Mall Battle (Seeking Collection)

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Gu Su, leading his skeleton squad and the dilapidated pickup truck, returned to the ruined section of road where they had previously found abandoned vehicles.

He stopped, his gaze sweeping over the encroaching weeds, coiling vines, and scattered debris.

After confirming there were no anomalies in the surroundings, he began assigning tasks.

His attention fell on five skeletons armed with wooden clubs, stones, and relatively crude weapons.

"You five stay here and clear the nearby weeds, vines, trees, and debris like broken stones and rotten wood from the ground.

Load everything you clear onto the truck. Once the truck is full, push it directly back to the graveyard.

No need to unload it inside; just dump it at the graveyard entrance. I'll deal with it all later."

He paused, then added, "Oh, and clear the weeds along the path as well, creating a smooth trail for the truck to travel back and forth. Don't get tangled by vines halfway and waste time."

The five skeletons bowed in unison, acknowledging the command. They immediately got to work, turning methodically to begin their clearing duties.

Gu Su didn't linger. He led the remaining five skeletons, who were better equipped, along with the magic-user skeleton, and turned to walk briskly towards one side of the road.

During his earlier observation, he had already pinpointed his target: a large, partially collapsed commercial plaza not far away.

Gu Su was all too familiar with the layout of such commercial plazas from his previous life.

According to standard design, the first and second floors would invariably house large supermarkets, stocked with all sorts of daily necessities, food, and miscellaneous items.

The third floor was likely a food court, filled with restaurants and snack stalls.

If the building was tall enough, the fourth floor would typically be a cinema or an amusement park.

As for the basement, it was often a game arcade, a baby care store, or a large underground parking lot.

The plaza before him was now devoid of its former bustling atmosphere. More than half of the building had collapsed and was damaged, with exposed rebar and concrete.

Vibrant green vines climbed madly along the fractured walls, entangling the entire structure.

Only a fractured half of the building remained, exuding decay and eeriness within the mist.

But in Gu Su's eyes, this ruin was a treasure trove waiting to be excavated.

Even after years of erosion and structural collapse, there were bound to be many usable items left inside.

More importantly, large shopping malls had numerous public facilities.

Metal shelves, fire-fighting equipment, electrical conduits, ventilation pipes, even kitchenware – anything that could be dismantled and utilized would be a significant gain for him, who was in desperate need of materials.

The group slowly approached the plaza entrance. Collapsed rubble blocked most of the doorway, leaving only a gap narrow enough for two people to pass side-by-side.

The interior was pitch black, and a faint smell of mildew, dust, and a hint of something fishy wafted out.

Gu Su raised his hand, signaling the squad to stop, and was the first to bend down and pass through the gap into the plaza.

In the dim environment, collapsed doors, scattered debris, and broken rebar were visible everywhere. The glass shards underfoot made each step heavy.

He quickly scanned his surroundings and pointed to a half-open shop closest to him, issuing an order to a skeleton beside him.

"You go in and search. Focus on finding metal items, small tools, and anything that glows. No matter what it is, if it looks like it glows, bring it out and place it by the entrance."

Gu Su's instructions were extremely detailed. "If you find anything usable, collect it all. If not, continue searching deeper inside. If you encounter a small number of living creatures, don't report back; attack them directly."

This was a command habit Gu Su had cultivated over many years.

Ordinary undead creatures had limited intelligence and rigid thinking.

If commands weren't broken down into clear, specific steps, they would often act in hilariously foolish ways, even missing out on nearby resources.

He had already grown accustomed to this method when he led his zombie miners.

He'd instruct the miners to keep digging, and once they found special items like ore or crystals, they were to collect them at a designated spot without fail.

Now, facing his skeleton squad, he naturally applied the same approach.

The skeleton, after hearing the instructions, bowed slightly, gripped its spiked club, and slowly entered the storage room. It cautiously rummaged through the clutter inside, beginning to inspect each item one by one.

Next, Gu Su assigned the other four skeletons, one by one, to search in different directions.

In the small storefronts near the supermarket entrance, there were actually some good items.

It was just unknown if anyone had taken them beforehand.

As for Gu Su himself, he moved forward with the magic-user skeleton.

The magic-user skeleton hadn't learned any spells yet and held a sharpened wooden stick, primarily for close-quarters combat.

With it clearing the way and providing defense, Gu Su felt at ease. His gaze shifted to the scattered debris on the sides, searching for potential resources.

Upon reaching a collapsed wall, a pile of stacked objects caught his attention.

It turned out to be dozens of shopping carts rusted together.

After years of corrosion, the metal frames were already rusty. The wheels and frames were firmly stuck together, forming a massive clump of metal.

To Gu Su, however, this pile of rusty junk was akin to treasure, instantly making his eyes gleam.

It contained a large amount of metal that could be salvaged, as well as wheels whose condition was unknown.

If he cleaned and polished them carefully, he might even be able to assemble one or two usable shopping carts.

This was incredibly important to him. After all, the strength of skeletons was far inferior to zombies, and making them push heavy pickup trucks back and forth for transport was already a bit of a strain.

With shopping carts, the speed of transporting scattered supplies would undoubtedly increase significantly, and efficiency would also be higher.

With this thought, Gu Su strode towards the pile of rusted shopping carts, intending to inspect them up close and assess whether they could still be salvaged and utilized.

But just as he was about to approach the wall, the magic-wielding skeleton beside him suddenly stepped forward, swinging its bony arm with force. The long wooden staff in its hand whistled through the air as it swung heavily towards a nearby shadow.

"Squeak--!"

A sharp rat's cry pierced the silence. A rat, the size of a small dog and covered in black fur, had just darted out of the shadow when it was brutally struck by the wooden staff.

Its body flew back like a kite with a broken string, crashing to the ground. It twitched twice before falling still.

[Skeleton (Summon) killed Hairy Rat (Level 1), you gained 1 experience, Summon gained 3 experience.]

However, as this hairy rat was sent flying, rustling sounds could be heard from nearby.

Without a word, Gu Su pointed directly at the hairy rat that had just been killed.

A new skeleton quickly stood up and lunged towards the darkness.

[You cast Soul Summon (Level 1) 1 time, gained Skeleton (Level 0), Soul Summon proficiency +1.]

Gu Su ignored these notifications. Without a second thought, he charged forward with the magic-wielding skeleton. As he entered the darkness, Gu Su narrowed his eyes, casually raised his hand, and cast another Soul Summon.