The next moment—
The ten Eerie Stones on the ground suddenly shattered, transforming into milky-white liquid that soared into the air.
At the same time, a translucent form of an Archery Tower composed of white lines appeared in midair. As the milky-white liquid poured into this shape, the once-illusory structure gradually became solid, emitting a quaint aura.
With a shift of Chen Fan's mind, the Archery Tower steadily settled near the Eerie Fire, right in the center of the station.
—
Building Name: Archery Tower.
Building Grade: White.
Building Level: Level 1.
Building Effect: Inflicts a certain amount of damage to low-level Eerie Creatures. Automatically attacks Eerie Creatures that enter the range of the Eerie Fire, or attacks other creatures as commanded by the lord. Requires one Eerie Stone to be embedded as the power source.
PS: Upgrading to Level 2 requires 20 Eerie Stones.
—
At a glance.
A wooden Archery Tower stood over three meters tall in the center of the station. It was pitch-black all over, and the mounted crossbow at the top gleamed brightly. The mechanical parts reflected a cold light under the sun, with each gear fitting perfectly into place.
At the base of the Archery Tower, there was a slot just large enough to accommodate one Eerie Stone.
"Not bad."
An involuntary hint of pride flashed in Chen Fan's eyes. The existence of this thing gave him a sense of security. He had scouted Wang's station before; while that station looked decent, it didn't have anything like an Archery Tower.
Fully automatic attack.
No need to station an archer inside the tower, and it was a rapid-fire crossbow mechanism; its power was obviously not to be underestimated—definitely stronger than the Animal Trap.
After all, an Animal Trap chiefly served to restrain Eerie Creatures until dawn. Those who couldn't escape would die when exposed to sunlight.
Only...
He hesitated slightly. The Eerie Creature that escaped the Animal Trap last night was definitely a big one. Could this Level 1 Archery Tower really bring it down?
He still had 25 Eerie Stones left.
Should he upgrade it to Level 2?
After some consideration, he stopped dithering. It was better to have too much firepower than too little. If that big creature really came tonight and the Archery Tower's power was insufficient, all the Eerie Stones he saved would be for nothing.
The next moment!
With a flick of his mind, the 20 Eerie Stones on the ground shattered, transforming into milky-white liquid that surged into the Archery Tower.
Immediately after, a panel popped up before him.
—
Archery Tower upgraded to Level 2.
Please choose an upgrade direction.
1: Add another rapid-fire crossbow mechanism to the top of the tower.
2: Increase the power of the mounted crossbow.
3: Increase the firing speed of the mounted crossbow.
—
"Huh?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Fan's eyes. He hadn't expected upgrading a building to involve choosing a direction. Could you choose an upgrade direction every time it was leveled up?
All three upgrades could substantially strengthen the Archery Tower.
However, the first and third options were both about boosting the tower's performance against small creatures. Right now, he was going to deal with the probable big monster tonight, so the second option was naturally the most suitable.
After confirming the second upgrade direction, the Archery Tower in front of him began to change slowly. The originally wooden tower grew a skeletal structure of stone, like a living being, becoming a sturdy mix of wood and stone.
The bolts on the mounted crossbow grew darker, harder, and slightly larger in size.
Just a glance at them made one imagine the feeling of being pierced.
"Not bad!"
He nodded in satisfaction, inserting an Eerie Stone into the slot at the base of the tower. The Level 2 Archery Tower looked a lot more reassuring.
He wondered what level the creature that escaped the Animal Trap last night was. Level 2 would be enough to handle it, yeah?
Even if it wasn't, he had run out of tricks.
After all, this was all he could do.
"Whew…"
After finishing all this, he finally prepared to sleep in peace. Though with 4 Eerie Stones left, he wouldn't build farmland for now, as he didn't know how fast the Archery Tower consumed Eerie Stones. Better to save some ammunition.
The Eerie Fire could also sustain for only one more night, so he had to reserve some for it as well.
Last night, he had killed 37 Monkey-Head Ghosts in total.
But—
Only one Extraordinary Treasure had dropped--the monkey-head mushroom seeds. The drop rate was indeed quite low.
As for the Level 3 Archery Tower…
He glanced at the requirement: 50 Eerie Stones. Upgrading it was impossible for now.
Time to sleep.
...
After a sound slumber, Chen Fan was awakened by noise from outside.
Stretching lazily, he instinctively reached for the cigarette pack on the bedside table, wanting a morning smoke, but his hand grasped at air. Pausing in slight confusion, he looked around and finally remembered where he was. Shaking his head with a faint smile, he washed up briefly and walked outside.
The sky was growing dark.
The sun was about to set; at most, there was only the time it took for three incense sticks to burn（about 1.5 hours） before the Perpetual Night descended.
Crippled Monkey stood outside the hut in the station, holding a spear, his face full of vigilance as he rasped at a mother and daughter pair, "Get lost immediately, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"What's going on?"
Chen Fan stretched lazily, his gaze resting on the solid Archery Tower in the center of the station, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Young master."
Crippled Monkey hurried over, limping. "This mother and daughter have no Eerie Stones, but they want to stay for the night."
"Sirs..."
The middle-aged woman outside the station, dressed in tattered clothes and a headscarf, knelt on the barren ground the moment she saw Chen Fan. Her face was pale, etched with the weariness and hardship of a long journey, her voice dry, hoarse, and tinged with sorrow.
"We were a family of three, but the child's father was killed by bandits along the way. Only the two of us are left, and all our money was stolen."
"It's almost dark."
"Please, sir, have mercy and take us in for the night, otherwise... otherwise..."
Behind the woman stood a slender, graceful young girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, clutching her mother's clothes tightly, her eyes full of fear for the coming darkness, cutting an utterly pitiful look.
"Not bad."
Chen Fan glanced at the setting sun, then let his gaze linger on the feet of the mother and daughter. With a sudden laugh, he took the spear from Crippled Monkey and, without a moment's hesitation, thrust it out, accurately striking the woman's head.
Blood splattered.
He quickly withdrew the spear, dashed out of the station, and in two or three steps caught up to the little girl who had started fleeing when she realized something was wrong, piercing her through the back.
His movements were clean and decisive.
Under the twilight, dusk deepened.
As the bonfire bloomed with light, the station seemed all alone on the desolate wasteland, providing a strong sense of security.
Chen Fan, leaning on the spear, walked back into the station. He shook a piece of stone glowing white toward Crippled Monkey, instructing with a smile, "Next time you encounter something like this, don't just drive them away. Kill them on the spot."
"Otherwise, you see, you would have missed this opportunity, wouldn't you?"
Behind him, the bodies of the mother and daughter quickly shrank into Eerie Creatures even smaller than a Monkey-Head Ghost, resembling dead infants, extremely unsettling.