Chapter 58: "No One Can Win Forever." |
Chapter 58: "No One Can Win Forever."
“Station Master.”
Zhou Mo sat cross-legged on the rain-soaked Wasteland, wiping droplets from his face. He hesitated before speaking. “Honestly, it’d be safer to just find a secure place and focus on quietly getting stronger.”
“But…”
He glanced at the others, then continued, “Last night was a close call, but the spoils we brought back are enormous. With this haul, not only can we rebuild the Camp, we can also take its strength to a whole new level.”
“If we keep fighting like this—using war to feed war—”
“If we can take down the three lieutenants the Ghost King sends, one by one, maybe we really could face the Ghost King head-on.”
“We’ll never see gains like this anywhere else.”
But the losses from last night had been brutal.
“Yeah.”
Chen Fan nodded lightly, glancing around at the others. There was truth in Zhou Mo’s words. Fortune favored the bold—if they kept dodging the Ghost King, it would be safer, but they’d never see another windfall like this.
“But, Zhou Mo, your plan assumes the Ghost King’s three lieutenants will keep coming at us one at a time. What if they show up together?”
Wang Kui spoke up, shaking his head at Zhou Mo’s logic. “Could our Camp withstand that?”
“I’ve been thinking about this all night.”
“Under the Station Master’s leadership, our Camp has grown at breakneck speed. But there’s a glaring flaw: we have no retreat. Every time we’re attacked, we have to win.”
“If we lose, we die.”
“One loss, and it’s all over.”
“No one can win forever.”
“We need to give the Camp some margin for error. Even if we lose a fight, it shouldn’t cripple us.”
“We can accept earning a little less in the short term.”
“But as long as we survive long enough—if you look at the bigger picture—it’s a much healthier way to develop than gambling our lives every day.”
“I see your point.”
“Safe places bring smaller rewards. Dangerous places offer more, but the risks are sky-high.”
“That’s why I spent last night thinking about a solution. In the end, given the Camp’s current state, I came up with a theoretical compromise. Whether it’s doable or not, though, is up to you, Station Master.”
“Oh?”
Chen Fan looked at Wang Kui, a little surprised. He hadn’t found a way to balance those extremes either. “Let’s hear it.”
“Station Master.”
Wang Kui met Chen Fan’s gaze and took a deep breath, forcing his voice steady. He knew this was his chance—if his plan was accepted, his standing in the Camp would never be low again.
“The biggest problem with our Camp right now…”
“All our buildings—farmland, warehouses, everything—are outside the Wall. Whenever we’re attacked, they’re at risk of being destroyed. There’s no way around it; building walls is just too costly. We don’t have the Ghoststones to spare.”
“But—”
“This Camp can be streamlined.”
“No farmland.”
“No warehouses.”
“No breeding grounds, either.”
“Not even watchtowers or sacrificial towers—those are just dead weight.”
“Only three things matter.”
“Walls, Arrow Towers, and Ghostfire.”
“That’s all you need to defend against Ghostbeasts.”
“…”
Zhou Mo shot Wang Kui an incredulous look. “Did you sneak a drink last night? I just brought back a few bottles, and you already finished them off? Why not ditch the people while you’re at it?”
“Exactly.”
Wang Kui nodded, dead serious. “Even people are dead weight.”
“The Arrow Towers will automatically shoot any Ghostbeast that enters the Camp.”
“When Ghostbeasts invade, humans barely make a difference.”
“So—”
He picked up a stick and pointed to spots on the Ghostskin Map. “If we can find a relatively safe spot for our main Camp, we can put all our logistics—farmland, warehouses, everything—inside.”
“Then, out in the Wasteland, we build multiple ‘unmanned waystations.’”
“Just Walls, Arrow Towers, and Ghostfire.”
“Let them attack any Ghostbeast that wanders in.”
“This way, our rear lines are absolutely safe, but we’re not cut off from the Wasteland, and we can keep harvesting Ghoststones.”
“Unmanned waystations are flexible. We can even make noise to lure Ghostbeasts in.”
“It’s like… fishing.”
“Casting nets in the river, catching whatever Ghostbeasts pass by.”
Chen Fan lowered his head, weighing the plan’s feasibility. The idea was simple: strip each waystation down to nothing but offense.
No people needed. If the Wall fell, so what?
It was basically a giant Beast Trap.
They could all hole up somewhere safe, beyond the Ghost King’s reach, and quietly grow stronger.
Safe, but still reaping rewards.
And—
He had Copper Pipes.
He wouldn’t even need to make new Ghostfire.
If he connected the Altar to all the unmanned waystations, even if a Wall was breached, he could restore it in time. These unmanned stations would bring in Ghoststones every night—and serve as his eyes and ears.
If a whole cluster of unmanned waystations was destroyed at once, it meant a Ghostbeast Swarm or the Ghost King himself was on the move. If he built a warehouse and upgraded it for surveillance, he’d even know exactly what was happening.
It was like planting the Camp deep in the rear, with claws reaching out across the Wasteland.
Most importantly—
If another monster like Qianhou appeared, they wouldn’t be caught off guard. If they couldn’t win, they’d simply stay away. If they could, they’d lure it back to the main base. They could advance or retreat at will—the initiative would be theirs.
“…”
Wang Kui watched Chen Fan closely, nervous, but the Station Master’s expression revealed nothing—approval or rejection, he couldn’t tell.
He didn’t know exactly how many Ghoststones Chen Fan spent on construction.
But after keeping an eye on the Camp’s total Ghoststone income these past days, he had a hunch: the Station Master’s costs were far lower than any other Builder’s.
That was the only reason he dared propose this plan.
For anyone else, it would be impossible.
At first, all he’d wanted was to survive the Rainy Season. But now, he wanted more. After thirteen years as a drone in the Wang Clan, for the first time, he saw a glimmer of hope.
He wanted to survive—and to thrive.
“Enough!”
Chen Fan spoke, drawing the meeting to a close. “It’s settled: we’re relocating. We’ll find a safe place and build a secure rear base. Everyone, suggest where we should move. If it’s too far, we might not make it.”
The group fell silent.
That really was the big question.
The Rainy Season covered the entire Jiangbei Wasteland. Finding a truly safe spot wouldn’t be easy.
“How about here?”
Off to the side, Big Fish hesitantly tapped a spot near the sea at the northern edge of the Ghostskin Map. “This was my old village. It’s a natural Ghostfire Zone, the northernmost point of the Jiangbei Wasteland, right by the sea. I doubt even the Ghost King would bother coming all the way out there.”
“And it’s not that far—we can definitely make it before dark.”
“…”
Chen Fan’s gaze lingered on the spot.
He’d heard Big Fish mention that natural Ghostfire Zone before. Surrounded on all sides by steep mountains, the last time it fell was when a Ghostbeast leaped in from a cliff.
But… he could build a Level 5 Gun Tower there first, use it to blast open a massive cave in one of the cliffs, and then use the newly acquired Mountain Remnant Seed to keep the cave stable. That way, he’d only need to build a single Wall at the cave entrance.
That would save a tremendous amount of Ghoststones on construction.
Instead of being surrounded on all sides, they’d only have to defend one front. It could be the perfect, absolutely secure rear base.
Resolved, Chen Fan looked up at the others and, after a moment, smiled.
“It’s decided.”
“Everyone, dig up all the Ghoststones you can, pack up, and get ready to move.”
“It’s time to find a place to digest this windfall.”