After Crippled Monkey left, Chen Fan got up and began to inspect what was inside the shack.
He had sent Crippled Monkey to solicit customers with a sliver of hope, but deep down, he knew it was useless. It was almost dark; travelers in the nearby wasteland would have already found a Station to settle in for the night.
Since this Station had run for so long, perhaps the previous Stationmaster had left behind some Eerie Stones. But he turned the entire hut upside down without finding a single stray Eerie Stone.
The interior of the hut was extremely rudimentary.
A wooden bed.
Enough dry rations and water for two people for three or four days, a table, a chair, and nothing else.
Truly at the end of their rope.
"..."
Seated in the chair, Chen Fan kept silent for a long time before finally making up his mind. He noticed a small earthen mound nearby. Standing on it would provide a better view. After the sun rose tomorrow, he could go to the mound to solicit customers. Perhaps he could attract some passing travelers.
This might cause dissatisfaction with nearby Stations.
But the "Chen Clan" wasn't a small one. The Chen name alone should be enough to intimidate the others. And if it wasn't, there was no other way. Death was already nipping at his heels; if he kept hesitating, he might as well just kill himself.
Right at that moment—
He suddenly felt a sense of ominous foreboding.
Instinctively, he pushed open the hut door and looked into the distance. Sure enough... a dense darkness was rapidly sweeping in from the horizon, like a bloodthirsty monster devouring the twilight.
Nightfall in this world wasn't a gradual shift from light to dark.
It was a rapid alternation.
Like pouring a jar of ink onto white paper.
And after darkness descended, countless Eerie Creatures would appear within it.
"Crippled Monkey!"
It was his first time seeing this phenomenon. His expression shifted a bit, and he instinctively wanted to call Crippled Monkey inside. But there was no sign of Crippled Monkey outside. After scanning the area, he spotted Crippled Monkey, currently stumbling and shuffling towards the hut from the wilderness!
A full hundred meters away.
But Crippled Monkey was, after all, crippled, and seemed injured. He shuffled along sluggishly. At this rate, he definitely wouldn't make it to the hut before the darkness engulfed him.
And behind Crippled Monkey, following about a step away, was a middle-aged man in a blue robe, his hands clasped behind his back. His pace was unhurried, and his eyes held a flickering smile as he trailed Crippled Monkey, as if unafraid of the dense darkness about to sweep over them not far away.
"Hah..."
Chen Fan took a deep breath, his expression grim as he assessed his physical condition and estimated the remaining time. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he dashed out of the hut and sprinted towards Crippled Monkey!
The moment he bolted a few meters away from the hut, that lingering sense of fear instantly surged in him. He could even smell the thick scent of blood in the air, as from behind came a faint, creepy sensation!
Gripped by fear, he even ran faster than usual. Upon reaching Crippled Monkey, he had no time to speak. Immediately, he hoisted Crippled Monkey onto his shoulders. Thanks to Crippled Monkey being skinny, though strenuous, he could manage.
"Shit!"
Chen Fan couldn't help but roar, as if venting his emotions or fighting against the unknown fear. He threw an instinctive, sidelong glance at the dense darkness rapidly sweeping in from the horizon. With hardly any time to pay attention to the traveler Crippled Monkey had solicited, he carried Crippled Monkey and desperately sprinted back towards the hut straight away!
One step...
Two steps...
He had never felt that a hundred-meter distance was so vast.
Finally!
Just as he felt the palpable darkness brush past his back, he rushed into the "golden ring of light." His body, out of control, crashed onto the ground. Gasping for breath, eyes filled with fear, he struggled to get up and watched all before him.
Darkness had enveloped the Station.
The light from the "Eerie Fire", like a transparent golden eggshell, encased the entire wooden hut, casting a golden ring of light on the ground.
Outside the ring of light was a dense, impenetrable darkness. No moonlight, no clouds. Only an occasional eerie sound could be heard, and pale, sharp claws flashed by in the darkness now and then.
The Perpetual Night... had descended.
And at this moment—
He noticed that the middle-aged man in the blue robe, who had been following Crippled Monkey, was now standing within the golden ring, surveying the Station.
"Hah..."
Chen Fan took a deep breath. The moment he saw Crippled Monkey appear outside the safe zone, he knew Crippled Monkey must have risked his life to solicit customers from the mound. The view was good enough there. But now wasn't the time to go into this. He got up, calmed himself, and then looked at the blue-clad man, speaking solemnly,
"This is Station No. 37 of the Rivernorth Chen Clan."
"Non-members of the Chen Clan must pay one Eerie Stone per night. If you are a member of the Chen Clan or an ally, please show the Rivernorth Chen Clan pass token."
He could tell the man before him was no ordinary person.
"Oh, bravo."
The blue-robed man took out an Eerie Stone from his chest and flicked it towards Chen Fan, a smile on his face. "Seeing you reminds me of the days I struggled in the past. Once upon a time, I fought just as hard as you, risking life and limb for a single Eerie Stone."
"Does this Station only have one hut?"
"Yes."
Chen Fan nodded. "This is an ordinary Station."
The man offered a wordless nod and simply turned to enter the wooden hut, closing the door behind him.
...
Only after the man strode into the hut did Chen Fan strain to suppress his inner excitement. He could feel his heart pounding wildly, not just because he had earned an Eerie Stone, but more so because...
His golden finger had arrived!
The moment the man flicked that Eerie Stone to him, he felt a surge of warmth rapidly flowing through his body, forming an ancient bronze panel deep in his mind.
「You have obtained one Eerie Stone.」
「Perpetual Night Lord panel activated.」
「You can upgrade, construct, and strengthen various buildings within your domain at the expense of Eerie Stones.」
「Existing buildings within the current domain...」
「Level 1 Eerie Fire」: Safety diameter 10 meters. Upgrade requires 10 Eerie Stones.
「Currently available to construct: 5 types of basic buildings, 1 type of special building...」
「Level 1 Animal Trap」: Can inflict certain damage on low-level Eerie Creatures. Construction cost: 2 Eerie Stones.
"Hah..."
With the Eerie Stone tightly in his grip, Chen Fan swung his gaze toward the dense darkness outside the ring of light as he gulped in large mouthfuls of cold air. He looked rather disheveled at the moment, covered in dried grass, but from his eyes an intense gleam was bursting out!
He knew he now possessed the key to surviving in this world.
But...
It was only a key. How long he could survive depended on how he used this key!
Immediately after—
With hardly any hesitation, he walked to the "Eerie Fire." Three Eerie Stones lay quietly within the flames.
Two of them were still intact.
The other was somewhat dim.
Normally, these three Eerie Stones would be enough for him to spend three nights in the wasteland.