To Go or to Wait

June in Senchuan City was a season prone to thunderstorms. Despite a heavy rain last night, the heavens showed no intention of relenting, continuing to pour more rain onto the steel and concrete forest that was gradually returning to its natural state.

The dense thickets received ample moisture, promising even more lush growth after the rain. The high-tech modern skyscrapers, battered by repeated winds and rain, accelerated their process of damp decay, becoming more suitable breeding grounds for weeds and ivy.

Only a fraction of the city's former inhabitants remained, struggling for survival in various inconspicuous corners, shivering and trembling. Besides watching helplessly as their once prosperous city gradually declined, they also had to fight for survival every day.

Similarly, the owners in the Dragon Glory Homeland residential community's fountain shelter felt the same way. They looked a bit lost as they watched the endless rain through the shelter's cameras on the monitor.

The shelter would end its protection at five o'clock in the afternoon, folding back into the ground afterward. If it was still raining at that time, everyone would be left out in the rain.

That was the trouble on most people's minds.

However, for a few agile-minded individuals like Lin Meiqi and Wang Zixiong, their concern was about continuing their journey. If the rain continued as heavily as it was, they wouldn't be able to cross the water pipe bridge on the Lujiang River as Tom had mentioned.

So, they were even more restless than others.

On the contrary, Tom remained calm. He found a corner and began tinkering with the new technology he had recently learned, laying out a few crystals and iron pieces.

Metal telekinesis. He didn't know the full extent of this ability yet, but for now, the application he had discovered was metal shaping.

With the heavy rain outside, he couldn't go out for the time being, so he decided to craft some new equipment for himself.

Since obtaining the Old Street No. 0 Armor, he had become increasingly reliant on this highly defensive gear, which made him feel a sense of crisis.

Last night, he had taken off the armor and fought the ant swarm hand-to-hand, trying to warm up and regain some of his former feelings.

Now, with the metal shaping technique, he decided to create a new weapon for himself.

Using metal shaping, he made an ordinary long sword, not the oversized heavy weapon used by the Old Street Armor.

Using metal telekinesis, he folded this long sword into a metal ring, which he wore as a belt. The blade part was folded to prevent accidental cuts. On the hilt, he added a level 2 green crystal.

Although controlling the weapon's transformation through the green crystal was a bit slow, after Tom repeatedly transformed it using the crystal, he found that he only needed to convey the intention of transformation to the crystal, and the weapon would immediately change back into the belt shape he had repeatedly transformed. Another command, and it could turn from a belt back into a long sword. This formed a memory function, allowing the transformation to be completed in almost a second.

This discovery delighted him. Although switching the crystal ability required cooldown time, the metal's memory feature saved him the time and effort of controlling the metal transformation.

This weapon could be worn as a belt in peacetime. When there was no weapon at hand, he could take off the belt and transform it into a sword by touching the green crystal on the handle, serving as a hidden weapon.

As he made the sword belt and wore it around his waist, Lin Meiqi looked him up and down, then said, "You look a bit like an ancient swordsman like this. If you have a falling out with someone in the future, just pull out the belt and turn it into a sword, catching them off guard, hehe."

Wang Zixiong was even more excited. He had always wanted to be a swordsman like Gusu Yijian, so he begged, "Boss, make one for me too."

"You haven't awakened your abilities or mastered telekinesis, so even if I give it to you, you can't use it."

"What if I have it later?"

Lin Meiqi laughed at that, "Have it? Haha, can men get pregnant? Temporary worker, are you cross-dressing as a man? Let me see, come on, let me see." She immediately tried to give him a full-body check-up.

He quickly dodged, "I mean awakening abilities. Please make one for me soon."

"When you have it, I'll definitely make one for you." Tom swallowed the latter half of the sentence, which was "if we survive until then."

Although he had calmly and stylishly killed the soldier ant on the gate just now, stabilizing the survivors' hearts, he actually had a bad feeling.

The ant colony targeting them was a threat, but he had a feeling that an even bigger threat might be waiting for them.

Looking at the survivors chatting and laughing in the hall, they seemed like travelers waiting in a waiting room to go home. Although they were a bit worried and scared, they were more looking forward to moving to a safer and more stable environment.

Tom didn't want to bear the lives of others. Since he let go of his sister and left alone, he only cared about himself. But as a diminished person facing a world full of malice, he had to gather more people to survive. With ability and vision, he inevitably became the one who controlled others' lives to maintain the entire group.

Since he couldn't refuse, he had to accept it.

That was Tom's current mentality.

Outside the shelter, the rain continued to pour down, and the strong wind, accompanied by dense rain, swept away everything around.

Although the air in the shelter was a bit stuffy, it was still safe, without worrying about leaks or flooding. So, everyone's mentality was calm, while Tom, with Wang Zixiong's help, repaired and improved the Old Street No. 0 Armor.

He patched up the cracked iron plates and replaced his energy crystal backpack with a new one, filled with a level 4 red crystal that Lu Qiuman had recharged. He even distributed the collected heads of mutated cockroaches and soldier ants to everyone, letting them make their own armor. Although it couldn't protect their whole bodies, at least it could save their lives at critical moments by covering vital areas.

However, while everyone was busy, Feng Hanyun angrily dragged Liu Liqing into a small room.

"You busybody! Now that no one's bothering you, you want to steal my man, huh?" 

Liu Liqing sneered, "How am I stealing your man? Tom's this tall wall, plenty of women are digging at it. You're just a bit behind, I'm not interested."

"It's not that you're not interested, it's that no man would be interested in you. I'm talking about my Zhao Xifeng. I saw you giving him those flirty looks just now, don't think I didn't notice."

"Oh wow, you noticed that too." Liu Liqing lightly tapped her lips with her palm, pretending to be surprised. "Aren't you following Tom? What if I'm with Zhao Xifeng, what's it to you?"

"Shameless! Haha, you have evidence? It's actually you, you've climbed up to your position today, don't think others don't know. First, you slept with your manager, then you slept with a client for an order, and finally climbed into the bed of the general manager. Not only that, to help your boss get that piece of land, you even seduced the official in charge of the tender project, and then went to show off to his original wife, causing her to have a car accident and die..."

Feng Hanyun was suddenly shocked to hear this, and she angrily pounced on her, and the two wrestled together. "You evil woman, how dare you slander me here! I'll tear your face off!"

"You dare? Oh, I'm so scared. Can you touch me? Hey, I'm observing that guy named Tom. He's already annoyed by your constant flirting. If he knows what kind of person you are, guess who will be kicked out of the team in the end? Come on, if you dare to touch me, I'll call for help."

Feng Hanyun quickly retracted her hand when she heard this. The small room had no door, and if their voices got any louder, they would definitely alert others.

Liu Liqing was very pleased, smiling and saying, "Scared now, huh? Haha. Okay, Tom said it's a new world now. Let's forget about the old stuff. We've been fighting each other for so long, but now, everyone is struggling to survive. I'm a person who knows herself. I can't climb this Tom tree. But I can create opportunities for you, as long as you remember to help me later. After all, I'm also an awakened one, not inferior to you. How about it?"

Feng Hanyun's eyes turned, and her brain turned a few times before she immediately put on a smile. "Sure, let's put aside our grievances and fight together for survival, good sisters."

"Good sisters!" Liu Liqing hugged her, and the two of them looked like good buddies, without the tense atmosphere of almost breaking out into a fight just now.

Little did they know, behind the door, someone had been eavesdropping all along. When they shook hands and made peace, the figure quietly left.

The heavy rain continued to fall, and the people in the shelter looked at the bright red countdown above the door, becoming increasingly restless.

Finally, at 2:35 in the afternoon, the rain gradually lessened.

The people in the shelter began to get restless, urging Tom to set out quickly.

However, when Tom opened the door, he shook his head and motioned to close it. The rain had lessened, but the wind hadn't. The water pipe bridge on the river was still not suitable for crossing. Walking on the wet, curving water pipe, with large raindrops hitting their heads, would be too risky.

Leaving early would only get them stuck on the pipe. In the tall grasses everywhere, ants or other dangers could attack them at any moment, so it was better to stay in the shelter and wait for the wind to calm down a bit.

After Tom explained this, they quieted down.

While waiting, some sharp-eyed people noticed ants moving outside and immediately exclaimed.

As Tom had expected, this ant nest had already set its sights on them, targeting this shelter.

Should they rush out while it's still raining?

Wang Zixiong's suggestion received agreement from many people, but Tom vetoed it.

"These ants have intelligence. When I went to scout this morning, I noticed ants following us. Understand? When I left, I deliberately took a detour to make them think I was playing. If we go out now and the water pipe is still not passable, we'll be stuck up there."

"By then, staying put and being gnawed into skeletons by countless ants, or walking on the pipe and being blown into the river by the wind, it's your choice."