Amidst the heap of toys, he saw something shiny.
That was the gleam of an Extraordinary Treasure.
That's right!
It suddenly dawned on him. Over the years, the crocodile must have swallowed countless Eerie Creature corpses. No matter how low the drop rate for Extraordinary Treasures was, a few of them were bound to have dropped. And to the crocodile, these glowing things were nothing but toys, weren't they?
Slowly, he picked up a piece of Eerie hide as thin as a cicada wing, shimmering with white light.
Extraordinary Treasure Name*: Perpetual Night Land Deed.
Extraordinary Treasure Grade: Green.
Extraordinary Treasure Effect: Once placed within an Eerie Fire, the lord gains absolute ownership rights over all land within the camp. Without permission, no one else can construct or place any building within the camp's boundaries.
"..."
Chen Fan looked at the thin, cicada-wing-like Eerie hide in his hand, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He took a deep breath before turning to the crocodile, which was watching him with eager anticipation. "Hey, can I have this?"
The crocodile nodded hurriedly, its eyes brimming with joy, clearly delighted that its new friend had accepted its toy.
"Well, then..."
He tentatively picked up another Extraordinary Treasure from the pile. "Can I have this one too?"
It was a building blueprint.
Extraordinary Treasure Name*: Wind Tower.
Extraordinary Treasure Grade: White.
Extraordinary Treasure Effect: A special type of structure capable of generating strong winds.
This time, the crocodile seemed a bit hesitant. After struggling for a moment, it reluctantly tore its gaze away from the white-glowing building blueprint and then nodded heavily.
"What about this, and this, and this one..."
Chen Fan picked up the remaining three Extraordinary Treasures from the toy heap in one fell swoop, holding them in his hand as he looked inquiringly at the crocodile.
The next moment.
The crocodile grew visibly downcast. He could even see tears welling up in its eyes, as if it was about to burst into tears any second.
"Five hundred portions of roasted meat!"
Seeing this, Chen Fan hastily held up five fingers. "I'll give you five hundred portions of roast meat, enough to fill up a pantry."
As soon as the words fell.
The crocodile immediately perked up again. Its eyes rolled thoughtfully for a moment before it nodded its head emphatically once more, slapping its tail excitedly and expectantly.
"Whew..."
Chen Fan looked at the crocodile, now happy again, and felt a twinge of guilt, as if he was bullying a child. "Well, that... you like rare items, right? I'll find you more toys in the future."
It was unclear if the crocodile had understood.
The crocodile retrieved some greenish flowers from another corner, quickly swallowed them, and then indicated it was time to go back.
Down the corridor, one man and one crocodile made their way out of the cave.
They were about to descend the mountain and return to camp.
But just then—
Chen Fan suddenly stopped in his tracks. It was only now that he noticed a deep pit at the cave entrance, filled with a large amount of feces and Eerie Stones. He stood frozen for a while before turning to cast a confused gaze at the crocodile. "Buddy, what is this...?"
The crocodile tilted its head and gave him a puzzled look, then demonstratively walked to the edge of the pit and stuck its rear end out over the open air.
A lump of foul-smelling feces plopped into the pit.
Then it looked at him again.
As if to say, it's a latrine pit, what's so confusing about that?
"Well..."
Chen Fan took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement. "Buddy, can you give me these things?"
Lest the crocodile not understand, he removed an Eerie Stone from his bosom, kissed it, and then carefully placed it back inside, trying to convey how important Eerie Stones were to him.
The next moment.
He caught something disparaging and disturbed in the crocodile's eyes.
That expression... looked as if it were watching someone eat excrement.
Although confused, the crocodile still nodded generously in agreement. Then it patted its belly and shook its head rapidly and firmly. The message was clear- it could use its belly to help its friend transport soil out of the canyon, but absolutely not to carry this excrement anywhere.
"No problem!"
Chen Fan grinned widely. "We'll handle the rest! Come on, Buddy, back to camp!"
After a swift descent down the mountain on the crocodile's back.
He mounted his own skeleton horse and rode along the canyon back to the camp.
That wasn't a latrine pit at all.
But an unmistakable mountain of gold!
With this batch of Eerie Stones, he could complete his deployment of the "Meat Grinder" even faster and, in turn, secure the camp even more!
...
There was still some time before nightfall.
Chen Fan, Zhou Mo, and the others, well-equipped, had already arrived at the mountaintop. Zhou Mo, rolling up his sleeves, stood at the edge of the pit, looking at the Eerie Stones covered in feces and laughing excitedly, paying no heed to the foul smell in the air.
It might be as well if it were a bit dirty.
Otherwise, he might have felt ill at ease, like having exchanged a slice of his lifespan for this windfall.
Except for Qi Chong, everyone from the camp was there.
With their sleeves folded up, all of them grabbed shovels or other tools and jumped into the pit. They wiped the feces off the Eerie Stones and placed them in the chests they had brought- the five chests looted from the Mourning Specter boss.
"So many... so many..."
Wang Kui, with a smile that never left his face, looking like a man whose sweet daydream has come true, stood in the swampy, sloppy pit, carefully wiping each Eerie Stone clean and placing it in a chest. For a warehouse manager, having more Eerie Stones in the warehouse brought immense satisfaction.
They had a clear division of labor.
The nearly overflowing pit was growing ever shallower, while the once-empty chests were slowly filling up.
"..."
In the rain, Chen Fan watched the scene from the side, wearing a broad smile as well. He didn't join in; as the lord, he got to oversee the field. This detailed work was best left to the people below.
He turned toward the crocodile that was watching from the side with a complicated expression, the emotion in its pupils inscrutable.
...
Time passed bit by bit.
All five large chests had been packed full; the harvest seemed bumper. After all, most were Level 1 Eerie Stones. At first glance, it looked as though they had struck rich overnight, even though this windfall actually fell short of their loot from the Mourning Specter boss.
The final count was 4,492.
And the pit became even more mushy after extraction.
"Not bad at all."
With a satisfied grin, Chen Fan glanced at the crocodile, which had been lying on the ground the whole time. "Let's go home!"
Just then.
The crocodile crawled over to another spot where the ground was flat, clawed the earth a few times, and uncovered another packed full pit that had been sealed. This pit had been sealed for who knows how long; it was already fermenting.
The moment it saw the light of day again, a pungent, aged aroma assaulted their nostrils.
The crocodile sped far off at once, unwilling to get an inch closer.
Zhou Mo and the others, who hadn't gotten enough, were stunned at the sight. Then, with renewed excitement, they grabbed their tools and charged over, their voices trembling with thrill.
"There's more!?"
"We're rich, we're rich, Station Master. This time, we're really rich."