Chapter 655, Think of Another Way
Combat Zone.
The zombie horde instantly fell into chaos. Instead of spreading out, they all swarmed the main road and charged forward.
The skeleton wyvern resumed bombing runs. The blasts were deafening, and dust filled the air.
After two bombing runs, the horde reached the skeleton lines and clashed with the spear phalanx.
Battle broke out.
At the same time, the Soul-Capturing Flashlight activated above. A magic circle appeared, and strands of lingering souls floated into the sky.
Glenda and Xiaoxiao returned, followed by vampire skeletons carrying corpses.
The Silentblade Cursed Sword was tossed back. Glenda said, "It's dead. No other high-level zombies found."
Xiaoxiao pouted, "I didn't even get to do anything!"
Glenda smiled softly, coaxing, "Next time, you'll definitely get your chance."
"Doesn't matter. We're a 'timu,' so whoever gets the kill is fine," Xiaoxiao replied.
Glenda gave Wu Heng a puzzled look. He explained, "Another language—it means 'team.'"
Wu Heng continued, "Glenda, go absorb those souls."
Glenda nodded and flew into the floating remnants.
The plan was to raise Glenda to level 20 first, then help Beni next.
So for now, all soul remnants were reserved for Glenda.
She dove into the sky, rapidly devouring them one by one.
...
Wu Heng turned his gaze to the corpses on the ground.
One was a Corpse King; the other, a mutated Tier-2 zombie that had served as a literal seat.
And the Corpse King—was female.
Wu Heng glanced down and cast [Raise Skeleton] on her.
Necromantic power wrapped the corpse, stripping away flesh as the skeleton slowly stood.
It shook off the grime and bent to pick up its clothes.
"No need for those. I'll get you a new set later. From now on, your name is Bone Demon No. 2," Wu Heng declared.
The skeleton stood upright and moved to the side, awaiting orders.
[Bone Demon (Level 18)]
Wu Heng checked the stats—not much different from the suited Corpse King he'd raised before.
He bent down to search for the corpse core and frowned slightly.
Something else?
He used his iron sword to poke around.
Out came a blue-purple corpse core—and two sizable fake breasts.
"Damn, thought it was three corpse cores!"
Wu Heng stashed the core and then used [Raise Skeleton] on the Tier-2 mutated zombie.
After raising it, he also collected its core.
Meanwhile—
The skeleton army advanced, and Glenda had finished absorbing all the souls.
Then came cleanup.
Qi Hancai brought in the convoy for scavenging and mapping, while Wu Heng used [Battlefield of the Dead] to raise skeletons en masse.
As night fell, the convoy returned.
Back at the base, they disembarked.
Wu Heng said, "This is the newly raised Bone Demon No. 2. She'll help defend the base."
Qi Hancai looked at the new, rather slender skeleton.
The name confirmed it was a Corpse King-turned skeleton.
Wu Heng added, "When I'm not here, she's in charge. Assist her in defending the base."
Bone Demon No. 2 nodded.
Wu Heng continued, "Bone Demons are very intelligent. Take her to pick out some clothes. I'll leave the rest to you."
Qi Hancai nodded, unfazed by the skeleton.
She said directly, "Come with me, you can pick."
Bone Demon followed her away.
Wu Heng went upstairs and returned to his quarters.
...
Island Lord's Manor.
After delivering the corpse cores to the alchemy lab—
He freshened up in the bath and headed downstairs.
In the lounge, Shanaila and Minnie were chatting about the stage play while snacking on fruit.
When Wu Heng appeared, Minnie politely greeted him.
Shanaila gave a playful wink as her greeting.
Wu Heng sat down between them and hugged them both.
"How was the opera house today?"
"Not bad. The detective story was decent. The plot was engaging, especially the investigation parts—it made up for the weaker acting," Shanaila analyzed.
But Shanaila used to be a guild leader and had seen top-tier performers. Gold-Silver Island's improvised theater couldn't compare.
"Can an opera house make money?" Wu Heng asked curiously.
Shanaila smiled. "Plenty of nobles have settled here. They need something that suits their tastes. Plus, the opera house isn't just for plays. Future auctions and major meetings can be held there too. It'll be useful."
"True. We could even use it as a cinema someday," Wu Heng said.
"What's a cinema?" Shanaila asked.
Minnie looked over curiously too.
"A place that shows movies. You haven't seen one yet—I'll build one for you later," Wu Heng said with a smile.
A new idea popped into his head—making films to spread information.
They chatted a while longer, then Andviel returned with her white owl.
Dinner was ready. They all sat at the table together.
After the meal—
Shanaila went to the courtyard to play shuttlecock with the maids. Wu Heng went upstairs to the study.
...
In the study, Glenda was still editing documents.
Xiaoxiao and Beni were off somewhere playing.
Wu Heng poured himself some water and sat on a chair.
His gaze drifted out the window as the sky darkened. He began thinking about future plans.
In the zombie world, he'd obtained a frigate and other modern ships.
It massively increased defense for the Emerald Sea.
And soon, with communication-trained skeletons, they could install phone lines across Gold-Silver Island, improving coordination.
"Next step: acquire more gear. Best case, move the shipyard to Gold-Silver Island."
"Also, keep leveling Glenda until she reaches level 20."
As for Gold-Silver Island—
The expo and auction had been huge successes.
They met all prior goals, even exceeding expectations.
Pens and watches were widely loved and became pillar industries.
The enhancement potion, due to Shanaila's business plan, would only be sold via auctions.
That was already more than enough—no need to be greedy.
Only his personal reputation hadn't grown much.
At this pace, it'd take him over a year to reach level 20.
"Still need a new plan," Wu Heng muttered.
Glenda floated over. "What's with the sighing?"
Wu Heng teased, "You're about to hit level 20. I'm jealous."
Glenda rolled her eyes. "Acting tough at home, huh?"
"Just trying to find a way to boost my fame—meet the requirements sooner," Wu Heng said and took a sip of tea.
Glenda thought for a moment and said, "Fame isn't hard to get. Depends what price you're willing to pay."
"What kind of price?" Wu Heng looked at her.
"For example, agree to the Fifth Princess's request—use restoring her kingdom as an excuse to meddle in Ekow Kingdom's war. Within a month, all factions will be investigating you," Glenda said.
Wu Heng narrowed his eyes, surprised.
Getting involved in a war wasn't a great idea.
He had Gold-Silver Island, and it had grown so much. No reason to drag himself into this mess.
"Gold-Silver Island's development is going well. No need to get dragged down. And the Guild forbids interfering with national affairs. I'm an official flag-bearer—getting involved would cost more than it's worth," Wu Heng said plainly.
Getting involved might not even work.
But it would definitely hurt his standing and his island.
"Just an example. Remember Luan? That idiot who challenged you when he arrived?" Glenda floated closer. "He looked clueless, but he was trying the fastest way to gain fame—he just didn't know you were hiding your strength."
When Luan arrived, he saw Wu Heng had high fame and publicly challenged him.
Anyone else would've felt provoked too.
But from Luan's perspective, it was efficient—and back then, people thought Wu Heng was only level 12.
Luan had no reason to think he'd lose.
"Any other methods?" Wu Heng asked.
"I'll think on it."