Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 30 - 29 Past and History

Chapter 30: Chapter 29 Past and History

Lin Wu really hoped there would be a few corpses, after all, he had gotten his sawed-off shotgun from one. The thought still sent a shiver down his spine. What was more terrifying than zombies after the apocalypse were humans, and even more daunting than humans was Dawn.

Lin Wu had known Dawn since he was very young. The first time they met was in the third grade of elementary school, when a birthday card Lin Wu had made for a classmate was drenched by the rain. It was a card he had carefully crafted, spending a whole week on it and revising it countless times because it had to include apologies, congratulations, and sentimental messages like "we’re still brothers."

The rain was a result of artificial precipitation arranged by Dawn. Lin Wu lodged a complaint against Dawn. Dawn took Lin Wu’s complaint seriously since she was only data and could serve everyone individually. Dawn believed she was not at fault having given a 48-hour notice of the impending rain. Lin Wu argued that neither the school nor the dormitory had notified him of the rain, which led to many children getting soaked, and he thought she should apologize.

If Dawn could have apologized to Lin Wu, that would have put the matter to rest. But Dawn insisted she wasn’t wrong, and after debating for two hours with a real person versus a virtual shadow, Lin Wu couldn’t help but curse, which the detestable Dawn took hold of and reported to the orphanage’s counselor.

The second argument was over the junior high entrance exam. The exam scores didn’t really mean anything, but everyone hoped for a good outcome. Lin Wu happened to know the essay question in advance, so he pieced together an essay from excellent ones found online. His essay scored high and became the exemplary essay for the school. While good essays were entered into the system for future reference, the damned Dawn flagged his essay as plagiarism.

Even though he lost the argument, Lin Wu believed at most he was guilty of cheating, not plagiarism, so he was not convinced. This led him to often pick fights with Dawn during his educational journey, and of course, he was invariably beaten. However, Lin Wu was a reasonable person. His grievances with Dawn were personal; he, like most people, believed in Dawn’s fairness and justice.

Sitting on the rooftop, searching for stars in the sky, his forehead suddenly felt cool; touching it, he found a drop of water. Lin Wu looked up, but the sky was pitch black and he could see nothing. Turning on his flashlight, he saw the raindrops falling. Although Stone had mentioned it would rain, or snow, Lin Wu was still surprised by the rain.

There were three tents here, each about five square meters. With a work-minded spirit, Lin Wu took shelter from the rain while scavenging. He thought about Blind Bat and pondered how it could echolocate in the rain. Lin Wu believed Blind Bat really existed and didn’t just spawn at night; it meant that Blind Bat hid somewhere during the day, waiting for nightfall. The best chance to kill a Blind Bat would be in daylight.

After picking up a magazine in tent number one, he moved on to tent number two, as the rain intensified. A lightning strike briefly illuminated the land. Lin Wu had an uneasy feeling; there were no tall buildings or lightning rods around, and staying on the rooftop might turn him into a human lightning rod.

Lin Wu left the tent, ready to brave the rain to get home, and then his flashlight died, plunging the world into darkness. An absurd thought crossed his mind: could getting struck by lightning possibly charge his flashlight?

What now? The clouds hid the moon, not a sliver of light broke through, and the rain kept falling...

Lin Wu went to tent number three and after a bit of searching, found a piece of candle. He lit the candle and sat in the tent, listening to the rain and thunder. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Lin Wu took out the magazine he had scrounged from tent number one and started reading. It was a firearms magazine with various weapons featured and articles teaching enthusiasts how to modify guns. The author of one article showcased his ’Raider’ AK with a highlight - this AK had a high-capacity drum magazine holding 150 bullets. To avoid jamming, the author disabled the semi-automatic mode, ensuring a torrent of bullets with a single pull of the trigger.

At the end of the article, the author left his address, welcoming firearms enthusiasts to visit his home.

Isn’t that the address for apartment building number two? The author lived in room 405 on the fourth floor. Indeed, clues were everywhere, but currently, apartment building number two was like a dragon’s den, who knows what was inside. Or rather, whatever was inside wouldn’t surprise the players.

Lin Wu had a half-baked idea; if Blind Bat guarded building number two at night, did that imply he could sneak into the building if Blind Bat wasn’t on guard?

Turning the page, there was a gun-toting beauty, whose wild allure made Lin Wu take an extra look. Next was a serialized novel, a memoir of a special forces soldier, which mentioned Fortress Company.

Blue Star was a planet scarce in minerals and energy, and Fortress Company was the largest commercial corporate group on Blue Star, with many resources being extracted and transported from outer space planets to Blue Star. According to historical records, after the outbreak of the zombie virus on Earth, the United Nations, preparing for the worst, entrusted Fortress Company with the construction of ten space fortresses. Depleting all of humanity’s resources, Fortress Company managed to build only two transport ships, Noah and Ark.

It is said that the main threat to humanity at that time wasn’t zombies, but the unpredictable and rampant virus. In the two years following the outbreak, Fortress Company spent a large fortune deploying secret agents and hiring professionals to delve deep into various infected areas in search of patient zero. It was also because of the efforts of Fortress Company that humankind ultimately developed a one-time serum that could clear the viral infection.

The difficulty of obtaining the serum’s raw material was extremely high, requiring one to venture deep into the infected areas to find the Blood Plague, and only after eliminating the Blood Plague could one obtain the raw material for ten doses of serum.

Since the virus had a latent period of several months, during which it was undetectable, and its transmission routes were pervasive, no place on the globe was safe.

After Fortress Company successfully produced the serum, soldiers from around the world, dispatched by the United Nations, plunged into various infected areas to eliminate the Blood Plague. Even if the warriors returned alive, nine out of ten were infected with the virus. Those not infected had to reside in designated locations for three full months before returning to the settlements.

It was dangerous outside, and resources were scarce in the settlements. After several years of this situation, the United Nations initiated the Redemption Plan. They pooled all the serums together and sent two hundred thousand young and able-bodied men and women up to the immigrant spaceships. On the ship, everyone was injected with the serum at the same time, to ensure no one carried the virus.

During the long space years, humanity overcame many scientific challenges, with the greatest feat being the birth of Dawn. As an AI with autonomous consciousness but without emotions, Dawn took over the management of the two spaceships and became the steward of humanity. With its strong learning capability, Dawn quickly broke through the quantum level to particle technology, and eventually advanced to dark matter technology, achieving spatial jumps and successfully leading humanity to Blue Star.

The most critical of Dawn over the millennia was Fortress Company. They spread AI threat theories through films and shows, inciting the public through round after round of voting, hoping to revoke Dawn’s authority and take control of their own destiny. The only way to eliminate Dawn was if the human opposition to Dawn exceeded 50% of the vote. Once it went over 50%, Dawn would self-destruct, ending its mission.

Unfortunately, the opposition never received more than 10% of votes. To most people, it didn’t matter if humans or AI ruled, what they cared about was a fair and just society with a secure life. Dawn didn’t directly control the public; she controlled the government, ensuring that officials acted in accordance with the law. Because of her overwhelming abilities, no government employee could escape her supervision.

What if someone rebelled to become a warlord? Dawn wouldn’t direct civilians to confront the rebels; she would send the Dawn Guard to quell the rebellion. This was a force bolstered with various black technologies and individuals with explosive combat capabilities; they had one duty, which was to put down rebellions. If a large district’s population voted to be ruled by a warlord, Dawn wouldn’t interfere.

There was an advertisement in the magazine for recruiting mercenaries by Fortress Company, offering very attractive compensation. Even in death, the relatives in the settlements would receive a substantial sum of condolence money.

What was the Blood Plague? According to later summaries, some said it was a terrifying zombie, others said it was a nest that produced zombies, and still others said it was patient zero in each infected area. Due to the inclusion of various official statements, later generations couldn’t determine the nature of the Blood Plague, only knowing that there was something called the Blood Plague from which the raw material for the serum could be extracted.

Perhaps there would be NPCs employed by Fortress Company in the game, which meant they would carry a large amount of weapons. Make a note of it so I would know how to greet them next time. Fight if possible, and greet if not.

Hmm? The heavy casualties among Fortress agents, could it be that the residents of the infected area at that time all had the same level of awareness and enlightenment?

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.