Wraith

Wu Heng gave the order to stand by, and the chaotic skeletons stopped in their tracks, standing blankly in place.

He quickly walked to the edge and looked down. After confirming that no skeletons had fallen due to the crowding, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

This wraith really was troublesome. It had actually followed them here.

Fortunately, it had not caused any losses.

He asked Sword One about what had happened, but Sword One could not communicate, so he learned nothing.

He only knew that the wraith had suddenly appeared last night, but it had not shown much hostility.

After confirming there were no problems, Wu Heng went downstairs to the corpses that had not yet been converted and began casting the Bone Manipulation Technique.

Necromantic Magic was released.

Pale skeletons rose from the ground, took cleavers from Sword One's hand, and joined the Skeleton Squad in the back.

Just as skeleton after skeleton rose to its feet—

The wraith poked her little head out from the wall beside them again, looking at him curiously.

"You still dare come here and cause trouble?" Wu Heng raised his staff to scare her.

"Uncle, I'm not here to cause trouble."

The wraith shrank back, but she still did not run away.

"Then what did you come here for?"

According to what he had learned in Blackstone Town, wraiths were difficult to form, and even if they did, they could not exist independently for very long.

Like the wraith before him, running around in broad daylight, her body had already become nearly completely transparent.

She probably would not last much longer.

"Uncle, are you King Yama?"

"Eh?" Wu Heng did not understand what she meant.

The little girl emerged directly from the wall, obediently knelt on the ground, and said, "Uncle, can you let my grandpa and dad go?"

Wu Heng glanced at the Skeleton Horde behind him.

He could no longer tell which ones were her grandfather and father.

"Your grandpa and dad are already dead."

"I know. Then can you bring them back to life?" the little girl continued asking.

Wu Heng frowned, roughly understanding what she meant. "I can't."

"Then why did you kill them? You could have waited for the Doctor to save them." The little girl sobbed, though no tears could come out.

"Weren't you the one who tricked me over there?"

"Ah, I'm sorry!"

"What exactly do you want? If you come cause trouble again, I'll hit you." Wu Heng threatened.

The little girl hesitated, then continued, "Uncle, will you let my grandpa and dad be reincarnated? They were just too hungry. They never ate people before."

Damn it.

Why was this kid so clingy?

After thinking for a moment, he still said, "They've already been reincarnated. Into a very good family, and they'll have very good lives in the future."

"What about me? Can I go with them?" the little girl immediately asked.

Wu Heng shook his head. "Wait until there's another chance."

The little girl looked somewhat disappointed, but it also seemed as though a knot in her heart had been untied. She stood up and floated in a circle through the air.

After thinking for a moment, she continued, "Then, Uncle Yama, can I stay by your side? I feel very comfortable around you, especially when you were turning them into skeletons."

After encountering wraiths twice now—

It seemed that Necromancers held a special attraction for the undead.

When the Ghost Infant from Mining Village had first appeared before everyone, it had been lying on his shoulder.

It had shown no interest in anyone else and had only been willing to approach him.

"Follow me, so you can trick me again? I won't be fooled by someone twice."

"I already apologized. I promise I'll never trick you again. Please, Uncle. Grandpa and Dad aren't with me anymore, and I'm a little scared by myself." The wraith circled above his head.

Wu Heng watched the wraith floating through the air and circling nonstop.

He suddenly recalled what the captain had said.

Necromancers could make wraiths work for them. The little girl before him seemed like a decent choice.

"Then you have to listen to me from now on."

"Okay, I promise I'll listen to you from now on." The wraith agreed readily.

"Then come down first."

The wraith obediently floated down, though her eyes remained somewhat wary, as if she feared he might suddenly hit her.

Wu Heng tried to use his Mental Power to envelop her.

The Soul Imprint failed.

In an instant, the Mental Power surrounding her was repelled.

He looked at the somewhat nervous little girl before him and said, "Don't be nervous. Relax a little."

The little girl did not understand, but she still nodded.

Wu Heng released his Mental Power again. This time, it went much more smoothly.

Then, it was as if he had left a portion of his own Soul Imprint within the little girl's spirit body.

He had successfully contracted the wraith.

Wu Heng was delighted and immediately checked the wraith's attributes.

Wraith

Level: 2 (0/300)

Attributes: Agility 14, Constitution 10, Intelligence 8, Perception 12, Charisma 12.

Traits: Invisibility, Ethereal Movement, Telekinetic Push

Invisibility: A haunting wraith can render its spirit body completely invisible.

Ethereal Movement: Enter an ethereal state and pass through other creatures and objects.

Telekinetic Push: Use telekinesis to affect objects within range.

The little wraith before him was only Level 2.

None of her abilities were particularly offensive.

One was "Invisibility," which allowed her to become completely unseen.

Then there was "Ethereal Movement," which was essentially the ability to pass through walls and flee, along with "Telekinetic Push," which looked fairly useful.

Could she control swords or something?

He looked at the little girl before him, and a thought crossed his mind.

The little girl's wraith body turned into a Light Orb and entered his body. At the same time, he could sense a special consciousness in his mind, independent yet connected to his own.

His Necromantic Magic was automatically gathering toward that consciousness, nourishing the already weakened spirit body.

It had worked.

With another thought, the little girl's wraith appeared again.

Her eyes widened as she looked at everything in surprise.

"Uncle, I think I'm a little different now." The little girl's body had become much more solid than before and no longer looked as if it might disperse at any moment.

"Mm. You can follow me from now on, but you have to be a good child." Wu Heng smiled.

"Then are we family now?" The little girl looked at him expectantly.

"Uh... I suppose so."

"Then you definitely won't let your family be in danger, right, Uncle?"

Wu Heng looked at her again. "What do you mean?"

"Uncle, can you save my mom? She's at our house in the city."

Damn it. Was this little girl a little too mature? Had everything she said been leading up to this?

Whether her mother was even alive or not aside, the journey to the city was not something they could easily make.

"You know what it's like outside right now. We can't reach the city at the moment, but when there's an opportunity, I'll find a way to take you back to look for your mother," Wu Heng said directly.

This little girl was far smarter than an ordinary child.

For some things, it was more convenient to be straightforward.

"Okay. Thank you, Uncle."

Wu Heng nodded and continued casting the Bone Manipulation Technique. Then he asked, "What's your name?"

"Lan Xiaoxin, but Xiaoxin doesn't sound very nice, so everyone calls me Xiaoxiao!" The little girl floated over and naturally lay on his shoulder.

Unlike the icy sensation of the Ghost Infant lying on his shoulder, after they formed the contract, he felt no discomfort at all.

"Your father's surname is Lan?" Wu Heng asked curiously.

"Yeah. What's wrong, Uncle?"

"Nothing. It's a rare surname. I'll call you Xiaoxiao from now on. It sounds pretty nice."

"Uncle, what about you?"

"Wu Heng."

"Wu as in Sun Wukong?"

"Wu as in martial arts."

In the Zombie World, it was actually not bad to finally have someone he could talk to.

Though the other skeletons possessed souls, they were not really able to communicate.

Just as the conversion ended and he was about to proceed with the next part of his plan—

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion suddenly rang out beyond the residential compound.

Wu Heng jumped in fright. Xiaoxiao the wraith also shrank in fear and was about to slip through the wall to flee.

Then she seemed to remember that she could not run away, returned to Wu Heng's side, and lay on his shoulder.

The sound had come from outside the compound.

Wu Heng quickly ran to the rooftop, leaned against the edge, and looked toward where the sound had originated.

At the intersection on the East Side, inside a pharmacy with shattered glass windows—

Loud booming sounds rang out continuously.

The surrounding Zombies surged toward the shop in groups.

"More survivors? And at this intersection again?"

This was the same intersection where the coach bus had overturned last time.

He glanced at the equally curious wraith.

"Xiaoxiao, go see what's happening."