"Boom boom..."
The ten Level 5 Cannon Towers on the city wall were constantly carving the cave deeper and deeper.
Torrents of rocks and dirt slid from either end of the city wall into the pit.
The bustling construction site, even during the rainy season, gave people a feeling that things were flourishing and changing for the better.
Humans...
They always like hope.
And this cave was their hope for surviving the rainy season.
...
Another hardworking day passed like this.
When there was only one shichen left before the Perpetual Night descended, the cave excavation had almost been completed, the depth reaching thirty-six meters. This would be sufficient for the home base for the time being. They could begin arranging buildings. Further expansion would be left until later.
Crippled Monkey and the others could work no more, lying sprawled on the city wall, gasping for air.
They were truly exhausted.
"It's been a long time since I was this tired."
Though he was sore all over and couldn't move, Crippled Monkey felt full of satisfaction and pride as he lay on the city wall. He loved how it felt to do hard labor; compared to his previous days in the Chen Clan, it was incomparably better.
Hard work was nothing; he was only afraid of being useless.
"..."
Chen Fan stood on the battlements, looking back at the vast cave, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
Ten meters high, twenty meters wide, thirty-six meters deep.
On three sides was a natural barrier.
Even with his Level 5 Cannon Towers, it had taken him what seemed like an eternity to blast it open. Eerie Creatures would be exhausted to death before breaking through this natural barrier. Once the Level 1 city wall at the cave entrance was upgraded to Level 2, this would become an absolutely secure home base.
No matter who it is, there would be no exception.
Compared to the old camp out on the wasteland, this place provided a sense of security far more substantial.
The "Mountain Embryo Corpse" placed within the Eerie Fire extended its bone-like structures into the mountain, ensuring the cave had no risk of collapse.
The rough shell was now complete.
...
That afternoon, they had been busy clearing the rubble and dirt inside the cave. A Level 5 Cannon Tower was placed at the cave entrance, its horizontal beam of light ensuring the floor inside stayed level.
The mountain itself was hard.
As long as the residual rubble and dirt were removed from the cave, a flat ground could come into existence.
This was a massive undertaking.
Even though Crippled Monkey and the others had taken the Monkey-Head Mushrooms that enhanced their constitution, they were still far from getting the job done. Fortunately, he discovered that the "Mountain Embryo Corpse" could not only be used to stabilize the cave but also use its extended bones to clear the rubble inside. Coupled with the assistance of Crippled Monkey and the others, they had managed to complete this monumental task.
Next, they began taking inventory of the camp's resources.
"Qian Hou," one of the four bosses under the banner of the Eerie King, had led Mourning Specters to advance on the old camp. After their sheer defeat, they left behind a great deal of resources, which included five large chests. Three of these chests were filled with things like Eerie Materials, natural treasures, and other items, for which they had no use for the time being.
The remaining two chests were packed with Eerie Stones.
And all of them were Level 2 Eerie Stones.
Over the past few days, the Level 5 Cannon Towers had consumed quite some Eerie Stones while excavating the cave. They had been operating almost non-stop since the Perpetual Night receded, burning through exactly half a chest of Eerie Stones, 5,000 pieces, that is.
Actually, the consumption of a Level 5 Cannon Tower wasn't high.
But firing for so long was another story.
They had kept firing for only two and a half days. That meant a Level 5 Cannon Tower devoured roughly 200 Eerie Stones per full day of operation.
Normally, a Cannon Tower never got to operate for so long. When it did, the camp would be on the verge of falling.
There were still 15,000 Eerie Stones left in the two chests.
Counting the Eerie Stones brought from the old camp and those collected from Eerie Creatures falling off the cliff in recent days, the camp's assets now amounted to 16,492 Eerie Stones.
Next -
Time for construction.
First, the original Level 1 Eerie Fire placed at the cave entrance was scrapped.
A new Eerie Fire was forged and arranged in a recess at the deepest part of the cave. A total of 163 Eerie Stones were consumed to upgrade it to Level 4. This time, no qualitative change options appeared. The safe zone had expanded to a diameter of 200 meters, covering the entire cave and also a portion of the pit.
It had connected with the natural Eerie Fire zone.
This recess had been specially excavated for the "Eerie Fire" — a small space that just fit the Eerie Fire, with the mountain on three sides. As long as a city wall was built to seal the opening, no one but he could enter.
Admittedly, the atmosphere within the camp was currently harmonious.
But in the future, the camp was bound to have more members. If someone harbored malicious intent and destroyed his Eerie Fire, all his efforts would be in vain. The Eerie Fire was the lifeline of an Architect and must be strictly guarded.
He had already decided.
This cave would be the core area in the future, accessible only to core personnel.
Future recruits would be housed in another cave to be excavated on the right cliff.
Another one-meter-long city wall was built to block this recess. The Eerie Fire had been secured now.
...
Inside the cave.
Chen Fan looked at the Eerie Fire in the recess, deep in thought.
"Better upgrade it to Level 5..."
It would be much more convenient if the safe zone were expanded large enough to cover the entire pit.
He hesitated no longer.
Thirty Level 2 Eerie Stones shattered, transforming into an eerie green light that surged from the chest beside him into the Eerie Fire.
The next moment!
A panel popped up before him.
「Eerie Fire upgraded to Level 5. The safe zone increased to a diameter of 500 meters. Deterrence against Eerie Creatures strengthened.」
「Please select upgrade direction.」
「1: Increase the safe zone to 1,000 meters.」
「2: Strengthen deterrence against Eerie Creatures.」
「3: Shorten crop maturation time.」
No qualitative change.
But...
It still suited his wish. He chose the first upgrade direction, increasing the safe zone to 1,000 meters.
It just covered the whole pit.
Now it dawned on him that if he hadn't chosen the first upgrade direction to increase the safe zone to 200 meters when the Eerie Fire reached Level 3, then the safe zone for the Eerie Fire at Level 4 wouldn't have been 500 meters; it would have been 200 meters.
...
With the Eerie Fire settled, Chen Fan continued his work.
First, he used 64 Eerie Stones to build two Level 3 Stone Houses within the cave for rest. The upgrade directions chosen were "Peaceful Sleep" and "Increased area; optional functional rooms like kitchen, toilet, and bathroom."
A toilet was necessary.
This wasn't the wilderness.
They couldn't relieve themselves anywhere anymore. No matter where they peed here, they were peeing in their own home.
He then consumed 32 Eerie Stones to build a Level 3 Stone House and chose the upgrade direction of "Fitted with 'Shadow Recording Formation,' allowing the Lord to observe events in every corner of the house at any time". It was meant as a warehouse.
A warehouse had to be under surveillance.
Immediately after.
Level 2 Farmland, Sacrificial Tower (non-upgradable), Level 1 Altar – these structures were also built one by one and positioned within the cave.
After upgrading the Wooden House to Level 3, there was no need to handcraft a heating system. The stove offered a cosy warmth, and the bathroom had a hot water supply.
Time flowed by.
The cave gradually became more furnished, no longer just bare walls, looking more like a human habitation.