Chapter 68: “Now That’s What I Call Good Stuff!” |
Chapter 68: “Now That’s What I Call Good Stuff!”
“Wang Kui.”
After wrapping up the day’s work, Chen Fan sauntered along the top of the Wall, turning to Wang Kui with a faint smile. “From now on, you’re in charge of this warehouse.”
“If anything goes missing, I’ll be coming straight to you.”
“Yes, sir!”
Wang Kui sprang to his feet, chest swelling with pride and eyes gleaming with excitement. Warehouse manager? That was no small role. Every resource moving in or out of the Camp would pass through his hands. The significance was obvious.
Thirteen years spent as a lowly grunt, and finally, he’d made it to management.
“While there’s still daylight,” Chen Fan continued, “take some people and move everything we brought from the Old Camp into the warehouse. Don’t worry about sorting it tonight—just pile it in. We’ll sort it tomorrow.”
“Oh, and there’s a kitchen now,” he added. “We’ve all had enough of those hard biscuits the past few days—I’m about ready to gag. See if there’s anything left in the way of ingredients. Let’s get everyone a hot meal.”
“I do.” Qi Chong raised his hand off to the side. “Used to be a chef, back in the day.”
“You really are a jack-of-all-trades—farming, cooking…”
Chen Fan grinned and waved his hand. “Alright, let’s get moving. Hot food before nightfall. Didn’t Zhou Mo say he found a couple bottles of wine back at the Old Camp? Tonight we drink. Consider it a housewarming party.”
“Eat, drink, get a good night’s sleep—tomorrow, we get right back to work.”
“Sounds good!”
A few people on the Wall jumped up at once, racing toward the supplies piled in the Cave, eager to get things organized and start a fire for dinner.
Left alone atop the Wall, Chen Fan finally turned to the main event of the day.
Upgrading the Wall.
He couldn’t upgrade the entire Wall at once; it had to be done meter by meter.
To upgrade a single meter from Level 1 to Level 2 cost fifty Ghoststones. The Wall at the Cave entrance stretched twenty-one meters. After burning through 1,050 Ghoststones—
The Wall reached Level 2.
But… among the sea of identical System Panels, one special panel stood out like a beacon.
“Wall upgraded to Level 2. Structural integrity increased.”
“Please choose an Upgrade Path.”
“1: The Wall’s color will blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape.”
“2: [Qualitative Shift Achieved]: All Walls connected to this segment will gain a slow self-repair ability (Normal grade).”
“3: [Qualitative Shift Possible]: Direction of shift unknown.”
“…”
Chen Fan glanced at the System Panel, then down at the Wall beneath his feet. He’d never been able to afford Wall upgrades before, but the haul from the Mourning Ghosts’ crates had given him an unexpected windfall. He still had more than ten thousand Ghoststones left.
The most obvious change at Level 2 was the Wall’s sturdier, taller frame. According to the Virtual Blueprint, it now stood seven meters high.
It used to be five.
Of course, it hadn’t physically risen yet—he was standing on top, with the mountain overhead. If the Wall suddenly grew, he’d be squashed.
At the Cave entrance, there was a gap between the Wall’s top and the mountain above.
Now, with the Level 2 Wall, he could close that gap completely—align the Wall’s top flush against the mountain, leaving not a single crack. The Gun Towers installed on the Wall would merge seamlessly with it, exposing only their “rectangular firing slits” to the outside.
Unless an enemy struck those slits directly, the towers were untouchable—fully cocooned inside the Wall.
Practically invulnerable.
“Not bad at all.”
Chen Fan grinned in satisfaction, then studied the System Panel more closely. This was only his second time seeing an “already achieved Qualitative Shift” option—and this time, there was even a “possible Qualitative Shift” with an unknown effect.
He didn’t hesitate to skip the first option. If a Qualitative Shift was available, he was taking it.
But the second option didn’t appeal, either. With the Altar and Copper Pipes in place, his Walls already had auto-repair, and as long as he had enough Ghoststones, repairs were much faster than any “slow self-repair” ability.
That left only the third option.
“Time for a bath.”
Instead of making his choice immediately, he headed into the Wooden House inside the Cave for a long-overdue shower—his first in days. After scrubbing away the grime and changing into fresh clothes, he returned to the Wall and looked at the System Panel again.
Clean and refreshed.
The next moment—
“Initiating Qualitative Shift…”
“Qualitative Shift complete.”
“3: All Walls connected to this segment now possess the ‘Thorned Counter-Armor’ effect. Until the Wall’s maximum durability is breached, a small portion of incoming attack strength will be reflected back at the attacker (Normal grade).”
“Now that’s what I call good stuff!”
“A hell of a Shift!”
“A great bath!”
“Fresh clothes!”
Chen Fan broke into a wide grin, repeating “good” to himself four times over. Lady Luck was on his side—he really liked this Qualitative Shift. If only he’d had this effect and a Level 2 Wall back when the Mourning Ghost Leader attacked…
With how tough that thing was, he probably wouldn’t have needed the Gun Towers at all.
Just the counter-damage would’ve been enough to make the bastard pay. Ghostbeasts with ranged attacks were never that sturdy—this upgrade was tailor-made to deal with those freaks.
He’d thought this effect was already impressive, but apparently, it was only Normal grade. The Qualitative Shift from the Ghostfire back at the Old Camp was Rare grade.
He checked the cost to upgrade to Level 3.
Five hundred Ghoststones per meter.
So, for twenty-one meters, 10,500 Ghoststones. He hesitated for just a moment, then decided to go for it. With a Level 3 Wall, the Rear Base would finally be truly secure. He had no idea how powerful the Ghost King was, but if that thing ever came looking for him, a Level 2 Wall probably wouldn’t be enough.
Better safe than sorry.
The very next moment—
Wang Kui, busy hauling crates, suddenly noticed all the Level 2 Ghoststones inside shattering at once, dissolving into a tide of ghostly green light that surged toward the Wall at the Cave entrance. The crates, heavy just a moment ago, instantly became feather-light.
He shot a resentful look at the Station Master’s back atop the Wall.
He immediately understood what was happening: the Station Master was upgrading the Wall.
He’d just been about to move those Ghoststones into the warehouse, and now—gone?
It was like being made the accountant, only for the money to be spent before he could even log it. For some reason, he felt oddly empty inside. Couldn’t they at least have sat in the warehouse for a night, so he could enjoy being manager for a bit?
“No Qualitative Shift at all…”
Chen Fan clicked his tongue in disappointment. Twenty-one meters of Wall, upgraded segment by segment—twenty-one upgrades, every single one up to Level 3.
Not a single Qualitative Shift.
All the Wall’s special effects were supposed to have “shared with connected segments” as a property. As long as you hit one, the whole Wall benefited.
Too bad.
The goddess of luck wasn’t smiling on him this time.
“Well, I guess even the best luck has to cool off sooner or later.”
“Wall upgraded to Level 3. Structural integrity increased.”
“Please choose an Upgrade Path.”
“1: Gain ‘Ghostbeast Blood Pattern’—can absorb Ghostbeast blood within the Camp’s area during combat, slowly strengthening the Wall.”
“2: Gain ‘Vine Pattern’—slowly grows vines to cover the Wall, drawing nutrients from nearby plants to gradually repair damaged sections.”
“3: Gain ‘Earthwater Pattern’—keeps the Wall perpetually damp and slick, making it extremely difficult to climb.”
Twenty-one upgrades, and this was the panel every time.
All patterns, no sharing across segments.
Which meant he could, in theory, choose ten “Ghostbeast Blood Patterns,” ten “Vine Patterns,” and one “Earthwater Pattern.”
Not that it made much difference.
He picked “Ghostbeast Blood Pattern” for all of them.
At a glance, the Wall didn’t look much different, but the Virtual Blueprint showed it could now reach ten meters high, automatically or manually adjusting based on how it was built. The stone bricks were now etched with mysterious markings.
He couldn’t read them.
But damn, they looked good.