Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 906 - 394: Rowing Upstream (Part 2)_2

Chapter 906: Chapter 394: Rowing Upstream (Part 2)_2

Lin Wu let go of the outboard motor with his left hand, splashed some fire-extinguishing water on himself, and the fire soon died out after he persisted for a while.

Overall, this was a survivor squad that hastily devised an attack plan after discovering the boat fleet. The woman disguised as a corpse aimed to cut the rope of Boat No. 3, to separate it from the fleet. Then, when Boat No. 3 was dealing with her, her companions would attack Boat No. 3 with stones and Molotov Cocktails.

But what they had not anticipated was that Lin Wu’s team was armed, even equipped with assault rifles. In just a few exchanges, they lost four people while only one on the other side was injured.

After passing the danger zone, Shana ordered a temporary halt at the street corner. Xiao Wen aboard Boat No. 3 was ready to bandage Lin Meng, but Lin Wu took a look and decided the wound wasn’t deep, so he took out a bottle of iodine and handed it to Xiao Wen. Xiao Wen cradled Lin Meng to shield her from the rain and applied iodine for disinfection. Under Lin Wu’s direction, Xiao Wen pressed the wound with sterile gauze, and finally, wrapped Lin Meng’s head with two layers of waterproof transparent adhesive tape. As for how to remove the tape later, Lin Wu didn’t care.

After the bandaging was done, Lin Meng still hadn’t come around, so Lin Wu leaned over, pinched the tender flesh on the inside of Lin Meng’s left arm, and gave it a twist. Lin Meng let out a cry and immediately sat up.

Lin Wu reported via the intercom: "She’s awake."

Shana asked, "Need to switch out?"

Lin Wu: "No need. It doesn’t affect fighting capacity."

"Continue on."

Su Shi reminded, "Better stay away from buildings."

Shana: "Understood. Our current location is outside the dormitory area of the industrial park, and a considerable number of the employees from the industrial park live in these kinds of high-rise apartment buildings."

Lin Wu asked: "How many people?"

Shana: "Not sure, but documents say one electronics factory alone has over 200,000 employees."

The ropes were pulled taut, Lin Wu increased the thrust to keep the pace, and the three boats continued their journey. Lin Meng truly had a good temperament. After glaring at Lin Wu in vain for a while, she turned to continue chatting with her best friend Xiao Wen, having already forgotten the incident just now. Occasionally, she would reach out with a hooked stick to retrieve a pack of cheap snacks, and the two would divide and eat it gleefully. Meanwhile, Lin Meng didn’t forget to give Lin Wu a kick, flaunting that she had something to eat and wasn’t sharing it with him.

Ten kilometers from Point G, Su Shi’s voice came through the intercom: "Stone seems off."

"What’s happening?"

Su Shi: "He’s running a fever, curled up and shivering, and he doesn’t respond when spoken to."

Upon hearing this, Shana immediately became somewhat anxious and asked, "Should we find a place to rest?"

Lin Wu said, "Water can lower his temperature; the fever won’t kill him. Resting now and waiting for him to recover would take days, wasting time and food. We must rest after reaching Point G." Lin Wu knew that Stone needed a fire and hot food, but resting for a day now would just lead them back into the water tomorrow.

Su Shi said: "He brought it upon himself, emptying his own vitality."

The group was fairly calm when discussing this, except Xiao Wen who was somewhat nervous, and Lin Wu patiently explained to her. The two women leaned over the bow, steering the conversation to Stone. This chat piqued Lin Meng’s interest as she discovered there was a very subtle romance between Xiao Wen and Stone. Of course, Xiao Wen spoke of a different Stone, but Lin Meng didn’t care, she wanted to listen, to chat, to gossip.

The former Stone was a playboy, with countless conquests, and in his own words, he earned money just to sleep with more women. However, the previous Stone’s feelings for Xiao Wen were rather simple, but his possessiveness got the best of him, and he began to fancy Xiao Wen. What the previous Stone did not know was that Xiao Wen loved him deeply and her refusal was because she didn’t want him to treat her like the other women.

How should Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu’s "eating saliva" be counted? Xiao Wen explains it’s just pure physical attraction. Lin Meng further analyzes Xiao Wen’s inner state, fully recognizing Xiao Wen’s mentality and helping Xiao Wen find excuses.

Xiao Wen thinks that Stone has changed into a different person, becoming stable and indifferent, no longer letting his gaze linger on female body parts, which makes her feel estranged. Stone’s attitude towards her is like that of a senior to a junior, which also upsets her. She would rather have Stone inappropriately eye her with stealth than politely keep his distance.

Lin Meng sympathizes with Xiao Wen, but she cannot tell Xiao Wen that the Stone she loves has already died. Xiao Wen, it could be said, is like a toad lusting after a swan – choosing the right person nonetheless, after all, not even Little Knife would fully commit to discussing love with an NPC. Lin Meng doesn’t consider identity as a criterion but rather her own feelings when interacting with Xiao Wen. In her view, heartless players are not as good as compassionate and loyal NPCs.

Five kilometers away, Shana says, "I might be sick too; Snow Egg will take command from here." Even an iron man couldn’t stand soaking like this.

Lin Wu asks, "Is it serious?"

Shana replies, "I feel piercing cold, dizzy, and I need to exert all my strength to speak my mind." She had realized she was running a fever an hour earlier.

The channel falls silent for a moment before Snow Egg’s voice comes through, "Brothers and sisters, less than 5 kilometers left, let’s push through."

It is the first time Snow Egg has spoken such words or this kind of encouragement. Snow Egg has never been a motivator or a leader; most of the time, he supports others rather than leads them. The only time he took the lead, his experience of running away with Little Knife is something he finds hard to look back on.

...

The 15-meter tall church is built low, in a region that is already a low-lying area. The church’s lower half is completely submerged in water, and all the windows on both sides of the rectangular church are shattered. Two pieces of stained glass remain intact at the top front of the church. Now night has fallen, the city is in a complete blackout due to the flood, and it’s not possible to know the situation inside.

Three rubber boats slowly approach, with those able on board either wearing headlamps or holding flashlights. Lin Wu takes the walkie-talkie and says, "I’ll go in first to check, leave the boats to you guys."

After speaking, Lin Wu pulls down the night-vision goggles, reaches out to grab the window ledge 1.5 meters high, and with a slight force on the rubber boat’s inflatable bottom, he climbs up to stand on the ledge.

Lin Wu, carrying an assault rifle on his back and holding a pistol in his right hand, gently pushes open the stained glass window and observes through the gradually widening gap before moving to the other side. After confirming there are no issues, Lin Wu climbs over the ledge and lands on the church’s second floor.

To ensure the church’s height, there is only a half-circle corridor on the second floor, used to store miscellany and facilitate window cleaning. The corridor’s main flooring is made of 1.2-meter-wide wooden planks, one side against the wall and the other without a railing. Looking down from the corridor, Lin Wu can see the water surface more than one meter below, with some bodies floating – unable to tell with night-vision goggles whether they are zombie or human corpses.

Lin Wu walks along the corridor as quietly as possible and quickly finishes the entire lap. The bottom of the U-shaped corridor is seven meters long, with both sides about ten meters each. At the end of one corridor is a concave wall, while at the end of the other is an iron ladder one meter wide, descending into the water, supposedly connecting to the first floor of the church.

"Safe."

After canceling the alert, Lin Wu goes back to assist. Snow Egg and Su Shi use the old method of drilling and fixing with expansion screws and wooden blocks to make a makeshift stepping platform. To prevent the boats from being left hanging if the water recedes, ropes are used to connect to the platform instead of fixing the boats to it.

With the help of boats and the platform, Xiao Wu, Snow Egg, Su Shi, and Lin Wu bring the sick inside through the window first. The situation is worse than expected. Stone is in the severest condition, followed by Shana, while Xiao Wen and Lin Meng are also feeling unwell, all four suffering from cold-induced fevers. Little Knife has acute gastroenteritis and can’t stop vomiting.

The lowering of the core body temperature results in a decline in immunity, and various diseases ensue.

Lin Wu places the sick on the left side of the floor first, then helps transfer supplies from the boats, arranging them on the right side of the floor. Meanwhile, Su Shi cuts his finger during the transfer and disinfects it as soon as everyone enters the church.

The four healthy men strip off their soaked clothes, leaving them in just their underwear to start working. Lin Wu and Xiao Wu hook a lectern near the stairs and dismantle its top; they place the tabletop at the corner.

The corner area is larger, about seven square meters, and also the place where the church stores its supplies, mainly items used for religious festivals. They find a roll of soft iron sheet among them, unroll it to lay on the wet tabletop, ready to light a fire.