Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 218 - 144: Enemies on a Narrow Road

Chapter 218: Chapter 144: Enemies on a Narrow Road

After a minor episode, all the Solar Demons had been annihilated, and Horse Soul fished out a medical book from one of the corpses, while Maya’s voice came through the earpiece: "Shana, come in for some tea."

Then, ten minutes later, Maya said, "Lin Wu, come in for some tea."

Confused, Lin Wu entered the Nightmare Base,

Little Knife asked, "Who’s next?"

Snow Egg replied, "We should go gather some firewood, they might be a while." Snow Egg hadn’t told Little Knife that this matter essentially had nothing to do with the three of them.

The Nightmare Base wasn’t large, with only three units. The front door led into the living room, furnished with a worn single-seater sofa and a table. None of the three women sat down, they just stood by the table, drinking tea and chatting.

Lin Wu said, "I thought there weren’t enough cups, turns out there aren’t enough chairs."

Nightmare said, "I told you he’s annoying, I want to strangle him the moment he opens his mouth."

Maya comforted her, "The longer you’re with him, the more you’ll see he’s a good guy."

Lin Wu exclaimed, "Why would I want to spend a long time with him?"

Shana passed him a Skill Book: Staff Expertise. A passive skill effective for all staff-type weapons. The skill for Staff Expertise was peculiar, typically the system would assist player movements, but this skill was about the system judging the player’s movements. There were two valid actions, poke and chop.

When the system judged an action valid, it would trigger the passive effect. The poke’s passive effects included a 30% chance of a combo strike, 20% chance of stunning, 20% chance of knocking down, and 20% chance of a headshot. The chop’s passive effects were a 100% increase in attack power, 30% chance of stunning, 50% chance of knocking down, and 20% chance of a headshot. Only a hit to the head could result in a headshot. Staff combos were different from swordsmanship combos—swordsmanship involved follow-up strikes, while staff combos involved striking the same part again.

The system explained staffs, the first requirement being the item must include the word "staff" in the System Items. The second requirement was that it should be entirely cylindrical or nearly so, and it couldn’t have a sharp point, like an extendable baton or a rubber truncheon. Baseball bats and field hockey sticks did not fall under the category of staffs. Currently, Shadow’s workshop was able to produce a two-meter-long wooden staff and a seventy-centimeter-long rubber truncheon.

Lin Wu commented, "This is a good thing." For Shana, poking was the more useful action as it didn’t require strength and was faster, allowing reliance on the system’s bonuses. Chop, already boasting an increased attack power and stunning bonus, was the blunt weapon player’s preferred move due to its very noticeable stunning and knockdown effects.

Maya brought up the main point, "The condition is for Nightmare to join the Shadow Base."

Lin Wu looked at Maya, puzzled, "I have no problem with that." Joining was just fine.

Maya added, "Shadow Base operates under a command economy, and when a character enters the base, the items in their backpack will automatically be stored in the inventory."

"No way?" Lin Wu only now understood why he was invited for tea. Nightmare, whose main strength lay in her equipment, definitely couldn’t join the Shadow Base. Therefore, the supermarket-style personal base became the only option for Nightmare to join Shadow.

Nightmare said, "I’ll take care of my own food. You just need to upgrade the dorm to add an extra bed."

Lin Wu questioned, "Weren’t you doing well on your own? Why bother living with us mere mortals? Besides, Maya is at the Shadow Base, not at the supermarket base."

Nightmare explained, "Library, wild beasts, and Left County."

"What?" Lin Wu didn’t understand at all.

Maya supplemented the explanation, "Her clothes have the same Cold Resistance Value as yours, making it impossible for her to leave the base at night. The supermarket base has a library that can help her pass the boring time. Also, this base is close to the mountains and often has wild beasts that come foraging into the base. The third reason is the supermarket base’s proximity to Left County."

Nightmare said, "I can join you guys to clear out the cement factory and split the Serum evenly. Finally, it’s about Maya and the clothing."

Lin Wu liked Nightmare even less. She spoke in fits and starts, half-said sentences that were hard to understand, making Lin Wu feel stupid.

Maya translated, "During this winter, I will lead a team to the Bounty Hunter Hall every three days. Nightmare will participate in the weekly clothing upgrades at the Shadow Base."

Lin Wu said, "We don’t visit the cement factory often."

Nightmare insisted, "Call me when you go to the cement factory."

Lin Wu nodded, "Fine, I have no objections." There were no binding terms, it was merely a matter of inviting Nightmare to join them when convenient. At worst, they’d argue, and if things got heated, they’d fight; he wasn’t afraid. By the way, he could even aim to loot her equipment.

An assault rifle, a Tang Sword, even her pistol seemed particularly high-end.

After Lin Wu agreed, Nightmare began to dismantle her base. Upon joining the supermarket base, Nightmare didn’t follow the others; she said she needed to go somewhere, letting them store the materials gained from the dismantling as a welcome gift to Shadow.

Lin Wu knew Nightmare was heading to her secret safe house to deposit valuable goods, and Shana handed Nightmare an earpiece. Currently, Shadow and supermarket bases each had a set of Bluetooth earpieces, but the two systems were incompatible. Radio remained the only means of communication between Shadow and the supermarket base.

Everyone carried a basic pack to the base and upon arrival, seeing a screamer suspended in mid-air, Maya momentarily lost her focus, reminded of happy times spent there. Her thoughts were interrupted by Lin Wu’s shout, "Hot pot time, Ma, come season it."

Little Knife ventured into the pitch-dark corridor, taking a while to adjust to the darkness, and remarked, "You guys live pretty well."

"There’s not much food left," Lin Wu said. "I specially looted a restaurant for this meal. Get ready, I’m heading to the supermarket to deal with some zombies so they don’t disturb our refined pleasures. Maya, if you’re free, go chop down a tree to make some stools."

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