Dawn had broken.
Daylight came with incredible speed, the tide-like darkness quickly receded, and in no time, the pitch-black night gave way to a colorful sunrise.
Last night.
Chen Fan started awake several times. It was his first night in this world after transmigrating. Anxiety, nervousness, and all kinds of mixed emotions, coupled with the rustling sounds in the darkness, prevented him from sleeping well.
The moment daylight broke, Chen Fan quickly sobered up. The ring of light had already dissipated, and the wooden cabin merged with the wasteland once more. Only the bonfire continued to burn in solitude.
Out on the wasteland.
A dead Eerie Creature lay quietly on the animal trap, resembling a monkey in shape and looking rather small.
Without any pause, Chen Fan strode into the wasteland, stuffed the Eerie Creature along with the trap into a haystack behind the cabin, planning to cut out the Eerie Stone after the guest inside had left, avoiding giving away anything at all.
...
One hour later.
The middle-aged man in the blue robe inside the cabin finally woke up. He leisurely walked outside, stood at the doorway, looked at Chen Fan, who was still in place, and waved the map in his hand as he smiled. "There's a station near here with better conditions than yours, and it also only costs one Eerie Stone. But I still chose your station yesterday. Do you know why?"
Without waiting for Chen Fan's reply, he stretched lazily.
"Because I was moved by how desperately your underling was trying to attract customers yesterday. It wasn't until I came to your station that I understood."
"This was originally an abandoned station, with few to no travelers passing by."
"Now that it's suddenly been rekindled, for you to be assigned here, it's likely that you're also marginalized within the clan. The clan probably hasn't even given you any supplies, and you need Eerie Stones to keep the Eerie Fire burning and survive."
"I felt a bit of sympathy."
"I wanted to help you, just as I once hoped someone would help me when I was marginalized and targeted in the clan."
"But I don't want to help you too much, because I never got any help from anyone back then. Why should you get help?"
"So—"
"I won't give you even an extra Eerie Stone, as that isn't what you deserve. I'll only answer one question for you. You can start asking now."
He looked at the young man with a faint, enigmatic smile.
He had already produced a profile of the young man's identity in his mind. This young man and his skinny subordinate were not cultivators. After being marginalized in the clan, they were sent to this godforsaken place to die.
And this place had long been abandoned.
The "Eerie Fire" had already burnt out.
Yet it was rekindled on the map, indicating that a new "Eerie Fire" had been built. The cost for an Eerie Fire is about 50 Eerie Stones. To send an ordinary clansman to their death, there's no need for such a high cost.
Therefore, this young man likely had a certain status or background, making it difficult to openly kill him without attracting criticism, perhaps as the illegitimate child of the clan head.
Thus, this method was adopted.
A faint flicker of anger crossed his eyes. In this young man, he saw his past self. He wanted to help the young man, as if helping his past self, but he also didn't want to help too much, as no one had helped him back then.
This strange conflict somewhat exasperated him.
He could almost guess what the young man would ask.
Either how to leave this wasteland or, noticing his sympathy, asking directly if he could lend some Eerie Stones, promising to repay him handsomely in the future.
If the young man asked such meaningless questions, his sympathy would instantly vanish, and he would leave without looking back.
"I appreciate your guidance, Sir."
Chen Fan bowed solemnly with a cupped-hand salute and said in a deep voice, "As someone who travels the wasteland alone, you must be no ordinary man. This is my first time stepping into the wasteland, and I'd like to know what I can do to improve my chances of survival."
"..."
The middle-aged man clad in blue fell silent for a moment, then looked at Chen Fan and suddenly laughed. "You're just like I was back then, holding something unyielding in your heart. I like that about you."
"In that case, I can tell you a thing or two."
"If a traveler intends to enter a station, the rule out here in the wasteland is that they must first pay the 'Eerie Stone'."
"There's a type of Eerie Creature called the 'Pseudo Human Ghost.' It's human-like and possesses a certain level of intelligence."
"It can move about before the Perpetual Night has completely fallen. It will ask you if it can enter the station and state that it will pay the Eerie Stone afterward. You need to refuse, because, without your permission, it cannot enter your station. This type of Eerie Creature is relatively less dangerous."
"Last night, it was a mistake for you to collect the Eerie Stone only after I had entered the station."
"But you also couldn't have stopped me. Your station is too simple, with no defensive facilities, to withstand cultivators."
"In the wasteland."
"The lives of all station masters are tied to the 'Eerie Fire.' No one will attack the station master because if he dies, the Eerie Fire goes out. However, you still need some basic defensive structures, not only to fend off Eerie Creatures but also to solidify your position within the station."
"And!"
"The Eerie Fire doesn't mean absolute safety. Apart from weaklings among Eerie Creatures, most Eerie Creatures simply dislike the 'Eerie Fire' and are not actually unable to approach it. When an Eerie tide erupts or under special circumstances, these Eerie Creatures can instantly engulf the station."
"You need the 'City Wall' structure to ensure absolute safety."
"Based on the above two points."
"To survive long enough, you need a closed, encircling city wall and a basic defensive structure. Both are quite common and simple. Basically, every Architect knows how to build them. The owner of the nearby 'Rivernorth Marketplace' is a Level 2 Architect, just go ask him to build them for you."
"However, such non-portable structures require Architects to come on-site, which costs quite a few Eerie Stones."
"As for how to obtain Eerie Stones, that's not something I should concern myself with."
"I've already helped you enough."
The man dressed in blue suddenly shook his head and laughed, realizing he shouldn't continue. Initially, he was going to answer only one question, but the other posed a vague question, making him inadvertently dwell on the topic.
He took out a map from his robe and tossed it to Chen Fan.
"This is an Eerie-hide map of the nearby area. It updates in real time with the condition of every 'Eerie Fire' in the wasteland."
"Three months from now, I'll pass through this wasteland again."
"When the time comes, I'll make a special trip to this station. If you're still alive by then, I wouldn't mind genuinely helping you once."
With that, the middle-aged man attired in blue didn't linger anymore. He put his hands behind his back and strode steadily toward a nearby low earthen slope. Despite his unhurried steps, he moved incredibly fast, creating a strange sense of contrast.
"Sir!"
Chen Fan gripped the leather map in his hand, looking at the man's retreating figure, and shouted, "I can't thank you enough! Would you kindly leave your name? I'll repay you someday!"
The man didn't respond, only waving his hand without turning his head.
His figure gradually disappeared into the wasteland.
"Huff..."
Chen Fan looked down at the leather map in his hand and murmured, "This senior seems quite whimsical..."
This information was highly valuable and a great help to him!
While still alive, the previous owner of this body had been caught up in his own suffering and resentment in the household. He had absolutely no memory of this crucial information.