The Boy Who Survived?
-He looked so imposing!
The undead grew increasingly hesitant-
Could... they really have made a mistake?
"Wait a moment. I'll have someone investigate immediately. Don't let me catch you lying, or I'll make you wish you were dead!" the Undead Chief growled.
"I'm more worried you won't investigate. Go on, check," Shen Ye said, his hands on his hips.
The Undead Chief picked out a few capable subordinates and gave them instructions.
The subordinates quickly left.
Next.
All that remained was to wait for the results.
Still unwilling to give up, the Undead Chief continued questioning him. "Boy, as a human, why would you betray humanity?"
This was the real issue!
A human had abandoned a perfectly good life to join the undead.
What sort of mental state was that?
What was his motive?
"Hmph. I got tired of being exploited by capitalists," Shen Ye said.
"What's a capitalist?" the Undead Chief asked.
"Let me put it this way. I'm poor. I have no tools to produce or acquire wealth, so I have to surrender my labor power to the owners of the means of production-that is, capitalists-and produce the value of that labor power through actual work. Only after the capitalists have exploited me dry can I barely survive," Shen Ye slowly explained.
Dead silence fell.
The undead stood motionless.
The Undead Chief looked around, sounding exasperated with their failings. "I keep telling you to read more. Now you can't even understand what someone's saying. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Chief, you understood him?" a subordinate asked respectfully.
"Obviously. Why else would I be the chief instead of you?" the Undead Chief said.
The undead were filled with respect.
The Undead Chief cleared his throat softly and turned to Shen Ye.
"So, how did that expert called a capitalist torture you to make you hate them so much?"
-Enough. You haven't read much either.
"They put me on a 996 schedule," Shen Ye said.
"What's 996?" the Undead Chief asked curiously.
"Start work at nine in the morning, finish at nine at night, with less than an hour's break at noon and in the evening. More than ten hours of work in total, six days a week," Shen Ye explained to him.
"That's pretty brutal..." The Undead Chief pondered for a while.
"Later, I even went through 007," Shen Ye said, lowering his voice.
"What's that?" the Undead Chief asked.
"From midnight to midnight, seven days a week without a break. Commonly known as 007," Shen Ye said.
The undead sucked in a cold breath, a trace of sympathy entering their gazes.
Even those sharp spearpoints moved a little farther from him.
"I think I'm starting to understand you-but how have you survived until now?" A little warmth entered the Undead Chief's voice.
He released his grip on Shen Ye's neck.
"I remember that day... Snow was falling from the sky, and I was cold and hungry... All I had on me was a box of matches..."
Shen Ye choked up a few times and was about to continue when a line of small text appeared in midair:
"The undead have decided to publicize humanity's atrocities of '996' and '007,' and you will become the central figure in this public-opinion campaign." "Attention!" "Your new entry, 'Matchstick-Selling Little Boy,' may very well begin sprouting here!"
Get lost!
"Boy Who Survived" is already stuck to me like glue, and now you're giving me "Matchstick-Selling Little Boy" too?
Absolutely not!
If I manage to return to Blue Star someday, won't a bunch of Earthlings laugh themselves silly at me?
Shen Ye changed tack:
"Just then, Feren saved me-so I absolutely won't let you frame him and do whatever you like to him!"
Several afterimages darted back into the woods.
-They were the undead scouts sent to investigate.
"He's telling the truth. Everyone saw Royal Court Archmage Eudria communicate remotely with a girl from Elf Village. That elven girl told the truth about what happened."
"The elven High Priest really was in that village, preparing to wipe out all our assassins in one fell swoop."
The scout delivered his report.
"What about you? Did you hear the same thing?" the Undead Chief asked the other scouts.
"Yes."
"Same here."
"There's no faking this, sir. Prince Norton of the Human Race checked it himself. That's exactly what happened."
The scouts spoke over one another.
One scout even produced a portrait.
It depicted Shen Ye.
-The very image of the Boy Who Survived!
The undead nodded silently, then all looked at the skull on the ground.
It seemed Feren was innocent!
Not only had Feren escaped the elves' trap, he had even turned a human boy who possessed humanity's Medal of Valor and was about to receive guaranteed admission to the Imperial Military Academy!
Not only was he innocent, he had rendered a great service!
One subordinate could not hold back:
"Sir, according to the Warden's orders, we must take Feren-"
"Silence! Since Feren is innocent and has rendered a service, do you think I would kill him? Wouldn't that dishearten every Undead Soldier?" the Undead Chief snapped.
He turned to look at Feren.
He couldn't kill him.
If he disposed of Feren, sooner or later his superiors would throw him out too, executing him in public in the name of appeasing the masses.
The high-ranking undead above him would gain prestige, while he would be nothing but a stepping stone.
That was no deal to make.
But saving Feren would cost a great deal of money, and he certainly wasn't paying for it.
The way to avoid offending the Warden while also escaping a reputation for indiscriminate killing was...
"Very good, Feren. It seems you are a brave Undead Warrior who has not forgotten his mission."
The Undead Chief crouched down and placed a White Bone Medal on Feren's head.
"We must report what happened here immediately. We'll leave this place to you."
He also patted Shen Ye on the shoulder in a show of friendliness:
"From now on, we'll call you 'Matchstick-Selling Little Boy.' That name can conceal your identity as the 'Boy Who Survived.'"
Pop!
A line of faintly glowing text immediately appeared in midair:
"Your brand-new entry, 'Matchstick-Selling Little Boy,' has begun to sprout."
Shen Ye's mouth twitched.
He had failed to escape it after all.
The Undead Chief looked at the skull on the ground again and said admiringly:
"And you, Feren. I'm proud of you."
"Let's go!"
"Wait!" Shen Ye called out, unable to resist asking, "You took him apart, and now you're just leaving him here?"
"We only took him apart. His power is still intact," the Undead Chief explained.
"I see... Then can you put him back together?" Shen Ye asked again.
"Child, to tell you the truth, putting bones together requires eyes. None of us have eyes, so the rest is up to you! Farewell!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-
The undead vanished in an instant.
The woods immediately fell quiet again.
"I told you, we undead usually just get tossed outside. If we die, we die. If we don't, we don't," Big Skeleton said with a sigh.
"You really can't be put back together?" Shen Ye asked.
"No. I can only grow new bones," Big Skeleton said.
"Then your power-" Shen Ye asked hesitantly.
"Actually, I didn't use my true power just now. I can't let them become suspicious of me," Big Skeleton said in a grave tone.
"So you just let them take you apart?" Shen Ye said.
"Shen Ye, you're still young. You don't know that some things are more terrifying than death," Big Skeleton said.
"Can you move now, then?"
"...Fortunately, I haven't lost any power. It's sealed inside my skull. Once my bones grow back, I can use it," Big Skeleton sighed.
"Well, that's something to be thankful for," Shen Ye agreed.
"..." Big Skeleton.
"..." Shen Ye.
A cold breeze blew past.
Both the boy and the skull found themselves at a loss for words.
-Thankful, my ass.
He didn't even have a body anymore. This was worse than when they had first met.
"You haven't thrown away the Fish Tank, have you?" Big Skeleton volunteered.
Oh?
His emotional intelligence had improved.
"I paid for it. Of course I wouldn't throw it away-as soon as we get back, I'll order delivery and change your Calcium Supplement Liquid," Shen Ye said, crouching in front of him.
"Thanks," Big Skeleton said.
"How about adding some aquatic plants? I've always wanted to grow some," Shen Ye suggested.
"Sure. Green surroundings will help me relax," Big Skeleton said cooperatively.
"Since it's Calcium Supplement Liquid, we can only use fake aquatic plants," Shen Ye said.
"That's good. Easy to maintain," Big Skeleton said.
"Your skull isn't cracked this time, and your teeth are fine too. The turtles I bought are all still alive. Want some?" Shen Ye asked.
"Yes," Big Skeleton said.
Shen Ye nodded silently.
-This skeleton was all right.
He could bring him over here for a little workout whenever they had nothing to do, then take better care of him back home.
"By the way," Big Skeleton asked curiously, "do you humans really have terrifying beings like capitalists?"
"Yes, but not in your world," Shen Ye said.
"That's a relief." Big Skeleton breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why are you worried about human affairs?" Shen Ye said with a smile.
"You don't really understand our world-all the races actually love learning from humans. If you had capitalists, the Undead Race would soon have those fellows too. Just thinking about it is terrifying," Big Skeleton said.
Shen Ye was about to reply when three more lines of faintly glowing text appeared:
"You have triggered another key reminder." "You have been discovered again!" "Please note: this is a critical moment for completing your third 'One of Us' entry. You must not evade it."
Shen Ye froze.
Had those undead come back?
The dense woods stirred.
Dozens of figures rushed out, surrounding Shen Ye and Big Skeleton on the ground.
"Don't move!"
"Traitor to humanity!"
"Caught red-handed secretly meeting with the undead, weren't you!"
The fully armed human soldiers shouted furiously.
Naturally, Shen Ye stayed still. He even had time to give Big Skeleton a meaningful look.
"?" Big Skeleton.