Harvest and Repair

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After a period of busy work, the abandoned vehicles by the roadside were finally completely cleared.

All usable materials were scavenged.

In the end, they managed to find two broken-down vehicles that could still be pushed, albeit with difficulty.

Besides the pickup truck with a tree growing in its rear bed, there was also a sedan with its doors missing.

The cargo beds and seats of both vehicles were stuffed full of various supplies, piled high.

Rusty parts salvaged from other wrecks, car hoods, metal pipes, as well as vines obtained from dismantling fences, semi-dried animal hides, and piles of bones were all loaded onto the two vehicles, stacked layer upon layer to form two small mountains.

Gu Su then had the skeletons use tough vines to securely tie down these materials, preventing them from falling off during transport and ensuring not a single piece of material went to waste.

The eleven skeletons split into two groups: five were responsible for pushing the pickup truck, and six worked together to push the sedan.

They pressed hard against the rusty car bodies, their stiff but steady steps moving the vehicles bit by bit towards the Graveyard Demon.

The heavy car bodies scraped against the ground, emitting a dull "creak, creak" sound that was particularly clear in the silent, misty ruins.

Gu Su, holding the torch he brought from the goblin lair, lit a dry grass-wrapped branch to make a torch and walked at the front, leading the way.

The flickering flame dispelled the surrounding mist, illuminating the narrow path ahead.

He would occasionally stop and look back to check the progress of the convoy.

When encountering uneven ground or places where the vehicles got stuck, he would step forward to lend a hand, helping the skeletons push the vehicles and ensuring the team moved forward steadily.

Before long, Gu Su, leading the skeleton squad and pushing two broken-down vehicles laden with supplies, slowly arrived outside the Graveyard Demon.

The ring of decaying fences, the withered, strange tree in the center, and the empty grave area in front of the tent all came clearly into view.

The strange tree guarding the graveyard seemed to sense the commotion; its bare branches swayed slightly, as if acknowledging the return of the group.

The skeleton that had been injured and recovering in an empty grave had already climbed out, its bone arm fully restored. The spectral fire in its empty eye sockets flickered as it mechanically patrolled the graveyard.

As the convoy appeared, it happened to turn its head, its eyes fixed on everything before it.

Gu Su paid no mind to the scene before him. He turned to the skeletons beside him and ordered in a low voice, "Push, keep pushing into the graveyard."

The skeletons immediately responded, exerting their strength. They pushed the two mountains of supplies, carefully navigating through the gaps in the decaying fence, and slowly moved towards the center of the graveyard.

Gu Su, on the other hand, flipped lightly over the fence and walked directly to the extinguished Yin Fire pile in front of the tent, inserting the burning torch he held into it.

The flame licked at the dry ashes, instantly leaping half a foot high. The pale blue flame carried a hint of chilling aura, dispelling some of the surrounding gloom.

A system prompt immediately sounded in his mind:

[Yin Fire pile reignited, resource information can be queried. Please invest appropriate fuel as soon as possible.]
[Gold Coins: 0, Yin Energy: 3, Wood: 0, Stone: 0, Metal: 0, Gems: 0, Crystals: 0, Mercury: 0, Sulfur: 0]

Looking at the string of glaring zeros on the panel, Gu Su couldn't help but shake his head, cursing the unscrupulous merchant in his heart once more.

They truly left no room for maneuver, even withholding the basic resources completely.

Even this meager 3 points of Yin Energy was automatically absorbed by Gu Su after he killed the goblin graveyard demon near the Graveyard Demon.

They truly left nothing behind for Gu Su.

Just then, the two broken-down vehicles were steadily pushed into the graveyard by the skeletons.

As the supplies entered the graveyard's vicinity, a series of system prompts popped up, densely covering Gu Su's vision:

[Collected a small amount of vines, convertible to 1 unit of Wood.]
[Collected some weeds, convertible to 1 unit of Wood.]
[Collected rusty car hood, convertible to 1 unit of Metal.]
[Collected discarded exhaust pipe, convertible to 1 unit of Metal.]
[Collected broken car door, convertible to 1 unit of Metal.]
[...]
[Collected a large amount of broken bones, convertible to 3 units of Yin Energy, or can be processed separately.]
[Collected a fur, convertible to 3 Gold Coins, or can be processed separately.]
[Collected semi-dried animal hide, convertible to 2 Gold Coins, or can be processed separately.]
[...]

Watching the continuously refreshing prompts, a smile flashed in Gu Su's eyes, and the tension in the corners of his mouth finally eased slightly.

The busy work along the way had not been in vain. These scraps, which outsiders wouldn't even consider trash, could actually be converted into such considerable resources.

He carefully read every prompt and quickly operated his fingertips on the virtual panel, making clear choices.

All materials marked "can be processed separately" were temporarily retained and not converted.

After all, the broken bones could nourish the strange tree, and the animal hides could be used to craft simple armor, which was more valuable than directly converting them into Gold Coins or Yin Energy.

A moment later, the transformation was complete, and the panel data was refreshed.

Gu Su counted his remaining items and found he had a salvageable beat-up pickup truck, a pile of bone fragments, and three intact beast hides.

He also had the [Gloomy Branch] and [Torn Red Balloon Skin] he'd obtained from the Goblin Shaman earlier.

The resources from the transformation were also quite generous: 21 gold coins, 6 units of Yin energy, 33 units of wood, and 39 units of metal.

The resource panel, which had been empty, finally had some content.

With ample resources, the first priority was to repair and upgrade the Graveyard Demon.

The most practical and cost-effective repair was the dilapidated fence surrounding the graveyard, which was practically useless.

Gu Su quickly entered the tattered tent and sat on the simple wooden bed, tapping the virtual panel with his fingertip.

He directly allocated 10 units of metal and 10 units of wood to the fence repair project.

The moment the resources were consumed, a new prompt popped up on the Graveyard Demon's information panel, displaying a clear line of text:

[Dilapidated Fence Repair Complete. Dilapidated Fence upgraded to Ramshackle Fence. Attributes increased, upgrade and enhancement routes unlocked.]

[Ramshackle Fence (Level 1): Basic defensive structure. Can repel low-level external threats. Troops within the fence gain +1 Defense. Current Status: Intact]

[Upgrade Route 1: Allocate 10 Stone, 100 Yin Energy to upgrade to Ramshackle Palisade (Level 2)]

[Enhancement Route 1: Allocate 5 Stone, 5 Metal, 100 Yin Energy to construct Branching Fence Turret (Level 1)]

[Enhancement Route 2: Allocate 8 Wood, 3 Metal, 50 Yin Energy to reinforce fence joints, increasing impact resistance]

At the same time, a faint creaking sound came from outside the tent.

The outermost fence of the graveyard was visibly transforming.

The rotted wooden posts were replaced with sturdier timber, wrapped in rusty metal sheets, forming a waist-high tin fence.

The fence sections were tightly bound and secured with tough vines and resin-soaked straw ropes, with gaps meticulously filled.

More conveniently, a simple gate was fashioned from two rusty car doors on one side of the fence.

The car doors were secured to the fence with metal wire, allowing for flexible opening and closing while providing defense.

Gu Su no longer had to struggle to climb over the fence every time he entered or exited, making things much easier.

While not exactly sturdy, this fence was sufficient to withstand the charge of low-level monsters like goblins, establishing the graveyard's first proper defensive line.