Assembling Iron Spears

The stench rushed up and assaulted their noses. Even from this far away, they could smell it.

As the only commercial street in the district, this was where nearby residents came to shop and stroll.

Not everyone liked shopping, but the stores were all gathered here.

If they wanted to buy something, they had to come here.

But there was no reason for so many Zombies to gather here, was there?

Were they holding some kind of party? Or another gathering?

No...

Even if this was a shopping area, there shouldn't have been this many people here.

It was practically as crowded as a tourist attraction during the holidays.

"It's because of the speakers..."

Wu Heng made a bold guess.

Perhaps there had not been so many people gathered here when the virus first broke out.

Instead, after the outbreak, the street's speakers had kept playing, with all kinds of upbeat songs and dance music drawing in Zombies from the surrounding area.

Later, when the power went out and the speakers stopped playing, the gathered Zombies had continued wandering nearby.

He did not know whether his guess was right, but it seemed highly likely.

Wu Heng observed from afar for a while. Only after confirming that there were no Mutated Zombies or other monsters did he begin heading back the way he came.

When he returned to the Skeleton Squad, Sword One and Sword Two were directing the skeletons to clean up the battlefield.

The corpses were piled to one side, while the fallen kitchen knives and Fruit Knives were collected for the next skeletons to use.

There was no danger nearby.

Wu Heng turned his gaze toward the shops on both sides.

Restaurants, fruit shops, milk tea shops—the closer they got to the commercial street, the more of these kinds of stores there were.

Almost the entire street was filled with them.

Yet Wu Heng's gaze settled on a shop called Xinyi Advertising.

Judging by the name, it should have made shop signs and billboards.

He had Sword One, Sword Two, Crossbow One, and Crossbow Two each lead skeletons to search the other shops, while he took Bartholomew and several skeletons into the advertising shop.

The middle of the lobby was wide open. On the filthy floor lay piles of red banners and plastic advertising letters.

Wu Heng swept his gaze around and spotted several metal pipes, roughly three to four meters long, along the wall.

Iron pipes?

He could not tell whether they were iron pipes or Steel Pipes. There were more than twenty of them.

These straight metal pipes should be useful somehow.

He checked the back rooms and the second floor of the shop, where he also found cutting and welding tools. However, they all needed electricity and were useless for now.

After confirming there was nothing else of value, he ordered the skeletons, "Carry these outside."

The shop's glass doors had already been shattered. Several skeletons lifted the iron pipes and walked straight out.

Sword One, Sword Two, and the other skeletons also returned.

The Skeleton Warriors behind them held the kitchen knives and Fruit Knives they had scavenged.

The haul was not much.

They returned together to the alley where they had fought earlier.

They were preparing to head back with the team.

"Carry the bodies. We're going back."

The Skeleton Warriors hoisted the corpses and followed him toward the residential complex.

They returned to the base of the apartment building.

The corpses they had brought back were piled into a small mountain.

Wu Heng sat to one side, looking at the iron pipes and Fruit Knives they had brought back.

After placing them together to compare their sizes, he took out tape and wrapped a Fruit Knife onto one end of an iron pipe. Once it was securely bound, he took out iron wire and wrapped several more coils around it.

When everything was finished, he inspected it carefully.

It did not seem all that different from a store-bought spear.

"Sword One, take it and try it," Wu Heng said.

Sword One walked over, took the iron spear that was five or six meters long, and made a thrusting motion.

Pfft!

The Fruit Knife at the tip plunged straight into the Corpse Pile beside them.

When he pulled it back out, it brought with it a spray of dark red blood.

It looked pretty good. The Fruit Knife was sturdy enough and had not come loose.

He had scavenged several hundred Fruit Knives from so many buildings.

Besides iron pipes, he could also collect wooden poles and the like to assemble these simple long spears.

It seemed entirely workable, so he said to Sword One, "Assemble the Fruit Knives and iron pipes this way. You four will work on it tonight."

Only Sword One, Sword Two, Crossbow One, and Crossbow Two possessed intelligence. The other skeletons could attack and carry things around.

Having them assemble things was clearly unrealistic, so only Sword One and the others could do it.

Bartholomew had to return to Blackstone Town with him as well, so he could not stay behind to help.

Sword One indicated that he understood and began gathering daggers, more tape, and iron wire to start assembling them.

Wu Heng had Bartholomew carry over a chair. Sitting before the Corpse Pile, he began casting the Bone Manipulation Technique.

The staff's effect could reduce the Mental Power consumed during casting.

But he could not really feel much of a difference when using it, and he did not know whether it was working.

The Bone Manipulation Technique continued without interruption. One skeleton after another rose to its feet and slowly walked into the formation.

By dusk, he led the skeletons back to the rooftop, then returned to Blackstone Town himself.

Blackstone Town.

He headed straight for the Weapon Shop.

There were two groups of customers inside. The owner and a clerk were promoting the weapons displayed on the shelves.

When the owner saw Wu Heng enter, he raised a hand in greeting and gestured for him to browse first.

Only after seeing off the previous customers did he walk over, wiping his hands on his apron. "What are you buying today?"

"Other than spears, do you have any other long-handled weapons?" Wu Heng walked around the shop before asking directly.

"Yes. We have Long-Handled Battle Axes and war hammers over here. Both have excellent killing power." The owner led him to a display shelf and pointed at several weapons as he introduced them.

They all looked decent, but they were not what Wu Heng needed.

"Do you have a long-handled weapon like a Three-Pronged Fork?"

"Uh, we don't currently have that kind of weapon in the shop." The owner frowned as he answered, then thought for a moment before adding, "But we do have something similar to what you described."

"Show me."

"Certainly, this way." The owner led him toward a corner, where wooden handles were stuck in a barrel. At the top of each was a tool with four iron spikes. "Is this what you meant? A pitchfork. It's used for handling hay."

Wu Heng took one in hand and frowned slightly.

Of course he knew pitchforks. They were common farming tools that could be found in any ordinary village.

They did fit his description.

"How many do you have?" Wu Heng asked.

"About five or six," the owner replied.

"So few?"

"You see, this is a Weapon Shop. Besides, who in the city would buy pitchforks?"

That seemed right. Pitchforks were farming tools, not really weapons.

"How much are the pitchforks?"

"Fifty-five copper coins."

Compared to weapons, pitchforks were much cheaper.

He just did not know whether they would be effective against Zombies.

"I'll take them all," Wu Heng said directly.

"Alright."

The owner agreed with a smile and immediately went to prepare them.

Before long, the owner brought out the pitchforks. There were five in total.

The quantity really was not much.

"If you need more, we can make another batch for you later," the owner continued.

"Not yet. We'll talk about it later."

After paying, he and Bartholomew carried the pitchforks toward their residence.

Back at the residence.

He sent all the pitchforks to the Zombie World.

Wu Heng picked up his Iron Sword and began his swordsmanship practice.

So many days had passed. With Sword One as a sparring partner and Ortluk giving him guidance and corrections, he still had not unlocked the swordsmanship proficiency.

That was a little frustrating.

He practiced until nightfall, then went to bed.

The next day, in the Zombie World.

Wu Heng came to the rooftop.

He saw twenty-two iron-pipe spears laid out on the ground.

The Fruit Knives at their tips varied in length, but the iron pipes were all roughly the same length and secured with iron wire.

Overall, they looked quite good.

He selected twenty-two skeletons and ordered, "Put down your weapons."

The skeletons tossed the kitchen knives from their hands onto the ground and stood where they were.

"Take these." Wu Heng handed them the iron spears.

The skeletons stretched out their hands and grasped the iron spears.

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