Chapter 109: Merchandise Gifts, Necromancy

Chapter 109: Bonus Items, Necromancy

The mushroom spores are highly active. In the original story, they were sealed in a small box and submerged in a pond for who knows how many years, yet after resurfacing, they quickly turned the whole world upside down.

The mushroom spores Sheng Qingquan obtained were not only the same type but had also evolved alongside him. The spores he released could survive even across worlds if he wished—they would merely lose their connection to him, their master, but never truly die.

At worst, they’d revert from domesticated to wild.

But to raise Clara’s guard without letting her truly catch on—especially to the fact that the residual wood-attribute energy reaction on her was illusion-inducing—Sheng Qingquan not only retrieved most of the spores from her body as she left, leaving only a tiny amount behind, but also sapped most of their life force to ensure they’d die off quickly.

Despite all the meticulous planning, everyone, including Sheng Qingquan, was prepared for the plan to fail and face a formidable enemy again.

Fortunately, the outcome was favorable.

Sheng Qingquan lit up seeing the item that popped out of the book.

It wasn’t just the delight of receiving another gift—the appearance of the bonus item also proved that this crisis had truly been successfully resolved.

"Fantastic!" A staff member fist-pumped, barely containing their excitement.

As the warriors retreated like a receding tide, their steps felt lighter than usual, and smiles involuntarily spread across their faces.

But what made Sheng Qingquan even happier was this:

"This time, the bonus item is actually useful!"

Since he hadn’t obtained any cultivation techniques from the low-level cultivation world last time, Sheng Qingquan had assumed he wouldn’t get the best rewards this time either—such as *necromancy* or *wood-attribute magic*.

Honestly, he had his eye on both.

*Necromancy* was a new skill. As for *wood-attribute magic*, it likely would boost his existing plant-control abilities, creating a synergy that could make him even stronger.

But coveting aside, Sheng Qingquan never expected that one would actually land in his hands.

Anything is possible.

"It’s *necromancy*!!"

The moment the grayish mass flew out of the book and merged into his body, Sheng Qingquan experienced a flash of understanding. He instantly grasped how to transform bones and manipulate corpses.

Everything came together effortlessly.

Everyone’s eyes lit up. Though Clara had just fled, the original work made it clear just how powerful *necromancy* could be and how far a necromancer could progress.

This was a skill that allowed one person to summon a whole undead horde!

Not just outnumbered a hundred to one or a thousand to one—with enough strength, a single necromancer could defend an entire planet.

A necromancer’s power largely hinged on their corpse arsenal.

And as for where the corpses would come from?

Everyone assured him he needn’t worry.

There were plenty of people willing to donate their bodies. Otherwise, where would medical schools get their bodies for med students every year?

It wasn’t as if the professors were snatching people off the streets to use as teaching specimens.

At most, in the future, when people wish to donate their bodies, they’ll find an additional option on the agreement: whether to use the remains to protect Azure Star.

If they carefully understand the circumstances and can accept their body being manipulated, selecting "yes" means their remains will eventually be sent to Sheng Qingquan.

Moreover, considering that necromancers don’t have particularly high requirements for corpses—even a skeleton will suffice as long as it hasn’t been cremated—this won’t interfere with medical schools’ teaching.

These bodies can first go to various medical schools, serving as cadavers on dissection tables. After their educational service, they can then enlist for duty.

Maximum utility, zero waste.

From now on, corpses are also a recyclable resource.

Wait—thinking this way, am I being a bit too capitalist? Isn’t it excessive to exploit people completely, even wringing out every last drop even after death?

Just as the staff were pondering whether they should be strung up on lampposts after death—

Moments later, they dismissed the thought.

Lampposts? Hell no!

After death, they should continue contributing, up and about.

Once the new version of the body donation agreement is officially released, I’ll sign it right away!

Honestly, the thought of continuing to fight for the country and family even after death is pretty damn thrilling.

Just as the staff were growing impatient—

Sheng Qingquan let out a weary sigh.

"This ability isn’t powerful."

Not powerful?

How could that be?

I was already envisioning taking on aliens and kicking extraterrestrial butt after death. Even if I couldn’t win right away, it wouldn’t matter—if the enemy shattered me, I’d just reassemble my scattered bones when they least expected it and sneak in one last hit.

Psych! Bet you didn't expect that!

I died, and now I’m back!

The more they thought about it, the cooler it sounded. Some of the younger staff even wanted to discuss with Sheng Qingquan whether they could give their bones a custom paint job later—

Maybe add some cool patterns, like opera mask face paint on the skull or a chrome finish to resemble a cyberpunk skeleton robot. How badass would that look?

Even as skeletons, they wanted to be the most eye-catching ones!

Alternatively, painting the entire skeleton black wouldn’t be bad either. Nighttime stealth would improve dramatically—perfect for covert ops.

Or maybe camouflage patterns. Even in death, they could wear camo—like the good old days. Just thinking about it gave them warm fuzzies (metaphorically speaking).

The staff had it all planned out, only to suddenly hear Sheng Qingquan say the ability wasn’t powerful.

Well, shit.

Immediately, many looked like they'd just been told Christmas was canceled.

If the ability isn't strong, the number of undead corpses will be limited. With limited numbers, could it be that we won't secure a spot for this 'undead quota'?

At this thought, the younger ones couldn't help but cast wary glances at those with wrinkles on their faces and white hair on their heads.

These old folks are the best at playing the age card!

This isn't just malicious speculation—they have a history of this. Last time, the spots for the daredevil team ended up in their hands.

Having done it more than once, would these old-timers give up now?

As if!

They’ll only get more skilled at it.

They’ll definitely use their seniority to snatch the spots. And if we’re talking about natural old age, they’ll die first. The spots might really end up in their hands.

Damn it!

The junior staff members stewed in frustration the more they thought about it.

"The magic spells loaded into our minds all seem to be the most basic ones. None of the stronger ones are there."

"Wait, that’s not entirely true. It seems like they're locked away, so we can’t see them."

"Probably because I'm not powerful enough yet, so only the spells I can handle are unlocked. The rest are automatically blocked. Maybe as my body adapts and my power grows, they’ll gradually unseal?"

Sheng Qingquan speculated.

If that’s the case, then they might still have a chance?!

The previously dejected youngsters immediately got their second wind.

"And there’s another advantage."

"There’s no magical energy on Tianlanxing."

Sheng Qingquan hadn’t forgotten that magical creatures had appeared on Tianlanxing before. The main reason they managed to kill that one was precisely because Tianlanxing had no magic.

That thing wasn't prepared like Clara did—it was an accident. It arrived badly hurt, unable to absorb magical energy or use its innate powers in time, and was whittled away to nothing.

While necromancy is technically magic, it barely relies on magical energy at all. Low-tier necromancy might not even need it.

Otherwise, Clara wouldn’t have been so dominant in the original story. Besides her careful planning, the key was that transforming ordinary corpses required no effort from her. It was as easy as breathing.

So everything we have works.

With that in mind, Sheng Qingquan was itching to give it a shot.

Feeling hungry, Sheng Qingquan returned home and went all out with the order.

Salt-baked chicken, braised fish, butter garlic shrimp…

After enjoying the meal, Sheng Qingquan rattled off a complicated mouthful of an incantation and rapped the table.

The pile of chicken bones on the plate began to move on their own.

The bones scrambled to find each other, piling up like building blocks.

In just a moment, standing before Sheng Qingquan was a chicken skeleton—picked clean except for the head, with even the cartilage gone.

The head remained intact not because Sheng Qingquan possessed the power to revive the dead or regrow flesh, but simply because he didn’t eat chicken heads.

The chicken skeleton’s eyes emitted an eerie glow. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that its eye sockets no longer held eyeballs but instead housed two tiny, flickering blue ghost-flames.

Aside from the chicken, a fish had also appeared on the table. The fish bones Sheng Qingquan had spat out naturally clustered together.

He hadn’t paid attention while eating, but now that the skeletal fish had taken shape, Sheng Qingquan realized its shape looked weird.

"It’s not a sunfish, so why is its body so short?"

"The fish is missing a chunk."

"Seriously? A high-end restaurant like Shanshanmei is shortchanging customers?"

Sheng Qingquan muttered before his attention shifted again.

Shrimp too?!

"I thought shrimp and such, which lack bones, couldn’t be transformed."

"Never expected it to be possible."

Sheng Qingquan watched as the shrimp shells reassembled like puzzle pieces, forming intact shrimp in the plate. Aside from the empty shells and the replacement of their black eyes with tiny ghost-flames, smaller than sesame seeds, they looked just like before he ate them.

But Sheng Qingquan didn't feel like eating again.

He watched the bone chicken walking around on the table. The chicken knowingly opened its beak and dragged all the disposable plates and bowls to the edge of the table.

Then, with surprising strength, the bone chicken clamped down on these dishes, flapped its bony wings, and flew over to the trash can.

With a loosened beak, the plastic waste landed precisely inside the bin.

It followed every command perfectly, like a well-trained pet. If Sheng Qingquan weren’t worried about a bone chicken nonchalantly hauling a bag of trash into the elevator and scaring people, he could even skip taking out the trash in the future.

This task could easily be left to the little skeletons.

But for now, with a flick of his finger, the bone chicken jumped into the trash can itself, while the fish and shrimp on the table hopped up and took the plunge, leaping into the bin.

Then, all the bones and shells fell apart, instantly disassembling the previously intact fish, shrimp, and chicken. Chicken bones, fish bones, and shrimp shells scattered all over the trash.

However, after this cleanup, the table wasn't completely clean.

There was still one shrimp left.

Not because Sheng Qingquan had missed it, but because he left it there on purpose.

Mainly, the kitchen drain had been acting up lately, and Sheng Qingquan had been planning to unclog it when he had time.

Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?

He tossed the shrimp into the sink. Lifting the filter basket at the bottom, Sheng Qingquan let the shrimp wriggle its way down the drain.

Turned out, a piece of vegetable stem had been stuck there.

The shrimp pushed against the vegetable stalk, loosening and dislodging it from its position. Then it scampered up and down, cleaning the grime off the pipe walls.

The whole cleaning process felt a bit like playing a video game.

Once the cleaning was done, it was time for the game to end.

With a thought from Sheng Qingquan, the once fully assembled shrimp not only shattered into pieces but also crumbled into powder.

Problem solved.

It had to be said—even if not used for combat, necromancy was super useful.