Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 748 - 340: Revisiting Old Haunts

Chapter 748: Chapter 340: Revisiting Old Haunts

The bar wasn’t very spacious, housing only two buildings, the kitchen and the infirmary, which were apparent at a glance upon entry.

Lying on a sickbed, he quickly sat up at the sound of the alarm and grabbed the gun beside him. When he recognized the newcomers, his gun drooped, "Hi, boss," he said with a smile that bore the weight of bitterness, the overtone almost masking the surprise in his voice.

"Hi, Snow Egg, long time no see," Lin Wu chuckled, pointing at Snow Egg, "You’ve lost weight."

"Heh," Snow Egg let out an awkward laugh, realizing he should offer a greeting, "Have a seat... There’s no place to sit, sorry about that."

Stone approached Snow Egg and demanded, "What the hell is going on with you? How did you end up like this?"

Snow Egg sighed again, "You only get it after going through it all. It’s not because of my own competence that I stayed in Hardcore Mode, but because everyone else was so capable."

Stone patted Snow Egg’s shoulder in consolation and asked, "Where’s Little Knife?"

Snow Egg answered, "She went to find food."

Stone opened his backpack and handed Snow Egg the packed lunch he had prepared. In this damned game, hunger was a painful reality, and many people had committed suicide because of it.

After leaving Angel’s Alliance, Snow Egg and Little Knife searched for the system-recommended farmstead, but without any clues, they lost their way on this plain. Just as Lin Meng had envisioned, they abandoned the truck in favor of a car that used less fuel.

While driving, fatigued from a restless night camping, Snow Egg got distracted and was involved in a serious traffic accident. Snow Egg suffered a double leg fracture, losing 90% of his mobility in those legs. They fixed the car with the only repair kit they had left and were lucky to find this bar, where they set up a temporary home.

Even with an infirmary, without a doctor, Snow Egg’s fractures couldn’t be properly treated; the infirmary was built at least to manufacture pain-relieving medication from herbs. Both had come to terms with enduring the last few days of the month before departing Hardcore Mode at its end. But even getting through those days was challenging. Little Knife lacked experience in fishing and hunting, her skills weren’t boosted, and the food she could bring back each day wasn’t much; sometimes, she returned empty-handed.

Little Knife felt she wasn’t doing well, while Snow Egg thought he wasn’t living up to his responsibilities, instead burdening her. With negative emotions on both sides, life felt suffocating. Although they never argued, Snow Egg felt it might have been better to have at least one argument. In the past two days, they had grown sick of each other, with Little Knife leaving early and returning late, barely communicating. It was truly a grueling ordeal.

After verifying Little Knife’s location, Stone tossed Lin Wu the jeep keys, "You go, and Lin Meng goes with you."

"Got it," Lin Wu waved to Snow Egg as he took his leave.

...

By the third river on the Great Farm Plains, downstream from the big bridge, Little Knife watched the water surface intently, her bow drawn taut. As she released, the arrow, tethered by a thin rope, pierced the water like one unattached. Sighing, Little Knife pulled the arrow back in, examined its tip, then set the bow aside and sat alone on a rock, resting her chin on her hands, lost in thought at the water’s edge.

"Hey!!" The call was long and drawn out.

Little Knife turned to see Lin Wu at the edge of the road, overwhelmed by joy, blinking to make sure it was real, "Lin Wu." Her emotions switched from elation to a sense of being wronged within a few steps.

Lin Wu caught Lin Meng by the shoulder, pulling her in front of him, preventing Little Knife’s hug, "Let me introduce, Lin Meng, Little Knife." As a man of principles, Lin Wu didn’t hug women who had boyfriends, nor did he have physical contact with them.

Little Knife froze in place, the hurt bottled up inside her. But seeing Lin Wu was definitely a good thing, and she instantly reverted to normal, shaking hands with Lin Meng, "Nice to meet you."

"Ha, you’ve grown up a bit since I last saw you," said Lin Wu, passing his own lunch box over.

Little Knife accepted it and peeked inside — rice balls and stir-fried meat. Lin Meng pulled out a foldable table and three stools from the trunk. Little Knife repeatedly thanked them.

After sitting down, Little Knife looked at Lin Wu while eating, "How did you get back?"

"Drove," Lin Wu pointed at the jeep.

"Haha." Little Knife offered laughter for Lin Wu’s lame joke. But really, even if Lin Wu farted right now, she would laugh. The nostalgia, combined with the events of the past few months, made her overwhelmingly fond of him. Little Knife inquired, "What about Maya?"

"She came back too," Lin Wu said.

Little Knife hesitated before asking, "Have you met up with him?"

"Yeah," Lin Wu said, "A science guy, a childish girl, you pair up and decide not to live somewhere with fewer people, but head straight for the crowd. What were you thinking? In the Apocalypse Era, the most dangerous thing is other people."

"Got it, nag," remembering something, Little Knife said, "I know where Stone is."

Lin Wu replied, "I know too, he’s bragging to Snow Egg right now."

"Ah? You’ve found Stone?" Little Knife pressed on, "And Shana?"

"Found her too, but Dashuang and Cotton are dead."

"They died?" Little Knife was saddened, "They were good people."

"Hmph," Lin Wu showed disbelief.

"Stop it, I had a bit of a tiff with Cotton, but I never wished her dead," Little Knife put down her rice ball, reflecting, "Now that I think about it, our issues were so trivial, and yet they overwhelmed me with so much grievance. Really, without facing society’s harsh blows, you can’t appreciate the happiness you once had."

Lin Wu said, "Don’t dwell on that too much, Shadow isn’t a good place, and Stone is not a good guy. If I had been there, I would have set Shadow ablaze."