As Everyone Knows

Fourth Squad, break room.

Ortluk walked in and handed him the Money Pouch in his hand.

"Wanted Criminals are submitted under the squad's name. This is the bounty, so put it away first. You also have one Low-Grade Item Reward. You can claim it at the front desk later."

The method for submitting the mission had been discussed by the three of them beforehand.

Submitting it under the squad's name meant it counted toward all three of their merits.

That suited Wu Heng's thinking as well. After all, it would have been difficult to explain how he had killed three Wanted Criminals alone.

On the surface, saying the squad had killed them was much more convincing.

As for the people from the Second Squad knowing about it, that was beyond his control.

Besides, even if someone investigated, they would not find anything.

"Thank you, Captain. How about I treat you all to dinner tonight?" Wu Heng said politely.

"No need. The deacon recently assigned tasks to every squad: assist the guards in searching for Wanted Criminals and criminal mercenaries. This isn't the time to celebrate." Ortluk sat down beside him and poured himself a cup of tea.

"A search mission?"

"Our squad had one too, but since you killed three Wanted Criminals, it counts as directly completing the task. You don't need to participate. Otherwise, you would have had to patrol and search with the guards," Ortluk explained.

Damn.

Wasn't this supposed to be a retirement job? Why did he have to go on patrol too?

Killing those three people had really solved quite a few problems for him.

"Then we'll go in a few days." After thinking for a moment, Wu Heng continued, "Captain, can I apply for a second Skeleton Follower? It's still pretty dangerous outside."

Ortluk took a sip of tea and considered it. "I'll speak to the deacon about it. Whether it gets approved will depend on the circumstances."

"Alright."

Ortluk nodded, then continued asking, "How did you discover they were going to make a move against you?"

The fact that Wu Heng had left a note in advance meant he had known they would come looking for him last night.

Cavina also looked at him curiously, waiting for his answer.

Wu Heng then explained how he had discovered someone had entered his residence, as well as the problems he had noticed during his conversation with the landlord.

"I couldn't be certain either. I just guessed that they would most likely make a move."

"Then how did you kill them?" Cavina pressed again.

He did not really need to answer that question. Everyone had their own secrets.

But Wu Heng had already prepared an explanation.

He said, "After learning they were going to make a move, I made some preparations in advance. When they came in, I released thick smoke. As everyone knows, skeletons don't rely on normal eyesight. Darkness and smoke can't block their vision, so Skeleton Bartholomew killed the three of them one by one."

As everyone knows?

Who said that was common knowledge?!

We don't understand the undead that deeply.

The explanation did seem plausible. It had been a late-night battle, and he had been prepared. Killing three Wanted Criminals did not seem like much of a problem.

Still, something about it felt off.

The three chatted for a while. Ortluk went to the training room, while Cavina and Wu Heng also got up and left the break room.

They arrived at the main hall out front.

Wu Heng exchanged his Low-Grade Item Reward for a Skill Book of Dancing Lights, then left the association.

Commercial Street, Weapon Shop.

"What are you here to buy today?" the muscular, gleaming owner asked with a smile.

Wu Heng had not come many times, but he had left an impression on the owner.

"I'm looking at spears."

"They're all over here. It depends on what kind you need."

Different styles of spears hung on the wall to one side.

The cheapest cost 4 Silver Coins and 70 Copper Coins, while the most expensive cost 75 Silver Coins.

They came in different types and lengths.

Wu Heng looked them over, then pointed at the cheapest spear. "I want this kind."

The spearhead was roughly forty centimeters long, and the shaft was made of dark wood.

But judging from the craftsmanship of the spearhead, it was much finer than the ones he had bought at the market.

The owner glanced at him and continued, "The shaft is treated Ash Wood. It can easily be cut apart in battle. This kind of spear is suitable for villages driving away wild beasts or for practice."

"I'm buying them for a village, to drive away wild beasts."

The owner understood. "Then there's no problem."

"Is there a discount if I buy more?" Wu Heng asked as usual.

"That depends on how many you buy."

Wu Heng considered the number he could take away without attracting too much attention.

"I'll take ten first."

"Ten isn't much. I probably can't discount it by much."

"I'll need more in the future. I can come here to buy them then too."

After a brief round of Bargaining, the owner knocked fifty Copper Coins off the price.

After paying, Wu Heng and Bartholomew carried the spears out of the Weapon Shop and headed toward their residence.

Back at the residence.

Bartholomew tidied the room and cleaned up the bloodstains on the floor.

Last night's battle had been quite intense.

Much of the already sparse furniture had been smashed, and sword marks covered the walls and floor.

Once the landlord saw it, he would probably demand compensation for some furniture.

Wu Heng sat at the desk and flipped through the newly exchanged Skill Book.

He turned the pages one by one, following the process for unlocking the skill while also trying to understand the magic of this world.

If he had been this serious back then, maybe he could have gotten into a prestigious university.

As time passed.

The System Prompt appeared, indicating that he had unlocked the skill: Dancing Lights.

Dancing Lights: You can create floating sources of light.

With a thought, he cast Dancing Lights.

Several beams of light immediately began circling his body, giving off a faint glow.

He tried making the light touch an object beside him. The light avoided the object and continued circling around him.

It seemed it could not be used as a means of attack.

"That works too. I can use it as a flashlight."

He dismissed the spell, tidied up a little, then took Bartholomew with him to the Zombie World.

Rooftop.

He found a local map and spread it out in front of him to examine.

Fortunately, one of the residents had been a cycling enthusiast. His room contained many maps from various places, including a city map and route map for this city.

The Zombies in the residential complex had mostly been cleared out.

There were still some that wandered in, but they posed no great threat to him.

The next step was to leave the complex and explore more places.

After thinking about it, he had three targets in mind.

First was the place where the survivors who had tried to escape in a bus a few days ago had died.

He used a pen to circle the spot where the bus had overturned.

Taking such a huge risk to rush out, those people must have had a destination.

It might have been a Survivor Base, or it might have been somewhere safer.

There might be some clues in the bus.

Next, he drew a circle each to the southwest and north.

There was a pedestrian street to the southwest, with two gold shops and a bank nearby.

He was not sure whether the bank had any gold, but the gold shops definitely had considerable stock.

If he brought gold and silver back to Blackstone Town, he could instantly become a nouveau riche.

The other location to the north was the nearby Police Station.

He could see whether there were any bullets.

These three places were his next targets.

There was a Giant Zombie near the bus. It could even overturn a bus, so it definitely would not be easy to deal with.

On the way to the pedestrian street, he would have to pass the location of three Mutant Dogs. The Skeleton Horde could not keep up with them in terms of speed, making them difficult to fight.

That left the Police Station.

"If I'd had bullets last night, it wouldn't have been so troublesome."

Last night's Wanted Criminals had been a warning.

If he had had bullets last night, he could have just fired in the name of justice and emptied the magazine.

"I'll go to the Police Station."

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