Chapter 8: Harvest and Repair
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After a flurry of activity, they had finally finished clearing out the abandoned vehicles on the roadside.
Every usable resource had been scavenged.
In the end, they managed to find two dilapidated vehicles that could still, just barely, be pushed.
In addition to the pickup truck with a tree growing out of its bed, there was a small sedan missing all its doors.
The beds and seats of both vehicles were crammed with all sorts of materials, filled to the brim.
Rusty parts, hoods, and metal pipes stripped from the other junked cars, along with vines, semi-dried Beast Skins, and piles of bones from the dismantled fence—all of it was loaded onto the two vehicles, stacked layer by layer until they formed two small mountains.
Gu Su then had the skeletons use tough vines to lash the supplies down securely, preventing anything from falling off en route and ensuring not a single material was wasted.
The eleven skeletons split into two groups: five pushed the pickup truck, and the other six worked together to push the sedan.
Bracing themselves against the rust-spotted frames, they moved with stiff but steady steps, inching their way toward the Graveyard Demon.
The scraping of the heavy vehicles against the ground produced a muffled CREAK, a sound that was exceptionally clear in the silent, misty ruins.
Gu Su, for his part, held the kindling he’d brought from the goblin nest. He lit a branch wrapped in dry grass, creating a torch, and walked at the head of the column, Guiding.
The dancing firelight dispelled the surrounding mist and illuminated the narrow path ahead.
He paused from time to time, looking back to check the convoy’s progress.
Whenever they hit an uneven patch of road and a vehicle got stuck, he would step in to lend a hand, helping the skeletons push it free and keep the team moving forward steadily.
Before long, Gu Su and the Skeleton Squad arrived outside the Graveyard Demon, pushing the two dilapidated vehicles laden with resources.
The ring of Rotten Fence, the desolate Deceitful Tree at its center, and the area of Empty Tombs before the Old Tent all came clearly into view.
The Deceitful Tree guarding the graveyard seemed to have noticed the commotion, its bare branches swaying lightly as if in response to the returning party.
The skeleton that had previously entered an Empty Tomb to recover from its injuries had already climbed out of the Gravepile. Its arm was fully restored, spectral flames flickered in its empty eye sockets, and it was mechanically patrolling the graveyard.
As the convoy appeared, it turned its head, its gaze fixed on the scene before it.
Gu Su paid the sight no mind. He turned to the skeletons beside him and commanded in a low voice, "Push. Push them all the way into the graveyard."
The skeletons immediately put their backs into it, pushing the two mountains of supplies. They carefully maneuvered through the gap in the Rotten Fence, inching their way toward the center of the graveyard.
Gu Su, meanwhile, vaulted lightly over the fence. He walked straight to the long-extinguished Yin Fire Heap in front of the tent and plunged his burning torch into it.
The flame licked at the dry ash, instantly flaring half a foot high. It was a pale Blue flame, carrying a faint, sinister chill that drove back some of the surrounding gloom.
A system prompt sounded in his mind:
[Yin Fire Heap relit. Resource information can now be queried. Please add appropriate fuel as soon as possible.]
[Gold Coins: 0, Yin Qi: 3, Wood: 0, Stone: 0, Metal: 0, Gemstone: 0, Crystal: 0, mercury: 0, Sulfur: 0]
Looking at the string of Stinging Eyes zeros on the panel, Gu Su couldn’t help but shake his head and curse the crooked merchant in his heart.
’He really didn’t leave me anything. He even held back all the basic Resources.’
Even these three meager points of Yin Qi were only because the Graveyard Demon had automatically absorbed them when Gu Su killed that goblin nearby.
’They really didn’t leave me a single thing.’
Just then, the skeletons steadily pushed the two dilapidated vehicles into the graveyard.
As the resources entered the graveyard’s perimeter, a rapid-fire succession of system prompts popped up, filling Gu Su’s vision:
[Small amount of vines collected. Can be converted into 1 unit of Wood.]
[Small amount of weeds collected. Can be converted into 1 unit of Wood.]
[Rusted car hood collected. Can be converted into 1 unit of Metal.]
[Discarded exhaust pipe collected. Can be converted into 1 unit of Metal.]
[Broken car door collected. Can be converted into 1 unit of Metal.]
[...]
[Large amount of Broken Bones collected. Can be converted into 3 units of Yin Qi, or handled separately.]
[One animal pelt collected. Can be converted into 3 Gold Coins, or handled separately.]
[Semi-dried Beast Skin collected. Can be converted into 2 Gold Coins, or handled separately.]
[...]
A smile flickered in Gu Su’s eyes as he watched the prompts scroll by. The tense line of his mouth finally relaxed into a slight upward curve.
’All this hard work wasn’t for nothing. This junk, which others wouldn’t even consider gray-tier trash, can be converted into so many Resources.’
He read each prompt carefully, his fingertips flying across the virtual panel as he made his decisions.
He chose to keep all materials marked with "or handled separately," not converting them for now.
’After all, the Broken Bones could be used to nourish the Deceitful Tree, and the Beast Skins could be made into simple armor. That was far more valuable than converting them directly into Gold Coins or Yin Qi.’
A moment later, the conversion was complete. The data on his panel was completely refreshed.
Gu Su took stock. In the end, he had kept one still-usable, beat-up pickup truck, a pile of Broken Bones, and three complete Beast Skins.
He also had the [Gloomy Branches] and the [Broken Red Balloon Skin] that he had gotten from the Goblin Shaman.
The converted resources were also substantial: 21 Gold Coins, 6 units of Yin Qi, 33 units of Wood, and 39 units of Metal.
’My once-empty Resources panel is finally starting to look a little less bare.’
With plenty of resources, the first order of business was repairing the Graveyard Demon.
The easiest and most cost-effective repair was, naturally, the dilapidated Rotten Fence around the graveyard, which was practically useless as it was.
Gu Su quickly walked into the Old Tent, sat on the simple wooden bed, and tapped the virtual panel with his fingertip.
He immediately invested 10 units of Metal and 10 units of Wood into the fence repair project.
The moment the resources were consumed, a new prompt appeared on the Graveyard Demon’s information panel, the words materializing clearly:
[Rotten Fence repair complete. Rotten Fence has been upgraded to Broken Fence. Attributes increased. Upgrade and reinforcement routes are now available.]
[Broken Fence (Level 1): Basic defensive facility. Can block low-level enemy invasions. Units within the fence gain Defense +1. Current status: Intact]
[Upgrade Route 1: Invest 10 units of Stone, 100 units of Yin Qi, to upgrade to Broken Palisade (Level 2)]
[Reinforcement Route 1: Invest 5 units of Stone, 5 units of Metal, 100 units of Yin Qi, to build an auxiliary Sentry Tower (Level 1)]
[Reinforcement Route 2: Invest 8 units of Wood, 3 units of Metal, 50 units of Yin Qi, to reinforce fence connections and increase impact resistance.]
At the same time, a faint CREAKING sound came from outside the tent.
The outermost fence of the graveyard began to change at a visible rate.
The old, rotten posts were replaced with sturdier lumber, then wrapped in rusted metal sheets, forming a new fence as tall as a man.
The sections were bound together with tough vines and resin-soaked ropes, sealing every gap.
Even more conveniently, two rusty car doors had been spliced together on one side of the fence to create a simple gate.
The doors were attached to the fence with metal wire, allowing them to swing open and shut while still providing a degree of defense.
Gu Su no longer had to struggle to climb over the fence every time he came and went. It was a significant convenience.
The fence was by no means sturdy, but it was enough to stop the charge of low-level monsters like goblins. It was the graveyard’s first real line of defense.