Chapter 366: Directly Delivered to Your Hands?
Analyzing it in this way, there is a kind of creepy feeling.
Upon further thought, there are also significant differences.
"No, it's probably because of how my system panel calculates the level; when attributes reach a certain point, they're categorized into a respective level."
Other people don't have a system panel and can't see any levels or attributes.
The level of zombies that Wu Heng saw after conversion was calculated by the system panel based on their attributes.
There might not be any direct connection between the two.
Thinking like this, it kind of makes sense.
Wu Heng let all the skeletons stand aside, then squatted down again, casually sifting through the shredded flesh.
Suddenly, Wu Heng's eyes narrowed sharply.
"A first-level corpse core!"
A corpse core, very similar to a first-level core, was picked out and rolled to the side.
With a plastic bag covering his hand, he picked it up—it was not much different from the cores found inside mutated hunting dogs.
"Can corpse cores be mass-produced?"
If evolved zombies all contained corpse cores, wouldn't that mean first-level cores would be everywhere?
Wu Heng continued searching through the remaining pieces of flesh.
Eventually, he found nine first-level corpse cores in total.
Out of approximately 120 evolved zombie corpses, only nine corpse cores were found in the end.
"Not every one has a core, but even a low ratio is better than nothing."
The fact that evolved zombies have a chance of containing corpse cores is good news for Wu Heng.
It means he can further increase the strength of those around him.
For other survivors, it has both pros and cons. The good news is there's a higher chance of obtaining corpse cores; the bad news is that the environment will become even more dangerous.
Wu Heng put all the corpse cores away, took out his spinal staff, and walked directly into the battlefield area.
He released the skill [Battlefield of the Dead] beside the pile of corpses.
Skeletons stood up one by one from the ground, and with the sound of grinding bones, they moved to the side.
Yesterday's battle resulted in an astonishing number of zombies killed.
Even using [Battlefield of the Dead] to convert them in batches, it took from morning until noon.
Intense use of magic also caused an overexerted headache.
It seemed that getting Kalema to learn [Battlefield of the Dead] needed to be done quickly so he could help convert skeletons.
After all the conversions were complete,
The number of skeletons across the entire area reached a staggering level.
...
Tap, tap, tap~!
The sound of footsteps echoed as Qi Hancai approached from afar.
After glancing around at the newly converted skeletons, she said, "The three armored cars from earlier were from the military. They said they came to gather information, and I told them to leave."
"The central roundabout connects all the major roads in the city. Since we fought hard for it, we should hold onto it," Wu Heng said after drinking two bottles of mental recovery potion.
If it had been captured by another shelter, that would be different.
But since his own side had put so much effort into taking it, it was important to keep control.
Plus, the nearby area was a major commercial district, filled with supplies.
"I understand, and besides, they don't have enough people to control this area anyway," Qi Hancai responded.
Wu Heng nodded in agreement.
Qi Hancai looked again towards the main road to the right, saying, "There's a whole street of jewelry stores over there—I peeked in earlier, and there are still plenty of gold and silver pieces."
Besides clearing the path to the passenger terminal, the reason Wu Heng had to conquer this area was for that jewelry street.
Whether or not he could lead a wealthier life in the other world depended on how much those jewelry stores could yield.
"Let's go check it out!" Wu Heng said directly.
Qi Hancai and several skeleton attendants followed behind him. As they passed by the convoy, Wang Chengang and others also joined them.
The group headed together toward the jewelry stores.
After walking about two to three hundred meters, they reached the entrance of the first jewelry store.
The store sign was in disrepair, and shattered glass was scattered all over the ground.
Entering the shop, some display counters were already smashed, with various gold jewelry scattered across the counters and the floor.
But there was still plenty of gold—more than he had ever found in any of the previous jewelry shops he looted.
"Gather all the gold. I'll take it later," Wu Heng instructed.
Wang Chengang and the others took out bags, smashed the counters, and began filling them with the gold jewelry.
Wu Heng, meanwhile, led Qi Hancai upstairs.
The second floor contained not only gold but also jade jewelry, mostly pendants and bracelets.
In the other world, jade wasn't as valuable as gold.
But nicely shaped pieces should still fetch some money.
"Bag them all," Wu Heng said, beginning the looting himself.
Everything was stuffed into backpacks.
Once they had collected everything, they went back downstairs, where the others handed over the gathered gold.
Wu Heng took it, holding bags of various sizes, weighing at least seventy to eighty kilograms altogether.
It was quite a significant haul.
"Let's go to the next shop."
Wu Heng put away the gold and led everyone to the next store.
Before the virus outbreak, people said brick-and-mortar stores were being hit hard by online shopping, with many physical businesses shutting down—but jewelry stores were the exception, only increasing in number.
The whole street was filled with lavishly decorated jewelry stores.
They looted the entire street from beginning to end, with each shop containing at least twenty kilograms of gold, and the most having over eighty kilograms.
This harvest was truly amazing.
Wu Heng figured he might now be the person with the most gold on Gold-Silver Island.
He also started considering whether he should open a jewelry store on Gold-Silver Island.
That way, he could sell these items at an even better price.
After looting all the jewelry stores,
The group walked back towards the mall.
Qi Hancai spoke as they walked, "We still need skeletons to guard this area. I'll have people from the old factory come over this afternoon for a more thorough sweep."
"Alright, arrange the personnel as needed. There are still plenty of supplies here," Wu Heng nodded.
"I'll get people ready to come over then."
Wu Heng thought for a moment, then added, "The road is pretty much clear now. Send a batch of food to the terminal, and then inform Li Yanhong that the road is open."
"Got it!"
The road was open, and it was only a forty-minute drive from the terminal to the roundabout.
Transport would be much more convenient from now on.
After finishing his conversation with Qi Hancai,
Wu Heng went into the mall to find a clean manager's office.
He had skeletons guard the door, then opened a portal and returned to Gold-Silver Island.
...
Gold-Silver Island.
Wu Heng stepped out, finding that nothing had changed here.
He opened the window and glanced outside, seeing Minnie training in hand-to-hand combat with 'Bagdong.'
With each punch and kick, a visible energy pulse could be seen.
Unlike when she had just left 'Rentam City,' Minnie now seemed to have fully developed.
Her figure had become more tall and full, and her face and skin had grown even fairer.
She had transformed from a charming village girl into a fair city lady.
People's appearance really is affected by their environment.
"Minnie!" Wu Heng called out.
Minnie, who was training, looked up and immediately smiled when she saw Wu Heng, "What is it, Master?"
"Hmm, if you're not busy, could you prepare some bathwater for me?"
"Sure thing!" Minnie immediately ran upstairs to start preparing the bath.
Wu Heng then left the room and headed to the alchemy room opposite.
Inside the room, several alchemical skeletons were busy with their tasks.
Wu Heng placed all the collected corpse cores on a nearby shelf.
This time, the haul wasn't just gold.
There were also many high-level skeletons and corpse cores collected.
One third-level corpse core, four second-level cores, and nine first-level cores.
It was probably the largest one-time harvest ever.
It seemed these alchemical skeletons would be kept busy for a while.
After setting down the cores, Wu Heng said a few words to the alchemical skeletons and left the room, heading downstairs.
Minnie was directing skeletons to pour water into the bath. When she saw Wu Heng come down, she continued to have the skeletons carry water while saying, "Master, that pirate lady came looking for you earlier, but you weren't here."
"When did that happen?" Wu Heng asked.
"The message came in this morning. It was recorded by the skeleton investigator," Minnie replied.
"Hmm, I'll go take a look."
"Alright, I'll call you once the bathwater is ready."
"Minnie is so good."
Minnie blushed, "No, I'm not!"
...
Entering the radio room on the third floor,
Wu Heng approached the skeleton investigator and picked up the logbook to glance through it.
Besides a bunch of nonsense at the beginning, the latest entries were all about Philipa asking if he was around, mentioning news about the blank envelope.
Seeing the mention of the blank envelope, Wu Heng raised an eyebrow.
Had she found out something from another pirate?
Picking up the microphone, Wu Heng spoke directly, "Philipa, are you there?"
Soon, a response came through, "I'm here. Why are you only now talking to me?"
Uh…
Getting questioned back.
"I was out handling some matters this morning. You mentioned something about the blank envelope?" Wu Heng asked directly.
Philipa's voice immediately lowered, as if she was wary of something.
"This morning, I woke up and found a blank envelope under my pillow—it was like I'd seen a ghost."
"It was delivered straight to your hands?"
"Yeah!"
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