’I’m... I’m alive?’

Only when the Undead Mobile Fortress entered Hibernation Mode once again and vanished before Liu Xingxing did he finally believe that Li Ziyu had let him go.

Remembering what Li Ziyu had said earlier, Liu Xingxing’s eyes gradually brightened. ’Maybe signing that contract wasn’t so bad after all,’ he thought. ’At least now I’ll have some backbone when I’m treasure hunting. With a powerful Big Bro watching my back, it’s way better than being a rookie with less than zero combat effectiveness. Alright, no more waiting around. Time to get moving and find some more treasure.’

Liu Xingxing patted the heads of the two Catmen beside him and returned to his Castle Main Tower. The Mobile Fortress slowly rumbled to life and set off into the Wasteland.

...

The sun was setting, and night was about to fall.

Li Ziyu woke up. After washing his face, the last traces of sleep vanished. He habitually checked the system notifications, which showed that ten Basic Skeleton Warriors had completed their training. Other than that, there were no new messages.

Only after closing the system interface did he remember taking on a new underling during the day. ’I wonder where that guy is now, and whether he’s dead or alive.’

He opened the system and pulled up the map. Because of their contract, Liu Xingxing’s location was displayed. A small, blinking dot of light appeared. ’Hmm, good. He’s still alive.’

"Disable Hibernation Mode."

The ground trembled and the earth churned as the Mobile Fortress rose once more. As the fortress ascended, the last sliver of sunlight on the horizon vanished, and Darkness fell upon the Wasteland.

Instead of immediately summoning Liu Xingxing, Li Ziyu summoned the newly-trained Basic Skeleton Warriors. He wanted to see the difference between a Skeleton Warrior and a Skeleton Undead.

Soon, a Skeleton Warrior holding a Bone Saber in one hand and a Round Shield in the other stood in the Castle Main Tower. Li Ziyu got up and circled the Skeleton Warrior a few times, nodding. ’Not bad at all.’

A regular Skeleton Undead was typically between 170 and 175 centimeters tall. Their bones were a yellowish-black and looked somewhat fragile. But after becoming Skeleton Warriors, they stood over 180 centimeters tall, and their bones were much whiter. Li Ziyu tapped one with his hand and could tell just by the feel that its bones were considerably harder than those of a regular Skeleton Undead.

In addition, there was the matter of combat skill. Basic Skeleton Warriors could already be considered proper soldiers, able to effectively utilize their Bone Sabers and Round Shields. In contrast, a Skeleton Undead with a weapon would just swing it around wildly.

Overall, Li Ziyu was quite satisfied. As for their true combat effectiveness, that would only be revealed in the hunts to come. ’Hopefully, they’ll be a pleasant surprise.’

With a wave of his hand, Li Ziyu dismissed the Skeleton Warrior and then contacted Liu Xingxing.

[Private Chat]

Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Where are you?

Treasure Hunting Star: Big Bro, I’m not far from you.

Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Come here.

Treasure Hunting Star: On my way.

Two beams of light shot out from the distance, illuminating the Undead Mobile Fortress. A rumbling sound followed as the Treasure-Hunting Catman’s Mobile Fortress sped over, screeching to a halt in front of the Undead Mobile Fortress. Its wooden Castle Main Tower swayed for a moment before finally coming to a stop.

[Private Chat]

Treasure Hunting Star: Big Bro, requesting a meeting.

Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Wait. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Treasure Hunting Star: You got it!~

In the main tower of the Undead Mobile Fortress, Li Ziyu opened the system interface, rubbed his hands together, and clicked "Fortress Fusion."

[Mobile Fortress Match Successful. Initiating Fusion.]

A strange, pulling force appeared, and the Treasure-Hunting Catman’s Mobile Fortress began to move on its own, slowly driving toward the Undead Mobile Fortress.

Feeling the vibration under his feet, Liu Xingxing panicked. He rushed to the window, and when he saw the Undead Mobile Fortress looming closer, about to collide with his own, the color instantly drained from his face.

"What’s going on?! Did you forget to pull the handbrake?! Why is the fortress moving on its own?! We’re going to crash!" Liu Xingxing, breaking out in a cold sweat, turned and yelled at his Catman subordinates.

The two Catmen had never encountered a situation like this either. Their control console was unresponsive, and they couldn’t control the fortress’s movement. They were freaking out, so in the face of their City Lord’s questioning, they could only offer innocent expressions.

The two Mobile Fortresses slowly drew closer until they touched. Liu Xingxing closed his eyes in despair. ’It’s over. A collision between these two behemoths won’t end well.’

However, the expected collision never came. Instead, everything fell silent. Liu Xingxing opened his eyes in confusion. Looking outside, he saw that the two fortresses had somehow connected.

The ground of the Undead Mobile Fortress, made of Bone Plates, was now seamlessly connected to the wooden floor of the Treasure-Hunting Catman’s Mobile Fortress. Although the materials were completely different, there was an uncanny feeling that they had always been a single, unified whole.

While Liu Xingxing stared in astonishment, Li Ziyu stood at his own window, watching the scene unfold. When the two fortresses finished splicing together securely, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

His Castle Main Tower was a level higher than Liu Xingxing’s. From his vantage point, it looked as if his Mobile Fortress had gained an outrider.

[Private Chat]

Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Come to the main tower.

Treasure Hunting Star: Coming.

Upon receiving Li Ziyu’s message, Liu Xingxing suppressed his confusion and replied without hesitation. He told the Catmen to stay put and not wander off, then hurried toward the main tower of the Undead Fortress.

The moment he stepped off the wooden floor and onto the Bone Plate, the hidden Undead all around him stirred to life, their Soul Fires fixing on him. It made the hair on his skin stand on end. He glanced around fearfully and quickened his pace.

Passing through two towering stone doors carved with giant Skeletons, Liu Xingxing entered the main tower. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the gaze of the Soul Fires behind him disappear, only to freeze solid. The Soul Fires behind him were gone, but they were replaced by far more. They covered the walls.

’Big Bro, how in the world do you live in an environment like this? Don’t you have nightmares?’

Liu Xingxing felt that he wouldn’t be able to last a single day in such a place. It was just too terrifying.

"What are you doing standing there like an idiot? Get over here," Li Ziyu called out when he saw Liu Xingxing frozen to the spot.

"Ah, coming!" Liu Xingxing responded, scurrying over to Li Ziyu’s side in a few quick strides. Only next to another Human could he feel any sense of security.

Li Ziyu led Liu Xingxing to a lounge area and casually sat on a chair made of bone. Liu Xingxing glanced at a similar chair, gritted his teeth, but ultimately didn’t dare to sit down. Li Ziyu didn’t mind. After all, when he had first arrived in this world, he hadn’t dared to sit on them either. He only gave in when he was too exhausted to stand any longer.

Li Ziyu had no intention of wasting time on such trivial matters. Nighttime was for gathering resources and hunting, a time that couldn’t be wasted. If he hadn’t needed to ask Liu Xingxing something, he wouldn’t have called him over in the first place.

"Have you found anything?"

"Yes. I’ve found quite a few places that might have treasure, but I didn’t dare get too close."

’Results this quickly,’ Li Ziyu thought, a glint flashing in his eyes. ’As expected of a Race that specializes in treasure hunting. Their talent is truly impressive. Looks like we have our work cut out for us tonight.’

"Tonight, you’ll lead the way. We’ll go see what kind of treasure it is."

The two merged Mobile Fortresses slowly rumbled to life, heading out into the dark wilderness.

After an hour of travel, the Mobile Fortress came to a stop. Ahead of them, the ground was studded with wooden sticks as thick as a person’s arm. Li Ziyu turned to Liu Xingxing. "There’s treasure here?"

Liu Xingxing double-checked his surroundings before nodding emphatically. "That’s right, this is the place. It’s the spot closest to us. There are lots of corpses buried underground here. Big Bro, didn’t you say you needed Skeletons? We just have to dig up the bodies!"