Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 211 - 141 Sleep Together_2

Chapter 211: Chapter 141 Sleep Together_2

Shana was quite excited to get her SC; the gun felt like compensation for the lack of any substantial strength improvement despite working the night shifts with Lin Wu. Moreover, its light and handy build made it her new favorite. Without a zombie in sight to kill, Shana even considered whether to shoot at Lin Wu just to test the feel of the gun.

The downside of the sanctuary was system-controlled fatigue; without a System Bed, you couldn’t enter system sleep. With nothing to do, the two people could only chat in front of the burning fire. Around three in the morning, Shana stepped out of the room and turned back excitedly, "Lin Wu, it’s snowing."

Lin Wu came out too, incredulous at the sight of the snowflakes wafting down from the sky, "Is this how snow falls?" In Lin Wu’s memory, snow fell grain by grain, like small hail. Don’t underestimate small hail; if it gathered into the size of a fist, it could enjoy the treatment of an internet sensation, with passersby coming over to take pictures for keepsakes.

Although Shana also lived in the subtropics, her family was well-off, and they nearly went to the north every year to enjoy the snow and go ice skating. Even so, as she gazed up at the sky, there was always a happy smile on her face, and she couldn’t help but spin circles in the snow.

"Childish."

Shana instantly grabbed Lin Wu, who thought he was about to be hit, but instead, Shana stuffed a snowball down the back of his neck. He might be resistant to cold but not to snow; the sensation made him feel like he had swallowed a box of ice cream whole. He immediately launched a counterattack, with a left sweep and a right cross, knocking Shana to the ground. As she fell, he carefully supported her, gently laying her down.

Shana’s laughter continued as she happily rolled around in the snow. Lin Wu was also infected by her joy, looking up at the heavy snow falling from the sky. But when he came to his senses, he saw Shana sitting in the snow, her head buried in her knees, occasionally wiping her eyes with her fingers.

"What’s the matter, girl, did the cold make you cry?" Lin Wu sat down a few meters away. It was best to maintain manners and be cautious when dealing with an emotional girl, or else the following could happen. One: getting hugged, which could lead to love. Two: getting beaten up. Three: getting cursed out.

Shana lifted her head, touched the tears at the corner of her eye, and smiled, "I miss my mom and dad."

Lin Wu was surprised, "It’s been four months, and you’re just missing them now?"

At his words, Shana, annoyed, grabbed some snow and threw it at him, which made Lin Wu plead pitifully, "Have mercy, oh great one."

Shana burst into laughter, then looked up at the night sky and asked, "Have you ever thought about your parents?"

Lin Wu settled himself and said, "Smiles don’t disappear, they just move elsewhere. Why must you cruelly stab me just to find your own smile?"

"I didn’t mean to; I wasn’t being malicious," Shana quickly said.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Wu said, "Our understanding of our parents is very limited, unable to comprehend the emotional interactions between parents and children found in literature. We are quite indifferent towards familial love. My elementary desk mate was named Pang; during a field trip in fifth grade, we visited District 10."

Shana nodded, "District 10 is famous for its cultural landscapes and natural scenery among all the districts."

Lin Wu continued, "One day, Pang and I were responsible for buying snacks, and in the supermarket, we encountered Pang’s older brother."

Shana didn’t understand.

Lin Wu explained, "Twin brother, you didn’t need DNA tests. The moment they saw each other, we all knew they were brothers. They looked at each other for a long time, then a middle-aged couple came up behind Pang’s brother, incredulous at the sight of Pang. Suddenly, Pang erupted in emotions, threw what he was holding, and ran away crying. The wife wanted to chase after Pang but was held back by her husband. She then came up to me, wiped away her tears, knelt down with a loving look, and asked where we were from."

Lin Wu, "I didn’t know how to respond. She explained that she and her husband were from the working class and had decided to raise their child no matter the genetic conditions. But they had twins. They faced a choice; if they raised both children, neither would be raised well. Abandoning one was the wisest choice. Indeed, Pang received social assistance and access to Public Supporting System resources, putting him on the same starting line as most people."

The treatment of children under the Public Supporting System during their growth period was far superior to that of children from ordinary working-class families. All the expenses of Public-Supported children were covered by the government, including twice-yearly overseas study trips, high-quality food, clean living conditions, and relaxed personal life management. If needed, they could also attend extracurricular courses, all expenses paid for by the government, because while 95% might not produce a Beethoven, it did result in many master-level artists.

Ordinary working-class families struggled to find time to care for their children, making it difficult to monitor the company they kept, lacking scientific educational methods, and often running out of patience with their children. Parents who had to spend time and energy to play with their children after a tiring day of work were left both mentally and physically exhausted.

The inception of the Public Supporting System was associated with France in the 21st century when a large influx of the African diaspora entered the country. Newborns of African descent made up a disproportionately high percentage of births, and the propensity for those of African descent to abandon their spouses and children far exceeded that of other ethnicities. Furthermore, as abortion was illegal in most European countries, many unmarried mothers opted to entrust their children to charitable organizations, ultimately leading to the institutionalization of the Public Supporting System in France.

With the development over a millennium, people’s desire to marry progressively waned, with many unwilling to sacrifice half of their life for the sake of children. Slowly, humanity began to accept public foster care. Later, it was discovered that children from ordinary families lacked competitiveness compared to those raised in the public system, and they formed a larger proportion of the lowest social strata upon reaching adulthood.

Lin Wu said, "I asked her a question. I asked why was it him and not him? Because he is the 5%, and the other is the 95%? At that moment, I saw the university emblem on the chest of Pang’s clothes—an emblem of a renowned university. And yet Pang was only in the fifth grade, consistently ranking among the bottom three in his class."

Lin Wu went on, "Although your parents spoiled you, you are happier than the vast majority of people."

After pausing for quite a while, Shana turned to look at Lin Wu, "I’m not sure whether to take out a gun or to give you a hug. Can you help me decide?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, getting aggressive with a gun, the petty pride of the small man."

Shana reached for the gun, and Lin Wu backed down, "Sister, I was wrong."

Shana smiled, her mind on something, and after a long while said, "Thank you."

Lin Wu grandly waved his hand, "It’s just a gun."

"Why do you maliciously play down your kindness?" Shana added, "Accepting my gratitude isn’t that hard."

Lin Wu replied, "Then you owe me a favor that’s hard to repay. I would rather it be a gun than something on a spiritual level."

After some thought, Shana said, "Thank you for the gun."

Lin Wu dismissed it with a wave of his hand, indicating there was no need for thanks.

...

At seven in the morning, with the snow still falling and a gloomy sky overhead, the two set off on their way home. The journey home became increasingly difficult, but fortunately, Lin Rope had brought along plenty of rope, which helped them avoid annihilation at the steps.

Upon reaching the 400-meter road that was as slick as a horse’s back, Shana, despite her gymnastics training, did not dare to be careless. She cautiously followed Lin Wu’s example, sitting on the ground and inching forward step by step. The only good news was that the bear seemed to have disappeared.

Around three in the afternoon, Lin Sha returned to the supermarket base. The first thing to do upon returning was to sleep. With only five hours of sleep yesterday and five today, the two caught up on sleep until one o’clock the next morning. Seeing that it was a new day, they slept another five hours, making up for the rest of today’s sleep.

The two pigs slept for fifteen hours straight and, upon drawing the screen aside after waking up, looked at each other as if seeing a fool. The mischievous Lin Wu deliberately dallied, and poor Shana, opening the door to the dorm, ran straight into a zombie. Her screams immediately echoed throughout the base.

What followed was Lin Wu learning what it meant to reap the consequences of one’s actions—the zombies living around the supermarket hadn’t been cleared for nine days, and Shana’s scream had led to a small-scale siege situation. Lin Wu, intending to enjoy a cup of tea, had no choice but to pick up his weapon and join the battle.

Shana fired her SC rapidly, getting into the rhythm of the fight, while Lin Wu faced off against long-absent Frenzy zombies—no fewer than ten of them. Lacking intelligence, the Frenzies didn’t coordinate an attack but came at them one by one, like in ’The Calabash Brothers’ save grandpa scenario, only to be caught and sliced to ribbons by Lin Wu, the fairy. Lin Wu too rediscovered a long-lost sensation, the only annoyance being Shana’s poor Gun Skill compared to Maya’s. She often missed the zombies’ heads and even more often emptied her gun by accident, causing bullets to ricochet chaotically in the confined space. Hitting oneself was one thing, but what if she hit the building?

After this wave, the base spent seven building materials to repair the damage. Given that non-Siege Zombies wouldn’t destroy the base’s buildings, and considering Lin Wu’s primary weapon was a dagger and his secondary the Silencer, Lin Wu decreed that all the damages were caused by Shana. Shana accepted the judgment with a pout, full of grievances. Then, she sneakily lay in the infirmary for ten minutes because she had been hit by two ricocheting bullets.