Starting Anew (Seeking Collection)

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Aside from the obvious success in repairing the dilapidated fence, the restoration of other facilities wasn't as effective.

It wasn't that Gu Su was unwilling to repair them; it was simply a lack of corresponding materials. He could only set them aside for now.

All he could do was bury the pile of broken bones he'd brought back beneath the strange tree.

He directly inserted the [Gloomy Branches] and [Torn Red Balloon Skin] next to the strange tree's roots.

The pale gray undead energy mingled with the residual strange aura from the branches and balloon skin, slowly seeping into the strange tree's root system, serving as a supplement to its energy.

Even so, the strange tree only achieved an 8% repair rate.

This meant that to fully restore the strange tree and enable it to exert its defensive, mist-purifying, and garbage-clearing functions, he would need at least thirteen to fourteen more similar materials, or about thirty white-tier materials. This was a goal that would be difficult to achieve in the short term.

The only visible change was that a branch on a bifurcation of the strange tree now had another branch wrapped with the red balloon skin. Against the backdrop of the withered black trunk, it surprisingly gave off a somewhat strange "festive" air.

Fortunately, different good news came from the empty graves.

After dealing with all the supplies and nourishing the strange tree, Gu Su immediately arranged the skeleton squad.

The skeleton, transformed from a goblin shaman with magical potential, was sent into the last empty grave alone.

A moment later, a new tombstone was erected in front of the grave, clearly inscribed: Skeleton Squad - Magic User (0/10).

This was to reserve space for cultivating future skeleton mages.

The skeletons transformed from the barbecued kobolds were sent to the second empty grave, joining the previously injured and recovered skeletons to fill the vacancies in that squad.

The remaining ten skeletons all returned to the first empty grave, filling it perfectly.

Because the first empty grave had reached full capacity, the graveyard demon's information panel immediately popped up with a new prompt, unlocking the processing routes for empty graves, giving Gu Su more direction for planning.

[Level 1 Empty Grave Full: Reinforcement Route Enabled. After Empty Grave is Full, you can choose to reinforce it into a Burial Mound or a Grave Head.]
[Burial Mound (Level 1): Undead types remain the same. Habitable capacity increased from 10 to 25. Automatically generates a minor leader upon reaching full capacity.]
[Grave Head (Level 1): Undead types and capacity remain the same. Undead inhabitants are upgraded from Normal to Elite.]

Gu Su had some understanding of the empty graves.

This was a unique situation for the undead faction. The level of empty graves was not on the same track as other undead buildings.

Empty graves only had 7 levels, with levels 1 to 7 corresponding to Skeletons, Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Wights, Death Knights, and Bone Dragons, respectively.

There might be some variations, but that was due to the type of corpses put in, and it wasn't directly related to the empty grave's level.

After an empty grave is filled, there would be two reinforcement routes: one to increase the number of inhabitants, and the other to strengthen the power of the undead within.

There wasn't much to deliberate over regarding these two routes.

Empty graves were the most basic buildings in the undead faction.

They could be built on any empty plot of land, and there was no upper limit to their number. A normal person wouldn't even consider these options.

What Gu Su lacked right now was the number of undead, so he first chose the Burial Mound direction to increase the number of his subordinates.

After that, he focused his thoughts on the next course of action.

He only had ten days. However, the graveyard demon required a considerable amount of materials just for repairs.

Some of these could be substituted with garbage, but others couldn't.

Especially for those two crucial quests, Gu Su had no clue about the required materials at the moment.

The current gains were nothing; he still had to work harder.

He glanced at the graveyard demon's information and stood up.

[Name: Barren Graveyard (Gray Quality)]
[Level: 0]
[Trait: Graveyard Demon (Gray Degraded)]
[Resources: Gold 21, Yin Energy 9, Wood 23, Stone 0, Metal 29, Gems 0, Crystal 0, Mercury 0, Sulfur 0]
[Affiliated Buildings:
1. Strange Tree (Level 1): Graveyard Defense Core. Current Status: Repair Progress 8%
2. Dilapidated Tent (Level 1): Graveyard Building Core and Dwelling. Current Status: Intact
3. Yin Fire Pit (Level 0): Can gather Yin Energy. Current Status: Lit (Requires special fuel replenishment)
4. Empty Grave (1x Level 3, 2x Level 2, 2x Level 1): Placing corpses automatically converts them into undead population for the owner to control.
5. Burial Mound (Level 1 x 1): Strengthens undead encampment, increases resident population. Placing corpses automatically converts them into undead population for the owner to control.
6. Dilapidated Fence (Level 1): Basic defensive facility, can block low-level external enemy invasions. Current Status: Intact]

7. Earthbound Veins (Level 0): Enables graveyard movement. Current status: Inactive (can be repaired by completing corresponding quests).

8. Corrupted Mycelium (Level 0): Can absorb death, Yin energy, undead, and other attribute items/anomalies/props/structures to expand graveyard area. Current status: Inactive (can be repaired by completing corresponding quests).

[Description: Although this is a dilapidated graveyard demon, it has been repaired by human hands, and everything is developing for the better.]

"Time waits for no one," Gu Su sighed softly and quickly walked out of the tent.

His gaze fell directly on the already mounded graves.

When not given orders, all the skeletons remained in their graves, recovering their vitality and improving themselves.

Gu Su beckoned, and three graves automatically opened. Skeletons emerged rapidly and stood beside Gu Su.

"Skeleton squad, everyone grab your weapons, push that pickup truck, and let's go collect resources again."

Gu Su raised his hand and pointed to the broken pickup truck nearby. "Our target this time is the nearby shops. Focus on searching for usable materials and fuel. We're short on everything right now, and we need everything."

He paused, then looked at the magic-user skeleton. "You magic-user skeleton, come along too."

As soon as he finished speaking, the magic-user skeleton slowly moved, bowed, and waited for orders.

Then, Gu Su pointed to two skeletons in the second empty grave and commanded in a deep voice, "You two, stop patrolling here. Head out from the other side directly to scout the terrain. I need to know if there are any other shopping malls, strongholds, or potential enemies nearby. Be extremely careful. If you encounter a small number of enemies, you can kill them and bring them back. Throw the bodies at the graveyard entrance, and the graveyard will handle them. If you discover a large number of enemies or a special situation, return immediately to report. You know where I'll be."

After assigning the scouting mission, Gu Su looked at the strange tree in the center.

"I'll leave the defense of the graveyard demon to you. Remember, no one is allowed to open the fence gate except when I return with the team. Anyone attempting to climb the wall will be treated as an enemy and killed without mercy!"

The withered black strange tree swayed its branches again, as if acknowledging Gu Su's command.

The skeletons moved swiftly. A few worked together to push the pickup truck. The rest picked up their weapons and formed ranks. The magic-user skeleton also silently followed behind Gu Su. The entire graveyard instantly entered an operational state.

Gu Su checked the latch on the fence gate, confirmed it was secure, then turned and walked towards the gate first, saying in a deep voice, "Let's go!"