Chapter 163: Making Things Convenient

Chapter 163: Making Things Convenient

"Women, power, status, a better life—all these are often in the hands of a few people. As long as Captain Wu Heng is willing to join us, these won't be an issue." The white-haired man took a sip of his wine, looking meaningfully across the table.

"Join you? The Secret Cult?"

"Captain's intelligence is sharp. Yes, we are the Secret Cult, but we're not the evil sect you imagine. We're more like a mutual aid society. Any member who joins will receive help with resources and business channels. Everyone faces difficulties at times, and when that happens, you'll see the greatness of the Secret Cult." The man explained softly.

"Does that also include helping people kill?" Wu Heng continued to look at him.

It sounded nice, but it all came at a price.

The structure of these organizations was mostly the same, with everyone entering for different purposes.

You get what you want, but you also have to pay an equal price or prove your worth.

Yazde's life had come to an end, and the Secret Cult had provided him with the 'Ritual Staff,' while also making some sort of agreement with him.

Back in the tavern.

The fat man had mentioned it, though the specifics weren't clear.

No help comes without a price.

Even monks saving the suffering still benefit their own practice.

The man didn't deny it, just shrugged without answering the question.

Instead, he continued, "Besides money and women, the Secret Cult offers more benefits—connections, items. If you join, we can guarantee that in three years, you'll reach the level of a Steward."

"What would I have to pay?" Wu Heng asked again.

"That depends on what you have, Captain. As long as you're willing to contribute to the Secret Cult, there's always a way to prove your value." The man continued to smile, glancing at the insignia on Wu Heng's armor.

Wu Heng followed his gaze and looked at his own armor.

He understood some of the man's implications.

Lazily leaning back in his chair, Wu Heng casually said, "Let's not talk about other things for now. Do you still want those two artifacts? If not, I'll just donate them to the Guild and exchange them for merit."

The old man stared at him intently.

With a wave of his hand, the women and the men holding the trays all turned and left.

Only a few of the women's sheer scarves remained on the floor.

"Those two items are quite important to us. I hope Captain can make things convenient for us and return them. As for the price, we're willing to offer 8 gold coins, which is a very reasonable offer."

Wu Heng had quoted 80 gold, a price set deliberately high.

After all, the Secret Cult had helped someone try to kill him.

Handing them back now would be humiliating.

Hearing the man's words, Wu Heng realized just how important these two artifacts were to the Secret Cult.

At the very least, if they couldn't retrieve them, the people in front of him wouldn't be able to explain it to their superiors.

"You spoke so highly of the Secret Cult, but can't come up with that amount of money? 80 gold coins is too much? Selling this tavern would probably cover it." Wu Heng said.

"Gold coins aren't that easy to come by. Even the wealthiest merchants in the city can't produce such a sum on short notice." The man took a deep breath. "I hope Captain will reconsider, and we can both make things convenient for each other."

"Fine! 70 gold coins, that's my final offer. If you can't accept it, I'll donate them to the Guild, and you can negotiate with the Guild's headquarters and see how much they'll charge." Wu Heng continued.

The man's eyes narrowed instantly, but he held his tongue.

He then smiled calmly again, "Alright, we'll need some time to gather the funds. Someone will contact you, but please keep the artifacts safe."

"Fine!" Wu Heng nodded, standing up. "I won't disturb your meal any longer. See you next time."

After that, he headed for the door.

He left the tavern with his two maids and skeletons in tow.

Heading towards the inner district.

......

The tavern fell silent once more.

The fat man walked over and sat down across from the white-haired man.

"You agreed to his terms just like that? He's clearly asking for an outrageous amount. Even with all of us, we can't gather that much cash quickly."

"Hmph!" The old man snorted coldly. "That brat really thinks he can threaten us just because he has two artifacts."

The fat man's expression grew serious. "You plan to kill him? Yazde had a perfect opportunity, but even he couldn't kill Wu Heng. If we fail..."

If they failed, the Guild would hunt them down.

Not even the Secret Cult could protect them then.

The old man paused in thought before continuing, "Have someone gather the money for now, but also keep an eye on his movements. It seems he's quite protective of those two girls with him, and he even came to pick them up today."

"You're suggesting we target those two women?"

"Keep a close watch on the people around him."

"Understood!"

At that moment, several others emerged.

They served the prepared food.

The two men began chatting and eating.

......

On the way back.

Minnie clung to Wu Heng's arm, quietly asking, "Master, are those guys bad people?"

"They're certainly not good people. Close the shop a little earlier for the next few days." Wu Heng said.

"Do you think they'll come after us?" Andviel asked.

"It's hard to say, but we should be careful." Wu Heng replied.

This situation was a bit tricky.

Wu Heng didn't intend to hand over the two artifacts so easily.

Since they were the weapons used to try to kill him, he figured he'd make them bleed for it.

But it was clear the other side didn't have that much money.

Who knows what they might be planning.

"Got it, we'll be careful." Andviel said.

The group continued walking home, and Wu Heng felt Minnie clinging to his arm.

He glanced down and asked, "Minnie, why aren't you wearing armor?"

Even the worst armor would be made of leather.

Minnie clearly wasn't wearing any right now.

"It's too hot, and I was just in the shop, so I didn't wear it." Minnie replied.

"Make sure you wear it when you go out tomorrow."

"Okay, I understand."

......

After returning home.

The two girls went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Wu Heng sat on the sofa for a while, and the ghost 'Glenda' floated in from outside.

Hovering in the air, Glenda said, "I still couldn't hear what they were saying, but based on their lip movements, they mentioned something about gathering money and women. I suspect they might be targeting your two little maids."

Last time, when Glenda had followed them, they hadn't heard anything either.

Wu Heng had looked it up in the 'Book of Runes' after returning.

There was a rune that could provide a sound-proofing barrier called [Silent Shield], usually inscribed on accessories like pendants or earrings.

When worn, no one outside the barrier could hear your conversation.

The sound would be absorbed by an invisible shield.

Wu Heng didn't know if that was what they were using, but it seemed similar.

Wu Heng nodded, indicating he understood.

It seemed the other side wasn't planning to honestly gather the money.

And that made sense; in such a chaotic world, who would honestly try to gather that much money?

"Alright, I get it."

Glenda flicked her hand, and a book floated off the shelf into the air, where she began reading it.

Wu Heng also released Xiaoxiao and pulled out the iPad to play a cartoon.

Glenda's abilities were much stronger than Xiaoxiao's.

At first, Xiaoxiao's telekinesis could only push things, like closing doors or pushing leaves forward.

It was barely more than a breeze.

But with practice, Xiaoxiao could now control the iPad's stylus to move to the next episode or drag the progress bar.

Glenda was much more skilled, able to grab objects from afar and turn the pages of books.

She was a fairly mature ghost now.

The two ghosts stayed in the study.

Wu Heng went downstairs to eat.

He told the two girls not to go to the shop tomorrow and to take a few days off to rest at home.

Although they were curious, they nodded in agreement.

After dinner.

As night fell.

Wu Heng practiced his sword, while Minnie continued her martial arts training with Bagdong.

When Andviel went upstairs.

Wu Heng sat on the sofa, flipping through the 'Book of Necromancy.'

Minnie finished her training and cautiously approached, saying, "Master, can I give you a massage?"

Wu Heng curiously asked, "You know how to do that?"

"I used to see people doing it while working; it didn't seem hard." Minnie smiled.

"Hmm, give it a try then!" Wu Heng lay down on the sofa.

The little rabbit girl knelt beside the sofa and placed her soft hands on his shoulders, gently massaging.

"Master, is the pressure okay?"

"Yeah, it's not bad."

"Master, thank you for buying me the proof of job transfer. My biggest dream was to become an adventurer." Minnie said softly.

"Then you have to practice hard. Being an adventurer is tough work." Wu Heng said.

"Minnie's not afraid of hard work. As long as Master keeps feeding me, I'll be fine." Minnie massaged him a couple more times and said, "Master, can you turn over now?"

"You don't need to do the front."

"Please let me practice a bit more. I want to be able to do this for you regularly."

Wu Heng flipped over and lay on his back on the sofa.

Minnie gently massaged him a couple of times, her face flushing as she said, "It's hard to apply pressure like this. Can I get on top?"

"Go ahead."

Minnie carefully climbed onto the sofa.

Wu Heng looked up at the girl's bright red face.

She was wearing a beige training outfit on top and form-fitting yoga pants in blue-gray on the bottom, soaked with sweat from the earlier training session.

Wu Heng placed his hands on her slender waist.

"Master, I'm really sweaty. I might be a little dirty." Minnie whispered.

"It's fine."

Minnie's face turned an even deeper shade of red as she leaned forward.

Slowly, her body softened, and she eventually lay completely on top of him, her fluffy ears tickling his chin.

Wu Heng grabbed her shirt, and the rabbit girl lifted her arms.

Just as the shirt was halfway up.

Andviel walked down the stairs with something in her hands.

Seeing the two of them on the sofa, her eyes widened.

After a brief pause, she turned and left.

Minnie's entire body flushed red, "Master, I'll head back to my room."

After speaking, she hurried off the sofa and ran upstairs.

Wu Heng's hands froze mid-air.

She just left?

"That little girl…"

......

The next day.

In the zombie world.

A small mountain of corpses had piled up in the Bone Burial Ground.

These were the remains of humans or zombies that the skeletons patrolling around the prison had found.

Bodies continued to be submerged into the ground, converting into skeletons and walking out of the building.

The building had been expensive.

But it was indeed effective.

It saved Wu Heng a lot of time and mental effort.

Previously, he had been clocking in like it was a job.

Going back and forth to convert corpses twice a day had been quite troublesome.

After confirming that the building was still functioning properly.

Wu Heng stepped outside the office building.

He pulled out the walkie-talkie and called for Li Yanhong.

Soon after, Li Yanhong arrived.

Standing beside him, she said, "Qiangzi and the others drove back yesterday. Tonight, they'll bring over a batch of people and supplies."

According to their agreement.

Wu Heng wouldn't need to travel back and forth anymore.

The collection work on the other side was handed over to the people at the auto repair shop.

A batch of skeletons was also left there, led by Big Head Two, primarily responsible for the repair shop's security.

Additionally, skeletons would be gradually transported over here, with the alchemical skeletons' laboratory being the most important.

"You've done well with the distribution." Wu Heng commented.

Li Yanhong continued, "Do you remember the Flame God Refuge I mentioned?"

"Yeah, is it still there?"

"It's more than still there; it's been quite active on the radio. From what I gather, they're developing pretty well."

"What do you mean?" Wu Heng asked, curious.

Pretty well, huh? How good could they be?

A single fire-wielding power user couldn't possibly compete with his army of tens of thousands.

"They've established a trade market and are inviting survivors from the surrounding areas to exchange supplies there."

Wu Heng frowned.

What the…?

That does seem fast.

"They've developed this quickly?"

"Yeah, after awakening their abilities, they started rising quickly and have gathered quite a few survivors."

"What can be exchanged at that market?" Wu Heng asked.

"They mainly trade for food, sugar, salt, and necessities like corpse cores. In exchange, they offer guns, armored vehicles, and some weapons."