Reclaiming Old Street

The first place Tom and Bozi occupied was a small grocery store closest to the yard on Old Street. After all, since the yard was full of tenants, opening a grocery store near the entrance would do very well in business. Of course, the customers it catered to were all poor, and both the items sold in the grocery store and the environment inside weren't anything special. This was also the first place Tom prioritized for cleaning because it was infested with rats, cockroaches, and ants.

Due to the typhoon, the makeshift windows of the grocery store were smashed by bricks, and when Tom and the others entered, it was a mess inside. Many snacks, cigarettes, and drinks were scattered all over the floor, with melon seeds, candies, and instant noodle fragments scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with a complex foul odor.

Tom noticed a package of instant noodles torn open on the ground, with half of the noodles gnawed away. These were fresh traces, and coupled with a stainless steel basin lying nearby, he suspected this was the nesting ground of that mutated rat. It was probably the passage of the typhoon that overturned the grocery store, causing this creature to come out of its delicious food paradise.

Before the mutated rat came out, the noise they heard was probably the rat knocking over this stainless steel basin on the table.

This meant that there wouldn't be any powerful creatures here. Otherwise, there would have been a battle between the two sides, with one side either being eaten or sneaking away in defeat.

However, just one night after the mutated rat was killed, the grocery store was occupied by covetous cockroaches. Tom and the others encountered over a dozen cockroaches, two of which were mutated.

In the past, they would have been very careful. But now, wearing the Old Street Type Zero armor, Tom didn't even bother with them. Even the sharpest mandibles couldn't bite through the two-finger-thick iron armor. Tom maintained the speed mode throughout, easily crushing them with just his fists.

With the mutated rat gone, the cockroaches, ants, and even the flies became frantic. The continuously emerging numbers posed no threat to the two of them, and in no time, the floor was littered with corpses.

After confirming there were no more bugs, Bozi, who had been lurking outside, came in to clean up the battlefield. After collecting several red and green gems, they began to take inventory of the supplies.

There were still plenty of things in the back room of the grocery store, including salt that had already been depleted in the camp. The previous inventory had all been used for pickling snake meat, which, although sufficient for a while, was not ideal for cooking since every dish had to be seasoned with snake meat, much to Rong's annoyance. Today he complained that the snake meat had spoiled the smoothness of the steamed buns, and tomorrow he would complain about the texture of the noodles being ruined by the snake meat.

Cigarettes were also a favorite among the uncles in the camp. After two months, Uncle Seven's hoarded cigarettes were long gone. Although Tom didn't smoke himself, to maintain the enthusiasm of the 70% of smokers among the camp survivors, these things couldn't be lacking.

Candies were a favorite among the children, even Little Tian, the Child King, liked to eat them. Bringing some back to replenish the snack supply was also a good idea.

Purified water, being bulky and unsuitable for carrying, was only brought back in one bottle.

Spicy strips? Watching Bozi tear open the packaging and Skinny eagerly nibble on a tiny piece, closing his eyes in enjoyment, Tom was speechless. What was so delicious about this wheat gluten product? But indeed, there were some people in the camp who liked it, so bringing some back wouldn't hurt. People shrank, and their tolerance for spiciness decreased significantly. Skinny eating even a little bit was probably very spicy.

Under the six-fold strength enhancement of the Old Street Type Zero, the cargo platform on Wood's back was soon filled to the brim. Skinny jumped up to assist Tom in securing all the supplies, and then they headed back.

The earnings from this trip were good, and after summarizing the situation of the day when they returned to the camp, they rested early.

The next morning, the three of them set off together with the transport team. After the transport team of more than thirty people arrived at the grocery store and confirmed its safety, Tom left Bozi to protect the transport team and went forward with Skinny to explore.

The clothing store diagonally opposite was also in a mess, with the clothes inside blown all over the place by the strong winds. After Tom cleaned up some bugs, he dragged two pieces of clothing back to the grocery store to be cut and made into clothes for the aunts.

It had been over two months, and everyone's clothes were tattered and torn, so it was time for a collective change.

In the following days, the morale of the camp soared. With Tom around, the shops on Old Street were visited one by one. As soon as people entered the shops, the insects and rats inside would be attracted over, only to be swiftly dealt with by Tom and Bozi. And some of the less threatening bugs were left for the camp security team to practice on.

Yes, after more than a month of testing, coupled with Tom's godlike combat power, the 21 thugs under Uncle Seven had gained recognition and were formed into the medical clinic security team. Among the original nine thugs under Bozi, three were selected as team leaders, becoming the backbone of the armed forces in the camp.

With soft armor made from the leather of various mutated creatures, supplemented by the metal weapons shaped by Tom and Iron Scrap, and daily training under Bozi, even if they encountered mutated cockroaches, they could rely on teamwork to kill them without injury. It could be said that the situation in the camp was very favorable at the moment. The shops on Old Street and the supplies in the tenants' rooms were brought back every day in an endless stream, and the various supplies piled up in the back room of the old clinic were increasing day by day, to the point where Uncle Wei was considering moving some of the supplies to the neighboring room... the room originally occupied by Uncle Seven and the others.

Tom went out with the supply team every day, accompanied by Old Street Type Zero, to ensure the safety of the more than fifty people. However, most of the time, Old Street Type Zero was strapped to Wood's back, as there was no need to use it against the small threats they encountered. After all, wearing this heavy armor, every second required activating the energy of the red crystal to maintain speed or strength mode.

And since the major threats of mutated creatures had been cleared, they hadn't come across any crystals anymore. Most of what they found were gemstones, so it was best not to use Old Street Type Zero unless necessary. With Tom's continuously growing combat experience, even without the armor, he was still very formidable; he could even take on non-mutated rats in combat.

As the sun set in the west, the whole world was bathed in twilight, and each little person was infected by the dark red sky, feeling calm. Plus, after a hot and busy day, seeing this scene filled everyone with a sense of pride in their achievements.

Sitting at the highest point on the leather sofa mounted on the railing, Tom played with a hollow spike, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and sighed as he looked at the dark red sky.

Whether it was an illusion or not, he noticed that the sunset glow was getting redder and redder, the faint scene becoming more intense. Perhaps this was the self-repair of the environment after the absence of human activity.

The houses on this side of the yard were all very old, and coupled with the ravages of the previous typhoon and the absence of human activity (little people couldn't really affect the environment, such as stepping on grass, clearing weeds, or cleaning the ground), many weeds began to grow rampantly. Not to mention the tall grass in the yard, even the surrounding walls and floors were covered with fresh weeds. The ravages of the typhoon also promoted the spread of various plant seeds, and it could be said that the seeds of the originally planned green areas had been scattered throughout the city with the typhoon. With time, these resilient plants only needed a little dew to break through the floor and walls and spread and grow wildly.

Today was June 27th, 16 days since the last typhoon, and it had taken them 16 days to clean up this short Old Street. The harvest was indeed very fulfilling. It seemed that the threat to the entire Old Street had been greatly reduced, much to the delight of the camp residents.

Just the day before yesterday, five uncles had disregarded the ban and secretly ran to Old Street, wanting to retrieve the treasures they had hidden in their homes. Upon learning of this, Bozi promptly sent members of the security team to search. After half a day, they found the five uncles happily carrying gold rings and earrings.

Uncle Wei personally put them under five days of confinement, but it still couldn't stop the overly optimistic mood from spreading in the camp.

To many people, Old Street seemed safe now, and they didn't feel the need for Tom and others to accompany them like babysitters when they went out. They wanted to go wherever they pleased. As long as they returned on time at night, after all, they were still afraid of mosquitoes at night.

Even at noon today, members of the security team caught Zhang Gui and his young wife having an affair in the bushes. Although Zhang Gui was a bit embarrassed, his once virtuous wife was very generous and showed no signs of shyness. She even proposed a threesome as compensation, hoping that the two members of the security team who caught them would let them go.

Fortunately, the members of the security team had passed the test and feared Tom's strength. Even though one of them had relations with her when she was under Uncle Seven's command, they still didn't dare to be partial and obediently followed the rules to bring them back.

Uncle Wei was somewhat embarrassed to deal with such a scandal and only symbolically confined them, which didn't have much punitive effect. Instead, it allowed some couples to discover new ways to enhance their relationship.

Tom felt that such a situation couldn't be indulged. The safety of Old Street was only temporary, and once new creatures discovered this uninhabited land, the threat would return. After all, they could currently only deal with some small bugs, and the most difficult opponents were the mutated rats. If larger mammals, such as cats or dogs, appeared, things wouldn't be so simple.

He would never forget the scene where three strong men in black overwhelmed a mutated Haba dog with just three punches and two kicks that night. He reminded himself constantly that the power of this new world was not limited to his current abilities alone. Even with the Old Street Type Zero armor, he didn't think he could gain much advantage against that muscular man in black.

"Perhaps I should leave the camp while the going is good?"

The overly optimistic mood in the camp didn't meet Tom's expectations. Certainly, people had to stay optimistic to live better lives. But the current comfort was only superficial. With the appearance of just one wild dog, this false sense of security could be shattered.

From childhood to adulthood, Tom's life had been mostly unstable. This made him feel lonely most of the time, and he was accustomed to and enjoyed this loneliness.

When he realized he had shrunk, his first instinct was to perceive the threat, which prompted him to seek companionship to share the burden. And now, it seemed like he was returning to a comfortable life, yet he felt the urge to leave.

To explore new adventures, seek new technologies and powers, and the impulse to uncover the secrets of that redemption sanctuary and the Haiwei Group.

"Leave?" Tom was startled by his own thoughts. The camp wasn't safe, yet he was entertaining the idea of leaving the camp... 

Just as he was pondering his impulse, Skinny jumped onto the top of the sofa and said, "Boss, Uncle Wei invites you back for dinner."