Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 159 - 120: The Bounty Road

Chapter 159: Chapter 120: The Bounty Road

At 3:00 p.m., Lin Wu and Stone announced that they were going to North Town to exchange for some rope. Stone generously stated that the main base had a pile of rope, leading Lin Wu to say, "I want it all."

Stone: You can go die.

Maya: We need a lot, a lot of rope.

Stone: Come with me to get it.

Lin Wu: Old Man. Unable to bear it any longer, this time the extras didn’t notice, and Lin Wu kicked Stone’s butt, leading to a round of Monkey Fist fighting until the extras quickly separated them.

After getting 15 ropes of various types, each 40-100 meters long, Maya and Lin Wu were still not satisfied. They loaded the ropes into the trunk of the car and drove toward North Town. The scrapped cars in the dead zone had been cleaned up by Lin Wu, and now the traffic was clear. But everyone knew that the resources near the church on the mountain top had been completely consumed by Shadow, so no one dared to wander around there.

Several months had passed since Lin Wu last visited North Town, and now it was completely different. Walking along the community road, the villas on both sides had all been occupied by players, with very few places left where zombies could respawn. Another group had already moved into the old Shadow base, and Lin Wu took the time to chat with them when he reached the entrance.

With a box of pistol bullets exchanged for rope, Maya and Lin Wu accomplished their mission. Since every household now had a pistol, pistol bullets had become the hard currency of North Town. This box of bullets also traced back to Lin Wu’s search history at the navy memorabilia store.

The community’s players were all very enthusiastic, and everyone was in a good mood. Some were making tea, others were skipping rope, playing Go, and a few households were organizing a barbecue, like a real-life community.

Having exchanged for another 15 ropes and fearing an equipment lock, Lin Wu and Maya politely declined two trading players’ invitations and went back to the car, driving away. Even with good public security, it wasn’t convenient for unfamiliar rich people to hang out in the slums.

...

Because they had driven there, the two of them lingered at Shadow’s base and waited for the Sentry Card zombies to clock out and leave before they did. Meanwhile, Stone and the two Deputy Commanders had decided to bring forward the weekly clothing upgrade event to start today.

Everyone swarmed into the crafting room, where Shana asked, "Who..."

"Me." Lin Wu interjected.

Grinding her teeth, Shana said, "I was asking who’s second. Since you’re so keen, you go second then."

Lin Wu asked, "What if the first one breaks? Will he blame you or me?"

Taken aback, Shana found his point very reasonable. She reached out her hand: "Give it here."

When upgrading clothes to level 2, the chances of success, failure, and shattering were all the same. If the upgrade was successful, the cold resistance of the jacket and pants would each increase by 15 points, reaching a total cold resistance of 90 points. A temperature of zero degrees required 50 points of cold resistance, and beyond that, every degrees needed two points, meaning level 2 clothing with 90 points could withstand temperatures down to -20 degrees. If the upgrade was successful, they would have a more pleasant winter.

Thirty seconds later, faced with everyone’s questioning gazes, Shana wasn’t in a hurry; she took out the clothes from the storage in the crafting room and looked at Lin Wu: "Guess."

Lin Wu answered: "It failed."

Shana retorted: "Why?"

Lin Wu: "If it shattered, you would feel bad for me. If it succeeded, you’d feel sorry for yourself."

"Although you’re right, I’m not that kind of person," Shana handed over the clothes to Lin Wu. True enough, the upgrade failed and materials were wasted. Lin Wu’s clothing was still level 1 with a Cold Resistance Value of 60 points, meaning temperatures down to -5 degrees had no effect on him.

It hadn’t shattered nor had it succeeded, which meant that this attempt at cushioning had not worked. Stone applied to go second: "Suit." The first attempt to upgrade the clothes failed, and the second attempt failed as well. Stone found a spot to sit down, holding his head without a word.

Lin Wu consoled him: "Maybe others will succeed because of your failure, right?"

Stone looked at Lin Wu: "Thanks for the consolation."

Since Snow Egg, Su Shi, and Little Knife’s clothes had shattered during the first upgrade, they were given a basic set of clothing today but were not eligible for upgrading.

After two failures, Maya gave up her chance to Horse Soul. Horse Soul was hesitant; his clothing was level 1, and he pondered whether to forego the upgrade. Seeing Horse Soul still undecided, Maya handed over her clothes, but the result was still a failure, leaving her clothing at level 1. Hearing the failure, Maya breathed a sigh of relief – as long as it didn’t break, she was content.

Now it was down to Horse Soul and Shana, both with level 1 clothing. Shana looked at Horse Soul, who gritted his teeth and said, "You go first."

Shana began the upgrade, and after 30 seconds, her clenched fists celebrated: "Success, yay, success." She pounded Lin Wu’s shoulder twice, who was closest to her at that moment.

"Hmph," Lin Wu snorted casually, nonchalantly giving Shana a high five. Level 2 clothing could be upgraded to level 3, but the chances of success were only 25%, with a 25% chance of failure and a whopping 50% chance of shattering. From a practical standpoint, there was no need for an upgrade.

After everyone congratulated Shana for obtaining the ultimate cold-resistant clothing, they all turned to Horse Soul. He was even more conflicted; everyone else had upgraded, and he felt too cowardly for not doing so. But with Shana’s success, the chance of his own upgrade failing now seemed high.

Stone said: "When you hesitate about whether to take a gamble, you definitely shouldn’t take it because you can’t afford to lose. It’s also brave to give up."

Thankful for Stone’s way out, Horse Soul said, "I’ll upgrade next week."

Lin Wu: "How about giving me the chance, and I’ll give it another shot?"

"Get lost." Stone pushed Lin Wu, who had sidled up, away. Both you and Horse Soul have level 1 clothing, if you succeed, Horse Soul will inevitably be aggrieved. If you fail, it’s a waste of materials. If your clothes shatter, you lose your clothes. In Stone’s view, Lin Wu taking this spot would have negative consequences regardless of the outcome.