Chapter 37: Before Departure
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"My Lord, that mall has three floors total. We’ve now explored up to the entrance of the third floor."
Although Bone Ash couldn’t fathom the reason for Gu Su’s sudden question, he still replied respectfully and quickly.
"If we’re only counting the mall itself, we can finish exploring it completely in another half a day."
"But there’s also the street opposite the mall. If we include that area, it’ll take nearly a full day to scavenge everything."
From Bone Ash’s organized report, Gu Su could clearly see that Minion-level Undead were no longer as rigid and dull-witted as Ordinary Skeletons. Instead, they possessed sufficient intelligence to execute commands with precision and report situations clearly, saving him a lot of trouble.
Gu Su nodded in satisfaction. He reached out, pushed a plate of offerings tainted with Death Qi across the Yin Soul Shop’s stall, and said in a casual yet approving tone, "I see. Well done. Take these and distribute them to the Skeletons in your squad."
After speaking, he casually tossed a few Gold Coins onto the stall as payment for the offerings.
Gu Su then picked up the Cursed Crystal and the blood-stained cloth doll from the stall, turned, and walked toward the Deceitful Tree.
He planned to use these two items to nourish the Yin Fire Heap and the Deceitful Tree. ’After all, the white-quality items here will refresh even if I don’t buy them. It’s more worthwhile to take what I can now than to just leave them here to disappear.’
Bone Ash froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Gu Su to grant him the offerings as an additional reward. He hurriedly bowed his head stiffly and said respectfully, "Thank you, my Lord."
He then picked up the offerings and hurried away.
He knew full well that the exploration of the mall was not yet over; he had to hurry back to command his squad and not delay their progress.
As he walked away, he ate the offering fruit Gu Su had given him earlier. Yin Qi swiftly entered his body, strengthening his Constitution.
Meanwhile, Gu Su continued walking. As he passed the Yin Fire Heap, he didn’t break his stride, simply flicking his wrist to toss the Cursed Crystal precisely into the heart of the blazing Yin Fire.
In the next moment, an eerie change occurred.
The stones around the Yin Fire Heap instantly turned translucent. A small, black vortex faintly formed within them, slowly spinning. Even the color of the Yin Fire became several shades deeper than before.
A system notification chimed in right on cue, clearly marking the change.
[Yin Fire Heap (Level 1) Attributes have been enhanced. Can now absorb cursed energy and convert it into Yin Qi.]
Gu Su raised an eyebrow, nodding to himself in approval.
’That Cursed Crystal was a good buy,’ he thought. ’With just one toss, the Yin Fire Heap can now gather another type of energy.’
But what interested Gu Su more was the realization that the Graveyard Demon had a high compatibility with items. ’As long as an item’s properties don’t directly conflict, it seems most things can be easily integrated into the system.’
’For instance, tossing the Cursed Crystal into the Yin Fire Heap produced one result; giving it to the Deceitful Tree would likely yield a completely different one.’
This discovery gave Gu Su a deeper understanding of how to manage the items in his possession.
Continuing onward, he soon arrived beneath the Deceitful Tree. With a clean motion, Gu Su tossed the blood-stained cloth doll toward the tree’s roots.
This time, before the doll could hit the ground, several of the Deceitful Tree’s ink-black, dangling vines swiftly entangled it.
With a gentle tug, they pulled the doll up into the dense canopy, where it hung alongside the previously suspended Beast Skins and Large-leaf Lily Seeds, adding to the tree’s eerie aesthetic.
However, while the doll looked unique, its actual effect was rather mediocre.
Gu Su glanced at the Deceitful Tree’s restoration progress and saw it had only increased by 5%. The tree showed no other changes—no new leaves had sprouted, nor had it gained any new effects.
’Better than nothing, I suppose.’
Gu Su muttered to himself, not dwelling on it. After all, the doll had only cost 7 Gold Coins; getting any effect at all wasn’t a bad deal.
Having done these two things, Gu Su slowly turned his head to look at the five Elite Skeletons and two Magic Skeletons resting nearby.
Faint bloodstains still clung to their simple Chain Armor, but their Spirit had clearly improved. The Corroding Mycelium was obviously somewhat beneficial to an Undead’s recovery.
They were now ready for battle.
In truth, the main reason he had asked Bone Ash about the mall’s exploration progress was to see if he could spare some units to assist with today’s exploration.
After all, half of his Elite Skeletons remained near the mall, tasked with protecting the Ash Squad from surprise attacks during their exploration.
But based on Bone Ash’s report, exploring the mall and the surrounding streets would still take a considerable amount of time. They simply couldn’t spare any units.
This meant he had to adjust his original plan. ’Looks like for today’s exploration, I’ll have to make do with these few Elites and myself. We’ll have to brute force it.’
Just as Gu Su was mentally plotting his next exploration route, the sound of flapping wings echoed from the sky.
The White Crows sent out to scout were returning one by one. Flapping their bony wings, they landed on the branches of the Deceitful Tree or in the open space beside Gu Su, reporting on their reconnaissance of the outer areas with hoarse caws.
The first to return was the flock of White Crows that had scouted in the direction of the gas station.
They had flown past the spot where the gas station had vanished, continuing farther out until they discovered a large, mostly collapsed building in a field of weeds, completely entangled in dense vines.
According to the White Crows’ report, the building had once been a commercial tower of about twenty stories. For some unknown reason, it had now mostly collapsed, leaving only a five- or six-story-tall ruin. Weeds grew thick among the rubble, giving it a dilapidated air.
What was most eye-catching was a type of remarkably thick, dark-green vine wrapped around the entire structure. It coiled tightly around the reinforced concrete, almost completely covering what remained of the walls.
But what truly made the White Crows sense something was amiss, prompting them to rush back and report, was neither the building’s decay nor the thickness of the vines.
It was the fact that these vines emitted a faint, green fluorescent glow. The glow was especially noticeable in the dim light, exuding an indescribable eeriness. They were clearly no ordinary vines and must have some special origin.
Not long after this flock of White Crows finished its report, another group that had flown east also returned, bringing another crucial piece of intelligence.
Roughly two thousand meters east of the Graveyard Demon’s domain, they had discovered a smallish pool of water. The water was murky and gave off a faint, foul stench. Living around this pool was a pack of wolves with rotting skin and greenish flesh, numbering about twenty in total.
What made Gu Su’s eyes light up was the White Crows’ confirmation, after repeated scouting, that this pack of corrupted wolves had no Wolf King leading them.
In other words, they were just a disorganized mob of wild beasts with no unified command. The odds of victory in a surprise attack would be significantly higher.