Home Is Gone

About half a month ago.

Wu Heng obtained an ancient Bronze Key.

As long as he inserted the key into any door and opened it, it became a passage to another world.

It reminded Wu Heng of the novels he had read, where the protagonist traveled between different worlds through the power of his own will.

His method was just a little more primitive. He needed a key to manually open the door.

But that did not matter. As long as he could get there, the method was unimportant.

The starting point in the other world was a remote village.

It was poor and backward, and the villagers were extremely hostile toward outsiders.

Wu Heng found a passing caravan and, after half a month on the road, arrived at the nearest town, Blackstone Town.

Just as he was preparing to use the key to trade goods between the two worlds and achieve financial freedom,

the world changed completely.

The Modern World he remembered had vanished. Everywhere he looked, Zombies wandered in groups, while pounding sounds of something hacking at doors echoed through the hallway.

Wu Heng was dumbfounded.

He had only spent half a month traveling and had just gotten ready to make his fortune.

His home was gone.

Seeing the city he had lived in become like this, an indescribable gloom settled over his heart.

He did not know what had caused all this.

But he could imagine that if he had not been traveling through the other world when the Zombies broke out, he would probably have become one of them.

People said stored electricity could last for months even after power generation stopped, but the electricity here had already gone out, and he did not dare drink the water either.

Fortunately, Blackstone Town could still provide for his daily needs and meals.

He pulled the curtains tightly shut again, picked up the weapons he had prepared, and walked out of the bedroom.

There was not much in the living room. He had taken most of his belongings to Blackstone Town to exchange for money.

Besides, in the current situation, they were basically useless.

In the corner stood a Skeleton Warrior with stark white bones.

It was the Zombie he had hung outside the window in an iron basket the last time he returned. After Wu Heng killed it, he tried summoning it.

That gave him this one Undead Summon.

Skeleton Warrior

Level: 1 (0/100)

Attributes: Constitution 10, Strength 12, Agility 8.

Trait: Hollow Skeleton

The Bone Manipulation Technique had two forms of summoning.

One used the original corpse. The Summoned Creature's form and attributes were heavily influenced by the original body.

In other words, the stronger the corpse had been in life, the stronger the summoned skeleton would be.

The other form used a quantity of bones.

By collecting scattered Shattered Bones in sufficient numbers, he could also summon Skeleton Soldier units.

"Take it!" Wu Heng handed it the Iron Sword in his hand.

Clatter!

The sound of bones rubbing together rang out. The Skeleton Warrior in Standby State raised its stiff arm and grabbed the Iron Sword handed to it.

It simply maintained its sword-gripping pose, waiting for the next command.

Wu Heng picked up another short spear and gave it a few test swings.

After thinking about it, he found a pot lid in the kitchen and strapped it to his arm as a shield.

With his final preparations complete,

he went to the front door and pressed his ear against it.

He could faintly hear light footsteps and the dragging scrape of feet against the floor.

It sounded like there were not many Zombies in the stairwell. If there were only one or two, dealing with them should not be a problem.

As long as he killed one, the number of Skeleton Warriors would increase.

Even if there was danger, he could retreat as long as he was not infected.

The advantage was his. It should be fine.

Having made up his mind, he no longer hesitated.

He had the Skeleton Warrior move to the door, took a deep breath, and opened it directly.

As the door slowly opened, an even stronger, more nauseating Foul Odor rushed at him.

His throat itched, and he instinctively wanted to cough.

Afraid of drawing the Zombies over, he forcibly held it back.

When he opened the door completely, he saw walls in the corridor stained with blood and claw marks, along with a muddy dark-red floor. The sight was as horrifying as a horror movie.

His luck was not bad. He had not encountered a Zombie the moment he stepped out.

"Go out," Wu Heng ordered softly.

The Skeleton Warrior carried the Iron Sword and walked out at his command. Wu Heng left the door ajar and followed behind it.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw a Zombie at the corner below the stairs turn its head and look upward after hearing the noise.

Her hair was matted with blood and tangled together. Her skin was grayish white, crisscrossed with bluish-black Blood Vessels. Her mouth hung open, and her black teeth were jagged.

It was the old lady who lived on the second floor. Wu Heng knew her.

She had even said she would introduce him to someone.

It seemed that would never happen now.

The sudden appearance of a man and a skeleton made the Zombie pause in surprise as well.

Then it let out an enraged howl and charged upstairs.

"Kill it!" Wu Heng ordered decisively despite his nervousness.

He had to face the Zombies. This was the first step toward moving forward.

The Skeleton Warrior immediately raised its sword and met it head-on.

The Zombie lunged upward with fierce momentum. Standing higher up, the Skeleton Warrior held the advantage of elevation as it brought down its Iron Sword.

Squelch!

The sound of steel biting flesh rang out as the Iron Sword chopped heavily into the Zombie's shoulder.

The Zombie could not feel pain, but its body still sank. Its feet caught on the stair, and its upper body slipped straight through the skeleton's legs.

Flailing its claws, it lunged to bite Wu Heng in the crotch behind it.

That attack that threatened to end his bloodline frightened him into quickly retreating.

After pulling back, he looked down at his lower body. Only after confirming that he had not been hit did he let out a breath.

The Zombie trapped beneath the skeleton's legs continued roaring without pause.

Thud!

The Skeleton Warrior's second strike stabbed downward, the Iron Sword piercing through the Zombie's body.

Wu Heng held his short spear and thrust toward its eye socket as well.

Clack!

The Zombie flailed its arms, knocking the short spear off course. It struck its forehead instead.

Its flesh split open, but the spear failed to pierce its skull. The Zombie began struggling even more violently, climbing to its feet and nearly overturning the skeleton.

Then the skeleton and the Zombie tangled together and tumbled down the stairs.

Wu Heng gripped his iron spear, intending to work with the skeleton to kill it.

Suddenly, hurried running footsteps came from upstairs. Another Zombie, its body covered in rotting flesh, rushed down.

The moment it saw Wu Heng, it leaped down and pounced across the stairs at him.

Fuck!

A tense Sense of Crisis rose in his heart.

Wu Heng had no time to think of a strategy. He raised the shield on his left arm diagonally and crashed into it head-on.

With a bang, the Zombie was knocked out of the air, black blood splashing in all directions.

Wu Heng staggered backward and slammed into the wall behind him.

The Zombie rolled down the stairs. Wu Heng gritted his teeth and stood up, thrusting his iron spear at the tumbling Zombie. Its already-rotted body displayed remarkable toughness.

The spear sank into its body as if stabbing soft leather.

Several thrusts later, he had not dealt the Zombie any fatal wounds.

The Zombie quickly climbed back up and attacked again. Wu Heng blocked with his shield and stabbed his short spear toward its chest and abdomen.

This was troublesome!

If he got scratched or bitten, he would really be finished.

He glanced sideways at the ajar door behind him and considered whether to retreat first.

Then a notification sounded beside his ear.

Gained Experience +10.

Summoned Creature—Skeleton Warrior Experience +5.

He looked down from the corner of his eye.

The battle at the corner below had already ended. Taking advantage of its weapon, the Skeleton Warrior had split open the Zombie's head and killed it.

"Come up and kill this target."

The Skeleton Warrior hurried up, blocked Wu Heng from the front, and swung its Iron Sword at the Zombie again.

The fighting styles of skeletons and Zombies were very similar. Neither made much effort to defend or block.

They simply struck at each other.

Every move was an attack.

Free of the entanglement, Wu Heng quickly retreated to the corner below and cast Bone Manipulation Technique on the Zombie that had just died.

Necromantic Magic enveloped the corpse.

The Zombie's flesh melted like hot wax, and a skeleton with human bones pushed itself up from the ground.

"Go. Attack." Wu Heng pointed toward the fight upstairs.

The newly risen Skeleton Warrior received the command and charged up empty-handed.

Wu Heng shook out his arm, easing the pain from the earlier impact.

The pot lid on his arm had already twisted out of shape, but fortunately, that crude shield had blocked the Zombie's pounce at the critical moment.

It was not that Zombies had particularly strong attack power.

The most troublesome thing was the toxins in their bodies.

If he got bitten or scratched, it would be an unjust death indeed.

The battle above continued.

The two Skeleton Warriors cornered the Zombie. One used a sword, while the other used its fists, their attacks falling like raindrops.

Black blood and chunks of flesh splattered everywhere.

In the end, amid the Zombie's furious roars and struggles, a sword pierced its neck. Its body stopped resisting and collapsed limply to the ground.

Gained Experience +10.

Summoned Creature—Skeleton Warrior Experience +5.

His experience increased again.

Just like in the games he had played before.

That was also why he had chosen to become a Necromancer.

Blackstone Town would not allow him to experiment with magic or Summon the Dead.

But he had this world.

He could completely rely on the Zombies in this world to raise his level and accumulate strength.

Once he had strength, Blackstone Town's restrictions on Necromancers would naturally be resolved.

He used Bone Manipulation Technique.

Clatter!

The flesh fell away, and a third Skeleton Warrior rose to its feet.

Before he could do anything else, two more Zombies slowly made their way up from downstairs.

They both raised their heads and looked upward.

"Attack!"