A Ride Around Town

A faint fragrance filled the carriage.

Slyther wore a fitted purple gown, reclining against the wooden couch and displaying her voluptuous figure.

She presented a stark contrast to Yuri, who sat beside her.

The leopard sprawled at their feet yawned lazily, raised its head to glance their way, then closed its eyes again.

The carriage began to move slowly.

Wu Heng asked in confusion, "Madam Slyther, where are we going?"

Slyther bent down, took out a new wineglass from beneath the wooden couch, filled it with Fruit Wine for him, and casually said, "Afraid the two of us women will abduct you?"

"Even so, I should at least know where we're going!"

In Blackstone Town, he wasn't worried that she would do anything harmful to him.

But he still needed to know where they were going.

Letting a woman hold all the initiative was not the right thing to do.

"We'll take a lap around town and send you back afterward," Slyther said with a smile.

Wu Heng continued looking at her, unable to figure out what she meant.

The carriage continued down the road, swaying gently.

Slyther continued, "Yuri said you were looking for ways to buy some items or Skill Books?"

Wu Heng glanced at the curly-haired girl opposite him.

She was trying hard to pull the sleepy leopard into her arms.

Its body was stretched long from being tugged.

"Yeah, I asked about it while we were chatting."

"There are generally two ways to obtain Skill Books and items: Adventurer's Guild commissions, some merchant guild channels, and..." Slyther took a light sip of Fruit Wine before continuing, "...some Underground Markets, otherwise known as the Black Market."

The Black Market?

Blackstone Town actually had a place like that.

"If there's something you can't buy on the open market, or if you have goods that need Fencing Stolen Goods, then the Black Market is your best choice."

Wu Heng frowned at her.

Making friends with a Whisperer seemed to bring some unexpected intelligence.

"Does Blackstone Town not care?"

"Of course Blackstone Town doesn't allow it, but places like that aren't completely open to the public. Very few people can get in touch with them."

Wu Heng thought it over and felt that it was indeed worth checking out.

"Then how do I get to this Black Market?"

Slyther took another drink before continuing, "Outsiders can't get into places like that. Tomorrow, I'll take Yuri there to have a look. If you want to go, you can come along."

Wu Heng considered it, then nodded after confirming that she had no reason to deceive him.

Slyther smiled. "We'll need to leave early tomorrow. Don't forget to bring money—I'm not paying for you."

"Alright."

Before long, the carriage slowed.

Through a gap in the curtain, Wu Heng could see that it had stopped in front of a fabric shop.

"Madam, I got what you wanted."

"Mm, head back."

The carriage turned around and headed back the way it had come.

At the entrance to the crowded district, Wu Heng and Bartholomew got off, and the carriage slowly rolled away.

Wu Heng watched the departing carriage, then headed toward his residence.

Discussing matters in a carriage seemed quite convenient as well.

In the departing carriage.

Yuri clutched the leopard's front leg and muttered, "Hmph, ugly Necromancer."

Slyther shot her an annoyed look and continued, "You're both newcomers who just joined, and you're even on the same team. You should get along fairly well."

"Me? Get along with a Necromancer? What is there to get along with him about?" Yuri widened her eyes and pointed at herself.

Slyther smiled. "Then help me gather information."

"You're that curious about him? He's just an ordinary person, isn't he?" Yuri asked curiously.

"Mm." Slyther gave a quiet response, reclined against the wooden couch, and said nothing more.

Wu Heng returned to his residence and tightly locked the door.

His trip with Slyther had not been entirely without gains.

At the very least, he had learned of a place: the Black Market.

A market with few restrictions, where he didn't have to fear leaving traces.

That was exactly what he needed most.

The sky gradually darkened.

After confirming that no one else would come by, he took out the Corpse Core and the potion he had brought back.

After disinfecting the Corpse Core with White Alcohol, he tilted back his head and swallowed it.

Constitution +1, Agility +2

The Corpse Core dissolved the moment it entered his stomach, and the System Prompt immediately followed.

Wu Heng's heart leaped with joy.

It really could be used repeatedly.

The Mutated Zombies of the Zombie World had truly become hunting grounds for extracting attributes.

His attributes had received a visible boost.

As he thought this, the Burning Sensation caused by the virus rose from his abdomen again and rapidly spread through his entire body.

Having gone through it once before, he was no longer as panicked.

He quickly picked up the potion beside him, pulled out the stopper, and drank it in one gulp.

The Burning Sensation gradually faded, and the signs of poisoning in his body began to recede as well.

Only after a while did all the symptoms finally disappear completely.

Even so, Wu Heng was drenched in sweat and gasped for breath.

"This really isn't easy."

His attributes had indeed increased, but the pain his body endured was equally unbearable.

It wasn't the pain of torn flesh or wounds, but rather the pain of something inside his body—his marrow and cells—being ripped apart.

After resting for about half an hour.

Wu Heng opened the second one and followed the same process as before.

He disinfected it with White Alcohol, then tilted back his head and swallowed it.

Strength +2, Agility +2

The attribute notification appeared again. Wu Heng immediately opened the potion and drank it.

After resting for another half hour or so.

He continued by consuming the third Corpse Core.

Stamina +2, Agility +2

He drank another potion.

After consuming all three, Wu Heng felt that his body had reached its limit.

Although there was no notification, he could still sense the toll his body had suffered from taking all three in succession.

It seemed Corpse Cores couldn't be used continuously. He needed to leave enough time for his body to recover.

He opened the Attribute Panel.

Name: Wu Heng

Class: Necromancer

Level: 4 (876/6500)

Attributes: Strength 12, Agility 19, Constitution 19, Intelligence 17, Perception 10, Charisma 13.

Specialty: Short Spear Mastery (Beginner)

Skills: Bone Servitude, Acid Splash, Grease Spell, Dancing Lights.

Looking at his attributes, Wu Heng's brow furrowed.

After consuming Corpse Cores several times in a row, his Agility and Constitution had increased until they became his highest attributes.

He was a mage, yet those two attributes were actually higher than his Intelligence.

He walked to the mirror and took off his shirt, revealing a torso packed with muscles. His abdominal and chest muscles were especially defined.

"I have abs too." Wu Heng ran a hand over them.

It wasn't just his physique—his attributes were no weaker than those of a Melee Class of the same level.

That was a good thing. It would allow him to survive better.

After admiring himself for a while, he climbed into bed to rest.

After taking the potion, he still felt weak all over, so he decided to cancel today's swordsmanship training for the time being.

The next morning.

After breakfast, Wu Heng headed straight to the Zombie World.

The moment he stepped onto the rooftop, he saw the little girl-shaped ghost floating in the air and muttering nonstop.

Meanwhile, the large group of skeletons that had originally been standing by on the rooftop were holding kitchen knives and wandering around after the ghost.

Why had she followed him here too?

Wu Heng was somewhat surprised that the ghost actually dared to come along.

Only when he drew closer did he hear her tearful voice.

"Grandpa, Dad, don't move around! I can't find you anymore!"

The number of skeletons had already reached nearly seven hundred.

They were chasing the ghost around the rooftop, throwing the whole place into chaos.

Fortunately, barriers had been set up along the edges of the rooftop. Otherwise, a large number of them might have fallen straight off.

Wu Heng quickened his pace with his wooden staff in hand. Just as he was about to cast a spell, the little ghost seemed to see some sort of monster.

With a wail, she dove into the neighboring building and vanished.

Wu Heng immediately gave the skeletons an order. "Stand by where you are!"