Kingdom of Corrosion

"Hi," Lin Wu greeted Stone.

Stone asked, "Why are you back so soon?"

Lin Wu inquired, "Where's Maya?"

Stone replied, "She's sleeping."

"Oh."

Dissatisfied, Stone said, "Hey, I'm the boss here," implying that Lin Wu could have spoken to him about whatever matter was at hand.

Lin Wu stated, "You need to adjust the work content."

Pointing towards the backyard, Stone said, "Maya is in the barracks."

"Pfft!"

"Childish."

The four beds inside were originally designated for the girls, but Maya refused, claiming she preferred camping. The men felt embarrassed to take the last bed inside, so they all moved into the barracks. Having an open-air bed reduced morale by 15%, which had a fairly significant impact. To eliminate the 15% morale penalty, the barracks would have to be upgraded to a Luxury Barracks. The Luxury Barracks wouldn't just add back 15% morale but would also provide two extra beds.

Upgrading to a Luxury Barracks required two conditions: first, a member of the base must have the Life Skill of an architect, and it was apparent that being an architect was not a basic Life Skill. It wasn't clear what Life Skill needed to be upgraded to become an architect or how many upgrades it would take. The second condition was a question mark, implying that only after an architect appeared would the second condition become visible.

Looking at the real structure of the barracks, it wasn't bad at all. Although each unit was small, they all had screen doors that provided a decent level of privacy. Each unit had a bunk structure, with a bed on top and a desk below, and every unit came with a free candle.

Lin Wu found the room marked with Maya's name and knocked on the screen. If the occupant was in, the screen would be closed, preventing outsiders from entering. Soon, the screen was pulled open, and Maya invited Lin Wu into her room. Due to the limited space inside, Maya returned to the bed on the second level while Lin Wu sat on a chair on the first level to talk with her.

Lin Wu first explained the situation with the need for intellectual support at Store No. 1. Maya acknowledged she understood and would arrange for someone to escort Su Shi to unlock it the next day. Lin Wu then asked, "Did you hear any 'gurgling' sounds while you were active near the commercial street and apartments during the day? The sound seems a bit low-pitched, but is very penetrating."

Maya answered with certainty, "No."

Lin Wu nodded, "Alright, good night."

Maya stopped Lin Wu, "Did you come back to the church specifically because of this?"

Lin Wu nodded. Although your tone was questioning, my answer was straightforwardly affirmative.

After weighing her thoughts for a moment, Maya said, "Cancel tonight's mission to explore Apartment No. 2."

"Okay," Lin Wu replied as he pulled open the screen, and a number appeared in the upper left corner in front of him: minus 20% morale. Lin Wu opened the base interface with a mix of surprise and suspicion, only to see that the cemetery at the Mountain Top Church Base had its first occupant: Cotton.

The base instantly buzzed with activity as people working and resting asked each other: Cotton is dead? How did she die?

Cotton's task tonight was to scavenge Apartment Building No. 1. At eight in the evening, after arriving near Commercial Street with Cotton, Lin Wu and Cotton went their separate ways. Lin Wu also paid close attention to the vicinity of Apartment Building No. 1, which remained very quiet. Maya had required Cotton and Lin Wu to each carry a Molotov Cocktail, to be ignited by whoever needed help.

Suddenly, Stone immediately convened a meeting at the backyard campfire. The whole church was lit only by the fire. Morale at the base was a systemic data, but Stone believed that the morale of real people was more important. Today was supposed to be a good day, with the nine of them united in taking over the Mountain Top Church Base with high spirits. Unexpectedly, they lost someone that night and didn't even know the reason why.

...

Maya was the first to explain her rationale for dispatching the night shift. Both Cotton and Lin Wu were agile and had good escape abilities, which was why she had arranged for them to work at night. She added one last thing, that she had not required Cotton or Lin Wu to notify the other upon returning to the base. This statement was meant to exonerate Lin Wu. Maya's words conveyed an acceptance of the responsibility for the dispatch error that led to Cotton's death.

Lin Wu described the abnormal noises he heard, believing that Mutant Zombies existed near the apartment building.

The daytime crew, including Little Knife, disagreed. Horse Soul and the rest of the daytime crew had been watching over Apartment Building No. 2, and apart from the Screeching Zombie and the Exploding Carnage, they had not discovered any other Mutant Zombies. Blood Zombies could not be considered Mutant Zombies, they were just enhanced zombies.

Lin Wu insisted on his viewpoint, believing that there were unknown Mutant Zombies around Building No. 2.

Lin Wu said, "The first time we encountered Frenzy, we were prepared in advance and deliberately lured it to the base, which still resulted in two people being severely injured. If it had been a surprise encounter with Frenzy for the first time, I think no one would have survived. Tonight, I did not hear Frenzy's sound, and given Cotton's abilities, there is almost no chance that he wouldn't escape ordinary zombies. Therefore, I firmly believe there is at least one Mutant Zombie near the apartment building that we have not seen."

Lin Wu said, "To prove whether it's there or not, we just need to check it out. I'll go alone."

Maya said, "Let's go during the day."

Lin Wu disagreed, "The fact that you found nothing during the day might not be accidental. Perhaps this type of zombie only appears at night. Su Shi, can you make a skyrocket?"

Su Shi replied, "No problem."

Maya didn't try to persuade him further. Lin Wu was the most capable of surviving in the base. If Lin Wu, with his guard up, still got killed by zombies, that would mean no one in the base was safe.

Lin Wu requested equipment, taking a flashlight, dagger, skyrocket, lighter, chewing gum, sawed-off shotgun, and four shotgun shells. Before leaving, he told Stone, if he died, he hoped they would build the base well, and after his resurrection, he would find a way to return to the base.

Stone promised that he would reserve a slot for Lin Wu, asking him to keep their agreement.

Little Knife escorted Lin Wu to the entrance of the base, "Hey, run fast."

"Hmm."

...

Lin Wu advanced stealthily all the way to the extent of Commercial Street, killing any zombies he encountered, inching closer to Apartment Building No. 1. The five apartment buildings were arranged three in front and two behind, about 50 meters apart from each other. Lin Wu crouched and stopped by the bushes near Building No. 1, and before long, he heard a 'gurgling' sound from the direction of Building No. 2, but he couldn't determine the distance.

Lin Wu looked towards the direction the sound was coming from, but did not see any Mutant Zombies. He quietly waited a minute, noticing the 'gurgling' sound that occurred every 15 seconds seemed to be getting closer to his position.

No, still no sight of the Mutant Zombies. Lin Wu's palms began to sweat, as he thought the sound was no more than 25 meters away from him. There were street lights only on the road of Commercial Street, and it was pitch-dark on either side. Lin Wu could only use his flashlight toward the direction of the sound, continuously finding nothing.

Suddenly, the sound changed from the original gurgling to a single gurgle, and the frequency quickened. It was like a submarine's sonar, with the pace getting faster and faster as if a destroyer was approaching. In no time at all, the gurgling had turned into a sound every three seconds. At this point, Lin Wu, tense on the inside, had yet to see any Mutant Zombies, but his ears told him something was within 15 meters. His instincts told him this thing was searching for his exact location.