Setting Out Towards Sanctuary

The cardboard laboratory could be said to be the most important facility in the Medical Hall Camp. Apart from producing the two sets of armor in the Old Street series, it also manufactures various weapons, which are the foundation of ensuring the camp's safety.

The strong light caused by Liu Lexuan's abilities alarmed Zhou Guangrong, Uncle Rong, who had gotten up early to prepare breakfast. Uncle Rong immediately called for people to notify the security team and Bozi, then rushed into the laboratory carrying a pig-killing knife. He thought there was an accident in the laboratory, but what he saw was a satisfied Lexuan and a stunned Tom standing by.

Uncle Wei, Bozi, and Iron Scrap, who treated the laboratory as a forbidden place, arrived successively. After listening to Tom's account of the situation, they immediately began to study the iron plate.

Lexuan's ability was to temporarily strengthen the hardness of the metal surface. Iron Scrap's conclusion after testing was very lengthy, and others couldn't understand it at all. In the end, he could only summarize it in one sentence: the hardness was tripled.

So at that time, Old Street Zero could withstand the bite of an adult dog. Not only was the surface of the armor not bitten through, but it didn't even deform. It should be noted that due to weight considerations, the thickness of the armor was no different from a thick piece of paper to a big dog.

After further experimentation by Iron Scrap, Lexuan's metal reinforcement effect lasted only about ten minutes. And at that time, in order to strengthen Old Street Zero, the large blue crystal she brought with her had exhausted its energy.

Now, Lexuan had exhausted a whole piece of large blue crystal just by strengthening a rhomboid iron plate about 4.2 cm long and 2.8 cm wide. Of course, this size was not small for Tom. It was slightly larger than the size of a police riot shield before shrinking, equivalent to the previous size of 10065 centimeters.

This shocked everyone.

It should be noted that a large red crystal could maintain the speed mode of Old Street Zero for a day and a half, a full 36 hours. This large crystal, three times larger than the big crystal, contained at least three times as much energy. Now, it was exhausted just by strengthening a small iron plate?

Iron Scrap held onto the iron plate and was reluctant to let go. In his eyes, this iron plate was a treasure.

Tom didn't care much. Since waking up and finding himself reduced by 24 times, he had become accustomed to constantly being overturned. Therefore, he quickly stopped worrying about the iron plate and, instead, took Lexuan to help Uncle Rong prepare breakfast.

Until 6 a.m., breakfast was ready. Tom and Uncle Wei's group ate first, then Tom brought breakfast back to the laboratory.

Iron Scrap threw the iron plate to Tom, looking reluctant, "Take it! I've tested it, the effect of strengthening the metal structure by little Lexuan may be permanent or semi-permanent."

"What do you mean?"

"I've felt it through the control crystal. Its molecular structure is very stable, and there is no sign of gradual decay as before. Perhaps there is decay, but the speed of decay is so slow that I can't perceive it. So this thing is very hard, it can probably even withstand bullets... note that I'm talking about the kind of handgun bullets we used before we shrank. It's incredible that this piece of iron plate can help you block them, considering it's less than 1 centimeter thick."

Tom probed it with the emerald crystal, "I can't shape it."

"Yes, I can't either. So, don't expect to change its shape anymore. Use it as a shield, even harder than armor."

Bozi took the shield and flicked it, "Ahaha, Tom, with this, you're Captain America! Or... I'll find someone to paint a star on it for you, it's just a pity it's not round."

"This shield stays in the camp, you guys use it..."

"No!" Bozi handed the shield to Tom, "You're about to set out, it's dangerous outside, you need it more than we do. Besides... we have sturdy wooden doors for protection, the shield isn't of much use."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Tom hung it on the equipment rack of Old Street Zero. He thought about it and decided to paint the shield red as well, after all, it was thanks to Lexuan. However, halfway through, Bozi came over with paint to help. He took the initiative to paint a pentagonal star in the center, so it really became the shield of Captain America.

Looking at the finished shield, and Lexuan's eyes turned into stars, Tom could only give up. Fortunately, it wasn't a circular shield, otherwise he was afraid that all the survivors he met in the future would call him Captain America.

Finally, looking at the completed shield, Bozi smiled and asked Tom to give it a name, after all, such a hard shield belonged to special equipment, and having a name would be more formal.

Tom thought for a while, looked at everyone, and since no one was suggesting anything, he decided to name it the "Biscuit Shield" in memory of the missing gecko biscuit.

After breakfast and reorganizing the equipment, Tom was ready to set out.

Everyone in the camp silently made way, watching him reluctantly. This made him very uncomfortable, "I'm just going out to ensure a safe route, and if it's feasible, I'll come back to take everyone to the sanctuary."

Everyone looked at each other, the atmosphere in the air was a bit strange. Bozi reacted quickly and shouted directly, "What's on your minds? Tom's just going out for a few days, what's with this attitude? Clear the way, wait for Tom to plan the route, and we'll go to the sanctuary together!"

Uncle Wei waved his hand and also spoke up, "Disperse, everyone, disperse, go do what you need to do."

Although he had experienced the incident with the large dog attack, Uncle Wei's prestige remained intact, and it was only when he spoke that the crowd dispersed somewhat reluctantly. However, Liu Lexuan emerged from the crowd and ran straight to Tom, who smiled and crouched down.

"Big Brother Tom, this is for you!" Lexuan presented a red paper crane to Tom with both hands. "You must come back safely!"

Tom took the paper crane and patted her head. "Of course! You all stay home obediently, and I'll come back with good news!" He wasn't just speaking to Lexuan but also to the children like Qixiangtian behind her.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Bozi successfully escorted Tom downstairs.

"Are you sure you don't want us to accompany you? Although the distance from the East Alley to the end of the street is a bit far, there might still be wild cats or something," Bozi asked.

Tom shook his head. "You're the leader of the camp now, and there are many things that need your attention. It's better for you to stay here."

"Alright, then take care!" Bozi was also reluctant, but he knew that Tom's journey was inevitable. Their weapons and equipment had to be stronger to deal with more powerful animals.

After bidding farewell to Bozi, Tom leaped onto the back of the wooden beetle. He patted its head, signaling it to start.

This beetle, with a length of 38 centimeters, a width of 10.5 centimeters, and a height of 13.3 centimeters, was large enough. Before shrinking, it was the size of a Transformer truck. Tom had bound the armor of Old Street Zero, along with weapons, equipment, and some supplies to its back. He was prepared for long-term combat because he knew that entering a new area meant encountering various threatening creatures.

This time, he brought an electric iron fist, a flamethrower, a pig-killing knife, the Biscuit Shield, a large knife, and two steel needle spears, along with the most important termite zero cannon. He also brought quite a few crystals: two red, one green, one yellow, and two blue large crystals; and four red, three green, two yellow, and four blue regular crystals.

In addition, at Bozi's insistence, he also carried a pistol and five bullets. With the awakening of his and Iron Scrap's metal shaping abilities, cold weapons such as swords and spears were no longer scarce in the camp. However, firearms, which were scarce and had weakened firepower, were rarely used. After all, most people had never touched a gun before, and their effectiveness against mutated creatures was not ideal.

But having this pistol meant that Tom had an additional means of attack in unexpected situations.

Apart from the technology, Tom had another reason for going out: there were no large mutated creatures around Old Street anymore. To unleash the full power of Old Street armor, large crystals were ideal. These crystals, the size of a backpack, could increase Tom's strength by six times when worn in the Old Street armor. Without the armor, he would have to make do with regular crystals the size of his arm, which would only provide a 4.5 times increase in strength.

So although there might be dangers in the new environment, there were also opportunities.

The wooden beetle carried Tom leisurely through Old Street, but Tom remained vigilant, surveying his surroundings. Despite the feeling of nostalgia, his mind was full of emotions.

On April 15th, he woke up in the wreckage of the Jingwei, amidst pouring rain. With broken ribs, injured legs, and equipped with gear, he endured the pain of fist-sized raindrops hitting him and the water rising above his waist as he struggled to reach the Medical Hall outside.

Now, not only had he gained new abilities, new weapons, and armor, but he had also earned the respect of a group of people. This was something Tom hadn't dared to imagine before.

The times create heroes, so was he a hero?

Of course, he was! Tom clenched his fist, feeling a surge of pride in his heart.

From the rented building to the small supermarket, then to the rooftop of Uncle Wu's house, and finally to Uncle Wei's Medical Hall camp, Tom asked himself if everything he did was justified. He always helped those around him to the best of his ability. Although some were saved in the end, some died unexpectedly, and some perished despite warnings, these were all different outcomes after doing what he could.

Tom didn't believe in fate. In his view, the consequences of every action were influenced not only by various conditions but also by probabilistic factors. These influences were beyond complete control, and some people regarded them as fate, believing that they were predetermined.

But Tom didn't think so. He believed that one should do their best to achieve their goals. If the final result was unsatisfactory, either try to correct it or accept it and adjust expectations.

So he believed that he was a hero. This honor didn't need to be hidden; it was a self-affirmation. This affirmation would turn into belief and inspire him to continue walking in this scaled-down apocalypse.

After three hours, Tom arrived at the western alley near the end of Old Street. After turning a corner, he reached the riverside.

Due to the typhoon rain two days ago, the river had risen significantly. However, after a day, the water level had dropped again. Standing on the bank and looking down, what used to be a 4-meter-deep river now appeared to be about 100 meters high. Although the distance was great, he could still feel the tremendous impact of the surging water.

As for the original width of 113 meters, it was now more than 2700 meters. If he relied on his two legs, it would take him more than twenty minutes to cross, but riding on the wooden beetle, it would only take him about ten minutes.

Tom signaled the beetle to stop, and after confirming that all the supplies were securely tied to its body, he commanded it to climb onto the dark water supply pipe spanning the river.