Chapter 41: The Fourth Eternal Night
For a split second, Chen Fan’s vision blurred.
His thoughts stalled, the world around him dissolving into a suffocating silence, as if every sound had been swept away by the rain.
Then—
A rivulet of icy water snaked down his neck. Zhou Mo’s frantic shout from within the Wall sliced through the haze.
“Station Master!”
“Chen Fan!!”
Inside the Wall, Zhou Mo—broadsword in hand—stood by the wooden hut, his voice hoarse with desperation as he tried to rouse those atop the ramparts.
From where he stood, Zhou Mo could see it all: the Station Master and the others, their eyes suddenly glazed and vacant.
Wang Mazi had even undone his belt and was fumbling with his trousers, lost in some private delusion.
Eternal Night. Torrential rain. Ghostbeasts. And… someone pleasuring himself.
These four utterly incongruous elements made up the scene before Zhou Mo. Sure, he could admit to the simple joys of a quick handjob—but this really wasn’t the time or place.
There was no mistaking it: the Station Master and his group had fallen victim to a hallucinogenic Ghostbeast.
“Get down!”
Chen Fan was the first to break free from the illusion. He caught sight of the Female Ghostbeast’s waterfall of black hair already stretching out—snapping toward them like a thunderclap. Instantly, he yanked Wang Mazi and the others down behind the battlements, pressing them flat against the stone.
People could be bewitched.
But stone walls could not.
The very instant the Female Ghostbeast set foot within range of the Camp, the Arrow Towers had begun their relentless volley.
Arrows whistled through the rain-darkened night, streaking toward the Female Ghostbeast beyond the Wall. Most were batted aside by her hair, which lashed through the air like a storm of whips, but with so many Arrow Towers, some bolts inevitably struck home.
As long as her hair didn’t pierce them all in a single instant, she couldn’t withstand the Arrow Towers’ unceasing barrage.
Clearly, her plan was simple: endure the Arrow Towers’ assault just long enough to kill the leader—cut off the head, and the body would fall. If Chen Fan died, the Arrow Towers would immediately fall silent, and the Ghostfire would begin to gutter out.
But—
He had shaken off her illusion, dodged her opening strike.
And now, for the Female Ghostbeast, there was only death ahead.
The Level 3 Arrow Tower, crafted specifically to counter her, unleashed its true power. Bolt after bolt flew, each wreathed in elemental fire—too swift for her to evade.
They punched clean through her.
No blood welled from her wounds, only the acrid stench of scorched flesh.
...
A few breaths later—
It was over.
Her most fearsome technique had failed; she was reduced to a lamb awaiting slaughter. She withstood only a few more volleys before collapsing, riddled with arrows inside the Camp.
By then, Wang Kui and the others had already shaken off the hallucination.
“Shit...” Wang Mazi muttered, face flushed with embarrassment and lingering terror as he hastily did up his trousers. “That Ghostbeast’s tricks were fucking terrifying!”
Thank the heavens Zhou Mo had been inside the Camp and hadn’t glimpsed the Female Ghostbeast outside—who knew what might have happened? The fact that she could induce such vivid hallucinations—she was truly a nightmare.
The Gray Mist held no more Ghostbeasts.
“You should get some rest,” Chen Fan said, glancing at Zhou Mo as he climbed the Wall. “You’re on duty tomorrow morning—go sleep. We’ll take care of things here.”
Then he turned to Crippled Monkey and the others.
“Clear the battlefield, quickly. The night isn’t over—no telling if more Ghostbeasts will show up.”
After these past days, everyone in the Camp had found their rhythm.
At his command, Crippled Monkey and the rest rushed out, carving Ghoststones from the Ghostbeast corpses and gathering any Unique Treasures that had dropped. Ghost Materials for crafting could wait until morning.
Chen Fan’s first priority was repairing the battered Wall.
The repair cost: 78 Ghoststones.
This time, the Wall had taken a real pounding—the price to fix it was steep.
But—
Why bother?
Only four meters of Wall had actually been destroyed. The Ghostbeasts had concentrated their assault on a single spot. Chen Fan simply tore down the shattered section and rebuilt a fresh four-meter stretch, burning only 40 Ghoststones.
Turns out, rebuilding was far cheaper than repairing.
Afterward, they rotated shifts atop the wooden hut on the Wall, so no one had to linger too long in the cold and damp and risk catching a chill.
...
The night slipped by quickly.
In the latter half, only a few dozen stray Ghostbeasts attempted to break into the Camp—no sign of a Ghost Tide. They were dispatched with ease.
With the Camp’s current strength, as long as a full-scale Ghost Tide or a high-level Ghostbeast didn’t appear, any wandering monsters were just delivering Ghoststones to their door—no threat at all.
Dawn broke.
The darkness, thick as milk, was suddenly torn away.
Inside the wooden hut, another X was slashed onto the “Eternal Night Calendar.”
They had survived their fourth Eternal Night of the rainy season in the Wasteland.
As soon as the sun rose, Zhou Mo led his men—broadswords in hand—back out, heading for the nearby ruined waystations to scavenge resources for the Camp.
Only then did Chen Fan and the others finally relax and begin clearing up the aftermath of the night before.
Thanks to the rotating night watch, no one was especially tired.
They could afford to sleep in a bit.
Qi Chong and his partner were already expertly dissecting Ghostbeast corpses, stacking useful Ghost Materials like “Mantis Arms,” “Monkey Hide,” and the “Bamboo Ghostbeast Leader Skeleton” in the warehouse, and collecting Ghostbeast blood in ceramic vats.
It was worth noting: even during Eternal Night, the “Flesh Ghost Twin Seed” planted in the Farmland needed to be watered with Ghostbeast blood.
Qi Chong and his group hadn’t forgotten last night, either.
Fortunately, the battle hadn’t dragged on, or they’d have had to rig up extra Copper Pipes for irrigation.
Outside the Wall—
Wang Mazi stood in the drizzle, gazing at the Female Ghostbeast’s corpse—now riddled with holes—lying quietly on the ground. He crouched, squeezed her forearm, testing the flesh’s firmness, and sighed ruefully.
“Last night was a little humiliating, I admit. But I have to say—she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Even the top courtesan at Osmanthus House in Jiangbei City can’t compare. Calling her a goddess wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
“Reminder,” Crippled Monkey said, his face unreadable. “She’s a Ghostbeast.”
“I know, but she looked completely human—no monstrous features at all. Just like a real woman. What a waste.”
“Second reminder: she’s dead.”
“I know... Do you have to keep repeating it? You make it sound like I’m—never mind...”
“I saw you lick your lips.”
“My mouth was dry, that’s all.”
At that moment—
Ah Le strode over, wielding a Mantis Arm like a butcher’s blade. He knelt by the Female Ghostbeast, slid the blade beneath her scalp with practiced ease, and—like slaughtering livestock—peeled away the skin along the joints. In no time, he had stripped off the entire Ghostskin, black hair and all.
The cold beauty was now nothing more than a pile of butchered meat.
“You’re...?”
Wang Mazi watched, baffled, at the spectacle.
“Skinning,” Ah Le grunted, glancing up. “Station Master’s orders. That long hair is valuable. Want a keepsake? Or have the Station Master craft you a custom Copper Pipe?”
“Pass,” Wang Mazi huffed, a bit embarrassed. “I was just making conversation—you all act like I’m some kind of pervert... Last night, it was just a hallucination.”
“Yeah, but you were the only one who dropped his pants.”
“You tied your belt in a dead knot. I used a slipknot.”
“Heh.”
...
“All good stuff,” Chen Fan said cheerfully, making his rounds to inspect each group. The Bamboo Ghostbeast Leader’s skeleton, in particular, was tough as iron—perfect for building a new, reinforced cart frame.
So many Ghostbeasts meant a windfall of Ghoststones.
And three Unique Treasures had dropped.
One from the Bamboo Ghostbeast Leader.
The other two were found on the Female Ghostbeast—one of which was an extremely rare building blueprint.
As for the Mantis Ghostbeast Leader? Nothing. Miserable cheapskate.
All in all, it had been a bountiful night.
And with so many Ghostbeast corpses, the newly built Sacrificial Tower would finally see some use.