Kingdom of Corrosion

Atop the signal tower, Lin Wu braced against the cold wind, full of vigor, pointing and planning strategy, "Ah, so tall."

Shana couldn’t help but facepalm for the Nth time at Lin Wu’s frequent quirks, "Have you located it?" Don’t join him in his madness, or it will fuel him. Outdo his craziness, and he’ll scorn you as childish.

Lin Wu turned to look at Shana, "Have you noticed the streetlamps?"

Shana resisted the urge to hit Lin Wu and answered, "After two careful observations, I have indeed noticed that there are streetlamps."

Lin Wu, missing the subtext in Shana’s words, turned to view the nightscape and said, "Wherever there’s bright streetlighting, the surrounding areas are busy. Where the streetlights are dim, it’s mostly highways and parks with few buildings."

Shana was glad she hadn’t acted on impulse, as she hadn’t noticed that herself. After examining with a four-times scope, she found things to be as Lin Wu described. This pattern held not just for Route 2, but also within the urban areas. Community lighting tended to be dim, whereas roads piercing through the county were brighter. The brightest area was near the City Hall.

Besides the City Hall, the intersections of Routes 1, 2, and 3 to the south were particularly well-lit. Shana took out the map she had drawn earlier, gestured for Lin Wu to crouch down with her, and used a flashlight to examine the map while correlating it with the actual terrain, "The fire station is on the north side of the road, flanked by about ten shops. The shops on the left connect to the road, and those on the right to the lake. Opposite the fire station is a large commercial area lined with numerous shops that include a police station, a supermarket, and small office buildings."

The commercial district had a grid-like layout with three main roads. Shana labeled the road connecting to the fire station as Route 4, followed by Routes 5 and 6. There was a gas station to the west of Route 6, along with a five-story office building, and behind it lay a sizable factory. Residences were south of Route 6, with many medium-sized villas spread along the road. Route 5 was undoubtedly the community center, running through the entire commercial area. Shana speculated that Route 5 was a pedestrian street, inaccessible to cars.

From these observations, the fire station appeared to be an excellent base, standing three stories tall with a substantial footprint. It overlooked much of the commercial district. However, from the vantage point of the signal tower, it was impossible to gauge the defensive capabilities of the fire station. What could be observed was a major issue: Route 4 was the scene of a vehicular accident, cluttered with various wrecked vehicles, even denser than the death zone in North Town, akin to a wasteland of cars.