Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 149: Hostility

Apart from Tang Jing, hardly anyone cared much about the establishment of a company. They all treated it as another anecdote to ease their busy work lives. Even when Dong Junwei exercised her authority as the Chief Decision Officer and approved the establishment of Qiming Architectural Design Co., Ltd., she did it with a playful attitude.

Nevertheless, Qiming's construction work proceeded briskly without any delay.

After Dong Junwei finished organizing the second cardboard box, the floor became cleaner, and the usable area increased significantly.

Although the current room was already spacious enough, there were not many places where sunlight could reach for dwelling. The sunlight coming through the window barely touched the floor.

"When the conditions are right, it's best to move our room to the third level of the storage rack, closer to the window," Tang Jing said, looking up and pointing to the spot she mentioned.

There, the sunlight was bright, and the silver-painted iron surface of the rack reflected the sunlight, dazzling the eyes.

"Is the rack stable?" Chen Mu was the first to consider safety issues.

"No problem. I've observed it before. The inner side of the rack is firmly fixed to the wall with expansion screws. Unless the whole house collapses, we can live here indefinitely. Our current weight and the room's mass are as light as a feather for the rack," Tang Jing assured.

"I just thought of a question," Chen Mu asked, "Will this storage room remain functional for several decades?"

"I understand your concern. The lifespan of a brick-concrete structure is around fifty years, and if there's no external impact or other erosion, it could stand for a hundred years. But don't forget, we'll need to modify this place later, at least by opening up the walls for a ladder and setting up an overhead loft. It will undergo wear and tear without maintenance," Tang Jing explained.

"Will that reduce the lifespan of the building?"

"Are you overthinking it?" Tang Jing chuckled. "Do you really think we'll live here for decades?"

"Well, yeah," Chen Mu slapped his forehead, realizing he was getting lost in the details.

"In fact, if everything goes as planned, we'll probably solve Zhonghe and Qingbei within a year and successfully leave the campus," Tang Jing said.

"And then?" Chen Mu asked.

"And then?" Tang Jing tilted her head and looked at him.

"Right, what should we do after leaving the campus?" Chen Mu asked again.

Tang Jing smiled and said, "I thought you would ask me how to leave the campus in the first place."

"Since you're so confident, I feel like asking is pointless," Chen Mu shrugged.

"We should ask, otherwise, how can I boast to you guys?" Tang Jing said mischievously.

"Alright."

Chen Mu chuckled and helplessly asked, "So, let me ask, how do we solve Zhonghe and Qingbei within a year?"

"It's actually just two ways: either we eliminate them or we bring them under our control," Tang Jing said in a very casual tone.

"Why isn't it us who get brought under their control?"

Tang Jing was about to respond when Du Jiajia's voice came from behind, "Chen Mu, why are you always so negative?"

They turned around to find Dong Junwei and others gathering around.

It was the rest time after lunch, and everyone would usually gather near the towels for idle chatter. Since there weren't many entertainment activities available, this was probably the most anticipated relaxing time for everyone each day. However, today they realized that Tang Jing was not there.

Despite Tang Jing's preachy and tiresome speeches every time, when she was absent, they found that the atmosphere of their conversations was much less vibrant.

A few of them looked around and noticed Tang Jing and Chen Mu chatting at a distance, pointing at the location of the storage rack, so they decided to join them.

Before Chen Mu could answer, Dong Junwei was the first to laugh and said, "Don't you all know what kind of person Chen Mu is? He always prepares for the worst while doing the most proactive things."

Du Jiajia giggled as she passed by.

Dong Junwei asked again, "Are you discussing something about Zhonghe?"

"And Qingbei," Tang Jing added.

"Qingbei... We are not in a hostile relationship with them. Do we need to target them too?" Dong Junwei asked.

"Come to think of it, there is no hostility between us and Zhonghe. Instead, we were the ones who took their cars and people first," Tang Jing said, laughing.

"Well..."

"Actually, whether we have enemies or not doesn't matter. Since we've chosen independent development, we will inevitably clash with other organizations in the end. We didn't join others from the beginning, so should we seek refuge with them once we become more successful?"

As Tang Jing spoke, she looked around at the group of people.

Wei Dalei, Du Jiajia, Lu Shanshan, and others all seemed to naturally agree with Tang Jing's words, showing a sense of understanding.

But three people were exceptions: Chen Mu, Dong Junwei, and He Ying.

Chen Mu also realized this, but he knew very well that it was because the others didn't need to consider the bigger picture that they could face things optimistically.

Dong Junwei, He Ying, and others had more to consider, so naturally, they had to think more about what would happen in case of failure.

Tang Jing continued with her hands clasped, "Qingbei doesn't have any hostility towards individuals wandering alone because they don't see them as a threat for now. But once we grow to a certain extent, they won't remain indifferent."

"In terms of resources, we actually have more now than before, and it's not impossible for everyone to coexist peacefully," He Ying sighed.

Tang Jing said, "Having abundant resources is one thing, but whether we can utilize them is another. Currently, humanity relies on supernatural abilities, but the diversity of these abilities requires a large population to support them. So, it's understandable that Qingbei is actively seeking survivors."

"In that case, should we take the initiative to attack?" Dong Junwei asked.

"There's no need for that at the moment, but even if we don't target them, we need to remain cautious and prepared."

This topic had been discussed more than once among them, but when it came to implementing practical measures, they still couldn't come up with any concrete ideas.

...

Evening.

All was quiet.

The two prisoners from Qingbei were still being held separately, and Tang Jing kindly prepared a small piece of towel as a makeshift mattress for each of them.

When they first arrived, these two individuals had an imposing aura, as if they were martyrs ready to sacrifice themselves heroically. Though they hadn't said a word, they couldn't hide their disdain and contempt towards Tang Jing and the others from Qiming.

However, with just a few sentences from Tang Jing when she brought their meals, she managed to deflate their arrogance.

Both of them had assumed that their companions were tougher than themselves, and feeling ashamed and somewhat disheartened, they lost some of their spirit.

Chen Mu somewhat understood Tang Jing's intention.

In essence, this was the opposite version of the Prisoner's Dilemma.

They were exploiting the inability of the two to communicate, but Tang Jing took a different approach. Instead of encouraging them to fight for their individual interests, she continuously praised how strong and resilient their fellow prisoner was, even expressing admiration in her words.

At first, Chen Mu had doubts about the effectiveness of this approach.

However, on the second day, Tang Jing effortlessly coaxed the names of both prisoners out of them.

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