After several repeated attempts, Tom found that although he could also control the deformation of iron pieces, both the speed and completeness of the deformation were not as good as Iron Shavings'. However, he soon realized that Iron Shavings seemed to have only this one ability, which was understandable given his specialization. Anyway, this deformation ability was already helping him realize another idea.
Dinner was brought over by Bo, and Tom and Iron Shavings chatted enthusiastically, exchanging insights about the emerald. As they talked, Tom's idea became more solidified.
Iron Shavings had only moved in two months ago, and according to Uncle Wei's judgment, this old man was a bit conservative, rigid, a bit stingy, and had a somewhat strange temper, often muttering terms that others couldn't understand.
Through their conversation, Tom mentioned the Haiwei Group, which prompted Iron Shavings to reveal his identity. It turned out he was a senior engineer, one of the top (self-proclaimed) professionals in the country. Three years ago, he heard about some interesting projects at Haiwei Group's subsidiary, "Haiwei Mini Industry," so he specifically came to apply. Unfortunately, despite his excellent skills and solid theoretical knowledge, he appeared too conservative in such a vibrant company. Consequently, he kept offending people in the factory, often being ostracized, and two months ago, he resigned in a fit of anger.
Despite his appearance, he was only in his early fifties, with no children or family. After suddenly resigning without a place to go, he came to Old Street to rent a cheap house.
It could be said that Iron Shavings was a professional in the manufacturing industry himself, and his awakened superpower was surprisingly suitable for his profession. This made Tom have further speculations about the so-called awakening.
One of Tom's hobbies was assembling various models, especially robot models. Building something from scratch, piece by piece, and turning it into a war machine in the world of imagination gave him a strong sense of accomplishment.
After shrinking, Tom's first thought was to make a set of armor from his plastic models. While it provided decent defense against ants in the subsequent battle, he found that ordinary roaches, after mutating, could easily gnaw his plastic armor into pieces.
At that time, Tom had an idea: since plastic material wasn't sufficient, why not switch to a harder metal material?
After shrinking, making his own firearms and bullets was unrealistic most of the time, and he mostly had to rely on hand-to-hand combat. Human bodies were too fragile, unlike other insects and animals, which had exoskeletons, soft skins, and other protections. Therefore, it was necessary to wear sturdy armor, just like in ancient times.
If plastic armor didn't work, then switch to metal. Although it would be heavier, if it was sturdy enough that even rats couldn't bite through it, he could rely on his 4.5 times strength to withstand and counterattack.
However, as a shrunken person, having the strength to create a set of metal armor was extremely difficult, and with their current conditions, it was even hard to obtain a suitable piece of iron, let alone an entire set of armor.
Now, Iron Shavings' ability gave him hope.
While eating, Tom talked to Iron Shavings about his idea. Iron Shavings pondered for a moment and nodded, "I once saw a project for heavy bulletproof vests at Haiwei Mini Industry. They only used a portion of metal materials. If you cover your whole body, let's not talk about mobility issues. According to the condition that the crystal must be in contact with the skin, the crystal-embedded gloves must be made very thick, or else they won't fit. If we don't consider the gloves, the exposed crystals increase the risk of being snatched away. Without the crystals, you'll be trapped in a metal can."
Bo, listening from the side, was completely puzzled.
Tom smiled and took out a blank gemstone, closed his eyes, and held the emerald. Soon, the blank gemstone in his hand turned into powder.
"Oh?" Iron Shavings looked curious.
Tom evenly spread the powder on a piece of iron, then closed his eyes again. Following the description, he tried to control the layer of powder on the surface of the iron to fuse into the iron.
Although it sounded mystical, it surprisingly felt real when done on the spot. He indeed felt the powder in his palm sinking rapidly.
So, from the perspective of Bo and Iron Shavings, they saw Tom spreading the powder on the iron, then passing his palm over it, and the powder disappeared as if by magic.
Finally, he needed to connect the infiltrated powder through his mind. When Tom finished, Bo grabbed his hand and examined it, turning it over several times. "Hey, Tom, are you doing magic? The powder is gone!"
Tom chuckled. He placed the piece of iron on the back of his hand, then placed the ruby on top and activated his ability. Sure enough, the hand under the iron emitted a red light.
"Metal can't transmit crystal energy," Iron Shavings said in surprise, wide-eyed. "What you just did... Was it a kind of manufacturing process?"
Tom nodded with a smile. He hadn't expected this to go so smoothly. Considering that the last time on the rooftop, even just vibrating a blank gemstone into four pieces left him a bit dizzy, now he easily turned the blank gemstone into powder, and even successfully infiltrated the powder into the iron piece in one go.
It seems that either his control has improved recently, or it's because he learned to control the bending of iron pieces from Iron Shavings, which lowered the operational threshold.
"This is called the 'Crystal Energy Conduction Material Manufacturing Technique.' I saw it in a secret room at the Redemption Shelter, and I couldn't perform it before. But this time, it succeeded on the first try," Iron Shavings said.
Picking up an iron piece, Iron Shavings examined it carefully and asked, "According to what you said, the farther the crystal is from the point of force generation, the weaker the force effect. So if we have this conduction material, can you attach a detachable crystal mounting box to your arm, which can transmit crystal energy even through the gloves?"
Tom nodded. "Exactly!"
As they discussed, Bo spoke up, "Tom, do you remember the movements of those two men in black last night?"
"Hmm?"
"They jumped up to a one-meter-high window," Bo said, mimicking the gesture with his fingers. "They just hopped up like this."
Tom nodded. He had noticed that if they were so powerful that one punch could send Haba flying, then it wasn't surprising if their leg strength was enhanced. "If they had enhanced leg strength, then jumping that high wouldn't be impossible."
"I experimented this morning. Take a look," Bo said excitedly, rolling up his pant leg to reveal a ruby tied to it, emitting a faint red light.
"Can legs be enhanced too?" Tom asked.
With a grin, Bo took a few steps back, then jumped. He soared quite high, reaching about 40 centimeters in height.
"Haha! How about that?" Bo exclaimed.
Tom immediately tied the red crystal to his leg and activated it. It worked; his foot emitted a red light too.
"Why didn't I think of this before?" Tom wondered aloud.
"Quick, try it. You'll definitely jump higher than me," Bo urged him.
After a run-up, Tom leaped with all his might, but only reached about 30 centimeters in height. He tried several times but reluctantly accepted this reality.
"My arm strength enhancement is stronger than yours, but in leg strength enhancement, you've surpassed me. It seems individual traits still differ," Tom concluded.
Finally having an ability that exceeded Tom's, Bo was ecstatic. He started running faster, feeling his speed increase. Ten seconds later, he returned to his original spot. "Hehe, my running speed is faster too."
"Of course, with enhanced leg burst, jumping and running naturally become more efficient, but... I estimate the physical strain is considerable, so be cautious in using it," Tom advised.
Now, besides arm strength enhancement, leg enhancement was also possible. With this, Tom wouldn't have to worry about walking being too difficult even when wearing heavy armor.
After only a few bites of food, Tom excitedly ran to find Uncle Wei and explained his idea of making metal armor.
Uncle Wei pondered for a moment and then nodded, "Hmm, it's difficult to contend with mutated rats and cockroaches with just your flesh and blood. I have some iron knives in my inner room. Since you can make iron objects deform and split on their own, you can use them. But I have one condition: you must ensure that I have at least 30 knives. Although we have guns, it's also necessary to have some defensive knives."
Tom nodded in agreement. Making metal armor wouldn't happen overnight, and with such a convenient ability, the camp's weapons naturally needed to be prioritized. The numerical advantage had to be utilized; otherwise, when danger came, it would be troublesome if hundreds of people were left defenseless due to weapon limitations.
To make armor, they first needed parts. Once all the parts were made, they could assemble them to complete the work.
Tom was confident in designing the parts. Making models started with cutting out each small component. Typically, a robot model would have two to three hundred to six to seven hundred parts. Tom had even assembled a "Deep Strike Gundam" produced by the "City of Armor," which was a domestic model factory's imitation of the genuine version. It added more detailed components based on the original version and had a larger 1:100 scale, totaling about 1,600 parts, truly a daunting task.
First, Tom needed to get a large notebook and a toothpick, dip it in ink, and draw each piece of the armor.
Drawing these things wasn't easy. Drawing a conical hat didn't necessarily mean it was a helmet, and drawing a large circular iron piece didn't mean it could be used as a breastplate. He also had to redesign it according to his own wearing size. Just maintaining uniformity and ensuring that it could be integrated into a whole took a lot of brainpower.
After working on two pieces of paper, Tom's head was buzzing. He took a sip of cold water and walked to the door, slipping out into the corridor through the crack.
The wind was strong outside, pleasantly cool. Tom looked up and saw dark clouds rolling in, knowing that heavy rain was coming again.
Last time, the heavy rain drove him out of the crash site, but this time, he had stood his ground in the camp and eliminated unstable factors.
Watching the raindrops fall, Tom remembered the gecko pushed off the building by Zhang Meng, remembered Li Qiang flying out of the cabin during the aircraft crash, and remembered Liu Lian and the others taken away by the Haiwei Group.
"I wonder how you're all doing now?"