Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 69 - 68 The Long Night

Chapter 69: Chapter 68 The Long Night

Lin Wu sat on the ground and said, "One of my college roommates had a lot going for him, except that he was awkward and became tongue-tied around girls he liked. He couldn’t relax. He told me that girls knew he was a good man, but girls don’t want a good man, they prefer bad boys. Being sweet-talked into deception, crying one’s heart out for love, that’s what makes up a perfect relationship."

Shana seemed to understand, "So that’s why you don’t pay attention to girls. I mean, romantically and emotionally."

Lin Wu thought back to his past and said, "It was beautiful, but also exhausting. My first relationship was in the final year of middle school, with the girl next door, who was very clingy. The second one was in college, with a very rational and mature-minded girl. The sweetest highs usually come with special kinds of lows."

Lin Wu continued, "The first girl was under my care. I woke her with a phone call, carried her books, bought breakfast for her, waited for her after school, and helped her with homework. It felt immersive at the start, but later it left me physically and mentally drained. She grew used to asking all of my time for herself, leaving me with almost no private time."

Shana asked, "And the second one?"

Lin Wu replied, "The opposite, she arranged everything for me, what subjects to read, what certifications to take. For the sake of my health, she even prescribed my diet. Just like the first relationship, initially feeling loved was extremely joyful. But over time, the rebelliousness and mischief in my bones couldn’t be restrained."

Shana nodded, "What you’re looking for is her help when you need it, not you having to accommodate everything she wants you to do. Is that it? You haven’t had enough experience to say, ’I don’t need girls to have a good opinion of me.’

Lin Wu shook his head, "Love is too luxurious, too heavy. When you become someone’s boyfriend, you take on a lot of responsibilities. It’s a human life, just like plants have a lifespan, wouldn’t it be nice to walk through this journey lightly? Why burden oneself with countless responsibilities? Boyfriend, husband, father—you lose yourself in all of these roles."

"I’m surprised, as a recent college graduate, how could you come up with such a theory?" Shana said, "This seems like a thought only a middle-aged person weighed down by life would have."

Lin Wu answered, "A good friend of mine fell into the 5%, and I often stayed over at his place. His father was in the 95%, a minor tycoon who liked gaming, which is how we became close despite the age difference. Whenever I faced relationship troubles, he would always encourage and support me. Unexpectedly, he was the one to fall first."

Lin Wu said, "Two years ago he was determined to divorce. On the eve of my emigration he took me out for a meal and told me he had been very happy these past two years. I asked him whether I should avoid dating and marriage, and he solemnly advised me that if you have a career, if you have money, I urge you not to marry. If you’re poor, you must marry and have children. I asked why, and he just laughed without answering, only revealing that this was his parting advice to me, an experience bought with over twenty years of his life. He didn’t want me to take more than twenty years to come to the same realization as he did."

Rather be in love with a woman who’s after your money than one who’s into you. The former only wants your money and will always just want your money. The latter wants not just your money; she wants all of you.

Lin Wu: "Date cautiously, reject family responsibilities, enjoy life, live happily, be positive, brave challenges, seek truth, and realize oneself." (The above represents Lin Wu’s own views on romance and has nothing to do with the author.)

"But love can bring happiness."

"Yes, nothing brings more happiness than love. But there’s no eternal love, it may even be said that love has a very short shelf life. Why bother with momentary happiness just to fall into a lifelong inescapable predicament?" Lin Wu said, "We still have dreams, still have poetry and distant lands. We who are alone can take risks, can challenge, can laugh, can travel far, can sing."

Shana expressed her understanding and said, "For instance, if we were in a loving relationship now and there was a cost, you would remember the happiness but forget about me. If I didn’t ask for money, your sense of responsibility and morality would start to trouble you. You would have to sacrifice your time, material desires, and energy to meet my needs. Yes, you’re right; nothing is more expensive than what’s offered for free. It’s the same from a girl’s perspective—if a woman has money, she is happier not marrying. If a woman is poor, she should marry to change her lifestyle."

Lin Wu raised his hand, and they high-fived each other, sharing a smile.

Shana asked, "Have you contacted the base yet?"

"Ah!" Lin Wu then remembered, took out the walkie-talkie, and prepared to open the channel.

"Shh." Shana picked up the blanket that came with the hospital bed and wrapped Lin Wu in it, to prevent Stone’s howl from attracting zombies. Lin Wu fumbled with the walkie-talkie under the blanket for a while before emerging, and Shana said, "They must be worried, right?"

Lin Wu: "I don’t know."

"You don’t know?"

Lin Wu: "I just remembered, before we left I made a pact with Stone: using the walkie-talkie is for sissies."

Shana stared at Lin Wu for a full three seconds, snatched the walkie-talkie, and called the base from under the blanket, only to lift the blanket and say, "Too far away."

Lin Wu, unconcerned, said, "Getting in touch with them won’t save us anyway. You lie down, and I’ll watch outside."

Just as Lin Wu was about to open the inner door, Shana said, "Lin Wu."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"Psh." Lin Wu closed the door and left.

Through a gap in the curtains, several zombies could be seen either standing still or wandering back and forth in the corridor of Safe Zone 01. Lin Wu, holding the Silencer, focused his attention on the living room he was in. The apartment’s original owners were a newlywed couple, their loving wedding photo prominently displayed on the wall.

Lin Wu sat on the floor, pulled open the first drawer of the TV cabinet against the wall, which contained masks and disinfectant. Clearly, the owner had hoped to rely on them to isolate the virus and protect himself. The second drawer held everyday items, disposable gloves, and such. The third drawer contained two unopened bags of coffee beans. Thinking of Little Knife, Lin Wu pocketed the coffee beans. The fourth drawer was filled with miscellaneous items—electric shavers, discarded phone chargers, and the like. After checking all eight drawers, he found nothing of value.

Next to the TV cabinet was a small, wall-mounted bookshelf with three long slots filled with books—all classical literature, no technical books, and no Skill Books. Lin Wu randomly selected a book and lay down on the sofa. It was only 11 p.m., but the night was bound to be a long one.

After firing Eagle Sand’s last bullet, Lin Wu, now facing a Frenzy mixed with a few zombies, couldn’t handle such a lineup. He could only rely on speed and Wind Stinger to break through the encirclement and escape. By then, not to mention taking care of Shana, his own chances of survival weren’t high. Thinking this, Lin Wu recalled the apartment layout in his mind, then got off the bed and went to the door, his hand on the doorknob.

Gently, he pushed the door open a crack and waited, pushing the door with his right hand at the right moment, and with the left, the Sharp Blade performed an execution. His left arm locked around the zombie’s neck, dragging it into the room before closing the door. Observing the zombie’s location through the curtains and correlating it with the base map, Lin Wu killed several more zombies and cleared out the corridor of the Safe Zone.

Then Lin Wu made his way to room 203 next door, which was part of the base. He cleaned out the zombies inside the room and went to the bathroom. Just as he had thought, the bathroom’s window was unobstructed, and from there he could see another unit. Lin Wu secured the rope tightly, turning this into a backup escape route. When necessary, he could burst into the bathroom, throw down the rope, and make his escape.

However, to secure the escape route, he had to hold the corridor. The noise radius of the Silencer without a suppressor was six meters, definitely unusable. With the suppressor fitted, the noise affect radius was only 1.25 meters, meaning firing in the corridor wouldn’t attract zombies from outside the Safe Zone. But the suppressor could only be used four more times, and only forty bullets remained.