Appointment Letter

Five or six Zombies crowded and shoved their way into the stairwell.

But what greeted them were cleavers coming down one after another.

The ferocious Zombies were instantly chopped to the ground and never got back up.

The stairwell door was shut again, cutting it off from the outside.

Wu Heng came down from behind the skeletons and began using the Bone Manipulation Technique. Six skeletons rose to their feet.

He found cleavers for the skeletons, then glanced at the sky. It was already dusk.

Joining the Adventurer's Guild and learning skills had taken up the daytime.

Going out to kill Zombies now would be too risky. Better wait until tomorrow.

He returned to Blackstone Town, ate, practiced his spear, and slept.

The next day.

Wu Heng got up early. Life without video games left him full of energy.

After breakfast, he headed straight to the Adventurer's Hall.

There were not many people here this early in the morning.

Wu Heng walked up to the counter and asked, "Could you check whether my commission is ready?"

"Sir, please show me the commission receipt."

He took out the receipt and handed it over. The staff member used the number on it to check the progress.

"The commission has been completed. You still need to pay 15 silver and 32 copper."

It was finally done.

But the price was outrageously high.

Fifteen silver was enough to buy three Normal Iron swords.

Still, he did not hesitate. He immediately paid the balance, and the potion along with a paper slip containing the test results was handed over.

Special Antidote Potion

(Description: A potion made to counter a specific poison.)

He put away the Antidote Potion and quickly returned to his residence.

Zombie World.

He went up to the rooftop and took out the potion and paper slip to inspect them.

Wu Heng did not know much about alchemy in this world.

But Alchemy Potions had many miraculous effects. Even the medicines produced in the technologically advanced Modern World could hardly achieve such immediate results.

If the Modern World had not turned out like this, opening a potion company would definitely have made him a fortune.

Besides the potion, there was also a paper slip.

It listed the test results for the Corpse Core and the materials needed to make the potion.

Those were all requirements Wu Heng had included in the commission.

The test mentioned several toxic substances, including neurotoxins and Corpse Poison. As for the use of the Corpse Core, the recommendation was to use it as Alchemy Material, with no mention of consuming it directly.

The ingredients for the Antidote Potion had complicated names, and he did not recognize any of them.

After giving it a rough look, he put it away.

He took out the remaining Corpse Core and set the Antidote Potion beside him.

This Corpse Core had been in his possession for several days now. Luckily, it had not started to stink.

Otherwise, he would have wasted all that money.

After disinfecting it with white alcohol, he did not hesitate. Tilting his head back, he swallowed it whole.

At first, he felt nothing.

Strength +1, Agility +2, Constitution +2.

The System Prompt appeared instantly.

Before Wu Heng could celebrate, a Burning Sensation spread from his abdomen throughout his entire body.

Bluish-purple blood vessels began appearing on his arms and neck, while the Burning Sensation turned into piercing agony.

"Fuck! It really is poisonous."

Pop!

He opened the Antidote Potion and gulped it down in one breath.

After drinking the potion, the pain eased, and the bluish-purple blood vessels spreading across his body gradually faded away.

Until they vanished completely.

About five or six minutes later, Wu Heng lay on the floor, panting heavily.

Phew!

"Good thing I had an antidote custom-made, or I really might have gotten myself killed."

Once the pain was completely gone and his mind had cleared, uncontrollable joy rose in his heart.

He had gained five attribute points.

That was equivalent to leveling up two and a half times.

Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 13, Constitution 15, Intelligence 16, Perception 10, Charm 13.

Although the points had gone into Constitution, Strength, and Agility, attributes directly reflected his physical condition. Having a high value in any of them was beneficial.

It was not as if only Intelligence mattered to a mage.

After being happy for a while, he forced himself to calm down.

He took out the Potion Recipe and examined it again.

"Does this mean that as long as I keep absorbing Corpse Cores, I can continue increasing my attributes...?"

If that guess was correct, then his attributes could increase without limit.

Even if leveling up did not grant many attributes, he could still raise them through Corpse Cores.

The two methods could complement each other.

After resting for a while and confirming that his body felt normal,

he got back up and directed the skeletons to begin today's leveling operation.

After one night, three more wandering Zombies had appeared downstairs in the area he had cleared. He had no idea where they had come from.

He opened the stairwell door and gave the order, "Attack."

The next second, the Skeleton Horde surged out of the stairwell like a long dragon.

They pounced on the Zombies outside.

The Zombies were knocked to the ground by the packed Skeleton Horde. Before they could raise their heads, countless cleavers and hammers came down, smashing them into pulp.

The commotion here also caught the attention of Zombies near the neighboring building.

They rushed over from open stairwells and from behind the building.

"Attack!" Wu Heng stepped out of the stairwell as well and shouted the command.

The Skeleton Warriors raised their cleavers in unison and charged head-on at the approaching Zombies.

Roars and chopping sounds blended into one continuous din.

Bang bang bang—crash crash!!

The windows of the building ahead shattered one after another as Zombies crashed through them and fell from above.

Those falling from higher floors were smashed into mush. Those from lower floors broke their legs and crawled forward.

"So many?"

Zombies rushed out from all directions and threw themselves at the skeleton formation.

They were still within what the skeletons could handle, but there were far more than he had estimated from the rooftop.

The Skeleton Dog would occasionally leap out from the skeleton formation, knock down one or two Zombies, bite their necks, and shake its head wildly.

When the Zombies surrounded it, it immediately jumped back behind the skeletons, not forgetting to wiggle its hips at them twice.

The taunting provocation could not have been more obvious.

Wu Heng stood behind the skeletons, observing the situation while using the Bone Manipulation Technique.

He replenished the number of skeletons lost in battle.

The Zombies grew fewer and fewer. In the end, only a scattered handful remained, along with the Zombies who had broken their legs jumping from the building and still stubbornly crawled toward them.

"Go kill those crippled ones." Wu Heng gave the Skeleton Dog the order.

The Skeleton Dog wagged its tail and leaped out of the Skeleton Horde, killing the crawling Zombies on the ground one by one.

Soon, there were thirty or forty Zombie corpses piled downstairs.

He had the skeletons gather all the corpses and stack them into a small hill.

Wu Heng began using the Bone Manipulation Technique.

He summoned a few, then rested for a while to avoid excessive mental exhaustion.

He did not want to experience that sensation of having his brains stirred again.

The sky gradually darkened once more.

He looked at the remaining corpses that had not been converted and gave up on the idea of converting them through the night.

Do not get cocky. Keep his head down and develop.

Back in Blackstone Town, Wu Heng had dinner at the tavern.

Along the way, he also overheard information the drinkers were discussing.

Things like which brothel was offering discounts, or how the blacksmith shop had raised its prices because it lacked ore.

This was the most effective way for him to understand this world.

Asking people directly could sometimes draw attention, but listening to others brag could also reveal plenty of useful information.

After eating and drinking his fill, he began walking back to his residence.

He was feeling quite satisfied.

"My luck has turned around!"

One good thing after another had happened these past two days. It felt as though his luck had suddenly exploded.

Everything was going smoothly, and the future looked promising.

"Keep my head down, raise my attributes, increase the number of skeletons," Wu Heng reminded himself.

He quickened his pace toward his residence.

However, the moment he turned into the alley where he lived, his steps abruptly halted.

He quickly retreated out of the alley and opened his holster.

Three figures stood outside his door.

A man, a woman, and someone wrapped entirely in a black cloak, their gender impossible to tell.

The Wanted Criminal came for revenge? It isn't even dark yet!

Wu Heng watched them warily.

The three people in the alley also noticed the movement. One of them called out, "Wu Heng?"

"What do you need?"

"The Appointment Letter from headquarters has arrived. The deacon asked us to deliver it to you, along with your skeleton."

As he spoke, one of them pulled down the hood of the figure behind him, revealing a Skeleton Warrior with Soul Fire burning in its eye sockets.

A faint mark on its lower jaw proved that it was the Wanted Criminal Wu Heng had killed.

"Sorry, please come in." Wu Heng apologized and stepped forward to unlock the door, inviting the two inside to talk.

Aside from his skeleton, there were two people.

A man and a woman.

The man was around forty, with brown hair combed back, a stern and resolute face, silver-white armor, and a longsword hanging at his waist.

The right breast of his silver armor bore the emblem of the Adventurer's Guild.

The other was a young woman with long golden hair, refined and striking features, and a tall figure. She wore brown leather armor on her upper body and fitted leather trousers below, her legs long and straight.

She gave off an alert and capable impression.

The moment she entered the room, her eyes kept scanning the surroundings.

"Please, sit." Wu Heng gestured for them to sit, then opened a bottle of Iced Red Tea and poured each of them a cup.

After he sat down as well, the man took out several items.

He placed them one by one on the wooden table and said, "My name is Ortluk. I'm the captain of the Fourth Squad stationed in Blackstone Town. This is member Cavina."

The woman nodded in greeting.

"Mm, good afternoon to you both."

The middle-aged captain placed the items in his hands on the table one by one and said, "This is the Association's Appointment Letter and the armor issued to you. Keep them safe. The armor is simply a welfare reward; you are not required to wear it."

There was even armor as a reward. That was pretty good.

The other party continued, "According to the Adventurer's Guild's assignment in Blackstone Town, you will be a member of the Fourth Squad from now on."

Wu Heng understood why the two had come.

So the squads had already been assigned.

"Alright. Are there only three of us in the squad?" Wu Heng asked curiously.

"An Adventurer Team has between three and five people. Our squad is newly established, so there are only the three of us for now."

An Adventurer Team was mainly responsible for rescuing adventurers and assisting the local guards.

Its numbers would not be as large as a Patrol Team's.

If there were too many members, it could instead provoke resistance from the locals.

The captain continued, "Also, we have a mission tomorrow. We'll set out early in the morning and gather at the West Gate. Don't be late."

Wu Heng froze. "So soon?"

Thanks to Angels' Trajectory for the 500 reward.