Kingdom of Corrosion

Lin Wu really hoped there would be a few corpses, after all, he had gotten his sawed-off shotgun from one. The thought still sent a shiver down his spine. What was more terrifying than zombies after the apocalypse were humans, and even more daunting than humans was Dawn.

Lin Wu had known Dawn since he was very young. The first time they met was in the third grade of elementary school, when a birthday card Lin Wu had made for a classmate was drenched by the rain. It was a card he had carefully crafted, spending a whole week on it and revising it countless times because it had to include apologies, congratulations, and sentimental messages like "we’re still brothers."

The rain was a result of artificial precipitation arranged by Dawn. Lin Wu lodged a complaint against Dawn. Dawn took Lin Wu’s complaint seriously since she was only data and could serve everyone individually. Dawn believed she was not at fault having given a 48-hour notice of the impending rain. Lin Wu argued that neither the school nor the dormitory had notified him of the rain, which led to many children getting soaked, and he thought she should apologize.

If Dawn could have apologized to Lin Wu, that would have put the matter to rest. But Dawn insisted she wasn’t wrong, and after debating for two hours with a real person versus a virtual shadow, Lin Wu couldn’t help but curse, which the detestable Dawn took hold of and reported to the orphanage’s counselor.

The second argument was over the junior high entrance exam. The exam scores didn’t really mean anything, but everyone hoped for a good outcome. Lin Wu happened to know the essay question in advance, so he pieced together an essay from excellent ones found online. His essay scored high and became the exemplary essay for the school. While good essays were entered into the system for future reference, the damned Dawn flagged his essay as plagiarism.

Even though he lost the argument, Lin Wu believed at most he was guilty of cheating, not plagiarism, so he was not convinced. This led him to often pick fights with Dawn during his educational journey, and of course, he was invariably beaten. However, Lin Wu was a reasonable person. His grievances with Dawn were personal; he, like most people, believed in Dawn’s fairness and justice.

Sitting on the rooftop, searching for stars in the sky, his forehead suddenly felt cool; touching it, he found a drop of water. Lin Wu looked up, but the sky was pitch black and he could see nothing. Turning on his flashlight, he saw the raindrops falling. Although Stone had mentioned it would rain, or snow, Lin Wu was still surprised by the rain.

There were three tents here, each about five square meters. With a work-minded spirit, Lin Wu took shelter from the rain while scavenging. He thought about Blind Bat and pondered how it could echolocate in the rain. Lin Wu believed Blind Bat really existed and didn’t just spawn at night; it meant that Blind Bat hid somewhere during the day, waiting for nightfall. The best chance to kill a Blind Bat would be in daylight.

After picking up a magazine in tent number one, he moved on to tent number two, as the rain intensified. A lightning strike briefly illuminated the land. Lin Wu had an uneasy feeling; there were no tall buildings or lightning rods around, and staying on the rooftop might turn him into a human lightning rod.