Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 923 - 401 Reunion_2

Chapter 923: Chapter 401 Reunion_2

Lin Wu looked up at the 36th floor, where lights were chaotically shining and shouts could be heard. He handed his pistol to Maya and asked, "How did you trick them?"

"They don’t care about my past," Maya replied as she checked the magazine and slid it back in before saying, "Follow me." She tapped her forehead, waved goodbye to her sisters, grabbed the oil lamp, blew out the flame, and walked into the darkness with Lin Wu.

After walking about two hundred meters, Maya lead Lin Wu to a small van whose back door was slightly ajar. She placed the oil lamp on the hood at the back of the van, holding a flashlight in one hand while gently pulling open the back door with the other, as Lin Wu held his guns. The inside of the van was empty. Maya said, "We’ll rest here tonight."

...

After closing the back door and placing the oil lamp in the center, Maya took out two compressed biscuits and two bottles of water from her backpack. Both sat down and started discussing each other’s circumstances.

Maya gave Lin Wu a set of black tactical apparel and a thermal undershirt; the tactical wear had extra pockets for storing magazines, daggers, and other small items.

Taking off his still-wet clothes, Lin Wu wrung out his undershirt, wiped his body dry, changed into the thermal undershirt and tactical wear, instantly feeling much more comfortable.

Maya had many stories to tell, after all, with a group of more than a hundred people, there were all kinds of incidents, including wars with male prisoners, internal faction conflicts, and sisterly bonds. Her stories were just tales, not largely relevant to everyone’s future; Lin Wu’s section was what mattered.

Maya said, "The scariest thing, I think, is disease. In Hardcore Mode, I’ve read many medical books and understood the situation on Earth, so I thought it was time to join you all. If we had waited a few more days, getting out would’ve been impossible. Your base is well-located."

"You’ve found fully-armed soldiers nearby, and I believe they’ve also noticed survivors at the railway bridge. For safety, you should dispatch someone to explore the mountains via the flyover, and prepare a backup base for emergencies."

Lin Wu curiously asked, "Why are there so few zombies in the southern area?"

"A significant reason is the drinking water in the southernmost communities of Day After Tomorrow City is not contaminated." The water in these communities comes not from the reservoir but from a small hydropower station beneath the mountains. Maya added, "Another reason is the intelligence of the survivors and the limitations of the zombies."

When zombies invade a villa, the homeowner’s defense options are limited. An apartment building is different; if you don’t use specialized tools, some doors are hard to kick open, and every household has at least one barrier. Even if zombies knock on the doors, as long as there’s no noise inside, the zombies won’t attack further.

Additionally, zombies don’t use elevators in multistory apartment buildings, they only use stairs. Without noise luring them, they won’t keep climbing indefinitely unless a household continuously makes loud noises. Hence, the residents in high-rise apartments face fewer zombies.

The floods washed away many outdoor zombies, giving the apartment dwellers a chance to venture out for scavenging. In Maya’s view, a lower density of zombies isn’t necessarily good, because it could lead to fatal conflicts among survivors over resources. Along with unhandled corpses, rotting and spreading bacteria, most people won’t last long. Only a few can survive, but not many.

Lin Wu inquired how long the 85 people on the 36th floor of the Triumph Building could last.

"Now there are 84 people. I’ve assessed the supplies; if no further production is done and everyone remains united and amiable, they can last for at least a month," Maya said. "Above the 36th floor, there’s a huge rooftop where we got nearly a ton of nutrient soil from the supermarket, plus various crop seeds. There are also over twenty live hens. Right now, the pressure to survive isn’t huge."

"But the reality is quite the opposite. These days, they haven’t tried to collect rainwater, nor have they planned for cultivation and breeding. Instead, they’ve formed cliques and endlessly argued over the distribution of resources. Allocating resources requires a leader or an institution; everyone’s interests differ, with each hoping to get more for themselves and indifferent to the fate of others, thus causing endless disputes."

Lin Wu asked, "Wasn’t Shiyou highly respected?"

"She’s dead," Maya replied.

Lin Wu: "What if you had stayed?"

Maya said, "I’m fairly confident that I can stabilize the situation."

Lin Wu responded, "Then your departure is very un-Mayalike."

Maya continued, "I am a part of the guard army. Our first oath is: We are human. Protecting Dawn is beneficial for human development, but if Dawn threatens humanity, then it becomes our enemy. NPCs may seem to have blood, flesh, and emotions, but ultimately they are not real humans and don’t belong to my group. Strictly speaking, I share a closer relationship with tomatoes than with them."

Lin Wu asked, "Why tomatoes?"

Maya was silent.

Lin Wu added, "Couldn’t it be tomatoes?"

Maya asked, "Doesn’t everyone argue with you?"

Lin Wu thought for a moment, "Not everyone, like Lin Meng for example."

Maya didn’t respond to Lin Wu’s remark, but instead pulled a plastic bag containing several maps from her jacket pocket. She spread one of the maps on the ground, and Lin Wu lifted the oil lamp higher. Maya glanced at Lin Wu for two seconds, then squeezed her flashlight.

"What do you think I mean?"

Maya completely ignored Lin Wu, pointed at the map and said, "We are here." She took out another map, aligned it, and pointed again: "The base is here. The straight-line distance is just over 20 kilometers. One route is to go through South Bridge to Southern Suburb, then follow the mountains and The Day After Tomorrow River westward to the railway bridge. This route is longer but easier to travel. Previously, it was reported that there are quite a few survivors in Southern Suburb with no unified management. They should be fending for themselves; some might head into the mountains, others might stay at the Southern Suburb Farm. This route might encounter a significant number of survivors."

Maya said, "The southern area was the last affected by the zombies. Police and other departments managed to evacuate some people. The current situation in Southern Suburb is unclear, but it’s certain that the survivors here have some armed forces. Thus, it is better to travel this route at night."

Maya continued, "The second route follows the east bank of The Day After Tomorrow River. The flood originated from this river, and I believe there won’t be many survivors on this route. Indoor zombie activity is high, but outdoor activities are low, making it difficult to resupply food and water along the way. Moreover, this route is extremely muddy."

Lin Wu expressed, "I hate mud."

Maya stated, "The third route is the overhead highway, which leads directly to the distribution center and is the shortest route. I guess there are many vehicles on the highway, unaffected by the flood, with very high zombie density. Forget about taking the subway line." Driving is out of the question; it’s simply not feasible. Motorcycles might work but are unsuitable for the muddy terrain.

Lin Wu forced a smile, "You could’ve just recommended the second route." The first route is too dangerous, potentially leading to ambushes, possibly involving firearms. The third route is akin to fighting a way out. The second route is manageable in terms of lacking food and water and with difficult terrain.

Lin Wu asked, "Setting off tomorrow morning, how long will it take to get there?"

Maya studied the map, "Lacking transportation, we won’t reach the base within a day. I suggest settling at the air quality monitoring station, seven kilometers from the distribution center." West City has a large industrial park, corresponding to several unmanned air stations within the industrial park. These air stations are built on iron towers that are 15 meters high, used to monitor local and atmospheric air indices.

Unlike signal towers, these air station towers are shorter, and to protect the electronic equipment, they encompass roughly ten square meters inside, a calm indoor building. Inside, there’s not much equipment, most of it located outside, such as atmospheric electric field meters, particle detectors, volatile organic compound detectors, and more.

Is it possible that survivors used this air station as a temporary shelter? After all, the air station was not affected by the flood. Whether there are survivors is not something Lin Wu and Maya need to worry about; if there are survivors, coexist; if not, eliminate them.

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