"Yes, sir!"

Zhou Mo gripped his Big Saber, took a deep breath, and jumped off the tricycle. He cautiously approached the Wooden House and kicked the door open.

A few breaths later, he returned to the tricycle and hastily reported, "Station Chief, there is indeed a batch of Fake Human Ghost cubs. They can’t even crawl, and their eyes are incredibly creepy."

He couldn’t help but shiver as he spoke.

That scene was truly terrifying.

The moment he entered, he saw countless Fake Human Ghost cubs staring straight at him. He strongly suspected he would be seeing that scene again in his dreams tonight.

"That’s it, then."

Chen Fan looked at the Fake Human Ghosts caught in the Beast Traps outside the camp. They had grown even more frenzied when they saw Zhou Mo rush into the Wooden House. He was beginning to understand what the rainy season was all about.

The rainy season...

’Perhaps it’s the mating season for Ghost Objects.’

If that’s the case, it would explain why Ghost Objects are so aggressive during the rainy season. After all, what creature isn’t aggressive during its mating season? Their territorial instincts would be at their peak, forbidding any other creature from approaching.

This would also explain why Ghost Objects usually avoid Ghost Fire during the dry season, but would charge madly into it during the rainy season.

"Back to camp."

Chen Fan reached out and pulled Zhou Mo onto the tricycle. "Get the men. We’re taking all the Fake Human Ghosts here back with us."

"Capture them alive?"

Zhou Mo was taken aback for a moment. He glanced at the Fake Human Ghosts caught in the Beast Traps not far away. If they were just going to dig out the Ghost Stones, they could do it right now. There was no need to go back to camp for more men.

"Yes, alive."

Chen Fan nodded lightly.

When he first arrived, he had seen a pair of Fake Human Ghosts mating. Normal human reproduction takes nine months of pregnancy, yet the female of that pair had her abdomen swell rapidly right after mating, and she was already on the verge of giving birth.

If this reproductive speed could be exploited, perhaps they could obtain even more Ghost Stones.

...

About the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, just before the eternal night fell, Chen Fan returned to the camp with Zhou Mo, Lame Monkey, and the others. The Fake Human Ghosts were strung together with rope and dragged back to camp.

The safe zone of the camp had now expanded to a fifty-meter diameter.

The space had grown considerably.

He walked to an empty area outside the camp’s City Wall and spent 200 Ghost Stones to build a square enclosure, five meters long and five meters wide, that resembled a Cage. He planned to raise Fake Human Ghosts here.

He had Lame Monkey and the others dig a large pit along the inside of the enclosure’s walls, so the ghosts could be raised in stacked layers.

In total, this trip brought back

adult Fake Human Ghosts

and 37 Fake Human Ghost cubs.

He named this place the "Breeding Ground." For safety, he built a Level 2 Arrow Tower on the Breeding Ground’s wall to ensure the Fake Human Ghosts couldn’t escape. Given their strength, a Level 2 Arrow Tower was more than enough.

Besides, the Fake Human Ghosts couldn’t climb over a five-meter-high wall anyway.

Today’s expenditures

had used up a lot of his Ghost Stones.

He only had 268 Ghost Stones left.

Although he had recouped a few by killing a batch of Fake Human Ghosts, even adding those in, he only had 301 Ghost Stones. The ones he killed hadn’t dropped a single Exotic Treasure.

"Ah Le."

Chen Fan looked at Ah Le, who was standing behind Qi Chong. "From now on, in addition to managing the Farmland with Qi Chong, this Breeding Ground is your responsibility. You need to do whatever you can to make these Fake Human Ghosts reproduce so we can get more Ghost Stones."

"Yes, sir!"

Ah Le roared in affirmation. He looked at the Fake Human Ghosts being herded into the Breeding Ground with sticks by Lame Monkey and the others, his eyes full of excitement for this new challenge. He had to admit... he’d raised pigs for so many years, but he’d never raised a Ghost.

It was all animal husbandry, really.

But depending on who you followed, the things you raised were completely different.

...

After finishing all this, Chen Fan returned to the top of the camp’s City Wall. He gazed at the darkening sky, patiently waiting for the eternal night to fall.

The tricycle with the Level 4 Arrow Fortress mounted on it was parked outside the walls.

It was one of tonight’s defensive measures.

The idea of combining an Arrow Tower with a Vehicle to create a mobile Arrow Tower wasn’t particularly difficult. At least, in his predecessor’s memories, the Chen Family had researched it for a time before ultimately giving up on it. It couldn’t be applied on a large scale.

There were many reasons for this.

For example... the cost.

For him, building a Level 4 Arrow Fortress only cost 180 Ghost Stones, but other Architects would need to spend over 1,000, and they would also need to build a Ghost Fire.

The Ghost Fire needed to be mounted on the vehicle.

When not in use,

it still required a constant input of Ghost Stones to maintain it. After all, the cost for others to build a Ghost Fire was much higher than his, making it difficult for them to use it as a disposable structure like he could.

On top of that, there were other factors, like horse-drawn carriages using horses for power. The horses would bolt in panic upon encountering Ghost Objects, causing the driver to lose control. Combined with the high cost, it was difficult to recoup the investment.

This method was simply not suitable for large-scale application.

But—

for him, these drawbacks were practically nonexistent.

Given enough time, he could even assemble a fleet of Arrow Vehicles and create an economy of scale.

Just then!

Darkness surged from the horizon. The eternal night had fallen.

The sky went dark.

...

Chen Fan and the others stood watch on the City Wall outside the camp.

Meanwhile, Zhou Mo had already crawled into his bed in the Wooden House, ready for sleep. He stared at the empty sleeping mat beside him, where someone had slept just last night. After a long silence, he picked up a pen and wrote in his diary.

Today is the fifth night since the rainy season began.

There is still more than half a month until the rainy season ends.

Er Gou, who was always with me, was killed by a Fake Human Ghost this evening.

Can the camp... really survive the rainy season?

Only heaven knows.

After he finished,

he hid the diary under his pillow and stared blankly at the ceiling of the Wooden House, lost in thought.

...

「Jiangbei City.」

The city was in an uproar tonight.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!"

"Where the hell is the Chen Family’s Honored Guest Elder? My section of the wall can’t hold on much longer! It needs urgent repairs!"

"Where is he?!"

Countless roars and curses echoed from the City Wall of Jiangbei City.

Perhaps it was out of anger, or perhaps to suppress the fear in their own hearts.

The entirety of Jiangbei City, this Natural Ghost Fire Zone, did not lack for light even after the eternal night fell. A massive, golden, eggshell-like barrier enveloped the entire city.

The City Wall, which coiled around the city like a long dragon, was currently facing a severe test.

Arrow Towers positioned on the City Wall continuously fired Crossbow Arrows at the Ghost Objects in the darkness.

...

The Gang Leader of the Wild Wolf Gang stood on the City Wall. He had led his men to the top and now gazed out at the Meat Worm Ghosts in the darkness, which were fearlessly ramming themselves against the wall. Taking a deep breath, his face pale, he pulled a Token from his robes and smashed it onto the City Wall.

Instantly—

the City Wall surrounding Jiangbei City began to glow with a black light. A thick layer of steel plates, covered in strange Array Patterns, seemed to grow out from within the wall as if it were alive, encasing the entire structure.

The desperate situation immediately stabilized.

The City Wall, which had been on the verge of collapse from the mass self-detonations of the Meat Worm Ghosts, was now holding firm once more.

Only then did he roar, his face still a little pale.

"Hold the line!

"The wind can’t stay the same all night! Once the direction changes, this swarm of Meat Worm Ghosts will retreat!"

"Hold on just a little longer, brothers!"

The Meat Worms’ Ghost Tide was known as the most terrifying threat in the wilderness during the rainy season.

Wherever it passed, nothing was left alive.

And tonight,

the Meat Worms’ Ghost Tide had come to Jiangbei City, threatening to dye the world green.