Chapter 280 - 155: "Hey Hey, You’re Up.

Chapter 280: Chapter 155: "Hey Hey, You’re Up.

’You’re getting so bold now.’

’Daring to ride the High-speed Rail all by yourself.’

’Alright.’

’Time to get back to work.’

WHIMPER...

Hey Hey let out a whimper to show it understood, then excitedly dove into the nearby deep well, ready to continue excavating the Undersea Tunnel.

Chen Fan didn’t say much more.

He followed it in.

He’d considered forging a Special Weapon for Hey Hey to speed up the excavation, but he later decided it was unnecessary. Hey Hey’s digging speed was mainly thanks to its claws—a natural talent that was highly effective for both digging tunnels and destroying Arrays.

A Special Weapon might even hinder it.

...

「A new day had just begun.」

「Inside the Undersea Tunnel.」

The man and the croc resumed their daily work.

"..."

Chen Fan sat on the High-speed Rail car, following Hey Hey. He laid down the Copper Pipe as he went, occasionally glancing behind him.

The empty Undersea Tunnel gave off a sense of absolute desolation.

Especially now, before nightfall. The Ghost Fires hadn’t been lit yet, leaving the Undersea Tunnel in pitch darkness. The only light came from the stones in the railcar—the same kind found in the Hey Hey Cave.

He looked down at the Ghost Map in his hand.

On his latest voyage into the Thunderstorm Sea Realm, Wang Mazi had discovered only a single island, which he named Hope Island. The island was now visible on the edge of the Ghost Map, and Chen Fan’s own green dot was slowly approaching it.

At this rate, it would take at least two months.

’It was going to be a very long dig.’

Their tunneling speed was far slower than the speed of Wang Mazi’s ship at sea.

...

...

...

「Two months passed in the blink of an eye.」

The time was now early May of Year 379 in the Eternal Night Calendar.

Spring had officially begun.

The number of merchant guilds in the Four Areas Jiangbei had grown, and many smaller factions were becoming active again.

"..."

Chen Fan stood alone on the City Wall of the Mortal Realm’s camp, looking out over the lands. He leaned back in his chair, a soft laugh escaping his lips. It was finally done.

It had been a full two months of hard work.

For over two months, he had spent most of his time digging the Undersea Tunnel with Hey Hey.

He had been worried the entire time, wondering if the Mountain Remains Embryo could hold up. The Undersea Tunnel was incredibly long and buried deep beneath the sea, meaning it had to withstand immense pressure. There was also the constant risk of leaks.

But...

The Mountain Remains Embryo had proven truly reliable.

It held strong the entire way and was even waterproof.

One could only say...

...that even though it was just a Green Level Heavenly and Earthly Treasure, the Mountain Remains Embryo lived up to its reputation as a prize even a Ghost King would struggle to find. It was well worth it. For the past few months, the Mortal Realm had been searching everywhere for Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, with items like the Sea Embryo and Mountain Remains Embryo as top priorities.

And they hadn’t found a single one.

’Using it for Array Formation would have been a waste.’

’Using it in the Ghost Fire was the perfect application, allowing it to perform flawlessly.’

The New Year celebrations had passed.

After a lively Spring Festival, the Mortal Realm Members had begun new tasks over the past two months. Progress on all of the Mortal Realm’s projects was advancing steadily. Just last night, the Undersea Tunnel had officially opened to traffic.

Of course, it only led to Hope Island. There was still a long way to go to reach the New Continent.

The main problem was crossing the Thunderstorm Sea Realm. He wasn’t sure if it was possible to bypass the forbidden zone by going underneath it.

"Domain Lord."

Wang Kui came up the City Wall and gave a timely report. "Currently, the Mortal Realm’s Ghost Stone reserve is 33,980,000. Over the last two months, profits from the High-speed Rail have increased significantly. The four lines have generated nearly 17,000,000 Ghost Stones in profit for the Mortal Realm."

"It’s about to surpass the profits provided by the Silk Road."

Wang Kui paused, remarking with a sigh of admiration.

"Domain Lord, to be honest, I was a bit confused when I first heard your pricing for the High-speed Rail. It could easily command a much higher fare. One Ghost Stone for a full-length trip is just too low."

"But now..."

"Although the fare is low, our four lines are almost always packed to capacity, with people coming and going nonstop."

"They bring in a huge amount of Ghost Stone revenue every day."

33,980,000 Ghost Stones sat neatly stacked in the Warehouse. Back in the day, the Hill and Valley Royal Family wouldn’t have had even 100,000 Ghost Stones if they’d sold off everything they owned. And now, over thirty million Ghost Stones were just sitting in a Warehouse.

All one could say was...

...the Mortal Realm was developing at an incredible pace.

"Is that a lot?"

Chen Fan, still in his rocking chair, chuckled softly. "Don’t worry, there’s plenty more where that came from."

’When the Undersea Tunnel reaches the New Continent, that will be the real treasure trove.’

Four months had already passed since his four-year promise.

Three years and eight months remained.

His original goal of "four years, three hundred million Ghost Stones, and the Jiangbei Defense Line" was almost within reach.

As things stood...

...he might even surpass it.

’Jiangbei Defense Line? He felt it was time for a name change. Perhaps the "Eternal Night Defense Line." This place he had built was the last bastion of peace on the Eternal Night Continent. *He* was the Eternal Night Continent’s final line of defense.’

As for why the ticket price was set so low...

...there were multiple reasons.

One reason was that he needed to earn money from both the major factions and the common folk.

There were only so many factions in the Four Areas Jiangbei.

But the common populace was vast.

These commoners might seem insignificant, but people from all walks of life had at least some savings. Holding onto those savings didn’t do much good, so it was better to have them invested in the construction of the Jiangbei Defense Line.

"Let’s go."

Chen Fan rose and started down from the City Wall.

"The first phase of the Undersea Tunnel is complete."

"Let’s go take a look at Hope Island together."

...

「Port.」

The Port’s strategic importance within the Mortal Realm had skyrocketed. The surrounding City Wall had been upgraded to Level 3, and numerous turrets had been installed on it. This was because the entrance to the Undersea Tunnel was located right next to the Port.