Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 144: Pen Refills

"Calendar?"

Wei Dalei laughed, "I got this."

"Oh?" Tang Jing was puzzled.

"Today is June 14th, Sunday. The day we shrank was April 27th, Monday. It has been exactly 48 days," Wei Dalei said proudly, with his hands on his waist.

"Chen Mu must have told you," Tang Jing exposed him.

"Eh... how did you know?" Wei Dalei's act suddenly came to a halt.

"What do you think?"

"Hehe, I really can't remember. Old Chen is amazing," Wei Dalei said sheepishly.

"Did Chen Mu tell you how he knew?" Tang Jing tilted her head and asked.

"He said he is meticulous in his thoughts and unparalleled in calculation," Wei Dalei faithfully repeated someone's self-praise.

"I see."

Tang Jing slightly raised the corners of her mouth and nodded, "Chen Mu is indeed impressive."

"That's right, haha."

...

When Chen Mu came over, he didn't know that he had been half exposed. After seeing the pencils that Wei Dalei had brought down and a few pieces of paper, he immediately understood Tang Jing's intention.

"I just don't know if the coarseness of the paper is suitable for writing," Chen Mu expressed concern.

"Based on the current toilet paper, it should work. It's just that the size is not right. Can you help me make a booklet?" Tang Jing asked.

"What do you want to write in it?"

"Yeah."

"What are you going to write?"

"I won't tell you."

"... "

Because Wei Dalei was called by Dong Junwei to move other things, Chen Mu was completely unaware of the conversation they had just now.

"You try to see if you can control the pen refill," Tang Jing said as they walked to one end of the pencil, pointing to the exposed black refill.

It was a drawing refill with both ends exposed, the kind students used to fill out answer sheets, usually in 2B, but this one was 2H.

"This thing is graphite, right?"

"Yes, it's a mixture of graphite and adhesive with a density of less than 2. It shouldn't be difficult for you," Tang Jing explained.

"I'll give it a try."

Chen Mu placed his palm on the refill. This pencil, lying flat on the ground, was about half the height of a person, and the refill was about the thickness of a person. If made into a pencil usable by humans today, theoretically, millions could be produced.

However, this mixture of graphite and clay was hard but brittle, and it easily left black powder on one's hand.

When Chen Mu withdrew his hand, his palm had already been coated in black ink.

But he successfully brought out a small inkstick.

However, if he wanted to use it as a pen refill, it was still not thin enough, and the level of precision was far from sufficient.

For Chen Mu, dealing with these tiny objects posed even greater difficulty, not to mention achieving straight, round, and smooth shapes.

In the end, after about five minutes of repairing and refining, the pen refill in Chen Mu's hand finally resembled the previous one.

"Next, we need to encase it in wood."

This step still used the original wooden shell of the pencil, but the outer layer of lacquer was omitted.

"Should we make it hexagonal?" Chen Mu asked while looking at a larger pencil.

"If possible, that would be best."

"It shouldn't be a problem."

"The outer casing of a pencil is usually made of basswood. The wood grain is fine, making it easy to process and less prone to cracking, with good flexibility."

"I see."

As Tang Jing explained, Chen Mu focused on making the pencil.

Wrapping the refill with wood.

This seemingly simple action wasn't so easy to achieve uniformly straight.

Not much time passed.

A miniaturized pencil was born.

But its appearance was far from satisfactory.

This common item in daily life, with just a slight flaw, would be easily noticeable.

Tang Jing held it in her hand and made a writing gesture.

"The thickness and size are close to the real thing, but no matter how you look at it, it seems a bit distorted and not straight enough. You can feel it as soon as you hold it," she said.

"Without a mold, we can only do this for now. Let me try a few more times," Chen Mu replied.

Though not a perfectionist, Chen Mu was still somewhat dissatisfied with the pencil in front of him. He took the materials again and began to work on it once more.

After several failures, he finally managed to make one that was passable.

It was a wooden-colored pencil, looking much the same as before.

"Could you sharpen the pencil for me?" Chen Mu asked.

"Sure."

Soon, a sharpened pencil appeared with a pointed tip.

"What about the paper?" Chen Mu inquired.

"Let's use toilet paper like last time, but please bind it into a booklet for me."

"What are you planning to write?" Chen Mu couldn't help asking again.

Tang Jing, however, remained steadfast, "I won't tell you."

Last time, the toilet paper they made was not ideal for wiping, as it lacked good water absorption, and was rough and slightly hard. However, for writing purposes, it turned out to be not bad.

Still, it lacked smoothness.

Since the last attempt, Chen Mu had gained some insights into papermaking, so making a notebook for Tang Jing wasn't too difficult. Stacking several sheets of paper together, Chen Mu glued one end, resulting in a better binding effect.

With the paper and pencil ready, Tang Jing held them in her hand and sat down properly at the conference table. This was the first time in the post-apocalyptic world that someone was writing in the true sense. If no one had done something similar before, it would be a great leap in human intellectual civilization.

Quickly, the others gathered around, and upon seeing Tang Jing's focused writing, they felt a bit envious.

"How's the effect?" Dong Junwei approached.

"It's okay. Writing feels a bit strenuous, needing precise control of force, but the handwriting is still clear," Tang Jing said while flipping back the cover of the notebook, where she wrote the vertical characters "啟明" (Qǐmíng).

"It really is not bad."

While everyone marveled, they were also curious about what Tang Jing was going to write.

"Keep it a secret for now. I'll show you all once I'm done," Tang Jing said mysteriously.

...

Since Tang Jing refused to reveal her writing, the others had no choice but to disperse gradually. Everyone had plenty of things to do. Dong Junwei had already started leading everyone to organize the second box.

Once everything was completed, the floor space would be much more usable.

Although the space was already quite large, it was always cluttered, especially with the two large paper boxes blocking a significant portion of the view. Placed directly on the floor, they became damp and the bottom turned soft and mushy. Even after drying, paper scraps and powder kept falling off.

Once this powder spread, it was like snowfall, affecting breathing.

Since clearing one of the paper boxes, the room's environment had improved significantly. This was why Dong Junwei was so eager to clean up the remaining box.

In the past few days, Tang Jing had been sitting alone at the conference table, writing and arranging things. Although she kept it mysterious, she had told Wei Dalei about it earlier. Wei Dalei wasn't the kind of person who could keep secrets, so everyone soon found out that Tang Jing was creating a calendar.

At first, Chen Mu found it funny, thinking that it was not a big deal to hide such a thing. However, after hearing Wei Dalei retell his conversation with Tang Jing, his mood took a downturn.

Unlock exclusive early access to 100s of chapters before anyone else by becoming a valued member of my Patreon community.

As a cherished member of our Patreon community, here is what you'll get:

For just $5, you'll receive:

• Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public. (check all the novels I'm translating from HERE, all the novels have 100s of exclusive early access chapters and some are complete.)
• Your name prominently featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
• The power to vote on which novel I should translate next.

If you decide to pledge $10, you'll get all the perks from the $5 tier, plus:

• You get to suggest a Novel (Chinese or Korean) for me to translate, It may take some time for me to do it but it will be done as soon as possible.
• Your name prominently featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).

And if you're feeling generous with a $20 pledge, you'll unlock all the perks from the $5 tier and $10 tier, plus:

• You get to recommend a Novel (Chinese or Korean) and I will immediately start translating it.
• You get to recommend an abandoned Novel (Chinese or Korean) and I will immediately start translating it.
• Your name featured at the top of the "Wall of Gratitude".

Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!