I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

After the Elders had left, Patriarch Chen sat alone in the meeting hall. In just a few short days, he seemed to have aged a great deal. His temples were graying and his eyes were weary, yet he held his spine as ramrod straight as a lion’s.

Decades ago.

While traveling in his youth, he had met Chen Fan’s mother—an unaligned Level 4 Architect.

At the time, the Chen Family’s own Architect had died of old age, plunging the family into the crisis of being without one. He had immediately launched a fervent pursuit, marrying her into the Chen Family and fathering Chen Fan.

After their marriage, he cherished her completely, never daring to slight her in any way.

But... after a serious illness, she passed away, her life cut short.

The Chen Family was once again plunged into the dilemma of having no Architect. It was then that the Pingtian Commerce Association offered their daughter’s hand in marriage, with a Level 5 Architect as part of the dowry. He knew exactly what the Pingtian Commerce Association was after.

The Pingtian Commerce Association had Architects, but an Architect alone wasn’t enough to build a powerful faction.

He had his eyes on their Architect.

And they had their eyes on his Chen Family.

’I was confident I could outmaneuver them. The moment I found a new Architect, I could annihilate the Pingtian Commerce Association. In the decade of sparring that followed, I had no time for Chen Fan. My primary duty was to expand the Chen Family’s power, not to be a loving father.’

Until...

Chen Fan was sent to the Wilderness... and became an Architect himself.

It made all his efforts over the years seem utterly absurd.

He even began to doubt himself.

But he had since composed himself.

’If Chen Fan survives the rainy season, I will personally go to him and talk through the night. If he’s willing to devote himself to the Chen Family, I can eliminate the Pingtian Commerce Association immediately and give him my full support.’

’But if he harbors resentment for my years of neglect and refuses to return...’

’Then that threat must be snuffed out at the root.’

"..."

There was no one else in the meeting hall now, but still, he refused to bend his ramrod-straight spine.

He didn’t believe he had done anything wrong.

He’d just been...

...unlucky.

...

「Within the Chen Mansion.」

After leaving the meeting hall, the Elders exchanged glances. The Grand Elder was the first to speak, his voice hoarse. "The Patriarch is getting old. The Chen Family needs a new hand at the helm. If Chen Fan can survive this rainy season, I propose... we welcome him back to become the new Patriarch. What do you think?"

"I agree." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The other Elders offered no objections, merely nodding quietly in the rain.

No one mentioned Chen Quan.

In terms of bloodline, Chen Fan was the legitimate firstborn son of the Chen Family.

In terms of strength, a Chen Fan who survived the rainy season would be several times more powerful than Chen Quan, who relied on his mother’s family.

In terms of temperament, Chen Fan had endured for years before seizing this opportunity to break free from his predicament. Chen Quan’s childish scheming couldn’t even compare.

As long as Chen Fan could truly survive the rainy season...

...and was willing to lead the Chen Family.

...

Hundreds of years ago, the Eternal Night descended.

The world underwent heaven-and-earth-shaking changes.

These changes remade the world.

People had even forgotten the continent’s original name, knowing it now only as the Eternal Night Continent.

Dawn broke.

As the Eternal Night receded, another night was over.

"..."

Standing on the City Wall, Chen Fan let out a sigh of relief. There had been no Ghost Tide last night, just a few dozen Ghost Objects charging into the camp every now and then, leaving a litter of Ghost Stones and corpses in their wake.

With the arrival of daylight, he began his usual routine of taking stock of the camp’s assets.

But as he passed the Ghost Fire, he froze. ’Why are there only 45 Ghost Stones in the Ghost Fire?’

’I’m sure I refilled it to 50 yesterday. Normally, it only consumes one Ghost Stone to maintain the flame overnight, and the Arrow Towers barely activated. There’s no way it used up four Ghost Stones. Besides, the second Ghost Fire upgrade is supposed to reduce the energy consumption of City Defense Buildings.’

After a moment,

He realized what had happened.

’It must be the ten-thousand-meter road.’

Yesterday, he had used Copper Pipes to lay a ten-thousand-meter-long road across the Wilderness. He planned for it to serve as a "highway" after the rainy season, a vital link between Jiangbei City and Ping City. The Ghost Fire could flow through the Copper Pipes, creating a one-meter safe zone along their length.

’The Ghost Fire flowing back and forth over such a long distance must have accelerated the consumption of Ghost Stones.’

Having figured this out,

he immediately severed the connection between the camp and the road.

The Copper Pipe network was only in the construction phase; it wasn’t time to activate it yet. Consuming Ghost Stones for it was a complete waste.

There hadn’t been many Ghost Objects last night.

The few that did show up seemed to be fleeing for their lives, stumbling into his camp in a panic. From this, he could infer that the Wilderness had been far from peaceful last night.

「At the edge of the camp.」

"Be careful on the road."

Chen Fan stood at the edge of the camp, watching Zhou Mo on the tricycle with a young boy. The boy had originally been one of Wang Mazi’s followers, but Chen Fan had now assigned him to work with Zhou Mo.

The tricycle’s performance had been tested.

It wouldn’t collapse.

The upgraded Level 4 Arrow Fortress was significantly lighter than an Arrow Tower. Mounting it on the tricycle along with a Ghost Fire would slow it down somewhat, but not significantly.

They could now travel to more distant, defunct stations and bring back resources.

"Okay."

Zhou Mo nodded, his expression resolute. His usual excitement was gone. His brother’s death the day before had taught him that even in daylight, the Wilderness was not absolutely safe during the rainy season.

After seeing Zhou Mo off,

Chen Fan glanced at the others bustling about their tasks and prepared to head back to his Wooden House for some sleep.

Just then—

"Station Chief!"

A shout suddenly came from the Farmland. It was Qi Chong. "It bloomed! The flower Brother Lame Monkey planted—it bloomed!"

"Oh?"

Chen Fan blinked, just then recalling the matter. A smile touched his lips as he walked toward the Farmland to take a look at the flower.

When they had first cleared this patch of Farmland,

Lame Monkey had taken a seed from his quarters and buried it here. The seed had later sprouted and formed a bud, and Chen Fan had even built a small, crude wooden shelter for it.

"It’s quite beautiful."

Chen Fan stood beside the Farmland, smiling as he gazed at the flower that had pushed up from a corner of the plot. Its stem was a crystalline, jade-white, and its peony-like petals were a brilliant, translucent red, as if they had been dyed.

But...

...his smile quickly froze on his face.

’Why... am I seeing a panel next to the flower?’

-

[Exotic Treasure Name]: Human Blood Ghost Flower.

[Exotic Treasure Level]: Green.

[Exotic Treasure Effect]: Matured. Can be used as a special forging material.

-

After a long silence, he quietly pulled a piece of Ghost Skin from his coat—the one dropped by the female ghost. On the panel for this otherwise blank piece of Ghost Skin, one line of text was clearly displayed... "Must be irrigated with the ’Human Blood Ghost Flower’ to be revealed."

He never knew where he was supposed to find a Human Blood Ghost Flower.

He never imagined that what he sought far and wide was right under his nose the entire time.

’But if the seed Lame Monkey found was a Seed-type Treasure, why didn’t a panel appear when I first saw it?’

"Station Chief."

Qi Chong said excitedly, "I’ve never seen a flower like this before. It must be some kind of rare and valuable species. After the rainy season, maybe we can trade it at the Jiangbei Marketplace for some Ghost Stones. It definitely looks special."

"It certainly is special."

Chen Fan paused for a moment, then chuckled. "Give Lame Monkey an extra chicken leg at dinner."

"You get one too."