Chapter 725, Discussing Compensation
Shanaila sat nearby, sipping tea lightly.
She said calmly, "You saw the content in the newspaper. Wu Heng clearly wants to give you some edge in the fight for the throne."
Brittany furrowed her brows slightly. "What do you mean?"
"You should tie yourself to him—it's your only chance of reclaiming the throne."
Brittany shook her head. "I talked with Lord Wu Heng about it, but he didn't seem interested in helping me seize the throne. He only said that as long as I stay on Gold-Silver Island, he'll ensure my safety."
Shanaila smiled gently. "You could promise him more. Given his age and how quickly he's rising in levels, he's bound to reach Level 18. Any kingdom or royal family would want to recruit him. Making promises early won't cost you anything—after all, only when you sit on the throne will those things be yours."
Brittany's eyes widened, but she said nothing.
After a pause, she replied, "I understand. Thank you, Lady Shanaila."
...…
Zombie World.
Wu Heng rode a truck back toward the central shopping district.
In the afternoon, Li Yanhong took him to several factories to inspect the skeletons' training progress.
After confirming they could work independently, a few technomancers were assigned to label and log the machinery.
The equipment would be disassembled, packed, and moved to factories in the other world.
After all, the raw materials were sourced there—it would save many logistical troubles.
"Any updates on the tablet development?"
Li Yanhong, driving, answered, "Nothing new yet. I'll check when we get back."
Wu Heng nodded and didn't press further.
The skeleton alchemists working on it weren't the type to slack off.
So there was no point rushing them.
"Should we go ahead and schedule with Central, or wait a bit longer?" Li Yanhong asked.
"Ask them. We're ready whenever."
"Got it. I'll check their availability and try to get them to come over."
"Good."
They chatted casually as they returned to the central area.
Li Yanhong went off to her duties.
Wu Heng returned to his quarters, opened the dimensional gate, and returned to Gold-Silver Island.
...…
Exiting the gate,
Wu Heng released the three wraiths to roam freely, then headed downstairs.
Before reaching the first floor, Minnie came up. "Master, Philipa contacted you via radio."
"I'll go check." Wu Heng turned back upstairs and entered the radio room.
He glanced at the skeleton investigator's logbook—Philipa had written a series of "Are you there? Are you there?"
That tone meant it wasn't urgent.
Still, he picked up the mic. "Philipa, can you hear me?"
Her voice came through quickly. "I'm here. What were you doing all day?"
"Went out. Something up?"
"Today, Tapani, Janvito, and that gnome investigator came to me. They want to order more newspapers," Philipa said bluntly.
"Newspapers? What for?"
"Seems they want to ship them to their homelands—to ride the newspaper's popularity and build reputation," Philipa analyzed.
Not hard to guess.
All three of them had parts in the story.
Especially the kingdom army's assault on the Guild's investigation team—huge news, paired with the detective narrative.
It was sure to generate buzz and boost reputation.
And that also helped Wu Heng.
As the protagonist, his fame would rise the most.
"How many do they want? I'll need to print them tonight."
"The gnome and Tapani each want 10,000. Tapani added another 10,000 himself," Philipa said.
"I'll print them today and arrange shipment. Charge them 55 copper coins each—the same rate as with the big merchant guilds."
"Alright, I'll go tell them." Philipa agreed, then lowered her voice. "Can I come back for a bit? It's so boring here… and I miss you."
"Nothing urgent on your end?"
"Nope. The route's safe, the Guild has navy patrols. I'm doing nothing—bored out of my mind, worse than being on Gold-Silver Island."
She had stayed behind mainly to oversee route safety.
But clearly, nobody would dare stir trouble now and draw the Guild's ire.
Wu Heng thought for a moment. "If there's nothing to handle, come back for a few days."
"Really?! I'll wrap up the newspaper stuff and head over."
"Tell Tapani you're inspecting the route—don't say you're coming back to rest."
"Relax, I'm not dumb," Philipa said. "Anyway, I'm off to talk to them."
Before Wu Heng could respond, she'd already cut the connection.
He glanced over the other radio logs—no messages for him.
Leaving the room, he went downstairs.
...…
The next morning.
Wu Heng stood with the ghoul technomancer outside the island's factory, watching the skeleton technomancers work.
This morning, the equipment had been transported here through the gate.
The technomancers had begun reassembling it per the previous logs and labels.
"Lord Island Master, do we have schematics for these devices?" asked the ghoul technomancer, Costas.
"Nope. But you can study them—just don't break anything," Wu Heng replied.
Studying schematics improved a technomancer's abilities too.
Especially since modern-world machines were very different from fantasy ones.
They often sparked new insights or knowledge.
"Thank you, Lord Island Master," Costas said.
"Is Netalei City's power plant equipment ready?" Wu Heng asked.
Costas nodded. "Still prepping, but it should be fully ready in a week."
"Good. Let me know when it's done, and I'll send you over."
By then, Philipa should also be back.
He could send them all together for smoother operations.
"Yes, sir."
"I'll leave this to you. Come straight to me if anything comes up," Wu Heng said, then called a carriage and returned to the Island Lord's residence.
...…
Back at the residence,
Wu Heng entered the study and used the gate to return to the zombie world.
On the other side, the zombie-world factory had been cleared, leaving a mess behind.
Exiting the yard, he saw Li Yanhong and the convoy waiting nearby.
"Let's go," Wu Heng said, hopping into the passenger seat.
Li Yanhong got in too, then ordered the convoy to move out.
"Just got word—Central's people are en route. They'll arrive at the train station around 2 PM."
"That fast?" Wu Heng was surprised.
"Guess they're really out of options for the wraith problem," Li Yanhong said with a smile.
"Let's go straight to the station—we're running out of time," Wu Heng said.
Li Yanhong gave the order via radio.
The convoy turned at the next intersection and headed toward the station.
...…
Around 2:30 PM.
The train arrived.
This was a Xinfu Base train used for material transport to Yangtong City.
The door opened, and three people stepped off quickly.
Leading was Lü Changan, someone Wu Heng had met before.
A Tier 3 Commander from Central, responsible for Wu Heng's deals.
The two behind him were young and strong—likely bodyguards.
Someone guided them from the platform into a meeting room.
Inside, Wu Heng and Li Yanhong were already seated.
"Leader Wu!" Lü Changan greeted with a forced smile.
"Commander Lü," Wu Heng stood and shook hands.
"Leader Wu, we heard your ability restrains spirits—we really need your help," Lü Changan got straight to the point.
"Commander Lü, ghosts are dangerous for everyone," Wu Heng said with a troubled look.
"You can name your price. Within my authority, I'll approve it. Outside my authority, I can't help," Lü Changan replied.
Unlike previous deals, Lü Changan was all business today.
Everything focused on handling the ghost.
"I need modern tech. Give me some high-tech experts," Wu Heng said.
Lü Changan instantly frowned. "Leader Wu, I can't agree to that—I can't just hand over people."
"What's your authority level? Just tell me."
"I can give you 500 Tier 1 Corpse Cores and two armored vehicles. That's the compensation."
Wu Heng shook his head. "I want five Tier 3 Corpse Cores, ten armored vehicles, and training plus tech support for anything I ask for."
"I'll agree to training. I can give five armored vehicles at most, and two extra Tier 3 Cores—for a total of seven," Lü Changan said.
Seeing his honesty, Wu Heng accepted. "Fine. I won't argue."
"Then, can we head out now? Time's tight. The compensation can be paid once we're back," Lü Changan added.
Wu Heng looked at Li Yanhong, then at the trio. "Commander Lü, wait in the car. I need to make arrangements—we'll head out shortly."
"Alright. We'll wait in the car," Lü Changan replied and left.
"Is it risky to go directly?" Li Yanhong asked.
"Unlikely, but we'll be cautious. I'll have Xiaoxiao watch them. Once we reach Yangtong City, we'll fly."
"I'll come with you."
"No, stay here and manage things. That way I can leave instructions if needed."
Li Yanhong considered this and nodded.
Wu Heng made some preparations, then left to board the train to Yangtong City.
...…
On the train.
Lü Changan and his two men sat opposite Wu Heng, who sat alone with two skeleton attendants beside him.
"How did the ghost encounter happen?" Wu Heng asked.
Lü Changan sighed, thinking for a moment. "One of our bases was attacked by a ghost. The team tried to retreat, but realized the ghost followed them."
These people must be important.
Central was offering a lot to get Wu Heng's help.
Wu Heng nodded. "What are its attack methods?"
"It takes control of people and uses them to attack others. We have no countermeasures," Lü Changan replied.
Possession—a basic ghost trait. Nothing unusual.
But for this world, it was unsolvable.
Even if you captured the possessed, the spirit would just jump hosts.
Once targeted, you were as good as dead.
"We even hired certified Taoist priests," Lü Changan added.
Wu Heng looked up curiously. "Did it work?"
If they were now turning to him, probably not.
But he was curious whether their charms or spells had any effect.
"Not much. Hard to say if it was real or just placebo. Reports say the possession weakened a bit."
In short, the priests weren't effective.
Even if there was some effect, it didn't meet Professional standards.
Wu Heng didn't ask further.
Instead, he said, "Where is the team trapped?"
"In Xinggu City. There's an airport. The team's camped outside, still in the same location."
"Got it," Wu Heng nodded.
"Leader Wu, can you handle it?" Lü Changan asked.
Wu Heng thought. "It shouldn't be a problem. We'll see on-site."
The train continued on.
Hours later, they reached Yangtong City.
Gao Rong was already waiting at the airport with planes and over ten skeletal wyverns.
The planes were piloted by trained skeletons—flight tests had gone smoothly.
They made final preparations.
Lü Changan boarded his own plane.
Soon after, Central's plane took off.
The base's plane followed, escorted by several skeletal wyverns.
...…
Rentam City.
A skeleton knight galloped through the gates into the City Lord's Mansion.
In the courtyard, he dismounted and handed a letter to Wen Mansa.
Seated on the City Lord's throne, Wen Mansa took the letter while breastfeeding.
A letter?
And it was from the Guild.
She handed it to the butler. "Open it. Who wrote it?"
The butler opened the envelope and read it. "It's from Steward Slater. She says Lord Wu Heng placed a spy to investigate the cult. News recently reached her, and she hopes you'll pass it on to him."
"A cult? Where did the info come from?" Wen Mansa frowned.
"Erjiro City in Ekow Kingdom."
Netalei City's army attacked the main investigation team—it was cult-related.
And now more cult news—Ekow Kingdom really was a cult hub.
She rocked her baby. "All full. Go take a nap. I'll go tell Daddy the news."
She handed the child to the butler and wiped her chest clean of drool.
Tucking everything away, she headed upstairs.
In the radio room, she picked up the mic. "Master, Steward Slater sent intel—news about a cult in Erjiro City."
She waited a bit, but there was no reply.
So she got up and went downstairs.
...…
"Leader Wu, the convoy is ready. We can go anytime," Lü Changan said.
Two hours later, they reached the city Lü Changan had mentioned.
Unlike the cities Wu Heng had reclaimed,
This one looked like a modern battlefield—bombed and ruined.
Collapsed buildings, craters, shattered walls.
It was bleak.
Wu Heng said, "No need for the convoy. You ride a wyvern with me. The others stay. More people just makes it harder."
He waved his hand. Several skeletal wyverns crouched low.
Wu Heng climbed on.
Then gestured for Lü Changan to follow.
Lü Changan's eyes widened as he stared at the skeletal wyvern—frozen in place.