Chapter 69: “Feeding Time.” |
Chapter 69: “Feeding Time.”
The "Ghostbeast Blood Pattern" etched across the Wall looked, at first glance, like the wild scribbles of a child.
Beneath the apparent chaos, a subtle order lurked—but mostly, the lines tangled in a frenzy.
Its hue was a deep, sinister red.
As though some craftsman had dipped a slant-bladed knife in red clay and carved directly into the stone.
...
The Cave was finally taking shape. Tonight, for the first time in days, they could sleep soundly.
“Dinner’s up!”
Zhou Mo approached the Wall with a broad grin, carrying a tray piled high with food. Crippled Monkey and the others followed, each balancing their own plates as they scrambled to the top.
Qi Chong had managed to stir-fry a few hot dishes and even warmed some flatbread.
But after days of gnawing on cold, dry rations, this felt like a feast.
Eternal Night had fallen, smothering the Wasteland in thick, suffocating darkness. Within the Cave, the Level 5 Ghostfire radiated its glow, pushing back the chaos and carving out a rare pocket of peace.
“...”
Chen Fan sat atop the Wall, gazing at the shimmering light spilling beyond their barrier. He lifted a mouthful of steaming food with his chopsticks, chewed slowly, then tore off a piece of soft, warm bread. Behind him, Zhou Mo and the others laughed and clinked their cups, their voices rising and falling in the night. Chen Fan just smiled quietly, listening in silence.
No matter how powerful one becomes—
Most of life is made of plain, ordinary moments. Only a handful ever shine bright enough to linger in memory.
And right now?
For him, this was one of those shining hours.
The "Earth Dragon Migration" was all but complete. This was his first hot meal in the new Camp—a housewarming banquet shared only by those who had built it.
Zhou Mo and the others drank freely. Chen Fan didn’t care much for alcohol, but he enjoyed watching others savor it.
He cherished this moment.
He thought—
This modest feast was the reward for all the hardship of the past days.
He had carved out a refuge on a Wasteland where none should have survived the Rainy Season. That meant something.
At least, that’s how it felt to him.
Night had deepened.
But tonight, the entire canyon floor was bathed in Ghostfire, and the world beyond the Wall stood out in stark relief. The darkness felt less suffocating; the old fear replaced by a fragile calm.
And then—
Bang!
A black shape plummeted from the cliff, crashing onto the canyon floor below.
The sudden impact shattered their laughter. Instinctively, everyone turned toward the sound.
As if that noise had triggered something—
More shadows tumbled from the cliffs, thudding down like dumplings into a boiling pot. With the Ghostfire illuminating every corner tonight, they saw everything clearly—Ghostbeast corpses rained from the darkness, piling up in broken heaps.
Twenty, maybe thirty bodies.
Not a twitch among them.
Dead as dead could be.
“That damned crocodile again?”
Zhou Mo muttered, “The night’s barely started and it’s already hungry?”
They’d heard from the Station Master that a giant crocodile prowled the canyon each night, hunting.
“...”
Chen Fan’s face remained impassive. He was used to sharing the canyon with the crocodile by now. And with the Level 3 Wall in place, he doubted the beast could even scratch it.
His gaze drifted to the stacks of Copper Pipes piled in the Natural Ghostfire Zone.
They’d spent the last two days digging out the Cave.
No expeditions, no installations. The Copper Pipes—today’s quota—had been forged and stacked outside, waiting for their turn. Once the Cave was finished, they’d lay them as planned.
By his estimation, the crocodile would appear in about the time it took a stick of incense to burn.
Sure enough.
A stick of incense later—
At the edge of Camp, where light met darkness, something stirred.
A massive crocodile’s foreclaw crept cautiously from the night, tapping the ground where the Ghostfire now glowed. It hesitated, as if puzzled: last night, this had been nothing but shadow. Why was it bright now?
After a moment’s probing—
Its hulking body slid into the Ghostfire’s glow.
Its eyes, large as lanterns, fixed directly on Chen Fan, perched atop the Wall.
Man and crocodile locked eyes again.
A long, tense silence.
At last, the crocodile began to move, hugging the ground as it inched toward the heap of Ghostbeast corpses below the cliff.
“...”
Chen Fan’s lips twitched, fighting back laughter. He’d never seen a crocodile scuttle sideways like a crab—two lifetimes, and this was a first. The sight was almost comical.
Perhaps the crocodile sensed his amusement.
It suddenly froze, staring at Chen Fan. Another long, wary standoff. Then, slowly, it resumed its crawl, slinking toward the pile of corpses.
One eye stayed locked on Chen Fan.
The other flicked to the bodies, which it swallowed whole, one after another—no chewing, just gulping them down like a snake.
...
When the crocodile had devoured most of the corpses, Chen Fan finally reached into his coat and produced a Ghoststone. He tossed it over the Wall, sending it rolling across the ground, some twenty meters away. The crocodile seemed almost intelligent—not quite a Ghostbeast, and not hostile, either. Perhaps they could find a way to coexist.
But the sudden motion startled the beast.
It left the last two corpses untouched, spun around, and thundered off toward the canyon passage.
The ground shook with its retreat.
“That thing’s fast...”
Zhou Mo stood and stared after the vanishing creature. “Didn’t think something that big could move like that. Uh, Station Master—why’d you throw it a Ghoststone?”
“I’m feeding it.”
“Wait, you think the crocodile eats Ghoststones?”
“Ninety percent sure.”
Chen Fan shrugged, unbothered by the crocodile’s flight. It was skittish. Give it a few more feedings and it might get used to them. He explained to Zhou Mo, “Qianhou, one of the Ghost King’s Four Lieutenants, carried five chests with him.”
“There were all kinds of Ghost Materials inside—and two whole chests of Ghoststones.”
“That means Ghoststones are valuable to Ghostbeasts, too. During the Rainy Season, they go wild, maybe because the smarter ones are hunting for Ghoststones.”
“It eats Ghostbeast corpses, but it’s not after the meat. It wants the Ghoststones inside.”
“Makes sense.”
Zhou Mo nodded, realization dawning on his face.
Just then—
The crocodile, which had vanished into the night, crept cautiously back into the Camp. It stopped at the edge of the light, lantern eyes fixed on Chen Fan.
A glimmer of confusion flickered in its gaze.
It glanced at the last two corpses lying at the base of the cliff.
After a moment’s hesitation—
It slid down and swallowed the final two corpses, then crawled toward the Wall, belly pressed flat to the ground, never taking its eyes off Chen Fan. There was a flicker of hope in those massive eyes.
In no time, it reached the spot where Chen Fan had thrown the Ghoststone.
Its huge snout hovered over the tiny stone, sniffing. Then it looked back up at Chen Fan—this time, its confusion was stronger, tinged with a hint of anger.
Now, the crocodile was less than twenty paces from the Wall.
For the first time, everyone could see the beast up close.