After completing the registration as an awakened individual, the lights in the shelter's hall came back on. Tom took the uniform to a small room and changed into it. A long-forgotten sense of comfort washed over him.
Since shrinking, most of the time was spent wrapped in cloth, which was somewhat uncomfortable due to its stiffness. However, this yellow uniform fit perfectly and the fabric was soft and breathable, providing great comfort.
Tom sighed as he looked at the blue gemstone. He checked his backpack, which contained 2 large red, 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 blue gemstone, while the smaller ones included 3 red, 3 green, and 2 yellow.
He gave Xiaomei one large and one small yellow gemstone to carry. Although the purpose of the large gemstones hadn't been discovered yet, Tom believed they would prove useful eventually.
He gave Liu Lian a large red gemstone because his "clairaudience," although sporadic, had proven useful in hearing the movements of mutated rats during critical moments and was worth retaining.
Then Tom found a corner to lie down. Although the floor was somewhat hard, he believed it was still safe for now. Since the people who built the shelter forced survivors to leave by setting a countdown, there was no need to do anything suspicious during the sheltering time.
Tom hadn't slept well since shrinking. He often woke up after only a couple of hours of sleep due to a persistent feeling of insecurity, preventing him from fully relaxing.
So when he lay down this time, he fell asleep within seconds.
After sleeping for a while, he suddenly felt a vibration on his wrist, which woke him up.
He got up and saw that the time on the shelter was 05:43, which meant it was still early in the morning.
Everyone around him was asleep, and they all seemed to be sleeping deeply, with Li Qiang even snoring loudly without being disturbed.
After shrinking, everyone was on high alert, leading to restless sleep for everyone.
The source of the vibration was the watch Tom was wearing. On the LCD screen of the watch, a pointer was pointing in a direction, with a line of text below it: "Please follow the instructions to proceed to the location!"
Tom scratched his head. This mysterious organization really liked to play these mysterious games.
Tom followed the instructions to a small room, which turned out to be a storage room with several locked boxes. Based on Xiaogao's previous discovery, the contents of the two boxes he obtained, including food, water, and clothing, were just enough for everyone to use.
Xiaogao had tried to tamper with the locks before, but a warning window immediately popped up on the screen, instructing him to stop. Any further attempts would be considered as damaging the shelter's facilities, and the shelter would immediately enter the folding state. This frightened Xiaogao quite a bit.
The door to the small room actually opened up on the ground, leading underground, which puzzled Tom. What was there that couldn't be discovered by others? Why did it have to be hidden so deeply? Why did he have to be instructed to come here only after everyone was asleep?
Tom carefully walked down, and the door closed silently behind him, leaving him with no way to retreat.
After descending twenty steps along the stairs, Tom finally entered a spacious room. The room was brightly lit, with all-white walls, chairs, and even sofas, completely different from the outside where there were only half chairs.
Tom sat down and saw text displayed on the large screen in front of the chair.
"Hello, awakened individual E39A001, congratulations on becoming Shelter E39A001's protector!"
Protector? Previously, they said he was an awakened individual with a number, and now they added another title of protector? What was this organization up to? Treating everyone as players in a game? Handing out a bunch of titles to players?
"Awakened individual E39A001, when you input your identity, a total of 7 non-awakened individuals in the shelter emitted brainwave patterns consistent with gratitude towards you. It was determined that you saved the lives of 7 non-awakened individuals and gained 7 shelter points."
"By using points, you can exchange for two types of items: 1. Crystal crafting technology knowledge; 2. Crystal crafting technology products."
Tom couldn't help but feel that this was just like those system texts in online novels.
Did the people who built this shelter want to treat everyone as players in a game? And points for exchange?
"Warning: The technology used in this shelter exceeds the current Earth's technology. Any attempts to crack this black box system or forcibly destroy the system's storage will be considered as attacking behavior and will be severely punished."
Tom sighed and clicked on the list.
With only 7 points, he could only see two items.
"1. Crystal energy transmission material manufacturing technology."
"2. Crystal-embedded gauntlet."
These two items were not further explained, clearly leaving him to guess and gamble.
Tom looked at the ring on his arm and hesitated for a moment.
If it were other weapons, he would have chosen without hesitation. But if it was just a gauntlet, his current ring was already sufficient. He just didn't know if the gauntlet obtained through exchange could increase the power of the gemstones. If it could, then it would definitely be his first choice.
After all, in just over ten hours, they would be driven out of the shelter.
But if the exchanged gauntlet didn't have any additional effects, it would be a waste of an opportunity.
He saw a microphone icon in the corner of the screen and pressed it to ask, "Can the choice be postponed? Will delaying the choice affect the outcome?"
"During the sheltering period in this shelter, you can exchange choices at any time. Your points are stored in the identity recognizer. If you miss the opportunity, you can exchange them in other shelters."
Are there other shelters? Tom thought for a moment and understood. With a city so large, there couldn't be just one or two shelters. There must be one or more shelters arranged within a certain range.
This sentence confirmed Tom's speculation: the entire city's population might have been shrunk.
They had to rely on themselves to survive, especially under the bizarre rules of these Darwinian zealots.
"I choose to postpone the exchange!"
With no further information, Tom chose to think it over before making a decision.
"Understood. Friendly reminder: please do not reveal your sheltered identity to unreliable individuals, including any official and unofficial forces, as you may be marked as a target for potential assailants."
"The door to the exchange room within the shelter is only accessible to sheltered individuals. If there are non-sheltered individuals in front of the door, the door to the exchange room will not open."
It seemed there was something fishy about this shelter. Since they didn't avoid discussing Darwin's matters, why was the room for sheltered individuals so secretive? The people who built this secretive room seemed to have a hostile relationship with those who built the shelter itself.
Shaking his head, Tom couldn't figure out these things.
He tried asking some other questions, but the screen kept displaying no relevant answers. It seemed that apart from the simple exchange questions, it wouldn't provide any more information.
There might be a reason for keeping it confidential, so Tom decided to keep the secret for now. He left the secret room and returned to the hall, where he saw everyone was asleep.
He checked on Liu Lian, whose breathing seemed steady, indicating no deterioration. This eased his mind a little.
He checked outside again, where everything seemed normal. There was no sign of any activity from the mutated rat or cat.
Lying back in his original position, Tom needed to continue resting. He needed to regain his energy to cope with the situation outside.
He slept until half past nine in the morning. When Tom woke up, Li Qiang and the others had already been up for a while. But everyone remained quiet, not wanting to disturb Tom who was sleeping soundly.
Seeing the friendly eyes looking at him, Tom knew that the grateful emotions mentioned on the exchange screen referred to Li Qiang and the others.
Although Li Zexin still had a selfish face, his gratitude to Tom was genuine.
At least these people weren't selfish. Tom didn't jump off the car last night to save them in vain.
As for the other three locals, they seemed familiar with each other, forming a group in another corner of the hall.
"Ange, what should we do next?" Li Qiang handed him a canned food with a worried expression.
"Rest and regain our energy. We have the tram; after going out, let's head to the hospital first!"
"The hospital?" Li Zexin and Li Qiang were puzzled.
"The hospital has a relatively safe environment. Going there should be safer, and Liu Lian might need some treatment. Maybe there are medical staff in the hospital. Even if they've shrunk, they shouldn't encounter too many problems. The question is, where is the nearest hospital?"
Cheng Fuhua said, "I know. I know where the nearest hospital is. Last time Xiao Hui got injured, I personally took him to the hospital. It's just that it's shrunk now, so recognizing the way might take some time."
Tom looked at the countdown, which showed 12:25 remaining. In twelve and a half hours, they would be driven out of the shelter, which would be at 10:00 p.m.
For little people, nighttime was the most dangerous time. Firstly, the visual distance was too short, and it was difficult to detect danger approaching. Secondly, in early April, mosquito activity began to increase gradually. Li Qiang and him still remembered the incident where Chen Jianbin was stabbed in the head by a mutated mosquito, leaving a deep impression.
When Liu Lian woke up, it would be best to help him verify his identity, adding another four hours. Although it would be two o'clock in the morning by then, it would at least reduce the suffering by four hours before dawn.
Tom decided to go out with Xiaogao in the tram to familiarize themselves with the surroundings. Li Qiang was worried about encountering mutated cats or rats outside, but Tom shrugged. They would have to face them sooner or later. It was better to encounter them during the day than at night when visibility was poor, which would put them at a disadvantage.
Just as they were repairing the tram, an uncle excitedly shouted that they were saved.
Everyone ran to the screen and saw a huge six-axis aircraft gently floating in front of the shelter.
"Let's go! The country is coming to save us! Haha!" Uncle Wu Zun was very excited and was about to open the door.
Tom stopped him, "Wait, let's be cautious!"
Seven days of living in the apocalypse had strengthened his vigilance. Although they had nothing now, it was still better to be cautious.
Wearing their tattered protective gear, carrying big knives and holding hollow spikes, Tom then let Li Qiang open the shelter's door.
Everyone cautiously walked out. This six-axis aircraft was different from the usual ones they played with. Usually, there was a camera hanging underneath for the operator to observe the situation. But this one had a large suspended cabin underneath, obviously meant for carrying people.
The aircraft slowly descended in front of everyone. The cabin door opened, and four mysterious figures wearing black uniforms and helmets emerged, immediately aiming guns at everyone.
"Is this shooting some big movie?" Li Qiang couldn't help whispering.
"Drop your weapons! Raise your hands!" one of the black-clad individuals shouted, the cold barrel of the gun pointed at Tom.