Upgraded

Tap, tap, tap!

Dense footsteps echoed through the stairwell.

Given the number of residents in a single unit, there was no way there could be this many Zombies.

Unless all the residents had been living in the hallway.

But that was obviously impossible.

The only explanation was that the unit building's door had been left open, allowing the Zombies outside to enter the stairwell.

Damn it!

Wu Heng cursed his bad luck. He had actually run into something like this.

He turned, intending to lead the Skeleton Warriors back to the rooftop.

But after taking just one step, he stopped again.

The stairwell was narrow. The Skeleton Warriors in his hands might actually have the advantage here.

Besides, he would have to clear this place sooner or later, and the next stairwell might not be any safer.

Even if things truly went wrong, he could retreat to the rooftop then and barricade the iron door.

After thinking it over quickly, he felt it was worth trying.

More Zombies with grayish-white skin and savage faces shoved and crowded as they charged up.

Wu Heng no longer hesitated and decisively gave the order. "Attack."

The Skeleton Warriors began charging downstairs.

Crack...!

A cleaver chopped into a Zombie's skull, and it fell in response.

More Zombies behind it lunged forward at the same time, clawing, tearing, and biting, using every possible means to rip apart the targets ahead.

The Skeleton Warriors continuously swung their weapons, hacking at the Zombies pouncing on them.

The stairwell was narrow enough for only two or three Zombies to attack side by side at most.

Amid the shoving and crowding, some Zombies were squeezed over the railing, while others were trampled underfoot and unable to raise their heads.

Zombie roars, the sounds of clawing, tearing, chopping, and bones breaking echoed continuously through the stairwell.

"If I get the chance, I'm definitely learning more ranged skills."

Standing behind the Skeletons, Wu Heng stabbed downward with his short spear while muttering to himself.

This close combat was too exhausting.

During the battle, Zombies died in large numbers, while quite a few were trampled to death by the Zombies behind them.

The scene was utter chaos.

The number of Skeleton Warriors was also rapidly dwindling.

That made Wu Heng's heart ache.

After all, right before his eyes, Skeletons were constantly being torn into piles of Shattered Bones.

Wu Heng stopped wasting his strength on spear thrusts and began casting Bone Manipulation Technique.

Skeleton after skeleton rose to its feet where the two sides clashed.

Without needing orders, they swung their fists and charged at the Zombies.

The battle grew even fiercer. One side surged up while the other pressed down, like two swarms of ants colliding.

They shoved and tore at each other, relentlessly attacking.

Wu Heng followed behind them, sweat already beginning to form on his forehead.

In previous battles, he had had time to rest and recover his condition.

But this time was different. The high-intensity, uninterrupted use of Bone Manipulation Technique was putting him under pressure.

His whole body was soaked in sweat as if he had a kidney deficiency, and waves of stabbing pain came from his brain.

He had heard people mention it at the tavern in Blackstone Town.

Frequent spellcasting by mages was especially draining on Mental Power.

Overworking one's body would only lead to muscle damage, which could be healed with a period of rest.

But mental exhaustion, in serious cases, could turn someone into an idiot or even leave them in a vegetative state.

Your level has increased to Level 2. Intelligence +1, Constitution +1, Mental Power slightly increased.

At that moment, the notification sounded beside his ear.

He had leveled up.

Just as Wu Heng felt he was about to reach his limit, the notification abruptly appeared.

In an instant, the stabbing pain in his brain eased somewhat.

"We have to go all in."

The Skeleton Squad was currently on the third floor. As long as they fought their way down to the first floor and shut the door, they would be fine.

He continued giving orders. "Attack with everything you have."

Clatter!!

The Skeleton Warriors charged forward like madmen. Cleavers in hand and bare-fisted Skeletons alike forcibly pushed the Zombies back.

Wu Heng led several Skeletons beside him and quickly ran back to the rooftop.

His gaze swept over the building materials before he pointed at a sheet of Blue Painted Iron Sheet. "Pick that up."

A Skeleton Warrior picked up the iron sheet and followed him to the edge of the rooftop.

Under Wu Heng's command, it threw it straight down.

Bang—clatter~!

The iron sheet struck the ground with a tremendous crash.

As if it were a signal, all the Zombies in the surrounding area ran over like mad.

They crowded together, trampling over the Blue Painted Iron Sheet.

Wu Heng quickly returned to the stairwell. Sure enough, there were far fewer Zombies packed below.

"Quick, kill your way down."

The Skeleton Warriors continued charging downward, and the battle grew increasingly intense.

They fought all the way to the entrance.

He had several Skeletons rush outside to draw the Zombie Horde's attention while he completely shut the iron door at the stairwell entrance.

Bang, bang, bang!!

The Zombies pounded furiously on the iron door, producing thunderous blows.

After killing the remaining Zombies in the stairwell, he had the Skeletons bring over all sorts of clutter and barricade the stairwell door with another layer.

Fortunately, the Zombies were clearly not very intelligent.

After pounding on the iron door for a while and discovering that no movement came from inside, they gradually dispersed, drawn away by other sounds.

They did not continue tormenting the battered Green Painted Door.

Wu Heng sat inside one of the rooms, bracing his forehead as he gasped for breath.

That situation just now had truly been dangerous.

Thinking back on it still made his heart pound.

Fortunately, the stairwell door had been blocked off. Otherwise, things would have been difficult.

After resting for a while, he felt slightly better.

The stairwell was piled full of corpses and Shattered Bones.

He had no intention of using Bone Manipulation Technique.

The entrance was already blocked off anyway. He could return tomorrow to summon them once he was in better condition.

Stepping over the bodies, he led the remaining Skeleton Warriors from door to door, clearing the Zombies inside the rooms and scavenging supplies.

Inside a room on the third floor.

Wu Heng held a black Motorcycle Helmet in his hands and examined it carefully.

The owner of the room had probably been a motorcycle enthusiast. There were many motorcycle-related items inside, along with some outdoor gear.

Climbing Rope, Portable Light—there were quite a few different kinds.

What interested him most was the sturdy helmet in his hands.

It had a full-face design, with a Transparent Plastic Windshield on the front. When fighting Zombies, it could keep splattering blood out of his eyes and mouth.

The material was probably composite material. It was sturdy, and its weight was still within an acceptable range.

He took off his leather hat and tried on the helmet.

It felt pretty good. It was a little stuffy, but that was bearable for the sake of safety.

He put the leather hat on the Iron Sword Skeleton Warrior.

After packing up everything he could use, he took the items with him and continued on to the next room to scavenge.

At dusk.

He returned to Blackstone Town, ate something simple, and went to bed.

He had consumed too much Mental Power today, so he would pause Short Spear Training for a day.

The next day, noon.

Zombie World.

Over the course of the morning, Wu Heng transformed all the corpses from the stairwell of Unit 2 yesterday into Skeleton Warriors.

He transformed some, rested, then transformed more, taking several hours in total.

At that moment, a large number of Skeletons filled the rooftop.

Holding cleavers and hammers, they looked somewhat imposing.

He counted them. There were fifty-two Skeleton Warriors in total.

That was fewer than he had expected. He had killed so many Zombies yesterday, yet there were only this many after transformation.

Among them, the Sword-Wielding Skeleton had reached Level 2.

Attributes: Constitution 10, Strength 13, Agility 8.

Its Strength had increased by one point, with no other changes.

It felt like leveling up had made no difference.

Still, gaining even one point was better than gaining nothing. He could only hope that as its level rose, the attributes would accumulate little by little.

Based on the normal distribution of Experience Points, more should have reached Level 2. But Skeletons had also been constantly dying in battle.

Most of the remaining Skeletons had been summoned from the ground this morning, so their experience was at zero.

Improving Skeletons really was a troublesome matter. He needed to plan it out carefully.

At the very least, he needed to cultivate a few high-level ones first.

After handing out cleavers to the newly joined Skeletons, Wu Heng opened his own attributes again.

Name: Wu Heng

Class: Necromancer

Level: 2 (550/900)

Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 11, Constitution 13, Intelligence 15, Perception 10, Charisma 12.

Skill: Bone Manipulation Technique

He himself had also reached Level 2, and his Constitution and Intelligence had increased.

It was a little better than the Skeletons, but not by much.

He had indeed improved, yet it also felt as if he had not.

He could barely feel the effects at all.

He sat to the side and waited until his Mental Power and stamina had mostly recovered.

Then he stood again, put on the Motorcycle Helmet, lowered the visor, and gave a muffled command. "Follow me."

Clatter!!

More than fifty Skeletons began moving, following behind him.

They arrived before the iron door of Building 3.

He took out the Bronze Key and gently unlocked it.

A cold, rotten stench seeped through the visor and into his nostrils.

The stairwell was unusually quiet, with several mangled corpses left on the ground.

Seeing the corpses, Wu Heng frowned.

The Zombies were dead?

How could Zombies have been killed?

Were there survivors?