Chapter 157 - 156: Must Have It First

Chapter 157: Chapter 156: Must Have It First

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Not long after Gu Su called out, Bone Ash and Tooth Bone hurried over to the pile of construction debris in the basement, each leading their respective Skeleton Squads.

Gu Su pointed at something within the rubble. The two skeletons leaned in, carefully brushing aside the fragments of concrete and dried Corroding Mycelium on the surface.

Bone Ash crouched down. His bony fingers precisely pinched the edge of a circuit board embedded in the concrete. He pulled it out with a slight tug, gently brushed the dust from its surface, then turned to Gu Su, bowed, and said,

"My Lord, I can extract these electronic components.

But I have no way of knowing how many of them are still functional."

Nearby, Tooth Bone picked up a twisted chip and examined it under the eerie green glow emanating from the vines on the ceiling. The Soul Fire in his empty eye sockets flickered, his voice tinged with honest resignation.

"My Lord, my expertise isn’t in this field. It’s not on our technology tree. Neither I nor my squad can fix these things."

He had barely finished speaking when he froze, his bony hand tightening slightly around the chip. He seemed to be searching for a better way to put it, the Soul Fire in his eye sockets flaring and dimming. He clearly had something else on his mind.

Gu Su noticed his hesitation. His voice was calm but carried an unmistakable authority. "Speak freely. You don’t need to weigh your words."

At these words, Tooth Bone slowly straightened up. He gave Gu Su a slight bow and began to speak.

"My Lord, if your goal is to repair these electronic components and assemble them into complete devices, it is true that my squad and Bone Ash’s cannot do it.

But perhaps we can approach this differently. Instead of seeing them as ’intact parts’ in need of repair, we could see them as materials for modification."

Gu Su’s eyes flashed with surprise. Then, inspiration struck, and he instantly grasped Tooth Bone’s deeper meaning.

He murmured, as if confirming the thought to himself, ’Twist them into something unnatural... or give them an Undead Transformation?’

After a brief pause, he added, "So, you mean integrate these electronic components into other Undead creations, or into the structural parts of the Graveyard Demon, and use the Power of the Graveyard Demon to reshape their function?"

This line of thinking wasn’t just a fantasy; it was backed by solid precedent.

When the Graveyard Demon had upgraded before, Gu Su had integrated a military band into it, which had unexpectedly created a doll-like communication system that connected the entire Graveyard Demon—an Undead version of a communications network.

And in the very beginning, to make transporting the Corroding Mycelium easier, the Graveyard Demon had voluntarily devoured a shopping cart Gu Su had brought back, using it as a container.

Following this train of thought, an even bolder idea took root in Gu Su’s mind.

’If large Undead constructs like the Graveyard Demon can devour scrap materials during an upgrade and repurpose them, couldn’t my other Undead structures also be upgraded by integrating these electronic components, unlocking new functions?’

Once the idea took hold, he couldn’t shake it. Gu Su made his decision in an instant.

He looked up at Bone Ash and Tooth Bone, his tone firm as he gave the order. "You two, take your squads and clear out this entire pile of rubble. Pick out everything that can be used.

I don’t just want electronic components—I want everything usable.

Bone Ash, you’re in charge of the overall process.

Tooth Bone, your task is simple: sort out anything that can be repaired."

’I’m crystal clear on this,’ Gu Su thought. ’The most important thing right now isn’t to agonize over what these electronics are for, but to collect them all first.’

’Regardless of whether or how I can use them later, these special parts from the underground fortress must have some value. It’s better to have them now than to be caught empty-handed when I need them down the line.’

Upon receiving their orders, Bone Ash and Tooth Bone immediately turned and relayed the commands to their respective Skeleton Squads.

The two squads of Skeletons quickly fanned out across the rubble pile and began working in an orderly fashion.

Bone Ash’s Skeleton Squad wielded small, bone-forged crowbars, carefully prying away chunks of concrete and peeling off the tendrils of mycelium entwined around the components. When a part was stuck, several Skeletons would work together, applying gentle, coordinated force to free it. Though their movements were stiff, they were exceptionally meticulous, terrified of damaging the items they handled.

Meanwhile, Tooth Bone’s Skeleton Squad gathered around the retrieved components for sorting. They held up each piece to the eerie green light of the ceiling vines, bony fingers gently tracing the circuits and connectors, checking for breaks or corrosion. Intact components were set neatly to one side.

Lightly damaged ones were marked with a faint scratch.

Anything completely unusable was piled in a separate corner to be dealt with later.

The air in the basement was a mixture of the tang of Metal, the dampness of earth, and the decaying scent of mycelium. The Skeletons’ busy figures darted through the eerie green light cast by the vines, their pace picking up noticeably.

It was clear they now had a defined purpose; each knew what it had to do.

Starting with the electronic components, they slowly began unearthing other useful devices and instruments from the rubble—a trove of valuable finds.

Gu Su couldn’t help but reflect on the scene.

’Next time something like this happens, I need to have the professionals handle the cleanup,’ he thought.

’At the very least, I have to let these Undead do a careful sweep. I can’t have just anyone tearing things apart randomly.’

’To me, all of this is valuable treasure.’

’If I hadn’t stumbled on this by accident, by the time I sent the Walking Dead to clear this place out, there would have been nothing left.’

With that thought, Gu Su’s gaze swept over the components that had been sorted out. He nodded in satisfaction.

In just that short time, a large pile of usable parts had accumulated: circuit boards, chips, capacitors, and all sorts of other electronics. The most eye-catching piece was a relatively well-preserved monitor, set off to the side.

Though the screen had a few minor scratches and the casing was slightly damaged at the edges, it wasn’t cracked, and the ports below the screen were mostly intact.

’And this is just what they’ve found in a short time,’ he thought. ’I can’t imagine what the total haul will be once they’ve gone through everything.’

The Skeletons were still hard at work, and he was confident they would unearth many more treasures before long.

Gu Su smiled, and in that moment, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. The tension he’d been holding from days of non-stop, high-intensity work finally began to ease.

He rubbed his throbbing temples, a plan already forming in his mind.

’Time to head back to the tent and rest for a bit.’ After all, he had been working nonstop for a full day and night. Even as a player with superhuman stamina, he couldn’t endure this level of continuous strain on his Spirit and body.