Atop the Undead Fortress, bonfires flickered to life. The Minotaurs sat around the fires, laughing and chatting as they ate the tender sprouts, green grass, and berries gathered during the day. They drank sour fruit wine; dinner was their happiest ti of day.
"The Undead... they’re moving."
A young Minotaur happened to look up and saw star-like Soul Fires. The Undead were reawakening. Bones CLACKED as they collided and assembled, detaching themselves from the fortress structures. In swarms, they poured out of the fortress.
The Minotaurs, who had been enjoying their break, froze. They looked in the direction the child was pointing, the smiles still frozen on their faces. A white tide was surging toward them.
’It’s... it’s over!’
Goblets were knocked over, and sour fruit wine spilled across the Bone Plates. Berries fell to the ground, but no one bothered to pick them up. A chill ran down every Minotaur’s spine. They felt an overwhelming urge to flee, but their legs wouldn’t obey, paralyzed by absolute terror. They could only watch as the Undead approached.
The leading Undead were now just a stone’s throw away. The Minotaurs could even see the Soul Fires burning within their skulls, their scratch-covered Round Shields, and their chipped Bone Sabers. One Minotaur closed his eyes, awaiting death... then he heard a scraping sound beside him.
’Huh?’
The Minotaur cracked open his eyes, then opened them wide. He stared blankly ahead. The Undead walked right up to him, made a turn, passed by his side, and continued onward.
There were no screams, no battle cries. The camp where the Tabu Tribe was stationed was like a stone in a river; the white tide simply flowed past on both sides.
’Oh, so they’re not attacking us?’
’Right, we’re Allies.’
The terrifying image of the Undead from legends was not so easily changed. The Minotaurs had not yet adapted to living with the Undead, and fear still instinctively gripped their hearts whenever they faced them.
Seeing that the Undead weren’t attacking, a few curious Minotaurs got up and ran to the edge of the fortress to see where they were going. All the Undead were heading for a large pit not far away.
’Last night, those Undead had been working in that pit, digging up pile after pile of bones. Looks like it’ll be the sa tonight.’
’Tsk, tsk. Looking at it this way, the Undead aren’t so different from us. We need to find food and materials, and we have to work to make our lives better. The Undead have to dig in the ground and search for bones, too. We’re all the sa.’
’Thinking about it like that makes them seem almost friendly.’
’Forward! Strive onward! This is all to make us stronger!’
Li Ziyu stood at the window of the main tower, filled with heroic ambition. He hoped the Swamp Graveyard would last a while longer. To him, this place was like an oil field from his past life—a source of imnse wealth!
Of course, this was just wishful thinking. While digging yesterday, Li Ziyu had already noticed that the output of bones had decreased, far less than before. He estimated they had already dug to the bottom. There was no telling how much they would unearth today.
This "treasure" hunt posed no danger, so Li Ziyu didn’t need to pay it too much attention. He was just about to call Liu Xingxing over for a chat to ask about his finds for the day and where to search for treasure next. But before he could call for Liu Xingxing, a system notification popped up.
[You have a new chat ssage.]
Li Ziyu paused for a mont, then opened the system interface to check. It was a ssage from Conscience rchant. In fact, there were two ssages in a row: "Are you up?" "Are you dead? If not, ssage back."
’Why is he suddenly ssaging ? How strange. And these two ssages are weird. The first one is understandable; my schedule is different from a normal person’s, resting during the day and active at night. But the second one is just too much. What does he an, am I dead? Why would I be dead?’
[Private Chat]
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Screw you, you’re the one who’s dead! I’m doing great!
Conscience rchant: Glad to hear you’re okay.
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: From the sound of it, sothing happened?
Conscience rchant: Yeah, and it’s not small. I don’t know about other places, but the Wasteland is in a bit of a ss.
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: ???
Conscience rchant: The Natives have noticed us. Several Transmigrators have been killed, and it seems you’ve been exposed, too.
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: ? How was I exposed?
Conscience rchant: Lately, legends about the Undead have been circulating in the Wasteland. I don’t know the specifics, but I’m afraid those ’Undead’ refer to you.
Li Ziyu frowned as he read the ssage. He took a deep breath, a bad feeling creeping over him. A chill ran down his spine; being targeted by the Natives was not a good thing.
As for why he’d been noticed, he had a pretty good idea. He hadn’t managed to wipe out all of those creatures like the Demonized Minotaurs and the Lizardman. It was only natural that news about him would have spread.
This world wasn’t their world. Humans weren’t at the top of the food chain here; too many other races stood above the Human Race. The Transmigrators were just outsiders, and the Natives far outnumbered them.
Perhaps if the Transmigrators were given more ti to develop, they could surpass the Natives and rise above them. But right now, they were the weaker party. If the Natives decided to unite and attack, their deaths would be grueso.
Even though Li Ziyu had over 2,000 Undead under his command, that number was nothing compared to the population of the Natives. Not to ntion, ninety-nine percent of those 2,000-plus Undead were just Low Level Skeleton Undead.
They were fine for bullying small Tribes, but against dium or large Tribes, they would be completely crushed. They stood no chance.
Since transmigrating, what kinds of enemies had Li Ziyu faced? Just so Wild Beasts and ordinary Tribes. Even the Demonized Minotaurs only had better stamina and greater Power; they didn’t possess any supernatural abilities.
If he were to encounter so truly supernatural beings, his 2,000-plus Undead would likely be wiped out in an instant.
He hadn’t been aware that he was being watched. After all, he had little contact with the Natives. In the grand sche of the Wasteland, the Tabu Tribe wasn’t even a Little Kalami. There were countless such Tribes, with populations ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred, scattered like stars across the Wasteland. Conscience rchant was much better off than him; as a rchant, he had to interact with all sorts of people, so he had access to more information.
Li Ziyu was very grateful to Conscience rchant. It wasn’t sothing you’d notice on a normal day, but the fact that he had rushed to share this news instead of hiding it was a favor Li Ziyu would not forget.
Just as his mind was racing, another ssage from Conscience rchant arrived.
Conscience rchant: You’d better be careful for a while. Don’t get yourself surrounded and wiped out.
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Thanks! You be careful, too.
Conscience rchant: Don’t thank . I’m just securing a fallback for myself. You know my subordinates are a bunch of Gophers—not exactly strong fighters. If I ever fall on hard tis, I hope you’ll be there to help out.
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Definitely!
Conscience rchant: Sigh, tis are tough. Let’s stay in touch.
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Okay.
Closing the system interface, Li Ziyu sat on his White Bone Throne, pressing his temples. His brow was deeply furrowed.
’I was planning to lay low and build up my strength slowly. The Undead move at night, which helps avoid a lot of attention and provides the perfect cover for to grow stronger in secret. But now, it seems that’s not going to work.’
The fact that the Natives had noticed him put imnse pressure on Li Ziyu and also served as a wake-up call. He had to be much more on guard against them.
"Boss, why the long face? Did sothing happen?" Liu Xingxing had been waiting to the side for a long ti. Seeing Li Ziyu staring blankly ahead, he knew he was using the system and didn’t disturb him. Now that Li Ziyu seed to be free, he finally approached and asked.
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