Chapter 307: Even in Death, You Become a Ghost
Zhao Yanqiu looked up quickly, then lowered her head again.
Wu Heng said directly, "Bring her here."
Skull-Crusher gave Zhao Yanqiu a push, guiding her to follow Wu Heng into a side room.
Once inside, Skull-Crusher closed the door.
Wu Heng took a moment to reassess Xiaoxiao's mother.
She was thin, with an appearance of malnutrition, her hair shaved short, and her face smeared with dirt, resembling a scavenging beggar.
For a woman, this was a form of self-preservation.
Of course, some women with good looks or who were willing to offer something could live slightly better lives.
Zhao Yanqiu stood uneasily by the door, her legs trembling involuntarily, and said softly, "Sir, I'm sick. Please don't hurt me."
Wu Heng did not release Xiaoxiao immediately.
After all, in her ghost form, she would be hard for an ordinary person to accept.
Especially for a mother to see her daughter in such a state.
Wu Heng said, "I won't harm you. Our shelter has close cooperation with the disaster relief command designated by the central station, unlike the others."
"Thank you!" Zhao Yanqiu nodded, then asked softly, "What do you need from me?"
Wu Heng asked directly, "Are you alone?"
Zhao Yanqiu lowered her head even further, wiping her eyes, "My husband took our child to his father's place... we haven't had any contact since."
"To have survived this long is..."
"I know." Zhao Yanqiu lifted her head, "I understand what you're implying. They're probably gone. Everyone is going through this."
Wu Heng nodded and continued, "Actually, I've met your daughter. She asked me to come and save you."
Zhao Yanqiu's head snapped up, her eyes filled with uncontrollable excitement and joy. "Xiaoxiao, she's alive. She's still alive!"
Well...
Alive—this term was now difficult to define.
Wu Heng leaned against the wooden table behind him and said, "Xiaoxiao's situation is a bit unusual. You should prepare yourself mentally."
Zhao Yanqiu frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.
Wu Heng didn't say more. With a thought, he released Xiaoxiao.
Xiaoxiao's translucent form floated in the air. She looked at the woman and called out, "Mom!"
Zhao Yanqiu's eyes widened as she looked at her daughter, who appeared like a phantom. "X-Xiaoxiao, what happened to you?"
"Mom, I turned into a ghost! Now I can pass through walls and turn invisible. It's awesome!" Xiaoxiao boasted, twirling in the air.
"You..." Zhao Yanqiu's expression grew more distressed.
Wu Heng interrupted Xiaoxiao's words, "Xiaoxiao, explain things properly. Tell your mom what happened."
"Oh, alright!"
Xiaoxiao floated lower and started recounting the events, how she met Wu Heng and had been following him since.
Upon learning of her mother's whereabouts, they immediately came to rescue her.
After hearing her daughter's story and realizing that her husband and father-in-law were dead, and that her daughter had become like this, Zhao Yanqiu couldn't hold back her tears. "My daughter..."
"Mom, why are you crying? Aren't you happy to see me?"
"I'm happy," Zhao Yanqiu said.
"Mom, you stay alive for now. When you die, Uncle can turn you into a ghost too. Then we'll never die!" Xiaoxiao said, attempting a hug in her ghostly form.
Ahem~!
Wu Heng coughed lightly, "Xiaoxiao, don't make wild suggestions."
"Oh, right. Hehe!" Xiaoxiao laughed, then continued, "Mom, you'll have a good life from now on. Uncle is super strong—zombies and bad guys are no match for him."
"Mm." Zhao Yanqiu wiped her tears and nodded.
Wu Heng looked at the mother and daughter, "You two can stay here and talk for a while. I'm going to check on the others."
Xiaoxiao nodded.
Zhao Yanqiu immediately knelt on the ground, bowing deeply, "Thank you for taking care of Xiaoxiao, and for saving me."
"Don't do that. Xiaoxiao has helped me a lot too. Saving you was the right thing to do." Wu Heng helped her up.
Xiaoxiao crossed her arms in the air, "I've been taking care of him, alright!"
Wu Heng left them to talk in the room.
He headed out.
...…
Outside the room, Wu Heng ordered the skeletons to carry the bodies.
They brought the corpses into another room.
There were seven bodies in total.
All had been killed by Skull-Crusher, either with collapsed chests or smashed heads.
A collapsed chest wasn't too hard to fix.
Necromancy could repair some damaged parts during conversion.
But if vital organs were missing, they couldn't be restored.
Especially the head. Without a head, even [Speak with Dead] wouldn't work.
Wu Heng's gaze settled on a body with its head still mostly intact.
He cast [Speak with Dead].
The body suddenly sat up, its vacant eyes staring in his direction.
Wu Heng asked, "Besides here, do you have people anywhere else?"
The corpse answered, "Four people were stationed on the rooftop to the east."
The four on the east rooftop were the first ones Wu Heng had killed.
It seemed they didn't have many people left.
Wu Heng continued, "You told the Auto Repair Shop you'd evacuate in three days. Where are you planning to go?"
The corpse replied, "We're planning to move south."
Wu Heng frowned, "Why evacuate?"
"There are signs of a zombie horde moving this way."
The three days were to give time for the Auto Repair Shop to deliver food.
They hadn't decided exactly when to leave.
Wu Heng thought for a moment and asked, "Where did you get your weapons?"
"Traded at the military base."
Hearing this, Wu Heng's eyes widened.
A military base!
There was actually a military base nearby, and it was conducting trades.
Wu Heng pressed further, "What can you trade at the military base?"
The corpse paused before saying, "Weapons, ammunition, cannons, vehicles, and various military supplies."
After the last sentence, the corpse collapsed back onto the ground.
Wu Heng moved to the next body and cast [Speak with Dead] again.
The corpse sat up.
Wu Heng asked, "What does the military base trade for?"
The corpse replied, "Food, zombie cores, various tools, and specialized personnel. All can be traded."
"How many people are in the military force?"
"About three to four hundred."
"Where are they located?"
"In the open-pit mine to the south…"
Wu Heng continued questioning several more bodies, gathering enough information.
This area was quite different from the Auto Repair Shop's region.
The military had already established a proper survival base and opened up a free market.
You could trade all kinds of supplies for weapons, including tanks, armored vehicles, and communication equipment.
Essentially, the military base was now operating more like a highly specialized business.
You bring them what they need, and they'll provide you with professional-grade weapons.
This certainly piqued Wu Heng's interest.
He wasn't short on food, so he could use them to stock up on ammunition.
...…
Whoosh~!
Just then, Xiaoxiao flew through the wall.
"Uncle, what are you doing?" Xiaoxiao asked, smiling brightly, looking quite happy.
"Talking to the dead. Did you and your mom have a good chat?"
"Not really. She kept crying," Xiaoxiao floated to the other side and continued, "When we were fighting bandits, so many people died, and it was so dangerous. No one cried."
Uh…
Hearing this from Xiaoxiao, Wu Heng was taken aback.
Whether fighting zombies or bandits in the other world, Xiaoxiao had been involved in many battles.
But hearing a little girl talk about killing bandits still felt out of place.
"Don't mention the other world to your mom just yet."
"Got it."
Knock, knock, knock~!
As they were speaking, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
The door opened, and Zhao Yanqiu peeked inside.
Seeing the neatly arranged bodies on the floor, she instinctively took a step back.
But she still walked in, "I've finished talking with Xiaoxiao. Thank you for reuniting us."
Wu Heng nodded, "Mm, it's what I should do. From now on, you can stay with me. I'll make sure you have a safe place to live."
"Thank you." Zhao Yanqiu did not refuse.
Wu Heng continued, "Who are the survivors downstairs?"
"They're all nearby survivors, usually doing hard labor."
"Any potential danger?"
"There shouldn't be. They're just barely surviving, with no goals. Living day by day."
Wu Heng nodded, "Where's the radio and storage room? Take me there."
"On the third floor."
...…
They arrived on the third floor.
Wu Heng opened one of the rooms, which was filled with bags of rice, flour, oil, some beer, preserved vegetables, and instant noodles scavenged from supermarkets.
Wu Heng glanced around and said, "Pick a few reliable people to cook for the survivors downstairs. Tell them the situation—those willing to stay can have food and safety but must work. Those who don't want to stay will be given food and allowed to leave."
"Okay." Zhao Yanqiu nodded and was about to leave.
Before she left, Wu Heng added, "Don't mention Xiaoxiao to anyone."
"I understand, I won't tell anyone."
With that, she hurried downstairs.
Wu Heng moved on to the next room and opened it.
Inside was a desk with a radio set on it, and the floor was littered with empty beer cans and cigarette butts.
Wu Heng turned on the device and picked up the microphone, "Calling the Auto Repair Shop."
Soon, Li Yanhong's voice came through, "This is the Auto Repair Shop, go ahead!"
"Everything's under control."
"Received!"
Those two simple words conveyed a clear change in Li Yanhong's tone.
From the initial seriousness to a more relaxed tone in the last sentence.
It was pretty evident.
But since the radio was on a public frequency, they couldn't say too much to avoid tipping anyone off.
After ending the communication,
Wu Heng went to the next room.
He pushed on the door, but it was locked.
Wu Heng glanced around, used his bronze key to unlock it, then pulled the key out.
What he saw inside made his brow raise.
An armory.
The room was filled with ammunition crates.
These people sure hadn't held back on stocking ammo.
Wu Heng's gaze settled on two long military-green crates in the corner.
"Open them," Wu Heng said.
The skeletons stepped forward and opened the crates, revealing military-green launchers and rockets inside.
Rocket launchers!