Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 712 - 335 Shadow Mutations (Part 2)_2

Chapter 712: Chapter 335 Shadow Mutations (Part 2)_2

Dashuang believed that everyone could stay, if there were conflicts, they would be resolved, and if not, the conflicts would be set aside. Snow Egg also agreed, thinking that two deputy commanders could be appointed, with Stone issuing work instructions, and Starlight and Shana each leading a team.

The atmosphere started to shift for the better, but Stone said, "I’m tired, I don’t want to play this game anymore. I’ll roll out far away." Months ago, when he saw both the Sales Supervisor and CEO die, he knew that Shadow was on a downhill path.

As the boss, he had supported Shana’s authority all by himself; he hadn’t made Starlight the Deputy Commander because he knew that would likely spark a conflict between two factions. But Stone had miscalculated one thing: Starlight might have been new, but Peanut wasn’t, and Emerald Feather was Peanut’s die-hard. Add to that, both Starlight and Emerald Feather were doctors, with similar daily work and living schedules, so the three of them got along very well.

When the Sawmill split from the Doomsday Fortress, Shana tried her best to manage the Sawmill, but it was no match for the Doomsday Fortress. Shana wasn’t the housekeeper type; she was more suited to being a squad leader. This was why Stone believed that after Lin Ma’s death, Shadow was bound to downhill.

As the boss, his talent lay in utilizing people, but without anyone to use, he couldn’t make it as a boss. All he could do was to ensure a stable food supply, increase the number of bonfires, and guide Shana in how to handle things in private.

As long as Stone was willing, Shadow could still be managed, but he had lost interest in Shadow. Stone stood by his view that Shadow’s faults were his faults as the boss; he would exile himself. "You want to reform or do whatever, it’s up to you," he said.

Starlight had no intention of seizing power, and she had her reasons for calling a meeting: publicly, she saw the current problems with Shadow—loose freedom leading to low productivity and lack of unified management regulations; privately, she detested Shana, convinced that Shana had snitched on her to Stone. Seeing Stone’s attitude, Starlight hurriedly tried to dissuade him, apologizing incessantly. The meeting ended in disarray.

That very night, Stone took some building materials, drove away the armored car, and left the base. The next day, Shadow held another full meeting, with Shana reading Stone’s message, asking them not to disturb a farmer’s life. Starlight suggested joint management of Shadow with Shana and further persuaded Stone to come back.

Shana said she would not stay with Shadow; she only wanted a pickup truck and basic weapons and ammunition. Cotton and Dashuang said they would leave with Shana. Little Knife, annoyed, said, "Disband, just disband, we don’t need the base." Snow Egg took the armored truck and some basic weapons along with some grains and left Shadow with Little Knife immediately, heading towards the Angel’s Alliance.

Starlight lost the will to persuade anyone, leaving only her, Emerald Feather, Peanut and Su Shi behind. Su Shi told Starlight to take what they could; he didn’t leave because the Doomsday Fortress had a minimum requirement of four people. He hoped Peanut would give him a lift, to take him to Stone. If he couldn’t find Stone, he would go into the mountains to live in seclusion.

Starlight stayed at Shadow initially to get close to Maya. As a strong woman, she was curious about how Maya took on the core operations of Shadow. With Starlight’s own considerable abilities, she looked down on Shana’s management level, yet she maintained a superficial friendliness and respect. She never entertained the idea of dissolving Shadow.

Regardless, that was the end of Shadow, and the invincible Doomsday Fortress was abandoned.

Shana, Cotton, and Dashuang drove away in the pickup truck, the only safe way being Route 99. So they followed Route 99 and eventually found Stone, who had settled in a hunter’s cottage two hundred meters from the road. In Stone’s words, his armored car could withstand many low-intensity sieges.

Shana couldn’t persuade Stone to rebuild Shadow. People like Stone were unlikely to change their minds once they had decided. Then Starlight brought Su Shi to Stone’s base, along with some fuel and supplies. The three sat down for tea, and Stone told Starlight not to blame herself—the closure of Shadow related to her, but was not mainly about her.

Stone thought such a large group, once on the decline, would inevitably see conflicts rise. And the damned Dawn covertly added fuel to the flames. The fish behind the dam was getting fewer, the farmland was plagued by locusts, the fish were becoming harder to catch, and the wild animals had learned to avoid traps.

Although Stone said this, Starlight formally apologized to both Stone and Shana, expressing regret for how things turned out. She also publicly acknowledged to Shana that she indeed held resentments against her.

Seeing that the two women were getting along, Stone suggested that they restart a group together.

Shana and Starlight just smiled at each other, neither taking Stone’s suggestion. They could let go of grudges, but they were no longer on the same path, no longer the kind to compromise; why force themselves together?

The armored truck had been taken away by Snow Egg. Starlight, unable to head to the Angel’s Alliance, decided to go to the Sawmill to establish a base, welcoming everyone to visit and even more so to join her new base.

Stone saw the two women off to the crossroads, saying, "The great trends of the world, long-separation must lead to unity, and long-union must lead to division. When will we unite? When the Earth naturally comes together, we will as well."

Shana, Cotton, and Dashuang established a temporary base in a villa near a river. They decided to head towards North City, planning to advance step by step towards North City until they found a satisfactory base.

Today, over a dozen days later, Shana found a nice farmstead. After contacting Cotton and the others, she left the base, ready to clear the zombies and take over the farmstead.

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