Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 14: The Toilet Paper Dilemma

Around the cafeteria, there are these small independent storage rooms, each measuring less than 2 meters in length and width. The towels they use for sleeping are only about a meter away from the gap under the door.

Even though the storage rooms are tiny, it's quite an unpleasant experience to walk a hundred meters every time you need to use the restroom.

Chen Mu returned to where everyone was sleeping and found that they were all awake. After two days of struggling and drifting, they were starting to come to terms with the reality of the apocalypse. Initially, some still fantasized about returning to the old world soon, but now they were mostly concerned about the immediate issues of survival.

"Do you have any toilet paper left? I need to go to the restroom."

"I have one sheet, but it got dirty when it was stored with the cake."

"It's okay, just shake it off, and it should still be usable."

"Where will you go to do your business?"

"I'll find a place outside. We can't be too picky about it now."

"I'll go with you."

"Sure, let's find a corner."

"..."

After Zhao Xiaoyan and Du Jiajia discussed, they walked together towards the door.

Wei Dalei didn't understand why, but he wanted to follow to protect them, only to be glared back by Zhao Xiaoyan.

The restroom issue had become a problem, and Dong Junwei was a bit worried. Although the storage room was spacious enough, they couldn't possibly use it as an indoor restroom, especially considering that waste could attract trouble.

So far, everyone had been following Chen Mu's example, going outside and finding a crevice on the concrete floor to handle their business.

But this couldn't go on forever; it was far from ideal.

And the most troublesome issue remained - the lack of toilet paper.

Several girls had brought along some tissue paper, but they had been sharing it with each other, and now it was almost running out.

The toilet paper issue might seem trivial, but it could also be a big deal.

Sure, not having it wouldn't be life-threatening, but having a sticky and uncomfortable feeling after using the restroom was worse for many people than death itself.

In the past, you could make do with just finding some leaves, but in the current environment, finding suitable alternatives was challenging.

Chen Mu quickly turned his gaze to the box used to store spoons.

This stuff was thick and hard, and now that people had become smaller, it felt even rougher, probably more like sandpaper than actual toilet paper.

But for Chen Mu, this seemed like a problem he could solve.

Dong Junwei was also considering this issue and saw Chen Mu looking at the box not far away, immediately understanding his idea.

"Dalei, come and help tear some paper off the box," Dong Junwei called out.

"What?" Wei Dalei didn't quite get it at first.

At that moment, Tang Jing returned to the group and heard the conversation, understanding Dong Junwei's plan.

Dong Junwei explained a bit, and Wei Dalei quickly ran over, coming back soon with a bunch of yellowish cardboard.

A whole piece of cardboard now had a thickness of about up to a person's knee. Even if they tore it into single layers, it was still similar to a wooden plank.

Chen Mu took a single layer of paper in his hand and effortlessly transformed it into a thinner layer, which also increased the paper's surface area.

However, his ability could only change the object's shape, not its texture. After thinning the paper, it became softer to some extent, but still rough, and not exactly very clean.

But without a better choice, they had to make do with it for now.

"There's actually another way," Tang Jing suddenly said.

"What?"

"Towels," Tang Jing suggested, "You can pull out the cotton threads from the towels, tie them up, and use them as... well... an alternative to toilet paper. People used to do it this way in the past."

Towels are made of cotton threads, and in terms of materials, they seem endless. The originally thin cotton threads now looked similar to hemp ropes in the eyes of everyone.

Using knotted grass ropes for personal hygiene was the wisdom of ancient people. It is said that people in medieval Europe did the same.

"I still prefer paper," someone said, unable to accept the idea.

"To be honest, both have their advantages. Towels are at least somewhat cleaner."

"Let's all prepare some and let everyone choose for themselves."

...

As Chen Mu made toilet paper and listened to everyone's serious discussion, he felt a strange sense of amusement.

If it weren't for the apocalypse, they would probably never have the chance for a whole class of students to discuss their choices for wiping their butts together.

...

In the end, they decided to prepare both options and let everyone choose for themselves. Of course, Dong Junwei suggested that everyone prioritize using the knotted ropes because Chen Mu wouldn't always have time to make toilet paper for everyone.

For Chen Mu, ever since he discovered that using his ability could increase his mental power, he didn't mind being a useful tool. Helping his companions while training wasn't a bad thing.

However, at the moment, he had more important things to do.

As discussed with Tang Jing last night, they needed to move as much food as possible today.

The leftover cakes were almost gone, and even if there were any left, they would soon go bad.

But relying solely on Wei Dalei to do the heavy lifting would be limited.

Tang Jing suggested, "Chen Mu, let's work together to build a cart."

"A cart?"

"It's just a simple flatbed cart for carrying things," Tang Jing explained.

"But with my current ability..."

"No worries, you just need to follow my description and make some parts."

"I'll give it a try."

In fact, the process turned out to be even simpler than Chen Mu had imagined.

Apart from spending some time smoothing out the four wheels, the rest wasn't too difficult.

Tang Jing's construction diagram was straightforward, just a single plastic board with two metal bearings fixed underneath and four wheels added.

The most challenging part was the connections between the different components.

The wheels and bearings had to be movable yet secure, which required precision craftsmanship and structural stability.

Chen Mu played the role of both a carpenter and a welder.

In the end, after receiving input from everyone, a wide but incredibly ugly flatbed cart made its dazzling debut.

To pass through the gap under the door, the cart's chassis was as close to the ground as possible. It had railings around the sides to prevent items from falling off, and handles on the front and back for pushing.

Considering Wei Dalei's strength, they intentionally made the cart one size bigger, similar to a small double bed - of course, scaled down.

Wei Dalei pushed it around and grinned, "It may look odd, but it's quite fast to push, just not very agile."

To test its sturdiness, Wei Dalei even had Zhao Xiaoyan sit on the cart as he pushed her around.

"There's not much we can do about it. The drawback of a simple wheel design is that it's a bit hard to steer. In such a short time, it's already quite impressive. Let's make do with it for now," Tang Jing explained with a smile.

Dong Junwei suggested, "This time, let's go with more people."

Chen Mu said, "Class President, you stay here and keep an eye on Money Fei. The rest of the boys can come with me."

Tang Jing didn't insist on going this time.

Dong Junwei nodded and said, "That sounds like a plan. Be careful on the road, everyone."

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