The permission he set for this Token of Authority was...
To have the city wall of Cave No. 1 retract into the ground.
It was essentially a key.
"Crippled Monkey."
Chen Fan called over Crippled Monkey, who had been waiting at the entrance, and tossed the Token of Authority to him. As Crippled Monkey's fingertip blood also seeped into it, the Token of Authority was activated. With it, Crippled Monkey could pass through the level-3 city wall of Cave No. 1 without any hindrance.¹
"Not bad."
He glanced around and nodded.
The Life Workshop could produce many everyday items and was quite useful. But... this place required a lot of manpower.
The camp was severely short-handed.
He had only eight people.
How could he spare someone to be stationed full-time at this Life Workshop? Better leave this business until later.
After crafting another level-3 wooden house, he instructed, "These clothes and other stuff at the Life Workshop—get someone to move them all to the new wooden house I just built."
...
He walked over to the Altar and inserted his finger into the milky-white liquid within the stone well-like structure. The wound on his fingertip healed rapidly.
This was also an important building.
It saved lives and fortified the city walls.
Currently, it was only level 1.
By any measure, it was inadequate.
Consuming 100 Eerie Stones, he upgraded the Altar to level 2.
「Altar upgraded to level 2. Healing effect enhanced.」
「Please select an upgrade direction.」
「1: Healing effect further enhanced.」
「2: Holy Water stays potent when separated from the Altar, with an expiration period of one month.」²
「3: Consumption reduced when producing Holy Water.」
Instinctively, Chen Fan felt inclined to choose the first upgrade direction, but after a moment's thought, he selected the second direction.
Previously, Holy Water from the Altar would lose its potency once separated, rendering it ineffective for healing.
After choosing the second upgrade direction.
Holy Water could now be stored in porcelain bottles.
If injured while out, one wouldn't need to rush back to the camp; drinking the Holy Water would allow for rapid healing.
This upgrade direction offered greater functionality.
Without further delay.
He consumed another 300 Eerie Stones to upgrade the Altar to level 3.
「Altar upgraded to level 3. Healing effect enhanced.」
「Please select an upgrade direction.」
「1: Healing effect further enhanced.」
「2: Production frequency of Holy Water increased.」
「3: Consumption reduced when producing Holy Water.」
This time, he chose the first upgrade direction: enhanced healing effect.
He didn't need increased production frequency.
Currently, only the city walls of Cave No. 1, the 5 unmanned outposts, and the old camp were connected to this Altar. As long as they weren't all in danger simultaneously, the production rate was definitely sufficient.
Even if the production rate fell short.
What he had to do was build a few more.
Upgrading it to level 4 required 500 Eerie Stones, and... one of the following: Earthheart Springstone,1, Jade Pearl1, Purple Lotus*1, etc. He had never even heard of these things, so upgrading it to level 4 was out of the question for the time being.
But level 3 would suffice in the days to come.
After finishing all this.
The Perpetual Night was about to descend again in roughly a pot of tea's time(15 minutes).
Strolling out of Cave No. 1 and settling his gaze on the "Vehicle Workshop" inside Cave No. 2, he consumed 1,260 Eerie Stones to construct a 21-meter-long level-2 city wall at the entrance of Cave No. 2.
For the upgrade direction, he chose " Blending into the surroundings."
Thus—
The infrastructure upgrade for tonight had already been wrapped up.
The camp had undergone noticeable changes once more.
After returning to its lair to replenish its saliva, the crocodile had marked all the shallow pits Chen Fan had blasted into the cliff during the day. Later, after eating and drinking its fill, it could start digging the caves.
"This guy doesn't sleep at all?"¹
Chen Fan studied, from beneath the city wall, the crocodile lying obediently over there, waiting to be fed. If he remembered correctly, this creature hadn't closed its eyes for days. Why did it seem not to need sleep at all?¹
He could finally rest for a bit now.
Qi Chong was busy cooking, preparing dinner for everyone. Dayu was beside him, helping wash vegetables.
A-Le was lying next to the farmland, taking over Qi Chong's shift, constantly praising the sunflowers in the field.
Zhou Mo, Pockmark Wang, and the others were busy lighting a fire and roasting meat for the crocodile.
Wang Kui was alone in the warehouse, sorting out the Eerie Materials and other items from recent days. He put similar things together so that he could find them easily, instead of having to rummage through a messy pile.
Junior Qiu had gone to see the Life Workshop and was now absorbed in who knows what. Ever since it was built, Junior Qiu had shown great interest in this structure.
Crippled Monkey stood beside the crocodile, holding the God-Slaying Spear, picking its teeth. The creature couldn't do it itself, and a lot of meat scraps had accumulated in its mouth. It was now enjoying the service, its eyes narrowed in pleasure.
Soon...
Night fell.
Darkness enveloped the wasteland as usual.
Even outside the rainy season, when Eerie Creatures hardly ever charged an Eerie Fire, it would still be a bit stressful at a wasteland station after the Perpetual Night descended—nothing was impossible, after all. Yet now, in the rainy season, after darkness fell, their camp was bursting with vitality.
Everyone was busy.
"Being busy is good. Being busy is good."
Chen Fan stretched lazily on the city wall, swept an admiring gaze over the abyss pit outside, enshrouded by the Eerie Fire, and the camp he had built bit by bit. Just then, a somewhat ingratiating voice came from behind.
"Station Master, try this."
Looking over his shoulder, he saw Junior Qiu holding something crafted from Eerie bones... a rocking chair.
"A rocking chair?"
Chen Fan was a little surprised. He took the rocking chair from Junior Qiu and ran his hand over it. The surface was well-polished, as if made of jade. He had indeed seen this on the list of producible items in the "Life Workshop," but the process was extremely complex. He hadn't even considered attempting it.
"I remember the production process for this rocking chair is quite complicated, right?"
"My late father was a blacksmith. I picked up a little from watching him since I was young."
"Station Master, you've been working yourself to the bone for the camp these past days. We've all seen it. But my abilities are limited; I can't be of much help. When I saw the rocking chair could be crafted at the Life Workshop, I wanted to do my part to share some of the Station Master's burden."
"Station Master, won't you try it?"
"Let's try it."
Chen Fan placed the rocking chair on the city wall. The moment he lay down, the exhaustion accumulated over many days was mostly gone in an instant.
Honestly.
He hadn't lain down like this in a long time.
"Not bad."
He couldn't help but smile, patted the armrest of the rocking chair contentedly, and waved at Junior Qiu. "Thoughtful of you."
"Since you're interested in the Life Workshop, get familiar with it in your free time. From now on, you're in charge of the Life Workshop."
"Got it!"
A trace of excitement flashed deep in Junior Qiu's eyes. Suppressing his emotions, he took a deep breath and gave a fist-and-palm salute.¹
"Then, Station Master, please rest. I'll go attend to my tasks now."