkness as he gave the order.

The eerie stones they dug out now could be used to make more Beast Traps. Though they had no spare Hemp Rope, a trap thrown into the darkness could still be used once tonight. Every little bit counted, and this was hardly a mere scrap.

For the next while.

Chen Fan kept his eyes on the lengths of Hemp Rope like an angler, constantly turning over his next steps in his mind.

Manpower was a major problem.

So far, Crippled Monkey was his only helper, and that was not quite enough. With another person or two, someone could be weaving hemp rope for him right now.

Soon—

An eerie stone was dug out of the Monkey-Head Ghost's head and placed quietly on the ground. Just then, another length of hemp rope began to shake. Chen Fan immediately sprang from his chair and pulled hard on it.

Another Monkey-Head Ghost caught in a Beast Trap was dragged into the Camp.

Crippled Monkey, already waiting, thrust his spear again.

The two had developed a certain rapport.

Another eerie stone was theirs, but this time, something extra dropped as well. After the Monkey-Head Ghost died, it spat a clump of something glowing white from its mouth, resembling a handful of grit.

"Young Master!"

Crippled Monkey's eyes lit up. "It dropped ghost material! After strange entities are killed, some fragments of their corpses turn into ghost material. For example, the Ghosthide Map is made by an Artifact Refiner using a Human-Skin Ghost's scalp."

"The Private-School Teacher covered it in class."

"But..."

"This doesn't look like ghost material. None of the other Monkey-Head Ghosts dropped any, after all. Monkey-Head Ghosts are strange entities that don't produce ghost material. This looks more like an exotic treasure...!"

"An exotic treasure?"

"That should be what it is. A very small number of strange entities and monsters carry special exotic treasures. Killing them gives you those treasures, such as Building Blueprints. Their value varies, but they're all treasures that can only be obtained by chance from killing monsters. They can't be made by people."

"But we'll need to find an Appraiser at the Market to learn exactly what it is."

"..."

Chen Fan said nothing. He picked up the clump of grit from the ground. Wrapped in an almost transparent membrane, it looked like fish eggs. A panel slowly appeared before him.

-

"Exotic treasure name": Monkey-Head Mushroom Seed.

"Exotic treasure grade": White Grade.

"Exotic treasure effect": Must be planted in Farmland. Matures in three days. Consuming it after maturity can improve physical fitness.

-

He nodded thoughtfully. Seeds, then.

Did this really need an Appraiser?

Wasn't it all spelled out clearly on the panel?

He roughly understood this world now. Whether Building Blueprints or exotic treasures, their panels could be viewed directly. But the natives of this world could not see those panels, making the process extremely cumbersome.

In that case...

Perhaps he could browse the goods at North River Market. He could see the panels of every exotic treasure, which was far more straightforward than consulting any Appraiser. He might even find a bargain.

"I know what this is."

Chen Fan tucked the clump of seeds into his clothes and took the eerie stone Crippled Monkey handed him, freshly dug out of this Monkey-Head Ghost. With exactly two stones now, he made another Beast Trap and tossed it into the darkness. "Let's get back to work first."

Time passed little by little.

Suddenly.

The surrounding darkness, thick as semen, rapidly receded. Eternal night ended, and the morning sun bathed the world once more.

Dawn had broken.

"Phew..."

Chen Fan let out a long breath and rubbed his dry, tired eyes. After working all night, he was exhausted too. He had no idea how those anglers managed to fish all night. This was physical labor as well.

Yet a hint of irrepressible joy shone in his weary eyes.

Last night's haul had been abundant.

They had killed thirty-seven Monkey-Head Ghosts in total!

He had invested two of the eerie stones in another Beast Trap, leaving him with thirty-five.

The Camp's current total assets.

Five Beast Traps and thirty-five eerie stones.

"Go get some sleep first."

Chen Fan waved Crippled Monkey into the hut to rest. He had not kept investing in Beast Traps, mainly because he did not know whether there were only so many Monkey-Head Ghosts nearby. The first half of the night had been bountiful, with something taking the bait every so often.

But there had been far fewer in the second half.

They had to wait a long time for each catch.

He suspected there were only so many Monkey-Head Ghosts in the area, or that strange entities preferred to move around during the first half of the night.

"..."

Just then—

He suddenly frowned and looked beyond the Safehouse. A lone Beast Trap lay on the wasteland, with a tuft of white monkey hair caught in it.

By now, he was very familiar with that hair.

It belonged to a Monkey-Head Ghost.

But... it had clearly come off during an escape. Monkey-Head Ghosts could not break free of Beast Traps, unless...

He walked over to retrieve the Beast Trap, picking up the tuft of monkey hair and rubbing it between his fingers.

It was stiffer than an ordinary Monkey-Head Ghost's fur.

Could it be... the leader of this group of Monkey-Head Ghosts?

Had it sensed a large number of Monkey-Head Ghosts dying here last night and come to investigate? Would it return tonight?

"..."

At that thought, his eyes narrowed slightly. The Green-Robed Man had been very clear before leaving. Apart from a few weak strange entities, most merely disliked the Eerie Fire and were reluctant to approach it. It did not mean they could not approach. If his suspicions were correct, tonight might bring a major crisis!

He had to prepare in advance.

He had originally planned to build a plot of Farmland to grow Monkey's head mushrooms, but that plan would have to wait. First, he had to survive tonight's crisis.

His gaze settled on one of the basic buildings on the Endless Night Lord Panel.

The Level-1 Arrow Tower.

It could inflict some damage on low-level ghost beings and required ten eerie stones to build.

This was it!

He laid ten eerie stones on the ground, slowly closed his eyes, and mentally confirmed construction on the panel.