Brother, You Really Fear Starving, Don't You?

Of course. There was no need for him to explain these finer details to Zhou Mo and the others. Even without an explanation, after spending all these days together, anyone who wasn't blind could tell he was different from ordinary architects—most notably, his construction costs were clearly far lower. Still, that remained mere speculation, and there was no point in spelling it out. Chen Fan manned the cannon tower atop the bunker outside the wall, aiming at the cliff face above Cave No. 1 to blast out several more shallow craters. This would be the crocodile's workload for tonight—assuming the beast didn't get tired. For now, he had no spare ghost stones to craft tier-5 cannon towers. He had plenty of white-grade mourning lanterns—having confiscated over a thousand back then—but ghost stones were running low. He might as well hollow out the holes first to prepare for later. Having finished all that, he glanced over at the crocodile. The creature instantly caught his drift, opening its massive maw and slightly tilting up its tongue, which was pressed flat against its lower jaw. Jets of green fluid shot out one after another, striking with pinpoint accuracy the shallow craters he had blasted with the cannon tower. "Impressive," Chen Fan couldn't help murmuring in admiration. An exquisite targeting mechanism. It was as if the crocodile had been shaped by the Creator solely to bore tunnels. Just then— The crocodile strained to tilt up its tongue again, but no more green liquid emerged. Looking exhausted, it turned back to Chen Fan, scooped out a small depression in the ground with its forepaw, and repeatedly craned its head toward the canyon. He understood. It meant... it had run out of liquid and needed to go home to replenish. "Go ahead." Yet the crocodile made no move to leave. Its belly rippled slightly, regurgitating the starfish-shaped stone from yesterday before swallowing it back down. "Fine, then." Chen Fan gave a helpless chuckle and mounted his horse. "Lead the way. I'll come see your home." The fellow still wanted to gift him a toy in return. In truth, Chen Fan had already received more than enough compensation, but the creature clearly didn't consider that sufficient. Although he had no need for such playthings, he decided to tag along so as not to spoil its mood. Eyes shining with excitement, the crocodile scuttled toward the canyon, frequently glancing back to ensure he was keeping up. Before long, the man, crocodile, and horse arrived at the foot of the mountain at the canyon's exit. By the looks of it, the crocodile's lair was atop the mountain. However, the Skeleton Horse lacked the ability to scale steep peaks. The crocodile clearly realized this as well. It squirmed and wriggled on the ground, swinging its head back and forth, practically begging him to climb onto its back. "..." After a moment's hesitation, Chen Fan dismounted and climbed onto the crocodile's back, leaning forward to press flat against its rock-like carapace and wedging his fingers into the gaps of the coarse scales to anchor himself. The next instant, he felt an eruption of pure brute force. The massive body beneath him charged toward the mountain peak in an apparently clumsy yet overwhelmingly savage manner. Trees toppled along the way—a trail that had long since been carved out. With every stride the giant beast took, Chen Fan could feel the earth-shaking solidity of its impact. The scenery on both sides whipped past in a blur as startled birds took flight. Looking back over his shoulder, he caught his breath. It was even faster than the Skeleton Horse. The stinging pain of wind and rain whipping against his face kept him exceptionally alert. He even felt this crocodile could take the mourning ghost chieftain's lantern head-on and tear the creature to shreds alive! Its colossal bulk brought immense pressure—and an equally profound sense of security. The ascent was blindingly fast. It felt like only dozens of breaths had passed—his thoughts had wandered, and before he realized how much time had elapsed, they were already at the summit. The crocodile brought him to a halt beside a cliff edge. "..." Chen Fan walked to the edge and looked down. The square sinkhole at the bottom was his rear base. This was his first time overlooking the sinkhole from such an angle. Through the hazy rain and mist, he could faintly make out Zhou Mo and the others bustling about at the bottom. "Hey!" Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted toward Zhou Mo and the others moving about below. Yet... his voice was completely drowned out by the roar of the wind and rain. The people below didn't hear a thing. Instead, the crocodile beside him tilted its head and looked at him in bewilderment, as though wondering why he was yelling so loudly at it when they were right next to each other. "Never mind." Smiling, Chen Fan pulled back his gaze and turned toward a hollowed-out boulder nearby. "Is this your home?" The boulder was seamlessly merged with the ground. The crocodile had dug an entrance into its flank that sloped down beneath the earth, with the opening elevated above ground level. Wagging its tail happily, the crocodile led the way, crawling toward the entrance. The entrance looked somewhat crude, but the subterranean space beneath was like an underground palace. The crocodile had carved out numerous chambers along the main corridor. Each time they passed one, it would pause, bobbing its head to let him inspect it thoroughly, just like someone showing a new friend around their secret base. Chen Fan provided plenty of enthusiasm, and in truth, he was genuinely surprised. He had never imagined a crocodile could keep its home... so neatly organized. "Is this your food pantry?" Chen Fan saw a chamber packed with ghost creature carcasses, including a good number that had been roasted—the very batch he had grilled. Evidently, the fellow had carried all the roasted meat from the last feeding back to its den to save for later. "Don't you have plenty of food here? Why were you so desperate the first few times we met, acting like you were about to starve?" This sentence was too complicated. The crocodile couldn't comprehend it. It merely tilted its head in thought for a moment before continuing deeper along the main corridor. "Another pantry." "Three." "Four." "Five..." "Brother, you really fear starving, don't you?" Chen Fan followed quietly behind the crocodile. Along the way, he had already seen five food pantries storing at least several thousand ghost creature carcasses. Moreover, by whatever method the crocodile had used, the temperature inside the storage rooms was low, showing no signs of decomposition whatsoever. Embedded in the walls along both sides of the main corridor and inside the pantries, every few paces, were stones emitting a faint yellow glow that provided illumination. He didn't recognize them. Finally, after passing through several pantries, the view opened up wide before them. They arrived in a cavernous chamber that marked the end of the main corridor. One corner was thickly padded with dry grass and ghost creature pelts, clearly the soft bed the crocodile had prepared for itself, while another corner was piled high with a massive heap of... clutter. Or rather, toys. Among them were starfish-like stones, an enormous, nearly intact fish skeleton, a hoe, and... a rusted broadsword, among other things. All kinds of assorted items. Some were likely salvaged from the ruins of the village. Whatever rare objects could be found on this mountain had been scavenged by this beast and hauled back to its lair. At this moment, it was bobbing its head, guiding him over to the pile of toys to let him pick. "I quite like this hoe. How about I just—" Chen Fan smiled helplessly, intending to pick a toy at random so as not to disappoint the fellow. But mid-sentence, his voice cut off abruptly. Staring at several glowing exotic treasures amidst the pile of toys, he froze in his tracks.