Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 670 - 318 Desert Town_2

Chapter 670: Chapter 318 Desert Town_2

While building the ward, Maya went to the lake to catch crabs and fish, and Lin Wu crawled into the tent, one hand resting on the sickbed, feeling that something was off. So he bellowed, "Doctor, doctor," thinking he was still active.

Maya had no choice but to come back to treat him. As an outpatient, the doctor had to accompany him the whole time. Moreover, as a general practitioner, the treatment time doubled, and what would have healed on its own—a sunburn—took them an hour to handle. However, compared to Lin Wu shouting and hollering for two hours, Maya thought it was worth wasting that hour.

As Maya was about to leave, Wai returned, a crab hanging from its nose, sitting on the side with a face full of grievance. Maya, both annoyed and amused, reached out to remove the crab. Lin Wu stood up to stretch his limbs, "Let’s go, I’ll avenge you." He couldn’t beat Maya, but he could certainly take on a few crabs.

...

The campfire was cooking fish soup and roasting crabs, filling the air with delicious aromas. Maya was up to her old tricks, reflecting on her overly optimistic attitude, underestimating future difficulties. To this, Lin Wu responded, "No worries, I forgive you."

At that moment, Maya wanted to kill him. My reflection wasn’t for your forgiveness. However, she couldn’t really say that; her reflection did indeed show she was learning from her mistakes, and it implied an apology. The problem lay here; if I hadn’t apologized, you’d forgive me, and then I’d punch you. But she had indeed apologized.

She really shouldn’t have built that sickbed; at least his ghostly howling wouldn’t be as annoying then.

Lin Wu wasn’t one to think that much, saying, "It’s one o’clock in the afternoon now, and the timing is awkward. Do we rest a bit and pack up the tent this evening to travel, or do we rest here for a whole day?" He couldn’t travel during the day, or he’d bake in the sun like firewood. The most pressing issue was still containers; five liters of water was just too little.

Hm? Could he make Wai drink lots of water, and when needed, press on its stomach so water would spout from its mouth? No, what if it hoarded the water for itself? It might not drink water, but it could spout water for fun. It wouldn’t do that? If he could do it, why couldn’t it?

Hm? After all this wild speculation, why aren’t you saying anything? Lin Wu prompted, "Hm?"

Maya said, "I’m thinking about ways to store water."

Lin Wu suggested, "Let’s rest overnight—we might catch some foolish wolves to make water bags from their skins."

Maya looked outside, "The entire oasis has nothing but a single date palm tree. Where would we get the workshop from?"

Lin Wu thought for a moment, "Once we find some wood, don’t we have our water bags?"

Maya sighed deeply, "If we can find wood, why worry about not having material for water bags?"

"What does your sigh mean?"

You don’t know what a sigh means? Truth be told, having such a person by her side, no matter how harsh the environment, it couldn’t stop her intense passion, the passion to beat him up. Thinking this, Maya managed a rare smile, startling Lin Wu, "Are you okay?"

Maya shook her head, tossing some scrap wood into the campfire, "Although this is an oasis, resources are too scarce. We’ll break camp at four in the afternoon and depart at seven in the evening. I have more bad news for you. Considering the circular shape of Technology City’s North City, our understanding of the terrain north of North Town, and connecting it with your sunburn, I believe we are at an altitude over 2,500 meters. And Highway 88 is still ascending slowly."

Lin Wu questioned, "The altitude of desserts is high? I’ve heard many deserts were once seas." Sea level, deserts, altitude?

Maya said, "When humans left Earth, the altitude of Earth’s Qaidam Desert ranged from 2,500 to 3,000 meters, with the highest point being 4,700 meters. To confirm my theory, you could sunburn yourself again after removing the factor of water, and I can roughly guess our current altitude."

"Wai, you see, there’s always someone who wants to harm me," Lin Wu said, "Even if you’re right, perhaps the high places aren’t deserts."

"No, it should still be a desert. From low to high, and then from high to low, only then can we get out of the desert," Maya said, "Dawn has set us a new challenge. The arc of Highway 88 is quite large. Let’s put it this way—point A to point B, the highway distance is about 150 kilometers, while the direct distance might only be 30 kilometers."

Lin Wu said, "But we can’t leave the highway."

"That’s right," Maya said, "However, if we reach a dead end, we can only gamble by using drone reconnaissance."

Lin Wu said, "I wonder what kind of terrain Fantasy City has."

Maya asked, "What terrain do you hope it will have?"

This simple question stumped Lin Wu, "Mountains, but not too high or steep. Lakes, but not too deep or vast. Plains, but not too expansive. Altitude no more than 100..."

"Sorry, my mistake. I shouldn’t have asked you to make a wish."

"It’s okay, just be more careful next time."

...

Lin Ma hadn’t expected Route 88’s desert stretch to be so long. Leaving at night, and taking a break at seven in the morning to avoid the sun, Lin Ma still hadn’t left this land by then.

The drone brought back no good news, so at seven in the evening, Lin Ma continued on the journey, and finally arrived at a deserted town built by the roadside at six in the morning on the third day.

The winds on the road were strong and full of sand, which was unpalatable, so the two used cloth strips to wrap their ears and noses, looking quite like bandits. The second thing to do upon entering Desert Town was to find a water source. The first, of course, was to set up the tent.

According to the records they found, this town had been relocated 10 years ago for a reason that was rather disheartening. The town’s three wells had already dried up completely 10 years before. The documents said that they had lived here for thousands of years, and the place used to be a vast oasis. With the encroachment of sand and human destruction of nature, desertification worsened, eventually making it uninhabitable.

However, the situation in the town differed from what was recorded. There was quite a bit of green vegetation in the sandy soil, not the thorny plants of the desert, but reeds commonly found in grasslands. There weren’t many, but they couldn’t grow without a certain amount of water. This discovery lifted their spirits, and Maya took a stick, and using a rope, went down to Well One to dig, but found nothing after half an hour.

Undeterred, Lin Wu immediately proceeded to Well Two. The situation was completely different from what the documents described—in Well Two, there was over one meter of fresh water. Well Three was also a normal water well. Maya’s explanation was that when humans left, nature healed, and resources recovered. The original two wells could support ten people living normally, but the town had 100 or even more people, and migrating was the only option.

Lin Wu thought it was all Dawn’s shamelessness. It first provided clear documentary evidence to deceive players, then it drained the nearest Well One, hoping players would give up in despair. But for all its cunning, it hadn’t anticipated its tent would take three hours to set up, nor that Maya was someone who couldn’t sit still.

"We’ll rest for a day, and set off at seven in the evening tomorrow," said Maya. "We need to gather as many containers as possible."

Lin Wu asked, "Can the two horses handle it? I mean the weight, the weight of the water."

Maya replied, "Adding another 50 kilograms to each horse won’t affect them."

"Really?"

Maya continued, "The sandstorm weighs about 800 kilograms, and normally, a horse’s load is about 20% of its body weight, which means Sandstorm can carry 160 kilograms. Within this range, its movement won’t be hindered."

Lin Wu thought it over—160 minus 50 equals 110, the weight of your backpack plus weapons...

That’s the last straw! With a trip and a shove to the ground, followed by a barrage of punches, Lin Wu sat on the ground watching Maya walk away, feeling wronged, "I didn’t say it aloud."

Maya turned back and threw a half bottle of water at Lin Wu, who caught it: Hmph!

kilograms, the weight of your backpack plus weapons is around 40 kilograms, which means your body weight is about 70 kilograms. No wonder you wanted to shut me up. Heh, bet you didn’t see that coming? You can shut my mouth, but you can’t stop me from thinking.

No matter how harsh the environment, as long as you have a fool by your side, you’ll never feel lonely or empty.

The buildings in Desert Town consisted mainly of low houses, plain in style with one door and one window—they were poorly lit and not very spacious. Constructed primarily of sandstone, there was no wood to be seen.

Maya’s voice came through the headset, "I’ve found the answer."

Lin Wu asked, puzzled, "What problem? Did I miss something?"

"It’s in my head," Maya said, frustrated yet calming herself with a deep breath. "I couldn’t understand why they only left town after the wells dried up—no one would like living in such conditions. The answer is in the town hall documents, which mention a gold mine 15 kilometers from the town. I’m planning to go take a look, see if I can find anything useful."

Lin Wu asked, "What about this place?"

"You’re still here, aren’t you?" Maya’s voice raised a notch.

"Oh!" Lin Wu said, "You’re pretty irritable today."

"I apologize."

"I accept."