Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 115 - 101 Clothes Making

Chapter 115: Chapter 101 Clothes Making

The motorcycle stopped fifty meters away from the intersection. This was an animal pen, and Lin Wu knew its layout well. Rectangular in shape, with three quarters of its length cut away for a walkway, the remaining three-quarter area served as the livestock breeding space, and in the middle, a small warehouse used for storing hay.

Lin Wu leaned against the wall, put away the Silencer, held a knife in his left hand and the Eagle Sand in his right hand. He had just received four .50 bullets when he was fighting the Blood Plague, and he had brought them out today.

Lin Wu placed a Beast Trap at the entrance before entering the animal pen without turning on the flashlight, stealthily moving along the pathway in the dark. The row of stalls to his left was already empty, yet even so, Lin Wu would still patiently wait by each column as he passed each stall. He quickly finished walking the path, but found no sign of the flashlight bearer.

This was not just Lin Wu’s tactical awareness but also the result of stealth training given to him by Maya. As a soldier, Maya lacked the experience of stealthily eradicating zombies, but she was not inexperienced in infiltration.

After an unsuccessful search, Lin Wu wondered whether the flashlight bearer had already left, so he went back to Intersection A and found the flashlight bearer’s motorcycle still parked at the entrance. At that moment, noise came from the middle warehouse, sparking an idea in Lin Wu. He deactivated the Beast Trap and swiftly moved to hide behind the stacks of hay by the wooden wall. The secret of a living person’s disappearance was more important than the person themselves.

Sure enough, a player emerged from the animal pen, sat on the motorcycle and started it. The motorcycle’s headlights came on, and, with the help of the light and the moon’s afterglow, Lin Wu saw a masked person. A masked person wearing a bandana with a castle symbol, a person with a backpack marked with a castle.

Nightmare! Indeed, it was Nightmare.

Lin Wu set down the Eagle Sand and watched as Nightmare drove away on the motorcycle a few meters away. During this period, Lin Wu suddenly understood many things. He now knew why Shana had arrived with medical and chemical skills, and why Shana and Nightmare could resurrect in North Town. The coincidental details of the encounter in Left County’s textile factory were truly horrifying upon close consideration.

Nightmare’s first completed quest was the Path of Love, which likely required a partner, and there was a good chance that Shana was that partner. Maybe Shana’s first resurrection was a coincidence, or perhaps not. But the fact that Nightmare had died at least once, and that both he and Shana had resurrected in North Town the second time, was surely no accident.

Lin Wu placed a Beast Trap at the entrance of the animal pen and then walked to another entrance to set another trap, before heading to the area where the hay was stored. After looking around, he quickly uncovered a wooden panel to reveal an ancient passcode device fitting the era of the game.

This was beyond what Lin Wu could handle. He covered the panel back up, retracted the Beast Trap, and left the animal pen. The only thing he couldn’t comprehend now was why Shana would remain at the Shadow base.

"Eagle Sand to Stone," said Lin Wu, using the walkie-talkie during his night shift.

"I’m the irresistibly charming Stone." Lin Wu’s voice meant he wasn’t dead, and as long as he wasn’t dead, everything was fine.

Lin Wu asked, "Is anyone around you?"

After scanning his surroundings, Stone lowered his voice and replied, "No."

Lin Wu said, "I’m at the entrance of Factory 2. Come out quietly and don’t alert anyone."

...

In the office on the second floor of Factory 2, Stone patiently listened to the story Lin Wu told, without asking questions or interrupting. He trusted Lin Wu; Lin Wu couldn’t have made up such a story just for a prank. It wasn’t that Lin Wu lacked intelligence, but the story was laden with accusations and suspicions that Lin Wu would not joke about.

Stone said, "Shana’s first resurrection in North Town might have been incidental."

Lin Wu replied, "Other possibilities cannot be ruled out." As he mentioned the Path of Love quest, he speculated that Shana might have married Nightmare in order to continue the quest.

Stone said, "Nightmare’s death I witnessed firsthand. We all know about Shana’s second death. Their ability to return to North Town is possible but highly unlikely. It seems Nightmare and Shana must be married, which raises many questions. Shana spends most of her time with us; why would she marry Nightmare?" One principle of the immigration lottery: married people don’t enter the lottery.

Stone continued, "Love at first sight? Were they a couple before? Why aren’t they living together?"

Lin Wu shrugged, signaling for a solution to the problem, not additional questions.

Stone went on, "After Shana’s second resurrection, we discussed Tailoring Skill, and Shana brought out a blueprint suggesting that the textile factory might yield a Tailoring Skill Book. The next night, you encountered Nightmare in the textile factory, and he indeed gave you a Tailoring Skill Book. I think your suspicions are well-founded; there are too many coincidences and chances. Now, I believe they are married, but I don’t believe they are married."

"Hmm?"

Stone explained, "Based on my years of experience with people, first, Shana doesn’t seem to like women, and second, she’s not the type to excel at cunning schemes. Her daily behavior is also consistent with my judgment of her. Without Maya’s support, Shana could never have become the Deputy Commander. What is her motive?"

Lin Wu asked, "For points?"

Stone shook his head, "Based on what Shana herself has described since her resurrection, her points are almost the same as before her first death. I learned today about death and points. A player who was recently recruited by the Wanderers died a few days ago, and his conditions during the 24-hour wait for resurrection were better than Shana’s. He had a bed, a television, and even a window with natural sunlight—not the cutout wallpaper that Shana described."