Starting to Feel Like Home

"Boom! Boom!..." The ten level-5 cannon towers along the wall continuously blasted deeper into the cave. Torrents mingled with crushed rock surged down along both sides of the wall, pouring straight into the depths of the canyon. Even in the midst of the rainy season, this bustling, energetic scene of pioneering work gave everyone a sense of thriving progress. Humans... always clung to hope. And this cave was their hope of enduring through the rainy season. ... Just like that, they toiled through another full day. With two hours remaining before Eternal Night fell, the cave was nearly complete. Its depth had reached thirty-six meters—spacious enough for their immediate needs as a rear base. They could begin laying out the interior now and gradually expand it further down the line. Quehou and the others could hold out no longer, collapsing onto the wall and gasping for breath. Exhausted... They were utterly exhausted. "Haven't been this tired in ages." Though Quehou's body ached so badly that he could barely move, his eyes shone with deep satisfaction and pride. He loved the feeling of honest hard work; compared to his old days with the Chen family, this was incomparably better. He wasn't afraid of exhaustion—he only feared being useless. "..." Chen Fan stood on the wall, looking back at the expansive cavern opened up behind him, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth. A ten-meter ceiling, twenty meters wide, thirty-six meters deep. Defended by natural barriers on three sides. Even with his level-5 cannon towers, it had taken half a day of continuous bombardment to breach it. Other ghost creatures could exhaust themselves to death and still never smash through these natural cliffs. Once the level-1 wall at the entrance was upgraded to level 2, this place would become an ironclad, absolutely secure rear base. Nothing would be able to break through. Compared to their old camp out on the wilderness, this location provided an immeasurably greater sense of security. The skeletal structure of the Mountain Skeleton Embryo embedded within the ghost fire extended throughout the mountain rock, ensuring the cave carried no risk of a cave-in. The rough framework was finally complete. ... All afternoon, they had focused entirely on clearing out the loose dirt and rubble. They had also positioned a level-5 cannon tower flat on the ground at the entrance, using its level beams of light to slice across and ensure the cavern floor was relatively even. The mountain rock itself was exceptionally dense and hard. As long as the remaining rubble and soil were cleared away, a smooth, solid floor was left behind. This had been a massive undertaking. Even though Quehou and the others had consumed lion's mane mushrooms to boost their physical fitness, their strength had been stretched to the limit. Fortunately, Chen Fan discovered that the Mountain Skeleton Embryo could do more than just stabilize the cave—its extended bone tendrils could be directed to push out crushed rock. With the crew assisting, they had managed to grind through the grueling work. Next came taking stock of the camp's resources. One of the Ghost King's four headmen, Qianhou, had led mourning ghosts to assault the old camp, only to be wiped out entirely, leaving behind a wealth of spoils. Among them were five large chests. Three were packed with ghost materials, natural treasures, and other items they had no immediate use for. The other two chests were filled to the brim with ghost stones. And they were all level-2 ghost stones. Over the past few days, using the level-5 cannon towers to excavate the cave had consumed a substantial amount of ghost stones. Running almost nonstop once Eternal Night receded, they had used up exactly half a chest—amounting to 5,000 ghost stones. A level-5 cannon tower didn't actually consume an absurd amount of energy on its own. However, sustained firing over such a prolonged period took its toll. Firing across two and a half daytime periods meant a single level-5 cannon tower running continuously throughout the day burned through roughly 200 ghost stones. Under normal circumstances, cannon towers would never get the chance to fire for that long; if an attack dragged on that extended, a camp would have fallen long before. The remaining chest and a half still held 15,000 ghost stones. Adding the ghost stones brought from the old camp and those retrieved from the creatures that had plummeted off the cliffs over the past few days, the camp's total resources came to 16,492 ghost stones. Next— construction would begin. First, he dismantled the level-1 ghost fire originally placed near the front of the cave. He constructed a new ghost fire in an alcove at the deepest part of the cavern, spending a total of 163 ghost stones to upgrade it directly to level 4. No qualitative change option appeared this time, but the camp's safe zone expanded to a diameter of 200 meters. This completely enveloped the cavern while also reaching out over part of the canyon pit, connecting directly with the natural ghost fire zone. This alcove was a nook he had carved out specifically for the ghost fire—a compact space just large enough to house the flame, flanked by solid stone on three sides. Once he erected a wall to seal off the opening, no one except him would be able to enter. Although the atmosphere in the camp was currently harmonious, more people would inevitably join down the road. If someone harbored malicious intent and destroyed his ghost fire, all his hard work would go down the drain. The ghost fire was the vital lifeline of an architect; it had to be guarded with the utmost vigilance. He had already made up his mind: This cave would serve as the core area, accessible only to trusted personnel. Any future recruits would be housed in a separate cave carved out on the right-hand cliff. He built a one-meter wall to seal the alcove entrance, and with that, the ghost fire was securely nestled in place. ... Inside the cave. Chen Fan stood on the flat stone floor, gazing at the ghost fire inside the alcove as he pondered. "Might as well push it to level 5..." If the camp's safe zone could expand just a bit more to cover the entire canyon pit, everything would feel much safer. Hesitating no further, thirty level-2 ghost stones shattered from the chest beside him, dissolving into an eerie green glow that surged into the ghost fire. The next instant! A panel popped up before his eyes. — [Ghost fire upgraded to Level 5. Safe zone increased to a diameter of 500 meters. Deterrence against ghost creatures strengthened.] [Please select an upgrade path.] [1: Safe zone increased to 1,000 meters.] [2: Enhance deterrence against ghost creatures.] [3: Slightly reduce crop maturation time.] — There was no qualitative change. However... it gave him exactly what he wanted. He chose the first upgrade path, expanding the camp's safe zone to 1,000 meters across. It was just enough to blanket the entire canyon pit. He understood the mechanics now. If he hadn't chosen the first upgrade path when upgrading the ghost fire to level 3 to expand the safe zone to 200 meters, then the baseline safe zone at level 4 wouldn't have been 500 meters—it would have been 200 meters. ... With the ghost fire properly situated, Chen Fan got back to work. First, he spent 64 ghost stones to build two level-3 stone houses inside the cave for sleeping quarters, selecting the upgrade paths for sound sleep and "Expanded Area: adds optional functional rooms such as a kitchen, toilet, and bathroom." A toilet was definitely needed. This wasn't the open wilderness anymore. They couldn't just relieve themselves wherever they pleased; otherwise, they'd be pissing all over their own home. He spent another 32 ghost stones to erect a level-3 stone house with the upgrade path "Blessed with the Shadow-Projecting Formation: the Lord may view events taking place in any corner of the interior at any time," intending to use it as a warehouse. A warehouse certainly required surveillance. Immediately following that, he placed down a level-2 farmland, a sacrificial tower (non-upgradable), and a level-1 altar in sequence within the cavern. Once the wooden cabins were upgraded to level 3, there was no need to rig up a heating system by hand anymore. The stoves burned warmly, and hot water was readily supplied to the bathrooms. Time trickled by. The cavern interior gradually grew richly furnished. No longer bare and hollow, it was beginning to feel like home.