Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 207 - 139: Adventure_2

Chapter 207: Chapter 139: Adventure_2

Lin Wu after listening, "Why don’t you roll back?"

Shana completely disregards Lin Wu’s attitude and says, "Maya’s main job is with Shadow, teaming up with you is like a vacation."

Lin Wu asks, "Where is the problem?"

Shana shakes her head, "I can’t say, because you’ll bully me if I do."

Lin Wu glares angrily, "Am I such a petty person?"

Shana smiles serenely and replies, "The problem lies in your sensitive mindset and your defenses against the outside world. Our first conflict arose because you thought I wanted to change you, when in fact, I was merely expressing my own views and opinions with no intention of changing you. The first conflict between you and the Soulless brother occurred when I died and they said some things; you didn’t refute them but took the blame upon yourself, and then you refused to team up with me to evade responsibility."

Shana, "Your disagreement with Maya also stems from this. Maya made a plan that she thought was optimal, but you were dissatisfied with your sacrificial role in the plan, believing that Maya had betrayed your friendship."

"Hmm..."

Shana says, "I’m probably the only one who would explain this so clearly to you. Now you should say, ’Thank you, sister.’"

Lin Wu with a sidelong glance, "If I’m so bad, why do you still dare to mix with me?"

Shana replies, "You have many strengths. Your biggest weakness is your lack of tolerance. In a sense, you’re a perfectionist. Of course, in your heart, you know it’s not possible to meet a perfect partner, a perfect spouse."

Lin Wu, "Talk about the strengths."

Shana, "Take your issue with Maya as an example, even though you feel dissatisfied deep down, you would still do your best to complete the work Maya entrusted to you. It’s easy to get along with you; your words and actions don’t pressure others. You are open to objective opinions from others and willing to reflect on and scrutinize yourself."

Lin Wu ponders for a while, "Hearing you analyze like this, I suddenly feel like I’m a multiple personality psychopath."

Shana replies, "That’s not it, the more intelligent a person is, the more complex their character. The more time they spend thinking, the more nuanced their personality becomes. Take for instance someone shouting, ’For Shadow, brothers, charge!’ Many people would rush out impulsively. While others would think, ’Who gave the order? Why should we charge? Has Shadow treated me well? Is it necessary to charge for Shadow? What’s my loss without Shadow?’ When they begin to think, they seem out of place, causing what everyone perceives as a multiple personality."

Lin Wu asks, "In the end you still didn’t directly state what’s right or wrong."

Shana replies, "There is no right or wrong. I can understand your state of mind then, and I can also understand the decision that Maya made. If you could be a bit more mindless and accept Maya’s command to die without question, there wouldn’t be so many thoughts. If Maya had been more emotional and refused to sacrifice her best friend, there wouldn’t be so much trouble."

It was time to change the subject, lest he be criticized. Lin Wu looks left and right, then his gaze falls on Shana’s weapon rack, "You came empty-handed?" He immediately finds leverage to take control of the conversation.

Shana is on the verge of tears, "I wanted to bring an assault rifle too, but I didn’t know how to ask. And since no one seemed to care about it, I was too embarrassed to bring it up."

"With our current firepower, we can’t even withstand a 5-star siege." Lin Wu thinks for a moment, "We’ll head to the summit observation post, it’s the closest place where we might get some guns."

Shana says, "I’ve heard that many players have already made their way to the observation post and it’s said to be very dangerous; no one has come back alive. We need to cross a high mountain filled with fierce beasts, and during late autumn and winter when food is scarce, the probability of attacks on humans increases significantly. To reach the observation post, we need to pass through a minefield. Unverified reports suggest there are two infrared automatic machine guns set up high at the post."

Lin Wu is surprised, "How do you know?"

Shana answers, "I am the Shadow host on the 8 o’clock channel." The 8 o’clock time is agreed upon by North Town base for radio communication.

"Oh," Lin Wu says, "Let’s go, host, back to your new home to resupply, then hit the observation post for a big haul."

Shana sighs, feeling her words have fallen on deaf ears.

Back at the base, Lin Wu takes an ax, rope, compass with him. Being transported out of the Waste City instance, all the materials obtained in the instance were reset to zero; what players bring into the instance is what they come out with, which spares Lin Wu the time to charge the drones.

"A library!" Shana exclaims with excitement. "You have a library?"

Lin Wu glances around the library, "Yes, we have a library." He wonders to himself about such questions. Sometimes, as a high-intelligence individual, he finds it hard to answer such simple-minded questions.

Shana ignores Lin Wu’s teasing, entering the library and touching and looking around, appearing to be very happy. In the past few months, Shana’s only form of entertainment was interacting with the base members. To her, the library is like an inexhaustible treasure. Shana, thrilled, picks up a tablet computer and starts choosing books.

"Let’s go," Lin Wu urges.

"Wait."

"Let’s go, we can look when we come back."

Shana reluctantly put down the tablet computer, "You’re annoying."

Lin Wu retorted, "Even Maya wouldn’t dare to talk to me like that."

Shana countered, "She just doesn’t stoop to argue with a child."

Infuriating!

...

The observation post had no roads, it was said to have been constructed entirely by aerial power. The greatest reason for not having roads was the steep slopes and dense forests.

Upon entering the woods, one could see the giant tree crowns completely blocking out the sunlight, and various bushes shaking occasionally in the forest, yet no animal traces could be seen. Lin Wu had the advantage of the drone, which in combination with a compass, kept them from getting lost. However, the deeper they went into the woods, the more alarmed they became, occasionally hearing various animal sounds. There were bear roars and tiger cries within tens of meters, but no animals were visible to the naked eye, nor could the drones catch any trace of them.

Shana seemed to have never climbed through a primeval forest before, frequently tripped by vines. While teasing her for her wasted sensitive physique, Lin Wu looked after her, leading the way and warning Shana of tripping hazards. Before long, Lin Wu himself slipped, bringing forth a relieved laugh from Shana, along with her helpful hand.

"Bears, black bears, two of them," Lin Wu immediately crouched down into stealth mode, Shana also followed suit. Lin Wu pointed toward the unending slope, "50 meters."

Shana was a bit nervous, "Have you encountered bears before?"

Lin Wu nodded, "Twice."

Shana relaxed a little, "How did you beat them?"

Lin Wu replied, "Beat a hasty retreat."

Shana asked, "How to make them beat a hasty retreat?"

Lin Wu answered, "Did I say ’them’ beat a hasty retreat?"

Shana stifled a laugh, Lin Wu said seriously, "I’m not joking; these creatures are tough to deal with. Let’s circle around them."

They had just moved about ten meters when Lin Wu called a halt again, "Bears." Damn, another bear appeared at the place where they needed to detour. How come there were so many bears? And all of them were black. Worse yet, Lin Wu’s stealth was just a camouflage color, and animals had very keen senses of smell; evading their noses would be difficult.

Shana asked, "Circle around again? Go back twenty meters and then circle around."

"Good idea." Lin Wu and Shana slowly backed up, traversed the hillside, and went to the other side of the mountaintop. This part of the hillside had fewer trees, mostly populated by miscellany. After they had walked more than ten meters, Lin Wu stopped Shana with his outstretched hand and said, "You’re the one with the rotten ideas."

This direction had no bears, but the hillside was studded with warning signs, which read ’Military Danger Zone’ and depicted three icons. The first icon showed a person being shot. The second one showed a person blown away by a landmine. The third one showed a person being sent to prison.

On one side, bear dens; on the other, a minefield. Which do you prefer?

Lin Wu had encountered bears and minefields before, so he decided on the spot to take Shana back to the bear dens. At least with bears, you can still run; with landmines, you can’t.

Shana reminded him, "If we’re downwind, the bears won’t smell us."

Lin Wu said, "We are downwind now. Once we pass through the middle of them, we’ll be upwind."

Shana, hoping for the best, said, "They might not chase us; animals are different from zombies; their behavior is highly unpredictable."

Lin Wu looked at Shana, "I’ll trust you this time."

"I’m just suggesting, don’t trust me." The dead man had decided to take a risk and yet wanted to use her words as a cushion.

As Shana had said, while downwind, neither group of bears noticed them, allowing Lin Wu and Shana to pass through the thirty-meter area between them. Not long after, the bears on both sides started roaring and followed the scent of the two. Lin Wu set up a Beast Trap and hastily covered it with leaves and grass, then pulled Shana to run toward the mountaintop.