BOOM... BOOM...

The ten Level 5 Cannon Towers on the City Wall continuously blasted away, deepening the cave.

A torrent of rock and debris flowed down both sides of the City Wall to the bottom of the gorge.

The bustling scene of development, even in the middle of the rainy season, gave off a feeling of thriving prosperity.

Humans... always cling to hope.

And this cave was their hope for surviving the rainy season.

...

And so, another day of hard work passed.

With one hour remaining until the eternal night fell, the cave was more or less complete. It had reached a depth of thirty-six meters, which was temporarily sufficient for their rear base. They could begin setting things up now and expand it further later.

Lame Monkey and the others couldn’t hold on any longer. They collapsed onto the City Wall, gasping for breath.

Exhausted...

They were truly exhausted.

"I haven’t been this tired in a long time."

Although Lame Monkey’s body ached so much he could barely move as he lay on the City Wall, his eyes were filled with satisfaction and pride. He loved the feeling of hard work; it was so much better than his old days with the Chen Family.

He wasn’t afraid of being tired, only of being useless.

...

Chen Fan stood on the City Wall, a smile on his face as he gazed at the wide-open cave behind him.

Ten meters high, twenty meters wide, and thirty-six meters deep.

Protected by natural barriers on three sides.

It had taken him half a day to blast through it with Level 5 Cannon Towers; other Ghost Objects could try until they died and never break through his natural defenses. Once the Level 1 City Wall at the cave entrance was upgraded to a Level 2 City Wall, this place would become an absolutely secure rear base.

No one would be able to get in.

Compared to their old camp in the Wilderness, this place certainly provided a much greater sense of security.

The bone structure of the Mountain Remains Embryo, placed within the Ghost Fire, extended into the mountain itself, ensuring there was no risk of the cave collapsing.

The rough structure was complete.

...

This afternoon, they had focused on clearing the rubble and dirt from inside the cave. They also placed a Level 5 Cannon Tower on the ground at the entrance, its parallel beams of light firing out to ensure the cave floor was relatively flat.

The mountain itself was extremely hard.

Once the remaining rubble and dirt inside were cleared, they would have a flat floor.

It was a massive undertaking.

Even with the physique-enhancing Monkey Head Mushrooms, it was too much for Lame Monkey and the others. Fortunately, Chen Fan discovered that the Mountain Remains Embryo could not only be used to stabilize the cave but also to clear the rubble with its extending bones. With the help of Lame Monkey and the others, they managed to chew through this massive project.

Next, it was time to take stock of the camp’s resources.

Qian Hou, one of the Ghost King’s four great leaders, had led the Mourning Ghosts in an attack on the old camp. After his entire army was annihilated, they left behind a trove of resources, including five large chests. Three of them were filled with Ghost Materials, Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, and other things they couldn’t use for now.

The remaining two chests were filled with Ghost Stones.

And they were all Level 2 Ghost Stones.

The Level 5 Cannon Towers had consumed a significant number of Ghost Stones while excavating the cave over the past few days. Operating almost nonstop since the eternal night receded, they had used up exactly half a chest of Ghost Stones, which amounted to 5,000.

The energy consumption of a Level 5 Cannon Tower wasn’t actually that high.

But the cost added up after firing continuously for so long.

They had been firing for two and a half daytime periods, which meant a single Level 5 Cannon Tower consumed roughly 200 Ghost Stones to operate continuously for one daytime period.

Normally, a cannon tower would never have the chance to operate for so long. If it did, the camp would have been breached long ago.

The remaining one and a half chests held another 15,000 Ghost Stones.

Adding the Ghost Stones brought from the old camp and those found on the cliffs these past few days, the camp’s total resources came to 16,492 Ghost Stones.

Next—

It was time to build.

First, he scrapped the Level 1 Ghost Fire that had been placed at the front of the cave.

He built a new Ghost Fire and placed it in an alcove at the deepest part of the cave. He spent a total of 163 Ghost Stones to upgrade it straight to Level 4. This time, there was no qualitative transformation option. The camp’s range expanded to a 200-meter diameter, enveloping the entire cave and even covering a portion of the Deep Pit in the gorge.

It connected to the Natural Ghost Fire Zone.

He had specifically carved out this alcove for the Ghost Fire. The small space was just right for it, surrounded by the mountain on three sides. All he had to do was build a City Wall to seal the entrance, and no one but him would be able to get in.

Although the atmosphere in the camp was currently harmonious...

...the camp’s population would surely grow in the future. If someone with malicious intent were to destroy his Ghost Fire, all his efforts would go down the drain. The Ghost Fire was an Architect’s lifeline and had to be heavily guarded.

He had already made up his mind.

This cave would be the core area from now on, accessible only to core personnel.

Any new people recruited to the camp would be housed in another cave carved into the cliff on the right.

He built another one-meter-thick City Wall to block the alcove, properly securing the Ghost Fire.

...

Inside the cave.

Chen Fan stood on the ground, looking at the Ghost Fire in its alcove and pondering.

’I should upgrade it to Level 5...’

’It would be much better if the camp’s range was a little bigger, enough to cover the entire Deep Pit in the gorge.’

He didn’t hesitate.

Thirty Level 2 Ghost Stones from the chest beside him shattered, transforming into an eerie green light that flowed into the Ghost Fire.

The next moment!

A panel appeared before him.

-

"The Ghost Fire has been upgraded to Level 5. The safety zone has increased to a 500-meter diameter. Its deterrent effect on Ghost Objects has been enhanced."

"Please select an Upgrade Direction."

"1: Increase the safety zone to a 1000-meter diameter."

"2: Enhance the deterrent effect on Ghost Objects."

"3: Slightly reduce the maturation time of crops."

-

There was no qualitative transformation.

But...

...it was just what he wanted. He chose the first Upgrade Direction, expanding the camp’s safety zone to 1,000 meters.

It perfectly covered the entire Deep Pit in the gorge.

He understood now.

If he hadn’t chosen the first Upgrade Direction to increase the safety zone to 200 meters back at Level 3, the base safety zone at Level 5 wouldn’t have been 500 meters—it probably would have been 200 meters instead.

...

The Ghost Fire was now in place.

Chen Fan got back to work.

First, he spent 64 Ghost Stones to build two Level 3 Stone Houses in the cave for resting. For the Upgrade Direction, he chose "Restful Sleep" and "Increased Area, with optional rooms such as kitchen, toilet, and bathroom."

Toilets were a necessity.

This wasn’t the Wilderness.

They couldn’t just relieve themselves anywhere anymore; they’d be peeing in their own home.

He spent another 32 Ghost Stones to build a Level 3 Stone House to be used as a Warehouse, choosing the Upgrade Direction: "Imbued with ’Shadow Array,’ allowing the Lord to view any corner of the room at any time."

A warehouse needed to be monitored.

Then,

A Level 2 Farmland, a Sacrificial Tower (non-upgradable), and a Level 1 altar were also built and placed inside the cave one by one.

Once upgraded to Level 3, the Stone Houses no longer needed a manually built heating system. The furnace burned extremely warm, and the bathroom even had a hot water supply.

Time trickled by.

The cave gradually filled out, no longer bare and empty. It was starting to feel like a home.