Chapter 320, Skeleton Strike Squad
The departing truck suddenly reversed.
The men rescuing their companions were startled and quickly searched for their guns.
Before they could retrieve their firearms from the wrecked vehicles, the truck's rear curtain was flung open.
Figures clad in leather armor, wielding battle axes, leapt down, gripping the edges with one hand.
They charged en masse in their direction.
The men looked on in shock and panic.
"Weren't there supposed to be only a few of them?"
"Damn, what the hell are those things? Why don't they have faces?"
"Damn it, the truck wasn't full of grain; it's full of skeletons."
Realizing what was rushing at them, they grew even more terrified.
Frantically unlocking safeties, they began firing ahead.
Gunfire echoed as bullets rained down on the charging, axe-wielding skeletons.
In a frenzy, they picked up guns from the ground.
They began madly shooting at the incoming skeletons.
Bullets peppered the skeletons like a downpour.
The force of the bullets knocked down the skeletons in the lead, but they simply rose from the ground.
They continued charging forward with the rest of the skeletons.
"Damn it! They don't die! Run!"
"They're not human."
"Run! They're not human, just like zombies!"
Seeing bullets had no effect, the remaining men turned and fled.
The bald leader with the goatee, still pulling a long wooden crate from under the vehicle, looked up to see his men several meters away.
Panicking, the goateed leader cursed and dropped what he was holding, turning to run.
He pulled out a handgun as he sprinted.
He aimed at the two men ahead and fired twice.
"Hold them off for me, and I'll take care of your women."
The men cried out in pain, stumbling to the ground.
Before they could curse, a pursuing skeleton swung its axe down on their heads, felling them instantly.
Despite this, the skeletons' speed easily outmatched the fleeing men.
The remaining men were quickly caught, knocked to the ground as axes descended upon them repeatedly.
"We were wrong; we're all just survivors."
"It was Yang Hao who made us do this; please don't kill us."
"Ah! Give us a chance!"
The remaining men, including the bald leader, cried out in desperation.
But the surrounding skeletons offered no mercy.
Battle axes fell from all directions, the sound of flesh being hacked drowning out the cries. The battlefield soon grew silent.
...
When the skeletons returned to standby mode,
Wu Heng finally jumped down from the truck.
The single-axe skeletons demonstrated a distinct fighting style.
Charging forward with single-handed axes.
They had the look of a daring assault squad.
If organized into a strike team, these axe-wielding skeletons might be very effective.
Wu Heng glanced around and said, "Check those overturned vehicles and loot anything useful."
"Got it!" Qi Hancai took out her radio and relayed the command.
The rest disembarked and headed toward the overturned SUVs, scavenging for spoils.
The gear on the attackers was decent.
Besides firearms and ammo, they wore bulletproof vests.
Whether or not it would protect against zombie bites was uncertain, but it looked professional.
Others looted the vehicles while the skeletons dragged over several bodies.
The corpses were now bloody and unrecognizable.
Wu Heng thought for a moment, then cast [Speak with the Dead] on one of the bodies.
The corpse sat up, its gaze turning toward him.
Wu Heng asked directly, "Why were you following us?"
The corpse, with a torn mouth, replied, "Saw you had few people, thought we'd score some loot."
As expected, they'd caught others' attention at the market.
Wu Heng continued, "Were you sent by anyone?"
"No, we discussed it and followed on our own."
"Apart from these vehicles, do you have any others?"
"No."
"Did anyone else know you were following us?"
"No."
With his questions answered, Wu Heng dispelled the magic, and the corpse lay back down.
So these men had seen his small group hauling truckloads of grain and decided to rob them.
This was likely common at the market.
Unfortunately for them, they'd crossed Wu Heng.
"Take everything off them!" Wu Heng commanded.
The skeletons stepped forward.
Stripping the corpses of their bulletproof vests, magazines, cigarettes, and other belongings.
Wu Heng cast [Raise Skeleton] on the stripped corpses.
The newly risen skeletons joined the line of axe-wielding skeletons.
...
At this point, Qi Hancai and the others brought over what they'd scavenged.
Besides rifles and bullets, they found five grenades, a machine gun, and a rocket launcher in a case.
Other items included rations, beer, and bottled water.
They'd looted quite a bit.
"Everything's here!" Qi Hancai reported.
Wu Heng stowed the weapons and asked, "How about those SUVs?"
"Totaled. They can be fixed, but it's not worth the effort."
Vehicles were plentiful in this world.
In that state, it'd be easier to find a better car on the roadside.
A trip to a dealership would yield plenty of options.
"Distribute the bulletproof vests to our people. Load the food and drinks onto the truck, and let's head back."
"Understood!"
Everyone loaded up, and once the skeletons climbed into the back of the truck,
The convoy started back toward the Old Factory.
...
The rest of the journey was uneventful.
Even the ambush by the SUVs hadn't caused any losses.
In fact, they'd gained a good haul of guns and ammo, plus a machine gun and rocket launcher.
Initially, Wu Heng had wondered why the attackers hadn't just used the rocket launcher.
But after some thought, he understood.
If they'd used it, the whole cargo would've been destroyed. They'd assumed the trucks were full of grain, not skeleton soldiers.
The factory gates opened, and the convoy drove in.
The skeletons disembarked from the trucks.
Qi Hancai parked the truck with the cannon in the garage.
After parking, Wu Heng retrieved the cannon into his space ring.
Qi Hancai wasn't surprised; she'd seen him do this before.
She stood nearby and asked, "Any plans for tomorrow?"
"Just the usual weapon production. I'll notify you if anything comes up," Wu Heng replied.
"Understood!"
They left the garage together.
Qi Hancai arranged to have the bulletproof vests stored in the warehouse, while Wu Heng headed to his quarters.
He opened the gate and returned to Gold-Silver Island.
...
Stepping through the gate,
Wu Heng went straight to the alchemy lab.
Inside, several alchemy skeletons were busy with their tasks, sorting herbs, purifying, and refining.
Potion-making wasn't as simple as cooking porridge.
The process was quite intricate.
Wu Heng focused on "Specialist One."
The six-armed skeleton was carefully processing a Tier-3 corpse core at the alchemy station.
Wu Heng chose another skeleton instead, "Alchemy One, come here."
The gnome skeleton approached, shaking a vial.
Wu Heng handed over the eight corpse cores he'd acquired, "These are Tier-1 cores. Turn them into Tier-1 potions."
The skeleton took the cores, placing them in the cold storage, then returned to its tasks.
Wu Heng left it to work without further interruption.
After closing the door, he headed downstairs.
On the first floor, Minnie was practicing her writing at the coffee table. When she saw Wu Heng, she smiled brightly, "Master, I thought you weren't home!"
"I was just upstairs. Prepare the bath; I need a soak."
"Yes, Master!" Minnie got up to prepare the bath.
Once the tub was filled,
Wu Heng sank in comfortably.
Leaning back, he reflected on his encounter at the military market.
It had been fruitful; besides the cannon, he'd also acquired eight corpse cores.
All useful items.
The market's prices were indeed quite low.
"I should visit regularly and trade for what I need," Wu Heng muttered.
Apart from ammunition,
He could use corpse cores, mechanical parts, and mutated zombie corpses.
"Specialized personnel are important too. I should recruit some."
Relying solely on ordinary survivors made it hard to advance the base.
Recruiting skilled workers and the Awakened was essential.
Ever since Qiangzi developed the "Lazy Dog Bomb," zombie-clearing efficiency had skyrocketed.
Having various experts would benefit the base.
Creak.
As he pondered, the bathroom door opened gently.
Wu Heng glanced over with narrowed eyes.
Minnie, wrapped in a towel, quietly entered, her exposed collarbone, arms, and legs gleaming.
Seeing Wu Heng awake, she looked disappointed, "I wanted to surprise you."
Minnie sat beside the tub, gently splashing water.
Wu Heng placed a hand on her thigh, slipping it under the towel, "You're always so mischievous."
"Hehe!" Minnie laughed, running her fingers across his chest, "Master, your muscles are impressive. I wish I were this strong."
"Girls don't need muscles."
Minnie laughed again, "Let me massage your shoulders. You look tired today."
She circled around and began massaging his shoulders.
After a while,
Minnie continued, "Master, this position is tiring. Can I get in?"
"Come on in!" The towel slid off.
She carefully climbed in, sitting face-to-face with him.
As she settled, she seemed to melt into his arms, exhausted.
"Not massaging anymore?" Wu Heng asked, holding her.
Minnie blushed, tucking a wet strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm out of energy."
"Not even started, and you're done?"
Minnie wrapped her arms around his neck, murmuring, "Master, you're so bad!"
...
Near dusk,
Andviel returned from outside.
When Chef One served dinner, the three sat down to eat.
"Sister Shanaila hasn't been by to scrounge for food these past two days," Andviel remarked.
Minnie replied between bites, "Her ships arrived, so she's busy with that."
"Star Flower's fleet hasn't left yet?"
"Not yet. I heard they're still preparing food, water, and cargo for the journey."
Made sense.
With his focus on the undead, Wu Heng had forgotten that living beings had to stock up for sea voyages, or they'd starve or die of thirst.
"Good point."
"Mm-hmm."
After dinner,
They trained in the courtyard as usual.
Wu Heng's swordsmanship was growing more proficient, even without the [Instructor's] longsword.
But his sword skill remained at the basic level, not yet intermediate.
After a while of training,
Wu Heng led the two women back to their rooms to rest.
...
The following morning,
Wu Heng headed to the guild. Just as he entered the hall,
A staff member hurried over, "Deputy Steward, there are two letters for you."