Summoning the Dead
In a warehouse some distance from the factory, two burly Black men peered through a crack in the door, watching Xu Mo push open the factory gates.
John's expression twisted.
"Shit! That bastard—I spent days luring all the zombies into that place, and now he's letting them out again!"
He pulled his head back sharply.
Jim leaned against the wall with a sneer.
"Let him throw his life away. We've got enough food from the restaurant to last. Maybe the army will show up before it runs out."
Then his eyes slid toward Kim Tae-hee, who was trailing Xu Mo. Even from a distance, her pale skin and graceful figure stirred a hungry gleam in him.
"Shame about that woman, though…"
They had food. They had shelter. But two men trapped together in a warehouse for weeks grew restless. A woman would have made survival far more enjoyable.
But it was too late. With the swarm of zombies inside the factory, anyone who went in was as good as dead.
---
The Factory Floor
Behind Xu Mo, Kim Tae-hee flinched as the undead surged toward them.
She knew he could handle them—he had to—but instinct screamed at her to run.
Xu Mo raised a hand, his expression calm.
A steel nail shot forward, piercing the skull of the female zombie nearest them. She collapsed instantly, lifeless.
Kim Tae-hee never even saw the projectile. From her view, Xu Mo merely waved, and the creature dropped dead.
But the sound had drawn the rest.
The factory was massive, stretching several thousand square meters. Rows of machines lined the hall, their spaces crammed with shambling corpses. At least a thousand zombies crowded the floor.
Xu Mo remained unfazed. He had already scanned the factory with telekinesis before opening the door.
With a flick of thought, dozens—hundreds—of steel nails materialized, then streaked through the air.
The barrage tore through the horde like a storm of bullets. Zombies collapsed in waves, one after another, until less than a minute later, silence reigned.
Kim Tae-hee stared wide-eyed, lips parted in disbelief.
Xu Mo ignored her and strode to the innermost machine. He called out calmly:
"Come out."
A moment later, a panel shifted. An oily eye peered through, then the casing opened and a thin, grease-stained man crawled out, trembling.
"An employee?" Xu Mo asked.
The man nodded quickly. Only minutes ago, he had thought the pounding undead outside would break through and devour him. Now, all of them lay scattered and broken.
"Take me to the raw silver warehouse," Xu Mo ordered.
"Y-yes!" The man swallowed and nodded again. Refusal never even crossed his mind.
Turning back, Xu Mo waved at Kim Tae-hee and the worker.
"You two—wait outside."
As they left, Xu Mo walked alone to the center of the factory floor.
The Dark Divine Book unfurled before him. His body rose, hovering as waves of shadow spread outward.
The black aura quickly turned gray-white, streaming into the corpses scattered across the ground.
The transformation began. Flesh withered, melting into raw energy that seeped into bone. White skeletons emerged, their frames crystallizing like polished jade.
Weapons formed in their hands—swords, spears, shields, even bows and arrows—crafted from their own mutated bones.
At the center of each skull, the compressed energy ignited into a red flame. The moment it burned, the skeletons stirred and climbed upright.
Undead Summoning.
One of the forbidden magics contained in the Dark Divine Book.
Unlike necromantic plagues, this spell required no circle—only corpses. The caster's will gave them shape and ensured loyalty. These undead were weaker than the originals from the Underworld, but perfectly obedient.
---
Witnesses
At the factory entrance, the two survivors stared in horror. Their skin crawled at the sight of skeletons rising from corpses.
Zombies could be explained—some strange virus, a twisted science.
But this? Moving skeletons with flames in their eyes? This shattered all reason.
As they gaped, a mocking voice called from the street.
"Well, Bell! Didn't think you'd make it out alive!"
The two turned to see John and Jim advancing with fire axes in hand.
Bell—the factory worker—flushed with rage.
"You bastards dare show your faces to me?!"
Fueled by anger, he rushed them.
But the odds were hopeless. Thin, unarmed, and alone, he didn't last ten seconds before both men brought him down.
Jim stomped on his bloodied face, grinning cruelly.
"Looks like you're about to see your old man real soon."
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