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Aside from the clear progress made in repairing the Rundown Fence, the other facilities hadn't fared nearly as well.
It wasn't that Gu Su was unwilling to repair them; he simply lacked the necessary materials, so he had to put those tasks aside for now.
All he could do was bury the pile of broken bones he'd brought back beneath the Weird Tree.
He planted the [Gloomy Branch] and [Broken Red Balloon Skin] right beside the Weird Tree's roots.
The pale gray necrotic energy mingled with the strange aura lingering on the branch and balloon skin, then slowly seeped into the Weird Tree's roots, replenishing its energy.
Even so, the Weird Tree's repair progress only reached 8%.
That meant he would need at least thirteen or fourteen more materials like these—nearly thirty white-quality materials in total—to restore the Weird Tree completely and fully restore its ability to defend, purify the mist, and clear away trash.
That was an impossible goal to meet in the short term.
The only visible change was that one of the Weird Tree's branches now had another branch wrapped in red balloon skin. Against the blackened, withered limbs, it looked strangely festive.
Fortunately, there was better news from the Empty Graves.
After dealing with all the supplies and replenishing the Weird Tree,
Gu Su immediately organized the Skeleton Squad into units.
He sent the skeleton transformed from the Goblin Shaman, which had potential as a spellcaster, into the last Empty Grave by itself.
A short while later, a new tombstone stood before the grave, clearly inscribed with: Skeleton Squad—Spellcaster (0/10).
This left room for cultivating skeleton mages in the future.
The skeleton transformed from the roasted Kobold was sent to the second Empty Grave. It joined the previously injured skeleton that had recovered, forming a squad and filling the vacancy.
The remaining ten skeletons all returned to the first Empty Grave, filling it exactly.
With the first Empty Grave now at full capacity, a new prompt immediately appeared on the Graveyard Demon's information panel, unlocking the available upgrade paths for Empty Graves and giving Gu Su more options to plan around.
[When a Level 1 Empty Grave reaches full capacity, an upgrade path becomes available. A full Empty Grave can be upgraded into a Grave Mound or a Grave Head.]
[Grave Mound (Level 1): The type of undead inhabitants remains unchanged. Capacity increases from 10 to 25, and a small squad leader is automatically generated when it reaches full capacity.]
[Grave Head (Level 1): The type and number of undead inhabitants remain unchanged, but ordinary undead inhabitants are upgraded to elite.]
Gu Su knew a little about Empty Graves.
This was a situation unique to the undead faction. Empty Grave levels didn't follow the same progression as those of other undead buildings.
Empty Graves had only seven levels, corresponding to skeletons, zombies, ghosts, vampires, liches, death knights, and bone dragons, respectively.
There could be variations within each level, but those were caused by the corpses placed inside. They weren't directly related to the Empty Grave's level.
Once an Empty Grave reached full capacity, there were two upgrade paths: one increased the number of undead it could house, while the other increased the strength of the undead inside.
There was no real need to agonize over which path to choose.
Empty Graves were the most basic buildings of the undead faction.
They could be built on any open ground, and there was no limit to how many one could have. No sensible person would waste time worrying about this.
What Gu Su lacked right now was undead, so he chose the Grave Mound upgrade to increase the size of his forces.
After that, he turned his attention to what to do next.
He had only ten days, yet repairing the Graveyard Demon alone required a great deal of materials.
Some of those could be replaced with trash, but others couldn't.
Especially the materials needed for those two key missions—Gu Su had no idea where to find them.
His gains so far amounted to almost nothing. He still had to work hard.
After glancing over the Graveyard Demon's information, Gu Su stood up.
[Name: Desolate Graveyard (Gray Quality)]
[Level: 0]
[Feature: Graveyard Demon (Gray, Degraded)]
[Resources: Gold 21, Necrotic Energy 9, Wood 23, Stone 0, Metal 29, Gems 0, Crystal 0, Mercury 0, Sulfur 0]
[Auxiliary Buildings:
1. Weird Tree (Level 1): Graveyard's defensive core. Current status: 8% repaired.
2. Rundown Tent (Level 1): Graveyard's structural core and living quarters. Current status: Intact.
3. Netherfire Pile (Level 0): Can gather necrotic energy. Current status: Lit (requires special fuel).
4. Empty Graves (one Level 3, two Level 2, two Level 1): Placing a corpse inside automatically turns it into an undead inhabitant under the owner's control.
5. Grave Mound (one Level 1): An enhanced undead dwelling that increases capacity. Placing a corpse inside automatically turns it into an undead inhabitant under the owner's control.
6. Rundown Fence (Level 1): Basic defensive structure that can block low-level invaders. Current status: Intact.
7. Earthbound Vein (Level 0): Allows the graveyard to move. Current status: Inactive (requires completion of the corresponding mission to repair).
8. Corruption Mycelium (Level 0): Can absorb items, anomalies, tools, or buildings with properties such as death, necrotic energy, and undead, expanding the graveyard's area. Current status: Inactive (requires completion of the corresponding mission to repair).]
[Description: Although this is a rundown Graveyard Demon, human repairs have set everything on a positive course.]
"Time waits for no one." Gu Su sighed and quickly left the tent.
His gaze went straight to the sealed Grave Heads.
When they weren't given orders, all the skeletons stayed in their graves, recovering and growing stronger.
Gu Su beckoned, and three Grave Heads opened on their own. The skeletons quickly emerged and stood beside him.
"Skeleton Squad, everyone grab a weapon. Push that pickup truck over here, then come with me to gather supplies again."
Gu Su pointed at the battered pickup nearby. "This time, we're targeting the shops nearby. Focus on finding usable materials and fuel. We're short on everything, so we need everything."
He paused, then looked at the Spellcaster Skeleton and added, "That Spellcaster Skeleton is coming too."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Spellcaster Skeleton stirred slightly and bowed, ready for orders.
Then Gu Su pointed to the two skeletons from the second Empty Grave and ordered in a low voice, "You two, stop patrolling here. Set out from the other side and scout the area.
"I want to know if there are any other malls or strongholds nearby, as well as any potential enemies. Be careful. If you find a small group of enemies, you can kill them and bring them back. Leave the corpses at the graveyard entrance, and the graveyard will take care of them.
"If you find a large group of enemies or encounter anything unusual, turn back and report immediately.
"You know where to find me."
After assigning the scouting mission, Gu Su looked toward the Weird Tree in the center.
"Leave guarding the Graveyard Demon to you.
"Remember, no one is to open the fence gate unless I'm leading the group back.
"If anyone tries to climb over the wall, treat them as an enemy and kill them without hesitation!"
The blackened Weird Tree swayed its branches again in response to Gu Su's order.
The skeletons quickly sprang into action. Several of them pushed the pickup together while the others picked up weapons and formed ranks. The Spellcaster Skeleton silently followed behind Gu Su, and the entire graveyard instantly shifted into action.
Gu Su checked the lock on the fence gate and, once he was sure everything was in order, turned and strode toward it. In a low voice, he said, "Let's go!"
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