Kingdom of Corrosion

Lin Wu slowly descended the slope, approaching the Frenzy with a road separating them. As Lin Wu moved to the edge of the road, the Frenzy seemed not to notice him, leaping on the pickup truck and howling now and then. Just as Lin Wu stepped two paces onto the road, the Frenzy immediately turned its head, leapt down from the truck roof, and charged towards Lin Wu without hesitation, while Lin Wu turned and ran.

The speed of the Frenzy caught Lin Wu by surprise; it accelerated to 40 yards in two seconds. Lin Wu immediately increased his speed to 40 kilometers per hour. The stamina bar plummeted at a rate of 5% per second, since this speed had already surpassed the human limit for sprinting, and the punishment system penalized him. Seeing the bad turn of events, Lin Wu adjusted his speed to 35 yards, just below that of a hundred-meter sprinter. Consequently, the stamina bar's depletion rate slowed to 1.5% per second.

In the natural world, there's a rule that the vast majority of bipedal mammals can't outrun quadrupedal mammals.

The Frenzy, with all limbs on the ground, ran swiftly. With a 5-yard speed difference between them, it soon caught up to Lin Wu. The Frenzy lunged like an arrow, aiming a direct claw strike at Lin Wu's back. Lin Wu activated Wind Stinger (Whirlwind Backstabbing) and forcibly repositioned to the side. Due to the change in direction, the ensuing inertia sent Lin Wu tumbling forward. The Frenzy fared no better; missing its pounce, it slid forward seven or eight meters, painfully dug its claws into the ground to stabilize itself, and turned to charge at Lin Wu again.

Lin Wu popped a chewing gum into his mouth to recover stamina, jumped over a fence, hoping to replicate the fence tactic. However, he saw the Frenzy leap onto the fence and dive toward Lin Wu beneath it. Lin Wu activated Wind Stinger to dodge the deadly strike. In less than 20 seconds, Lin Wu's stamina had dropped to 50%, and that was with the chewing gum slowly replenishing it.

Lin Wu flipped over another fence, pulled out a water hose, and without any hesitation, turned and struck with all his might as if chopping down Mount Hua. The Frenzy was about to leap onto the fence when Lin Wu's water hose hit it square on the forehead. With a loud clang, it felt like hitting steel, and Lin Wu nearly lost his grip on the hose.

The blow with the water hose dazed the Frenzy somewhat, and it tumbled backwards, rolling on the ground before leaping back onto the fence. Seeing the dirty human running wildly, it didn't hesitate to resume the chase.

Lin Wu slid across the tops of abandoned vehicles, and the Frenzy's attack followed, its claws piercing the car's roof, missing Lin Wu's body by less than 10 centimeters. Taking advantage of its momentarily stalled figure, Lin Wu darted into the base's safe area in one breath, with the relentless Frenzy following close behind.

Inside the safe zone, the three defenders immediately opened fire with guns and arrows, but none hit the Frenzy's head due to its high speed. Perhaps its ego bruised by the water hose, the Frenzy paid no attention to the shooters, fiercely biting down on Lin Wu. Seeing the Frenzy's viciousness, Lin Wu was alarmed and burst through the wooden door into the base's main building, with the Frenzy hot on his heels. Lin Wu ran upstairs and, without hesitation, leapt out of a window on the second floor. The Frenzy copied the move and pursued relentlessly.

The ambush trio hadn't expected the Frenzy to be so ferocious and agile; they were thrown into disarray, fighting for themselves. Maya and Stone went upstairs, while Little Knife went down, bumping full-on into the fleeing Lin Wu. Lin Wu wrapped his arms around Little Knife as they both fell, and the pursuing Frenzy slashed at Lin Wu's back with a claw, taking away 30 life points, with an add-on 25% chance of infection.

After catching Lin Wu's back with its claws, the relentless Frenzy bit down. In the nick of time, Little Knife, lying beneath Lin Wu, wrapped her left arm around Lin Wu's back and with her right hand holding a pistol, she pulled the trigger at the Frenzy's forehead, mere 10 centimeters away. The gunshot blasted the Frenzy's head, sending it leaping over ten meters away, darting wildly. After two painful howls, the Frenzy resumed its attack on Lin Wu and his companions without pause.

Lin Wu exclaimed in shock, "It's not dead after a headshot?"

Little Knife had no time for talking; gripping Lin Wu with her left hand, she aimed at the approaching Frenzy with her right and pulled the trigger repeatedly. The Frenzy, not lacking in intelligence, leapt to the side to avoid the bullets before Little Knife could shoot. At that moment, Stone had jumped from the second to the first floor, took aim, and fired continuously. Finally, one bullet hit the Frenzy's head by chance. The Frenzy jumped out of the compound, howling in pain.

No sooner had the Frenzy's howls subsided than Little Knife 'flipped rose' for a face-to-face confrontation. They were very close, and the Frenzy didn't hesitate to grab at Little Knife's left shoulder and bite. Fearless, Little Knife firmly pressed her left hand against the Frenzy's neck, while her right hand, holding the pistol, pressed it to the Frenzy's forehead and pulled the trigger. The Frenzy convulsed once and finally stopped moving.

...

Even with preparation, the four-person team cornered a single Frenzy in the safe zone, encountering numerous dangers and paying the price of two severely wounded and infected to finally kill the Frenzy.

Maya witnessed the entire process and she was well aware that her farm base would absolutely not withstand an attack by a Frenzy. Her base lacked members like Lin Wu, who could adapt on the fly and possessed high decisiveness. In the split-second of a spark, Lin Wu managed to swing a water pipe as a blunt weapon against the Frenzy. When he dashed to the second floor, Lin Wu said to jump, and he did so without any hesitation, not dragging his feet at all. Had Lin Wu hesitated for even half a second, the Frenzy's sharp claws would have already pierced his back.

Maya's base also lacked a fierce person like Little Knife.

Stone, still with a lingering sense of fear, waved his hand, "Little Knife, go lie down in the infirmary first."

Little Knife tossed the Frenzy corpse to Lin Wu, and upstairs Maya asked, "What's the infection rate and extent of the injuries?" The purpose wasn't to kill a Frenzy but to obtain its data.

Little Knife's body was scratched, resulting in a bleeding status, losing 30 life points, with an infection rate of 25%, which matched the data when Lin Wu was scratched. After being bitten, Little Knife's left shoulder fractured, leading to a loss of another 30 life points, and his maximum life points were subsequently reduced by 30, bringing the total infection rate to 50%.

Maya recorded all the data, turning to Stone, "The small pistol has limited power, the maximum firing interval is too long, it's rather ineffective against a Frenzy."

Stone nodded, "As long as you've noted it down. How about it? Is there room for improvement with my two friends?"

Maya answered, "They have strong personalities, and their combat styles are highly individual. I am more adept at training machines, not at developing potential. Such individuals becoming machines would be a waste of resources. However, players who survived the first 24 hours of the game, to a greater or lesser extent, all have certain strengths. Who is Daiyu? How did she die?" Maya had seen a gravestone for a player named Daiyu in the cemetery of the Shadow base after she joined.

Stone replied, "She courted death herself. Maya, do you need to convene a meeting with your farm base members?"

Maya shook her head, "No need. The four people at the farm base were brought out of the city by me, they trust me. To be frank, as a leader, I don't really like employees with too strong of a personality."

Stone knew Maya was referring to Little Knife and Lin Wu, asking, "Because they would resist authority?"

Maya said, "Let's take an example. Little Knife's mistake led to the deaths of two base members, and by the rules, Little Knife must be expelled from the base. In such a situation, would Lin Wu object? How would he object? Lin Wu knows Little Knife's actions should be punished, but he doesn't accept it. Little Knife is his friend, whereas the two base members are strangers to him. Even if he didn't oppose it, it's highly likely that after Little Knife leaves the base, he wouldn't let his good friend survive alone outside the base."

Stone nodded, "However, Little Knife and Lin Wu have very distinct characteristics, fulfilling irreplaceable roles."

"I very much agree with that," Maya said. "Personnel matters are naturally handled by you, the president. You recruit people, I use them."

Stone responded, "Complementing each other's strengths is indeed one of the main reasons for our collaboration."