Sniper Battle at the Bridgehead

At this moment, Tom seemed to have only one choice, which was to let go of the wood and confront the dozen or so medium and large-sized mutated ants that had just joined the battle. These dozen or so guys were straightforward for him. But he heard another person's tragic cry as they fell, and Tom knew the people on the wood's back couldn't hold on much longer.

With no choice, the men on the wood's back could only fend for themselves. Their sacrifice was just that, a sacrifice, and Tom couldn't focus on them now.

Sometimes, as a leader, you have to make choices between preserving strength and sacrificing some individuals. Tom had always thought that when faced with this dilemma, he would struggle to choose and be tormented. However, when it actually happened, he didn't feel the psychological burden he had imagined.

He was the only one in the team who could fight head-on. Once he was knocked down, not only the men on the wood's back but also everyone on the wood and in the carriage would fall prey to the sea of ants.

Currently, preserving himself meant preserving the entire team.

The butcher knife had been thrown somewhere unknown, so Tom pulled out a long spear, ready to go forward, and instructed Wang Zixiong, "Wang Zixiong, take care of yourself and them!"

Wang Zixiong endured the bites of ninja ants and responded with a grunt, "No problem, boss!"

But at that moment, the mutated soldier ants suddenly caught fire.

The mutated ants were larger in size but had become more flammable in their body structure.

On the way here, Tom's flamethrower had been knocked off by a black bird; otherwise, things wouldn't be so chaotic now.

And now, for some reason, that mutated soldier ant had caught fire on its own.

The flames quickly engulfed its entire body. In pain, it hurriedly fled, igniting the other mutated ants around it.

In just a few seconds, more than a dozen mobile fire sources flickered and dashed in the sea of ants, leaving dead small ants in their wake.

This sudden change puzzled Tom and the people on the wood's back, but they all understood that the situation was in their favor.

Tom lifted up the fallen Ceng Guangsheng and then hurried back to the back of the wood to push it forward.

"Tom!" a familiar voice sounded from the bushes, and then the people on the wood's back saw a person about 8 centimeters tall, with the upper body covered in metal armor, rushing out. He had a long object attached to his right arm, and sharp-eyed people recognized it as a lighter.

The lighter emitted a purple flame, leaving dead small ants wherever it went. He sprayed all the way and rushed straight to Tom's side.

"Hey, Tom!"

"Hey, Abao!" Tom was pushing the wood. He didn't expect it to be Abao, "Why are you here?"

Abao used the flamethrower to clear the ants around Tom and answered, "Skinny said the shelter's lights were still on after a day, and he assumed you rescued new Awakened individuals, so he suggested I bring people to support you."

"Great!" Tom was overjoyed. With Abao here, his pressure was greatly reduced, "Help clear the burden on the wood."

"Okay!" Abao answered loudly, then shouted, "People on top, don't move, don't move, otherwise if anyone gets burned, it's not my responsibility."

After saying that, the flame from the lighter swiftly swept around the wood, showing his good grasp of distance. The flame could make the ants fall off when it approached, without hurting the people above.

There were still many attacking ants, but the dozen or so mobile fire sources scattered and drove them away. Some that didn't run away were killed by the dozen or so armored people who emerged from the bushes.

They were members of the clinic's guard team. Their armor, made of iron and cockroach leather, was more complete than the survivors on the wood's back. With their agile skills, they quickly cleared away the small ants.

"Yoohoo!" Abao took off his helmet, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "That was thrilling! We arrived at the street in the morning and encountered heavy rain, trapped under the eaves for most of the day. Originally, I was planning to take people back, but Skinny said the shelter was closed, so he suggested we come and see if you needed a hand."

With the ants cleared, the wood's movement speed recovered, and Tom also felt liberated. "Where's Wang Sanli?"

"Hey! Uncle An!" a figure suddenly appeared beside him, startling the people on the wood's back.

"It seems your stealth effect has improved." Tom could tell that his stealth movement speed was faster.

"Yes, it's only been one night, haha."

The 15 members of the clinic guard team laughed and joked around, while Feng Hanyun brought the women out to bandage the injured men. Tom took off his helmet and wiped off the sweat from his head with the cloth given by Abao.

Although it was very hot, he felt like he was soaking in hot soup, but he couldn't take off his armor yet because danger could arise at any moment.

"This!" Abao handed him a square block from his back, about the size of a head.

Tom looked at it, "A bomb?"

"Yes, red crystal plus yellow gem. The wooden shell is lighter, and it doesn't need the shell to provide lethality anyway. Iron Old Man made it overnight. He thought you might need it, so I brought it over."

Iron Old Man was very thoughtful and even added a groove so that it could be hung on the energy backpack. Anyway, if this thing isn't activated, no matter how it collides, it won't explode. It can be said to be very safe most of the time.

"I saved about 20 people... uh, it's 18 now. That little girl is a doctor who gave me a lot of ideas. Her name is Lin Meiqi. Meiqi, this is Abao I told you about."

"Abao, is that the termite-style gun on your back? Let me see it!" Lin Meiqi was more interested in what Abao was carrying on his back.

Tom refused, "It's not convenient right now. Let's talk about it later. Let's go, move forward, back to the bridge."

The team continued forward, wading through the damp grassland and climbing up the embankment. The water pipe bridge was just 20 meters ahead.

Due to the tall grass obscuring their view of the path, they veered off course while walking and ended up here. This was often an unavoidable problem after shrinking, especially since they were so small. However, the distance was manageable, equivalent to about 500 meters, and it was relatively safe for them at the moment. After spending some time, they finally arrived at the makeshift water pipe.

"Do you hear anything?" Skinny reminded.

Tom listened and felt uneasy. He immediately shouted, "Quick, cross the bridge, hurry!"

Under Wang Zixiong's urging, the wood increased its crawling speed and quickly climbed onto the surface of the water pipe. The surface of the pipe was relatively smooth, and for the shrunken people, walking on it posed no significant problem. However, because of its curved profile, they had to be careful while walking. This was why they had thought it impassable during the rain. The rainwater made the surface even more slippery, and coupled with the strong wind over the river, it was easy for someone to fall into the river.

Once Tom and the others reached the water pipe, they saw a cat and a dog emerge from the residential compound's fence.

"Quick, go! I'll stop them!" Tom immediately ordered.

Abao promptly relayed Tom's command, "Let's go, Tom will stop them."

"No, you go too. Your armor is useless against them, and you're not as fast as the cat. Hurry, take them across. I'll hold them off," Tom insisted.

"But..." Abao hesitated, but accustomed to obeying Tom's orders, he instinctively followed the team, running while looking back, "Make sure you come back safely!"

"I will! Don't worry about me!"

The water pipe bridge was too narrow and slippery. Once the cat caught up, everyone would be knocked into the river. So Tom could only stay behind alone to fend off the animals and buy them time to cross the river. Such a task could only be handled by the highest-defense Old Street Zero Armor, and leaving Abao would only distract Tom.

Tom picked up the biscuit shield, held the steel needle spear in his other hand, and crouched halfway, standing in power mode at the entrance of the water pipe bridge, watching as the black cat rushed towards him.

"Meow!" The black cat, about 15 centimeters tall, immediately swiped with its sharp claws upon meeting, but the biscuit shield firmly absorbed the damage, almost knocking Tom over.

The biscuit shield was very hard, and the cat's claws could only leave a shallow scratch on it. Tom imitated the Spartans in the movies, holding up the shield to withstand the attack, and thrust the steel needle spear forward, stabbing the cat's front leg.

The mutant black cat with red eyes meowed low and jumped back to create some distance. It licked the wound for a moment and then leaped to Tom's side again, crouching and raising its other paw, preparing to strike again.

Tom was familiar with this cat's movement. Cats were fast, and their paw strikes were hard to catch with the naked eye. At this moment, all he could do was rely on the sturdy biscuit shield to protect most of his body. As long as he kept facing it head-on, the biscuit shield could withstand all the attacks.

With a "thud," the impact from the shield reverberated through Tom's arm. He gritted his teeth and placed the hand holding the spear on the edge of the shield, using both hands to protect the shield.

Then, the shield was continuously struck by the black cat's front paws, making it difficult for Tom to support even with six times his arm strength.

After enduring several seconds of pounding, Tom felt the next strike didn't come. He immediately seized the opportunity to push the shield forward, delivering a shield bash, but it missed as the cat leaped away before the impact.

Missing the attack, Tom held the shield again with both hands. Sure enough, the black cat pounced again, this time with extreme speed and its weight, directly knocking Tom to the ground.

However, the biscuit shield pressed against the Old Street Zero Armor, and despite being knocked down by the cat, Tom was protected from its paw strikes. In frustration, the cat switched to biting, but after a couple of gnaws, its teeth couldn't penetrate the shield. Just as it was about to lift the shield, Tom reached for the steel needle spear underneath him and stabbed it directly into the cat's mouth, causing it to yowl in pain and leap away.

As Tom stood up, the mutant dog behind finally caught up.

It was a Pekingese, still small with short legs, which was why it couldn't keep up with the cat's speed and had just arrived. Tom guessed it was a pet owned by someone in this residential area, but he didn't know what had happened to its owner.

The little guy was about 18 centimeters tall, slightly taller than the black cat and about twice the height of the Old Street Zero Armor.

It rushed to Tom but didn't immediately attack. Instead, it stopped and barked loudly.

To Tom, there were several second-tier mutants on this side, and these two were not counted among them. It was very likely that their mutations were only a day or two old.

He couldn't see any mutant characteristics or abilities on the black cat, and it wasn't even as threatening as Ah Huang, the one that had eaten Xiao Bao. As for the Pekingese, it was just acting as usual, barking at strange things it encountered first, hoping to scare away enemies with its barking. Unfortunately, Tom couldn't run away now. At this moment, in order to buy time for the team to cross the bridge, all he could do was hold onto the water pipe. The Pekingese dared not move, and the black cat that had bitten Tom twice did the same. Its ears flattened against its head as it crouched on the other side, glaring at Tom, and constantly growling.

This was good news for Tom. The longer he delayed, the safer Abao and the others would be. He immediately exerted force on the shield, shouted loudly, and created an imposing manner that didn't lose to theirs.

Despite this, he secretly switched off power mode.