"Hey."
Chen Fan looked towards the crocodile and raised his voice. "Forget the toys, you can keep them for yourself. If possible, could you help me dig a large hole over there in the cliff? Just like the cave behind me now."
He gestured with both hands as he spoke, trying to express what he had in mind.
Titling its head, the crocodile watched from where it lay on the floor as Chen Fan made all sorts of hand signs, then pondered the meaning he was trying to convey. After a while, it walked over to the cliff face on the left, tentatively scooped out a hole with its claw, and then looked back at Chen Fan.
"That's right, just like that."
Chen Fan nodded with satisfaction. Afraid he couldn't be seen clearly from so far away, he spread his arms wide. "But it got to be bigger, deeper, just like the one behind me."
This time, the crocodile understood. It let out an excited low roar. Its front claws began rapidly swinging, continuously excavating in the cliff face.
"It's even good at handling a construction project..." Chen Fan observed for a while, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. This guy had swallowed all the dirt from digging the cave. He was now certain that this creature had a storage pouch in its belly, and its capacity was not small.
He didn't stay there anymore. After having the "Mountain Embryo Corpse" extend bones into the newly opened cave to prevent a collapse, he left the creature to its work. Now he had to go to sleep immediately.
He was already exhausted.
...
It wasn't until the afternoon that Chen Fan walked out of the stone house, stretching lazily.
A new day had begun, refreshed and energetic as ever.
Chatter from Crippled Monkey and the others could be heard outside the cave. Walking out, he saw the crocodile lying panting heavily on the ground, its mouth wide open, clearly exhausted. Crippled Monkey stood beside it, using the God-slaying Spear to pick out the mud and gravel wedged between the crocodile's thick teeth.
And on the left cliff face, a pitch-black cave had appeared, its size almost identical to their dwelling cave.
Seeing Chen Fan come out, the crocodile's eyes suddenly lit up, and it wagged its tail as if seeking praise.
"Well done."
Chen Fan walked to the bottom of the pit and looked up at the pitch-black cave in the cliff to the left. A hint of astonishment passed through his eyes. He hadn't expected the creature's efficiency to be so high. This guy had completed in one day what had taken them three.
And furthermore... He strode to the entrance of this new cave. Looking in, it was a full fifty meters deep, much deeper than his current cave. Moreover, the ground was compact and level, as if smoothed by a road roller, with not a single clod of dirt or piece of gravel in sight. A perfect job.
The yellow-grade building, 「Vehicle Workshop」, he had finally gotten a spot to arrange it. The cost would be another 127 Eerie Creature corpses, as this creature was already panting nonstop, looking utterly exhausted. "Excellent!" Chen Fan turned to the crocodile, gave a thumbs up, and grinned. "Perfect. Qi Chong, get it some good food."
"Roar..."
Humans and animals don't speak the same language, but the expression of emotion is always a universal language. Although the crocodile couldn't understand his words, it could sense his mood from his gestures and look. It let out a happy low roar, like a child who had just been praised.
"Good boy." Chen Fan silently tucked the dim green lantern he was holding into his robe. It was a bit too conspicuous in his hand... The crocodile lay back down in its usual spot under the city wall, opening its huge mouth in anticipation of being fed.
...
Chen Fan stood alone before the newly opened cave, which he named Cave No. 2. The pit had four cliff faces. The cliff face directly opposite the canyon was where he had dug out Cave No. 1, the home base. This new cave was on the left cliff. The 「Vehicle Workshop」 would be placed in there.
The next moment, a massive, surreal shape made up of countless white lines slowly sprang up within the cave, taking up more than half of the cave. Immediately after, the broken Eerie Stones in Cave No. 1 turned into dim green liquid that flew into the surreal shape. In no time, the ethereal shape solidified and settled down within Cave No. 2.
Amidst the cave shadow, his enormous structure sprawled over a large area, riveted together from black stone and giant timber. It wasn't a single building, but a compound of several huge buildings, appearing crude and ferocious like a factory. At first glance, one's attention would be caught by the entrance to the workshop. It wasn't double doors, but a giant metal passageway over 5 meters long, protruding forward, with its doors closed, exuding a cold aura of authority.
He walked up and gently touched the metal passageway. Its material looked like bronze. With a thought, the doors opened, only to reveal a long, straight corridor. One could see numerous metal gears lining both sides of the corridor, along with bronze pipes connected to the gears...
Yes, copper pipes.
However, unlike the haphazard way he used them, these pipes were arranged with extreme precision and complexity.
Underfoot were conveyor belts, currently idle. Once activated, one vehicle after another would be produced in this Vehicle Workshop and sent outside via the conveyor belts.
The entire structure was filled with a sense of sophisticated beauty.
He couldn't understand how it operated.
But there were things he could understand.
"..."
Chen Fan looked at the panel before him. Constructing this building had consumed a full 1,000 Eerie Stones, making it the most expensive building he had ever built.
「Building Name」: Vehicle Workshop.
「Building Grade」: Yellow.
「Building Level」: Level 1.
「Building Effect」: Can produce vehicles. Currently producible vehicles...
1: Bone Boat: Can travel on the sea. Construction cost: 100 Eerie Stones, some Eerie Bones.
2: Skeleton Horse: Can travel on land. Construction cost: 100 Eerie Stones, some Eerie Bones.
PS: Upgrading to Level 2 requires 2,000 Eerie Stones. Each upgrade unlocks new vehicle blueprints.
"The production cost isn't low..."
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. 100 Eerie Stones was equivalent to the price of ten Level 1 Archery Towers. He spent another 100 Eerie Stones and seven or eight Eerie Bones to produce a 「Skeleton Horse」. There was only text, no image, so he didn't know what this Skeleton Horse looked like.
The next moment, a rumbling sound came from within the Vehicle Workshop. After a few seconds, the workshop doors opened, and a 「Skeleton Horse」 arrived at the waiting area outside the workshop via the conveyor belt.
"..."
Chen Fan looked at the Skeleton Horse before him and remained silent for a long time.
He had thought that "Skeleton Horse" might just be a name, but it turned out to be the literal meaning.
It stood quietly in the waiting area, every bone gleaming with a dark silver metallic luster and its joints inlaid with milky-white Eerie Stones.
A faint, cold white flame burned in its eye sockets.
With which he was very familiar.
It was the way an Eerie Fire burned.
Its four hooves were wrapped in a dim blue flame, a gorgeous, soul-sucking fire.
In terms of the overall appearance, he could only give a one-word evaluation.
— Savage.
He fucking loved this damned Skeleton Horse. Just the sense of violent savagery it exuded while standing there motionless made him want to leap onto its back and gallop across the wilderness.
This horse perfectly hit his g-spot.
He liked it very much.