Stepping out of the shabby tent, Gu Su was met by the evening breeze, which carried the graveyard's distinctive chill and stirred the loose hair on his forehead.
Seeds from the Giant Lily fell from the Weird Tree like paper offerings, making the entire graveyard look unnervingly strange.
After mulling things over in the tent, he now had a clear plan.
He raised his eyes to the neatly lined-up skeletons waiting silently nearby, then beckoned them over. His voice was low and firm. "Come here. I have assignments for you."
At Gu Su's command, all the skeletons immediately marched over in orderly fashion, gathering around him. Ghostly blue flames flickered in their hollow eye sockets.
As the skeletons closed in, Gu Su's gaze happened to sweep over the group.
Among the original ranks, a new spellcasting skeleton had appeared, standing shoulder to shoulder with the one that had learned Fireball. It stood out at once.
Looking closely, he saw that this new spellcasting skeleton also had a clear star-shaped mark on its forehead, though its color was a pale blue.
Faint blue sparks of lightning flickered across its hands, and when they touched, they seemed to make a soft crackling sound.
[Skeleton (Level 0, Summon): Experience (0/100), Attack 1, Defense 1, Health 10, Mana 7, Skills: Lightning Arrow]
It was obvious that this new spellcasting skeleton had been created from the Harpy leader's corpse.
Compared with the spellcasting skeleton created from an ordinary Goblin's corpse, it was undoubtedly stronger. It had two more points of mana from the start, giving it greater staying power, and it came with the Lightning Arrow skill. That was a welcome little surprise from their outing.
Gu Su gave the new spellcasting skeleton a slight nod, signaling it to join the ranks. He had now officially included it in the mission assignments.
With more hands at his disposal, he could be more confident whether they were patrolling and defending or heading out to explore. That put his mind somewhat at ease.
"It's completely dark now. I need to rest tonight, but you can't just sit around.
"In a moment, all the elite skeletons will split into two squads."
He paused, looking over the elite skeletons gathered there, then continued in a low voice. "The first squad will consist of five elite skeletons, along with the two spellcasting skeletons.
"Your task is to patrol the walls of the Graveyard Demon around the clock and remain on high alert.
"If you spot any creature approaching the walls, whether it's a monster or another survivor, kill it without hesitation.
"Don't let anything come within a step of our territory. Protect our foundation.
"Oh, and drag the bodies inside for processing."
Having finished assigning the patrol squad, he turned his gaze to the remaining elite skeletons and the ordinary ones. "The second squad will consist of the remaining elite skeletons and all the ordinary skeletons. Your destination is the Abandoned Mall we visited earlier.
"Once you get there, work together with the skeletons already stationed there.
"The elite skeletons will protect the exploration team as you thoroughly search the entire Abandoned Mall. Don't leave any corners unchecked. Find all the supplies we missed last time."
As he spoke, Gu Su's tone grew slightly more emphatic, and his expression turned stern.
"This time, you have enough manpower. You don't need to keep collecting a batch of supplies and then rushing one batch back at a time like before, wasting time and manpower.
"When you get there, five ordinary skeletons will be assigned specifically to pushing shopping carts. Whenever you collect supplies, those five will bring them straight back to the Graveyard Demon.
"The rest of you will stay at the mall and continue exploring. Divide the work clearly and improve efficiency. Is that understood?"
Gu Su's sharp gaze swept over all the skeletons, and he couldn't help feeling a little helpless.
He knew these skeletons—or, for that matter, all undead—far too well.
They were unfailingly loyal and highly capable of carrying out orders, but low-level undead were extremely rigid. You had to make your orders perfectly clear, spelling them out down to every step, before they would follow them to the letter.
If you left even the slightest ambiguity, they might simply follow their original instructions, with no idea how to adapt.
The skeletons at the mall hadn't brought back all the supplies because the orders hadn't been detailed enough, which had slowed them down.
This time, he had given them more hands and explained everything in extra detail. He could only hope they would follow instructions better and not repeat the same problem.
After saying all that, Gu Su softened his tone a little and added a few key instructions.
"Oh, and there are two more things to keep in mind.
"First, when collecting supplies this time, in addition to the wood, metal, and household goods from before, gather some chunks of concrete too.
"We have enough wood and metal now, but we're still short on stone. We need to find enough of it.
"Second, bring back every monster corpse you kill while exploring the mall or patrolling. Don't leave any behind. The corpses are an important resource for us too."
"Also, once the supplies are brought back to the Graveyard Demon, there's no need to sort them. Just activate the automatic cleanup function and convert everything that can be converted into its corresponding resource.
"If there are any special supplies that need to be handled separately, set them aside and wait for my instructions.
"As for the corpses you bring back, put them in Empty Grave No. 1 first.
"Once Empty Grave No. 1 is full, put the rest in Empty Grave No. 4 over in the Deadwood Forest.
"Empty Grave No. 4 is a special grave. I'll make further arrangements for its use later."
With every instruction covered and nothing left out, Gu Su waved his hand and gave the order decisively. "All right, you've heard the orders. You can set off now."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the skeletons sprang into action without the slightest delay.
They quickly split into two squads as Gu Su had instructed.
The patrol squad consisted of five elite skeletons and the two spellcasting skeletons. They soon picked up their weapons and headed toward the walls, their steps orderly and swift.
The squad assigned to explore the mall consisted of the remaining elite skeletons and the ordinary skeletons. They quickly made their way to the Graveyard Demon's gate.
By then, night had completely blanketed the world. The wilderness was pitch-black, so dark that they couldn't see their hands before their faces. Only faint starlight filtered through the clouds, casting scattered glimmers across the land and adding to the eerie danger of the night.
But as undead, the skeletons weren't afraid of the dark, nor were they affected by the night. The seven skeletons patrolling the Graveyard Demon soon settled into a rhythm.
They moved slowly along the walls, weapons gripped tightly in their hands as they vigilantly watched everything around them. Each step was steady and sure, guarding the Graveyard Demon's defenses without leaving a single gap.
Meanwhile, Gu Su stayed behind at the Graveyard Demon and turned toward the tent entrance. He took out everything they had brought back from their outing: the spoils from hunting down the Oil Depot Slug and scavenging the gas station and mall. He laid it all out neatly in the open, ready to put each item away.
Naturally, the first thing he took out was the most valuable item: the green-quality Oil Sprayer.
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