Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 307 - 178: Hunter_2

Chapter 307: Chapter 178: Hunter_2

"I don’t like this head cover." As his vision suddenly narrowed to a rectangle, Lin Wu tugged at the head cover in dissatisfaction, to no avail—it remained rectangular.

"You’ll get used to it." Maya looked at the map, "We’ve reached the edge of Zone 10, walk two more intersections, then take a left at the third to head north."

Lin Wu asked, "Why do we have to meet up?"

Maya replied, "Promises, credibility. We guessed that the current situation might occur but believed it was a low probability."

Lin Wu: "In the presence of Dawn, all probabilities are possible."

At this point, Wai suddenly stopped, his nose emitting a long sound, "Hmm..." His gaze fixated ahead, teeth bared, ready to pounce. And 30 meters ahead, there was a tram that had come to a stop.

Lin Wu went into stealth and crouched down, patting his dog’s head. Wai understood that his master had received the message and sat down as well, reverting to his silly pose with his tongue out. The two of them and the dog took cover behind a large pillar on the side of the road. Maya took out a spyglass from the Age of Exploration, extending it to examine the tram.

Lin Wu asked in surprise, "What’s this antique?"

"A spyglass."

Lin Wu said, "I know."

Maya: "Then why do you ask?"

Lin Wu: "Antique."

Maya: "All your gear is antique."

That woman, not annoying otherwise, surely was infuriating when she wanted to be. Lin Wu said, "I’m asking why you’re using such an antique spyglass?"

Maya answered, "Because we couldn’t find a more advanced one... There are people inside, I’ll cover you, go."

Lin Wu went, leaving Wai behind. He moved stealthily and swiftly until he safely reached the end of the three-section tram. Maya’s voice came through his ear, accompanied by static, "It seems they haven’t noticed you."

Lin Wu swapped out the Silencer for a pistol, entering the tram through a door that didn’t exist. Then he saw a male player with Golden Hair lying back in the second carriage, with a box of pizza on the table and a cola beside him, his feet propped up leisurely as he read a magazine.

With a dagger in hand, Lin Wu continued to approach. Golden Hair took a sip of his cola, "Hey, how much longer will they be?" No sooner had he spoken than Lin Wu appeared in front of him and stabbed down, non-lethally, but before Golden Hair could make a sound, Lin Wu shot him in the head, killing him right away.

"Half an hour," a woman emerged from the middle of the first carriage, seemingly standing up from the bench and walking into the aisle.

Their eyes met, and Lin Wu immediately fired. With Maya’s training, Lin Wu’s shooting had greatly improved; his first shot blew the woman’s head off. She leaped onto the seat, but Lin Wu unceremoniously fired at the seat. If the seat could stop a bullet, he’d complain to Dawn down to their last pair of underwear.

Walking and shooting, he emptied a magazine and then reloaded with a new one before approaching the target. The woman was already lying across the seat, dead. Lin Wu immediately went through her pockets.

A hundred rounds of handgun ammunition, damn! Two hundred rounds of 5.56 ammunition, even more damn, because he hadn’t brought a rifle. An assault rifle, he needed an assault rifle. Watching the progress bar, Lin Wu prayed in his heart: no, no. But the damn Dawn erased the body at the last second of the progress bar. Lin Wu was so irritated he almost made a complaint.

Maya followed suit, she didn’t see the body, only the 200 rounds of 5.56 ammunition Lin Wu had traded to her. At that moment, she also wanted to curse the entirety of Dawn’s family. Luckily, there were still some pistol rounds, fifty for each of them after sharing.

"A player?"

"Player," Lin Wu said. "That female player seemed to be the Fortress agent Blood Meng."

"Seemed? You didn’t see clearly?"

Lin Wu answered, "Pretended not to see clearly." With such a high reward on offer, it was understandable not to see too clearly.

Maya couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t understand why she, who usually hated self-interested people the most, found Lin Wu’s self-interested thoughts and actions amusing.

Maya asked, "What about the other one?"

"He’s a guy."

"So?"

"Guys all look the same to me; I can’t be bothered to distinguish them." And what would that accomplish? It wouldn’t add an ounce of joy to my life. The only practical use of a man’s appearance to Lin Wu was for identifying individuals, and he couldn’t care less if all men looked the same. Girls, on the other hand, were different. Seeing a girl with a good figure, a pretty face, and long legs always lifted his spirits, maybe even prompting him to take a second, third, or even fourth look...

As Lin Wu got off the electric car and beckoned, Wai, who had been obediently sitting on the spot, immediately ran to Lin Wu’s side. Lin Wu patted its head as a reward. Wai, on its part, remained quite calm, licking Lin Wu’s hand in return and then, with a practiced turn of its head, looked around vigilantly, like a sharp soldier ever on guard.

Maya got off the vehicle, crouched down, and stroked Wai’s head: "With Wai here, we’re the real Hunters. Let me ask you."

"Hmm?"

"Can’t the name be changed?"

Lin Wu replied, "No." Of course, it could, but why should it be changed? To what? ’Zheng’? ’Lie Down’? ’Sit’? ’Call’?

Maya stroked Wai’s head again, a touch of sympathy in her voice, "We should walk close to the streets and avoid open areas as much as possible." One shot from a forehead guard, one shot systems protection—by the third, you’re dead.

As Lin Wu walked, he said, "Nuclear bombs wiped out 80% of the zombies, so where are the remaining 20%? Why haven’t we seen a single zombie on our way?"

Maya replied, "If you’ve ever played zombie games, you’d know that, in many of them, zombies are not the most terrifying creatures."

Lin Wu said, "Do you still insist this is a realistic reenactment of our first expedition?"

Maya shook her head: "I don’t know. The fact that Fortress Hunters attack humans doesn’t make sense, considering that by then, the Blue Star people had already migrated and Earth’s human countdown to extinction had begun. There’s no reason to attack and kill humans anymore. Unless..."

Lin Wu prompted, "Unless?"

Maya answered, "Unless it’s faith. Remember the message from Lab A6? It said some people believed humans were Earth’s parasite and that to protect Earth, humans must be eradicated. As far as I know, many extremist environmentalists in the 21st century held the same belief—protecting Earth was their creed."

Maya continued, "Fortress Hunters are martyrs. They want to stop humans from digging up the green devices, they want to prevent the last humans from saving humanity."

Lin Wu asked, "Are there really people with such extreme thoughts?"

Maya nodded firmly: "Not only do they exist, but there are also many of them. Someone once said that only humans can destroy humanity. Some people inherently possess an antisocial personality, lacking basic empathy for their own kind. For example, you’re a Hunter, and you see a wolf approaching an unattended baby. Under normal circumstances, you would shoot the wolf or scare it away."

Lin Wu asked, "And if not?"

Maya replied, "You watch the entire process through the scope. You might even use violence to prevent others from saving the baby, ensuring the situation continues to develop. It’s possible that the whole scenario was orchestrated by that person. Once some individuals turn bad, their actions can far exceed the imagination of ordinary people."

Changing the subject, Maya said, "But I believe players like Blood Meng don’t hold extreme views; to them, it’s merely a game mission."

Lin Wu responded, "I agree, and taking them out is our game mission, too."

The system broadcast, "Very important tip: Players are advised to head to the supply point as soon as possible."

The same message was broadcast three times. Lin Wu looked at Maya: "Are you still deciding to go to Zone 4?" If they decided to go to the supply point in Zone 1 now, they could probably get there by tonight. But if heading to the supply point in Zone 4, assuming everything went smoothly, they would only reach by noon the next day.

Maya stated, "Don’t easily change a decision you’ve already made; it would render your previous losses meaningless."

Lin Wu argued, "Cutting your losses in time can also be a wise move."

Maya inquired, "What’s your opinion?"

Lin Wu thought for a moment: "Personally, going to Zone 1 or Zone 4 makes little difference to me. But logically speaking, going to Zone 1 is the best option."

Maya said, "Since you’re not firm in your stance, let’s stick to Zone 4."

Lin Wu nodded: "Okay."

After resting and rehydrating, the two left the electric car and walked to the front. There, they spotted a sidecar motorcycle, which was a bike with a sidecar attached, exceedingly popular during World War II. Lin Wu and Maya exchanged surprised glances and high-fived in celebration. Maya cursed her own stupidity—how could Fortress Hunters, with such formidable armaments and logistics, not have any means of transportation?

Maya hopped onto the driver’s seat of the motorcycle, while Lin Wu and Wai settled into the sidecar. As the driver, Maya started the vehicle and reported, "We’ve got plenty of fuel."

Lin Wu lifted his gun: "Charge."