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As the skeletons orderly stored away the supplies one item at a time, system notifications kept ringing in Gu Su's mind, constantly updating the resource statistics:
[Collected a small amount of vines, convertible into 1 unit of wood.] [Collected a small amount of weeds, convertible into 1 unit of wood.] [Collected a rusted car hood, convertible into 1 unit of metal.] [Collected a shelf bracket, convertible into 2 units of metal.] [Collected a ceiling fan blade, convertible into 1 unit of metal, or it can be processed separately.] [Collected a rusted shopping cart, convertible into 41 units of metal, or it can be processed separately.] [Collected a large piece of glass, convertible into 1 unit of stone.] [...]
As supplies continued to be counted and stored, small and medium-sized wooden and iron crates gradually piled up on both sides of Gu Su's tent.
Apparently, the collected materials had exceeded the tent's storage capacity, so they had been materialized in the form of crates piled outside for the time being.
Following his default instructions, the skeletons automatically sorted the supplies that could be converted directly.
They set aside the ceiling fan blade, intact plastic crates, a long row of shopping carts, and other items marked for separate processing, arranging them neatly off to one side.
Gu Su walked over and glanced at the resource statistics panel. Excluding the special materials he intended to repurpose, the expedition had yielded 19 units of wood, 21 units of metal, and 5 units of stone.
Counting the coins and gems from the treasure chest, his current resources were clearly displayed:
[Gold 382, Yin Energy 9, Wood 42, Stone 5, Metal 50, Gems 2, Crystals 0, Mercury 0, Sulfur 0].
The haul was just as Gu Su had expected. It wasn't amazing, but it was enough to cover basic repairs for the Graveyard Demon and modestly strengthen his undead forces.
What truly concerned him, though, were the special items that couldn't be quantified as basic resources.
Gu Su took the pale yellow Rat Treasure from his pocket, rubbing its hard surface with his fingertips. Then he turned and walked toward the Netherfire Pile in front of the tent, where a faint flame struggled to stay alight.
This was one of the materials needed to repair the Netherfire Pile. Now that the Corruption Mycelium had been restored, it was the perfect time to activate the pile as well.
He raised his hand and tossed the Rat Treasure into the Netherfire Pile. The moment the pale yellow stone fell into the flames, bluish-green fire wrapped around it and swallowed it whole.
The next second, a translucent, ghostly green rat rose slowly from the pile, hovering above the flames. It gave a few faint squeaks, then turned into a streak of green light and merged into the fire.
The previously weak netherfire abruptly blazed higher, its flames gradually changing from their usual color to a faint, inky green.
The flames flickered more steadily, and a rich but not unpleasant Yin Energy slowly spread, lingering around the Netherfire Pile.
[Netherfire Pile repaired. Its condition is good. Level increased to 1. Produces 500 points of Yin Energy every 24 hours.]
Gu Su held his hand over the flames, feeling the Yin Energy rising from them. His eyes were full of satisfaction.
The Netherfire Pile was producing Yin Energy again, the Corruption Mycelium could expand the territory and convert resources, and the Graveyard Demon's two core functions had both been activated. At last, his undead forces could develop steadily.
Once the Netherfire Pile had been restored, Gu Su immediately turned and headed toward the Weird Tree.
The Weird Tree still looked the same, its blackened trunk gnarled and its branches twisted together.
Until now, only its bare black trunk had remained, completely lifeless.
Gu Su took out the iron box containing the melted corpse oil and was just about to crouch down and bury it at the tree's roots.
But then he noticed the Weird Tree's branches trembling slightly. One charred branch slowly turned toward him, seemingly far more interested in something on his person than in the corpse oil before him.
Gu Su couldn't help pausing. Following the direction of the branch, he looked down and realized the Weird Tree was pointing at the six white seeds he had brought along on a whim.
They were random seeds he had gotten from a supermarket treasure chest. He had been carrying them around and hadn't had time to examine them yet.
"Could it be that you want these?" Gu Su wondered. He simply laid all six seeds on the ground beside the Weird Tree's roots.
"I can't identify what kind of seeds these are either. Take a look yourself, and keep the ones you can use."
As soon as the seeds touched the ground, it trembled slightly. Two thin cracks silently opened in the soil, swallowed two of the seeds, then quickly closed and returned to normal.
The remaining four seeds lay motionless where they were, clearly not what the Weird Tree wanted.
Gu Su understood. He crouched and carefully gathered up the four seeds whose nature was still unknown, then picked up the iron box of corpse oil again, ready to dig a hole by the Weird Tree's roots and bury it there to nourish the tree.
But just as he bent down, a cool breeze suddenly swept past, carrying a faint scent of grass and trees. It was entirely different from the graveyard's usual chill.
Then countless tiny things drifted down from the sky, settling on his shoulders and the ground.
"Paper money?" Gu Su raised a hand and picked up a piece. It was as thin as paper and faintly gray-white. Astonished, he looked up sharply at the Weird Tree.
The sight left him completely stunned. The Weird Tree, which had been nothing but a bare, blackened trunk, had sprouted fresh leaves in the space of a few moments.
Most of the leaves grew in groups of three. They were tender green with a hint of black, their veins clearly visible. Every so often, they slowly turned on their own, and each turn sent out a faint breeze—the same cool breeze he had just felt.
Among the twisted branches hung fruits about as long as a hand, their skins dark brown.
Whenever the wind blew, a crack appeared in one, and the things resembling paper money drifted out of the fruit as seeds.
A gentle breeze stirred as paper money fluttered through the air. Fresh leaves dotted the withered tree, and the bleak graveyard was instantly enveloped in an eerie yet fitting atmosphere, solemn with a touch of fantasy.
Gu Su stood there for a moment. Once he came to his senses, he immediately rushed back to the tent and quickly searched the item descriptions beside the quest panel, hoping to figure out where the seeds had come from.
Information about the Weird Tree's transformation soon appeared on the panel, resolving his confusion.
Of the two seeds the Weird Tree had swallowed, one was called [Breeze Grass]. It looked like a miniature fan and could blow a steady breeze; the more there were, the stronger the wind.
After being swallowed by the Weird Tree, it had enhanced the tree's ability to clear foul odors and impurities from the air, purifying the graveyard environment.
The other was [Giant Lily]. The plant itself had a slight toxicity, but when its seeds split open, they turned into countless thin pieces resembling paper money and scattered on the wind.
It was a rare special plant that could help create a graveyard atmosphere, perfectly suited to the Weird Tree's growth and the graveyard's environment.
That was why the Weird Tree had swallowed the two seeds directly, adding their abilities to its own.
This also showed that these white seeds weren't as useless as they might seem.
It made Gu Su even more eager to find someone who could study what the remaining four seeds were.
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