Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 118: Familiar Ground

"Why do you say that?" He Ying asked in confusion.

"I've had some doubts from the beginning. We hid very well, so why were we easily discovered? Not only did they find us, but they also knew our location and numbers with clarity. It's obvious that it wasn't just a coincidence; it must be some kind of ability," Chen Mu said.

"Like Sun Yuan?" He Ying asked.

"That's a possibility. Also, I remembered one detail," Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.

"What is it?"

"Before I launched a surprise attack on Yang Buan, Zhao Tong had already stepped aside, as if he had seen through my intentions."

"Mind-reading ability?" He Ying exclaimed.

"Probably not. If it were true mind-reading, I wouldn't have been able to defeat him so easily. Besides, at the beginning, he didn't even see us, so how could he read our minds?"

Chen Mu paused for a moment, then continued, "But it should be something close to it. Perhaps... it's some kind of insight ability. Once there's hostility within a certain range of him, he can perceive it."

"That sounds plausible." He Ying's eyes brightened.

Chen Mu nodded. "If that's the case, it all makes sense. At first, we were hiding there, and he didn't notice us. Only after some time passed and we started to think about knocking them out, Zhao Tong sensed it. And him noticing my attack on Yang Buan earlier fits perfectly too."

"It must be it!" He Ying clenched his fist, feeling the satisfaction of solving the mystery.

"Because he has no combat ability himself, he completely relied on Yang Buan to handle the situation. After Yang Buan lost, he pretended to be generous and let us go. Otherwise, according to what he said before, if the storeroom was so crucial to the Green Tablet, he wouldn't have let us leave so easily."

"What a cunning guy!" He Ying felt a bit deceived.

"But it doesn't matter. We didn't intend to be enemies with the Green Tablet anyway. Even if we knew it on the spot, we couldn't do anything to them."

"Thinking about it this way, we still came out at a loss," He Ying sighed and then added with some relief, "At least you didn't expose yourself."

Chen Mu smiled. "What's the difference? When he goes back and describes me to Song Yu, they can probably guess almost everything."

He Ying was taken aback and then deflated, saying, "It seems like our helmets were in vain."

"That's not necessarily the case. There's a big difference between guessing and exposing the truth on the spot. If we encounter a similar situation next time, we can still pretend that nothing happened," Chen Mu said.

"With your thick skin, you probably can, but I'm not so sure about myself," He Ying teased.

"You're praising me too much," Chen Mu chuckled shyly.

As the five of them walked, they chatted casually.

The conversation always revolved around the Green Tablet, such as why they needed so much rice when the storage conditions on the playground wouldn't allow them to keep it all after consumption.

Speaking of food, Lu Shanshan asked, "What kind of food should we look for?"

"Flour would be the best. If not, rice will do, but as for other options, to be honest, I haven't thought about it," Chen Mu said.

"Huh?"

"The so-called foraging naturally comes with uncertainties," Chen Mu smiled. "Besides, this time, I mainly want to see what's happening at the No.1 Middle School."

"Why would the people from No.1 Middle School be hostile towards us?"

"I'm not sure."

Chen Mu shook his head. "But it's very likely related to the Green Tablet. According to normal logic, the people who were holding exchange activities on the playground should have chosen cooperation and unity after suddenly shrinking, as there would be hardly any conflicting interests among them."

"But that's not what happened in reality."

"Right," Chen Mu nodded. "That's what I want to figure out because we are caught in the middle of these two major forces. If, by any chance, we end up as cannon fodder one day due to some misunderstanding, it would be unjust."

"Makes sense," Lu Shanshan agreed.

"Besides, I also want to see how other people are surviving—food, water, shelters. If possible, we can learn from them. The Green Tablet is currently out of our reach, but No.1 Middle School, He Ying has already explored their situation," Chen Mu said, looking at He Ying.

He Ying nodded. "Their main base is inside the dining hall of the cafeteria. Besides tables and chairs, there's hardly anything else."

"That's also a strange thing. Normally, such an open space shouldn't be chosen as a campsite. They only have about a hundred or so people, and with a storeroom like ours, it should be enough and even better for hiding and defense."

When it came to this point, even Chen Mu himself couldn't come up with any possible guesses.

"So should we head directly to the cafeteria now?"

"Yeah, let's decide when we get there."

"But what if they discover us?" He Ying still had lingering fears about past experiences and said, "I used to think the cafeteria was enough, and as long as we were careful, we should be able to avoid the people from No.1 Middle School. But we were found out several times, and I don't know if it was just bad luck or something else."

"Maybe they have someone with that kind of ability?" Lu Shanshan asked.

Chen Mu shook his head. "But last time we went, we only encountered a group of ordinary people looking for food, and they had no combat capabilities whatsoever."

Time passed quickly as they chatted and walked.

After about an hour and a half, the five of them finally arrived near the cafeteria.

Lu Shanshan and Xue Xu were visiting this place for the first time since the apocalypse, while He Ying was revisiting familiar grounds. From a distance, he saw the power distribution box where he used to stay and even felt a bit nostalgic.

"So, what's the plan now?"

"First, let's find a safe place for Lu Shanshan and Xue Xu to hide..."

While talking, the five of them had already reached the cargo delivery ramp next to the cafeteria.

Last time they walked here, it was also Wei Dalei pushing a handcart, but now there were more people.

However, after taking a few steps on the ramp, they heard strange squeaking sounds not far away.

The source of the sound seemed to be below the side of the ramp.

By this time, they had climbed some height, and due to the angle, they couldn't see the ground below. They took two more steps towards the edge and leaned down to look.

Because there were no guardrails, the height made them feel a bit uneasy.

Wei Dalei didn't dare to get close to the edge of the ramp at all, even though it wasn't very high here.

As soon as Chen Mu stuck his head out, he immediately pulled it back.

The scene below was far beyond his expectations.

It was a long convoy of vehicles, with about a dozen toy cars.

Various sizes and colors.josei

Sedans, minivans, pickups, and even a police car.

Chen Mu almost thought he had returned to his previous world.

But upon closer inspection, he realized.

They were all toy cars.

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