DONG, DONG DONG...

Hearing the bells of Krimms Cathedral, Wei’en opened his eyes. "It’s eight o’clock."

He had rested for a bit after reporting the intelligence.

With his current body, he could go a whole night without sleep, but it was better to get some rest to stay focused during the day.

Breakfast was the same as last night’s dinner: black bread with butter and cheese.

This time, however, he didn’t risk testing the strength of his teeth again. Instead, he indulged himself by turning on the gas to boil a kettle of water.

He soaked the black bread in the hot water until it softened, then spread it with some cheese and butter. The aroma of wheat mixed with the sweetness of the cheese, a delightful flavor filling his mouth.

Wei’en nodded in satisfaction. ’Cozy. Now this is the life.’

However, the price of enjoying such a breakfast was not cheap.

The gas for boiling the water cost 1 pence, while the pot of butter and small block of cheese cost another 5 pence. Including the black bread, the total came to 8 pence.

An expense of nearly 1 shilling was something his predecessor wouldn’t have even dared to imagine.

However, Wei’en didn’t feel there was anything wrong with doing this.

Although he was short on money, spending a little to improve his quality of life could definitely not be called a waste.

Huh?

’Wait... don’t I have to pay the gas and building management fees to the city-state in two days? That’s 3 shillings and 3 pence.’

’I need to restock on candles, too. That’s another few shillings gone.’

Wei’en patted his wallet and clicked his tongue. ’Looks like I can only afford to be extravagant once in a while. I need to earn more money...’

After eating and drinking his fill,

Wei’en had a quick wash and changed into his Investigation Department uniform. He straightened his attire and fixed his hair to look a bit sharper.

Next, he checked his handgun, carefully loading a few rounds to ensure he could draw and fire at a moment’s notice to handle any sudden situations.

It was worth noting that these weren’t the bullet-shaped projectiles of his previous life, but steel balls the size of mung beans.

They were about the size of plastic pellets from a toy gun—easy to load, but their power... well, they were lethal enough at close range.

’This handgun is still too weak.’

Wei’en thought for a moment, took out a pen and paper, and wrote down the materials for making Magic Potions and Mechanical Puppets.

Jerry Mage was indeed a very outstanding Puppet Mechanical Wizard, and his notes also recorded some runic weapons and Steam Mechanical Weapons.

But in terms of power and sophistication, it was clear that the weapon knowledge in Wei’en’s mind was superior.

Therefore, he felt it was necessary to modify the handgun.

’Or maybe I should just build a firearm that’s actually suitable for me?’

’...I’ll think about it when I have the money.’

"Say Baba..."

In the corner, the ghost was still relentlessly pestering Miss Zombie, tenaciously carrying out the task Wei’en had given him.

As for Miss Zombie, her body was slightly tilted forward, her hands hanging naturally, her long fingernails glinting coldly in the sunlight.

Her stiff face had no expression, her deathly pale eyes staring straight at him. "Scram."

The head and the zombie had spent the night together quite "harmoniously."

Meanwhile, by the other side of the bed, the driver was meditating diligently, paying no attention to the ghost and the others.

Wei’en thought for a moment, then walked over and patted the back of the ghost’s head. "You go meditate, too."

"...Yes, Baba."

The ghost glared at Miss Zombie again, a look that seemed to say, ’You’re in for it now.’

Wei’en looked at Miss Zombie in the corner and asked, "You should be able to understand me, right? I wonder if I might have the honor of knowing your name?"

Undead Creatures were not completely irrational like aberrations.

According to the books, the Undead Creatures that a Wizard Apprentice-level could summon were not very intelligent.

But it was clear that this Miss Zombie’s intelligence exceeded that scope.

"Shawa."

After a moment of silence, Miss Zombie opened her mouth.

Her voice was not pleasant, like the sound of grinding gravel. As her mouth opened and closed, a pair of sharp teeth were revealed, which was quite unsightly.

"Hmm, Shawa? That’s a nice name. Since you’ve become my contract partner—well, please allow me to use a familiar term like ’partner.’ I’m just trying to show some goodwill..."

"You Wizards," Miss Zombie interrupted, "have goodwill?"

"You seem to know a lot about Wizards?"

"A group of people more terrifying than the most terrifying monarchs of the Undead Realm."

"Is that so?" Wei’en was speechless.

Miss Zombie glared at him. "They liked to do those disgusting things to my body. Isn’t that terrifying enough?"

’Disgusting things?’

’On her body??’

’It’s not what I think it is, is it?’

’Although this Miss Zombie could be considered "pretty" in her own way, to actually do *that*...’

Ahem,

’This is getting a little R-rated.’

Thinking of this, Wei’en asked cautiously, "I don’t suppose you could tell me... what, um, they did to you? Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to reopen old wounds, just trying to prevent similar things from happening again."

"Experiments," Miss Zombie raised her hand, the sharp claws on her fingertips retracting, "disgusting plagues."

’Just plagues?’

’Thank goodness...’

Wei’en breathed an unexplainable sigh of relief. ’So a Wizard’s bottom line can’t be *that* low.’ He asked, "You really don’t like those experiments?"

Miss Zombie didn’t speak, but her silence said it all: they were disgusting.

Wei’en understood. ’It seems this Miss Zombie was contracted by other Wizards before and is traumatized by the experience.’

"In that case, if I promise not to perform any experiments on you, would you be willing to cooperate? I mean, to help me in battle, or to act as a guard?"

"The contract." Miss Zombie tilted her head. "Uphold the contract, and I will do anything."

"Understood. Then you can rest assured, I only need your combat power."

After a moment’s thought, Wei’en chose his words carefully, not wanting to make an absolute promise. "Perhaps, in the future, there might be some things that could help improve your abilities,"

Seeing Miss Zombie start to walk toward him, Wei’en hastily added, "Er... I mean things like equipment! I’m personally very much against that kind of research too."

"Hope."

"So, we have a happy agreement then?"

Miss Zombie retreated, her head bowed, ignoring him.

"Agreement reached. From now on, this is your home," Wei’en said, mostly to himself.

’As expected, this Miss Zombie doesn’t have the best temper...’

After saying this, not caring if she understood or not, he picked up the silver case and turned to go downstairs.

He also activated the Defense Array before closing the door and leaving.

Miss Zombie noticed the Defense Array activate in the room. Her claws scraped against each other a few times as she fought back the impulse to tear everything apart.

"Disgusting."

She carefully walked over to a chair and sat down, staring blankly at the objects on the table, lost in a daze.

"Yo, Wei’en."

"Uncle Yuan, morning."

Yuan looked up at the sky. "It is indeed still early. Only a little over three hours have passed since the Dawn Radiance was extinguished."

Wei’en shrugged. "I didn’t expect the working hours at the Secret Investigation Department to be so flexible."

Then, he saw the green hat on Yuan’s head and fought to hold back a laugh. "I hear you’re the specially-appointed doctor for the Logistics and Investigation Department?"

"That’s right," Yuan fiddled with some jerky that was drying. "You know, it’s just to earn some extra income to support Kali... Oh, right,"

"Did you say something to my Kali last night? Why did she look so unhappy when she got back?"

’Unhappy?’

’He must be kidding, right?’

Remembering the giant, six-eyed spider that had struggled to crawl inside, Wei’en couldn’t help but retort, "Uncle Yuan, didn’t your little six-eyed darling tell you?"

It was the first time he’d ever had a conversation with a beautiful lady under such... bizarre circumstances.