Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 671 - 319: The Only Divine Artifact

Chapter 671: Chapter 319: The Only Divine Artifact

The townsfolk left behind many pots and pans, but Hardcore Mode corrosion is ruthless, even pottery gets degraded. In Hardcore Mode, the system recognizes fewer and fewer items, with players mainly getting items from the crafting room.

Lin Wu, as Maya requested, collected discarded plastic. The system is sensible enough since the degradation time for plastic is truly long; thus, the only type not affected by Hardcore Mode is plastic, but it specifically only applies to plastic water bottles. Luckily, what Lin Ma now needed was precisely plastic water bottles.

Lin Wu searched through a few homes and miraculously found an extremely rare, even divine artifact: a washing machine. All washing machines in the settlement were broken, only good for being dismantled for parts. And to build a laundry room in the base, you needed one intact washing machine.

The pots for boiling water, the stoves made of stones, and so on, are not system items but can still be used. In short, the chance of finding an intact system-certified washing machine was infinitely close to zero.

Consider Dawn to be honest. It never leads mankind to despair, always stashing a complete item here in the town where no bird would even poop, in a secret room, in a basement, behind some panel. Not to mention finding it, Lin Wu couldn’t believe that anyone would come to the middle of the desert in search of a washing machine.

Fun, right? Unfortunately, you’ve met me. Lin Wu immediately intended to carry the washing machine back to his tent. Alright, too heavy, come back later. It’s not that it couldn’t be lifted, but it was tiring. And since there was the strong woman Maya, why should he, a dexterous man, suffer?

Waiting left and right with no sign of Maya returning, Lin Wu wrestled with Wai on the grass in front of his tent. After getting bored with that, he hugged Wai to go rub up against aloof Phantom. At first, Phantom would move away a couple of steps and snort to express its discontent. After being disturbed multiple times, it endured. But that made the game less fun, so Lin Wu and Wai began to play "dry land swimming."

Lying face down on the grass with your face to one side, the upper body must remain still, using the knees to ’walk’ forward by pressing against the grass.

When Maya returned to see this scene, a deep sense of helplessness swept over her. Having hung around Lin Wu for so long, she, as a young woman, often felt like she was the mother.

"Hey!" Lin Wu pressed down Wai’s head with one hand, sliding forward: "You’ve been gone so long?"

Maya took out a package from her backpack: "Found a bundle of building materials."

Lin Wu immediately sat up: "You go put the building materials away first, I’ll show you the Divine Artifact of this game."

Full of curiosity, Maya followed Lin Wu to a household’s basement. Lin Wu pulled away the panel and presented: "Ta-da-da-da!"

"A washing machine?" Maya stepped forward to inspect and exclaimed in surprise: "An intact washing machine? In the center of the uninhabited desert?"

Lin Wu nodded: "The caprices of Dawn are beyond our understanding. Move it out!"

"Hold on," Maya said: "A bundle of building materials isn’t enough to build a laundry room."

Lin Wu said: "Demolish the infirmary."

"Demolish the infirmary?" Maya was puzzled by what Lin Wu was thinking. "After demolishing the infirmary, the base ends up with seven empty slots, the only structure being the laundry room. No kitchen, no dormitory, no crafting room, no infirmary—just a laundry room, without even having water. Demolish the infirmary to build a laundry room that doesn’t have water?"

Lin Wu explained: "You have to realize this washing machine is a once-in-a-millennium sight. Imagine, you’ve inadvertently acquired a novel autographed by a Divine Shrimp, and it’s the only copy in the entire universe—his novels aren’t good, he’s not famous, but it’s the only copy. Would you say it’s precious or not? The washing machine isn’t very useful, but it’s the only one in the settlement. Building a laundry room is the only way to take it with us." Adding an attachment only increases the time to pick it up, not the weight.

Carried away by the passion in Lin Wu’s words, Maya found herself somewhat convinced. This wasn’t just a washing machine, it was vanity, a badge, a symbol. But Maya immediately shook her head to discard the thought: "First, we have to survive to leave the desert."

Lin Wu retorted: "After you leave the desert, you’ll regret not taking the washing machine because you will never find another one. It’s like love; once missed, it’s gone forever."

Maya asked: "You really want it?"

The wily woman reverse-psychologized the General. Lin Wu could tell she was moved by his words, but only slightly shaken. Now she needed an excuse, like if he said he really wanted it, she’d play along and take the washing machine.

Lin Wu nodded earnestly: "Yes."

Maya pulled out her assault rifle, and Lin Wu hurried to shield the washing machine; "Stop, stop, put the gun down, we can talk it out." A woman’s heart is like the ocean’s fathomless depths, inscrutable to the common man.

Maya put away the gun and patiently explained to Lin Wu: "Let’s assume we take the washing machine, make it back to the Doomsday Fortress, and even manage to find a rare Sentry Card to connect water to the laundry room, then what?"

"Then?" Lin Wu said: "Then we could do laundry."

Maya continued: "And then while you’re sleeping, playing, or seeking solitude in your tent, Shadow’s dozen or so members would come intermittently to wash their clothes. Each one would greet you, and while they did their laundry, they’d want to chat. You’d have to maintain basic courtesy, right? After all, you’re too lazy to cook, so you have to eat their food; it wouldn’t be right to deny them use of the washing machine, right?"

"I, I could pack up the tent," Lin Wu stammered.

"Really? Fine, you could pack up the tent and live in the Doomsday Fortress as an ally. If you need something, you just have someone fetch it from storage for you; not a big deal."