Setting Off to the Shelter

"All the expenses were paid with money from my account. Who's keeping who? Do you think it's you? Always thinking about being kept." Lin Meiqi's rapid-fire retort left Feng Hanjun speechless. Her jealousy as a woman had prompted her to speak sour words just now. But Lin Meiqi's counterattack was justified, and with Tom backing her up, Feng Hanjun didn't dare to argue further, only questioning silently in her heart.

She was afraid that Lin Meiqi would kick her out of the room, which would be terrifying.

Unlike adults like Lu Qiuman who cared about their image, this little girl was completely unreasonable.

Tom had experienced what it meant to deal with three women at once. They hadn't even left the room yet, and they were already openly or subtly competing with each other, making it really hard to have peace. In order to make his ears feel a bit better, he had to speak up, "Alright, stop making a fuss. I need to modify the equipment for going out. With such a big room, you guys can play in your own corners and don't disturb me."

The situation outside was too complicated. It wouldn't be easy to safely escort the six of them to the shelter and get six shelter points. After thinking for a moment, he noticed the electric tank that had performed well.

Although the outer shell of this thing had been pierced by mutated rats, the electric motor module was undamaged, and it currently had enough power to transport living people.

So Tom directed two men to help him collect some plastic and iron nails. Then, to the astonishment of everyone, he molded a bunch of iron nails into a metal canopy and directly fastened it to the electric tank without its outer shell, turning it into a bus.

Because it was an imported high-end product, this toy had a powerful electric motor, so powerful that it could easily climb a 70-degree slope. Therefore, adding a metal shell wouldn't affect its speed. And since it was track-type, it could traverse uneven grasslands with ease, making it the perfect transportation vehicle.

After admiring Tom's abilities, the three women were once again amazed by Tom's bold transformation performance. His focused and determined gaze charmed the three women, especially when compared to the two men beside him who were completely useless. Feng Hanjun and Lu Qiuman both sighed. They were both men, so why was there such a big difference?

Perhaps due to being too infatuated, the three conflicting women suddenly agreed to go to the toilet together. So, while Tom was busy, he suddenly heard three women screaming in horror. He reacted quickly, grabbing a large knife nearby and rushing to the toilet.

Arriving at the bathroom door, the three women all rushed to his side, squeezing into his somewhat strong body, babbling, "It's so scary!"

"Too terrifying!"

"Very scary!"

Tom broke free from the embrace of the three women, leaving them to the two men who followed him, and entered the bathroom with the knife. But what he saw was the mutated rat he had dissected himself, which made him slap his forehead immediately.

He thought the mutated rat could come back to life even after death, but it turned out it was just a corpse.

Seeing the three women's pale faces, he muttered a few words and returned to the tank modification site. Lin Meiqi was already sitting cross-legged on the tank, supporting her chin and smiling, "Hehe, I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. They really held out until now to let me see it. Such timid people, how will they survive outside? It's better to be kept at home by you, living a carefree life and serving you every day."

Tom rolled his eyes at her and continued working. After a few moments, realizing something wasn't right, he immediately defended himself, "Keep? I won't keep those troublesome women."

This rebuttal was too weak and feeble. Lin Meiqi teased him softly, "What about me? I'm not troublesome, I'm easy to keep."

"Go away, go away. You're still just a child, why do you say such strange things? Go away, don't bother me." Lin Meiqi burst into laughter like a string of copper bells, jumped off the tank, and left with her hands behind her back, hopping and skipping. After taking a few steps, she turned back and asked with a smile, "Is this strange? Having a harem is every man's dream, especially you're so powerful, hehe!" With that, she left.

At this moment, Tom seemed to have eaten the enhanced version of Wei Shu... no, Tian Zi's invigorating soup. Seeing that there was no one around, he quickly twisted his waist, straightened out the wrinkles on his pants, and focused on completing the final modification of the tank.

But as soon as he started, the three women and two men surrounded him again. In order to avoid being bothered by them, Tom threw a red, green, and yellow gemstone to them, letting them take turns testing whether they could resonate with the gemstones.

As a result, Lu Qiuman successfully resonated with the yellow gemstone, naturally becoming a light bulb again. Even so, it still made Feng Hanjun extremely jealous.

This situation attracted Lin Meiqi back, and she pulled Lu Qiuman aside to study it. The others could only reluctantly return the gemstones to Tom and find a place to play on their own.

When Tom finished his work, he found that the five people were all asleep. He looked at his watch; it was already 5:39 in the morning, so he decided to wait until 8:00 to set off. Tom looked around and found a ladder in front of the sofa, climbing up to find Lin Meiqi. He saw her holding a pen, scribbling and writing a bunch of symbols on paper.

"What's up?" Tom walked over, and Lin Meiqi pushed the paper aside with a stroke, "Almost there, I'll tell you when I figure it out."

Tom shrugged, then told her his arrangement and asked her to rest for a while.

After a month of consumption, there wasn't much food left in Lin Meiqi's room. Just now, Feng Hanjun and the others had eaten again after vomiting, finishing off the last of the food reserves, so it wasn't suitable to stay here anymore. Plus, Lin Meiqi found the outside world so exciting, she couldn't sit still.

Tom leaned back on the soft sofa and fell asleep until 8:00, when his watch woke him up punctually, but the others were still sleeping.

He woke everyone up and remotely controlled the tank transport vehicle out of the door.

Tom, clad in the Old Street Zero Armor, smashed open the glass door of the gate with a single blow, making enough space for the tank transport vehicle to be lifted out. Once outside, the bright sunlight made everyone squint their eyes for a while before they adjusted.

"Wow, it's so big!" Despite being prepared, the six little people were still greatly amazed by the surroundings. The familiar neighborhood they went in and out of every day now appeared magnified twenty-four times. From their perspective, it looked both familiar and unfamiliar.

The once lush lawns and flower beds were now overgrown with weeds taller than humans. The clean and tidy sidewalks were now littered with debris and rocks, turning into drivable roads. The walls and windows of the buildings were no longer neat and bright, but became mottled giants reaching into the sky, covered with cracks and tough green grass squeezing out from the crevices.

Sharp cries sounded in their ears, causing the three women to look around. Tom waved his hand, signaling them to quickly climb into the tank transport vehicle. Although mosquitoes were scarce during the day, they still existed, and with their slender arms and legs, they could be bitten to near death.

The tank was a bit short, and it was a bit crowded with six people inside. After Lin Meiqi got in, she popped her head out and asked, "I recognize it, it's the sound of cicadas!"

Tom nodded, pushed her head back in, then climbed onto the roof. In order to save space, the larger remote control was fixed on top.

The weight of the Old Street Zero Armor was considerable. As soon as he got on the roof, the people inside the car felt the car sink significantly. Feng Hanjun was afraid that the car would break down and they would have to walk, so she complained, "Can't he just walk? Wearing such heavy things just to show off, increasing the burden on the car. If it collapses, we'll be in trouble."

Lin Meiqi glared at her and said fiercely, "If you have any objections, please leave. The car is mine, and the modifications were done by him. You sit in the car for free and still have so many opinions. Who do you think you are? A domineering female CEO or a delicate princess from the royal family? Hmph!"

Feng Hanjun immediately closed her mouth and turned her face away, feeling resentful for a few seconds before feeling unsatisfied again. She immediately pinched Zhao Xifeng's arm hard, causing him to cry out in pain, followed by her reprimand, "Useless man, can't even endure a little pain!"

The tank's insulation effect wasn't good, and Tom could hear everything clearly from the roof, but he didn't care. He carefully controlled the tank to move on the sidewalk, preferring to take a detour rather than drive into the bushes. After all, the road conditions inside were complicated, and if they got stuck, it would be troublesome.

The car had enough horsepower and didn't bump much on the gravel, but it wasn't as fast as an electric toy car. After a while, it naturally attracted ants that smelled human scent.

So the six people in the car saw a terrifying scene: every now and then, several ants of different sizes crawled out from the bushes beside and behind the car. Some were as big as half a palm, some were as big as a small dog, and some even reached the size of an adult field dog. Without exception, they all charged towards them, their pincers clacking as they climbed onto the car and bit.

Tom had anticipated this, so he specially added a metal canopy and left small windows. Even the smallest ants couldn't get their heads in. Although the three women and two men inside were scared and screamed, they weren't actually in danger. With one hand controlling the tank's movement, he wielded a big knife with the other, slashing off the ants climbing onto the car.

"What are you shouting for? My ears are deaf now, and they can't bite us. No matter how ferocious ants are, they can't bite through the metal, okay..." Lin Meiqi's voice had just fallen when she saw a huge ant in front of her, holding its large pincers low and its butt raised high as it charged towards them. She immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Wow! So cool, hahaha!"

Tom clicked his tongue on the roof, stopped the car, and jumped down, wielding the big knife and shouting loudly. With six times the strength, he swung the knife at the mutant soldier ant charging towards them. The ant's head split in half, and its juice splattered all over the knife. He punched another medium-sized ant's head, then squatted down, pulled out a red crystal from the head of the large soldier ant.

Several smaller ants rushed forward from the front, he stomped on them with his feet, gave a thumbs-up to the people inside the car to signal that they were safe, then flipped back onto the roof and continued driving.

"So cool!" Lu Qiuman's eyes were shining brightly. Tom's continuous and coherent attack, coupled with his cold squat and pulling out the red crystal from the evil and terrifying monster's head, deeply captivated her. "I didn't expect to see a superhero outside of movies!"

"Hmph, not impressive!" Lin Meiqi sneered, but she also liked Tom's actions secretly, thinking to herself, "This guy is so skilled, it seems he has fought with these ants a lot. That's right, ants can be said to be the most common and numerous insects in the entire city. Once these arthropods come knocking, it's a sea of them."

Lu Qiuman's friend Zhu Yihong also screamed in agreement. It was Feng Hanjun who widened her eyes and remained silent, then turned to look at her boyfriend Zhao Xifeng. This man from the countryside looked like a world away from the Tom in front of him.

Feeling his girlfriend's gaze, Zhao Xifeng turned his head, and their eyes met. Soon, Zhao Xifeng turned his head away, not daring to look into Feng Hanjun's eyes. He knew his girlfriend always thought he was useless, and now in such a situation, he felt even more incompetent.

I can't be like this, I can do it too. Thinking like this, Zhao Xifeng turned back and plucked up the courage to say to his girlfriend, "Hanjun, rest assured, I..."

"Shut up!" Feng Hanjun looked disdainfully out the window, "You useless waste, don't even have the face to talk when you need someone else to protect your girlfriend."

Zhao Xifeng quickly lowered his head, listening to the harsh sound of the ants' teeth scraping against the car outside, silently clenching his fists.