Waiting for the Fire Brigade's Rescue

Looking at the large mutated mosquitoes hovering nearby, Li Qiang said fearfully, "Such big mosquitoes, Tom, what should we do?"

Tom raised his fist, glowing with red light, and said, "Don't worry, it won't dare to come near the source of fire. It's safe to stay here. As for..."

Before he could finish speaking, ants rushing out from the window had already landed on the ground and charged toward them.

Tom pushed aside the bewildered Li Qiang, unsheathed the large knife hanging from his backpack without hesitation, and slashed off the head of the foremost soldier ant. The knife, made of a penknife, could easily slice through wood. Its previous inability to harm the ants was due to insufficient strength. Now, with enhanced power, Tom found it effortless to chop through the less agile ants, which hadn't yet adapted well to their new size.

Although the ruby was only installed on his right hand, both hands received the strengthening effect. After wielding the knife with his right hand, Tom easily punched another large worker ant with his left hand, sending it flying.

The once sturdy ant exoskeletons were as fragile as eggshells in front of Tom's enhanced strength. Just one punch and they shattered.

Only ten ants managed to escape before the fire blocked the windows. Soon, the curtains caught fire, and the windows were enveloped in flames, preventing the ants from catching up.

Two of the slower ants caught fire and turned into fireballs upon hitting the ground.

Tom took out matches from his backpack, lit them, and approached the burning mutated mosquito nearby. With a strong throw, he aimed at the hovering mutated mosquito.

The mutated mosquito, still full of blood and not yet accustomed to its larger size like the ants, couldn't dodge the match Tom threw with enhanced strength. It immediately caught fire upon contact, flapping its wings twice before falling to the ground, igniting into a fireball.

"As expected!" Tom nodded. "Although the ants and mosquitoes have mutated to larger sizes, their new bodies' bones and skins are more flammable." He ignited another match and approached the still-burning mutated mosquito, pulling out a ruby with a few slashes from his large knife.

In the firelight, he saw several mosquitoes flying not far away. However, these mosquitoes didn't seem mutated; they appeared to be about one centimeter in size and, out of fear of the fire, dared not approach. They buzzed around Tom's head cautiously.

"Ants eat people, and mosquitoes naturally love human blood. I reckon this one must have fed on someone small to mutate," Tom remarked, noticing that the long proboscis of the mutated mosquito hadn't burned and shone dark gold under the firelight. He found it extremely hard.

"No wonder it pierced through the skull so easily. It's too tough." The proboscis was still hot after being pulled out, but it cooled down upon touching the water on the ground.

Tom held it and found it even harder than a sewing needle. "It's quite a handy weapon." He then returned to Li Qiang's side.

"Um... Tom..." Li Qiang swallowed hard. "Did you notice the mosquitoes nearby as soon as you came down?"

Tom smiled and pointed ahead. "Can you see those mosquitoes flying around in the air?"

Li Qiang shook his head.

"Don't you know this place well? Doesn't Chen Jianbin? There were mosquitoes everywhere, especially during this time in the back alley. If you dared to come here at this time before, you'd be covered in mosquito bites. Moreover, now that we've shrunk, we've become tasty snacks for the ants. That's why I reminded you not to run into the dark ahead."

Tom didn't like people like Chen Jianbin, who would turn hostile at the slightest change in circumstances. Although he wouldn't do anything to him, having such a person around was always an unstable factor. If it weren't for the mutated mosquitoes, he would have decided to abandon Chen Jianbin. People like him often jeopardized the safety of the whole team.

So Tom didn't have much sympathy for this guy. He wasn't going to be a saint like in some stories, protecting villains and evil people.

Since the other party didn't listen to his advice, insisted on running around, talked big while running, and even tried to frame him, the current situation was entirely of his own making.

After struggling for four days to survive, Tom had developed enough immunity to death and corpses. So when Chen Jianbin's body was drained of blood and lying at his feet, he didn't even frown.

Tom's calm demeanor seemed too cold-blooded to Li Qiang, a gangster. However, Liu Lian, who had read more stories and novels about the end of the world, found it easier to get into character.

"Tom, what should we do next? There must be many mosquitoes and cockroaches around," Liu Lian asked.

Tom nodded. "The fire is intense. If the fire brigade doesn't come to put it out, this building will burn for at least a whole day. So we'll stay within the range of the firelight. It's warm and safe here. Let's get through tonight first."

Liu Lian understood immediately. "Right, if someone comes to put out the fire, it means only we have shrunk, which is still relatively safe. If not... then we'll have to rely on ourselves."

Li Qiang didn't understand. "What do you mean? What do we have to rely on?"

Liu Lian explained, "You really have no brains. Think about it. If such a big building catches fire, won't nearby residents notice? Even if they don't come over, they'll at least call 119 for help. The police or the fire brigade, if they receive the call, will definitely come. If they don't, it can only mean they've all shrunk too. If everyone in the city has shrunk, what do you think our future days will be like?"

Being enlightened by Liu Lian, Li Qiang suddenly realized the fear of the future, causing him to sit on the ground, completely oblivious to the cold, dirty water soaking his buttocks. "Everyone in the whole city has shrunk... This... This can't be a movie, can it? How is that possible?"

Liu Lian laughed heartily, "Brother, if I had told you a few days ago that people would shrink, you'd have laughed at me as crazy. But now? Look at yourself, then look at those ants in the house, which kill and devour people. Can you still say that anything is impossible?"

These words tore apart Li Qiang's last shred of self-deception. He covered his face and cried out, "I don't want this! I don't want to shrink! What will happen to us in the future? Uncle Seven, where are you? I'm so scared!"

Tom finally interrupted, "Enough, Li Qiang. We can't control whether anyone comes to help or not. All we can do now is face reality and survive bravely. Otherwise, it's better to be burnt to death by the fire than to be eaten by ants, cockroaches, or rats."

The fire illuminated the sky with a fiery red glow. In the small world of the tiny people, everything was engulfed in flames. Tom's diminutive figure stretched long in the firelight. Watching Tom's determined figure, Li Qiang rubbed his eyes. He hadn't expected this guy, who was nearly half a head shorter than him, to face such a cruel reality so calmly. His heart was incredibly strong.

As the fire grew stronger, spreading from the first floor to the second and then upwards, thick smoke billowed. However, it didn't affect Tom and his companions, who had shrunk.

On the contrary, the dogs kept by the neighboring households were driven into a frenzy by the blaze, barking incessantly. The sound of one dog barking prompted others to join in, and soon the entire neighborhood echoed with the continuous barking, frightening Li Qiang to his core.

Dogs had keen noses. If they found them, being as small as they were, they'd be nothing more than a snack.

The damp ground beneath their feet was dried by the high temperatures, intensifying the stench.

The trio had to retreat further, but they dared not stray too far from the fire. They knew that in the darkness, many creatures with ill intentions lurked, but they didn't dare to show themselves in the face of the raging fire.

As time passed, Li Qiang's last shred of hope was gradually extinguished. After so long, there was still no sign of help from the outside world. He knew that hoping for someone unaffected to come to their rescue was unrealistic. Perhaps many people were hiding in their homes, trembling in fear of their fate and future after shrinking.

That night, Li Qiang was restless, dreading the impending life of being tiny. He didn't know what to do.

Liu Lian, on the other hand, was more excited than uneasy. To him, this was an exhilarating game, albeit one with no save points. A single misstep could lead to a fate like Chen Jianbin's.

As for Tom, he began to study the workings of the ruby. He found that the method of activation wasn't too complicated. All he had to do was imagine his fist with power and then strike forcefully. Without that layer of imagination, the ruby wouldn't activate.

After activation, Tom estimated that the strength was tripled, but the ruby's effect was somewhat short-lived. After about a dozen uses, the ruby turned into an ordinary stone.

The gem had to be in contact with the body; it was useless through the backpack. However, it was effective when worn on the platinum ring on Tom's arm. He speculated that the ring might conduct the gem's power like a wire.

He pondered for a moment, realizing that he had tried this before but couldn't activate it. It was only in the urgency of the moment, when he needed to strike the ant queen, that he succeeded.

Comparing before and after, the most likely reason was that he had established a kind of memory communication with the ant queen, which allowed him to gain the ability to activate the ruby and enhance his strength.

Currently, there were no more conditions to explore the secrets of the gem, but at least he could confirm that there were no obstacles to using it.

He then let Li Qiang and Liu Lian stay put while he, taking advantage of the intense fire, explored the surroundings of the building. Although more than a day had passed, Tom decided to see if he could find any traces of the gecko biscuits.

After searching around, Tom found nothing. The biscuits left no trace, either drifting further away or being eaten by other creatures. But there was still another possibility: they were still alive.

Returning to the resting place of the two, Tom contemplated the challenges they would face tomorrow and how to deal with them, then lay down on the ground to sleep.

For the time being, they were safe. The mutated insects feared the light of the fire, so Tom chose to stay in the safe zone for now, replenishing his spirits as much as possible and preparing for tomorrow.

The five-story building burned all night long. When dawn broke, only Li Qiang hadn't slept well, sporting a pair of panda eyes.

The fire was still burning, but they had to venture out because they had only nibbled on a few ants and put them in a bottle last night. After one night, all three were starving.

They were familiar with the surroundings, and when it came to food, Li Qiang naturally thought of a small restaurant nearby. But Tom vetoed his suggestion and chose a massage center across the street.

The restaurant had poor hygiene, with plenty of flies, mosquitoes, and rats even during the recent campaign to eliminate pests supervised by the neighborhood committee. But for them now, safety was paramount.

Since they could still hear scattered barking on both sides, they couldn't enter the adjacent houses. If the dogs weren't tied up, there would be no coming back if they got attacked.

The massage center operated late at night. If the people inside had shrunk in the dead of night, they would have been open at the time. With its decent decor and environment, it was likely to have fewer mosquitoes. It was indeed the best choice.

Both Li Qiang and Liu Lian were obedient to Tom's decision. Li Qiang even said he had been there before and knew there was a refrigerator in the lobby where they might find some food. With Tom's current strength, he should be able to break open the glass door of the refrigerator.

The three of them checked their belongings and found only two large knives and the hollow "iron" needle Tom had taken from the mutated mosquito's corpse.

In the recovered backpack, there were three red, one green, and two yellow large gems, as well as two small red and one green gems. Apart from these, there was nothing else.

Tom could use the large gems, and each of the two small red gems was held by Li Qiang and Liu Lian, hoping that they could activate and use them like Tom.

The distance across the street, which usually took just a dozen steps, was quite strenuous for them now.

Normally, the streets would be crowded with parked cars, but now, although there were still many cars parked, they appeared incredibly spacious to the shrunken trio.

When they reached the middle of the road, Liu Lian lay down on the ground, laughing joyfully. "Haha, I've always wanted to sleep in the middle of the road. Now I finally get my wish. This is great! Haha!"

Li Qiang walked over and kicked him, "You lunatic! What kind of wish is that? Get up, I'm starving!"

"Just let me lie here a little longer," Liu Lian refused to get up, "I'm tired and hungry. Just a little longer."

"I don't care about you!" Li Qiang walked away.

Tom shook his head and followed, "You'd better catch up quickly."

Liu Lian lay on the ground, his eyes closed. "Let me enjoy this moment... Uh... What's that sound?"

When he opened his eyes, he saw a dark shadow rushing towards him and immediately screamed, "Wow, what monster is this?"