Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 684 - 323 Defense Task_2

Running into someone’s house, snatching their snacks to eat, and then mocking them, you’re a real Devil, a true Great Devil.

Lin Wu pulled up a chair to sit down and took Lin Meng’s pen right out of her hand. Lin Meng was breathing heavily and at a loss for what to do, warning him, "Don’t mess around, I will report you."

Lin Wu said, "Report? I’ve asked Dawn, and I can do anything to an agent. Like break your arms and legs, and then heh heh heh heh!"

"Shut up," Maya sat down, grabbed the notebook and while looking through it said, "He’s joking. But how come you only have so little supplies left?"

Lin Meng ran away in tears, "Because of the train event." She had been Corpse Looted by Lin Wu five times during that event. Yes, she was the Lin who could draw in 3D, and she was also the one who killed Shuihua. She had sold many of her resources to buy these items.

No wonder seeing Lin Wu was like seeing a ghost.

Maya put down the notebook and said to Lin Meng, "We can help you with earning points on a mission, but we need to charge up."

Lin Meng looked skeptical, while Lin Wu added, "Otherwise, we’ll have to do this the hard way, bully you, then kill you, loot your gear, and finally ransack your safe house."

Lin Meng immediately responded, "I agree to cooperate." She moved closer to Maya, seeking a sense of security.

Maya asked, "Do you have any fast-track missions?"

Lin Meng went into a daze, looking at her mission menu, "Three kilometers away, there’s a pair of Twin Tyrants. When one Tyrant falls, it begins to regenerate health, lasting fifteen seconds. The other Tyrant must be defeated within those fifteen seconds. One of the Tyrants is on the left bank of the river, the other on the right, the river is three meters deep and thirty meters wide."

Maya said, "Then let’s go."

"Just like that?"

Maya responded, "It’s just two Tyrants. Don’t drive, ride a horse with me."

"A horse? Where are you getting a horse?"

Why was Lin Meng concerned about the horse? The answer became clear once she saw it. When she saw the two horses, Lin Meng’s eyes widened. She went up to Phantom and tried to touch it but, when Phantom avoided her, she wasn’t upset and instead went to hug Sandstorm’s neck.

Lin Meng wasn’t part of the 5%, but given her parents’ good situation, she hadn’t entered the Public Supporting System. Ever since she got a pony as a gift for her seventh birthday, she developed a complete fondness for horses. After entering university, she not only joined the equestrian and polo clubs but also participated in a global equestrian competition, securing an impressive eighth place.

So not every Fortress agent had a distasteful appearance, nor could every Fortress agent fight. No wonder Nightmare had only listed Blood Meng and Phantom as adversaries from the start, a small potato like Lin Meng really didn’t catch her interest. For example, Lin Meng had already forgotten to ask one question: How had Lin Ma entered her safe house?

...

The Twin Tyrants would spawn when an agent accepted the mission and entered a certain range. Maya crossed the river, and through the earpiece, gave instructions to Lin Wu, Maya and Lin Meng fired together. Lin Wu leapt onto the horse’s back and rode off, leaving Lin Meng yelling in urgency, "Hey, hey!" Jump on at the sight of oneself, but run from the Tyrants, the pure Six-tao Devil.

Assault rifles had strong sustained output, and even if one couldn’t guarantee hitting headshots at all times, as long as each bullet hit the Tyrant, it was enough to stagger them; retreating while shooting could grind down a Tyrant eventually.

Lin Meng’s combat proficiency was no match for Maya’s, and her magazine changes were much slower by comparison. Seeing that the Titan on Maya’s side had stumbled twice, Lin Meng grew anxious. Just then, a rocket whistled down, striking the Titan on the head and exploding on impact, promptly bringing it to the ground. Another rocket was dispatched to the second Titan, and almost simultaneously, both Titans fell.

Lin Wu rode back on his horse to see Lin Meng staring at him with her mouth agape. He snapped, "What are you gaping at? You’ve only got 15 seconds, finish it off quickly."

"Oh, oh!"

Afterwards, Lin Meng and Maya together finished off the Titan on the spot.

"Is it that easy?" Lin Meng couldn’t believe it.

Dismounting, Lin Wu began Corpse Looting, and damn! He found an Outpost Card. His eyes lit up with stars, but then he fell into deep thought. Should he provide his tent with water supply first, or electricity? Damn Maya, she destroyed the washing machine.

On Maya’s end, she obtained a blueprint: Solar Panel. This sounded great, but in practical use, it was quite underwhelming. With the Outpost Card powering up, the base could obtain an unlimited electricity supply. Solar Panels could only provide limited power, restricted by weather conditions, and even if unused, the battery capacity would slowly decay.

Still, it was valuable, especially for bases without outpost power. One Solar Panel was enough for basic lighting needs in a base.

Completing the mission, Lin Meng acquired a substantial amount of points. The three returned to the Safe House, where Lin Meng bought gasoline to light up the Safe House. Lin Wu made no pretenses and immediately recharged Little Fight. Lin Meng purchased ammunition, sharing some with Maya and also buying snacks for herself like coffee and fried chicken. According to Lin Meng, her ammo reserve was enough for two offensive missions.

Only then did Lin Ma learn that special agent missions were divided into offensive and defensive types. Offensive missions were straightforward, but defensive missions were in endless mode, where the difficulty increased with each level.

Defensive missions were very difficult. Lin Meng had only played the first level, using over three hundred bullets, breaching her defense perimeter, and narrowly emerging victorious. Could she invite other players for help? Of course, but ordinary players couldn’t afford the high consumption of ammunition, which had to be supplied by special agents.

Seeking outside help, one must call in the elites, both to ensure mission success and to ensure that the points gained were enough to replenish the ammunition. The points gained from defensive missions weren’t high, focusing instead on upgrades for the Safe House. After breaking through the first level, Lin Meng’s reward was a Safe House Attribute Medal: a permanent increase of one point in all her attributes that wouldn’t disappear upon death.

Lin Meng learned about the rewards for other special agents completing the first defense level. One received a 5% increase in points gained, stackable. Another could reposition the Safe House.

"Reposition the Safe House?"

"That’s right. Nightmare, Blood Meng, and Sandstorm seemed very interested in this reward, asking non-stop about it, even though the only mission he completed was a very ordinary Bridgehead Defense Battle." Lin Meng explained to Lin Ma that her first defensive mission was also a Bridgehead Defense Battle, similar to a zombie siege but with the distinction that she couldn’t let any zombies cross the bridge.

In addition, there were Spotlight and Low Light modes for defense missions, with the system noting that completing missions in Low Light mode increased the chances of acquiring high-level rewards.

Many Fortress agents tried the first level, some failed, and some succeeded, with a common belief emerging: they wouldn’t take on defensive missions again until amassing enough ammunition. Not only did Lin Meng use over three hundred bullets to pass the first level, but she also used several dozens of Incendiary Grenades, bundles of explosives, and a box of landmines.

In Lin Meng’s eyes, the difficulty of the defensive battle was not extremely high, at least for the first level. What was challenging was the need for supplies, particularly the great demand for bullets. Fatal was the fact that the difficulty of offensive missions also increased stepwise: for example, if she fought two Titans today, the minimum for tomorrow’s mission would be two Titans plus a regular zombie.

A well-off agent could accumulate capital from both offense and defense. They’d upgrade their Safe Houses by fighting defensive battles to increase their points gain rate, earn more points by fighting offensive battles, and then use defensive battles for further enhancements, thereby establishing a virtuous cycle.

Lin Meng was careful and cautious, preparing as if she were going to use a bull-cleaving knife for a poultry-killing task, slowly accumulating a fair amount of wealth. She knew Lin Wu was among the top players, but in this train event, she, like the other special agents, confirmed that Lin Wu and Maya had left Shadow due to their deaths. To this day, she still didn’t understand why Lin Wu retained his skills and attributes. The only person who knew the answer was Nightmare, and she would never share such exclusive news with others.

Lin Meng was generous, buying instant noodles with her remaining points to treat Lin Ma to a meal and also giving them six packs of noodles. She lacked the special agent awareness, and her behavior and thinking weren’t too different from ordinary people. However, even as they became somewhat closer, Lin Meng still subconsciously stuck close to Maya, avoiding Lin Wu and not daring to meet his eyes, as if wary that Lin Wu would bite her at any moment.

Lin Wu set up his tent and replenished the horses with fodder. Lin Meng, envious upon seeing the tent, chose to cook the instant noodles inside, seemingly forgetting that she was but a lamb to the slaughter in the base of others. From this, it was evident that Lin Meng was more concerned about perceived dangers rather than the actual risks.