Chapter 160: Return the Items to Us

Chapter 160: Return the Items to Us

His figure was bloated, and the dark blue suit he wore was stretched tight.

Adorned with gold and silver jewelry, he appeared to come from a wealthy background.

To dress like this in an outer-city tavern, he must have had absolute confidence in himself or his guards.

The man sat naturally across from Wu Heng.

Barson and Bagdong looked at him with full vigilance.

Wu Heng searched his memory.

He didn't seem to know this person.

But there was some uncertainty.

After all, Wu Heng had been living in Rentam City for a while and had captured several wanted criminals.

It was possible they had crossed paths at some point.

The rank of guild captain carried some weight in this place.

Seeing no immediate hostility from the man, Wu Heng casually responded, "Oh, what brings you to the outer city for a drink today?"

The bloated man paused, scrutinizing Wu Heng again.

Still smiling, he leaned back in his chair, twisting the ring on his finger, "Captain Wu Heng, have you really forgotten me?"

Wu Heng looked at him again, "I'm afraid I have. Perhaps you could remind me?"

The man stared at him for another moment.

Then he burst out laughing, "It's understandable you don't remember. There were so many people when you captured that wanted criminal last time; it's hard to recall everyone."

Wu Heng eyed him.

That answer felt too vague, and his attitude didn't quite match his earlier tone.

It felt like he was being evasive.

Before Wu Heng could probe further,

The man lifted his glass and stood up, saying, "Captain Wu Heng, enjoy your drink. I have other matters to attend to."

With that, he walked away without looking back.

Wu Heng watched him go, glancing to his side.

The invisible Glenda followed him.

Not long after, she returned and slipped back into Wu Heng's body.

The scene of her following played out in his mind.

The fat man exited the tavern, immediately surrounded by several guards.

He was seen talking to someone, but all sound was blocked by a protective barrier, and even Glenda, staying at a distance, couldn't hear what was said.

After exiting the alley, he boarded a carriage and headed toward the inner city.

Glenda then flew back.

This fat man...

Could he have been testing me?

His casual questions felt like they were meant to confirm something.

It seemed Wu Heng had let his guard down, and the man had picked up on something.

Once he saw Wen Mansa, he would have her investigate the identity of this fat man.

Dressed like that, he likely wasn't an ordinary person.

After sitting in the tavern for a while,

And listening to the bard's song, Wu Heng left with his skeletons and Glenda.

He hadn't released Xiaoxiao in a place like this.

After all, it wasn't suitable for children.

......

By the time Wu Heng returned home, it was already getting dark.

Minnie had prepared dinner, and the two were waiting for him.

Wu Heng had had a few drinks at the tavern, so he wasn't hungry, but since they were waiting, he sat down at the table to chat and eat.

Andveil gave a report on the shop's business.

Over the past few days, business had been picking up.

Not only were there more walk-in customers, but people were also starting to buy in bulk to resell in other cities.

This was good news; sales were bound to increase significantly.

After eating for a while,

Wu Heng asked, "Andveil, Minnie, what professions are you?"

Andveil quietly replied, "I'm a Woodland Ranger, level 7."

Wu Heng glanced at the white-haired girl with beast ears.

She had a rare class, and her level wasn't low either.

How did she end up as a slave?

Seeing her downcast expression, he didn't press further.

In this world, countless powerful people died in the wild, and some became slaves for various reasons. It wasn't that surprising.

"And you, Minnie?" Wu Heng turned to her.

He saw that Minnie was even more dejected.

Her rabbit ears drooped straight down, and she timidly looked up before quietly saying, "Master, I don't have a profession. My village was poor, and there wasn't much in the way of tradition."

Uh...

Minnie was already 16, and by the rules of this world,

She should have chosen a profession long ago.

The fact that she hadn't meant she had essentially given up on the path of becoming an adventurer.

Looking at her pitiful expression,

Wu Heng asked, "What profession would you like? I can get you a profession token tomorrow."

Minnie froze, her eyes widening, "Really?"

"Of course. I'm a captain; getting a profession token isn't hard." Wu Heng said confidently.

Profession tokens were issued by the guild.

Of course, they cost money.

Spending some money to help his maid choose a profession wasn't a bad investment.

"I don't know what to choose! Master, do you have any recommendations? I'll listen to you."

Wu Heng thought for a moment and said, "How about Ranger or Martial Artist? Rangers are ranged and good for scouting. Starting late won't be a big deal. Martial Artists can be trained by Bagdong; he'd be your mentor."

"Sister Andveil is a Ranger, so I'll choose Martial Artist!" Minnie decided after thinking for a moment.

Rangers were a common profession.

But Martial Artists were relatively rare, with strong close-combat abilities.

"Alright, but be prepared. The training is tough, so don't cry." Wu Heng teased.

Minnie, however, was serious, "I'm not afraid of hardship. As long as I can eat my fill."

After dinner, the three of them parted ways.

In the study, Wu Heng released Xiaoxiao and Glenda. He let Xiaoxiao watch TV while Glenda went invisible and roamed the city.

He reminded her not to wander too far or approach the central district.

When night fell, Wu Heng went to bed.

......

Late at night, in a mansion in the inner city's central district.

The spacious and brightly lit hall.

In the center was a round table, around which sat three elegantly dressed men and women.

On the engraved "Vitae Plates" lay dissected primates, their organs already removed.

Eyes darted back and forth,

Watching as the people around the table carved into its body with knives and forks.

Creak~

The heavy, luxurious door opened.

The bloated man in the dark blue suit strolled in.

He twisted the ring on his finger and sat down in one of the empty seats.

"You're late again, Rillian!" someone said, cutting into a piece of blood-soaked flesh and putting it in their mouth.

"I ran into an old friend on the way. He seems to have forgotten me."

"Who?"

"Who else? That Captain Wu Heng who killed the Blood Cult members."

The man's knife and fork came up.

Rillian rose to carve a slice of the flesh and placed it on his plate.

As soon as he said this, everyone's movements froze.

One of them directly asked, "Are you saying the people we sent failed?"

"It's not certain yet, but there's a good chance they did."

"Hah! Worthless fools."

As he ate, Rillian continued, "So, what do we do next?"

The group fell silent for a moment.

Finally, one of them said, "We need to make contact with him and retrieve the artifacts. If we lose them, we'll all be punished."

"Alright, I'll visit him again tomorrow."

"Good, now let's eat!"

The group resumed their meal.

......

The next day.

Wu Heng went to the front desk and purchased a profession token.

Then he headed straight to the team's resting room.

Duke and Marta were sitting together, chatting.

Duke had a new shirt under his armor, and Marta had replaced her falconer's glove with a new one.

It seemed yesterday's haul had allowed them to buy some new gear.

"Good morning, Captain." they greeted him in unison.

Wu Heng nodded and handed out the bounty he'd collected, then added, "The 3rd-level merit from this mission will be recorded in your files, which will help with your future promotions. We'll also get advanced and mid-level equipment rewards. Once they're processed, we'll choose together."

"Got it, Captain. We're in your hands." Duke grinned, happy to bring money home for his siblings.

After all, with a bunch of siblings at home, bringing money back was a good thing.

Wu Heng nodded, continuing, "Our next mission focus remains on hunting wanted criminals. Don't spend all the money on yourselves—cultivate some informants to feed us information."

"Uh, how do we do that, Captain?"

"Taverns, gangs—make more connections."

"Oh, got it!"

The three of them discussed their future missions briefly before leaving the guild.

Bounties for wanted criminals were much higher than regular rescue missions.

It was more than enough to keep them funded during downtime.

......

After leaving the guild,

Wu Heng headed directly to the Snake Emblem Consortium.

Laisia, still dressed in a form-fitting silk gown with light makeup, personally greeted him.

"Good morning, Mr. Wu Heng. Are you here to check on the commission?"

"Oh, is there news?"

"There is." Laisia opened the door and gave a light command to someone outside before returning to her seat. "The 'Burial Ground' structure you ordered has arrived. If you hadn't come by, I was going to send someone to notify you."

Hearing this, Wu Heng felt a rush of excitement.

He had been waiting for this for a while.

It was finally delivered.

"And what about the skill book commission?" Wu Heng asked.

"No updates on the skill book just yet," Laisia said softly.

"Hmm, no rush."

The workers outside hadn't brought the items in yet.

Laisia made small talk, "I visited your shop recently. Business seems to be booming. In a few days, it might become the most popular general store in the whole city."

She hadn't been too optimistic about the general store before.

But now, the shop's success had far exceeded her expectations.

Who would have thought it would carry such a variety of unique household items?

And the prices were quite affordable—very consumer-friendly.

"Next time you visit, let me know. Take whatever you like," Wu Heng said generously.

Laisia, being the head of the Snake Emblem Consortium, certainly wasn't short on money.

Wu Heng figured he could afford to be generous with his words.

"I'll hold you to that, don't regret it later."

"Nothing to regret, it's on me."

Laisia glanced at him with a smile, her expression unchanged.

They chatted for a while.

Soon, the staff came in, carrying a storage pouch.

"Since it's a building, it's quite large, so we had to use a storage artifact for transport," Laisia explained.

Wu Heng looked at the item in her hand.

"I'm not sure I can carry this."

Laisia thought for a moment, then said, "You can borrow the storage artifact, but I'll need it back within three days. It belongs to the consortium."

Wu Heng agreed immediately, "Alright, thank you."

Just like using a space ring, he channeled his spirit energy into the pouch to check.

Inside, he saw several massive columns and some building components.

Laisia continued, "In addition to the deposit you've already paid, the remaining balance is 5,500 silver coins to complete the transaction."

Ah, this… it's expensive.

Even though Wu Heng had prepared himself mentally, it still felt like a hefty price.

But there was no way around it—there wasn't much room to haggle on a commission like this.

He pulled out five gold coins and 500 silver coins from his space ring and handed them over.

These five gold coins were from Glenda's stash in the basement, and he had just spent them.

"Thank you, sir. The commission is complete," Laisia said as she moved closer, softly reminding him, "Mr. Wu Heng, please don't forget to return the storage pouch. I'm under a lot of pressure lending it to you."

"Don't worry, I'll bring it back tomorrow."

"Alright, thank you, sir."

After finishing the conversation, Wu Heng left the consortium.

......

Back at his residence,

Wu Heng used the portal to enter the zombie world.

Outside the residential area.

Whoosh~!

The sharp whistling of spears broke through the air above.

Like a massive black net, the iron spears rained down on the asphalt, clanging as they hit the ground.

After several days of training,

Though the skeletons hadn't unlocked the spear-throwing skill yet,

The overall effect of their throws had improved considerably compared to a few days ago.

"The new spears seem much better," Li Yanhong remarked softly.

Wu Heng had purchased standard spears from the blacksmith.

Li Yanhong had taken them back to modify her own designs.

It wasn't a complicated process—just copying the dimensions, weight, and balance of the standard spear.

After making a few, she got the hang of it.

Production had ramped up.

"Yeah, the results are much better now," Wu Heng nodded.

"Shall we continue making more?"

"Keep producing. Each skeleton needs at least three spears," Wu Heng laid out his requirements.

Li Yanhong was a bit surprised, "All of them?"

There were around 17,000 skeletons now.

One area couldn't accommodate so many skeletons.

They were spread across two districts.

Equipping each skeleton with three spears, along with long spears, was no small task.

"Take your time, no rush," Wu Heng said, looking at her.

"Alright, I'll make sure we speed things up."

"Any news lately?"

"Various places have started setting up refugee bases, recruiting survivors. If they have special skills like doctors, electricians, carpenters, those bases will even send people to rescue them," Li Yanhong explained.

"Learning valuable skills is always useful, no matter the situation."

"Yes, exactly."

"Should we also recruit some people?" Li Yanhong asked.

Wu Heng thought for a moment, then said, "Spread the word. If anyone wants to join, we can take them in."

"Got it."

"Prepare for tomorrow. I need to head back to the prison," Wu Heng suddenly remembered.

They would be relocating soon.

The newly acquired building would still be set up near the prison.

"Alright! I'll make arrangements. The convoy will send a batch of goods back tomorrow."

"Good."

......

After leaving the zombie world,

Wu Heng sat in the first-floor hall for a while.

Knock knock knock~!

There was a soft knock at the door.

When he opened it, it wasn't his two maids standing there.

It was the fat man from last night, accompanied by four silver-armored guards.

Standing at the door, the man smiled.

Wu Heng frowned, "Here to reminisce again?"

"Haha, no need to be tense, Captain Wu Heng. I'm just here to discuss some business," the man said, glancing inside. "This doesn't seem like the best place. How about inviting me in?"

Wu Heng glanced at the guards outside and stepped aside, "Come in. Your guards will have to stay outside—there's not much space here."

The man smiled and nodded to the guards outside.

He walked straight into the room.

After glancing around, he sat down on the couch in the living room.

"What is it? Get to the point," Wu Heng said bluntly.

"I'll be straightforward then—I'd like to retrieve the 'Ritual Staff' and 'Blood Chalice' that you have," the man said, still smiling.

Wu Heng looked surprised.

How did this man know he had those items?

He immediately began to suspect the man's identity.

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