The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 163: The Hospitable Cemetery
A long, long time ago, when Andy was still living in the remote border of Twilight Province, he heard the story of the Thundershire Maze from the old people in the village.

Legend has it that it is the territory of the devil.

Whenever night falls, winged demons fly out of the maze and capture children who don't listen to their parents.

Andy believed the words of the elders in the village, but he didn't expect that even though he was so obedient, he was still found by the devil.

And it was during the day.

Hiding behind Andy, the younger sister tugged at his sleeve and sobbed softly in a voice that looked like it was about to cry.

"elder brother……"

"Don't be afraid, I will protect you." Although Andy was panicking, he still shook his sister's hand, mustered up his courage and said to the three demons flying in the sky, "Come at me... Let Maggie go, she's too skinny and doesn't have much meat on her."

The translation crystal translated his words into a language that the players could understand.

The three players looked at each other.

In the end, Jingluonanbei couldn't help laughing and spoke in a teasing tone.

“We don’t eat children.”

Andy was stunned for a moment. He didn't understand at first, until a flat voice repeated the words of the female demon.

"So...what do you want?"

Looking at the shivering child, Shark couldn't help but laugh mischievously and raised his hands to make threatening gestures.

"What do you want? Isn't that obvious? As minions of the devil, of course we want your souls... hehehe!"

"Alas!"

"elder brother……"

The two children were terrified.

The little girl named Maggie even fainted on the spot.

As for the boy who was still awake, although he was not frightened to faint, his face turned pale and he stood there stiffly, holding his unconscious sister, unable to speak.

"Fuck...am I that scary? Ouch——" Shark was complaining under her breath when a snowball suddenly hit her on the head.

"Okay! Stop scaring me. I finally triggered the hidden mission..." Looking at Shark Diao patting the broken snow on his head, Xiao Wan, who was executing justice, couldn't help but complain.

Translator Crystal translated her words.

However, the little boy was stunned after hearing it.

"……Task?"

"That's right," Jingluo Nanbei nodded with a smile and flew to a place only two steps away from him. "Look around to see if there are any buttons that can be selected? For example, setting rewards, issuing tasks, etc. Ah, if the rewards can be adjusted, please help me press eight zeros."

Andy looked at her in confusion, totally not understanding what she was saying.

What button...

He glanced around nervously, then looked at her uneasily and continued.

"I...I don't know."

Seeing the confused look on the little boy's face, it seemed that there really was no function to issue tasks. The three of them gradually showed disappointment on their faces.

"Fuck! This guy seems to be just a lost child."

"How to do?"

"Eat it?"

"How can I eat it?"

"Hmm..." Whale Luo Nanbei thought for a while with his arms folded, and said, "Anyway, let's take them back first. I feel like if we let them continue to run around in the forest, they might freeze to death."

"Agree."

Shark raised his arm, then looked at the timid child and spoke condescendingly.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

Andy mustered up the courage to speak.

"Andy...what about you?"

"Me?" Shark was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect the NPC to ask his name, but he still said casually, "My name is Shark... This is Whale Falls North and South, and Xiaowan is full."

Trying hard to remember these difficult names, Andy took a deep breath and continued.

"You want to take something away from me? I can give you my soul, but please let my sister go. She is still young..."

Shark couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hahaha."

Andy's face flushed purple from the cold and he looked up at her.

"why are you laughing!"

Whale Luonanbei said with a smile.

"We don't need your soul. It was just a joke. Please don't take it seriously."

Andy said nervously.

"Then what do you want..."

"Let me think..." Jingluo Nanbei thought for a while, and suddenly something happened in his heart, and he said, "We need your piety."

Andy was stunned and looked at her in confusion.

"…Pious?"

"That's right," Jing Luonanbei said with a smile, "We need you to pray to the Demon King from the bottom of your heart... After all, we saved you, so this is not too much, right?"

Andy thought for a moment and nodded.

"It's not too much... I will do as you say."

"You're so good," Jingluo Nanbei nodded with a smile, and continued in a gentle tone, "Take your sister and follow us later, and we will take you to our camp. When the snow stops, we will take you to find your family."

Andy nodded his head seriously and carried his fainted sister on his back.

Seeing how difficult his struggle was, Xiao Wan couldn't bear it and landed down. She flew behind him to lend a hand, holding up the little girl to help him share some of the weight.

Andy gave her a grateful look.

But at this moment, he remembered the stories told by the old people in the village, so he hesitated for a long time and finally couldn't help but whispered.

"Are you really demons?"

After taking a look at that innocent face, Jingluonanbei smiled and said.

"Undoubtedly."

Andy: “But…”

Whale Falls North and South: "Not like?"

Andy nodded and whispered.

"Um……"

Jingluonanbei smiled and continued in a chatty tone.

"So what do you think a demon should be like?"

Andy hesitated for a while, and finally whispered to her the story that was circulated in the village...including how the demons captured disobedient children, how the demons made skewers of human cubs, and so on.

After listening to his story, Jingluonanbei just smiled and continued.

"Did someone tell you this, or did you see it with your own eyes?"

Andy whispered.

"Uncle Brook told me... He used to be an adventurer."

Shark interrupted and said in a teasing tone.

"So would you rather believe what he tells you, or would you rather believe your own eyes?"

Andy hesitated for a moment and answered honestly.

"I don't know... The adults always told me to stay away from people with horns on their heads, but I feel like you're not bad people. At least you didn't drive me away. On the contrary, those guys on horseback didn't have horns on their heads, but they drove us out of the village..."

Xiao Wan and Shardiao looked at each other.

Whale Fall thought for a long time and spoke in a gentle tone.

"When you start thinking like this, it means you have grown up and realized that black and white are not the norm in this world, but the colors in between are."

Andy looked at her as if he understood something, and let the cold wind blow on his face.

After a long time, he mustered up the courage to speak.

"Can you tell me...your story?"

Whale Luonanbei said with a smile.

"Of course... I'll tell you slowly once we're back by the warm fire."

……

Just as the three "Whale Shark Wan" were walking back with the two lone human cubs, there was a commotion at the construction site at the foot of Beifeng Mountain.

Due to a chain reaction caused by someone's slip, there was a loud bang, and the snow covering the wood fell down along with the collapsed beams.

Looking at the collapsed wooden house, [Emotionally Stable], who had been busy all day, could no longer control his emotions and let out a loud curse before being submerged by the avalanche.

"Lie——"

Before he could utter the word "Ouch", heavy snow poured into his mouth, penetrating through his hollow ribs and making him feel cold all over.

Yu Guangzhong saw a huge wooden beam falling from the sky. He felt as if his head was hit by a club, and then his eyes went dark and he fell offline...

Tens of minutes later.

Four familiar looking skeletons walked out of the entrance of the North Wind Mine, cursing as they used shovels to turn over the snow pile and dug their own bodies out from under the rubble.

Recycling corpses can refund a certain percentage of the resurrection cost, and they have no idea how many times they have repeated this process, so much so that they have formed a tacit understanding that does not require any further explanation.

They have paid too much just to build such a house.

Every time, either his head was smashed by a falling beam, or his feet slipped and he fell off the half-built roof and broke his spine.

[Emotionally Stable] This is also the first time I’ve played such a hardcore game.

If the death penalty of the Skeleton Soldiers was not so low that it could be ignored, and there were no similar substitutes on the market, he would not even be sure if he could hold on.

"MMP! Doesn't this game have a one-click construction function?!" Looking at the house that took him a long time to build but still looked like a cripple, the [Urban Slave] leaning on a shovel couldn't help but complain.

Wiping the snow off his face, [Chi Zao Shu in the Office] who was standing next to him also said with a dejected look.

"+1. If I don't die in the office, I'm afraid I'll die playing games first."

[I want to be a corpse] said with a sigh.

"It would be nice if there was a function to automatically do things when the machine is idle."

Looking at the messy ruins, the four skeleton soldiers looked at each other in silence, unable to speak.

It is worth mentioning that there are some great people in this game.

For example, there is a civil engineer who has worked on a construction site in real life, a contractor who runs a decoration company, a guy who can chisel out mortise and tenon parts with his bare hands without a ruler, etc. ... Unfortunately, these people are not them.

The construction site in the distance was bustling with activity, brick kilns were rising from the ground, and several brick and wood buildings that combined Chinese and Western styles had already taken shape in the falling snow. All of this made the ruins in front of them look even more desolate and desolate.

It's humbling.

They were the first to initiate the Daxing Cemetery project, but in the end, as the "first generation initiators", they made no progress at all.

Just when [Emotionally Stable] was hesitating whether to continue, a slow voice suddenly came from the side.

"What are you doing? Dumping a body?"

The translation crystal hanging on [Emotional Stability]'s waist translated the NPC's complaint into a language that all players could understand.

The four players all looked in the direction where the sound came from, only to see a transparent ghost floating under the snow-covered tree.

Its head was like a drooping chain hammer, with only half a bone and a layer of skin connected. Its eye sockets without eyeballs were like two black holes.

Seeing the ghost suddenly appear, the four of them were startled. Especially [Emotionally Stable], his reaction was the most exaggerated, and he couldn't help but blurt out a cry of surprise.

"What the hell! It's a ghost!!"

[Urban Slave] threw the shovel in his hand out, and it went through the ghost's chest without any suspense and hit the tree behind it.

Looking at the four skeletons making a fuss, the ghost floating under the tree had a speechless expression on his face and couldn't help but complain.

"What the hell are you talking about? Aren't you ghosts too?"

Emotionally stable: "..."

I want to be a corpse: "Fuck, that makes sense!?"

They are undead themselves, what are they afraid of?

The four players who realized this instantly calmed down and picked up the shovels that had been thrown on the ground. Looking at the four skeletons holding the shovels, the ghost floating on the snow asked curiously.

"Speaking of which, what are you guys doing?"

The clanging and banging sounds had been going on here for several days. He thought that the Andes family had remembered the mine again, so they floated over to take a look.

What he didn't expect was that the people busy here were actually a group of skeleton soldiers.

Saint Siss above...

The undead are actually building a house!

He had never seen anything so strange!

Although he meant no offense, the four skeleton soldiers who heard his words could not control their emotions and started shouting loudly.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"that is!"

“Obviously we’re building a house!”

The ghost looked at them suspiciously, then looked at the ruins in front of them.

"Are you sure?"

[Emotionally stable] He clenched the shovel in his hand.

"Are you here to cause trouble?"

"No... I don't mean to pick a fight, I just don't understand why you are doing this." Looking at the aggressive skeleton soldiers, the ghost was a little scared and subconsciously took a step back. "Aren't you undead? Undead also need houses?"

[Urban Slave] said with a serious face.

"No need! But you can understand it as our job."

“That’s right!” [Want to be a Corpse] nodded vigorously and said angrily, “This is the task assigned to us by the Demon King!”

The ghost's expression suddenly became compassionate.

"Work? How pitiful... It's fine to make a living when you're alive, but it's too pitiful to have to work after you die."

Chi Zaoshu in the office: "..."

Looking at the four speechless skeletons, the ghost floated around the ruins and then made some comments.

"I think I understand. You guys are planning to build a house, right? Then why don't you learn from those... uh, your companions next to you."

[Emotionally Stable] said after taking a deep breath.

"They don't have time to teach us, and we are kind of competitors."

"I see..." The ghost nodded in understanding and continued, "But even so, you should at least know to clear the snow on the surface first, and then use wooden stakes and beams to build an elevated foundation, right? This way, the snow water will not seep into the house, and it can also prevent the house from sinking into the ground under its own weight."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this and exclaimed.

"Fuck!"

"It makes sense!"

"Wait, you can build a house?!"

Looking at the four skeletons that suddenly became enthusiastic, the ghost floated back for a distance in fear, then nodded nervously.

"I was a carpenter for the lord when I was alive, so of course I know a little bit about building houses... But what I'm talking about has nothing to do with whether or not you can do it, right? It should be considered common sense..."

[Emotionally Stable] She looked at him eagerly, selectively ignoring the second half of his sentence.

"Can you help us?"

The ghost nodded.

"Yes, but what good will it do me?"

The four players were stunned and looked at each other.

really--

Why does the other party help you?

At this time, [Urban Slave] suddenly had an idea and spoke.

"What's your name?"

The ghost replied without hesitation.

"Robert, what's wrong?"

Urban Slaves: "Well, Mr. Robert, do you have any living relatives?"

"Relatives? Relatives..." Robert's expression suddenly became sad, as if he was lost in distant memories.

After a moment, he sighed and spoke.

"Okay, I get it... I'll help you. In exchange, just do one thing for me."

Seeing that the NPC was willing to help, the four players were immediately delighted.

[Emotionally stable] Looking at him, he immediately said excitedly.

"what's up?"

The urban slave also said excitedly.

"Just tell us what to do! We love doing missions the most!"

Robert had never seen such a passionate work-loving undead before, and he couldn't help but worry about their mental state. However, seeing how they were enjoying themselves, he thought it would be better for him not to meddle in their affairs.

"It's not a big deal. Just send some coal to my kid in Silverpine. It's so cold, I'm afraid he'll get cold... Anyway, you've dug up a lot, so I guess you don't need it."

Forget about building a house, these ghosts don’t need warmth.

Anyway, he has never seen it.

[Emotionally Stable] His eyes lit up when he heard that and he spoke immediately.

"No problem! Deal!"

Looking at the skeleton soldier's enthusiastic look, Robert continued to whisper a reminder.

"Remember not to scare them! Just quietly place it at his door in the dark."

……

With the technical guidance of Ghost Brother, the construction progress of the four people was much smoother.

They first cleared the snow on the ground, then hammered wooden stakes into the ground, and then connected them with beams to build a raised wooden platform which served as a simple foundation.

Fortunately, there were no casualties this time.

Looking at the wooden platform standing in the snow, the soul fire burning in the skulls of the four players all flickered with excitement.

This is the result of their labor!
This sense of accomplishment is simply indescribable!

After completing the foundation, Robert floated to the center of the foundation and, like an overseer, gave them new instructions.

"The next step is the load-bearing frame... If I were you, I would first use four thicker logs as load-bearing columns to fix the four corners of the cabin."

[Urban Slave] excitedly took out a roll of hemp rope.

"Do you need a rope?"

Robert was stunned for a moment, and the half of his head drooping on his shoulders shook like a pendulum.

"Ropes? You don't need that. Wood tied with ropes will fall apart if blown... Just do as I say and use a saw to cut a raised connection structure at the joint. Let the wood use its own weight to compact the joint, and then stack them in a row to form the wall of the cabin."

[Emotionally Stable] said hesitantly.

"Is this okay?"

Robert said with a solemn oath.

"Believe me, I have been doing carpentry for decades. This is the most reliable way. The house will be in good condition when I die."

Looking at Robert's half head, the four players felt that his words were still convincing, so they did as he suggested.

With everyone's concerted efforts, they finally completed the construction of the house frame and the filling of the wooden walls. Finally, they nailed the wooden boards to the herringbone beams, sealed the roof of the entire wooden house, and cleared the snow piled in the house.

You're done!
Although the house was not fancy, the whole cabin was quite standard and there was no problem for two or three people to live in it!

Looking at the fruits of my labor standing in the snow, I felt so relieved, as if my bowel movement, which had been held back for days, was finally smooth.

The same goes for the other three players.

Looking at the ghost who guided them to complete the construction, the urban slave said gratefully.

"Thank you so much!"

"No need to thank me, I just gave you some suggestions. The real work is still done by you..." Looking at the four excited skeleton soldiers, Robert smiled embarrassedly and suddenly understood why these guys were so excited.

To be honest, looking at this house rising from the ground, he felt quite a sense of accomplishment.

Ever since his soul left his body and became what it is now, he has been wandering around in a daze, and he hasn't felt like this today for a long time.

Thanks to these little guys, he felt needed again, so much so that he even had the idea of ​​staying.

why not?
He had nowhere else to go anyway.

If the undead here don't despise him...

At this time, several groups of figures suddenly appeared in the wind and snow not far away.

I saw a child about fourteen or fifteen years old carrying a young girl on his back, staggering behind the three little demons.

When he saw the wooden house coming into view, a hint of excitement appeared on his frozen face.

Although it didn't take long before that excited face turned into a look of fear after meeting the eyes of several undead.

Seeing the fear in Andy's eyes, the whale flying in front landed on the ground and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Don't be afraid, they won't hurt you as long as you don't attack them."

After hearing her words, Andy immediately calmed down. Although there was still some fear on his face, it was not as strong as before.

Looking at the boy who obeyed the three little demons, [Emotionally Stable] showed a surprised expression on his face.

"Good fellows, are you guys out to rob the human village?"

Shark dropped the thing and rolled his eyes and said.

"Damn it! What do you mean by robbing a human village? Which eye of yours saw that?"

[Want to be a corpse] looked at her strangely, then glanced at the child and said in confusion.

"So where did this child come from?"

The translation crystal translated the creaking sound into human language.

Looking at the talking skeleton, Andy mustered up the courage to speak.

"We are wanderers who wandered here from the east of Duskwood. My parents and I got separated at the edge of Silverpine Forest... They found me and brought me out of the forest."

"So that's it..."

At this time, [Urban Slave] suddenly remembered the content that was previously updated on the official website forum, saying that as long as you can attract NPCs to live in "Beifeng City", no matter whether they are human or not, you can get rewards from the Demon King.

As a result, his eyes immediately turned into the shape of ghost money, and the soul fire burning in his skull flickered with eager light.

"You don't have a place to live yet?"

"Yeah..." Andy nodded nervously.

"That's great! Phew - I mean, that's terrible!"

Before the child could continue speaking, the [Urban Slave] enthusiastically grabbed his arm, brought the confused boy to the newly built wooden house, and pulled him in without any explanation.

"You must be freezing after being in the snow for so long. Come into the house with me. You're welcome! I'll find you a kerosene lamp to keep you warm... Is there anything else you need? Oh, we're still short of beds and blankets, as well as furniture... Don't worry! We'll be able to build a set soon!"

"Hey! Wait a minute! I picked them up!" Shark protested loudly, but was ignored by the four skeleton soldiers.

At this moment, all they see are paper money and contribution points, nothing else.

Andy looked at the enthusiastic skeletons with a confused look on his face and whispered.

"I... just give me a place to shelter from the wind and snow, no need to go through so much trouble."

"Trouble? How could that be!" [Urban Slave] grabbed the boy's shoulder with a playful smile, patted him and said, "Just treat this place as your own home! You can stay as long as you want!"

Just now, they who had attracted population to the cemetery had received rewards from the Demon King!

Not just a one-time reward!

According to the instructions in the task bar, within the boundaries of Beifeng City, as long as the built house is occupied, they can receive monthly rental income. The rent for the first three years will be paid by the cemetery in the form of subsidies, and the rent for the next three years will be paid by the NPC who rents the property according to market conditions.

Although the rent is not much, as long as they build enough houses and the occupancy rate is high enough, their income will grow like a snowball!
And if you can assign work to the NPC, you can also gain valuable contribution points!
It is for this reason that he hopes that the two children will not only live here by themselves, but also bring their parents to live here as well!

Andy said thank you several times in a shy manner, then looked at Jingluo Nanbei who had followed him to the door. Seeing the latter smiling and nodding, he let down his guard and placed the sister on his back against the wall. Then he held her hand and sat down beside her.

Although he didn't know why these skeletons were so enthusiastic about him, it looked like they weren't trying to eat him...

(End of this chapter)