Chapter 315, Auxiliary Formation Patterns
Seeing this message, Wu Heng immediately thought of 'Sheila Grey.'
The last time he chatted with 'Orin,' he heard that 'Sheila Grey' had taken two teams out to sea.
Unless it was members from other guild branches, if it was members from Gold-Silver Island, it would be Sheila Grey and her teams.
How did they end up getting targeted by pirates before capturing any?
After thinking for a moment, he picked up the microphone, "Philipa, can you hear me?"
A voice quickly came through, "Hey! I'm here. I thought this thing was broken since you hadn't spoken for days."
Wu Heng asked, "How are things on your end?"
"I just docked today, planning to recruit some sailors," Philipa replied.
Wu Heng continued to ask, "The pirates planning to capture our people, who are they?"
"I don't know, but they're definitely targeting a guild ship. Several pirate groups are planning to ambush them," Philipa responded directly.
"Do you know who from the guild it is?"
"No idea. I just overheard some conversations, didn't see them myself."
Wu Heng frowned in thought, then continued, "Where are you?"
"Cape Castle."
"Alright, got it," Wu Heng said, adding, "If possible, keep an eye on this situation."
"Oh, sure! You're the boss, whatever you say."
"Stay safe."
"Got it. Gotta go, time to brief the new crew."
Hanging up, Wu Heng put the microphone back.
After some thought, he went downstairs and greeted Minnie before heading towards the guild.
......
The steward's study.
Wu Heng knocked lightly on the door and walked straight in.
Imiro was putting on his coat, seemingly about to leave for the day.
"Something up?"
Wu Heng nodded, "The information isn't confirmed, but I feel it should be mentioned."
"Go on," Imiro replied.
"I received intelligence that several pirate groups are planning to ambush a guild fleet," Wu Heng said softly.
Originally indifferent, Imiro's expression turned serious as he looked up.
He said, "Do you suspect Sheila Grey's team?"
"Yes, it's highly likely!"
"Where did this information come from?" Imiro began to pay attention.
"Philipa! She was recruiting sailors at Cape Castle and overheard the news."
Imiro nodded and said, "Alright, I'll find a way to inform 'Sheila Grey.' Since you're already targeted by pirates, don't leave the island."
"Understood!"
After discussing this matter, Wu Heng didn't linger and left the steward's study directly.
The sea is vast.
Wu Heng knew that it wasn't possible for him to rescue them personally.
Informing the steward and letting him handle it was the best course of action.
He made his way back to his office study.
Picking up Andviel and that white-furred tamed beast, he headed home.
......
Returning home.
Chef One had already prepared dinner.
The three of them chatted while eating.
With Minnie around, the atmosphere always felt light and relaxed.
After dinner, Wu Heng set up some new security measures at home.
He increased the number of skeleton sentries and positioned armed skeleton guards on the balconies of the second and fourth floors, as well as on the roof.
Overall, it felt even more secure than Shanaila's defenses next door.
Moreover, her guards were living beings, subject to shifts, fatigue, and distractions.
But on his side, none of that was an issue.
Skeletons didn't even blink, on standby 24 hours a day.
After everything was set.
Wu Heng called the two in the room to train together in the courtyard.
Once training was finished, they all returned to their rooms to rest.
......
The next day, Snake Emblem Consortium.
VIP Room.
Wu Heng sat on the leather sofa, and someone immediately brought dried fruits and tea.
A middle-aged staff member in a suit smiled and bowed, "Good morning, esteemed guest!"
"Yes, has there been any progress on my commission?" Wu Heng asked directly.
"Please wait a moment, I'll check for you."
The man left and quickly returned.
He was followed by people carrying in two coffins.
"Esteemed guest, given the short time frame, we've only collected two blacksmith corpses, both above level 10, of the dwarf race, who died from alcohol on the sea," the middle-aged man explained.
Wu Heng wasn't interested in why the blacksmiths were at sea.
Nor was he concerned with the cause of death.
As long as he had what he needed, that was enough.
He glanced at the bodies inside, had them sealed back up, and stored them in his spatial ring.
After paying the remaining balance.
Wu Heng suddenly thought of something and asked, "Do you have anything that can smelt iron ore?"
The middle-aged man didn't think long and replied, "If you're referring to a facility for forging and smelting metal, we can provide the 'Flame Furnace' formation pattern, a building often constructed at blacksmith shops."
Wu Heng raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear of such a structure.
He continued to ask, "What other types of formation buildings can you provide?"
The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "Tell me what you need, and I can make some recommendations."
"Can you directly produce arrows?"
"Arrows for bows? There isn't such a building. Formation buildings mainly provide auxiliary effects, not direct production."
Wu Heng nodded in understanding.
After thinking, he continued, "Do you have buildings for water purification?"
"Yes, esteemed guest. One is a well that condenses water elements, gathering water from the air to form drinking water. The second is a dam-like structure that purifies water resources by removing toxins," the man explained.
Wu Heng immediately said, "Write up commissions for the iron smelting furnace and the water element well. I'll try them out."
The middle-aged man beamed, "Of course, right away."
He quickly filled out the commission forms and collected a deposit of 3,500 silver coins.
After Wu Heng finished paying and took the forms.
He left the Snake Emblem Consortium directly.
Not lingering outside, he headed home.
......
Opening the door to the courtyard.
He saw Shanaila sitting alone on a stone bench, staring blankly at the flowerbed in front of her.
She really was treating this place like her own home.
Almost every two days, she would come over for lunch and dinner.
If she wasn't a late riser, she might even have breakfast here.
Wu Heng had many secrets that he couldn't easily share.
In the past, he was very wary of letting outsiders get close to his residence, given that the portal and his skeleton servants were his core assets.
This world wasn't exactly friendly; revealing everything would just get him killed faster.
But as his level increased, the level of secrecy relaxed somewhat.
Apart from the portal, skeletons and some modern devices no longer needed to be strictly hidden.
After all, it wasn't something that could be kept secret forever.
Only the matter of the bronze key was an absolute secret not to be shared with anyone.
Not even with a maid under a slave contract.
"Why are you here alone?" Wu Heng walked over and asked.
"Minnie's in the living room reading comics. I was bored, so I came out to sit for a while," Shanaila turned her head and smiled.
"Minnie, huh? I'll have a word with her when I get back."
"No, Minnie wanted to come out with me, but I said it was fine. I came out on my own," she said, extending her pale hand.
Wu Heng took her hand, pulling her up without letting go.
He led her to the backyard.
The two arrived at the backyard, where Wu Heng sat in the pavilion and tried to pull her into his lap.
Shanaila immediately became alert, "Don't get any ideas, Deputy Steward!"
"What do you mean 'ideas'? I just don't want you sitting on a cold chair."
"Hmph! Like I'd believe that." Shanaila sat beside him, very close, almost leaning completely against him, and whispered, "I really do want to be with you, but as a merchant, I have to honor my contracts."
"It won't be long," Wu Heng said, taking in her scent and wrapping his arms around her soft waist from behind.
Shanaila leaned fully against him.
The two stayed close for a while.
Wu Heng continued, "Guild Leader!"
"Why are you calling me 'Guild Leader'? That's weird!" Shanaila lifted her head, seemingly realizing something, and quickly said, "Did Minnie tell you that? 'Leader this' and 'leader that,' it sounds terrible. Don't call me that!"
Huh?
Wu Heng had no idea what she was thinking and asked directly, "What about the weapons and armor I ordered? They should be arriving soon, right?"
Shanaila leaned back against his shoulder, closed her eyes, and calculated, "The pirates have been more active lately, so the fleet added guards and changed the route, but they should arrive within the next few days. I'll let you know when they do."
"Alright."
"Why are you buying so many weapons and armor? You're not planning to get involved with the Kingdom of Yekor's affairs, are you?" Shanaila asked curiously.
Wu Heng tightened his hold on her and said softly, "I have a friend in the inland who has a city. I'm planning to send supplies to him. They've never seen elf-made equipment there."
"Oh, so you do have friends!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. People say humans dislike necromancers, so I thought you wouldn't have many friends."
"It's true I don't have many, but it's not like I have none."
"That makes sense."
The two sat in the backyard chatting for a while. Shanaila allowed him to hold her hand and waist but nothing more.
They got up and went back to the living room together.
Minnie curiously asked why they came in together.
She mentioned that she had just gone outside to look for Shanaila and couldn't find her, thinking she had gone home.
After lunch.
Shanaila and Minnie planned to go shopping.
Wu Heng glanced at the radio messages and, seeing there was nothing urgent.
He opened the portal directly and headed to the zombie world.
......
At the old factory area.
Wu Heng descended the stairs, watching the busy survivors.
Some were transporting goods, while others were reinforcing and raising the walls around the gate.
Even a bulldozer had been brought in to re-dig the foundation.
Wu Heng called Qi Hancai, prepared the convoy, and led the skeleton army to continue clearing out the surrounding zombie horde.
While transporting supplies back.
The number of skeleton troops exceeded 30,000.
A huge, sweeping force.
The only shortcoming was the lack of equipment.
Even collecting kitchen knives hadn't fully armed everyone.
As dusk approached.
The skeleton army returned to the factory.
Just as Wu Heng was about to head upstairs, a young girl ran down quickly, her head lowered in fear, "My lord, Sister Zhao asked you to come to the radio room. She has something to discuss."
Well then, now they're all calling him 'My Lord' around here.
Wu Heng nodded and headed directly to the radio room upstairs.
Zhao Yanqiu was sitting in front of the radio, listening to various transmissions, with a notebook beside her.
She was recording some information.
When she saw Wu Heng enter, she immediately stood up and said, "We've made contact with the military. They've established a resource exchange market to the southeast."