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Gu Su led the Skeleton Squad and the battered pickup back to the ruined stretch of road where they had found the abandoned vehicles earlier.
He stopped and looked over the wild grass spreading all around, the tangled vines, and the scattered rubble.
After confirming that nothing was amiss, he began assigning tasks.
His gaze settled on five skeletons holding wooden sticks and rocks, their weapons relatively crude.
"You five stay here and clear away the nearby weeds, vines, and trees, as well as the broken rocks, rotting wood, and other debris on the ground.
Put everything you clear onto the vehicle. Once it's full, push it straight back to the Graveyard Demon.
You don't need to unload it inside. Just dump it by the graveyard entrance, and I'll sort it all out when I get back."
After a pause, Gu Su added, "Oh, and clear the weeds along the way too. Make a flat path so it's easier to push the vehicle back and forth. Don't let vines tangle around it and waste time halfway there."
The five skeletons bowed in unison and accepted their orders. They immediately got to work, turning to clear the area in an orderly fashion.
Gu Su didn't linger. He took the remaining five, better-equipped skeletons and the Spellcaster Skeleton, then hurried toward the side of the road.
While surveying the area just now, he had already picked out his target: a large, partially collapsed shopping mall not far away.
Gu Su had been very familiar with the layout of malls like this before he crossed over.
By conventional design, the first and second floors would have held a large general supermarket, stocked with all kinds of household goods, food, and sundries.
The third floor was most likely a food court, filled with restaurants and snack shops.
If the building had enough floors, the fourth would usually have been a cinema or amusement park.
As for the basement, it was probably an arcade, a baby and maternity store, or a large underground parking lot.
The mall before him had long since lost its former bustle. More than half the building had collapsed, leaving its concrete and rebar exposed.
Lush green vines had climbed wildly over the broken walls, wrapping the whole structure tightly.
Only half of the ruined building remained, its dilapidated and eerie shape showing through the mist.
But in Gu Su's eyes, this ruin was a vast treasure waiting to be excavated.
Even after years of erosion and the building's collapse, plenty of useful things must have remained inside.
More importantly, large malls had an abundance of public facilities.
Metal shelves, fire-fighting equipment, cables and pipes, ventilation ducts, even kitchen utensils—anything that could still be taken apart and reused would be a huge find for someone as desperate for materials as he was.
The group slowly approached the mall entrance. Collapsed rubble blocked most of it, leaving only a gap wide enough for two people to pass side by side.
The interior was pitch-black. A smell of mildew and dust mingled with a faint, fishy odor.
Gu Su raised a hand to halt the group, then bent down and passed through the gap into the mall first.
In the dim interior, collapsed doors, scattered debris, and broken rebar lay everywhere. Shards of glass crunched beneath his feet, slowing his steps.
He quickly scanned the area, then pointed to a half-open shop nearest him and gave an order to one of the skeletons beside him.
"Search inside. Focus on finding metal items, small tools, and anything that gives off light. Whatever it is, if it looks like it can shine, bring it out and leave it by the entrance."
Gu Su's instructions were exceptionally detailed. "Gather up anything useful. If you don't find anything, keep searching deeper inside.
"If you come across a small number of living creatures, don't report it. Attack them immediately."
This was a command habit Gu Su had developed over many years.
Ordinary undead creatures had appalling intelligence and rigid thinking.
If he didn't break his orders down into clear, specific steps, they would often do something laughable or even miss supplies right in front of them.
He had already gotten used to doing things this way when he took zombie miners out to mine.
He had the miners keep digging, and whenever they found special items like ore or crystals, they had to collect them in a designated spot and leave nothing behind.
Now, facing the Skeleton Squad, he naturally used the same approach.
After hearing the order, the skeleton bowed slightly, gripped its Spiked Club, and slowly entered the storage room. It carefully rummaged through the clutter and began checking everything one by one.
Next, Gu Su assigned the other four skeletons to search in different directions.
There were actually some good things in the little shops in front of the supermarket entrance.
He just didn't know whether anyone had taken them already.
As for Gu Su, he led the Spellcaster Skeleton farther inside.
The Spellcaster Skeleton still hadn't learned any spells, and it held a sharpened wooden stick in its hand. For now, it was mainly useful in close combat.
With it leading the way and guarding against danger, Gu Su felt at ease. He turned his attention to the scattered debris on either side, searching for potential supplies.
Behind a collapsed wall, a pile of stacked objects caught his attention.
They were dozens of shopping carts, rusted together.
After years of erosion, their metal frames were already covered in rust, and their wheels had fused to the frames, forming one enormous lump of metal.
But in Gu Su's eyes, the rusty mess was a treasure. His eyes lit up at once.
There was a large amount of metal here that could be taken apart, along with wheels whose condition was unknown.
If he carefully cleaned and polished them, he might even be able to put together one or two usable shopping carts.
This was incredibly important to him. Skeletons were far weaker than zombies, after all, and making them push the heavy pickup back and forth was already asking a lot of them.
With shopping carts, they could transport loose supplies much faster and more efficiently.
Thinking this, Gu Su hurried toward the pile of rusted shopping carts, intending to take a closer look and see whether any of them could be salvaged.
But just as he was about to reach the wall, the Spellcaster Skeleton suddenly stepped forward. Its bony arm swung hard, and the long wooden stick in its hand whooshed through the air toward a shadow at its side.
"Squeak—!"
A sharp mouse cry broke the silence. A dog-sized rat covered in black fur had just darted out of the shadow when the stick slammed into it.
Its body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string. It hit the ground, twitched twice, and fell still.
[The skeleton (summon) killed the long-haired rat (level 1). You gained 1 experience point, and your summon gained 3 experience points.]
But as the Long-Haired Rat was sent flying, a rustling sound came from nearby.
Without a word, Gu Su pointed at the Long-Haired Rat that had just been killed.
A new skeleton quickly rose and charged toward the darkness.
[You used Summoning (level 1) once and obtained a skeleton (level 0). Summoning proficiency +1 point.]
Gu Su paid it no mind. Without a second thought, he charged forward with the Spellcaster Skeleton. As soon as they entered the darkness, Gu Su narrowed his eyes, lifted a hand, and cast Raise Skeleton again.
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