Chapter 91 - 88: "This Is What You Call Professional.
Chapter 91: Chapter 88: "This Is What You Call Professional.
"This is what you call professional."
Chen Fan couldn’t help but remark with admiration. He casually tossed the bamboo scroll in his hand, and it was immediately swept up by a verdant mist, left to float in the air.
This was his camp.
Any building constructed within the camp’s boundaries defaulted to his ownership; he was the Lord with the highest authority.
This Warehouse naturally defaulted to him as the absolute Lord as well. However, the building possessed a feature that allowed him to delegate authority, enabling him to grant several people full or partial access.
But—
He could also cancel this default process, which would allow him to create an "ownerless building" for sale to other factions. Once another faction purchased and bound it with their blood, that faction would become the building’s Lord with the highest authority.
The Architect could not leave a backdoor in this process.
This was a fundamental principle that maintained order in this world.
If this process were ever to go wrong, all hell would break loose.
"Wang Kui."
He walked out of the Warehouse and, at the cavern’s entrance, constructed a four-meter-wide Level 1 City Wall. He beckoned to Wang Kui and handed him a Token. "Go inside and place a drop of your blood on the Warehouse’s surface. From now on, you are the person in charge of this place."
"You’ll need to bind this Token with your blood as well. It will grant you permission to freely pass through the City Wall of Cave No. 1 and the City Wall at the Warehouse entrance."
"For now, you’re the only one who can freely enter and exit this Warehouse."
"Manage it well."
"Yes!"
Wang Kui carefully accepted the Token with both hands, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"It’ll be a long night for you. Move everything from the old warehouse to the new one, and put all the spoils from the battle in there too. Don’t worry about sorting everything perfectly; just get some sleep once you’re mostly done."
"It’s no trouble, no trouble at all."
...
After taking care of all this, Chen Fan turned to look at the crocodile eagerly trailing Qi Chong in the distance, and he couldn’t help but laugh. "Alright, it’s time for bed. Didn’t I already roast some small crabs for you?"
"Everyone’s tired tonight."
"Let’s pack it in and get some sleep."
"Tomorrow, I’ll roast some octopus for you. That’ll definitely be chewy."
"You don’t seem tired, though. Didn’t I just mark a few more spots on the rock walls around the Celestial Pit? If you’re not sleepy, you can keep digging tonight. The Meat Grinder’s firepower still isn’t quite enough; we need to keep reinforcing it."
At these words, the crocodile stopped in its tracks, a little disappointed, and stopped following Qi Chong. But then, perhaps at the thought of tomorrow’s roasted octopus, it enthusiastically scrambled up the winding passage that led upwards inside the cave.
It was off to continue breaking through the cliff face and digging tunnels along the main artery.
"Hmm..."
Chen Fan watched the crocodile’s retreating form and paused for a moment. He then picked up his Big Saber, carved the words "Meat Grinder Passage" onto a Wooden Board, and placed it at the entrance to the tunnel the creature had just entered.
This was the main route.
This passage led to all the firing positions set up for the Meat Grinder.
’It needed a name.’
’Gives it a sense of ceremony.’
He really enjoyed naming things.
It looked a little crude, actually. He would have preferred to carve the words directly into the wall, or perhaps nail the Wooden Board to it, but the mountain rock was too hard; a nail wouldn’t go in.
’I’ll have to figure out a solution for that later.’
It wasn’t a big deal, but accomplishing it would make him happy.
A person needs more than just survival; they need things that bring them joy.
After a busy day, everyone was exhausted. They all stopped what they were doing and prepared for sleep.
Tonight’s haul hadn’t been fully tallied yet; they would finish in the morning.
Chen Fan went into a Wooden House to wash up before preparing for bed himself. There were currently two Stone Houses in the camp for sleeping. He and Lame Monkey shared one, while the rest of the men slept in the other.
The other house was just a large, communal sleeping area.
The camp wasn’t yet spacious enough to afford everyone their own room.
"Young Master."
Lame Monkey had already made his bed, a task he used to perform daily back at the Chen Family estate.
"Alright, let’s get some sleep."
Chen Fan smiled at Lame Monkey, who was standing nearby. He stretched and said casually, "Once the rainy season is over, let’s head back to Jiangbei City for a look."
"Are we going to take back your position as the heir?"
Lame Monkey suddenly grew excited.
"No."
Chen Fan gave Lame Monkey an odd look. "I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on the Chen Family’s resources, but I’m not that interested in being the heir. I mostly want to go in disguise and have a look around. It’s been a while since I’ve been around a crowd; I feel like I’m cut off from the world. I need to be around people for a bit."
"And while we’re there, I want to see if we can recruit some suitable people. We’re seriously short-handed at the camp."
"Lame Monkey."
"I’ve always been curious... why are you so eager for me to reclaim my position as heir?"
"Huh?"
Lame Monkey faltered for a moment, then lay down on his own wooden bed nearby. "Ever since you were ostracized by the Chen Family, Young Master," he said quietly, "you were always so unhappy. I just thought... I thought you desperately wanted to reclaim your position as the heir."
"That was then, this is now."
"You have to keep looking forward."
Lying on his bed, Chen Fan laced his fingers behind his head and stared at the ceiling with a smile. "Alright, let’s put out the lamp and get some sleep."
Soon, the oil lamp went out.
The room grew dim, lit only by the faint glow of the stove.
He could understand why so many people in this world disliked sleeping with the lamps out. It was a purely primal fear; the faint light from an oil lamp was enough to provide a crucial sense of security.
The world around him gradually fell silent.
There was only the sound of their faint breathing.
Before long, the sound of snoring filled the air.
Everyone in the camp slowly drifted into a deep sleep.
Only one man and one crocodile were still awake.
Inside the Meat Grinder Passage, the crocodile was still digging with all its might, its eyes gleaming with excitement in the silent, cramped tunnel. Chunks of hard rock flaked away under its foreclaws.