"Who knows if it's your delaying tactic? If we agree, you might just turn around and swallow all the gems," Li Zexin's words stirred up excitement among the other security guards, and they went to look for nail weapons one after another.
Tom shook his head and drew the large knife he was carrying on his back. "Manager Cheng, Xiao Gao, Sasha, Xiao Mei, do you believe in me?"
Cheng Fuhua didn't hesitate and replied directly, "I believe in you!"
Xiao Gao hesitated for a moment, "So do I."
Sasha didn't respond, but Xiao Mei quickly said, "I trust Brother Tom!"
Tom turned his head to look at Li Qiang, Liu Lian, and Zhao Yingying, and they all nodded.
"8 to 5, we have the numerical advantage!" Tom swung the large knife. "And that building was set on fire by me, the Ant Queen was killed by me, and the gems were brought back by me. Now I have the gems and the power. Do you want to challenge me?"
Li Zexin and the others were somewhat shaken, "This... this..."
"Observe for a night. If Zheng Shiyi has no problems, I'll give you the gems," Tom persisted.
Li Zexin still couldn't let it go, "Why should we trust you?"
Liu Lian snorted and stood up, "You have no other choice! You tell me, in the past two days, has Tom failed to fulfill any promises?"
Tom gratefully glanced at Liu Lian. Both Liu Lian and Li Qiang had doubted him before, but now they believed in him and supported him. This was all earned through his efforts.
"Yes, you have no other choice! The apocalypse is here, only power can maintain order, and only with order can we survive."
Although Li Zexin and the others were unwilling, as Liu Lian said, they couldn't beat Tom. Moreover, those gems were indeed brought back by Tom. They had no choice.
Li Zexin had become the leader of this group. "Alright, Tom, a person's credibility is like their shadow. At least so far, your shadow is still intact. We temporarily believe in you. If Zheng Shiyi has no problems by tomorrow, you distribute the gems to us, and we are willing to continue being led by you."
The new twist brought another crisis of distrust to the team, but fortunately, Tom, by his past actions and with a stronger fist, temporarily suppressed them once again.
"You stay with us and guard until Zheng Shiyi gets through tonight." This was Li Zexin's final request.
Zheng Shiyi panicked, struggling desperately and signaling to be released. But the others ignored him. In their eyes, Zheng Shiyi was a precedent. If it proved that there were no side effects, then they could also get the gems. By then, everyone would be equally strong.
The storm subsided, and everyone temporarily returned to calm, but Tom knew that this calm was only superficial. Privately, those people still guarded against them.
Liu Lian pulled Tom aside and asked in a low voice, "Should we... drive them out?"
Tom looked at Li Qiang on the opposite side and shook his head. "I keep my word. If Zheng Shiyi is fine, I'll distribute the gems by drawing lots tomorrow. Having gems doesn't mean having power. If we want to survive, we must unite. Focusing on one or two gems is meaningless. There may be bigger and fiercer animals outside, and we don't know if they'll be interested in our flesh and blood like ants."
Li Qiang clapped his hands and laughed, "That's right. Ever since being taken in by Brother Tom, I trust Brother Tom. At critical moments, Brother Tom can always hold our back. What are one or two gems?"
Liu Lian nodded in agreement, and Cheng Fuhua, who was standing on the other side, was also influenced, nodding repeatedly.
Although Zheng Shiyi was a time bomb and indeed exploded as Tom expected, everything was within a controllable range. Since he voluntarily swallowed the gem, using his own body as an experiment for Tom, it could be considered a good thing.
If it proved that swallowing the gem had no side effects and could grant superpowers, then all they needed to do next was hunt down small insects to get the gems, then swallow them to enhance their strength.
If there were side effects, then it would depend on the extent of these side effects, and then weigh the pros and cons.
Next, Little Bao insisted on playing with Tom, so Tom had to take him for another ride around the supermarket in the electric car.
Night fell, and Li Zexin's people still harbored suspicion, but hindered by Tom and the others who remained vigilant, they couldn't find an opportunity. They could only guard Zheng Shiyi, who was tied up, and wait for tomorrow to come.
At first, Zheng Shiyi kept struggling. Whenever someone untied the cloth from his mouth, he would curse, saying that these people were ungrateful and treacherous, and let them release him so he could lead them to snatch Tom's gems.
However, everyone saw that even with the power, Zheng Shiyi was still no match for Tom. So they immediately gagged him again, none of them wanting to hear him curse again.
Zheng Shiyi struggled for a while, then quieted down. The others didn't pay attention and continued to enjoy themselves.
Tom made a round and brought Li Qiang over to check on Zheng Shiyi's condition. It was only then that the others remembered his existence and crowded around.
At this point, Zheng Shiyi was securely tied up, but Tom approached and saw that he seemed to be trembling slightly. He squatted down and felt his forehead.
Zheng Shiyi was covered in sweat, and his forehead was burning hot.
"What's wrong with him?" Li Qiang asked.
"Fever, sweating. I don't know," Tom replied.
The others realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly came closer to take a closer look.
They saw that Zheng Shiyi's face was pale, his lips were black, and he looked like a seriously ill patient on the brink of death.
"Did you break him, Tom?" a security guard asked in amazement.
"Li Zexin, you're talking nonsense," Li Zexin rarely defended Tom. "Tom didn't use excessive force. We all saw it. This is just the side effects kicking in."
Tom thought of the cat on the third floor. "Maybe he's undergoing mutation. Before animals mutate and grow larger, they might fall into a deep sleep. It could be the same for humans, just with more pronounced reactions. Xiao Mei, could you take care of him for me? Use cold water to cool his forehead. I'm afraid the mutation hasn't completed, and we don't want to fry his brain."
Xiao Mei hesitated, "But... why should we take care of such an ungrateful guy?"
In her eyes, Tom was like her reborn parents, her benefactor who made her a superpower. Although she was just a light bulb now, she still had superpowers. Zheng Shiyi slandering her benefactor, Xiao Mei showed restraint by not kicking him, yet she still had to take care of him?
"He'll be a sample for us to explore the awakening path. Taking care of him well will provide more reference value for our future exploration."
"Okay, I understand!" Understanding the reasoning, Xiao Mei readily agreed.
To avoid suffocation, the cloth blocking Zheng Shiyi's mouth was removed, but the plastic string binding his body remained.
Tom asked Li Qiang to accompany Xiao Mei to prevent accidents, then left with Liu Lian.
"Brother Tom!" Liu Lian smirked as they walked. "Xiao Mei now trusts you a hundred percent. I see you're still a virgin. Want to... hehehe."
Tom glanced at Zhao Yingying in the distance. "You and her..."
Liu Lian looked embarrassed, just giggling non-stop. Tom could tell that this guy definitely had relations with Zhao Yingying last night, and he was no longer a virgin.
"Now's not the time for that, and I don't want to take advantage of Xiao Mei's sense of gratitude. Her mindset isn't right now, and I shouldn't take advantage of it."
"Hey, I know, Brother Tom, you're destined to be extraordinary in this apocalypse. Now we have a camp, and more people will follow you like me. You're our leader. Xiao Mei and Yingying, they're just technicians... they're not worthy of you..."
Tom tapped his head, "You genuinely like Zhao Yingying, so how could you think like that? I think it's not about whether they're worthy or not, as long as they don't do wrong, I don't need to look down on them. And now, it's not the time for love talks. No matter what happens to Zheng Shiyi, we're leaving here tomorrow."
Actually, Tom had one more thing to say. Xiao Mei wasn't really his type, but Ouyang Haotian, that fake playboy, might fall for her at first sight. Tom was confident about that.
"Leave?" Liu Lian felt reluctant. "The supermarket is safe and has plenty of supplies. It's enough for us to stay for a year or so..."
"Temporarily safe. Once the dogs around here complete their mutation..."
Thinking of the terrifying little mouse, and considering that once it mutated and became stronger, Liu Lian immediately shivered, "You're right, let's leave here quickly. Why not leave at night? These ungrateful guys, leave them two gems and let them fight for themselves."
Tom shook his head. Liu Lian, who initially didn't seem so scared of the apocalypse and death, seemed to have liked the current apocalyptic state before. Now it seemed that he was just carefree because he was single. Now that he had a girl, he became cautious.
Later, Tom went to check on Zheng Shiyi. He was still trembling, even paler now. Fortunately, Xiao Mei faithfully followed Tom's instructions, taking good care of him and giving him plenty of clean water. Otherwise, with his sweating, he might not survive.
Seeing Zheng Shiyi's clothes soaking wet as if they had been dipped in water, Tom couldn't bear it. He had Li Qiang strip him naked before tying him up again.
Faced with a naked man, Tom couldn't let Xiao Mei take care of him anymore, so he called Xiao Gao to take over.
Xiao Mei quickly said, "It's okay, I'm a technician. I'm immune to men's bodies. In my eyes, he's no different from a pig."
Tom shook his head, "That was before. You're not anymore, and you won't be in the future. Taking care of men is an act of kindness, not your profession or obligation. In the apocalypse, I hope you and others can survive by your own efforts, not by becoming accessories and playthings for men."
This made Xiao Mei, who already admired Tom, even more fervent.
Tom felt a headache coming on. He was not good at socializing, always living a solitary life, focusing on himself. Suddenly, he became smaller, suddenly had trust and people relying on him. He felt a lot of pressure.
He was afraid of letting down Liu Lian, Li Qiang, and the others' trust in him. He was afraid of making a wrong decision and causing these people to pay with their lives. He was even more afraid of being like in movies and TV shows, where as a leader, he needed to sacrifice a member of the team to ensure the survival of the entire group.
Like... Luo Jun, even though it was his choice... in desperation.
Sending Liu Lian away, Tom went to the back door to change the security guard who was watching the lookout window. He sat at the back door window, gazing at the dim scenery outside, feeling melancholic.
This residential area seemed peaceful, but he felt it was fraught with danger, just temporarily concealed. However, some people didn't feel that way, even Liu Lian was intoxicated in the idyllic life, thinking that staying here and living small was the best.
Indeed, people became smaller. A loaf of bread could last half a month, a bottle of Moutai could last for years, bathing in milk was no longer a dream, and driving a toy car wildly at home. But cockroaches, rats, and even ants had become deadly threats.
Now with the gems, with their so-called superpowers, Tom's eyes of the extraordinary. Even ants and cockroaches could be defeated, but Tom's sense of insecurity became even stronger.
These gems, unstable when consumed, unclear when worn, was there a way to make them more reliable?
Tom was pondering when he suddenly saw several shadows scurrying on the ground in the distance.
"Rats!" Tom caught the outline of the shadows. "And there are several of them!"