I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

"To that end..."

"We’ve brought 150,000 Ghost Stones. We hope to partner with the Mortal Realm to build the High-speed Rail."

"Of course, we’re well aware that for a project of this magnitude, 150,000 Ghost Stones is nowhere near enough. Therefore, we’re also willing to offer fifteen percent of Medicine King Valley’s net profits for the next three years."

"..."

Chen Fan looked at Qi Feng with a smile. "That doesn’t sound like much."

Building the High-speed Rail network wasn’t a high cost for him, but that was only in comparison to other factions. In reality, the cost was far from low.

One meter of Copper Pipe costs one Ghost Stone.

Mortal City was located in the northernmost part of Jiangbei.

Medicine King Valley was situated in the central region of Jiangnan.

The straight-line distance between the two locations was a full... 700 kilometers.

That is...

700,000 meters.

The Copper Pipes alone would cost 700,000 Ghost Stones, and if they had to take detours, the expense would be even greater.

"It should be quite a lot."

Qi Feng took a deep, apprehensive breath before laying out his father’s plan. This, too, was one of their bargaining chips.

"..."

After hearing Medicine King Valley’s plan, Chen Fan fell silent.

’The plan of Medicine King Valley’s Valley Master is a bit too forward-thinking for this world... Most people here are just miserably scraping together Ghost Stones to fight off Ghost Objects. How could they possibly come up with such an idea? And even if they did, how many would dare to act on it?’

’Become the first Node in the High-speed Rail network. Leverage the Mortal Realm’s reputation to build Medicine King Valley’s fame—the promotional reach would be immense. Seize the market by offering high-quality goods at low prices. Swallow up the competition. Boost productivity. In one fell swoop, they could devour the entire Elixir market of the Four Areas Jiangbei.’

’If this plan succeeded, fifteen percent of their net profit over three years was indeed not a small sum.’

’Medicine King Valley is trying to build... a brand.’

After a long moment, he nodded and smiled.

"Alright."

"I accept your proposal."

"Thank you, Domain Lord Chen."

Qi Feng hastily breathed a sigh of relief and waved to his subordinates outside, signaling for them to bring in the Ghost Stones. Seeing Chen Fan now, he no longer felt the sense of ease he had during their first meeting.

"By the way."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. "This plan of yours will consume a great deal of Ghost Stones. Can you afford it?"

"..."

Qi Feng hesitated for a moment before answering, "We should be able to. Father is preparing to excavate our entire Ghost Ore and stake it all on this."

He didn’t hide anything. His father had told him to answer whatever Domain Lord Chen asked. The key was to be sincere, as they had no conflict of interest with the Mortal Realm.

However, he was also supposed to hesitate before answering, to show that the information he was revealing was indeed confidential.

"Ghost Ore?"

It was the first time Chen Fan had heard this term.

"Yes." Qi Feng nodded. "During the Ancient Era, after many Ghost Objects fell in battle, their Ghost Stones were left uncollected. As time wore on, they were buried underground. The bodies have completely decomposed, but the Ghost Stones are still there."

"These deposits of Ghost Stones, left behind on Ancient Battlefields, are what’s known as ’Ghost Ore.’"

"One of the reasons Jiangnan is so prosperous is that it yields a bit more Ghost Ore."

"Medicine King Valley has a Ghost Ore deposit, but we’ve never really mined it. Ghost Qi naturally forms inside the deposit, which has the effect of accelerating the growth of our medicinal herbs. Once we excavate it, that effect will be gone."

He said no more.

Qi Feng took his leave, the matter now settled.

Chen Fan sat at his desk, mulling over the term. He could understand the formation of Ghost Ore, but he felt Jiangbei should be the place with the most of it, shouldn’t it?

After all, Jiangbei was the very front line in the Ancient Era.

Jiangnan was merely the area behind Jiangbei’s front lines.

How had he never discovered a single Ghost Ore deposit in Jiangbei? He had never even heard of them before.

’Looks like I’ll have to find some time to go to the Jiangbei Coastline and have a thorough search. Maybe I’ll dig up something left behind from Ancient Times.’

...

「At the gates of Mortal City.」

The High-speed Rail line between Mortal City and Jiangbei City had temporarily suspended its trial runs.

Xiaoyu, the Pavilion Master of the Logistics Pavilion, was leading his members along the route on the High-speed Rail, laying down a kind of red liquid.

The High-speed Rail line was made of Copper Pipe.

The Copper Pipe was buried underground.

It wasn’t visible on the surface.

If a train wasn’t passing by, and it wasn’t nighttime, no one would be able to tell that a High-speed Rail line was here.

And so—

To prevent anyone from accidentally digging up the line, or building something right on top of it, Xiaoyu had gone to Nameless Mountain to gather a large quantity of a fruit called Red Fruit. When crushed and mixed with water, it created a red liquid that would seep into the soil and not fade for several years.

It was the perfect substance for marking the route.

Anywhere a red line appeared, it marked one of the Mortal Realm’s High-speed Rail lines.

Anyone who dared to build structures on this line or damage it would be making an enemy of the Mortal Realm. This might seem tyrannical, but the Mortal Realm hadn’t risen to power by being pleasant.

Just because they were agreeable now didn’t mean they were incapable of flipping the table.

At regular intervals, the members of the Logistics Pavilion would also plant a wooden sign in the ground above the High-speed Rail line.

The signs clearly stated that this was the Mortal Realm’s railway.

Disturb it, and die.

"Young Master."

Lame Monkey, who was following Chen Fan out of Mortal City, hesitated. "If we don’t mark it, wouldn’t that mean that even if someone wanted to destroy our railway, they wouldn’t know where it is?"

"You can’t stop those who are determined to find it."

Chen Fan shook his head. "Once the railway is operational, it has to be used. And as soon as trains start running, people will know where the line is buried."

"If you try to do anything while guarding against everyone, you’re guaranteed to do a poor job."

"You fend off seventy percent."

"You eliminate twenty percent."

"And you intimidate the remaining ten percent."

"That is enough."

"Let’s go."

Chen Fan strode towards the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage parked at the city gate.

"Huh?" Lame Monkey, who had been listening intently, hurriedly hobbled to keep up. "Young Master, where are we going?"

"To build the line to Medicine King Valley."

"We’re going so soon?"

"Mhm."