Tom's New Armor

Xiao Mei and Zhao Yingying were both technicians at the bathhouse, and their massage skills were actually quite average. Most of the time, they engaged in various transactions with the guests.

People entered this profession for various reasons. Xiao Mei and Zhao Yingying did so because of their family's poverty, needing to support their families' livelihoods and medical expenses. Additionally, their somewhat attractive appearances led them to Shimizu City by the sea.

They had seen through men's insincere gestures. Once they put their pants on, they would act like strangers. So, they learned to wear a smiling mask and treated each massage as a performance. Deep down, they still hoped for a reliable man who would love them without discrimination.

In the supermarket, they had endured hardships. Zhao Yingying was fortunate enough to meet Tom's group when she was most helpless, and she received special care from Liu Lian, quickly developing genuine feelings. Fortunately, Liu Lian was genuinely devoted to her, and she naturally reciprocated with even more sincere love.

As for Xiao Mei, it was Tom who gave her the opportunity to become an Awakener when she was most helpless. Although her current ability as a humanoid light bulb didn't seem to be very useful, the researchers from the Science and Research Department informed her yesterday that when she activated her ability, there was a strong energy contained within her, seemingly tens of times stronger than the energy contained in other ability users.

In short, Tom brought her a new life, and her admiration and trust in Tom were beyond measure. However, she understood that Tom looked at her the same way he looked at others, very pure, without any possessiveness or desire. She was also constrained by her identity as a technician and didn't dare to expect Tom's favor, only able to keep this gratitude and trust in her heart.

But after arriving at the shelter, her life had undergone a dramatic change since meeting Ouyang Haotian. This eloquent playboy made her very happy, and because she knew he was good friends with Tom, she naturally felt a sense of intimacy towards Ouyang Haotian.

She knew that Ouyang Haotian liked her, but she was afraid it was just a performance. So, she could only refuse each of Ouyang Haotian's attempts to get closer with a cold face. But deep down, she hoped countless times that she could have a loving and reliable partner like Zhao Yingying did.

She yearned to improve her relationship with Haotian but was afraid her identity as a technician would make him resentful. Thus, she seemed a bit hesitant. Her good friend Zhao Yingying saw all this, felt anxious but didn't know what to do.

Seeing Zhao Yingying and Liu Lian's affectionate gaze, then turning to see Ouyang Haotian persistently whistling with his hands in his pockets, Xiao Mei sighed, "Big Rat."

"Huh?" Ouyang Haotian was very surprised. Xiao Mei rarely spoke to him voluntarily.

"Take the three of us to that private kitchen together, okay? Four tickets each, we'll pay for ourselves."

Ouyang Haotian was somewhat hesitant, scratching his head. Although he was reluctant, he gritted his teeth, "They only gave me two spots over there... uh... Liu Lian and you are both Awakeners... okay, I'll try to persuade them to give us four spots. Let's go, let's hurry over now. The streetlights will be turned off soon, and it'll be hard to walk."

With Liu Lian and Zhao Yingying along, it wouldn't be considered a date with him. "We're just ordinary friends... um... colleagues... among friends, it's no big deal not to talk about past professions. Even if he finds out, it's not a big deal." Xiao Mei reassured herself.

Seeing her good friend take the initiative, Zhao Yingying naturally felt very happy. So, she turned her head, looked at Liu Lian, and acted coquettishly.

Liu Lian thought for a moment. "Okay, let's go then. Oh, Xiao Mei, aren't you scheduled for routine cooperation testing with the R&D department tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah!" Thinking about the R&D department made Xiao Mei excited. She was eager for the R&D department to help her uncover her potential, making her a capable Awakener.

Ouyang Haotian volunteered, "I'll accompany you tomorrow!"

"But... okay." Xiao Mei nodded, suddenly feeling very happy.

"Look!" Zhao Yingying pointed upwards. Everyone looked up to see two large iron doors slowly closing on the glass roof above.

"It's going to rain heavily. For safety reasons, the shelter has closed the iron roof." Ouyang Haotian said indifferently, "This is really a heavy rain. I hope Tom gets soaked like a drowned rat."

"You're not allowed to curse Tom!" Xiao Mei immediately became unhappy.

Ouyang Haotian quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I won't mention him anymore. We should hurry over now before it gets crowded."

With that, he led the three of them quickly towards the northeast corner of the shelter's general area.

Speaking of contribution tickets, besides joining the temporary search team to earn 10 tickets per day, Awakeners could also apply to enter Haiwei Group's Research and Development Department to provide live samples for research.

The Research and Development Department of Haiwei Mini Industries recently established a "Crystal Ability Research Department," specifically responsible for researching various crystals and projects related to Awakeners' abilities.

Every Awakener who volunteered to participate in experimental research could earn between 5 to 20 contribution tickets each time they participated in testing. It could be considered an additional source of income.

Although contribution tickets weren't plentiful, they were still quite scarce in the shelter at the moment. The system had only been implemented for a little over ten days, and there hadn't been any over-issuance or devaluation yet.

For the current situation, Haiwei Group had prepared various simulations for six years in advance, including the contribution ticket system. How to distribute them, how to control their circulation and recovery, they had several sets of plans and could adjust them according to specific circumstances.

Regarding this research, it was, of course, built around a virtual story background. For this purpose, Haiwei Group specially acquired a website with a vast library of Pang Xiao novels and their authors' copyrights, as well as two gaming companies. Under the pretext of creating a AAA-level post-apocalyptic themed game, they recruited numerous copywriters to conduct speculative summarizations.

In addition to contribution tickets, there were naturally divergent topics like "What weapons can be most effective when humans are reduced in size," which could also be covered under the guise of virtual novels for extensive speculation. These valuable data were recorded on the core computer hosts of various subsidiary companies, sealed during ordinary times. Only after all humans were reduced in size would the heads of each subsidiary company retrieve this data and provide it to the emergency "End Times Countermeasure Research Group" for reference and research.

During this evening banquet, Liu Lian and Zhao Yingying were very happy. They almost forgot when was the last time they comfortably ate their favorite foods. Unexpectedly, Ouyang Haotian also received Xiao Mei's smile, which was the first time she smiled at him.

The next day, Ouyang Haotian arrived early to take Xiao Mei to report to the "Crystal Ability Research Department" of the R&D department.

After a day of testing and speculation, Xiao Mei received 15 contribution tickets and a personal "Ability Usage Guide."

The content on the thin sheet of paper was minimal, with the central summary being: Xiao Mei's ability might be able to extend the usage time for other ability users.

In the experiment, they found that when Xiao Mei activated her ability and emitted light all over her body, if she held hands with another Awakener using their ability, the latter could maintain the activation effect of their ability for a short period of time, even if they lost their gem or crystal.

Although the extended time wasn't significant, researchers saw it as having great potential. Further exploration would be needed as Xiao Mei continued to use her ability.

In the following days, they lived a life of leisurely training, occasional experiments at the R&D department, and occasional explorations with the team leader. But soon they were notified that the three of them were included in a special investigation group called the "Special Shelter Investigation Group" and needed to be on standby for action at any time.

Liu Lian's days were fulfilling and busy, while Tom's were naturally even more fulfilling and busy.

In addition to going out with his team to explore and find food and supplies, most of Tom's time was spent making iron armor.

Thanks to the large number of gems and crystals found in the temporary residence of the Black-Clothed People, even with small emeralds, Tom could use them to cut and deform iron blocks. Forty-three small emeralds enabled Tom not only to make his own armor but also to undertake the shaping of iron weapons in the camp.

Tom's original plan was to make a suit of armor that only protected critical areas for flexible combat. Later, at the suggestion of the Iron Scraps Old Man, he decided to make a full-body covering armor. With strong defense, he could withstand attacks from mutant creatures and then counterattack with weapons and equipment. Thus, the expected armor became a suit of armor.

Of course, the Iron Scraps Old Man was more skilled in this regard, with better results, but Tom's advantage lay in his frequent production of various models, making him more meticulous in crafting various parts of the armor.

By using controlled-energy green crystals to deform iron, the more specific the imagination in the controller's mind about the shape to be achieved, the finer the result.

The Iron Scraps Old Man was indeed familiar with the components, but he lacked experience when it came to armor shapes with a more pronounced entertainment aspect. Often, after he shaped the components according to Tom's drawings, Tom had to reprocess and refine them, otherwise, they might not fit together at all.

In addition to crafting armor, naturally, matching weapons were also necessary. Larger, heavier, and sharper swords, as well as spiked clubs, didn't need to be mentioned. Tom also specially made a flamethrower component for flammable creatures like mutant ants.

The principle was very simple. He found a lighter, especially the windproof type. These things were abundant in the small shops, and you could buy one for one to two dollars. Bozi collected over a dozen of them.

This kind of thing had a pressure valve on the nozzle. The fuel in the lighter was compressed and sprayed out at high speed. When it encountered an electric spark, it formed a concentrated and undispersed high-temperature flame.

By installing this thing on his arm, pressing the trigger would spray out a high-temperature flame. It had to be said that it felt like using a Gundam laser sword.

However, the flamethrower component was just a lighter, long and cumbersome in size, and would only be installed in special occasions. Tom specially modified a combat iron fist for ordinary combat situations: the electric shock iron fist.

The material was still a lighter, an electronic lighter.

This kind of lighter had a black strip-shaped thing called a piezoelectric ceramic inside. When it was impacted, it would release an electric spark at one end of the wire. (You could see that hard and black guy inside by smashing a 1-dollar lighter.)

This electric spark was used to shock people and would also instantly cause localized paralysis. Now that it was installed on Tom's arm, even if it encountered a heavily armored mutant rat, it could cause paralysis damage to it.

On May 25th, the people in the camp cheered and danced. They gathered together with smiles, looking forward to Bozi and his team busily helping Tom put on his armor.

Today was the first day of action for Tom's armor, a day worth commemorating.