Chapter 10: Mall Battle
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Gu Su led the Skeleton Squad and the battered pickup truck back to the ruined stretch of road where he had previously found the abandoned vehicle.
He stopped and scanned the area, his gaze sweeping over the sprawling weeds, tangled vines, and scattered rubble.
After confirming there was nothing out of the ordinary, he began to assign tasks.
His gaze fell on five of the Skeletons, the ones armed with crude weapons like wooden sticks and stones.
"You five, stay here. Your job is to clear out the nearby weeds, vines, and trees, as well as any debris on the ground like broken stones and rotten wood."
"Load everything you clear onto the pickup. Once it’s full, push it straight back to the Graveyard Demon."
"You don’t have to unload it inside. Just dump everything at the Graveyard’s entrance. I’ll sort it all out when I get back."
After a moment’s pause, Gu Su added, "Oh, and clear the weeds along the path as you go. Carve out a smooth trail so it’s easier to push the truck back and forth. Don’t let vines get in the way and slow you down."
The five Skeletons bowed in unison to accept the command. They immediately set to work, turning to methodically begin their cleanup task.
Gu Su didn’t linger. He took the remaining five, better-equipped Skeletons and the Magic Skeleton, then turned and strode quickly toward the side of the road.
While scouting the area earlier, he had already locked onto his target: a large, half-collapsed commercial plaza not far away.
Gu Su was all too familiar with the layout of this kind of plaza from his life before transmigration.
Based on a standard design, the first and second floors were bound to be a large supermarket filled with all sorts of daily necessities, food, and other goods.
The third floor was most likely a food court, dotted with restaurants and snack stalls.
If the building was tall enough, the fourth floor would typically house a movie theater or an arcade.
As for the basement, it was probably an arcade, a mother-and-baby store, or a large underground parking garage.
The mall before him now had long lost its former glory. More than half of the building had collapsed, its exposed rebar and concrete a testament to its ruin.
Lush green vines climbed wildly up the fractured walls, enveloping the entire structure.
Only a broken half of the structure remained, looking dilapidated and eerie in the mist.
But in Gu Su’s eyes, these ruins were a massive treasure trove waiting to be plundered.
Even after years of decay and the building’s collapse, there were bound to be plenty of useful items left inside.
More importantly, large shopping malls had abundant public facilities.
Metal shelving, firefighting equipment, electrical conduits, ventilation ducts, even kitchen utensils—as long as they could be dismantled and repurposed, they would be a great haul for him, who was in desperate need of materials.
The group slowly approached the mall’s entrance. Collapsed rubble blocked most of it, leaving only a gap wide enough for two people to pass through abreast.
It was pitch-black inside, and he could faintly smell a mixture of must, dust, and a faint, acrid odor.
Gu Su raised a hand, signaling the squad to halt. He went first, ducking through the gap into the mall’s interior.
Inside the dim space, a collapsed entrance gate, scattered debris, and broken rebar were everywhere. Shards of glass crunched underfoot, making his steps feel heavy.
His eyes quickly scanned the area before he pointed to the nearest half-open store and issued an order to a Skeleton beside him.
"Go inside and search. Focus on finding metal items, small tools, and anything that can light up. I don’t care what it is—if it looks like it can produce light, bring it out and leave it by the entrance here."
Gu Su’s instructions were extremely specific. "Gather anything useful you find. If there’s nothing, keep searching deeper."
"If you encounter any living creatures in small numbers, you don’t need to report back. Just Attack."
This was a command habit Gu Su had developed over many years.
Ordinary Undead Creatures had pathetically low intelligence and were utterly inflexible in their thinking.
If his orders weren’t broken down into clear, specific steps, they would often do something ridiculous, sometimes even ignoring resources that were right in front of them.
He had gotten used to operating this way back when he used Zombie Miners for digging.
He would have the Miners dig continuously, and as soon as they found special items like ore or crystals, they were to gather them in a designated spot without missing a single piece.
Now, dealing with the Skeleton Squad, he naturally fell back on the same system.
After receiving its orders, the Skeleton gave a slight bow. Gripping its Wolf-toothed Stick, it walked slowly into what looked like a stockroom and began carefully rummaging through the junk inside, checking everything piece by piece.
Next, Gu Su dispatched the other four Skeletons one by one, sending them to search in different directions.
The small storefronts near the supermarket’s main entrance probably held some good stuff, too.
He just didn’t know if someone else had already looted them.
As for Gu Su himself, he pressed forward with the Magic Skeleton.
For now, the Magic Skeleton hadn’t learned any Magic. It gripped a sharpened wooden pole, making it a makeshift melee combatant.
With it leading the way and standing guard, Gu Su could relax a little, his eyes scanning the scattered junk on both sides for any potential supplies.
As he came upon a collapsed wall, a large, stacked pile of objects caught his eye.
It was a heap of several dozen shopping carts, all rusted together.
After years of corrosion, the Metal frames were riddled with rust. The wheels were fused to the frames, forming one giant, gnarled mass of Metal.
But to Gu Su, this rust-caked heap was a treasure trove. His eyes instantly lit up.
It contained a large amount of salvageable Metal, as well as wheels whose condition was still unknown.
If he cleaned and polished them carefully, he might even be able to piece together one or two usable carts.
This was incredibly important to him. After all, the Skeletons’ Power was far inferior to that of Zombies, so making them push the heavy pickup back and forth for transport was already a strain.
With shopping carts, transporting smaller loads would be much faster and more efficient.
With this in mind, Gu Su strode toward the pile of rusted-shut carts, intending to get a closer look and assess if any could be salvaged.
But just as he neared the wall, the Magic Skeleton at his side suddenly stepped forward. Its bony arm swung violently, the long wooden pole in its hand cutting through the air with a WHOOSH as it slammed into the shadows to one side.
"SKREEE—!"
A sharp squeal tore through the silence. A rat the size of a small dog, covered in black fur, had just darted out from the shadows when it was struck hard by the wooden pole.
Its body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string, landing on the ground where it twitched twice before going still.
[Your Skeleton (Summoned Creature) has killed a Long-Haired Rat (Level 1). You have gained 1 Experience. Your Summoned Creature has gained 3 Experience.]
However, as the Long-Haired Rat was sent flying, more rustling sounds echoed from nearby.
Without a word, Gu Su pointed directly at the corpse of the freshly killed Long-Haired Rat.
A new Skeleton promptly rose to its feet and lunged toward the darkness.
[You have used Soul Summoning Technique (Level 1). You have obtained a Skeleton (Level 0). Soul Summoning Technique proficiency +1.]
Gu Su ignored the notifications. Without a second thought, he charged forward with the Magic Skeleton. As he plunged into the darkness, his eyes narrowed, and with a casual lift of his hand, he cast another Soul Summoning Technique.