Building Up Troops

The three skeletons stiffly turned their skulls, their hollow eye sockets fixing on the target.

The moment they spotted the Zombies, they charged down the stairs to kill them.

The two unarmed skeletons each tangled with one Zombie, while the Sword-Wielding Skeleton stood to the side, repeatedly slashing the Zombies with its Iron Sword.

Wu Heng stepped forward as well, using his shield to block the reaching claws and splattering filthy blood.

He thrust his short spear through the gaps in the skeletons' frames, stabbing wildly at the Zombies' bodies.

Again and again, he repeated the Stabbing Attack.

The short spear had been his only choice after trying out different weapons.

Drawing a bow was difficult, and accurate shooting required long-term practice. Firing repeatedly while maintaining precision was not something an ordinary person could manage.

Swords were the most common weapons in Blackstone Town.

But when he tried one, he had nearly slit his own throat. In the end, he followed the blacksmith's advice and chose a short spear.

Thrusting and striking could both deal decent damage.

For a beginner, it was easier to handle and less likely to injure himself.

Soon, the two Zombies drawn upstairs were killed together, collapsing onto the floor in a bloody mess, looking miserable.

Wu Heng had actually known all these Zombies.

They had all been neighbors living in the same stairwell.

Only now, they had become enemies.

He cast the Bone Manipulation Technique, and two Skeleton Warriors rose to their feet once more.

Seeing that no more Zombies were rushing up, he thought for a moment before giving the order.

"Follow me back!"

He led the skeletons back into the room.

After closing the Security Door, Wu Heng sat in a chair to recover his strength.

Even though the Skeleton Warriors had done most of the fighting, the strain of remaining constantly tense had exhausted him.

Judging from his attributes, stamina and strength were not his strong points.

But for now, ordinary melee attacks were all he had.

After resting for a while, Wu Heng entered the kitchen and found a cleaver, a Fruit Knife, and a hammer. He gave them to three of the skeletons. For the last one, he could not find anything useful, so he gave it a mop as a temporary weapon.

The cleaver was actually a pretty good choice.

It could completely replace a Skeleton Warrior's primary weapon.

Once he had money in the future, he could consider buying Iron Swords in Blackstone Town to equip the skeletons.

After recovering enough, Wu Heng stood up again and prepared for the battles ahead.

Back in the cold hallway, his feet stuck slightly to the blood and flesh on the floor.

"You three, walk in front of me." Wu Heng pointed at three skeletons.

Three walked ahead, while two followed behind, keeping him protected in the middle as they headed downstairs.

The door of an apartment on the second floor was open. He led the skeletons inside for a look but found no Zombies.

The owner was one of the Zombies they had just killed.

He found two cleavers in the kitchen and used them to replace the mop and Fruit Knife.

Then they continued down toward the first floor.

Carefully, he peeked around the corner.

The green stairwell door was badly battered, but it remained tightly shut, separating the outside from the stairwell.

He could faintly hear the sound of something clawing at the door.

Luckily, the Main Gate was closed. If the Zombies outside had rushed in, they would have been much harder to deal with.

He directed the Skeleton Warriors to pile miscellaneous items in front of the door, completely sealing off the stairwell entrance.

They probably would not need to use it again anyway.

Once everything had been blocked off, Wu Heng began carrying out his next plan.

He came to the first apartment's door, took out the Bronze Key, and gently turned it. The door opened a narrow crack.

A pale white curtain of light shone through the gap.

Once the lock was opened, Wu Heng pulled out the key. After waiting a few seconds, the light curtain connected to the other world vanished as well.

What appeared before him was the living room of the first-floor apartment.

The living room was somewhat dark, but there were no Zombies in sight.

Bang!

Bang, bang!!

The moment they stepped into the living room, violent pounding came from the bedroom door.

After only a few strikes, the flimsy door shattered.

Two Zombies in pajamas stumbled out.

"Attack." Wu Heng gave the order again.

Scattered Zombies no longer posed much of a threat.

Instead, they had become Experience Packs.

They could increase experience and add to the number of Skeleton Warriors.

Clatter!

The Skeleton Warriors rushed forward as one, surrounding the Zombies. Their cleavers rose and fell without pause.

The scene was a little cruel, but strangely satisfying.

The Zombies did not even get the chance to show much resistance before being hacked to death in the living room.

Wu Heng walked over and cast the Bone Manipulation Technique. Two Skeleton Warriors rose to their feet again.

After confirming that there was no danger here, Wu Heng went to the kitchen first.

He found another two cleavers there.

He handed them to the newly risen Skeleton Warriors.

Then he began rummaging through cabinets and drawers, searching for anything useful.

It could not be helped. Living in Blackstone Town required money too.

If this world had not become like this, he could have made money much more easily.

There was stored Rice and Flour, and the refrigerator contained well-preserved pickled food.

But with Blackstone Town available, food was not all that important.

He closed the refrigerator and continued searching through the bedroom wardrobe.

He took out several pieces of clothing that looked quite high-end.

Then there was cash, bank cards, property certificates, identification documents, and several paper deposit slips.

He also found several pieces of women's Gold Jewelry in the vanity cabinet.

Cash and bank cards were useless now, but Gold Jewelry still held value.

As he was about to leave, his eyes fell on an ornament by the entrance.

A Jade Cabbage sat atop the shoe cabinet by the door.

It had a wooden base, with a translucent cabbage-shaped ornament on top. It was nearly thirty centimeters long, not small at all.

Wu Heng examined it, then carried it out in his arms.

He then led the Skeleton Warriors to the neighboring apartment.

He lived in an old residential complex with six floors and three apartments on each floor.

Wu Heng led the skeletons from door to door, killing the Zombies inside and looting useful items.

Five in the afternoon.

Wu Heng and the skeletons had cleared out every apartment in the entire building unit.

The not-so-spacious living room was now packed with Skeleton Warriors holding cleavers and Fruit Knives.

They stood in neat rows, making the whole room feel gloomy and eerie.

He counted them. There were seventeen Skeleton Warriors in total.

There were fewer Skeleton Warriors than he had expected, but it was still not bad. At the very least, today's operation had gone smoothly.

Among the skeletons, the Sword-Wielding Skeleton had the most experience. Thanks to the advantage of its weapon, it had reached 55 points and was less than halfway from leveling up.

If tomorrow went as smoothly as today, reaching Level 2 would not be a problem.

Through today's fighting, he had also figured out how the skeletons gained experience.

Aside from Wu Heng, who could share the experience earned by all skeletons, the remaining experience was assigned based on the killing blow.

In other words, whichever skeleton landed the final strike received the credit.

It was not split evenly among all the skeletons.

His own experience had also reached halfway. If things went smoothly, he could level up as well.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

After sorting through the loot and ordering all the skeletons to remain where they were, he put on his Backpack and returned to Blackstone Town through the Portal.

Antler Merchant Shop.

A famous chain store in Blackstone Town.

Its emblem resembled a pair of antlers.

He had heard that its shops were spread throughout every human city. It had considerable influence and had always maintained a good reputation.

"Beautiful, truly beautiful." The fat shop owner behind the counter held the Jade Cabbage and examined it carefully.

After praising it instinctively, he carefully set it down on the counter and continued, "What material is this? It isn't jade, and there are no signs of carving. It doesn't look like a natural material."

Wu Heng was surprised by how sharp the man's eyes were.

Though it was called a Jade Cabbage, it was not real jade. It was a resin ornament molded in one piece.

It had nothing to do with jade at all.

"Fat Jade. You rarely see it here. It's lightweight yet tough, with rich colors," Wu Heng casually made up an explanation.

This world was not some medieval era like Earth's, and its level of development was not behind.

It had glass, all kinds of exquisite handicrafts, as well as plentiful grain and salt.

But synthetic materials like resin and plastic had never appeared here.

Instead, they had become rare curiosities.

The shop owner inspected it more closely before saying directly, "The Antler Merchant Guild never haggles prices. Your item is good, but it was clearly molded in one piece. Its strengths are its exquisite appearance and unusual material. If you are willing to sell it, we can offer thirty Silver Coins."

There were four types of common currency: Copper Fen, Copper Coins, Silver Coins, and Gold Coins.

Although Gold Coins were the highest-tier currency, they rarely appeared among commoners.

Silver Coins could settle most purchases and sales.

As a result, Silver Coins had considerable purchasing power.

By Wu Heng's understanding of currency, a Silver Coin here was equivalent to a hundred-yuan bill.

"Too low." Wu Heng shook his head, pretending to be dissatisfied.

"Then what price do you have in mind?"

"One hundred."

He could always ask high first. If they disagreed, he could lower the price.

If he quoted too little and they agreed immediately, he would only feel worse.

Of course, he could not ask for something too outrageous. It just had to be roughly reasonable.

"I'm afraid that price will be difficult to accept. How about this—forty Silver Coins. That is the highest price I can offer." The owner gave his final offer.

Wu Heng thought about it. The Jade Cabbage was useless to him, and he had nowhere else to sell something that was of little use to him anyway.

So he nodded in agreement.

"Alright."