Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 75 - 74: Versatile and Erudite

Chapter 75: Chapter 74: Versatile and Erudite

When he opened the safe, there wasn’t a Skill Book inside, but rather a blue treasure chest. It was identical to the blue treasure chest Lin Wu obtained after killing Blood Ferocious Ma. As Lin Wu’s hand touched the blue treasure chest, a system prompt appeared: "Battle spoils acquired." Little Knife rubbed her hands together, "Let’s hurry back and open the chest."

Lin Wu asked, "Can’t we open it here?" How can you wait to get back before opening it?

Little Knife replied, "Oh right, I didn’t think of that."

Lin Wu took out the chest and placed it on the table, saying, "Whatever good stuff comes out, we’ll split it fifty-fifty."

Little Knife asked, "Who gets the fifty?"

Looking at Little Knife’s curious expression, Lin Wu’s brain froze for a few seconds before he answered, "You."

Immediately, Little Knife squeezed out a cute smile, just like the last time when voting whether to take the mountain path or the tunnel. It wasn’t about choosing the mountain or the tunnel, it was about whether Lin Wu would support her.

This time, Little Knife didn’t rely on luck, believing she had used up her luck for the next three days by obtaining the Skill Book. Under Little Knife’s gaze, Lin Wu opened the box, and inside was a blue card.

Entry Card: "Acquired the ’Well-rounded’ entry, which allows you to learn and possess two Life Skills at the same time."

"Wow."

Lin Wu generously said, "Take it."

Little Knife shook her head, "We agreed to a fifty-fifty split. I’ll take the Skill Book, you take the card."

Seeing Little Knife insist, Lin Wu didn’t bother with niceties and grabbed the card to use it, gaining a new entry: "Well-rounded."

"Let’s get out of here."

...

Retreating wasn’t that simple, as the system cleared any trace of players within a minute. No footprints, no splinters from broken chairs, as if no one had ever been there. Lin Wu and Little Knife discussed many methods which could work, but weren’t practical. For example, they thought about finding stones to probe the path ahead, but round stones couldn’t be found nearby, the stones wouldn’t roll, and tossing them only resulted in more holes. They considered dismantling items from the manor to probe for mines, but in the end, they realized that the best available minesweeping tool was a two-meter-long sofa.

Using chairs, stones, and the sofa, the two successfully advanced 20 meters, but with the sofa blown to pieces, they lost all furniture that could be used to detect mines. They had no choice but to proceed by literally sweeping for mines with their bodies. Lin Wu cautiously used a display mirror to feel his way forward. The weeds were too dense, and after moving five meters, he was caught by a Beast Trap that snapped shut on his lower leg, causing Lin Wu such pain that he quickly took a painkiller to calm himself.

It was a Large Animal Catcher, and with Little Knife’s help, Lin Wu managed to pry it open. Unsurprisingly, Lin Wu suffered from a severe fracture and moderate bleeding. Fortunately, they had managed to scrape together some medical supplies recently, and Lin Wu applied a fracture bandage and Hemostatic Bandages to himself, greatly reducing the severity of his injuries.

With Lin Wu injured and his health limit reduced, Little Knife took on the responsibility of clearing the path. After about 8 meters, Little Knife stepped on a landmine and was blown into the air before crashing to the ground. The good news was that Little Knife didn’t die; the bad news was that, like Lin Wu, she was now severely injured and crippled.

There was still a distance of 15 meters to go, and with their current health limits, whoever hit a mine or trap would die. For a moment, both of them were stuck in a predicament. That’s when Little Knife came up with an idea, "The display mirror can reveal Beast Traps and landmines."

Lin Wu nodded, "It can only reveal Beast Traps and landmines that are visible on the surface, about fifty-fifty. We might detect half, but miss the rest."

Little Knife said, "Do you think the system is stupid?"

Lin Wu answered, "Not only is it not stupid, but it’s also very clever."

Little Knife said, "If it’s a clever person, they wouldn’t put two landmines together."

"That’s logical." Lin Wu gestured for Little Knife to squat down; he then sat on Little Knife’s neck, allowing Little Knife to lift him up. From his elevated position, Lin Wu carefully scrutinized the surroundings with the display mirror before signaling Little Knife to lower him, pointing in the direction of 11 o’clock, "There’s a landmine 3 meters away."

Little Knife stepped back half a step, made a stride, and landed at the three-meter point in the 12 o’clock direction. Lin Wu learned from his example and joined Little Knife. Possessing great strength, Little Knife once again lifted Lin Wu, who verified the location of another beast trap. The two landed within a range of half a meter to one meter from the trap.

Using this method, the two maneuvered through the landmine array in an ’S’ shaped route, and after expending quite some time, they managed to exit the maze of mines safely, without suffering any mishaps.

...

Upon returning to the base, Lin Wu first insisted on Little Knife being treated on the sickbed, while he went to the storage room to check on the skill books. This stoked Stone’s curiosity. Stone visited the infirmary to check on Little Knife, with warmth and concern for the injuries. Little White Rabbit couldn’t outwit the big grey wolf, and soon confessed everything without being prompted.

In the past few days, the base had obtained three skill books through trade and a comprehensive search of an apartment building, one on mechanics, one on ballistics, and one on programming. Specifically noteworthy was the programming book, which Stone acquired from a player in North Mountain Town at a bargain. According to information from the trade team at Right County, programming could be used to control drones. However, having knowledge was futile if you didn’t have resources; just building a beast trap required a colossal amount of materials, let alone a drone, which was unthinkable.

Ballistics, as understood literally, improved the precision and power of firearms and crossbows, possibly even involving the skill of manufacturing gun barrels. Lin Wu wasn’t particularly interested; given his ’Quick Gunner’ skill, precision was the least of his concerns. Mechanics was a foundational skill for the base, a prerequisite for vehicle repair; Lin Wu was even less interested in it.

"Don’t like any of them?" Stone appeared out of nowhere, glanced around, draped an arm over Lin Wu’s shoulder, and whispered, "So you know to keep a low profile, hm?"

"What’s wrong?" Lin Wu asked.

Stone said, "Lately, you’ve been teaming up with Shana. Today, when you encountered the treasure, you abandoned Shana and took Little Knife instead. What do you think she will think? So she’s only good for sharing your troubles and not your fortunes?"

Lin Wu explained, "The landmine array was very dangerous. I didn’t have the heart to risk Shana’s life. What if something happened to her?"

Stone replied, "For the peace and harmony of the base, I’ve already spoken with Little Knife, and we’ll act as if this never happened. Little Knife will have gained that skill by battling monsters tomorrow. And your second life skill is an advanced ’Hunter’ skill."

"That’s not good, right? Girls hate being lied to," Lin Wu protested.

"Naive," Stone retorted. "Girls don’t hate being lied to; they hate lies that aren’t in their favor." Stone asked, "I ask you, is Shana good-looking?"

"She’s alright," Lin Wu replied.

Stone said, "I think Shana is not only beautiful but also full of intellect. Every glance and every move exudes grace and elegance."

"That’s too much," Lin Wu said.

Stone replied, "Indeed, that last part was too much. That’s a lie. But would Shana get angry about that? It’s better to avoid trouble when you can. So, it’s settled. Aren’t you just short of one last piece of steel? I’ll have the base cover it for you."

Lin Wu refused, "I can’t accept that; I have principles."

Stone asked, "What if you were short of nine pieces of steel?"

Lin Wu thought for a while, then cracked a smile, "If it’s nine pieces, I might let go of my principles."

"Remember that," Stone said as he checked the time. "You’re injured, so go lie down in the sickbed until you’re healed. Then head over to the commercial street. There are seven wrecked cars along the way; I think we might just scrape together enough materials."

Lin Wu nodded and called out to the medical room, "Get off."

Thinking there was something urgent, Little Knife obediently got off the bed, and Lin Wu lay down, irritably prompting Little Knife to grab a pillow and start hitting him with it.