Chapter Summaries

Wu Heng rejected Mackintosh’s dinner invitation, then traded goods with Shanala and equipped Skeleton Warriors with rifles in the Zombie World. He led a convoy and the Skeleton Army to clear a Zombie Horde, where his Battlefield of the Undead raised a Level 4 Skeleton Warrior.

• Wu Heng rode with Mackintosh, declined her invitation to dinner, and returned to the association after an awkward conversation.
• Shanala shared dinner with Wu Heng, Minnie, and Andeviel, then met Wu Heng at the harbor the next morning to exchange goods and settle an order.
• Wu Heng selected twenty level-five Skeleton Warriors with Hunter's Aim, armed them with rifles, and ordered Qi Hancai to assign them to guard the base.
• Wu Heng had the convoy leave the factory with the Skeleton Army to clear Zombies.
• Skeleton Flying Dragons bombarded a Zombie Horde, and Wu Heng advanced with the Skeleton Army, raising fallen Zombies with Battlefield of the Undead.

Wu Heng led his forces through another Zombie-clearing expedition, strengthened his Skeleton army, and discussed setting up a market to trade the survivors’ abundant food. Back on Treasure Island, he supplied Corpse Cores to the Alchemy Skeletons and found Philippa’s latest reports describing pirate activity around the association’s ships.

• Wu Heng’s Skeletons defeated Zombies and two Mutated Dogs, which he raised as Skeleton Dogs while collecting Corpse Cores and Experience Points.
• Wu Heng and Qi Hancai discussed trading food at the Military Market and preparing a plot for a market of their own.
• Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island, delivered Corpse Cores to Alchemy One, and collected the potions made by the Alchemy Skeletons.
• Wu Heng read Philippa’s reports, which included a pirate offering to help raid an association ship and claiming that any deaths would not be his fault.

Wu Heng learned that Philippa had joined pirates attacking an Association ship carrying Shiraque and set out to rescue them. After discovering the Deacon was also at sea, Wu Heng used a Tracking Pendant to find the battle and prepared his skeleton crew and weapons to intervene.

• Wu Heng questioned Philippa and learned that seven pirate ships were pursuing an Association vessel near Scorpion Pincer Island, with Shiraque aboard.
• Wu Heng told Moya about the attack, but learned that Deacon Imilo had left two days earlier to meet Shiraque at sea.
• Wu Heng broke into Shiraque's office, took her hair tie, and ordered guards to watch the room.
• Wu Heng boarded his ship with Sharktooth and a skeleton crew, then sailed toward Scorpion Pincer Island as the harbor erupted in alarm.
• Granda spotted eight pirate ships surrounding an Association vessel, and Wu Heng armed his skeletons with an autocannon, machine guns, rifles, and rocket launchers.

Wu Heng attacked the pirate fleet with an autocannon and a Barrett, rescuing the Association members trapped aboard a ship. As the pirates fled and the battle continued, Philippa dragged the wounded Poison Blade aside and stabbed him in the neck.

• Poison Blade and the other pirate captains threatened the Association members trapped behind the reinforced cabin door and prepared to blast it open.
• Wu Heng arrived on a merchant ship and used an autocannon to destroy pirate vessels, killing many pirates and wounding Poison Blade.
• Wu Heng shot the fleeing Red Crown captain with a Barrett and learned from Granda that Shiraque and the others were alive and unharmed.
• Wu Heng ordered his ship to close in and his skeletons to fire on the remaining pirates.
• Philippa dragged the wounded Poison Blade into a corner, then stabbed his neck with a dagger and held him down as he struggled.

Wu Heng attacked the pirates surrounding the association ship, rescued Shiraque and her squad, and turned the dead into skeletons. After seeing the devastated decks, Shiraque asked where the others were.

• Philippa killed a pirate, took his Spatial Ring and equipment, and escaped after Silly Bird nearly exposed her.
• Wu Heng’s skeletons attacked the pirate ships, while Philippa returned to her ship and led its crew to cut free.
• Wu Heng had the skeletons storm the pirate cabins and found the Red-Crested Captain and Captain Poison Blade dead.
• Wu Heng transformed the remaining corpses into skeletons and called Shiraque and her squad out of the cabin.
• Shiraque thanked Wu Heng, surveyed the wreckage, and asked where the others were.

Wu Heng rescued Shiraque’s team, helped them seize pirate ships and cargo, and agreed to share credit for the pirate captains they killed. Meanwhile, Philippa returned to her ship with her loot and threatened to eat a parrot unless it joined her pirate group.

• Wu Heng told Shiraque he had come alone after using a Person-Finding Wondrous Item to locate her, and returned her hair ribbon for safekeeping.
• Wu Heng’s team turned the dead pirates into skeletons, salvaged supplies and coins, and prepared the captured ships to sail back to Treasure Island.
• Wu Heng offered to report that Shiraque and her team had helped kill two Pirate Captains so they could complete their target, and Shiraque accepted the shared credit.
• Philippa sorted the Iron Barrel Pirate Group’s stolen supplies and treasure, then threatened to stew the Green Parrot unless it joined her pirate group.

Wu Heng returned Shiraque safely to the Association after defeating two pirate groups, then arranged for the bodies to be identified and prepared a report. At home, he contacted Philippa, who reported finding a blank envelope on Poison Blade's captain.

• Wu Heng and Shiraque returned to the harbor with the battered pirate ships, spreading news that the Association had destroyed two pirate groups.
• Wu Heng and Shiraque visited the morgue and asked the coroner to verify the identities of the two wanted pirate captains.
• Wu Heng dictated a report to Andeviel, while Shiraque noticed her damaged office door and recovered her chest binder from a drawer.
• Wu Heng returned home, greeted Minnie, and contacted Philippa by radio.
• Philippa asked Wu Heng for weapons for her ship, but he refused and told her to keep a low profile while gathering intelligence.
• Philippa told Wu Heng that she had found a blank envelope and blank stationery on Poison Blade's captain.

Wu Heng met Philippa on Cocktail Island to examine a mysterious envelope and discuss her work as an undercover pirate captain. He equipped her for emergencies and arranged for their future meetings, then returned to Treasure Island as Philippa sailed away.

• Wu Heng traveled to Cocktail Island and waited for Philippa and the Iron Barrel Pirate Group to arrive.
• Philippa gave Wu Heng a Blank Envelope like the one he had found before, and he told her to report any related intelligence or letters.
• Wu Heng rewarded Philippa with Silver Coins and told her that her mother was safe in the Association dormitories.
• Wu Heng gave Philippa a rifle and ammunition, taught her how to use them, and warned her to keep them secret.
• Wu Heng and Philippa agreed to use Cocktail Island as their meeting place, and Philippa left with the Green Parrot while Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island.

Wu Heng investigated the pirate attack and the possibility that Blank Envelopes were involved, then returned to the Zombie World and offered Qi Hancai Corpse Cores without side effects. Qi Hancai had not yet answered when the chapter ended.

• Wu Heng asked Minnie to check the skeletons' recorded messages and alert him to urgent intelligence.
• Wu Heng told Imilo that Philippa had led him to the pirates and that Blank Envelopes were found on the dead pirates; Imilo promised to record the rescue and investigate.
• Andeviel told Wu Heng that the association was praising him for rescuing Shiraque and her companions.
• Wu Heng checked the radio log, stored his potions, and traveled through the World Gate to the Zombie World.
• Wu Heng summoned Qi Hancai and offered her Corpse Cores without side effects if she stayed and kept the method secret.

Wu Heng gave Qi Hancai and Zhao Yanqiu purified potions that strengthened their bodies without the dangers of ordinary Corpse Cores, warning both to keep the secret. He then flew to the Bus Station, where he reunited with Li Yahong after her meeting.

• Wu Heng gave Qi Hancai a purified potion, and she drank it and felt her physical strength increase.
• Qi Hancai left and grew uneasy as she wondered who Xiaoxiao was, since she had never found her in the shelter records.
• Wu Heng gave Zhao Yanqiu a potion, and after enduring brief pain, she felt her body regain vitality and promised to keep the secret.
• Wu Heng took Xiaoxiao and the skeletons to the Bus Station on the Skeleton Flying Dragon and asked the survivors to send Li Yahong to his room after her meeting.
• Li Yahong arrived with a heavy backpack, acted angry, then embraced Wu Heng and kissed him.

Wu Heng strengthened Li Yahong, Minnie, and Andeviel with newly brewed potions before returning to Treasure Island. At the association, he arranged for Philippa’s mother, Millicent, to open a tavern and become an Investigator who gathered intelligence for him.

• Li Yahong drank two potions, awakened Shadowless Hand, and gave Wu Heng the gold and silver collected at the Bus Station.
• Wu Heng arranged for a convoy to deliver food and heavy crossbows, then returned to Treasure Island with Li Yahong’s gold and silver.
• Wu Heng gave Minnie and Andeviel two potions each, and the three trained together before resting.
• Andeviel brought Millicent to Wu Heng, who offered to buy her a storefront and have her run a tavern that could gather intelligence.
• Wu Heng gave Millicent an Investigator Class Change Scroll, and she accepted the job as his informant.

Wu Heng helped Millicent take possession of a shop, then traveled to Netarei City to buy supplies. After a cavalry squad tried to kill him outside the city, he killed them and raised their bodies as undead, including twelve Skeleton Horses.

• Wu Heng gave Millicent the deed to a shop on Lighthouse Street and warned her to keep their relationship secret.
• Wu Heng traveled to Netarei City, found heavy crossbows too scarce to buy, and purchased flour and beans instead.
• A cavalry squad surrounded Wu Heng outside the city and attacked despite seeing his Vice Deacon insignia.
• Wu Heng killed the cavalrymen with a Heavy Machine Gun and Skullcrusher, then took their supplies and a sealed operational letter.
• Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island and used Battlefield of the Undead to raise the cavalry corpses as skeletons and twelve Skeleton Horses.

Wu Heng organized a newly raised Skeleton Cavalry unit and made plans with Qi Hancai to open a supply market and improve the base’s defenses. At the Military Market, he spotted a 3D Printer at a stall and asked the seller what it was.

• Wu Heng equipped and named twelve Skeleton Cavalry, then brought them back to the compound.
• Wu Heng told Qi Hancai to prepare two truckloads of food and approved plans to operate a market, set prices, and establish Sentry Posts.
• Wu Heng and Qi Hancai traveled to the Military Market to trade for ammunition before opening their own market.
• Wu Heng noticed a device at a stall, and its owner identified it as a 3D Printer.

Wu Heng traded for a 3D printer, bought ammunition from the military, and began setting up a market at the Old Factory Area rather than joining the military. On Treasure Island, Mystic Association member Kalaima agreed to investigate Wu Heng and try to have him removed as Vice Deacon, while Wu Heng went to check on Shanala.

• Wu Heng bought a 3D printer, computer, and raw materials for two kilograms of flour, then traded with Yang Long for five hundred autocannon shells and five thousand machine gun rounds.
• Yang Long invited Wu Heng to join the military, but Wu Heng declined indirectly and told Qi Hancai he had only been polite to avoid trouble.
• Wu Heng ordered Qi Hancai and Zhao Yanqiu to establish a market at the Old Factory Area, where survivors could trade supplies for food, and assigned skeletons to guard it.
• A captain from the Mystic Association asked Inspector Special Envoy Kalaima to target Wu Heng, and Kalaima agreed to find grounds to remove him as Vice Deacon.
• Wu Heng asked Minnie and Andeviel why Shanala had not visited recently, then went with them to check on her at her home next door.

Wu Heng visited Shanala, then returned to the Zombie World and tasked Zhang Chi with improving the Skeleton Flying Dragons’ ammunition compartments. As the Old Factory Area opened its market, a brother and sister arriving from North Station Shelter were rescued from Zombies by Wu Heng’s forces and directed toward the trading area.

• Wu Heng shared dinner with Shanala, held her hand beneath the table, and learned that his ordered goods would arrive in four days.
• Wu Heng returned to the Old Factory Area and assigned Zhang Chi to design a more secure, higher-capacity ammunition compartment for the Skeleton Flying Dragons.
• Wu Heng learned the market would open to outsiders the next day and said he would attend.
• A brother and sister from North Station Shelter drove toward the Old Factory Area but crashed after Zombies attacked their vehicle.
• Skeleton Cavalry drew the Zombies away from the stranded pair, and an armored vehicle escorted them to a guarded checkpoint.
• The checkpoint guards confirmed the pair came from North Station Shelter and directed them to the trading area.

A brother and sister traded gold for food at the Old Factory Area Shelter and were stunned by its strength and supplies. As they considered returning for weapons, Captain Yang visited Wu Heng and accused him of hiding his abilities and food reserves.

• The siblings saw Skeleton Cavalry wipe out Zombies and entered the Old Factory Area Shelter, where its defenses impressed them.
• They traded 104 grams of gold for two bags of flour and paid some food for repairs to their damaged off-road vehicle.
• On the way back, the brother decided to visit the Military Market for weapons so they could kill Mutated Dogs and secure more food.
• Qi Hancai told Wu Heng that Captain Yang had arrived, and Yang Long confronted Wu Heng for not mentioning that he was an Ability User or had so much food.

Wu Heng opened a new market in the Zombie World, traded for gold and Corpse Cores, and collected an Eagle Eye Technique skill book from the association. He animated two pirate captains as skeletons and assigned Poison Blade to protect Qi Hancai.

• Yang Long visited Wu Heng's market to exchange goods, and Wu Heng confirmed he would keep buying gold at the same price.
• Qi Hancai reported that the market had collected thirty-two jin of gold and four Level 1 Corpse Cores on its first day.
• Wu Heng traveled to Treasure Island, gave Minnie and Andeviel potions, and learned that the bounty for the pirate groups had been issued.
• Wu Heng exchanged Level 3 Merit for the Eagle Eye Technique skill book and obtained a transfer certificate for two corpses he had killed.
• Wu Heng animated the pirate captains as a level 12 Skeleton Rogue named Poison Blade and a level 10 Skeleton Warrior named Red Crown.
• Wu Heng ordered Poison Blade to follow and protect Qi Hancai.

Wu Heng oversaw the market and checked on Zhang Chi’s flying-dragon design before learning the Eagle Eye Technique and testing its magical sensors. The market closed without major trouble, though Granda reported a fight caused by a man catching his partner with another man.

• Wu Heng assigned Skeleton Rogue Poison Blade to protect Qi Hancai, who reported that the market was growing and its food supply would last about a week; Wu Heng told her to continue trading because more food was on the way.
• Wu Heng visited Zhang Chi, who showed him the modular design for the flying dragon’s chest cavity, and Wu Heng urged him to finish and test it quickly.
• Wu Heng released Xiaoxiao and Granda, let them visit the market, and explained that the association had temporarily suspended sea operations.
• Wu Heng read the Eagle Eye Technique skill book, unlocked the spell, and tested three invisible sensors, finding that he could connect to only one at a time.
• At dusk, Granda told Wu Heng that a man had caught his partner with another man in a metal vehicle, prompting a fight at the market.

Wu Heng learned that an association envoy was investigating possible pirate informants with a wondrous item that compelled the truth. The discovery left him worried that the envoy could uncover his secrets.

• Granda shared a vision of a fight breaking out at the market after people discovered a couple in a van, and Qi Hancai's Skeleton Soldiers separated the fighters.
• Wu Heng returned home, checked Philippa's messages, and tested a magical sensor in Andeviel's room; it went unnoticed.
• Andeviel told Wu Heng that Deacon Imilo wanted him at the association the next day for an inspection.
• At the association, Orin told Wu Heng that an Inspector Special Envoy had questioned staff and teams, suspended about one-fifth pending investigation, and used a wondrous item that forced people to tell the truth.

Wu Heng learned that an association inspection used an artifact to make people answer questions truthfully, and he agreed with Shiraque to protect each other from overly personal questions. The inspection began with Shiraque, and the Inspector Special Envoy asked whether she had intelligence-related ties to pirates.

• Orin told Wu Heng that the inspection usually asked whether staff had pirate connections, sold association intelligence, or harmed the association's reputation.
• A staff member summoned Wu Heng to Deacon Imilo's study for the inspection.
• Shiraque explained the annual inspections and proposed that she and Wu Heng stay present during each other's questioning to interrupt private questions.
• Wu Heng joined Shiraque's inspection in the study after Imilo allowed him to observe.
• The Inspector Special Envoy revealed the Sincere Clay Figurine, and Wu Heng read its effect and prepared to intervene as the questioning began.