Chapter 15: Graveyard Expansion
At that moment, all of Gu Su’s minions rushed out. They surrounded him, shielding him with their bodies.
Gu Su waved a hand at them and lightly brushed the dust from his clothes, letting them know he was fine.
His gaze then fell upon the massive corpse of the Lion King, a calculating look flashing in his eyes.
’This is the corpse of a Level 2 monster,’ Gu Su thought. ’With my current Level 1 Soul Summoning Technique, not only is the success rate a mere fifty percent, but even if I succeed, it will only transform into an Ordinary Skeleton. That would be a complete waste of the energy within the corpse.’
"Load this lion’s corpse onto the truck."
He then looked toward the remains of two Skeletons that the Lion King had crushed, adding, "Get the remains of these two Skeletons onto the truck as well. Even if they’re fragmented, the bones can be repurposed.
Also, load everything you gathered in the supermarket. Get it all organized on the truck, and don’t leave a single item behind."
Finally, Gu Su pointed to a fully equipped Skeleton and gave a specific order, "You, take three other Skeletons and guard the cold storage room.
Check on the situation inside. We’ll need to come back later to transport the rest of the sludge and Corpse Oil, so make sure you guard the entrance. Don’t let any other monsters get in.
If any enemies appear in small numbers, you have permission to kill them."
The Skeletons didn’t hesitate. They bowed in unison to acknowledge the orders and immediately divided the tasks among themselves.
Four of the sturdier Skeletons bent down, grabbing the Lion King’s limbs and torso. Relying on the tireless brute strength of the Undead, they slowly lifted the heavy corpse from the ground. They walked steadily toward the pickup truck and carefully pushed the body into the bed.
The other Skeletons quickly started loading the materials they had collected from the supermarket—cast-iron fan blades, shelf brackets, plastic crates, and so on—onto the truck.
They also gathered the remains of the two fragmented Skeletons and gently placed them beside the other supplies.
Gu Su, meanwhile, turned and walked to the supermarket entrance. He picked up the sealed plastic buckets of Corroding Mycelium, handing two to a Magic Skeleton and holding the rest protectively in his arms.
This was the core material for repairing the Graveyard Demon, and there was no room for error. The Magic Skeleton held the plastic buckets steady and followed close by Gu Su’s side, its hollow eye sockets scanning the surroundings, ever vigilant for potential dangers.
A few moments later, all the supplies and corpses had been properly loaded. The bed of the pickup truck was packed to the brim.
After Gu Su checked to confirm nothing had been left behind, he raised a hand, signaling for them to move out.
The Skeletons immediately assumed their roles. Two went ahead to clear away weeds and debris, while four worked together to push the pickup truck.
The rest of the Skeletons either carried the remaining wooden planks, pushed the long train of shopping carts, or guarded the flanks. The procession advanced with stiff but uniform steps, moving steadily toward the Graveyard Demon.
They encountered no other monsters along the way. As the group drew near the Graveyard Demon’s domain, Gu Su spotted two familiar figures in the distance.
It was the two Skeletons he had sent out to scout earlier.
Each of them was dragging a strange-looking corpse as they slowly approached.
The corpses had humanoid torsos, but their arms were wings and their legs ended in sharp, bird-like talons.
Their bodies were covered in vibrant red feathers. Lacerations on their necks were stained with dried blood, clear signs that these were Harpies that had been killed recently.
Seeing the scout Skeletons approach, Gu Su spoke. "You’re back just in time. You can stop scouting for now."
"Just wait here on standby. I’ll give you new orders after the Graveyard Demon has processed these supplies and corpses."
The two Skeletons immediately halted and fell into formation with the rest of the group.
Gu Su looked up toward the Graveyard Demon in the distance, which was encircled by Deceitful Trees. The fence gate was shut tight, and the withered, black branches of the Deceitful Trees swayed gently. Clearly, all was well.
He breathed a sigh of relief and signaled for the Skeletons to pick up the pace. They needed to get their haul of supplies to the Graveyard Demon’s gate and begin the subsequent repair and processing work.
They had only taken a few more steps when the previously sealed gate of the Broken Fence slowly swung inward. There was no external force; the Graveyard Demon had clearly sensed his return and opened the entrance for him.
"Go!" Gu Su ordered in a low voice, striding forward first while clutching the plastic buckets of Corroding Mycelium.
The Magic Skeleton followed close behind. The two of them hurried inside, afraid of any mishap with the core material.
Then, the Skeletons outside went to work, methodically pushing the pickup truck, the Lion King’s corpse, the Harpies’ corpses, and all the other supplies into the Graveyard Demon’s domain. Their movements were stiff, yet orderly.
Gu Su paid no mind to the Skeletons transferring the supplies behind him. Clutching the plastic buckets, he rushed straight for his tent with hurried steps.
The moment he stepped inside, he looked at the quest panel floating before him. Just as he expected, [Repair Quest: The Barren Land] was lit up with a "Ready to Complete" prompt, glowing with a faint green light.
’So the repair quest was just a pretense,’ Gu Su realized. ’What the Graveyard Demon has always truly needed is Corroding Mycelium—something it can devour, convert, and use to expand its territory.’
’The amount of white mycelium I brought back wasn’t huge, but in essence, it’s a perfect match for the Graveyard Demon’s needs—more than enough to complete the quest.’
Without a moment’s hesitation, Gu Su reached out and tapped "Submit Quest" on the panel.
The next instant, all the plastic buckets he had brought in suddenly burst open. The white mycelium inside billowed out, caught by an invisible force, and sprayed out of the tent like a flurry of snowflakes.
Outside the tent, it was as if a heavy snow of fine white particles had begun to fall.
The white mycelium drifted down, coating the ground in a thin layer of white frost.
But the sight lasted only for an instant before all the mycelium rapidly dissolved, transforming into invisible energy that seeped into the soil.
Everything in the vicinity quickly returned to normal, as if the strange phenomenon had never occurred.
Only a careful observer would notice that the dilapidated fence marking the Graveyard Demon’s border was slowly expanding outward by an almost imperceptible degree. The material of the fence also seemed to have become slightly more solid.
This meant the Corroding Mycelium had fully recovered and was beginning to take effect.
Immediately after, two system notifications sounded one after another in Gu Su’s mind:
[Repair Quest: The Barren Land — Complete.]
[Corroding Mycelium status restored. Level has been raised to Level 1. Can now absorb items, anomalies, props, or structures with Death, Yin Qi, or Undead Attributes to expand the graveyard’s area.]
A faint smile touched Gu Su’s lips. He walked to the entrance of the tent and glanced outside, breathing an inward sigh of relief.
’My Graveyard Demon is gradually recovering its proper functions. This means my approach was correct.’
’As long as I keep gathering resources and strengthening my Undead Team, I’m sure it won’t be long before the Graveyard Demon’s recovery rate accelerates.’
Moreover, the incident with the white mycelium taught Gu Su a valuable lesson: as long as he knew what the Graveyard Demon needed, he didn’t always have to follow the quest requirements to the letter.
At this thought, Gu Su turned to look at the Skeletons organizing the supplies and began to plan his next move.