Chapter 349, Nautilus Tavern
"Just followed me right out?"
When Wu Heng left the guild, he left 'Glenda' behind.
To observe everyone's movements.
To see who would spread the news of his dismissal.
Glenda floated in another direction and continued, "The first to leave was 'Shila Gray.' She took two squads with her; it shouldn't be an issue. The second to leave was that inspector envoy. He took his followers to the Black Crow's Nest tavern on Lighthouse Street."
"To do what?" Wu Heng asked.
Wu Heng still had many suspicions about this inspector envoy.
Just as Shila Gray had mentioned earlier, since the guild started its inspection, it felt like many things had been targeting him.
Wu Heng himself had the same feeling.
Moreover, there was another thing that raised his suspicions.
When in the steward's office, determining whether Wu Heng was the one who killed the couple could have easily been resolved by using the [Sincerity Clay Figurine] on him.
He had even thought of an excuse on the way there.
But instead of using it, the envoy had 'Imiro' follow guild protocol to conduct the questioning and documentation.
Then, in his capacity as inspector envoy, he recommended a suspension.
"I'm not sure what he was doing there, I didn't go inside. It had an aura that pushed me away," Glenda said, adding, "Sorry."
"It's fine," Wu Heng replied.
The other party, being in a high-ranking inspector envoy position, was definitely at a significant level.
Pushing to follow and investigate might only alert him.
"Should I go back out to keep an eye on others?" Glenda asked.
"No need."
"Alright." Glenda hooked a book off the shelf with her finger, floating it mid-air, flipping through its pages.
...
Black Crow's Nest Tavern.
"Haha, Mr. Kalema really follows through. In just one day, he's lost his guild position," said the ship captain cheerfully.
Kalema moved the wine cup in front of him to the side, saying, "It's just a suspension, he still remains part of the guild even if he can't perform his duties."
"We understand that; being in or out of office still makes a big difference," the other replied.
"Arrange the fleet's departure as soon as possible. I don't have time to handle this," Kalema added.
"Three days. We'll take you away then."
Kalema nodded in satisfaction.
As long as he got off this island.
Whatever followed had nothing to do with him.
Besides, he had made a fair amount of money on this trip.
Kalema continued, "On my way here, I think a wraith was following me. Wu Heng might be suspecting me."
The captain paused, frowning, "Did he find out?"
"Just a suspicion, I think. The records say he's been in his current position for less than a year. No matter how gifted, he's just at a squad leader level—not a threat to me," Kalema said confidently.
The captain nodded, "I'll handle things on my end as well, won't let him trouble you."
"That's best."
Kalema stood up again, walked out of the room, and left directly.
...
Inside the study.
Glenda hovered in the air, flipping through the pages of a book. She glanced sideways.
"You're very worried about this matter, aren't you?"
Wu Heng was slouched in his chair, "Just thinking about why they'd frame me."
"Isn't it obvious? To get you out of the Deputy Steward position!" Glenda said.
"Yes, but what will they do after I'm removed?"
Glenda said, "That's hard to say, but one thing's certain—they're wary of your guild status. Think about who would most want that."
"Sigh, pirates wouldn't do it like this; they wouldn't care whether I'm with the guild. The likeliest is the Secret Cult—those wealthy people tied to rules—but they should be dealing with 'Lilith' and wouldn't come after me so soon."
The incident with imprisoning young girls and holding blood feasts had made many blame the vampires.
Wu Heng had specifically written a letter to Lilith, exaggerating their crimes and the local population's reactions.
Moreover, word had come back that the vampires were investigating and cleaning out Secret Cult members, and things seemed to be escalating.
There had been no trouble from the Secret Cult recently.
"If they wanted to deal with you, sending a few people would be enough—no need for all this fuss," Glenda said.
Wu Heng was momentarily silent, "You're right, but I'm no pushover either. Won't take long for me to surpass their leaders."
Glenda didn't deny it.
Wu Heng's rate of growth was astonishingly fast.
Sometimes, she felt she had made the right decision to follow Wu Heng.
Glenda continued, "If you want to be reinstated, it's not difficult; just depends on whether you're willing."
"What do you mean?"
"Go to the guild, arrange for three similar-looking individuals to kill someone else—prove it wasn't you, clear your name, and naturally, you'll be Deputy Steward again. Once you're reinstated, anything they plan to do afterward will be overturned." Glenda glanced at him, "Once you're back, no matter what they try, it'll all fall apart."
Wu Heng frowned, slightly surprised, glancing at her.
They had used physical resemblance to falsely accuse him, and he could use it to prove his innocence.
With all his skeletal minions, it wouldn't be hard to find ones with similar builds.
The drawback was having to kill another person.
And it would need to be someone significant enough to get the guild's attention quickly.
"What, can't accept it?" Glenda asked.
Wu Heng shook his head, "It's an option, but let's not rush. If it becomes difficult to investigate, we can consider it then."
"Up to you. It's just a suggestion." Glenda sent the book back, then added, "Don't trust anyone, unless they're like your two little maids and have signed a contract first."
"Hearing that from you feels a bit out of character."
Glenda floated across the table, looking into his eyes, "I don't want you to become the next me."
"Got it." Wu Heng nodded, glancing at the sky, and said, "You should come back—we're heading out."
Glenda nodded and returned to his body.
Wu Heng looked out the window and saw the three women in the courtyard playing shuttlecock.
Wu Heng opened a portal and went to the zombie world.
...
Leaving the dormitory building, Wu Heng headed directly to the iron-smelting plant.
Entering the foundry gates, a blast of hot air hit him.
The massive furnace tilted, pouring out molten iron, which flowed along a groove.
Waiting blacksmiths and skeletal assistants immediately got to work.
Using tools, they poured molten iron into molds to make solid iron bombs.
The efficiency of the [Flame Furnace] greatly sped up the blacksmiths' work.
In this world, there was no shortage of iron.
It was likely the easiest, most plentiful resource to find.
Just then, Qi Hancai walked up from behind, standing to the side and said, "The furnace works well—we already have over ten thousand bombs in storage, enough for practical use."
Didn't sound like much.
Producing while using them met the current needs just fine.
"What about the bomb bays for the other wyverns? Have they been made yet?" Wu Heng asked.
"They've been made. I heard they're still being improved," Qi Hancai said.
Wu Heng nodded, "Get the vehicle ready. We're clearing out some zombies."
Different from Glenda's thinking.
Wu Heng believed that ultimately the way to solve problems was to increase his strength.
Reaching level 15 would place him among the top elites.
Anyone who wanted trouble would have to consider his power first.
At level 18, even killing people would go unchallenged; the lord of Gold-Silver Island had once been a pirate and was eventually pardoned.
Qi Hancai was taken aback, not expecting that they'd still be clearing zombies now.
"Oh, alright!" She agreed and quickly went to make preparations.
Before long, the vehicles were ready.
Wu Heng got into the front passenger seat, leading the skeletal army out of the old industrial zone.
...
Main Road.
The earth shook.
A mass of zombies covered the entire main road.
Like a surging wave, they rushed toward the position of the skeletal army.
The noise filled the ears, and the stench of decay lingered in the air.
Xiaoxiao, in stealth mode, flew back from a distance, leaning close to whisper, "Uncle, there's a big guy and a crawler in there."
Wu Heng looked from afar.
There were too many zombies, a black tide.
He could vaguely see the silhouette of a giant zombie, but it wasn't significant.
Taking out the radio, he asked, "Wang Chengang, are you ready?"
The radio replied, "All five skeletal wyverns are fully loaded."
"Watch your distance. Don't hurt yourselves."
"Roger that!"
Wu Heng looked back at the large-headed zombie, giving the order, "Send out the wyverns; drop the bombs above the zombie horde."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~!
Deafening roars sounded.
Five massive figures soared from the rear, heading towards the zombie swarm.
They quickly reached above the horde.
One by one, the bomb bays opened.
Black iron bombs blocked the sky.
Like a massive iron net, they fell from the sky, crashing into the ground.
Boom, boom, boom~!
Violent explosions erupted, the earth shook, and the world spun.
Dust shot into the sky.
The blast covered an area of over a kilometer.
As the dust settled, the main road was riddled with craters, flesh scattered like mud.
Only a thousand or so zombies remained, struggling to their feet with mangled bodies.
The giant zombie and crawler Xiaoxiao had spotted were riddled with gaping wounds, their bodies swaying.
They glanced at the skeletal army in the distance and slowly began to retreat.
"Axe Squad, charge, eliminate all targets!"
Whoosh~!
A large group of skeletons wielding single-handed axes instantly rushed out of formation.
Holding their axes, they sprinted forward.
In a flash, they crashed into the remaining zombies, chopping down with their axes.
After slashing down all the zombies, they continued pursuing the retreating giant zombie, clinging to its body, axes cutting through the gaps between the bones.
Bang~!
A gunshot rang out, and the crawler, which had been climbing up a building, had its head burst open, blood spraying, as it fell from the rooftop.
The axe-wielding skeletons swarmed once again.
Their axes kept falling.
...
Watching as the skeletons cleared out the remaining zombies in the surrounding shops.
Wu Heng glanced at his experience points.
[Level: 14 (24,750/165,000)]
His experience had increased by over twenty thousand.
The efficiency was still very high.
Five or six more rounds like this, and he'd be able to level up.
He closed the panel.
Two tier-2 mutated zombie corpses were dragged over.
Their bodies were bloody and riddled with holes the size of fists, looking wretched.
Wu Heng cast [Raise Skeleton], and the two skeletons stood up. He found two tier-2 corpse cores inside them.
Storing them in his space, he began using [Battlefield of the Dead] along the road.
Amidst the scattered remains, skeletons began rising up one by one.
They joined the ranks.
He drank several potions consecutively, converting all the bodies along the street.
When the conversions were nearly complete.
Qi Hancai and the others drove over.
Wu Heng climbed into the truck, and the army began to return.
...
On the way back.
Qi Hancai said softly, "Further down the road is the central roundabout. It's the busiest section, so there will probably be even more zombies."
Continuing along the way would lead to the central roundabout.
Malls, large chain supermarkets, cultural centers, and commercial streets were all gathered there.
Most importantly, rows of gold shops.
"Make preparations in advance; we're going to clear that area next," Wu Heng said directly.
This section couldn't be avoided, and given the strength of the current skeletal army, there wasn't too much pressure.
They could completely bulldoze their way through.
"Got it." Qi Hancai nodded.
Wu Heng suddenly thought of something and asked, "Do we have any bugs in the warehouse? I mean remote devices that can listen in on conversations."
Qi Hancai paused, glanced to the side, frowned, and thought for a moment, "We did raid some surveillance and security shops. I'm not sure if we have those, but I'll check the warehouse when we get back."
"Alright."
They returned to the old factory district, and it was already dark.
Wu Heng left the remaining matters to Qi Hancai.
He headed back to Gold-Silver Island.
...
Back at his residence, night had fallen.
He had Chef No. 1 prepare a simple dinner.
Stepping out into the courtyard, he looked towards 'Shanella's' room, but saw no light.
"Sleeping so early today?" Wu Heng muttered.
He had hoped to have a late-night rendezvous with the wood elf lady tonight, but she was already asleep.
In the courtyard, he rearranged the skeletons' positions.
The skeletons guarding the front and back doors on the fourth-floor balcony were armed with machine guns, mounted on stone railings.
In case of any danger.
They could immediately launch a counterattack.
After arranging everything, Wu Heng returned to his residence and headed upstairs.
...
The next morning.
A carriage slowly pulled up in front of the 'Nautilus' Tavern.
"Madam, the tavern is here," the driver said softly.
Wu Heng put on the [Veil of Illusion], transforming into a plump middle-aged woman, and got out of the carriage slowly.
In front of him stood a newly opened tavern.
The sign was new, and there were no ladies at the door flaunting themselves.
He paid the fare.
Wu Heng walked straight into the tavern.
It was empty, with no customers, only two bartenders cleaning up.
"Ma'am, we're not open yet," one of the bartenders said softly.
Wu Heng looked around and said, "Where is Madam Milisen? I'm her friend."
"Oh, please wait. The boss is upstairs. I'll go get her," the bartender immediately said.
"No need. If you could tell me which room, that would be enough."
"I'll take you there."
The bartender led him to the second floor, to the room at the far end, and knocked lightly on the door.
After receiving a response, the bartender said, "Boss, a lady is here to see you."
"Huh? Let her in!"
The bartender gestured for her to enter.
Wu Heng placed a [Eagle Eye Spell] by the door.
Then, he walked inside.
Inside, sitting at the desk, seemingly doing accounts, was 'Milisen.'
She looked entirely different from her previous downtrodden state—now wearing a light blue dress, fair-skinned, with her long hair tied up.
She gave off the impression of a beautiful country lady.
Milisen was the mother of the pirate girl 'Philipa.'
Since Philipa wouldn't let her return to the village, Wu Heng had bought her this property to open a tavern.
'Milisen' opened the drawer beside her, revealing a glint of a dagger, frowning as she asked, "Who are you?"
The sensor confirmed that the bartender had left, and there was no one else on the floor.
Wu Heng reached up, removed the [Veil of Illusion], and revealed his original face.
Milisen froze for a moment, then immediately reacted.
She knelt down, bowing respectfully, "Deputy Steward, sir!"
"Get up, you don't need to do that much courtesy in the future." Wu Heng sat down to the side.
"Yes." Milisen stood up, still somewhat restrained as she stood by.
Wu Heng continued, "Are there many merchant caravans docking recently on Lighthouse Street?"