Chapter 492, Assist in Defense
[Skeleton Demon (Level 18)]
[Level: 18]
[Attributes: Constitution 50, Strength 35, Agility 42, Intelligence 32, Perception 34, Charisma 5.]
[Traits: Hollow Skeleton, Advanced Soul, Regeneration Trait.]
[Abilities: Hive Domain, Keratinous Outer Shell.]
[Proficiencies: Biological Mutation, Physical Mutation.]
[Regeneration Trait]: Non-lethal body injuries can be rapidly restructured and repaired.
[Hive Domain]: Within the domain, the 'Skeleton Demon' can transmit commands to surrounding 'subordinate' attendants.
[Keratinous Outer Shell]: Forms a thick layer of keratin on the surface, providing certain defense and impact resistance.
Wu Heng examined the skeleton's attributes.
It felt somewhat peculiar.
Judging by the attributes, there were no obvious weaknesses.
Constitution 50, Strength 35, Agility 42.
These fully met the requirements of a high-level melee profession.
Even a Level-18 skeletal pugilist only had a Constitution of 48.
A Constitution of 50 was already considered very high.
The other attributes were also quite decent.
Intelligence 32, Perception 34—while not as high as its Constitution, they were still above average for professionals.
As for Charisma 5, that couldn't be helped.
It inevitably decreased after being turned into a skeleton.
After reviewing the attributes, Wu Heng continued to examine the proficiencies and abilities below.
There were three notable ones.
[Regeneration Trait] allowed for quick repair of non-lethal injuries.
This ability was retained even after transformation into a skeleton.
This was a good feature, but how it manifested in skeletal form remained unclear.
Could broken bones be reattached?
That was still uncertain.
[Hive Domain] was clearly an evolved version of the "Big-Head Skeleton's" ability, allowing broader control over skeletons without issuing commands to groups of hundreds repeatedly.
[Keratinous Outer Shell] formed a thick layer of keratin on the surface—this ability.
It had been observed in Tier-3 mutated zombies.
This meant that aside from rapidly improved attributes, the Zombie King had also inherited traits from various zombies.
"Your name is Skeleton Demon One. Stand aside for now," Wu Heng named it.
The Skeleton Demon stepped out, shaking off the filth on its body.
"Take off that suit first. We'll find you a new one later."
The Skeleton Demon removed its clothing, tossed it aside, and moved to the side.
At the entrance, the corpses were divided into two piles.
Ordinary corpses on one side, evolved and mutated zombies on the other.
Wu Heng walked over and cast [Battlefield of the Dead].
The flesh of the corpses on both sides peeled away.
Skeletons rolled out from the piles with a clatter, shakily standing upright.
Wu Heng instructed the skeletons to step aside and began searching the corpse piles for cores, collecting them into his spatial ring.
"I checked the rear factory building with some people. Part of it was burned down, likely in a fire, but some areas are well-preserved. The warehouse has many machinery parts and a lot of boxed bullets," Qi Hancai reported with a smile.
Just the ammunition in the warehouse made the trip worthwhile.
"Is the factory producing ammunition?"
"Seems like it. There are even bullet casings around!"
Wu Heng asked again, "Can production be restored?"
Qi Hancai frowned and pondered, "Even if the production line is intact and ready to use, the power supply is a big problem. Even if we use all our solar panels, it might not be enough."
Wu Heng stroked his chin, realizing she had a point.
Using just lights or a few devices might not be noticeable.
But restarting an entire factory was no small feat.
Factory power consumption was immense.
"Let's assess the situation first," Wu Heng said.
While they spoke.
Wu Heng paused as Glenda merged with his body, sharing a vision in his mind.
In the distance on the road.
A convoy of armored vehicles and trucks was approaching.
The rescue team had arrived.
According to Liu Chuang, it should take them over five hours to get here from the base.
But their combat speed had been much faster, meaning the team had arrived at least half the expected time early.
Corpses couldn't lie, and Liu Chuang, a veteran driver, was accurate about time and routes.
This suggested the team wasn't coming from the base but from somewhere en route.
"Something wrong?" Qi Hancai asked.
"The rescue team's vehicles are here," Wu Heng replied, then turned to the Big-Head Skeleton and said, "Have the skeletons bring over the armored and machine gun vehicles. Prepare for any situation."
The vehicles started up.
Skeletons moved aside, driving vehicles to the entrance.
Weapons pointed outward.
...
On the road.
Vehicles bearing the rescue team's flag began to slow.
Pairs of eyes looked toward the distant factory.
"It seems quiet! Did we arrive too late, and they're all dead?"
"If they have vehicles, they would've escaped if they couldn't fight."
"Maybe they just fled without fighting."
"Then we should've run into them."
The convoy began to discuss.
The distant silence suggested the people had likely fled.
The crew-cut captain sat in the backseat, smoking. He exhaled a ring of smoke. "Send up a drone to check the situation."
The window opened, and a drone was launched into the sky.
It flew forward, its feed appearing on the vehicle's monitor.
But as it neared the factory, skeletons and armored vehicles became faintly visible.
A floating stick suddenly smashed down.
The drone wobbled, crashed, and lost signal.
The team stared wide-eyed at the monitor.
A stick floating mid-air had taken out the drone.
And it seemed the skeleton-controlling group from Xinfu City had occupied the factory.
"Captain, they've taken it over."
"How did they do it so fast? Were all the zombies gone?"
"What should we do?"
The team was at a loss.
The captain thought for a moment and said, "Let's move closer. If they've secured it, even better—we can't return empty-handed."
"Understood!" Someone grabbed a radio and ordered the vehicles forward.
The convoy rolled forward, crushing blood and gore underfoot.
They stopped at the factory gate.
A team member got out, placed a radio at the gate, and stepped back.
Inside, a skeleton picked up the radio and brought it in.
"You handle this," Wu Heng said to Qi Hancai.
...
Soon, static came through the radio.
Followed by a man's voice: "Who am I speaking with?"
"Qi Hancai!"
"Ah! Chief Qi, I've heard much about you." The voice sounded surprised but clearly recognized her.
"And you are?"
"Wang Xin."
"Well, Wang Xin, what brings you here?"
After a brief pause, Wang Xin replied, "We're responsible for security and rescue coordination in the province. We heard you were attacking the factory, so we came to support you. Seems we're a bit late."
After a slight pause, he added, "Though not too late—we can help you defend and coordinate remaining defenses and allocations between our bases."
Qi Hancai frowned, her expression turning annoyed.
"We take it, and you negotiate the distribution?
How is this not just robbery?"