Chapter 3

Three skeletons turned their skulls stiffly, their hollow eye sockets looking at the target.

Upon spotting the zombies, they immediately rushed down the stairs to attack.

Two unarmed skeletons each tangled with one, while the sword-wielding skeleton stood on the side, its iron sword continuously slashing at the zombies.

Wu Heng also stepped forward, his shield blocking the extended claws and the splattering grime and blood.

The short spear in his hands, pierced through the hollow skeleton, stabbing aimlessly at the zombies’ bodies.

Over and over again, he repeated the stabbing motion.

His choice of the short spear was the only option after some experimentation.

A bow was very difficult to draw, and achieving accuracy with an arrow needed a long time of practice. Maintaining accuracy while frequently shooting is not something an ordinary person can do.

A sword is the most common weapon in Black Stone Town.

But during his trial, he almost managed to slit his own neck, so he followed the suggestion of the blacksmith’s shop owner and chose a short spear instead.

Stabbing and thrusting also had lethal force, which was quite good.

As a beginner, it was easier to handle and wouldn’t hurt himself.

Soon, the two zombies that were lured up were killed in combined effort, their fleshly bodies falling to the ground, looking miserable.

Wu Heng actually knew these zombies.

They were neighbors who lived in the same building.

But now, they had become enemies.

He unleashed the “Bone Manipulation Skill” and two skeleton warriors stood up again.

Seeing no zombies charging up, he thought for a bit, then gave an order.

“Follow me back!”

Leading the skeletons, he turned around and went back to his room.

Closing the security door, Wu Heng sat in his chair to recover his strength.

Even though the main battles were fought by the skeleton warriors, the high tension consumed his energy, making him feel exhausted.

Speaking of attributes, his strength wasn’t physical power or strength.

But for now, his only option was normal close combat attack.

After a brief rest, Wu Heng went into the kitchen, found a kitchen knife, a fruit knife and a hammer, handed them to three of the skeletons. For the last one, he couldn’t find anything useful, so he temporarily used a mop as a weapon.

In fact, a kitchen knife was a good choice.

It could completely replace the skeleton warriors’ main weapon.

Once he has money later, he’ll consider purchasing iron swords from Black Stone Town for the skeletons to equip.

He rested quite a bit, Wu Heng stood up again, ready for the next battle.

…

Returning to the cold corridor, there was a sticky sensation of flesh and blood under his feet.

“Three of you, walk in front of me,” Wu Heng pointed to three skeletons.

Three in front, two behind, who protected him in the middle as they walked down the stairs.

A door on the second floor was open. He entered with the skeletons and found no zombies.

The homeowner was the zombie that had just been killed.

He went to the kitchen and found two more kitchen knives, replacing the mop and fruit knife.

They continued down to the first floor.

He cautiously peeked around the corners.

The green stairwell door was in a pitiful state but still tightly shut, blocking the outside and the inside of the stairwell.

He could faintly hear the sound of clawing at the door panel.

Luckily this door was closed. If the zombies outside rushed in, it would be tough to fight.

He ordered the skeleton warriors to pile up some debris at the door and completely block the stairwell door.

He probably wouldn’t need it much in the future anyway.

Once everything was sealed off, Wu Heng began his next plan.

He came to the door of the first household, took out the bronze key and gently turned it. A small crack opened in the door.

A thin white curtain of light seeped out of the crack.

As he unlocked the door, Wu Heng pulled out the key, waited a few seconds, and the light curtain from another world disappeared.

What appeared next was the living room of the first floor flat.

The living room was somewhat dark, but there were no zombies to be seen.

Bang!

Bang bang!!

As soon as he stepped into the living room, there was a violent pounding sound from the bedroom door.

In just a few seconds, the fragile door shattered.

Two zombies in pajamas stumbled out.

“Attack,” Wu Heng ordered again.

Scattered zombies no longer posed much of a threat.

On the contrary, they had become an experience bundle.

They can increase experience and increase the number of skeleton warriors.

Swoosh!!

The skeleton warriors surged forward, surrounding the zombies in the center. They repeatedly raised and dropped their kitchen knives.

The scene was somewhat brutal but also somewhat decompressing.

The zombies didn’t even get to show any attack before they were chopped to death in the living room.

Wu Heng walked over, released the Bone Manipulation Skill, and two more skeleton warriors stood up.

After confirming that there was no danger here, Wu Heng first headed to the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, he found two more kitchen knives.

Handing them out to the newly risen skeleton warriors.

Then, he started ransacking every corner, looking for items that would be useful to him.

It couldn’t be helped, living in Black Stone Town also required money.

If it wasn’t for the world turning out like this, he could have gotten rich more easily.

There were reserves of rice and flour, and well-preserved marinated goods in the fridge.

But with Black Stone Town, food wasn’t that important.

He closed the fridge and continued rummaging around in the bedroom closet.

He took out several pieces of clothing that appeared to be high-class.

Then he found cash, bank cards, housing documents, and some paper deposit receipts.

In the dressing table, he found a few pieces of women’s gold jewelry.

Cash and bank cards were now useless, but gold jewelry still had value.

Just before leaving, his gaze fell on an ornament placed at the entrance.

On a shoe cabinet at the entrance, a jade cabbage was displayed.

The base was made of wood; above, a see-through cabbage statuette. It was almost thirty centimeters in length, not small at all.

Wu Heng examined it, then took it with him as he left.

After that, he led the skeleton warriors to the next room.

He lived in an old apartment block, six floors high, with three units on each floor.

Wu Heng led the skeletons, systematically opening each door, killing the zombies inside, and scavenging useful items.

…

Five o’clock in the evening.

Wu Heng had, along with his skeletons, cleared the entire apartment building.

The living room, which was not particularly spacious, was now filled with skeleton warriors holding kitchen and fruit knives.

They were arranged neatly, giving the entire living room a gloomy atmosphere.

Taking a count, there were 17 skeleton warriors in total.

The number was less than he expected, but it was still satisfactory, especially considering today’s operation went smoothly.

The skeleton with the highest experience was the sword-wielding one. Yielding the advantage of its weapon, it had reached 55 points, a little less than half the way to leveling up.

If the progress tomorrow is as smooth as today, leveling up would not be a problem.

From today’s battles, he had figured out the pattern of the skeletons gaining experience.

Other than being able to share the experience of all his skeletons, the rest of the experience distribution was calculated based on who delivered the final blow.

Meaning, whichever skeleton landed the last hit, that skeleton received the experience.

It was not evenly divided among all the skeletons.

His own experience had also reached half. With a bit of luck, he could level up as well.

Everything was moving in a good direction.

After organizing the spoils and ordering all the skeletons to stay put, he put on his backpack and returned to Black Stone Town through the boundary door.

…

Deer Antler Shop.

A well-known chain store in Black Stone Town.

The logo was possibly deer antler-patterned.

It was said that their stores could be found in all human cities. They had a certain impact and their reputation was quite admirable.

“Beautiful, very beautiful.” The plump shopkeeper behind the counter exclaimed as he held the jade cabbage, examining it closely.

After reflexively complimenting it, he carefully put it on the counter and continued, “What material is this? It’s not jade, and there are no carving marks, it doesn’t seem natural.”

Wu Heng was amazed by the sharpness of the man’s eyes.

Even though it was called a jade cabbage, it wasn’t actually made of jade. It was an ornament made from resin.

It had nothing to do with jade at all.

“It’s fat jade. You probably wouldn’t see it here. It’s notable for its lightness, toughness, and vibrant color.” Wu Heng made up a quick lie.

This world wasn’t the medieval period of Earth. The level of development wasn’t backward at all.

They had glass, all sorts of exquisite crafts, and there was no shortage of food or salt.

However, resin and plastic, synthetic materials, had never been seen here.

So, it had become a novelty here.

The shopkeeper examined it again and said straightaway, “The Deer Antler Business Association never lowballs. Your item is pretty good. Although it’s clear that it was molded, its beauty lies in the exquisite shape and the unique material. If you’re willing to sell it, we can offer you 30 silver coins.”

There were four universal currencies: copper pennies, copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins.

Although gold coins were the highest denomination, they were rarely seen among common people.

Silver coins could buy almost anything.

So, the purchasing power of a silver coin was quite high.

In Wu Heng’s understanding of the currency here, a silver coin was equivalent to a hundred-yuan bill.

“Too low.” Wu Heng feigned dissatisfaction, shaking his head.

“Then what’s your expected price?”

“100.”

A price that seemed to come from a dream. If the shopkeeper didn’t agree, Wu Heng could still lower it.

If he’d said less and the shopkeeper had immediately agreed, he’d probably feel cheated.

Of course, he couldn’t be too extravagant with the price. It just had to be right.

“I’m afraid that price would be difficult to accept. Let’s compromise, 40 silver coins would be the highest I can go.” The shopkeeper gave a flat price.

Wu Heng thought for a moment. The jade cabbage was of no use to him and there was nowhere else to sell these useless things anyway.

So, he nodded his agreement.

“Okay.”