I'm building Sun City in the eternal night!

Outer city area, Suini Street.

As soon as Chen Hui stepped into the house, a concerned voice came from the main room:

"Hui'er's back! Come quick, everyone's waiting for you to eat!"

Chen Hui looked at the middle-aged woman waving at him and the middle-aged man sitting at the table next to him, smiling at him. His feelings were complicated.

These are my parents in this life.

In the first few years after I transmigrated, and in my memories of my previous life, both of them ignored me.

Until a little over a month ago, when he awakened his extraordinary profession, the two people's attitudes towards him changed drastically.

Such utilitarian warmth was hard for Chen Hui to accept at first.

So, most of the time, he would eat out before coming home.

I was just thinking about whether I should make an excuse to decline.

Sitting on the other side of the table, a young voice bluntly shouted:

"Brother, just sit down when I tell you to! What are you dawdling for!"

Chen Hui shifted his gaze to the two elders, who were tearing at a pig's trotter on the dining table, their mouths dripping with oil, and looking at the young man with dissatisfaction.

This is his younger brother in this life, Chen Zhu, a C-level [Beast Taming Architect].

The specially designed animal pen can increase the sow's desire to reproduce, greatly increasing the speed at which piglets are ready for market.

In this world of scarce resources, he was highly regarded and studied in the inner city.

The other party had awakened his extraordinary profession early on, and had always looked down on his older brother, ordering him around like a servant.

After he awakened his extraordinary profession, the other party's attitude worsened, and he could always see malice in their eyes.

He glanced casually at the fat pig, then, expressionless, prepared to return to his room.

At this moment, the father, who had been silent at the table, spoke up:

"Xiaohui, please sit down. I have something important to discuss with you today."

Chen Hui frowned slightly and glanced at the chicken soup, meatballs, pig's feet, dumplings, and other dishes on the table.

He never usually prepares such a lavish meal when I call him for dinner, so it seems he really has something to tell me.

He thought about it for a moment, but couldn't figure out what it was, so he nodded and sat down at the table.

The clothes I was wearing today had no pockets, so I placed the two [Strange Stones] I had just earned on the table with two soft "thump-thump" sounds.

Both of Chen's parents were drawn to the two glittering "mysterious stones".

A glint of greed flashed in Chen's mother's eyes, and she took it directly into her hand, caressing it:

"Hui'er is getting more and more capable. This month, including these two, you've earned a total of ten [Mysterious Stones], more than your mother and father have earned together!"

When the younger brother, Chen Zhu, heard his mother praising his older brother, he was very unconvinced and shouted:

"Ten [Strange Stones] are nothing! I'm transferring to the 'elite class' in the inner city right now to study under Master Hua. Once I graduate, I'll earn more than ten times that amount a month! Even my brother can't compare!"

Chen Hui ignored his younger brother's sarcastic remarks, but then, as if remembering something, his expression changed, and he asked his mother:

How did my mother know I had ten [mysterious stones]?

After saying that, he got up and walked towards the cabinet in his room where the [mysterious stone] was locked.

"Knock knock!" Mr. Chen banged on the table and shouted.

"No need to go. Your mother and I have kept the [mysterious stone] in your cabinet safe for you. We'll return it to you when you come back from the front lines."

"What?!" Chen Hui felt as if a bolt from the blue had struck him.

"Battlefield? What battlefield?"

He's not even sixteen yet, and there are still almost three years before he's forced to go to the battlefield. For them to bring this up now... could it be...?

Chen Hui stared at his father in disbelief.

It seemed they were trying to find the answer in Chen's father's face.

A rare look of guilt appeared on Chen's father's face, and he didn't dare to meet Chen Hui's gaze at that moment.

Chen Chu, standing nearby, seemed quite pleased to see Chen Hui's expression and said with a hint of smugness:

"Big brother, aren't you short of [Strange Stones]? Father and Mother have already registered you. You can go to the front lines tomorrow. There are tons of monsters there. If you work hard, you'll definitely earn more than you do in the city!"

Chen Huiteng stood up abruptly, speechless with shock.

He would glance at Chen's father and then at Chen's mother, but neither of them dared to meet his gaze.

Only his good younger brother was still there, throwing a tantrum.

"Brother, you're just a mere F-level [Architect] with limited potential. No school in the city will accept you, and you won't be of much use here."

"If we go to the front line earlier, our family will be a glorious family. My father and mother will receive a sum of [mysterious stones], and I will be more valued and enter the top class."

"Even if I really die on the front lines, my family will receive a large sum of compensation, which will cover my tuition for further studies. Once I become a better architect and move into the inner city, I will take good care of this family for you, and you can go in peace..."

At this moment, when Chen's mother heard that they were moving into the inner city, her eyes lit up, her guilt vanished instantly, and she began to persuade Chen Hui:

"Hui'er, please understand your mother's feelings. Your father and mother are just ordinary people. Staying in the outer city would be too dangerous if a strange tide were to attack."

"Besides, with your hard work, your mother believes that even if you stay on the front lines for a while, you will survive."

Chen Hui stared blankly at his mother for a while, then suddenly asked:

"Mother, the rainy season is coming soon. Do you know what the mortality rate is on the front lines during the rainy season?"

Chen's mother dared not respond.

"Father, do you know?"

Chen Hui turned to look at his father, who also fell silent.

The younger brother, Chen Chu, shouted in his thick, pig-like voice:

"Brother, sacrificing yourself on the front lines is an honor! Didn't anyone teach you that when you were studying in the outer city?"

"If you're so afraid of death, what will you ever accomplish?"

"Besides, both your father and mother have put their fingerprints on the documents. If you don't go, it's a capital offense, and no one can save you!"

Looking at his silent parents and his shouting younger brother, Chen Hui took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily.

After venting the last glimmer of hope for warmth in his heart, his eyes returned to calm.

He suddenly laughed, and said with a laugh:

"That's right. You are my father and mother, and you have the right to help me make the decision to go to the front line. I can't change it. This is my fate as a son, and I accept it."

"But all you have lost so far is one son."

After saying that, he changed the subject:

"However, you must return those 10 strange stones to me. They are the result of my hard work over the past two years, painstakingly accumulated bit by bit. They belong entirely to me and are my hope for survival on the front lines. You cannot take them away."

Of these 10 strange stones, 8 were earned by him over the past month by working from dawn till dusk every day, enduring harassment from market bullies, paying exorbitant stall fees, and desperately trying to attract customers and haggle over prices.

The other two pieces were wages earned before awakening a profession for transporting goods between cities and towns. A slight delay could lead to being trapped in darkness and devoured by monsters.

He risked his life for all of this.

Each one was incredibly precious to him.

He absolutely cannot tolerate it being taken away from him.

"Bang!" Chen's father slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and pointed at Chen Hui's nose, yelling:

"What do you mean 'stolen'?! How dare you talk like that? I've raised you for so many years, what's wrong with taking a few of your strange stones? How much have you eaten and drunk from me! Want me to settle the score with you?"

Chen's mother also got up, pulled Chen's father aside, and tried to smooth things over:

"Hui'er, how can you speak to your father like that? Come here and kowtow to him to apologize..."

Chen Chu, standing nearby, fanned the flames, saying:

"Big brother, how can you be so stingy?"

Chen Hui smiled, a professional, fake smile suddenly appearing on his face, like the one he would give when encountering an unreasonable customer at a market:

"Father, Mother, you don't want people to know that my younger brother is already fourteen and past the age limit for entering the elite class, do you?"