Under the cover of night, the Undead Fortress moved slowly along the foot of the Wraith Mountain Range.

As the fortress drew closer to the cave Liu Xingxing had visited during the day, Li Ziyu felt a strange sensation—an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if something ahead was summoning him. Yet, the ethereal voice Liu Xingxing had described was nowhere to be heard.

"We’re here, Boss. This is it." Liu Xingxing’s voice cut through Li Ziyu’s thoughts.

The Undead Fortress shuddered to a halt. The sense of familiarity intensified, and now it was accompanied by a feeling of guidance, as if something was leading him toward a specific place.

Li Ziyu stood up, frowning as he gazed out at the rolling mountains cloaked in darkness. The feeling was coming from out there—intense, yet unidentifiable.

He heard exultant cheers rising from the entire fortress—the irrepressible excitement of the Undead, a celebration that resounded directly in his soul.

Li Ziyu had never seen the Undead so active and joyful. It was as if they had stumbled upon a grand festival. They were no longer calm and deathly still, but brimming with vitality.

’What in the world is out there that could make the Undead this excited?!’

"The cave is up there." Liu Xingxing noticed Li Ziyu’s furrowed brow but paid it no mind, simply pointing toward the dark mountain.

"So it really is that cave..." Li Ziyu exhaled, sighing softly to himself.

"Huh? Boss, you know about the cave?" Liu Xingxing, who was standing nearby, overheard Li Ziyu’s murmur and shot him a surprised look.

"No, I don’t know about the cave," Li Ziyu said with a small smile, "but my fortress does." He offered this cryptic remark, which Liu Xingxing couldn’t make heads or tails of, then turned and walked outside.

Baffled, Liu Xingxing hurried to catch up. ’The Boss is acting weird tonight,’ he thought. ’It feels like he’s hiding something from me.’

Out on the Bone Plate Platform, the Minotaurs had already gathered their belongings and were leaving in a steady stream. They would spend the night in the Wasteland, a safe distance from the fortress, to avoid any unnecessary risks.

Liu Xingxing glanced around in confusion. The Undead’s Soul Fires were flickering differently than usual. Something wasn’t right; they seemed overly active.

"One thousand!" Li Ziyu raised a single finger, his voice echoing throughout the fortress.

The moment his words faded, the entire fortress erupted. Nearly every Undead sprang to life, scrambling to get outside in a chaotic rush. They looked just like a mob of seniors fighting over discounted eggs at the supermarket.

In their fight for a spot, the Undead even came to blows. Arms and legs were thrown, ribs were ripped out and used as weapons. Liu Xingxing even saw one Skeleton Warrior grab a comrade’s skull and hurl it like a bowling ball, knocking over another Undead. After a quick look around for more ammunition and finding none, the warrior simply detached its own head and threw that instead.

’They can do that?’

’Are the Undead always this savage?’

’Getting so mad you throw your own head!’

Liu Xingxing grimaced at the sight. It wasn’t that he was unworldly; it was just that the Undead were completely out of their minds.

Finally, 1,000 Undead—missing arms, legs, and even a few heads—assembled in a heap before Li Ziyu. The corner of his mouth twitched.

"Are you the tattered remnants of a defeated army? Huh? Pull yourselves together!" Li Ziyu roared in exasperation, rolling his eyes. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The Undead who had made the cut scattered in a flash, and when they returned moments later, they were whole again.

Based on combat prowess, all the Skeleton Warriors had successfully snagged a spot. As for the other Skeleton Undead who made it, they were just plain lucky.

"B-Boss, are you sure these Undead are up for it? Shouldn’t we bring more?" Liu Xingxing had a feeling this group wasn’t very reliable. They were nothing like the Undead he’d seen before—far too undignified. He could practically feel the waves of joy radiating from their Soul Fires.

"Don’t worry, they’re just a little excited," Li Ziyu said, covering his face with his hand.

’What in the world is in that cave? The Undead are going nuts.’

The Undead’s bizarre behavior piqued Li Ziyu’s curiosity about the cave. He decided he would go with Liu Xingxing to check it out.

An instinct told him this trip wouldn’t be life-threatening; in fact, it was probably something good.

Undead were different from other creatures. Most of the time, their behavior was predictable. It was incredibly rare to see them become this manic, radiating pure joy.

’Well, so much for the sense of adventure...’

As Liu Xingxing watched the Undead ahead, stretching their limbs and raring to go, he suddenly felt that the cave wasn’t so dangerous after all.

Treasure hunting and exploration were all about the process of uncovering the unknown. That process was a thrill—and that thrill was what Liu Xingxing lived for.

"Let’s move out." Li Ziyu clapped Liu Xingxing on the shoulder and headed away from the fortress, escorted by the throng of Undead.

"Hey, Boss, wait for me!" Liu Xingxing scrambled to catch up, his two Catman companions in tow, and fell into step beside Li Ziyu.

Normally, the mountains were far more dangerous after dark. Countless Wild Beasts and Magical Beasts hunted at night, silent killers of the darkness. Yet, as Li Ziyu ascended the slopes, surrounded by his Undead entourage, the journey was completely uneventful. It seemed every Wild Beast and Magical Beast was giving them a wide berth, and they encountered no danger whatsoever.

Just like that, they arrived at the mouth of the cave. As they drew near, Li Ziyu finally heard a sound. But it wasn’t the ethereal voice Liu Xingxing had described. It was singing—and excited cheers.

"B-Boss, d-did you hear that? There it is... that ethereal voice." Liu Xingxing stared into the cave, which now seemed even more profound than it had in the daylight, and swallowed hard.

"I don’t hear any ethereal voice," Li Ziyu said with a shrug. "But I do hear singing and cheering."

"Uh... what? Singing and cheering?" Liu Xingxing looked at Li Ziyu in astonishment, then glanced at the two Catmen beside him. They looked just as bewildered. Li Ziyu’s words had completely dispelled the atmosphere of fear.

’Jeez, are we living in different dimensions?’

’How can we be hearing such different things? We’re clearly hearing an ethereal voice that sounds terrifying in the dead of night—like the sound right before a Monster jumps out in a horror movie! How does that translate to singing and cheering in your ears? The discrepancy is just too much!’

Li Ziyu glanced at Liu Xingxing and shrugged. He had spent a long time with the Undead and was their Undead City Lord, so his perception was more profound. The so-called "ethereal voice" was likely a result of Liu Xingxing and the Catmen not being accustomed to "listening" with their souls.

At this point, it was clear. Whatever was in this cave was, without a doubt, related to the Undead. Moreover, it wasn’t hostile toward him; in fact, it seemed to be welcoming his arrival.

’This isn’t an expedition at all, it’s a trip to collect rewards!’

’I love it!’

The corners of Li Ziyu’s mouth curled into a grin. With a snap of his fingers, he commanded the Undead to lead the way, and he followed them into the cave.

The pitch-black darkness of the cave, so deep you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, posed no challenge for the Undead. Their Soul Fires blazed brightly, illuminating the path ahead. Liu Xingxing didn’t even need a torch; all he had to do was follow. Just like that, the group ventured deeper into the earth.