"Moreover, if I don't kill those I should, even if I live a secure and easy life, my life would still be dull."
The man in the blue robe continued, not waiting for the woman to reply.
"You are no match for them."
Seeing the man remain unmoved, the woman began to panic. A trace of pleading and helplessness flickered in her pupils as she reached out to grab the corner of his robe. "Stay, won't you? You'll die if you go back."
"A man can't say he can't do it."
"Whether I can win or not, I'll only know after the fight."
The blue-clad man shook his head and smiled. "I came to say goodbye. There aren't many people in this life who have been good to me; you're one of them."
"Then why can't you just forget the past and cherish someone good to you?"
The woman grew anxious, with a premonition that this parting today might be their last.
The man was momentarily taken aback, but as resentment sprang up in the depths of his eyes, he came back to his senses. With a soft chuckle, he brushed the woman's hand aside. "If the past were so easy to forget, then the future wouldn't be worth looking forward to."
"You'll forget it anyway."
"But you remind me of a little fellow I met once. His experiences were a bit like mine when I was young."
"Just a pity..."
"Pity what?"
"A pity that the rainy season in Rivernorth arrived early. From where he was, he likely couldn't have withdrawn from the wasteland in time."
"An unlucky guy. He died in the rainy season before he could get his revenge."
"My luck is better than his. I have to get my revenge."
"I'll go with you."
"Huh?" The man raised an eyebrow, looking at the woman with her resolute expression.
"You be the 'Rivernorth Old Demon,' and I'll be the 'Riversouth Little Demon.'"
"You?"
The man laughed. "Don't you Riversouth people utterly look down on Rivernorth? The way you people put it, Rivernorth doesn't even have a decent city and can only wait to die when the rainy season comes."
"I want to follow you. Riversouth is dull without you."
The woman looked up, staring intently at the man.
"..."
The man gazed into the distance towards Rivernorth and remained silent for a long time before speaking hoarsely.
"Alright, I'll take you with me."
"Winter is a good season for killing."
...
Rivernorth Wasteland.
Nameless Mountain.
It was said that this mountain once had a name long ago, but it gradually became known as Nameless Mountain. However, too much time had passed; there were no historical records but only fragmented tales that had been passed down among the people.
Not many people had lived in this mountain.
Dayu's village was the last to live here.
In the abyss pit.
Chen Fan had returned from setting up the outposts. Five of them had consumed 800 Eerie Stones. The camp now had 1,335 Eerie Stones left.
"Dayu."
He lay on the rocking chair on the city wall, gently rocking, and glanced toward Dayu, who was staring blankly at the crocodile, saying with a smile, "Lately, you've been staring at Heyhey from time to time. Something on your mind?"
Heyhey.
That was the name he gave the crocodile.
From the very beginning, he had always called the crocodile "hey," and the crocodile had come to accept this word as its name. So, he simply named it Heyhey.
Dayu sat nearby, hugging her knees. After a long silence, she couldn't help but whisper, "Station Master, Heyhey is obedient, never harms people. It's also very timid and doesn't even attack Eerie Creatures."
"It only hunts by driving Eerie Creatures off the cliff."
"But..."
"But why did Heyhey drive those powerful Eerie Creatures off the cliff that day... Maybe... my father might not have died..."
"..."
Chen Fan's smile gradually stiffened, and the chair had stopped rocking. He frowned slightly, looking at Heyhey lying in the cave. He had been too busy these past few days and hadn't thought of this.
From this perspective.
Was Heyhey actually Dayu's father's killer?
He didn't want such drama in the camp.
It would spoil the camp's harmony.
He had already seen Heyhey as a member of the camp, a good digger.
After pondering for a moment.
He shook his head, dismissing the speculation.
"This matter probably has nothing to do with Heyhey. It drives Eerie Creatures off the cliff just to hunt. Eerie Creatures that can survive a fall from hundreds of meters high certainly aren't on its menu. Besides, didn't you say those Eerie Creatures fell straight into the Natural Eerie Fire Zone?"
"Yes."
"In that way, everything is clear. The Natural Eerie Fire Zone is in the middle of the abyss pit. If they fell from the cliff, they wouldn't land in the Eerie Fire Zone. Only by taking an intentional leap from the cliff edge could they possibly land in there."
"True."
Dayu tilted her head, thought for a moment, and accepted this explanation. Only then did she realize she had been sitting there in a stupor for a long time and hurried to her feet. "Station Master, I am going to work."
"Go ahead."
After Dayu left.
Chen Fan turned his attention to Heyhey, who had fallen asleep, furrowing his brows in silence. He wasn't making up a reason to fool Dayu; he did believe there was something to what he said. But that event served as a reminder.
He couldn't let his guard down.
Since it could happen once, it could happen again.
He had to be fully prepared.
He looked at the Eerie-hide Map in his hand.
It was a special item, but neither an Extraordinary Treasure dropped by Eerie Creatures, nor a man-made Spirit Treasure.
Its effect was plain.
It would exhibit the rough topography around an area and display all lit "Eerie Fires" within that area in real-time, including "Natural Eerie Fire Zones."
However, it wouldn't show small Natural Eerie Fire Zones. For example, the Natural Eerie Fire Zone in the abyss pit wasn't on the map; there was only one spot of light representing his Level 5 Eerie Fire.
Travelers in the wasteland could determine with an Eerie-hide Map where the nearest place to stay for the night was.
It was like a compass in the desert.
On the Eerie-hide Map, there were no Natural Eerie Fire Zones here on this wasteland. But there were only two such places----- "Rivernorth City" to the east of the wasteland and "Ping City" to the west.
Currently, there were only two Eerie Fires on the wasteland.
One was the Eerie Fire at the old camp.
The other was the Level 5 Eerie Fire behind him.
A moment later.
Tucking the Eerie-hide Map back inside, he lay on the rocking chair, closed his eyes, and began thinking about the future.
...
The sky was darkening.
From the rocking chair, Chen Fan casually asked, "Where are you? It's almost dark."
The next moment.
A voice sounded in his mind.
"Station Master, we've passed the old camp. We're handling the Eerie Creature corpses at the unmanned outposts around the mountain. There are too many of them; it seems a bit difficult to move them all back."
"..."
Chen Fan glanced at the crocodile digging in the cave. After a pause, he walked down the stone steps to Zhou Mo's stone house. With Zhou Mo's sheet, he ambled up to the crocodile and waved it tentatively in front of it.
"Heyhey, find him. Help him bring Eerie Creature corpses back. I'll have meat grilled for you tonight."
The crocodile sniffed the sheet, then crawled with alacrity to the base of the city wall. It looked back at Chen Fan, signaling to open the city wall, clearly already looking forward to the grilled meat tonight.