Setting Out Again

Tom and Li Qiang heard Liu Lian's miserable scream and turned around to see a fly about three centimeters long clinging to Liu Lian's face.

Tom hurried back, the hollow spike in his hand glowing red as he fiercely stabbed the fly's body, then flicked it away from Liu Lian's face. He stomped on the fly when it landed on the ground, crushing it with two quick blows.

Li Qiang ran over to help Liu Lian up, who couldn't stop dry heaving. When the fly had clung to his face, it had continuously licked him with its proboscis, covering his face with sticky fluid and emitting a nauseating stench.

"Ugh... Ugh..."

"Hahaha!" Li Qiang bent over, laughing. "Still enjoying it? Haha."

"I'm about to be eaten... and you're still laughing, ugh..."

Tom checked Liu Lian's body, "You should be thankful that flies survive by licking residue and don't have teeth or spikes. But it's still a good idea to wipe off the fluid from your face. We've all shrunk, and we don't know how severe a bacterial infection could be."

"No tissue!" Liu Lian said with a grimace.

Ignoring him, Tom took out a large knife and dug into the fly's corpse a few times.

Li Qiang said, "Use the cloth from your wrapping, haha, I'll help you cut a piece to wipe your face."

After considering, Liu Lian reluctantly untied his wrapping and let Li Qiang cut off a corner with his large knife.

"No mutations," Tom said, taking the cloth Liu Lian used to wipe his face and cleaning both weapons. "Flies can't feed on live flesh, but if it's a dead person, it's hard to say. Alright, let's go quickly; there might be other flies or mosquitoes around."

Thinking of the terrifying mutated mosquito from last night, Li Qiang still felt a lingering fear and hurriedly ran with the large knife.

The three crossed the street and climbed onto the raised sidewalk, arriving at the door of a bathing center.

Talking about such places, everyone living here knew what they sold inside.

Since this city was a coastal city, wealthy people from the nearby island often came to play. These small bathing massage centers were all high-end decorated, unlike the dingy hair-washing rooms in the dark corners.

Normally, two gorgeously dressed women would stand at the door, flirting with passing men and calling out flirtatiously, "Hey handsome, want to come in for some fun?"

When Tom first moved in here, he was dazzled by the beauty of the women. When he saw them waving enthusiastically, his face turned as red as a monkey's butt, and he quickly turned his head and walked away.

Such a high-end facade and the beauty of the women formed a sharp contrast with the slightly rundown houses nearby.

Now, however, the gate of this high-end center was wide open, and the twinkling lights that used to be turned on at night were off, leaving only silence where there used to be singing and dancing.

"I say, Brother Qiang, do you often come here?" Liu Lian couldn't help asking as he looked up at the tall and luxurious gate, "Have you tried Number Three?"

"Number Three? Do you know Zhao Yingying from Number Three? Hehe, I didn't expect you've been here too."

"No." Liu Lian blushed and lowered his head. "I just often see her. I'm too embarrassed to come in."

"Oh, a virgin!" Liu Lian didn't respond.

Tom raised his hand to silence them, handed the hollow spike to Liu Lian as a weapon, and the three cautiously entered the center, calling out, "Is anyone here?"

There was no answer from inside the house. Li Qiang stepped forward, "Old Zhang, Old Liu, Hua Zi, are you guys here? It's me, Ah Qiang."

Still no answer.

Tom handed the hollow spike to Liu Lian as a weapon, and the three cautiously walked into the center, remaining vigilant as they moved forward.

On the large sofa beside the lobby, there were two sets of clothes scattered about. They walked over, and Tom threw Li Qiang onto the sofa. After searching for a while, Li Qiang said, "No one's here. These are the clothes of Number Six Sasha and Number Nine Lily. I wonder... if they've been carried away by ants again?"

Tom looked around vigilantly, "Hard to say. You come down first."

The sofa was about one and a half stories high, but for the shrunken people, jumping down from above was not a problem at all. Li Qiang, strong and robust, jumped down effortlessly.

After confirming that there was no one around, Li Qiang led them to a freezer next to the entrance. Inside the freezer were mostly drinks, alcohol, and cakes.

The glass door of the freezer was a bit high, so Tom first threw Li Qiang up using his enhanced strength, then lowered a rope for him to climb up. After that, they both climbed up together.

Tom pushed hard for a while before finally opening the glass cabinet.

A cool breeze emanated from the freezer, making the three shiver.

They endured the cold and rushed in, taking out several cakes and throwing them down. Tom also pushed a bottle of purified water down.

"Bro, can you... bring out a bottle of liquor, that Maotai, can we?" Li Qiang's eyes gleamed as he stared at the Maotai.

Tom thought for a moment, then pushed it out, "When people shrink, their tolerance for alcohol will be very low. You'll probably need to dilute a drop of alcohol with water before drinking it, otherwise, it's easier to die than drinking industrial alcohol."

Li Qiang sighed after thinking about it, "Is Maotai still Maotai when diluted with water?"

"It's all alcohol, not much difference. By the way, bro," Liu Lian pointed to a bottle of milk, "can we..."

"Don't even think about it, I know what you're thinking!" Tom refused firmly.

Seeing Tom's stern eyes, Liu Lian pouted, lowered his head, and picked up a cake to eat.

The three slid down along the rope and began to eat the flattened cakes. It had been five days, and the cakes were a bit stale, but they were still edible and more nutritious than biscuits.

Li Qiang laughed and asked, "Haha, Liu Lian, is your other wish to take a milk bath?"

Liu Lian blinked and glanced at Tom, feeling somewhat guilty, "How... how did you know?"

Li Qiang burst into hearty laughter, "Hahaha!"

Tom shook his head and pierced the bottle of purified water with the large knife, "If you insist on fulfilling this wish, I can help you. But Li Qiang and I will leave immediately. I guarantee that if you're covered in milk, within ten minutes, all the flies in the area will be attracted to you."

Liu Lian shrugged and could only continue eating cake.

After filling their stomachs and drinking enough purified water, Tom followed Li Qiang's lead to climb up to the glass counter and retrieved several bags of biscuits. These were the only portable food items they found. Then they found two small bottles, which they used to open the Maotai bottle.

As soon as the cap was opened, a strong smell of alcohol wafted out, intoxicating Li Qiang, who knelt down, eager to drink straight from the bottle. Tom immediately pulled him away.

"Didn't I just tell you? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Li Qiang remembered to dilute the alcohol with water, took a drop of alcohol and dropped it into the bowl of purified water, then took a few sips while intoxicated, until Tom stopped him, "Just a couple of sips, I don't have time to carry you if you get drunk."

"But aren't we just staying here?"

Tom pointed to the door, "Listen."

There were sporadic barks outside the door, which puzzled Li Qiang, "Dogs... they've been barking since last night, but they haven't come out."

"We woke up on April 6th and found ourselves shrunk. I think the people around us were the same. Today is... April 10th, five days later. If those who kept dogs were eaten by them after shrinking, they might mutate. When they jump over the yard and come out, it's only a matter of time. And for those who haven't mutated, after five days, they've eaten almost everything they could, so these dogs might act out of desperation."

Liu Lian agreed, "Yeah, when those dogs are hungry and desperate, I don't want to be near them."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Li Qiang grabbed some biscuits and was about to run.

Tom stopped him, "Don't rush. Listen to the sounds. They haven't reached that level of hunger yet. Right now, we need to gather resources and information as much as possible and decide where to go next."

The two small soft bottles contained some kind of liquid, and considering the nature of this massage bath center, it wasn't hard to guess what they were for. But for now, Tom used them to hold the Maotai, since there was no kerosene or diesel. Using high-concentration alcohol as fuel might buy them some time if they encountered mutated ants or cockroaches.

After packing up the alcohol, Tom carried it, and the three continued to explore. They found many clothes and robes inside, which confirmed that there were still many men and women here at the time. Then at two points, everyone fell into a deep sleep, and when they woke up, they would find themselves shrunk.

Tom searched several corners but found no traces of anyone or any bodies. With the sun shining brightly and it already noon, he decided to stop exploring.

"No one's dead, and there are no traces of people. They might have moved elsewhere."

Liu Lian chuckled, "They definitely didn't find tools to make clothes. Just imagine a bunch of tiny people panicking and fleeing, haha, it cracks me up."

Li Qiang glared at him, then asked, "So where did they all go? Where do we go?"

"Do you remember the small supermarket at the intersection to the east?"

Li Qiang nodded, "Of course, I often go there to buy cigarettes."

"They have the most supplies there, everything you need. With those items, I'm confident we can make good things. Whether we run or fight, we'll be more prepared."

"Model armor?" Thinking of the powerful plastic armor Tom had when they first met, Liu Lian's eyes lit up.

Tom nodded, "That's right. And I remember they also sell remote-controlled toy cars for kids. Don't you think we're too inefficient just walking on two legs?"

"You mean ride remote-controlled cars?" Li Qiang blinked, puzzled. "But those controllers are quite large."

"Modify the communication module and put it directly into the car. I can handle the electronic circuits!"

Tom's hobbies weren't just limited to models; he was also skilled in repairing and modifying electronics.

"In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Li Qiang smiled.

As they said and done, the three left the center and began to recall and reassess. Being shrunk affected their perception of space. The familiar roads suddenly became 24 times larger, and they had to carefully consider directions, landmarks, and their positions.

After determining the direction of the small supermarket, they began to move. Shrinking also reduced their travel distance. What used to take one minute to walk now took more than 20 minutes, plus deviations in direction, it could take up to half an hour.

So when they reached the back of a car, they were already feeling a bit tired.

"I say, Tom, do you smell that? It stinks!" Li Qiang covered his nose.

Tom sniffed and then looked to the right front of the car, immediately spotting a giant figure, "That!"

Li Qiang and Liu Lian looked over and immediately began to vomit on the spot.

Outside the passenger seat of the car lay a huge figure, a normal-sized person who hadn't shrunk. However, the giant's head had been crushed, and blood was everywhere. Since they were upwind and too short, they hadn't smelled anything until now. Approaching, they found a corpse, already decaying, with bones, flesh, blood, and brain matter scattered all over the ground. Many white maggots and green flies crawled all over it.

Flies have compound eyes, which allow them to observe their surroundings 360 degrees. So when Tom and the others spotted them, the flies also noticed them.

Ants have a greater appetite for human flesh than other foods. Tom and his companions were living humans and not corpses, so their attraction was less than that of decaying flesh.

Most of the flies were still busy licking the decaying flesh on the ground, but a few flies flew towards them.

"Oh my god!" Liu Lian, who had just experienced the baptism of a fly clinging to his face, screamed and ran away, his speed far beyond normal.