Burning Bridges

Tom faced off against a cat and a dog, both of which refrained from attacking, which was good for him.

Last time, it took him 10 minutes to ride here on Wood, but now carrying so many people, he needed to strive for at least 13 minutes.

Just a short while later, the black cat couldn't resist and pounced on him, biting him directly to the ground.

The black cat, about 15 centimeters tall, managed to bite Tom's head into its mouth without being blocked by the shield. Unfortunately, at this moment, Tom's body inside the armor emitted a faint yellow light. It was because he had activated his ability first: enhanced defense, using blue and red crystals.

Even Ah Huang, who had taken three days and nights to mutate, couldn't break through Tom's enhanced defense. This black cat, smaller in size and seemingly less mutated, even though it bit Tom's neck, still couldn't tear his head off. However, it was unaware of this fact. Separated by the heavy armor, it thought it had succeeded based on past experiences.

With the black cat biting, the hesitant Pekingese naturally joined in, trying to compete with the black cat for food.

The black cat, however, refused to back down. It reluctantly grabbed the Old Street Zero Armor and raised its fur at the Pekingese, attempting to scare it away. However, the Pekingese didn't buy it and had no intention of giving in.

So, these two started to confront each other fiercely.

The Pekingese had been cautious of Tom earlier, but now, facing off against the black cat, it became confident.

It barked wildly, jumping up and down, occasionally swiping its legs, causing the black cat to shake off the heavy Old Street Armor that was in its way and wrestle with it.

For a while, there was barking and hissing, fur flying everywhere. The two large animals, one black and one white, hugged each other and bit each other.

Meanwhile, Tom, lying on the side, dared not move because he knew it was his enhanced defense that had saved his life. These two probably thought that by biting him, even if his head wasn't severed, he would definitely die from a bitten throat. So, they fought for the right to devour his "corpse" with confidence.

If he stood up wearing the heavy armor, it would definitely attract their attention. By then, the two would probably join forces again to attack him. So Tom just lay there, waiting for a while. After Xiao Bao and the others successfully crossed the bridge, he would figure out a way to escape.

While Tom pretended to be dead to avoid the cat and dog, Xiao Bao and the others were busy traveling.

They walked on the water pipe surface above the land river. The wind was still strong, causing everyone's clothes to billow. If they didn't hold onto something, they could easily be blown down.

Walking on the 20-centimeter-diameter arched bridge surface required extreme caution, especially since it had just rained and was very slippery. The people on Wood's back were fine. Wood crawled steadily on the water pipe, and as long as they held on, they were safe.

Xiao Bao and the others had to walk carefully on the water pipe surface, but fortunately, each person was allocated a rope thrown down from Wood's back. If someone slipped and fell, they would be immediately caught by the rope, and Wang Zixiong and the others would pull them up in a few moments.

"Brother Bo, Brother An, are you really okay?" Skinny looked at Xiao Bao, who kept looking back anxiously, and asked worriedly.

Xiao Bao quickly looked around, made sure no one else had heard, and replied in a low voice, "We have to trust Tom. A few small cats and dogs are nothing." But even as he said this, he didn't sound confident.

"Sigh." Skinny Wang Sanli sighed and ran quickly, "We're all useless, relying on Tom to carry us all the time. Brother Bo, you're okay at least, able to fight guerrilla warfare."

"It will get better. Tom told me he got incredible technology. When we go back and research it with Iron Old Man, we'll have even more powerful equipment."

"That would be the best."

At this point, everyone had already walked two-thirds of the way on the water pipe. The women in the wooden carriages had become impatient and climbed out.

Lin Meiqi grabbed the handrail and swung herself out of Wood's body, frightening Wang Zixiong, who ran over to protect her, afraid she would fall off, which would mean trouble for Tom.

At Feng Hanyun's invitation, Liu Liqing also came out.

"It seems that Tom is probably in big trouble. What should we do?" Liu Liqing looked triumphant, obviously pleased to see Feng Hanyun suffer again, although they seemed to be on the same side now.

"You're talking nonsense!" Feng Hanyun scolded, "Tom will definitely be fine."

"Haha." Liu Liqing looked out at the river surface, "If Tom doesn't come back, you should consider seducing that guy called Xiao Bao. I just heard that he's the leader in the camp."

Feng Hanyun seemed to be annoyed, her chest heaving violently. She turned her head, saw that everyone's attention was focused on the back, worrying about Tom who hadn't caught up, and immediately clenched her fists.

"Tom will definitely be fine. You selfish woman!" "What?" Liu Liqing heard the strangeness in her words, just turned her head back, saw Feng Hanyun covering her mouth with her hand, then her hand holding the handrail was pulled apart, and finally, her chest was pushed by Feng Hanyun, her whole body slipped off Wood's back and fell onto the water pipe bridge surface.

"Ah..." Liu Liqing helplessly reached out to grab something, but the water pipe surface was too slippery, and she couldn't grab anything. With a flip of her body, she fell into the river.

The river, already beyond the water level warning line, surged with dark currents. As soon as she fell into the water, a robust carp swiftly swam towards her. While flailing and cursing Feng Hanyun, she was quickly swallowed whole by the carp.

The woman struggled desperately, but in the past, the carp had been at the mercy of humans. Now, in the water, the roles reversed. In less than two seconds, Liu Liqing was swallowed whole.

The satisfied carp leaped on the river surface, splashing large water droplets, then dove to the riverbed to find a safe place to digest its delicious meal.

On the water pipe bridge, atop Wood's back, Feng Hanyun cried bitterly. If Wang Zixiong hadn't grabbed her in time, she would have jumped off.

"Liqing, we just reconciled, how could you be so careless? We've been at odds for ten years, from college to now... Finally, we've let go of past grudges and interests. How could you leave like this..."

Everyone's attention was on Tom behind them. When they heard Feng Hanyun's exclamation, they all turned their heads to see a figure falling into the river. Soon after, a carp leaped high, then disappeared into the water. They realized someone had fallen.

Wang Zixiong roughly shoved Feng Hanyun back into the carriage, then grabbed Lin Meiqi and pushed her in too, before shouting, "Everyone, hold onto your ropes and handrails tightly. If you fall, there's no saving you. Brother Bo, can we speed up again?"

Xiao Bao's face turned ugly. It was a woman who fell. Although not very attractive, in a camp where there was a dearth of young women, one more meant more stability.

"Let Wood go first. Everyone, be careful. Whoever falls has to fetch me a carp. Tonight, Uncle Rong will allocate the fish belly to him!" 

"Okay!"

"No problem!"

Under Wang Zixiong's urging, Wood accelerated its climbing pace once more. Wang Zixiong stood on Wood's head and looked back, vaguely seeing a black and white figure twisted together at the entrance of the bridge. He anxiously grasped a protrusion on Wood's neck. "Boss, we're almost at the finish line, you need to hurry up."

A black shadow swiftly passed over his head. He looked up to see a blurred figure of a crow.

Flying at a height of 20 centimeters above his head, the crow flapped its wings along the straight water pipe, flying to the bridgehead in a few moments. It suddenly dove down and landed in front of the struggling cat and dog.

"Wow... Wow... Aoo..."

The two large animals stopped and stared at it in awe. It flew up and pecked the black cat's head in one go. The black cat released the Pekingese, raised its paw to scratch, but the crow dodged and pecked it again on the back.

In pain, the black cat raised its fur all over its body and growled at the crow landing again.

"Wow... Wow..."

The crow squawked again, and the black cat, looking at the motionless Old Street Zero Armor, reluctantly turned and leaped onto the water pipe bridge surface.

The crow took off, following the black cat.

The remaining Pekingese wanted to follow but circled the water pipe before realizing its short legs couldn't climb up. It barked anxiously.

At this moment, the Old Street Zero Armor, which had been lying still, suddenly appeared on its side. It turned its head, only to see the muzzle of the Old Street Armor's Worm Zero Cannon aimed at it.

"Pluff!" A 1.6-millimeter solid shell pierced its nose. In agony, the Pekingese rolled on the ground, holding its nose and howling continuously.

Tom quickly ran to the water pipe, seeing that the black cat chasing Xiao Bao and the others had already run half the distance. He knew he couldn't catch up.

"What to do?" Tom anxiously looked around, then his gaze fell on the water pipe rack.

"Can't worry about that now!" With determination, Tom took out the round crystal bomb that Xiao Bao had given him earlier.

When a level 3 red crystal and a level 2 yellow crystal were activated simultaneously and touched each other, they would produce a powerful explosion. The power of this explosion could even blow up the belly of an adult country dog.

This power was more than enough for the unstable water pipe rack.

Time was running out. Tom immediately stuffed the bomb onto the rack's tripod, activated both crystals simultaneously, then leaped back, grabbed the discarded biscuit shield, and squatted down to shield his whole body.

The explosion shattered the rack, and the tremendous impact even broke the iron pipe at the end, flinging it away.

With this swing, the long water pipe spanning the entire river twisted and broke, and even the black cat running on the water pipe was affected. It wailed as it clung to the water pipe surface, but the smooth pipe surface provided no grip.

"Meow..." The black cat emitted a final mournful cry, struggled a few times, then fell into the rolling river along with the water pipe.

At the end of the water pipe, the airwave lifted Tom and the still howling Pekingese.

On the other end, Xiao Bao dropped his weapon, grabbed a guard member with one hand, and ran at an extremely fast speed on the swaying water pipe, leaping high in the air just before the pipe collapsed, landing safely on the ground.

"Tom!" Xiao Bao put down the person, panting heavily, and looked across the river, "You... always push yourself so hard!"