Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 76: Watchtower

Of course, keeping cats is out of the question. Not to mention cats, in the future, the only creatures that humans could keep as pets might be ants. However, ants are probably even stronger than ordinary humans, so we wouldn't know who would be walking whom.

After everyone woke up, Dong Junwei gathered everyone to discuss the matter of sealing the gap in the door. This became even more urgent after yesterday's encounter with the cat.

As an improvement over the previous plan, Tang Jing proposed a new method: installing a mesh fence for ventilation on one side of the gap and sealing the other side completely. This way, it could keep slightly larger animals and insects outside while minimizing the amount of work required.

According to the results of their discussion with Tang Jing, the gaps in the mesh fence should be set to 1 millimeter.

Considering the current size of humans, their shoulder width is about 4 millimeters, and their thickness when viewed from the side is about 2 millimeters. By setting the mesh fence to these dimensions, the primary defense would be against humans themselves.

For sturdiness, the mesh fence would be made using 3-millimeter diameter iron rods, with the upper end inserted into the lower edge of the door and the lower end directly into the ground, each penetrating 5 millimeters.

This means they would need approximately 125 pieces of 2-centimeter long, 3-millimeter diameter stainless steel rods.

Manufacturing all these rods would be a considerable undertaking, but fortunately, it mainly involves repetitive labor and doesn't require much technical expertise. During Chen Mu's training in recent days, he has already made many rods of this specification, which are now placed on a flatbed trolley, ready to be transported to the door after completion.

However, at this moment, a problem arises. The little cat that came yesterday is back today. It keeps meowing and scratching the door.

It continues for over twenty minutes before stopping.

People don't dare to go out and check. They can only temporarily suspend the construction. After all, Chen Mu has to stay under the gap to work, and who knows if the cat might suddenly strike back...

But waiting for three days in a row, the little cat shows up every day. It comes multiple times a day at irregular intervals, as if this place has become its exclusive playground.

"What should we do? If it keeps coming every day, we won't dare to go out," someone says.

"I suddenly don't like cats anymore," Du Jiajia pouts.

Everyone discusses and talks, but they are still at a loss.

Suddenly, He Ying stands up, "How about I keep watch outside? If it approaches, I'll immediately call Chen Mu in."

"No, it's too dangerous," Dong Junwei stops her immediately.

"I won't go too far, and with my speed, I should be able to come back in time," He Ying insists.

"Don't go, He Ying. The cat is definitely faster than you, and its steps are light. You won't know where it will jump out from," Zhao Xiaoyan clearly doesn't want her friend to take risks.

"But we can't keep going like this. Sooner or later, someone will have to take this risk," He Ying says determinedly.

"I do have an idea," Tang Jing says, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

"What is it?"

"We can set up a watchtower," Tang Jing said, pointing her finger towards the higher part of the door.

"What do you mean? Set up a watchtower on the door?" Chen Mu asked.

"We are afraid of being attacked if we go outside, but what if we stand at a higher position?" Tang Jing replied.

"Make a hole in the door?" Chen Mu followed up.

"Yes, just like when we made the passage. But my idea is, if we are going to have a watchtower, we need to consider that everyone will take turns to be on duty. However, the previous method of using handles to climb up won't work anymore. Otherwise, only Chen Mu and He Ying would be able to go up, and we can't let them stand guard all the time," Tang Jing explained with a smile.

"What height?"

"80 centimeters."

"The size of the opening?"

"A rectangular hole, 3 centimeters high and 4 centimeters wide, passing through a thickness of 4.5 centimeters in the door. But we need to install a piece of transparent plastic on the outer side."

"How do we get up there?"

"It's best to have a staircase-like structure on this side of the door. Slowly carve out a zigzag staircase, so that everyone can go up."

Now that Chen Mu and Tang Jing have become skilled in their collaboration, their communication has become more concise. In just a few sentences, they have basically settled on the plan.

"Wait."

He Ying called out and asked, "Are you saying that we'll make a hole in the door, and then one person will usually stand there to watch and keep guard?"

"That's exactly what I mean. It's not just for dealing with the cat incident this time. I've actually wanted to do this for a while. After all, we now know there are many dangers outside. If we wait until someone attacks the door before reacting, it might be too late," Tang Jing explained.

"So, we need to keep watch for a long time in the future?"

"Yes, even during the night. That's why I asked Chen Mu to make the place a bit larger, so we can fit a bed there in the future."

"But during the night, we won't be able to see outside. Is it necessary?"

"Now being unable to see clearly doesn't mean we won't be able to see clearly in the future," Tang Jing explained without elaborating much.

"This method sounds good, but the workload will be significant, right?" Dong Junwei slightly frowned.

"Let's take it slowly," Chen Mu sighed, "After all, we can't do anything else right now."

...

Because of that mischievous little cat, they reluctantly had to add a larger project before sealing the gap in the door.

Fortunately, the watchtower would be needed in the future, so it had to be built sooner or later.

However, this task could only be done by Chen Mu alone. Others wanted to help, but they couldn't.

From that day on, Chen Mu would arrive at the door early every morning and start the transformation on the inside of the door. He was creating a staircase on the door's surface that would lead to the higher spot, and then he would dig through the door, enabling them to see the outside from the inside. This way, they could be alerted in the first instance if something approached.

The height of 80 centimeters was calculated by Tang Jing. Too low, and the field of view would be reduced; too high, and those with poor eyesight might not be able to see clearly.

This project, like sealing the gap in the door, didn't require much technical difficulty, but it was labor-intensive.

Three more days passed, and only a quarter of the staircase had been completed.

At this rate, it would take about ten more days to finish.

The most awkward part was that while Chen Mu worked every day, the rest of the group could only watch without being of much help. It was quite uncomfortable for the other classmates, but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.

At first, Wei Dalei organized people to cheer and encourage Chen Mu from the side, but it ended up making so much noise that Chen Mu had to drive them away to work in peace.

Chang Junyan came up with a unique idea of singing songs below to boost Chen Mu's spirits, but as soon as the first line was sung, Chen Mu almost got startled and fell from the height—it was too darn terrible!

Only He Ying could genuinely lend some assistance occasionally by climbing up and passing water or a towel to wipe off sweat.

The days passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, another three days went by.

The staircase on the door was starting to take shape, about half completed.

However, on this day, after the noon break, as Chen Mu was about to begin his work, he suddenly heard a loud thunder outside.

Soon after, heavy rain poured down.

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