Chapter 386 - 172: "He... Why Doesn’t He Run?

Chapter 386: Chapter 172: "He... Why Doesn’t He Run?

A night spent drinking and toasting always flies by.

The core members of the Mortal Realm rarely had a chance to gather like this. Though no one got drunk, they all drank to their hearts’ content.

You don’t have to get drunk when you drink.

The most enchanting part is the pleasant buzz.

And so it went until dawn.

As the Eternal Night receded and the first light of dawn broke, Chen Fan—along with Lame Monkey, Shao Qiu, and several members of the Mortal Realm Dark Pavilion—boarded a High-speed Rail bound for the Guandong Plain.

"..."

Chen Fan sat in the carriage, gently massaging his temples. He gazed out the window at the Jiangbei Wilderness rapidly receding behind them. He finally had the headache that came with waking up after a night of drinking. Taking a Cooling Pill helped a little.

He didn’t like to drink.

He’d never found alcohol tasty. It was harsh and acrid. But when he was with the right people, he had to admit, the experience was exhilarating.

"Sir."

Lame Monkey, at his side, excitedly surveyed the interior of the High-speed Rail carriage. "Are we staying in the Guandong Plain for a long time?"

He hadn’t been back to the Mortal Realm in a long time.

The changes in the Mortal Realm were so great that it felt faintly unfamiliar to him. This carriage, for instance, was no longer a simple, crude box. It now had proper chairs and handrails, and the interior had been renovated for added comfort.

In the past, being sturdy and durable was all that mattered. Now, they were starting to consider comfort as well.

This detail alone told him that the Mortal Realm was developing well.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have the luxury of worrying about comfort.

"About three or four days."

Chen Fan said casually, his gaze fixed on the view outside, "Laying the Copper Pipes and setting up the altars will be time-consuming. While we’re there, I also want to see how the No. 7 Defense Line handles its daily Ghost Corpses and whether we can establish a trade route."

The Mortal Realm has a building called the Sacrificial Tower.

It cannot be upgraded.

Its effect is simple: offering corpses to the Sacrificial Tower yields various materials, Exotic Treasures, Building Blueprints, and the like. The Mortal Realm doesn’t have many Ghost Corpses, primarily because a single blast from the Godslaying Cannon pulverizes them, leaving nothing behind to be sacrificed.

I’m going to the No. 7 Defense Line to see if the corpses there remain relatively intact.

If they are,

then the Mortal Realm can purchase these Ghost Corpses. Offering them to the Sacrificial Tower will further build our reserves.

’3.39 billion Ghost Stones...’

He murmured to himself. He had made this decision while sober, despite the drinking last night, and he wouldn’t regret it now that he’d slept on it. The plan had to be set in motion as soon as he returned from the Guandong Plain.

The Jiangbei Defense Line had cost 800 million Ghost Stones.

It was already the most expensive project the Mortal Realm had ever undertaken.

But the project to cover the New Continent would require a staggering 3.39 billion Ghost Stones, making it the single largest undertaking the Mortal Realm had ever initiated. A project of this magnitude placed immense pressure on the Mortal Realm; any unexpected problems could make it too unwieldy to manage.

Therefore, until this project was complete, the Mortal Realm had to prioritize stability above all else.

He wouldn’t wait to gather all the Ghost Stones before starting. Work could begin the moment he returned. Laying the Ghost Fire network would take time, so they could do that while continuing to excavate more Ghost Stones.

Running both tracks simultaneously would compress the project timeline as much as possible.

...

「Six hours later.」

The Mortal Realm High-speed Rail traveled south through Jiangnan, crossed the Guanxi Plain, and entered the Guandong Plain, finally slowing to a stop before the No. 7 Defense Line.

It was mid-afternoon.

After a stir rippled through the people at the No. 7 Defense Line, a white-haired old man with a few subordinates in tow quickly emerged from the crowd and headed for the High-speed Rail. It was the first time in months they had seen this train.

"..."

Chen Fan took a mask from his robes and gestured with it, but then tossed it aside. ’There’s no point,’ he thought. ’These people have never heard my name, so even if they saw my face, they wouldn’t know who I am.’

’And by the time news from the Mortal Realm reaches this far, they’ll know who I am regardless of my appearance.’

Once the High-speed Rail came to a complete stop,

he stepped off the train. He stood on land thick with the stench of death. Dust shrouded the sky, and the only feature in sight was the thirty-meter-tall No. 7 Defense Line, which guarded the coast of the Guanxi Plain and stretched as far as the eye could see.

"This is..."

Elder Qi had already hurried over to greet them. Seeing Shao Qiu walking behind the man, he quickly put two and two together. This newcomer’s status in their unknown faction was clearly higher than Shao Qiu’s, and it seemed to be by a wide margin.

"Nameless."

Chen Fan looked at Elder Qi and said calmly, "A name is just a title. The rainy season is only a few days away. And though the No. 7 Defense Line is a Level 6 City Wall, it has no way to repair itself."

"I am here to give the No. 7 Defense Line that capability. It will make your defenses even more robust."

"This..."

Elder Qi was stunned for a moment, then his voice trembled. "On behalf of all the members of the No. 7 Defense Line..."

"That’s enough."

Chen Fan said softly, "Let’s dispense with the pleasantries. Take me up onto the wall. I’m actually in a bit of a hurry."

Atop the City Wall.

This was the first time Chen Fan had set foot on the No. 7 Defense Line.

Standing on the City Wall, he saw the boundless, azure ocean, smelled the foul stench of the sea breeze, and watched the occasional seagull fly by.

The sea is romantic.

And yet, it is also suffused with death.

It reveals different aspects of its nature at different times.

But at this moment, in his eyes, this sea was teeming with death. With a single glance, though he could see not a single corpse, he felt as if he were seeing millions.

"..."

Chen Fan stared toward the far horizon. ’On the other side of this ocean,’ he thought, ’there must also be a Thunderstorm Sea Realm. The Sea Realm is like a ring, enclosing the entire Eternal Night Continent.’

’It could be a prison, or it could be a shield.’

He looked around.

The soldiers stationed on the No. 7 Defense Line were all looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.