After waking up, Chen Fan quickly washed up, then stood at the door of the wooden hut, gazing out at the drizzling rain.
The rain wasn't too heavy today.
In his understanding, the rainy season meant more rainfall, but in this world, it represented 24-hour nonstop rain, with only variations—sometimes a drizzle like this, and sometimes a heavy downpour.
"..."
He looked at the cracked ground outside the hut.
Despite several days of rain, there was no sign of flooding. The ground remained dry and cracked, with narrow, deep fissures resembling the cracks on a farmer's feet. They seemed like bottomless maws, swallowing all the rainwater.
There wasn't even any standing water.
In his memory, the weather in this world was quite normal outside of the rainy season. However, the continuous rainfall was clearly abnormal. Especially when it arrived early, the eerie creatures often became unusually irritable.
Without dwelling on it further, he turned his attention to the two remaining Extraordinary Treasures in his hands. These were left behind by the Eerie Tide of Flesh-Worm Ghosts from two days ago—three in total. The other Extraordinary Treasure was the building module blueprint "Copper Pipe."
The one in his hand was a miniature knife, like a keychain.
Extraordinary Treasure Name*: Big Blade.
Extraordinary Treasure Grade: White.
Extraordinary Treasure Effect: Deals considerable damage to low-level Eerie Creatures.
"..."
Chen Fan stared at the Extraordinary Treasure in his hand, his brow slightly furrowed. This wasn't the first time he had obtained a weapon-type Extraordinary Treasure. For instance, the spear carried by Crippled Monkey was also a weapon-type Extraordinary Treasure.
However, the name of Crippled Monkey's Extraordinary Treasure sounded exceptionally formidable—"God-slaying Spear."
Why this Extraordinary Treasure...
Big Blade.
So simple?
And with no special effects either. Anyway, the God-slaying Spear changed size at will.
Forget it.
He set the Extraordinary Treasure aside, intending to give it to Zhou Mo when he returned. After all, it was a weapon-type Extraordinary Treasure, and the damage it could inflict on Eerie Creatures was greater than ordinary weapons.
As for the other Extraordinary Treasure, it was more unusual.
Tiny balls wrapped in a thin film—a seed-type Extraordinary Treasure.
Extraordinary Treasure Name*: Eerie Flesh Mother-Child Seed.
Extraordinary Treasure Grade: Green.
Extraordinary Treasure Effect: Must be planted in a "Level 2 Farmland." Maturation period is seven days. After maturation, it produces mother and child fruits. If two individuals each consume one, they can communicate telepathically within a hundred miles. The effect lasts for one month.
Planting Conditions: Water with Eerie Creature blood every two shichen(1 shichen equals 2 hours), and fertilize with Eerie Creature corpses.
"A good item."
Chen Fan quietly tucked the seed into his pocket. This Extraordinary Treasure solved a major problem he was currently faced with—the lack of means of communication. For example, he had no way to contact Zhou Mo, who was out on duty.
The planting conditions were a bit troublesome, though.
Someone would need to be assigned to watch over it regularly.
But that was fine.
He had the perfect pair to handle it. Qi Chong and A'le could take turns keeping watch, perfectly taking care of it.
This was the first green-grade Extraordinary Treasure he had obtained.
Its effects were also better than he had imagined.
The matured Eerie Flesh Mother-Child Fruits would likely be a hot commodity even in the Rivernorth Marketplace.
...
Leaving the wooden hut, he immediately noticed changes on the city wall. A simple shack made of wooden planks had been added, with a few discarded clothes draped over the roof. It wasn't large, but it could provide some shelter from the rain.
He had instructed Qi Chong and A'le to build it before he went to sleep.
It looked decent.
Otherwise, standing guard in the rain every night, anyone would break down—they were not made of iron.
"Station Master."
Chen Fan walked outside the city wall to the camp's periphery, where Qi Chong, who had been busy in the farmland, rushed over. "Everything's been harvested."
"Ten Monkey Head Mushroom seedlings produced ten Monkey Head Mushrooms."
"Eight Eerie Stone vein plants produced eighty Eerie Stones."
"All placed in the warehouse."
"Hmm."
Chen Fan nodded slightly and walked to the warehouse outside the camp. Pushing the door open, he saw a neat row of Monkey Head Mushrooms and a mound of Eerie Stones on the shelves. The yield wasn't huge. He picked up a Monkey Head Mushroom and brought it to his nose, sniffing lightly.
He took a bite.
The earthy flavor mixed with sweetness assailed his mouth.
"Oh?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Fan's eyes. Soon, he finished the entire Monkey Head Mushroom. The taste was surprisingly good. Most importantly, it felt warm in his mouth, like a hot flow, with none of the rawness of uncooked food.
And after swallowing, he could somehow sense a slight enhancement in his physical constitution.
Truly excellent.
There were nine more.
The camp happened to have ten people.
"Take the remaining nine and distribute them. One for each. The rain will continue for a while, and enhancing physical constitution can reduce the chance of illness."
The insignificant constitution improvement wouldn't have much impact on combat prowess, but it could lower the probability of falling ill.
Chen Fan glanced at the eighty Eerie Stones on the shelves, then took the "Eerie Flesh Mother-Child Seed" from his pocket and handed it to Qi Chong. "I'll upgrade the farmland to Level 2 in a bit. From now on, you and A'le will take turns looking after these seeds."
"They're quite delicate."
"They need to be watered with Eerie Creature blood every two shichen(1 shichen equals 2 hours)."
"Crippled Monkey buried quite a few Eerie Creature corpses in the ground. Dig some up when needed."
"Understood!"
Qi Chong replied enthusiastically, carefully taking the film lump with both hands and cradling it in his palms.
"..."
Chen Fan gave Qi Chong a slightly odd look. Why had his attitude toward farming suddenly become so positive?
Just yesterday, he could clearly sense that Qi Chong wanted to go on missions like Zhou Mo and was somewhat resistant to farming. He had been planning to talk to Qi Chong later to ease his aversion to farming. How had that reluctance vanished today?
It was hard for him to come around in a short time.
Had someone spoken to Qi Chong?
He glanced at the bearded, rugged man, A'le, following Qi Chong, nodded thoughtfully, and then patted Qi Chong on the shoulder with a smile.
"Work hard."
"In the future, we'll have more farmland. You'll look back fondly on how relaxed things are now."
"Heh."
Qi Chong grinned. "Don't worry, Station Master. I'll make sure this land is perfectly cared for!"
"Go ahead."
...
Chen Fan walked to the edge of the farmland in the drizzling rain and consumed ten Eerie Stones to upgrade it to Level 2.
A panel appeared before him.
Farmland upgraded to Level 2.*
This structure has no upgrade directions.
"It seems not all structures have upgrade directions to choose from."
Without another word, he looked at the farmland before him. After the upgrade, the soil had changed from yellow to black, appearing noticeably more fertile.
The farmland was small, but he didn't have many seeds. For planting just over a dozen seeds, this patch of land was more than sufficient.
...
After finishing all this, he walked to an open area outside the camp.
With the "1.0 Heating System" in place, he had slept relatively comfortably during the day, as the room was much warmer.
But...
After all, the hot water in the copper pipes didn't flow. He had been awoken twice by the cold, getting up to replace the hot water in the copper pipes.
It was quite troublesome.