Chapter 4: Night Watch

Chen Mu nodded, decided to try, thought for a moment, and earnestly imagined Peppa Pig in his mind, while the stone in his hand kept changing with his thoughts.

This feeling was a bit like playing with clay.

Because he wasn't skilled enough, it took about half a minute to finish the task.

However, Chen Mu's artistic ability was poor; the Peppa Pig he made was just a pig's head with a long nose, overall uneven and unpleasant to look at.

Yet unexpectedly, it had a somewhat cute feel.

As they say, ugly-cute.

It was also rather awkward to handle.

"Pfft."

Chen Mu broke out in a sweat.

What the hell kind of ability is this?

……

Changing an object's shape sounds awesome at first, but thinking it over, what can this ability do now, and how much help is it in battle? With some practice, I could make a cool weapon, but I can't exactly go fight giant insects and monsters outside with a sword—if we don't last two days, what use is any amazing ability?

Being a sculptor in peaceful times would be fine, but now…

Or should I, upon encountering an ant next time, conjure a deformed Peppa Pig to scare it?

Not mentioning Wei Dalei's body strengthening, Luo Hui may have died unjustly, but his flight ability is truly enviable; even Zhao Xiao Yan's enhanced sense of smell can at least help find food now.

Chen Mu didn't know what to say for a moment.

A support-type ability isn't bad, but in this situation, it would be better to have an escape skill.

Wei Dalei patted his shoulder: "Boss, it's nothing, I think this ability isn't bad either—it can… it can… make many things… Anyway, with me around, I can also protect you!"

The big lug thought for a while but couldn't come up with a decent sentence.

Dong Junwei said: "Actually it's pretty good; many of us still don't have any ability."

Indeed, up to now, among the dozen or so people, plus the deceased Luo Hui, only five have awakened abilities, while the rest show no reaction at all.

Chen Mu quickly adjusted his mindset; this ability isn't weak after all, and he's not a chosen one—why should he expect to deal 999 damage right off the bat?

……

The sun had slowly set, and night cast an extra shadow over everyone's fragile spirits.

The fear of darkness made everyone huddle closer together.

Zhao Xiao Yan unconsciously leaned toward Wei Dalei; earlier, Chen Mu had given everyone great confidence, but now Wei Dalei, who had awakened strength ability, was clearly a stronger backbone.

Dong Junwei said: "Tonight there's not enough time; we can only sleep here for the night and figure things out tomorrow. But just in case, we need to take turns keeping watch. Da Lei, Chen Mu, Zhu Hao—you three are the strongest fighters in our group right now, so please don't sleep too soundly; we might need your help at any moment."

Zhu Hao was the guy with horns on his head from before; although it's unclear what his ability does specifically, he's at least an ability user, and if necessary, we'll need him to "fill in."

And Chen Mu, even without any ability, is more than capable of holding his own.

Dong Junwei then arranged the specific personnel for the night watch; everything was orderly, and her calm composure gave everyone extra confidence.

Everyone slept on the ground.

Chen Mu and the other three were assigned the first watch, each taking one of the four corners of the crowd; their task was to detect danger and wake everyone up, although visibility was poor in the dark, there was nothing else to do.

After a day of exhaustion, everyone was worn out, and soon light snoring came from the group.

Chen Mu sat on the ground, seriously listening to the surrounding sounds while still thinking about his special ability.

He still felt a bit unwilling.

The staple on his hand kept changing shape, and Chen Mu gradually got a feel for it.

His ability requires not only his imagination but also seems limited by the object's weight; for now, this staple in his hand is almost at its limit, and anything larger cannot be precisely controlled.

Overall, changing an object's shape doesn't help much in combat; if anything, it could at most provide a handy weapon.

Chen Mu ultimately turned the staple into the shape of a katana.

Time passed quickly; before midnight, Wei Dalei came to swap shifts with Chen Mu, and this middle shift was the toughest.

Chen Mu was also quite exhausted; he returned to the crowd, lay down, and soon fell asleep.

……

A glimmer of light flashed in the east.

Chen Mu, who always had a habit of waking early, was the first to awaken; he rose quietly and walked around the nearby area.

The katana in his hand, though crude in appearance, swung with vigor; he had originally planned to practice on a few ants, but after circling, he found none.

Actually, the classroom had always been kept relatively clean, so it was also comparatively safe.

As he returned to the group greeted by morning dew, Tang Jing and Dong Junwei had already woken up.

They had gone to bed relatively early, and since they were sleeping on the ground, the environment was still somewhat harsh for these delicate girls.

Fortunately, it's summer now, so sleeping on the floor isn't too cold.

"Chen Mu, Tang Jing, let's discuss our next plans."

To avoid waking others, Dong Junwei pulled the two to a nearby table leg.

The table leg, once slender, now looked like a massive pillar that several people couldn't even encircle.

"What do you think—should we stay put or go out?"

"Obviously, in Dong Junwei's mind, only Chen Mu and Tang Jing are the two people she can consult with."

"Chen Mu said: 'Although this classroom is relatively safe, it has no food; for us to survive, we must first leave, no matter what.'"

"Tang Jing also said: 'I share that view; given the current situation, our chances of reverting are low. Before we have a next-step plan, I think we should find a place to station ourselves, ideally with food supplies and some defensive capability.'"

"Dong Junwei furrowed her brows: 'I actually think the same, but… how easy is that to say?'"

"Tang Jing said: 'We'll eventually figure out a solution, but the most urgent thing now is to get hold of the cake; otherwise, we might not be able to leave the classroom, and we'll starve to the point of having no strength.'"

By then, the sky was already bright.

"Dong Junwei said: 'Let's head back; everyone should be awake by now.'"

By the time they got back to the place, the other classmates had also woken up.

Dong Junwei roughly explained the current situation and future plans, but when mentioning getting the cake, everyone fell silent again.

Among the few who have awakened abilities, Zhu Hao's unicorn ability is obviously useless; Zhao Xiao Yan's enhanced sense of smell can only help locate the cake; and Chen Mu's ability, after he explained that it can only affect an object the size of a staple, was directly ignored by everyone.

Everyone's gaze gradually gathered on Wei Dalei.

To eat the cake, someone must climb onto the table.

The strength-enhancing ability should make climbing high no problem, right?

Wei Dalei's face instantly turned bitter.

"It's not that I don't want to go, but... I'm afraid of heights..."