Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 296 - 174 Mouse Hunt

Chapter 296: Chapter 174 Mouse Hunt

Continuing to plunder, the third wooden table didn’t have anything good. The fourth was a stone table, with two stone drums on each side, and an Indian chessboard carved on it. The chess players seemed to have left in a hurry, with the endgame still on the board. Lin Wu and Maya looked at it for a while, then Maya reached out, picked up a rook from the black pieces to feed the opponent, effectively pinning the opponent’s knight.

Lin Wu looked at Maya expectantly, "Solved."

Maya exclaimed excitedly, "System prompt, my intelligence has increased by one star."

"No way?"

"Yes, impossible."

Lin Wu was speechless, this woman did occasionally joke around.

Maya said, "It’s two stars."

Lin Wu stared at Maya, and after a long while, when Maya showed no sign of backing down, he concluded with a wave of his hand, "Fake."

Maya nodded and turned towards the next pavilion.

Lin Wu followed behind Maya, "You’re smiling."

"Not at all."

"Yes, you are."

"Not at all." Maya turned around, and the two continued to stare.

Lin Wu pointed with two fingers, certain, "Yes, you are."

"Correct." She turned and walked away.

The tone irked Lin Wu, who called out, "Childish!"

Without looking back, Maya responded, "Don’t belittle yourself."

Lin Wu was dumbfounded, realizing for the first time that this lady could talk back.

Compared to the day shift and living in the Shadow base, teaming up with Lin Wu made Maya feel more free and more relaxed. But there was also a downside: without pressure, people gradually lose their drive.

...

The second pavilion contained a lot of ancient musical instruments, ancient compared to the year 2044. It seemed to be a gathering place for a senior citizens’ band. There was also sheet music on one table, which Lin Wu couldn’t understand and handed to Maya. Maya shook her head; she knew nothing about music and art. What she learned was more about practicality.

Under a piece of stage costume, Lin Wu found a mobile phone with a full battery. Maya said, "This is a mobile phone, the most popular communication device at the time."

Lin Wu turned on the screen, which wasn’t protected by a password or fingerprint, and after browsing a bit, opened the messages, which contained countless pieces of information. This included bank details, health expert contacts, weather updates, and more. The last few messages were from someone labeled ’son,’ sent over three days.

Maya summed up, "His son is a scientist in Left County, apparently stuck somewhere and unable to leave. He asked his father to drive south to their aunt’s house in North City. The son explained that the flu was spreading in Left County and he was worried that his elderly father would easily catch it. This indicates that officials hadn’t told the public it was a zombie virus at the time."

Maya continued, "The last message said they were about to implement a lockdown and wouldn’t be in contact for a while, urging his father to go to the aunt’s house immediately. Doesn’t seem like there’s any useful clue."

After checking for a while, indeed, no useful items or information were found. Lin Wu secured himself with the last rope and handed one end to Maya before jumping onto the ice river from the edge of the pavilion, no problem. Lin Wu slid some distance, and Maya grabbed the rope end and jumped onto the ice, praying it wouldn’t crack. She wasn’t worried about getting frostbite again, rather she was concerned that a certain Juvenile Ghost would contemplate her weight issue.

Thanks to Dawn, she smoothly landed and slid away from the lake shore. While heading to the next walkway, Lin Wu had a brainwave, took Maya, and slid to the center of the river. Then, having Maya hold the rope, he swept away the snow and fired a shot at the ice with the Silencer. Seeing the ice didn’t break, Maya slid closer and spotted a small hole. Lin Wu estimated, "17? Or maybe 20 centimeters?"

Maya nodded, "About that."

Lin Wu asked, "Can the Overlord drive on the ice?"

Only then did Maya realize what Lin Wu was thinking, "Even if the Overlord could drive on the ice, how would we get it onto the ice in the first place?"

Lin Wu thought for a while, "That’s your problem. Since you can’t do it, let’s go."

After the small interlude, they reached the second walkway. This walkway was quite broad, with a kiosk, flanked by a diner and washrooms. The lengthy walkway had many compact four-person joined tables and chairs, and some zombies.

After clearing the zombies, Lin Wu and Maya found a food pack each in the diner and convenience store, with Lin Wu packing up all the diner’s ingredients.

As the snow was too thick on the washroom rooftop for the drone to scan the inside, they equipped their pistols with silencers and entered the men’s room one after the other. Right upon entering, they encountered two male zombies in suits. Maya’s steady hand took them down with two shots.

"Special zombies." Each took responsibility for searching one of the corpses.

Special zombies referred to the regular kinds wearing unusual clothing, which usually had plot-related items, information, or clues. Lin Wu found a box of business cards, about twenty in total. Half of the cards belonged to someone who was a chairman, and the rest were a variety of others. One of the blank cards had a line of writing on it.

"10 p.m. flight tomorrow night, Shuixi Middle School playground. Password: ’Lingering fragrance on the hands.’" Lin Wu read it out loud before passing the card to Maya.

Maya deduced, "It seems like someone provided the chairman an escape route out of Left County. Shuixi Middle School isn’t too far from the Sawmill. We can check it out when the time comes."

Lin Wu asked, "Anything on your end?"

"Nothing, but I believe there’s something inside there." Maya pointed to the washbasin where a black briefcase was placed.

Opening the briefcase, they first saw a document with the Fortress Company logo and stamp. It was a staff list from the Fortress Company’s Left County office with seven employee records. The other contents related to the office, offering no useful information. Finally, in the compartment, they found four blank business cards, identical to the one found on the chairman, all with the same writing.