Chapter 818, Evolved to Level 19
Wu Heng stood at the back of the crowd.
Xiaoxiao's voice echoed beside his ear, "Why don't the bards on Gold-Silver Island carry lutes?"
Beni said, "Maybe it's just not popular here. Different places have different popular instruments."
"Oh!" Xiaoxiao nodded, then turned to Wu Heng. "Uncle, he's badmouthing Auntie Wen Mansa. Should we beat him up?"
"No need. It's all standardized propaganda. We talk shit about him back in our territory too."
"Okay."
He stood there for a while, then moved past the crowd.
Finding a dark corner, he had the wraiths scout a location outside the city, then cast [Teleportation] to leave the city directly.
After that, in an isolated area, he boarded the Ghost Train and returned to the Sertede Fortress.
...…
The Ghost Train reappeared in the forest outside Sertede Fortress.
Checking the time, it was already 4:40 PM.
He released the wraiths, confirmed the direction of the fortress, and walked forward.
The outline of the fortress gradually emerged in his sight.
"Wu Heng, there were a few scouts over there. I killed them." Beni returned and reported directly.
"They just keep sending more and more scouts. They really don't care about deaths, huh." Wu Heng changed direction and walked toward the spot Beni indicated.
Two corpses lay on the ground. He found maps detailing checkpoint positions around the fortress on them.
"They've reduced their numbers compared to before. At least that's something." Beni commented.
Wu Heng nodded and stored the corpses in his spatial ring.
Then he continued toward the fortress.
The guarding skeletons didn't stop him. Inside, residents strolled and chatted. Apart from being sparsely populated, everything seemed normal.
He entered the Commander's Mansion.
Hartle, working on the first floor, looked up at the sound of footsteps.
When he saw Wu Heng enter, his eyes lit up. "Master, you're back!"
"Yeah, I heard a Hero came to the fortress. Everything okay?" Wu Heng asked with a smile.
"Thanks to you and Madam, nothing happened." Hartle bowed again.
Wu Heng nodded. "Wen Mansa?"
"Madam and the young lady are upstairs. I'll take you up." Hartle led the way, and Wu Heng followed.
Outside a room, Hartle knocked twice. "Madam, Master has returned."
"Come in!"
Pushing the door open, Wu Heng walked inside.
Seeing him, Wen Mansa—holding the baby—gently said, "Master," then turned to the child, "Daddy came to see you."
The baby stopped nursing and reached toward him.
Wu Heng took the baby in his arms and gently rocked it.
Wen Mansa wiped her chest with a handkerchief, then asked, "Master, why did you come back?"
They had just talked that morning, and now he was here in the afternoon.
"I was worried about you. I'll go back once everything's settled here." Wu Heng sat down, playing with the baby.
Hartle brought over tea, placing it in front of them, then stood obediently nearby.
"Sorry for making you worry again," Wen Mansa said apologetically.
Wu Heng asked, "Where did Dragon go?"
The baby reached again for Wen Mansa.
Wen Mansa took the child and, while nursing, said, "Hartle, tell Master what the Consortium said."
Hartle replied, "Master, they said they'd head north along the road, all the way to Rentam City."
"What's the objective?"
Hartle shook his head. "They didn't say. At the fortress, they stayed inside the Consortium building for half a day, then left for the next city."
Wu Heng fell into thought.
Last time he met Dragon was in Netalei City. Was he touring Consortium buildings one by one?
Is that really necessary?
Wen Mansa added, "I've sent word to all cities along the route to avoid any conflict. There shouldn't be any problems."
"Good. Nicely arranged." Wu Heng nodded. "And the messenger?"
That morning, he asked Wen Mansa to send a messenger to try and locate the second prince.
"Already arranged. A clerk from City Hall will act as the messenger. They'll take the train in the next couple days."
"Great. Make it convincing."
Wen Mansa nodded. Hartle also smiled, occasionally glancing over.
With the main issues handled, Wu Heng took out three train tickets from his spatial ring.
"One each. If danger arises, tear the ticket along the seam. The Ghost Train will appear. Write 'Gold-Silver Island' on the itinerary—it'll save your life."
Currently, there are two ways to summon the Ghost Train: via the [Conductor's Hat]—which designates Wu Heng as the conductor and allows two passengers—or the [Ghost Train Ticket], which is strictly one per person.
"Master, my life is cheap. Let Madam use mine." Hartle said hesitantly.
Wu Heng gave her a stern look. "Don't say that again. If you think that way, others will too."
Wen Mansa turned and smiled, "Apologize to Master. No more talk like that."
"Yes, I'm sorry, Master. I won't say it again."
Wu Heng nodded. "The Ghost Train disables all senses. That's normal—don't be scared. Your watches can track time. Don't forget to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom. And the baby might not adjust well, so take care."
Both women nodded.
Wen Mansa kept two tickets and handed one to Hartle. "Disobey again, and Master won't talk to you tonight."
Hartle bowed again and accepted the ticket.
"That's all for now. I'll go rest—call me for dinner." Wu Heng stood up.
"Anything you'd like to eat, Master?"
"Something simple."
"Okay."
Wu Heng left the room, went to the study, and opened the realm gate.
...…
Stepping through the realm gate, he glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was 5:30 PM.
He couldn't stay here long.
He had the skeletons pull up the monitoring feeds for cells 202 through 204.
The three former Level 18 Professionals had fully zombified.
Yet they still retained a human appearance—no extreme mutations visible.
Whoosh~!
The three wraiths flew in from outside.
Xiaoxiao shouted, "Uncle!"
"What is it? Why so loud?"
Xiaoxiao pointed at the screen in shock. "They're all Level 19 now!"
Wu Heng looked at the monitor, frowning. "You mean all three of them hit Level 19?"
"Yeah! So fast!" Xiaoxiao replied.
Glenda added, "From their level, yes. Seems zombifying a Professional is way faster than we thought."
"Indeed!" Wu Heng was also surprised.
He had hoped for better results from zombifying Professionals—but he didn't expect the virus from the morning to raise their level by evening.
And all three at once.
Beni laughed, "Feels like it won't take long before they all hit Level 20."
Xiaoxiao thought aloud, "Then the Church won't dare bully us anymore."
"Let your uncle raid the main Association HQ," Glenda teased first.
"No way, Uncle's gonna be my daddy. What if he dies out there?"
"Xiaoxiao, you're so biased! You didn't say that for me last time!" Glenda pretended to be angry.
Xiaoxiao quickly nuzzled her, "No way! Auntie, we're besties!"
"What about me?" Beni asked.
"We three are besties!"
Wu Heng sat in his chair, contemplating the zombified Professionals.
This could be a shortcut to creating high-level skeletons.
Like Xiaoxiao said, if this keeps up, the Church will stop seeing him as a threat—or stop bothering him at all.
Of course, best to avoid serious conflict with them if possible.
After all, the gods are real.
He's worked hard to get this far. If a god wipes him out in a flash, it'd be a damn shame.
Is there even a path to godhood in this world?
Or are gods just born that way—and the best a Professional can become is a Hero?
"Uncle, aren't the four of us the best?" Xiaoxiao flew over.
Wu Heng looked up. "Unstoppable across the world!"
"Hehe!" Xiaoxiao giggled.
Wu Heng glanced at the time and stood up. "Let's go eat."
The three wraiths returned to his body. Wu Heng stepped through the realm gate.
...…
Sertede Fortress.
Wu Heng finally had a proper meal.
He'd been hiding and running for days, barely eating well.
Even disguised as a gang leader or city commander, he didn't touch delivered food for fear of poison—just ate bread he carried.
After a good meal,
Wu Heng had more food prepared, opened [Mansion Spell], and delivered it to the girl inside.
Wen Mansa peeked through the opened door. "Master, your new maid? She's a bit skinny."
Once [Mansion Spell] closed, Wu Heng said, "Rescued her from the gang. I locked her in there so she won't reveal my whereabouts."
"You gonna keep her locked up? Don't suffocate the poor girl."
Wu Heng replied, "No choice. She thinks we're traitors. If I let her out, she might talk."
Wen Mansa thought for a bit. "You can't take her with you either. Let me handle her. I'll give her a job and release her once you're done."
Wu Heng realized that made sense. He opened [Mansion Spell] again. "Come out."
The girl walked out cautiously, eyes downcast.
Wen Mansa tilted her chin up and asked, "Master says he rescued you from the gang. Is that true?"
"Please don't kill me!" the girl buckled under pressure and dropped to her knees.
"At least she's obedient." Wen Mansa continued, "Stay in the city for a few days. We'll release you later, okay?"
"Stay... a few days."
"Depends on your behavior. Be obedient and smart, and you'll go home soon."
"I'll behave," the girl said.
Wen Mansa nodded. "Hartle, find her a job."
"Yes, Madam."
The girl was led away—problem solved.
"Let's go feed the baby and turn in early."
The two headed upstairs to nurse the baby.
After feeding, they handed the baby to the skeleton nanny and returned to the bedroom together.
...…
Bedroom.
Moonlight streamed through the carved window lattice.
A faint fragrance filled the air.
Wu Heng lounged lazily on the bed, still thinking about the zombified Professionals reaching Level 19.
No wonder necromancers get suppressed—some of these experiments really are freakish.
At that moment, the door opened. Wen Mansa entered in a black camisole nightdress, her wet red hair hanging to her waist. The fabric clung to her curvy figure.
Behind her was Hartle, her hair tied up high with a few strands framing her face.
She still wore her black-rimmed glasses. A black lace bra hugged her half-exposed breasts.
Wen Mansa sat beside the bed, gathering her wet hair. "Master, Hartle picked that outfit just for tonight. What do you think?"
Wu Heng looked at her again. "Hartle, you've put thought into this."
"Thank you, Master."