"Station Master."
Zhou Mo sat cross-legged on the floor, wiping the rain from his face, and said hesitantly, "Finding a safe place to develop steadily would indeed be better."
"Only..."
"Although we experienced a major crisis last night, we also gained a lot. The resources we captured can not only rebuild the camp but also build it up further again."
"If we grow ever stronger from fights like this..."
"After defeating the three bosses, we might just be able to confront the Eerie King head-on."
"If we go somewhere else, we'll never have such bountiful gains again."
The camp's losses last night were severe.
At this moment, there wasn't even a single hut to shelter from the rain.
"Mm."
Chen Fan nodded slightly and looked at the others. What was said made sense; fortune favors the bold. Finding a place to avoid the Eerie King would indeed be safer, but they would also miss out on generous hauls like this.
"Zhou Mo, your idea is based on the assumption that the next three bosses come one at a time. What if they come together?"
Wang Kui spoke up, shaking his head to dismiss Zhou Mo's idea. "Could the camp still hold out?"
"I've been thinking about a problem all night."
"Under the Station Master's bosseship, our camp has developed extremely fast. But there's a most obvious flaw: we have room for error. Once we encounter an enemy, we must win."
"If we don't win, we die."
"As long as we lose once, it's game over."
"No one can win forever."
"We need to give the camp enough margin for error, to ensure that even if we lose once, it won't be a fatal blow."
"We can earn a bit less in the short term."
"But as long as we live long enough, from a long-run perspective, it will definitely be more sustainable than this life-gambling style of development."
"I understand what you mean."
"Safe places yield less; unsafe places yield more, but too dangerous."
"So, last night, I was actually thinking about how to solve this problem. Finally, based on the camp's current situation, I came up with a well-rounded solution in theory. Whether it's feasible or not still needs the Station Master's decision."
"Oh?"
Chen Fan looked at Wang Kui, somewhat surprised. He indeed hadn't found a suitable balance between the two. "Tell me."
"Station Master."
Wang Kui met Chen Fan's gaze, took a deep breath to calm his tone as much as possible. He knew this was his moment to shine. If his plan got approved, he would hold a higher station in the camp in the future.
"The current camp has a major drawback ."
"Buildings like farmland and warehouses can only be placed outside the city wall. Once we encounter enemies, they risk being destroyed. There's no way around it, after all, building the city wall is too expensive; we don't have enough Eerie Stones."
"But—"
"This camp can be completely scaled down."
"No farmland."
"No warehouse."
"No Eerie Creature Farm."
"Not even watchtowers or Sacrificial Towers; these are all burdens."
"Only three things are needed."
"City wall, Archery Towers, and Eerie Fire."
"They would be enough to defend against enemies."
"..."
Zhou Mo gave Wang Kui a speechless look. "Did you secretly drink last night, the few bottles of booze I brought back yesterday? Would it be just as well getting rid of people too?"
"That's right."
Wang Kui nodded seriously. "Exactly, get rid of people too. People are also burdens."
"Archery Towers can automatically attack Eerie Creatures that step into the camp."
"During an Eerie Creature invasion, people play little role."
"So—"
He picked up a branch from the ground and gestured on the Eerie-hide map. "If we can find a relatively safe place to get situated, and place logistical buildings like 'farmland' and 'warehouse' there."
"Then build multiple 'unmanned outposts on the wasteland."
"There would only be city walls, Archery Towers, and Eerie Fire to attack Eerie Creatures that enter the unmanned outposts."
"This way, we would be absolutely safe in that base and, though far from the wasteland, can also obtain enough Eerie Stones."
"The unmanned outposts offer a lot of flexibility. We can even create disturbances to attract Eerie Creatures into these outposts."
"It's like... fishing."
"Throwing one fishing net after another out to catch passing Eerie Creatures."
Chen Fan lowered his head to ponder the feasibility of this plan. A simple idea: strip an outpost of all burdens, leaving it with only the defenses.
Not even needing people, so even if the city wall is breached, it doesn't matter.
Equivalent to a large "Animal Trap."
And they would hide in a safe place, avoiding major crises like the Eerie King to develop covertly.
Both safe and rewarding.
Moreover—
He had copper pipes.
He didn't even need to build Eerie Fire.
Connecting the Altar with each unmanned outpost, even if the walls were damaged, he could repair them promptly. Such unmanned outposts could not only rake in Eerie Stones for him every night but also serve the purpose of surveillance.
If unmanned outposts in a certain area had all been wiped out.
It meant either a Flesh-Worm Ghost Eerie Tide or the Eerie King had arrived. If he had a surveillance-capable warehouse in place, he could also know exactly what had happened.
It's like having the camp built far in the rear, but extending the claws into the wasteland.
Most importantly.
This way, if they encounter powerful Eerie Creatures like the "Qian Hou" again, they won't be as panicked. If they can't fight it, they can avoid it; if they can, they can lure it to the rear. Whether to advance or retreat, they could decide at will.
"..."
Wang Kui secretly observed the Station Master's expression nervously, unable to tell from the Station Master's face whether he approved or disapproved of his plan.
He didn't know the specific cost for the Station Master to build structures.
But by paying attention over these days, he roughly had an idea of the camp's total income. For other Architects, it would definitely not be enough to build so many structures, so he guessed that the Station Master's consumption for building must be far lower than that of other Architects.
That's why he proposed this plan.
If it were another Architect, this plan wouldn't be feasible at all.
His initial thought was just to survive the rainy season, but now he had changed. He wanted the camp to become stronger. He, a worker bee in the Wang Clan for 13 years, saw a glimmer of hope to advance for the first time.
Not only survive, but live better.
"Alright!"
Chen Fan spoke up to conclude the discussion. "It's decided we'll relocate. Let's find a safe place to build a secure base. Everyone, suggest where to move. But it couldn't be too far away, as we might not be able to reach it."
Everyone fell silent.
This was indeed a problem.
On the rainy season Rivernorth Wasteland, a safe place was hard to find.
"How about there?"
From the side, Dayu tapped a spot near the northern coast on the Eerie-hide map and said hesitantly, "This is my old village. It's a natural Eerie Fire zone, at the northernmost part of the Rivernorth Wasteland near the sea. I think even if the Eerie King comes to the wasteland, it won't go there, right?"
"And it's not too far; we can definitely get there before dark."
"..."
Chen Fan looked at the point on the map.
He had heard Dayu talk about that natural Eerie Fire zone, surrounded by steep mountains. It had been devastated by Eerie Creatures jumping into the village from the cliffs.
However, he could first build a Level 5 Cannon Tower to blast a huge cave on one cliff face. Then, with the newly acquired "Mountain Embryo Corpse" treasure's reinforcing it, he would only need a city wall at the cave entrance.
This would minimize the cost of city walls.
Over there, they could build a secure base that only had one front to defend instead of all sides.
He made up his mind, looked up at the several people, paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Let's settle on this place."
"Everyone, work harder. Dig out all the Eerie Stones, pack up, and get ready to move."
"Find a place to digest this great harvest."