"Our ancestors really knew what they were talking about."
"With more hands, the work is indeed lighter."
With only an incense stick's time (half an hour) before Perpetual Night descended.
Outside the camp, in the drizzling rain, Chen Fan gazed at the crude and rickety... "car" before him, sighing long with emotion. After everyone in the camp had been mobilized, within the span of about a shichen, the world's first car had come into existence.
The bone of a Bamboo-Pole Eerie Creature served as the framework for the drive shaft.
Several planks were nailed together to form the body of the vehicle.
There was no shell, much less windows.
Just a single plank about 30 centimeters thick.
Thrusting out from the center of the plank was a sturdy, roughly 20-centimeter-tall copper pipe that had been cut down to less than half its original height, lying flush with the surface. A "Spike Trap" wrapped in "monkey pelt" fitted at the base of the copper pipe, serving as the power source—the "Spike Trap Engine."
Besides—
There were several gears carved from "mantis arms" placed beneath the plank. They were connected via the drive shaft to four wooden wheels wrapped in "monkey pelt".
And in the center of the plank, right above the "engine," was a thinner, longer copper pipe that functioned as the control lever.
As long as this copper pipe was pressed downward by hand, the Spike Trap would trigger.
The drive shaft would transfer the force generated by the Spike Trap's activation, converting it into rotational motion for the wheels through the gears, thereby propelling the vehicle forward.
But...
"..."
Chen Fan's lips twitched. It was just too rudimentary. At this point, its speed was unknown, and he couldn't vouch for its sturdiness either. It might fall apart as soon as it started moving, or it might hold up initially only to break down halfway after leaving the camp.
"Zhou Mo, give it a try."
"On it!"
...
Zhou Mo showed not a trace of fear in his eyes. Instead, he eagerly jumped onto the plank. Under the watchful eyes of Crippled Monkey and the others, he slowly gripped the slender copper pipe the Station Master had called the "control lever."
Then he thrust it downward fiercely.
Instantly!
The Spike Trap was activated.
The force traveled along the drive shaft to the gears, setting the wheels in motion.
The vehicle... moved.
Zhou Mo's eyes lit up. Feeling the Spike Trap below quickly retract, he thrust the slender copper pipe downward again. The force once again traveled along the drive shaft to the wheels, making them spin rapidly.
One thrust, two thrusts, three thrusts.
The wheels began to spin faster and faster.
This crude wooden car sped out of the camp, racing across the desolate wilderness outside. The pelt-wrapped wooden wheels adapted quite well to the terrain of the wilderness.
"Whoo-hoo!!"
Everyone watched as Zhou Mo gradually disappeared into the distance and heard his excited shouts.
"So fast?!"
Crippled Monkey muttered with a hint of disbelief in his eyes, "It's much faster than an ordinary camel, even almost as fast as a horse. And... it doesn't tire you out."
"Well, it's still a bit tiring."
Chen Fan sighed helplessly. Activating the Spike Trap required constant poking of the control lever. It was physical labor—anyway, he couldn't poke it too many times himself.
Just then—
From the distance came Zhou Mo's panicked shout, "Station Master, how do I stop?!"
Only half a stick of incense's time(15 minutes) remained before the Perpetual Night descended. Traveling too far at this point meant certain death.
"Let go!"
"It's still moving after letting go!"
"Just wait."
The wooden car gradually came to a stop. Zhou Mo shouted again through the rain, "Station Master, how do I turn around?"
"Jump off, lift the car, and turn it to face the camp."
Release the "accelerator" to brake.
Heave the car to make a turn.
Well, that's how it had to be.
Conditions were crude, so this was the only way.
Not long after, standing on the wooden plank, an enthusiastic Zhou Mo drove the car back to the camp. However, misjudging the momentum, though having released the control lever in advance, the car continued forward by inertia, speeding out of the camp again.
It wasn't long before Zhou Mo, panting heavily while hoisting the entire car onto his shoulder, returned to the camp. He turned to Chen Fan, his face beaming with excitement.
"Station Master!"
"With this thing, I can travel to more distant stations and bring back more Eerie Stones and resources!"
"You're quite strong."
Chen Fan glanced at Zhou Mo. "This is just the first-generation prototype. Over the next few days, have Qi Chong and the other fellow operate it during the day while they farm, running it around the area a few times to see if any issues arise."
"You continue visiting nearby stations these days."
"After testing, I'll hand it over to you."
"Wouldn't want it to fall apart halfway and leave you stranded."
Honestly, only Zhou Mo could handle this thing. No one else had his bull-like strength.
If you got exhausted, it stalled.
When there was time later, they could optimize it, see if they could make it automatic, eliminating the need for manual labor.
"Alright!"
"It's getting dark. Those who need to sleep, go to sleep. Those on wall duty, get to your posts. Everyone, disperse."
...
Half an incense stick's time(15 minutes) later.
Endless darkness surged in once more, enveloping the entire world. Only the light emitted by the Eerie Fire created the safe zone, encasing the camp.
On the city wall.
Chen Fan stood inside the crude, rain-shelter Qi Chong had built earlier that day. Feeling the cool night breeze and the drizzle, he gazed into the gray mist outside the camp, wondering if the night would be as peaceful as the previous one.
"They're here!"
Almost the moment night fell, Chen Fan saw Eerie Creatures emerge one after another into the gray mist.
There were Monkey-Head Ghosts.
Bamboo-Pole Eerie Creatures.
Also, Mantis Eerie Creatures.
And an "old friend"—the female Eerie Creature, seated in a sedan chair carried by four Bamboo-Pole Eerie Creatures.
The same group of people, oh no, the same group of Eerie Creatures!
But there were significantly more than last time, when only nearly a hundred Eerie Creatures had come. Tonight, at a glance, there were over three hundred surrounding the camp from all directions, ready to attack at any moment.
Clearly, the reason last night had been peaceful was likely because this female Eerie Creature had intercepted all nearby passing Eerie Creatures.
Huh?
Why were there also about a hundred tied-up Flesh-Worm Ghosts littering the ground, continuously struggling in front of the other Eerie Creatures?
Infighting among Eerie Creatures?
"Everyone, get ready."
Chen Fan turned to look at the ten Level 2 Archery Towers and two Level 3 Archery Towers installed on the city wall, feeling somewhat relieved. They should hold. He still had over three hundred Eerie Stones. If things went south, he could strengthen the camp's defenses at any moment!
That female Eerie Creature clearly possessed some intelligence. Perhaps she believed their previous failure was due to sending their forces in scattered waves. This time, as soon as the Eerie Creatures had gathered around the camp, accompanied by a burst of piercing, manic laughter, she launched a full-scale assault.
No probing, no feints.
Bamboo Pole Eerie Creatures, each over three meters tall, stepped from the gray mist toward the camp, picking up speed all the while. The moment they rushed into the camp's boundaries, they grabbed the nearby Flesh-Worm Ghosts and hurled them with all their might at the camp's walls.
Several Archery Towers on the wall were immediately activated.
Bolts accurately struck the Flesh-Worm Ghosts that were arcing through the air.
They exploded mid-air into bursts of ghostly green flame.
But some slipped through, smashing right into the wall. The moment the ghostly green liquid splattered, the wall began to corrode. Soon, the impacted areas became pitted and uneven.
They were using Flesh-Worm Ghosts as grenades of sorts.
Honestly, it was quite effective.
"Damn it!"
Chen Fan crouched low behind the parapet, peeking out at the explosions lighting up the sky outside the camp, unable to hold back a furious curse.
"They can even play it like this?!"
It finally occurred to him what that female Eerie Creature had been up to last night!
Turns out she had been tailing the Flesh-Worm Ghost Eerie Tide, kidnapping a batch of them to use as grenades.