I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

"That’s equivalent to earning a hundred million a year."

"Earning ten million Ghost Stones every month."

"..."

Chen Fan squatted on the ground, drawing in the dirt with a stick. He had to do the math first. He couldn’t just go in blind, not knowing the total he needed, only to find out later that he was short on Ghost Stones.

Four hundred million Ghost Stones was no small sum.

To achieve this, he had to conquer the Guanxi Plain!

There were countless smaller factions, as numerous as the stars. He would use a cost-effective product like the Skeleton Horse to plunder their Ghost Stones. As for major powers like the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land, he would show up at their doorsteps and demand protection fees. Any who refused would be annihilated.

That should be almost enough.

He felt perfectly justified in collecting this protection fee.

’If I weren’t standing in the way, you’d all be dead. When the Ghost Tide makes landfall, not a single one of you could escape. What’s wrong with collecting a little protection fee?’

’Is this money being spent on me? No, it’s being spent on you!’

’Give me four hundred million Ghost Stones.’

’And not even the Celestial King himself could set foot in Jiangbei!’

Of course.

If it really were the Celestial King, well, that would be a different story.

He also coveted the Anti-Air ability of a Level 5 City Wall, but that was clearly unattainable in the next four years. Upgrading the 170 kilometers of Level 4 City Wall to Level 5 would cost 340 million Ghost Stones.

Even after bleeding the Guanxi Plain dry, there was no way he’d get 340 million.

Unless he expanded again.

Expand into the surrounding areas, maybe take a trip over to the Guandong Plain.

It’s just...

Chen Fan’s expression was a little strange. ’If I keep expanding like this,’ he thought, ’how am I any different from a Ghost Tide sweeping south from Jiangbei?’

You know...

The Ghost Tide had the right idea.

Choosing to land in Jiangbei and sweep south—there isn’t a single natural chokepoint. It’s just a wide-open plain, completely unstoppable.

’I need to figure out this Ten Thousand Li Long Dragon ability soon. I can start with a one-kilometer version and head south to rake in the cash!’

It was, as they say, "taken from the people, to be used for the people."

He was suddenly beginning to understand the true meaning of that phrase.

...

The 21-meter-long City Wall at the entrance of Cave No. 1 currently had one Level 6 section, while the rest were Level 3. He didn’t bother upgrading the other sections for now.

He planned to practice controlling the City Wall first, then head back to the camp later to see which basic structures could be upgraded to Max Level without needing materials.

Things like Earth Spikes, for instance. He needed to unlock all the entries he could in his compendium.

It was one thing when he didn’t know about it.

But now that he did, he was determined to claim every reward he was entitled to.

Chen Fan controlled the City Wall, making it snake around the camp like a long dragon. It wasn’t exceptionally fast—a bit slower than a Skeleton Horse, but faster than an ordinary horse.

As it moved, it left long furrows in its wake, churning up the soil as if the land had just been tilled. This thing would be a master plow.

’It can’t climb walls, huh?’

He was a bit disappointed.

He tried to see if he could get the "dragon-like City Wall" to climb the cliff face, but obviously, it was impossible...

Then again...

If it could do that, it would be a little too overpowered.

Then, he stood at the very front of the City Wall section, hands clasped behind his back. He ignited the twenty Ghost Fires positioned within the canyon and gazed coldly toward the horizon.

Beneath him, the dragon-like City Wall shot toward the canyon entrance.

The wind howled past his ears.

At this moment.

’I’m so damn cool,’ he thought.

Cooler than riding a flying sword, even. At the very least, his presence was far more intimidating.

Soon.

The long dragon came to a halt at the canyon entrance.

The area outside the canyon was beyond the camp’s boundaries, so the dragon-wall couldn’t pass. He quickly jogged to the other end, took his position at the front again, and leaned on his Jade Staff, looking back toward the camp with an icy expression.

Once more, the long dragon surged forward.

After several round trips,

he had finally had his fill of fun.

"Awesome!"

Chen Fan maneuvered the City Wall back into the entrance of Cave No. 1, a wide, satisfied grin on his face. Once he figured out how to take his Great Wall on the road...

His grand debut in the Guanxi Plain.

Would be exactly like this.

He’d give the native Architects of the Guanxi Plain a bit of a shock.

Let them see what a Legendary Direction of Qualitative Upgrade truly meant.

...

After all that, he looked at his panel again. A new "Achievement" option had appeared.

Right now there was only one.

"One Step Ahead."

His movement speed would be increased within the camp’s boundaries.

’How much faster, though?’

He tentatively ran a few dozen meters. His body did feel considerably lighter, but he was still no match for a Skeleton Horse. ’This achievement... seems kind of useless,’ he thought.

’This should be for the Mortal Realm Members.’

’They’d be so much more efficient at their work.’

The Clear Wind Array in the Mortal Realm camp was now active around the clock. A faint breeze covered the encampment, increasing the movement speed of Lame Monkey and the others.

This made their daily chores and other tasks a bit more efficient.

...

Time gradually passed into the mid-afternoon.

There was about an hour left until dark.

Chen Fan sat on a stool on the City Wall. On the table before him were three plates of dumplings and a bowl of soup dumplings. It was winter, and the temperature was dropping lower and lower.

’Dumplings are the perfect winter food.’

"You have to eat three kinds of fillings."

Chen Fan picked up a dumpling and popped it into his mouth. He squinted in pleasure as the juices burst on his tongue. "Beef and scallion, pork and celery, and egg and chive."

"If you like dumplings, you absolutely have to try these three fillings."

He picked up another dumpling and tossed it into the waiting, blood-red maw of Hey Hey, who was lying on the ground outside the wall, staring up at him with expectant eyes.

"There’s an art to eating dumplings, you know."

"The first few dumplings must be eaten ’plain.’ That means no dipping sauce. You just savor the pure flavor of the dumpling. They’re fresh out of the pot, still steaming hot... now that’s what I call satisfying."