Chapter 100 - 92: "This Is Called Separating the Dry From the Wet.
Chapter 100: Chapter 92: "This Is Called Separating the Dry From the Wet.
"This is called separating the solids from the liquids."
"Otherwise, just think about it. If you put your solids and liquids all in the same pit, wouldn’t that be disgusting? And when the rainy season comes, wouldn’t it splash everywhere?"
"So, Hey Hey’s parents separated the pits. If you needed to do a solid, you’d go to the first few pits. If it was a liquid, you’d go to the last one."
"The first few pits were all taken away by that so-called ’great figure.’ As for the last pit, maybe it was just too disgusting, so he didn’t really want it."
"But after so many years, the crap in the first few pits all turned to stone. The last pit, though, was all liquid, so it was absorbed by the earth. So, by the time we dug it up, everything else was gone. Only the Ghost Stones remained."
"It’s a good thing Hey Hey’s parents were so particular about separating their solids and liquids."
"Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten to pick up the scraps."
"Alright, let’s get ready for dinner."
"Hey Hey performed a great service today, a major one. The Young Master is planning to give it a head to feast on. I’ll go pick its teeth for it."
Lame Monkey patted Zhou Mo’s shoulder and walked toward the cave with a sigh.
Zhou Mo stood there, stunned for a moment. After a long while, he gave a thumbs-up in sudden understanding and exclaimed.
"Classy."
But then, he tilted his head in thought for a moment and muttered to himself.
’If that’s the case, it seems that "predecessor" couldn’t quite live up to the saying, "The sage never strives for greatness, and thus is able to achieve it."’
’He didn’t want the liquids? He only took the solids?’
He felt his own level of enlightenment on this matter might be a bit higher than that predecessor’s.
If it were him, he definitely wouldn’t have passed on the liquids. He would have taken everything.
...
The sky gradually darkened. The dreary rain continued unabated, showing no signs of stopping.
The rainy season wouldn’t end for about another half a month.
The camp was quite busy, with everyone occupied with their own tasks. Qi Chong was handling dinner for everyone.
Wisps of smoke rose to the cave’s ceiling, drifting out through cracks in the City Wall.
It gave the place a very domestic, lively feel.
Before dinner, Lame Monkey stood outside the City Wall, holding the Godslaying Spear. He aimed it at the crocodile lying on the ground, preparing to pick its teeth.
Just like usual. He’d done this several times before, and each time, Hey Hey would squint its eyes in enjoyment.
Hey Hey’s tongue was stuck close to its lower jaw and wasn’t very flexible. It could barely lick its own nose, let alone curl its tongue back to clear out food debris from deep inside its mouth.
Probably no one had ever done this for Hey Hey before, so it always enjoyed it when he did.
But for some reason, today, every time he thrust the Godslaying Spear forward, Hey Hey would dodge this way and that.
"What’s wrong, Hey Hey?"
Lame Monkey glanced doubtfully at the dodging Hey Hey, then looked down at his Godslaying Spear.
After a moment, he guessed at a possible reason and said hesitantly.
"Is it because you saw the Young Master poking crap with the Godslaying Spear this afternoon?"
Lying on the ground, Hey Hey nodded quickly, its eyes filled with grievance.
"Fine."
Lame Monkey looked down at the Godslaying Spear in his hand, then strode into the camp. He walked into the Life Workshop and looked at Xiaoyu, who was busy inside.
"Xiaoyu, can your Life Workshop forge a Long Spear? Make one for me."
"Sure, no problem."
Xiaoyu looked up at Lame Monkey standing in the doorway, wiped the sweat from his brow, and agreed with a grin.
"You can even do that?"
Just then, Chen Fan walked into the Life Workshop from the side. He looked at Xiaoyu in surprise. "The Life Workshop is Level 4. I haven’t upgraded it again. I don’t remember Long Spear being on the list of craftable items, is it?"
Upgrading the Life Workshop to Level 5 required 500 Ghost Stones and didn’t need any Heavenly and Earthly Treasures or Exotic Treasures.
He had come over this time precisely to upgrade the Life Workshop a few levels. After all, the cost wasn’t high, and the things it produced were all necessities.
He hadn’t expected to overhear Xiaoyu agreeing to Lame Monkey’s request.
"I can."
Seeing the Station Master walk over and ask about the situation, Xiaoyu quickly straightened up, loosened his grip on his hammer, and explained.
"The list of special items craftable in the Life Workshop doesn’t include the Long Spear, but there are a lot of tools in here, like hammers, a forge, and so on. By using these tools to shape a Ghost Bone, I can make a simple Long Spear. It’s not particularly complicated, very simple, actually."
"Something with special effects like the Ghost Map can’t be hammered out. But simple things like a Long Spear or a Big Saber can be made. Of course, their effects definitely won’t be as good as an Exotic Treasure’s. They’re just barely usable, you could say."
"For example, I applied to Wang Kui for some Ghost Materials today—mostly furs and hides—and made a batch of rain capes for you, Station Master, and the others. This way, you won’t have to get soaked when you go out."
"..."
Chen Fan thoughtfully gazed at the rain capes and conical hats made from fur, which were placed to the side.
’The craftsmanship is really good. These items aren’t on the Life Workshop’s list; he made them all from scratch.’
’Of course, that’s only because the Life Workshop has a full set of tools. Without them, Xiaoyu could work himself to death and still not be able to craft them by hand.’
He knew about the request for Ghost Materials. Wang Kui had told him about it. He had even specifically told Wang Kui that if anyone below him requested these inexpensive Ghost Materials, there was no need to go through him; Wang Kui could just use his own judgment.
Of course, at the moment, Xiaoyu was basically the only one in camp who could apply for resources.
But the number of people in the camp would slowly grow. It was best to establish the procedures now so things wouldn’t be chaotic when more people arrived later.
He just hadn’t known what Xiaoyu was planning to do with those materials. He didn’t expect to see results so quickly.
"Not bad."
Chen Fan looked at Xiaoyu, whose eyes held a hint of expectation, and grinned. "You did a good job. Excellent initiative. I never even thought about rain capes and conical hats. The fact that you thought of them and were able to make them is impressive."
"Step out of the workshop for a minute. I’m going to upgrade the Life Workshop."
"Okay, okay," Xiaoyu quickly replied.
...
After consuming 500 Ghost Stones, the Life Workshop was upgraded from Level 4 to Level 5.
The panel didn’t change much.
It just added two new craftable special utility items.
They were the Ghost Nail and... the Ghost Banner.
Ghost Nail.
As the name suggested, it was a special type of nail, exceptionally hard, forged from Ghost Object Bone.
The Ghost Banner, however, was something special.
Every faction has its own "Banner." At a great distance, say several thousand meters, you can only vaguely see a group of people passing by. You can’t make out their faces, and you might not even be able to see the pattern on their banner clearly.
This is where the "Ghost Banner" comes in.
Even from a great distance, as long as it’s vaguely visible to the naked eye, you can clearly see the pattern on the banner, allowing you to identify which faction the distant group belongs to.
It was a way of declaring one’s identity.
The "Jiangbei Chen Family" had its own Ghost Banner. The pattern on their banner was a pair of crossed swords.
He didn’t upgrade it to Level 6.
Upgrading to Level 6 required 2,000 Ghost Stones. He would wait until after the rainy season. He had to finish building the Meat Grinder first. During the rainy season, resources were prioritized for City Defense Buildings.
"Very good."
Chen Fan looked at Xiaoyu, who was standing to the side. "Forge me a batch of those Ghost Nails as soon as possible. I need them urgently. As for the Ghost Banner, there’s no rush, but we can brainstorm some ideas."
"We need to think of a proper name for our faction."
"And a banner pattern that looks both low-key and high-profile at the same time."
"After the rainy season."
"We’re going to officially take our seat at the table as a new faction."
"Yes, sir!"
Xiaoyu took a deep breath and accepted the task.
...
Whether it was because he was efficient or because Ghost Nails were just that simple to make, Xiaoyu had already finished a batch before dinner was even ready.
"Phew..."
Chen Fan took the Ghost Nails and let out a long breath. He grabbed the Bone Hammer and strode toward the entrance of Warehouse No. 1. He’d been wanting to nail that damn Wooden Board over the entrance for a long time. Leaving it on the ground nearby made the camp look like it was about to go bankrupt.
It was a small thing, to be sure.
But it was all these small things, put together, that were slowly making the camp feel more like a proper home.