He sold the dagger—he already had one. He sold the iron sword—he didn't know how to use it. But he kept the machete; it was handy for chopping wood. When Liu Weian saw the shoes, something suddenly clicked in his mind, and his expression lit up with joy.
Blackglow Shoes!
He recognized them. He had seen them before in an equipment shop in the city. They were worth several gold coins—a top-tier item. Crafted from some unknown beast hide, they looked soft, but were incredibly durable.
Without hesitation, he tossed aside his grass sandals that were already showing his toes and slipped on the Blackglow Shoes. Instantly, he felt lighter. Warm and comfortable, each step felt like gliding through the air. The shoes emitted a faint, nearly imperceptible black glow, making it feel like his body was floating. Walking became effortless, and his speed nearly doubled. A true treasure.
The iron ore could be smelted into usable metal for forging equipment.
The herb he picked up was Silver Spirit Grass—hard currency in the game world, worth 20 silver coins. On the third day after entering the World of Beasts, Liu Weian had witnessed people fighting to the death over a single Silver Spirit Grass. Hundreds died, and he never even saw who ended up with it. Ever since then, he made a habit of inspecting every plant he came across. He wandered the mountains for days, found plenty of lookalikes, but none were worth anything—altogether they barely fetched a copper coin.
He hadn't consumed the white crystal yet, but all the meat sacs had been opened. After initial disappointment, he was pleasantly surprised—a bow had dropped. A Tuo Wood Bow, on par with the Blackglow Shoes in terms of rarity. Beautiful in design and masterfully crafted, it made his Iron Poplar Bow look like a child's toy in comparison.
He spent twenty minutes getting used to the bow before resuming his hunt. He tossed a corpse, weighing over a hundred pounds, into the graveyard, about seven or eight meters away. In the past, that would've been impossible, but now it barely took any effort. The white crystal had obviously strengthened him.
The corpse had been sliced up with a knife. It hadn't been dead long, so blood still flowed. Within seconds, the stench of blood filled the air, and the graveyard began to stir—rotting corpses erupted from the ground.
The body, of course, belonged to Wang Bo's gang. One might say using a corpse like this was disrespectful and immoral, but in this world where the strong preyed on the weak, those at the bottom no longer bothered with ethics. Survival came first. Liu Weian felt no guilt.
Thwack!
The first zombie dropped flat, an arrow piercing its forehead all the way to the shaft. Liu Weian's eyes gleamed with excitement. This master-crafted bow was in a league of its own. As the arrow flew through the air, it left only a faint shadow. So fast, so powerful. He had used only sixty percent of his strength, yet it outperformed a full-power shot from his old bow.
Exhilarating!
His earlier nervousness was gone—replaced by rock-solid confidence. Kneeling on one knee, left arm steady with the bow, eyes gleaming with focus, wherever he looked, an arrow followed—lightning-fast and deadly accurate.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
The bowstring sang with each release, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, depending on the force. In no time, over twenty zombies lay dead. More and more of them poured out from the graveyard, and some had already reached the corpse, tearing into it with bloodied jaws.
From fifteen meters away, Liu Weian's gaze grew colder. Arrow after arrow flew, the Tuo Wood Bow's precision nearly flawless—95% accuracy. Even with his rudimentary archery skills, within twenty meters, he achieved 100% hit rate.
It also hinted at his natural talent. In less than two months of casual, untrained practice, using crude equipment, he had reached this level of mastery. Calling him a prodigy wouldn't be an exaggeration.
At distances between five to fifteen meters, his archery reached its peak. One arrow per second—drawing, nocking, pulling, aiming, and releasing in one smooth motion, without a hitch. The bowstring hummed continuously like a hive of bees.
Blood sprayed. Before one zombie could even hit the ground, the next was already pierced through the forehead. When the third fell, the first had barely landed.
Most zombies were distracted by the corpse, reducing Liu Weian's risk. But after releasing the final arrow, a wave of fatigue hit him. His arm trembled from weakness. Gritting his teeth, he aimed at the nearest zombie and loosed one last arrow.
Crack!
The zombie's forehead exploded. The powerful arrow launched its body back a full meter. Chaos broke out among the remaining zombies. Liu Weian turned and ran, his speed boosted by the Blackglow Shoes—covering a hundred meters in the blink of an eye. Once he was more than fifty meters away, the zombies could no longer sense his presence. They whimpered and returned to the almost-eaten corpse.
He watched coldly. His arms throbbed with pain. Only then did he realize how physically demanding archery could be. Nearly seventy arrows in one go—he was on the verge of collapse. He popped a white crystal and quickly recovered.
Five or six minutes later, the corpse was nothing but bones. The zombies, disappointed, wandered back into the earth. Liu Weian quietly approached and got to work—splitting heads and slicing open bellies. Half an hour later, it was done: 64 white crystals, 64 meat sacs. Then he began harvesting zombie claws, a more difficult task. By the time he finished, two hours had passed.
He stripped a piece of clothing from Wang Bo's body to wrap the 100 claws. The rest he buried.
Then came the meat sacs. This time, disappointment. No equipment, just 386 copper coins. Some sacs were even empty—completely worthless.
He looked at the mountain of corpses in dismay. If only he had a cart. After a moment of thought, he dragged five bodies back to town. Normally, it would take over two hours. With the Blackglow Shoes, it only took him one hour and twenty minutes.
At the apothecary, he sold everything—corpses for 1 silver each, Silver Spirit Grass for 20 silver. Then to the blacksmith: the ore was low-grade, worth 20 copper. But they didn't buy weapons, so he headed to the equipment shop. Three daggers and an iron sword fetched 78 silver. A good haul. If you counted the Blackglow Shoes, killing people clearly paid more than killing monsters.
Near the city gates, he began scanning the area—there! An ox cart, just like he'd heard about. Crude in design: a wooden plank on two wheels, pulled by an ox. No cover, but perfect for hauling cargo.
There were over a dozen cart owners lined up. Liu Weian picked a young man who looked honest. The guy called himself "Black Ox"—clearly a fake name, but who cared? After some haggling, they settled on 125 copper.
Liu Weian went with the cart each trip. Four round trips later, the bodies were all moved. Fortunately, the graveyard was remote; otherwise, he might've lost a few corpses to scavengers, which would've pained him greatly. But then again, most wouldn't dare touch them—zombie poison was no joke.
He didn't just go along to watch Black Ox. The roads were dangerous. During the second trip, they were ambushed. He shot down three attackers before the rest fled.
Four full cartloads of corpses caused a stir in Stone City. People stared at Liu Weian with odd expressions. A corpse dealer—and not just any corpses, but zombies. What a taste.
He sold 85 zombie bodies for 85 silver coins. In total, Liu Weian earned 1 gold, 95 silver, and 59 copper that day. A sense of euphoria washed over him. For someone like him, earning more than a gold coin in one day was monumental. He was giddy with joy for a while before remembering he still had business to take care of.
The Plum Blossom Guild was one of the ten major human guilds. Its influence spanned all three planets. One of the earliest to enter the World of Beasts, they even had a branch in the tiny Stone City, dealing in equipment, clothing, materials, and—most importantly—delivery services.
Not ordinary delivery—this was cross-world shipping, from the World of Beasts to the human realm. Only the most powerful guilds could manage such a service.
This was Liu Weian's second time inside the Plum Blossom Guild's store. The first was when he had just entered the game. The developers of Plunder were notoriously stingy—players started with nothing but a pair of briefs. Women got a bra as well. That was it. No wonder, even after half a year, few women played—it was absurd to walk around in public practically naked.
The Plum Blossom Guild sold clothing—4 copper coins a set. Of course, new players had nothing, not even a copper. No problem—the guild let them owe it. Pay 5 copper within 10 days, or the price would rise by 1 copper per day. If you couldn't pay? Easy—they'd kill you once. The guild had the power to do that.
Most people managed to earn 5 copper in ten days. Just by selling clothes, the Plum Blossom Guild made a fortune when Plunder launched.
"Hello, I'd like to send a delivery," Liu Weian said, handing over a small bundle of white crystals.
The shop assistant—a young woman in her twenties, pretty and cheerful—weighed the package and smiled. "Hello, that'll be two gold coins."
Liu Weian was stunned. He'd heard delivery was expensive, but not that expensive. Eighty-nine white crystals, each no larger than a grain of rice—barely the size of a pigeon egg in total—and they wanted two gold coins?
He stammered, "I... I'll come back later."
"Of course," the girl replied sweetly, handing the bundle back. She saw this sort of thing every day.