Chapter 151: Everything is Ready
Big-Head zombie?
Big-Head zombies are known for leading zombie hordes. The official term given to them by the central station is "Commander."
Compared to other level-two zombies, these are even more difficult to deal with. Their presence in an area makes it much more dangerous for survivors.
"Are you certain?" Wu Heng asked.
"Not completely, but based on the description, there's a high chance it's a Big-Head zombie," Li Yanhong thought for a moment and replied.
"Where exactly in the west?"
"The Changyingzi district."
The Changyingzi district was quite a distance from here.
It would take a while for the army to get there.
Not to mention, they'd have to clear out zombies along the way, which would take even more time.
After thinking it over, Wu Heng felt it was necessary to go.
Other level-two zombies might not be worth the trouble, but Big-Head zombies could be very useful to him.
Besides serving as messengers.
They could lead patrols or escort Li Yanhong and her team to the prison.
They were a very useful type of skeleton.
"Let's prepare. In the next couple of days, we'll head out," Wu Heng said.
"What do I need to prepare?" Li Yanhong asked.
She usually just followed along.
"Prepare the trucks and bring some extra fuel."
"Oh, got it! I'll go back and get everything ready right away."
"Alright."
They chatted briefly about the situation at the prison.
Suddenly, Wu Heng remembered something and said, "Have someone try making some javelins."
"Javelins? What's that?"
"Like the kind thrown in sporting events," Wu Heng explained simply.
"Any specific requirements?"
Thinking back to the javelins he had seen in the weapon shop, Wu Heng said, "About one meter and forty to fifty centimeters long, with one end sharpened."
Li Yanhong nodded, understanding, and asked, "Would steel rods work? We brought back a lot from the warehouse last time. They should be able to make a few."
"That'll do. Make them first, and we can improve them if needed."
"Alright, I'll have people make them tonight. They're pretty simple—just need to be cut, so we should be able to get quite a few ready in one night."
"Thanks for the effort."
Li Yanhong chuckled and moved a little closer, "What effort? Compared to others, we're already living quite comfortably."
They stood and chatted for a while longer.
Li Yanhong then returned to assign tasks and rooms to the people brought over from the prison.
The entire neighborhood behind the repair shop had been cleared by the skeletons.
There were plenty of rooms, enough to house everyone.
The main focus was on the tasks Wu Heng had assigned.
The javelins still needed to be made.
After Li Yanhong left, Wu Heng returned to the neighborhood and checked on the skeletons' training.
After confirming everything was in order, he used the portal to return to Rentam City.
...
Back at his residence.
He read in the study for a while.
Then, from downstairs, came Minnie's careful voice, "Master, dinner is ready."
Wu Heng got up and went downstairs. Dinner was already laid out on the table.
This was the first time real food had been placed on the table.
Unlike the stir-fried dishes of the modern world.
The food here resembled something more akin to ancient Western meals.
There was vegetable soup, steamed eggs, and fruit pancakes.
The ingredients were simple, but there was a decent variety.
It seemed his choice of maid had been a good one—her cooking skills were quite impressive.
Wu Heng sat down at the table.
The two maids stood off to the side.
Wu Heng glanced at them and said, "Don't just stand there. Sit down and eat."
The two still looked a bit nervous, standing and not moving.
Their eyes, however, kept glancing at the food on the table, with quiet sounds of them swallowing.
Wu Heng frowned and pointed to the seats. "Minnie, sit here on the left. Weir, you sit on the right."
Only after Wu Heng spoke did they carefully sit down.
Slaves often had little control over their fate.
If they met a kind master, their lives could be better.
But if their owner had a bad temper, beatings and scoldings were common.
"Eat," Wu Heng said.
Weir glanced at him warily, then picked up her utensils and took a bite. Seeing her eat, Minnie followed suit, taking small bites.
After eating for a bit.
Wu Heng asked, "Have you chosen your rooms?"
"Yes, Weir chose the one on the left, and I took the one on the right," Minnie replied.
Wu Heng nodded and continued to explain the situation to them.
"Hmm, I'm a necromancer, so you'll see some skeletons around. They won't harm you, so don't be afraid. If there's any heavy lifting, they can help with that too."
Hearing the word "skeleton."
Both of them glanced toward the figures standing guard at the door, their heads covered in round helmets.
They had been curious about these silent figures that never spoke or moved since entering the house.
It turned out they were skeletons!
"Oh, alright," Minnie responded quietly.
Wu Heng continued, "Also, when I'm home, no one is allowed on the third floor. If you need me, call from downstairs. If I don't respond, you still can't go up to the third floor."
"Yes, Master."
"Weir," Wu Heng said, looking at the white-haired fox girl.
"Hmm," she instinctively responded.
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to the shop. If everything's fine, you'll manage it from now on," Wu Heng said.
The white-haired fox girl looked up, her pale lashes blinking as she gazed at him cautiously, "Alright."
After a brief chat, the atmosphere became less tense.
The bunny girl, Minnie, wiped the crumbs from her mouth and asked, "Master, are you part of a merchant guild?"
In the city, owning a shop usually meant being part of a merchant guild.
Otherwise, one wouldn't have the resources or ability.
And having a house in the inner city only reinforced that assumption.
Wu Heng shook his head, "I'm a captain in the Guild, recently transferred here. You can call me whatever you want at home, but in public, just call me captain or by my name."
In truth, being called "Master" by cute girls did feel quite nice.
But hearing it outside would be a bit embarrassing.
"Wow! Master is a captain in the Guild!" Minnie's eyes widened in surprise.
Even Weir, the fox girl, seemed a little shocked.
The city was full of mercenaries and merchants, but Guild members all lived in the inner city and had some level of enforcement authority, giving them higher status.
Though the actual power wasn't as great as it seemed.
"By the way, have you heard about the wanted criminal who was killing women outside the city? Do you know about him, Master?" Minnie suddenly asked.
It seemed Minnie had a more outgoing personality.
After all, she was still young.
Wu Heng nodded, "The Blood Cult, we killed them. We even rescued a few girls at the time."
"Wow! It really was you, Master. Minnie was one of those girls you saved!" Minnie suddenly stood up, her face full of excitement and joy.
Well… this was unexpected.
Wu Heng hadn't expected his newly bought maid to have any connection to one of his previous missions.
Releasing those girls from the cellar had been Marta's job; Wu Heng had been busy looting the corpses at the time.
He hadn't noticed if one of the rescued girls had been a bunny girl.
"How did you get caught by them?"
"I had just arrived here, and it was about to rain, so I got lost. They caught me then. I was so scared, I couldn't stop crying. Even after being rescued, my eyes were swollen for days," Minnie explained.
Slaves weren't always kept locked up.
Just like when they were bought, the management was somewhat lax, but no one ever ran away.
It was less like slavery and more like an agency finding jobs for people.
Orcs had a different culture than humans. Their tribal and city-state complexities, along with warfare and poverty, drove many to leave.
Slave trading became one of the most viable options.
"From now on, I'll assign someone to go with you when you leave, so you won't be in danger," Wu Heng said as he ate.
"Thank you, Master. I have such good luck choosing you," Minnie said, her face full of happiness.
She felt an incredible bond with her master.
Not only had he saved her, but now she had been bought by him as well.
What could be more destined than that?
Wu Heng glanced at the other girl, who was quietly eating, and said, "The same goes for you, Weir. I'll make sure someone accompanies you when you go out. The city is still quite chaotic."
"Hmm, thank you."
After dinner.
The two girls seemed much more at ease.
Minnie, in particular, was happy as she cleaned up and chatted with Weir about the rescue.
In fact, the defeat of the Blood Cult had caused quite a stir in the outer district.
By the time Wu Heng arrived, many people had already died, and they were all women.
The local residents had pooled their money to hire someone to catch the killers, having lost faith in the guilds.
Once the issue was resolved, the story spread for quite a while.
Wu Heng gave the girls some household supplies before heading up to the third floor.
The two girls sat in the living room.
Whispering about something.
...
The next morning.
Wu Heng took the fox girl, Andviel, to a shop on the commercial street.
The name of the shop was "Green Jade Store," and it mainly sold household goods.
The shop's owner was a human, dressed in a black suit, tall and thin, with slicked-back hair.
His appearance made Wu Heng squint slightly.
The sun had almost made him mistake the man for Yazde, the shifty steward.
It was still early, so there weren't many customers.
The shop was filled with various household items, including glassware and pottery.
The owner glanced at Wu Heng and Andviel, sizing them up.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"I'm looking at the glassware," Wu Heng said as he approached a shelf of glass items.
Most of the items were glass cups, with a few glass vases or animal-shaped ornaments.
Wu Heng focused on the glass cups.
They were priced in two tiers: the lower quality ones, which were somewhat murky and had impurities inside, were sold for 95 copper.
The better-looking ones were priced above 1 silver.
Wu Heng thought these prices were outrageous.
They were even more absurd than the prices in Blackstone Town.
The lower-quality glassware in Blackstone Town sold for around 70 copper, but here it was 95 copper.
The prices had nearly doubled.
"Are you buying or not? If not, please don't handle the fragile items," the tall, thin owner warned while wiping down the counter.
Wu Heng looked at himself, then at Weir and the two skeletons behind him, Barson and Bagdong.
They might look odd, but they didn't seem that poor, did they?
He placed the glass cup back on the shelf.
Taking Andviel, he moved on to the pottery section, which mainly consisted of jars and plates.
They weren't ceramic but made of rough clay.
The prices ranged from several dozen coppers.
Wu Heng glanced at the fox girl, who nodded, indicating she had seen enough.
The shopkeeper at the counter no longer bothered with them.
Wu Heng took out a modern glass cup and placed it on the counter, asking, "Do you buy these?"
The owner turned around, his gaze falling on the translucent, amber-colored glass cup.
This color and level of clarity were difficult to produce with current techniques, let alone this degree of transparency.
"Where did you get this?"
"Are you buying or not?" Wu Heng asked.
The owner glanced at the group and said, "I'll buy it for 50 copper."
"Your lowest quality cups sell for 95 copper. Isn't that a bit low?" Wu Heng countered.
"The shop needs to make a profit too. If I pay that much for everything, I'd be out of business."
"What would you pay for something of similar quality to your lowest-tier ones?"
"40 copper. Let's talk about this cup. If you tell me where it was made, I can offer you a higher price," the owner said.
"I'll think about it," Wu Heng said, putting the glass cup away and leaving with his group.
The owner ran out after them.
Shouting about negotiating further, but he didn't catch up with them.
...
After crossing two streets.
Wu Heng brought Andviel to the shop he had purchased.
The shop's doors were open, and the dust had been cleaned.
The floors were spotless, and a sign in the corner read: "Many Guests General Store."
He headed straight for the back courtyard.
Checking the warehouse.
The warehouse had been modified per Wu Heng's request, with two layers of doors added. Besides the outer iron door, there was another door inside.
His excuse was that it provided double security.
But the real reason was to avoid being caught while transporting supplies through the portal.
At that moment, Andviel walked in from behind.
"Master, what about the pricing?" Andviel asked.
"Hmm, we'll have several tiers, with prices lower than the other shop's," Wu Heng said.
After all, he didn't have to worry about transportation costs, and everything was essentially free, so selling it cheap would help it move faster.
Plus, the quality of modern goods was better.
"Understood, Master."
"Go ahead and start preparing."
"Yes, Master." Andviel went to the front.
Wu Heng had Barson and Bagdong stand at the door, then used his bronze key to open the portal and directed the skeletons to bring in the various supplies collected by Li Yanhong and the others.
When Andviel returned, she was surprised to see the sudden appearance of the goods.
But she said nothing.
Space storage tools were also used by large merchant guilds for transportation.
"Everything's set."
"Good, I'll leave the opening of the shop to you," Wu Heng said. Then he turned to the skeletons and added, "Sword One and Sword Two, stay here and follow Andviel's instructions."
The two skeletons obediently moved to her side.
Wu Heng watched her busy for a while.
After giving some instructions, he returned to his residence.
...
Back in the zombie world.
Alchemy Skeleton Number One emerged, holding out two bottles of potion.
[Strength Enhancement Potion]
(Description: A potion developed from extracting energy from mutated creatures. It has significant effects on enhancing the vitality of living beings and a small chance of awakening bloodline power.)