Chapter 305, "Fits the Principle"
When Philippa said the word "want," her expression became even more desolate.
Wu Heng glanced at the documents and said, "Pirates have been frequently harassing the trade routes lately. I need an informant to gather intelligence on their movements."
The disheveled 'Philippa' raised her head slightly and said, "If the pirates find out, I'll die horribly."
"At least you have a chance to fight for your life, instead of dying on the gallows tomorrow."
Philippa had no second option.
She had no choice but to accept his terms and become a spy among the pirates.
Or she would be executed as a pirate.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "Fine, I agree, but I don't know what to do!"
"I'll arrange an opportunity for you to escape. You just need to go back to being a pirate," Wu Heng replied.
Philippa bit at the cracked skin on her lips and said, "That's not what I meant. I mean, I have no ship or crew, and how do I get intelligence to you?"
Wu Heng said, "I'll provide you with a ship. As for the crew, there are still a few of your pirate comrades in the cell; try recruiting them."
Philippa fell silent again.
The tasks for both parties were already quite clear.
Philippa needed to recruit a crew, then with Wu Heng's help, escape and return to the sea as a pirate.
Then, she would relay intelligence about the pirates to him.
Wu Heng, on the other hand, needed to arrange for Philippa's escape, ensuring she could return to the sea naturally.
"Alright!" Philippa agreed, then asked, "What about my mother? Will you pardon her too?"
The other woman was the former pirate captain's wife.
Wu Heng had seen her in the cage before—fair-skinned, a plump woman.
It was hard to tell she had lived a life on the ship.
"As long as you do your job, I can ensure her safety," Wu Heng promised.
"What about her life? How will she live?"
"What kind of life do you want her to have?"
"She's not a pirate. We didn't know he was a pirate. Could you arrange something for her? Don't send her back to that village; she won't survive long if she goes back," Philippa said directly.
Wu Heng didn't have the ability to discern lies, but from her expression, it didn't seem like she was making excuses.
He responded, "Do your job well, and your mother will live comfortably on Gold-Silver Island."
"Alright, we have a deal."
Wu Heng took out the slave scroll and said, "This is a slave contract. Don't resist it."
"Okay!"
Wu Heng stepped out, picked up a quill, and pricked her finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the scroll.
The scroll absorbed the blood, drawing Wu Heng's spiritual power, which flowed into Philippa's brow and branded her soul.
The contract was complete.
Philippa's body weakened, and she collapsed onto the nearby sofa.
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Wu Heng put away the scroll.
He continued, "Viel, prepare a meal for her, with extra meat."
Andviel nodded and left the room.
When she returned, she brought some food and placed it in front of 'Philippa.'
Philippa glanced at the two of them and then began devouring the food ravenously.
Wu Heng leaned against the desk and said, "You'll be sent back to the cell later. Don't act suspicious. I'll notify you when everything is ready."
"Okay!" Philippa mumbled with her mouth full, asking, "What about the ship?"
"A pirate ship will be arranged for you."
Besides the pirate intelligence, there was also the matter of the mysterious letters.
According to the intel from 'Speak with Dead,' these letters appeared suddenly around pirate leaders.
The rules for how they were delivered were unclear, but it was definitely tied to the pirate leaders.
They would see if Philippa received such a letter after becoming the new leader.
"Alright!"
"Be careful when you go back; your life depends on it," Wu Heng warned.
Philippa swallowed the last piece of bread and nodded.
Wu Heng glanced at Andviel, who called over the guards to escort 'Philippa' back to the cell.
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"Is she a pirate?" Andviel asked.
"Yes, the former captain of the Iron Barrel Pirate Group's daughter," Wu Heng replied.
"She looks younger than Minnie."
"I didn't think she was connected to the pirates either; I thought she was just a hostage."
As Andviel cleared the dishes, she asked, "Will the pirates listen to her?"
Wu Heng shook his head, "I'm not sure. The steward seems to think she'll manage, so it might not be as simple as it seems."
"Oh!"
Wu Heng stayed at the guild for a while and then spoke with the steward about the situation.
He stayed until noon, seeing that there was nothing else to do.
Then he left the guild.
63.auto repair shop
Returning home.
Minnie was in the yard sparring with Bagdong.
When she saw Wu Heng return, she quickly stopped and ran over, "Master, you're back early today."
"Yeah, there wasn't much going on, so I came back." Wu Heng put his arm around her shoulder, "Why are you training so hard today?"
"I usually practice at this time; you just don't notice," Minnie said.
"It seems our Minnie is quite diligent."
Minnie immediately smiled, "Of course!"
They went inside together and had lunch prepared by Chef One.
After eating.
Minnie went back to the yard to continue training, and Wu Heng went up to the fourth floor to the alchemy lab.
He opened the door and saw 'Expert One,' with six arms, working on potion concoctions.
Two arms were operating the instruments, two were grinding ingredients, and the remaining two were handling herbs and shaking vials.
It looked like one person was doing the work of three, and the movements were perfectly coordinated.
There were no mistakes at all.
Wu Heng glanced inside but didn't interrupt and quietly closed the door.
He then went to the study, opened the portal.
Heading to the zombie world.
Walking out of the hotel, the empty ground outside was packed with the skeleton army, and overhead, four skeletal dragons circled the sky.
The auto repair shop's scavenging progress had extended beyond the hotel's range.
They were scavenging materials along the road.
It was already October, and winter was approaching.
The supplies stored at the auto repair shop were enough to last through winter, but the more supplies they had, the safer people would feel.
Moreover, as the road extended, more shelters would come to trade for materials.
The scavenged goods would be exchanged as well.
These could be used to make up for the auto repair shop's resource shortages and gather more gold and silver.
Hiss~!
Two trucks and a bus parked across the street.
Li Yanhong stepped out of the truck, followed by four alchemical skeletons.
"The alchemical skeletons are here, and all the jars and bottles are in the truck."
The four alchemical skeletons walked over and bowed slightly to Wu Heng.
Wu Heng nodded and said, "Move your stuff to the first floor of the hotel, and I'll arrange a new worksite for you later."
The alchemical skeletons returned to the bus, unloading the organ jars and bottles of stored herbs into a single room in the hotel.
Meanwhile, Qiangzi and the others were looking up at the skeletal dragons circling above.
"Damn, there are four of them now," Qiangzi said.
"Two of them are even wearing armor, right?" added his glasses-wearing companion.
"Those are saddles, for riding."
"No, it's armor."
"I'm telling you, it's a saddle!"
Soon, the alchemical skeletons finished moving the items.
Wu Heng called everyone to get back in the truck, and they continued clearing out the zombies.
104.auto repair shop
Roar~!
The sound of zombies roaring spread rapidly.
Zombies from all directions gathered on the main road, filling the entire street, endless in sight.
Wu Heng looked at the zombie horde and said, "Send the dragons up and drop the solid iron bombs."
Whoosh~!
The four skeletal dragons soared into the sky.
Reaching above the zombie horde, they began dropping bombs.
In an instant, the dense bombs fell like a torrential downpour, quickly covering the entire street.
Boom, boom, boom~!
Amidst the deafening explosions, thick smoke billowed.
The scene was far more intense than in previous battles.
As the smoke cleared.
The once-crowded street was now empty, littered with shattered corpses and blood staining the entire road.
Only a few scattered zombies were still shambling forward.
Li Yanhong, Qiangzi, and the others stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the scene before them.
One attack had cleared the entire street.
"That's insane!" Qiangzi exclaimed in shock.
The glasses-wearing companion said, "In theory, it makes sense."
"Theory, my ass! You were more shocked than anyone just now."
Wu Heng was also a bit surprised at the scene before him.
At the same time, his experience points had increased considerably. Just two or three more battles, and he would level up again.
"Move forward!" Wu Heng ordered.
The skeleton army began advancing, killing the remaining zombies along the way.
Wu Heng followed behind, casting [Battlefield of the Dead], raising large numbers of skeletons to join the advancing army.
Once the battlefield was cleared.
Wu Heng led the army forward again, continuing to clear zombies along the road, increasing his experience and skeleton count.
Until dusk.
Li Yanhong and the others had to return to the bus station.
The team began heading back, and once they left, Wu Heng led the alchemical skeletons back through the portal.
134.auto repair shop
Returning to Gold-Silver Island.
Wu Heng took the four alchemical skeletons to the alchemy lab.
"From now on, you'll make potions here. If you need anything, ask me or the rabbit girl downstairs," Wu Heng instructed.
The alchemical skeletons entered the room and began unloading the various bottles and jars they carried.
Wu Heng directed the other skeletons to move in a freezer and connected it to the power.
Once everything was settled.
Wu Heng continued, "Expert One, come over here."
Expert One put down its work and walked over.
Wu Heng took out a level-three corpse core and said, "This is a corpse core. I need you to extract the components that boost living beings but don't cause harm and make them into a potion."
Expert One took the corpse core and walked over to the equipment, beginning the process.
Seeing the work begin, Wu Heng didn't disturb him further and left the room.
Expert One was a level 15 alchemist, so developing a level-three corpse core shouldn't be an issue.
Wu Heng went downstairs for dinner.
He practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard for a while, then went to bed with two maids.
149.auto repair shop
The next day, Wu Heng went to the guild.
As the deputy steward, he was assigned the task of executing the pirates.
The various squads had killed over twenty pirates, but this didn't include the Iron Barrel Pirate Group, as there were further plans in motion.
However, the pirate executions still put considerable psychological pressure on the Iron Barrel Pirate Group.
It was rumored that a few people had tried to bribe the guards, but they hadn't succeeded.
In the afternoon, Wu Heng returned home.
He went to the zombie world.
Wu Heng stepped out of the portal.
The radio on the table crackled with static.
Then came Li Yanhong's voice, "Boss, can you hear me?"
Wu Heng pressed the talk button and said, "I hear you."
"I'm coming over now; there's something I need to tell you!"
Wu Heng had just walked downstairs when he saw Li Yanhong rushing toward him.
"What's wrong?"
Li Yanhong took a deep breath and said, "There's news about Xiaoxiao's mother. She's in a shelter in the Taiping District, but they don't seem very friendly."