Chapter 645, What Gift
Ssshhh~!
The heavy sound of friction rang out.
The tightly shut coffin lid slowly opened, then fell onto the carpet with a thud.
Snow-white fingers gripped the edge of the coffin, and a figure slowly sat up.
Brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, her face sharp and exquisite, beautiful and defined, her arched brows above a pair of blood-red eyes.
Her skin was pale as snow, porcelain-like in texture and gleaming with luster.
She wore a long black high-neck dress, with red, intricately embroidered patterns on the collar and chest—roses, thorns, and other floral motifs.
The Vampire Leader, Guild Hero, and Head of the Whisperers—Lilith Anne Besmit.
Lilith let out a gentle breath, her voice cold, "What does he want this time?"
The butler stepped forward, presenting a refined black gift box and repeating the earlier message, "Island Lord Wu Heng sent you a gift, delivered alongside the latest issue of the newspaper."
A gift?
Lilith turned to glance, reached out with her slender pale fingers, and took it in front of her.
She tilted her head slightly and casually untied the ribbon on the box.
As a racial leader and a hero.
She had seen everything.
Let alone gifts from a small place like Gold-Silver Island.
Still, she was curious what Wu Heng might send her.
After all, he always acted unexpectedly.
The ribbon was set aside, and the box unfolded to the sides.
The items inside came into view.
On the left was a book, its cover finely crafted, featuring a black-haired, black-eyed man, titled "The Complete Detective Collection Vol. 1."
No doubt, it was the serialized story from the newspaper.
It was Lilith's first time seeing Wu Heng's appearance.
She studied it for a moment, her lips curling slightly, "Narcissist."
The second item was a slender cylindrical object, and the third was a disc with leather straps.
The disc had numbers and emitted a faint ticking sound.
Lilith picked it up and examined it. "Boring trinkets."
The butler raised his eyes slightly and gently reminded, "Miss, the last two items are Gold-Silver Island's latest products, mentioned in the accompanying newspaper."
"What products?" Lilith asked.
"The first is a fountain pen, replacing quills with built-in ink. The second is a wristwatch that precisely tells time," the butler explained softly, then added, "Yours appear to be more refined and valuable."
Lilith raised her brow slightly.
Just from the explanation, she could understand their functions.
If they worked as described...
They were indeed useful items.
Though she grew even more skeptical—was he really that clever?
The butler added again, "The newspaper also mentioned a potion that can directly enhance physical attributes."
Lilith's eyes narrowed.
"Where's the newspaper? Let me see."
The butler stepped up and handed it to her.
...
Guild Training Grounds.
The elf Moya entered briskly, just as Imiro sheathed his sword and stepped out.
Moya said, "Wu Heng sent you a gift."
"A gift?" Imiro's expression didn't change. "Tell him to focus on improvement."
"Just take a look, it's actually pretty good." He handed over the gift box.
As he lifted his hand, Imiro noticed something on Moya's wrist. He accepted the box, opened it, and examined the three items inside.
Moya smiled, introducing, "Wu Heng's novel, a fountain pen, and a wristwatch. The paper says they're selling well among the guilds."
He demonstrated how to use them and adjusted the watch's time.
Imiro was impressed and remarked, "He's got some talent."
"It also mentions a potion that looks even more impressive." Moya handed him the newspaper.
...
Hall of Glory.
People passing by casually picked up a newspaper at the front desk and glanced at the contents.
Since the Luan incident, Gold-Silver Island had been sending batches of newspapers regularly, freely distributed here.
Reading them had become a habit.
"Gold-Silver Island held an expo—over 300 guilds participated."
"That's got to be exaggerated. Where'd they find so many guilds?"
"The pens and watches sound interesting. Luan's loss wasn't undeserved."
"Gold-Silver Island is being so active—maybe he's preparing for Level 18?"
"That's too soon. He only joined the Guild less than a year ago."
"What do you mean? Luan was Level 15—he's definitely at least 15 too."
"True."
Another person added, "Didn't you see the third item mentioned? A potion, verified by the Guild and Consortium, that enhances physical attributes."
The rest looked back at the paper.
"It's real? He developed it himself?"
"How could there be such a potion?"
"The paper says there'll be an auction on Gold-Silver Island."
"I'm out—need to prepare and head over."
"Same here. Won't keep you all."
With that, the crowd scattered.
...
Hongwen Society, Research Tower.
An old man reading the newspaper instructed, "Head to Gold-Silver Island. Arrange some guild training courses and investigate the potion's sale."
"Yes, Chief." Hongwen Society's Virgil nodded.
"And bring back some pens and watches. They suit us well."
"Yes!"
Virgil nodded again. After confirming no other instructions—
He exited the room.
...
In a room somewhere—
"Teacher, do we still have a way out?" Luan looked dejected.
Moffat finished the paper and casually set it aside.
He closed his eyes for a moment and said, "I'll write a letter. Take it to the Blood Clan's Bardley Patriarch. Remember, keep it secret. No one must know—especially beware the Whisperers."
Luan's eyes narrowed, and he nodded.
...
Zombie World, conference room.
Wu Heng looked at the marked spot—an area east of Sanfu Port.
It wasn't shown on the map—likely a classified port.
One of the Korean navy men said, "I'm not sure of its current status, but ships used to dock and undergo repairs there."
Wu Heng turned to Qi Hancai. "Put away the map. We'll go there tomorrow."
Qi Hancai nodded.
Wu Heng looked at the two men. "You're coming too."
The two were startled and instinctively raised their heads to speak, but seeing Wu Heng's gaze, they swallowed their words and nodded.
"Alright, you can go now."
The two bowed again and left the room.
...
Only Wu Heng and Qi Hancai remained.
Qi Hancai leaned in. "Any problems at the munitions plant?"
Wu Heng wrapped an arm around her waist. "Same as before. I gave them the next phase plan. They'll follow it."
"What about Sister Yanhong? Bet she clung to you for days."
Wu Heng gave her a light slap on the butt. "Just one night. You think everyone's like you?"
"No way," Qi Hancai cooed.
Wu Heng added, "Assign Zhao Yanqiu some tasks—nothing too hard. Let her manage a few things."
Zhao Yanqiu and Qi Hancai had met back in Xinfu City's old factory district.
Qi Hancai had managed the factory, while Zhao Yanqiu ran the radio.
She also knew Zhao Yanqiu was Xiaoxiao's mother.
Xiaoxiao—a base member he'd yet to meet but was often mentioned.
"Let her handle logistics—just like the old factory. Low pressure, and safer with our trusted people," Qi Hancai suggested.
"Alright, let's go with that."
After chatting, Qi Hancai had the gold, silver, and corpse cores gathered recently brought over.
Wu Heng stored them in his space ring.
He returned to his bedroom, opened the dimensional gate, and went back to the other world.
...
Island Lord's Residence.
Wu Heng delivered the corpse cores to the alchemist's room, then casually opened the nearby refrigerated cabinet.
Inside were neatly arranged corpse core potions.
Other refrigerators and thermal storage boxes also held finished potions.
He hadn't counted them, but there were at least several thousand.
As more evolved Zombies appeared in the zombie world, the number of Tier 1 corpse cores kept increasing.
"Enough to handle the auction."