Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 170: Liang Yan

As one of the top key high schools in the city, Zhiwei High School lived up to its reputation with its comprehensive facilities. The school had two playgrounds.

Outside the school was a medium-sized sports stadium that could accommodate 5000 spectators, with a 400-meter standard running track. It was used for annual sports events and sometimes rented by other schools for their activities.

The school's internal playground, where the Green Tablet was located, didn't have a plastic track. It was used for daily radio exercises, flag-raising ceremonies, and exchange activities like the one with Yizhong High School.

To create a more natural atmosphere, the area around this playground was planted with trees, and the ground wasn't covered with professional turf but with economical and durable Bermuda grass.

But the most eye-catching feature was the flagpole in front of the playground. Even though two months had passed, the national flag above it still fluttered proudly in the wind.

Liang Yan walked in the direction of the flagpole. Without Xin Ping, the combat-capable ability user, traveling had become much more difficult for him. The previous roads were mostly paved, but as he got closer to the playground, there were fewer buildings, and the paths mostly turned into grass.

The once smooth lawn now seemed like an immense forest to the present-day humans. The slender leaves of the Bermuda grass were larger than a person.

Liang Yan struggled to walk through the grass. The path was already challenging, and he had to be constantly vigilant for potential dangers around him.

A locust happened to jump nearby.

Liang Yan frowned but didn't pay it much attention. Locusts only ate plants and posed no threat to humans. Although it appeared huge, like an airplane, as long as it didn't collide with him, there wouldn't be a problem.

However, things didn't go as planned. The locust unexpectedly jumped again, directly towards Liang Yan's head.

Liang Yan was taken aback. He couldn't dodge the locust's speed.

In the next moment, a bright light emanated from his hand. The energy ball that had previously startled Chen Mu reappeared.

But this time, the energy ball was much larger, and it instantly enveloped Liang Yan's body.

At that moment, the locust landed on his head, but before it could touch Liang Yan, one of its legs, along with the surrounding grass, got enclosed within the energy ball.

Liang Yan found himself trapped inside the energy ball, unable to move at all, like a bug trapped in amber.

The locust, seemingly frightened, struggled violently but couldn't escape as its thigh was tightly bound by the energy ball. Eventually, after sacrificing one of its legs, it managed to escape and disappeared into the distance.

The energy ball gradually shrank, revealing Liang Yan's body, and he regained his freedom.

Half a minute later, everything returned to normal, except for the presence of an additional locust leg.

Liang Yan breathed a sigh of relief, raising his hands and examining them with a somewhat helpless shake of his head.

Who would have thought that the seemingly offensive energy ball would turn out to be a defensive weapon? Anything trapped inside it wouldn't be harmed and couldn't move. It was apparent that this energy ball was not a physical entity; any physical attack was ineffective against it, even Xin Ping's Wind Blade couldn't leave a scratch.

Initially, both Qing Bei and Liang Yan had high hopes for this ability, and Liang Yan was excited too, as it looked incredibly cool. However, after further research, they discovered a significant flaw - the energy ball couldn't be launched.

Liang Yan's ability could only expand from the center of his two palms and consume everything during the process. It is easy to imagine that in normal circumstances, the first thing to be consumed would be Liang Yan himself. Therefore, Qing Bei later positioned this ability for defense.

Of course, if he got close enough to someone else, Liang Yan could also "go down together" with the opponent. However, the problem was that anything, even a person, swallowed by the energy ball would not be harmed. Even if completely wrapped up and unable to breathe, they would still come out unscathed and full of energy.

The specific principles and rules behind this were still a mystery to Qing Bei's ability research team. In addition, Liang Yan had to exert all his strength to maintain the energy ball. Once he relaxed, it would immediately disappear. Even the level of usage like before could only be maintained for about ten minutes at most.

The situation with this ability was undoubtedly somewhat awkward. It was almost useless for construction purposes. As for combat, although it had some strategic value, the conditions for using it were too stringent. When fighting alone, Liang Yan could only defend, unable to attack. Even this defensive method seemed quite laughable since the opponent only needed to wait nearby, and when Liang Yan's mental power was depleted, they could strike him.

Therefore, Liang Yan was forced to find a different approach. Since the greatest advantage of this ability was its cool appearance, he decided to fully develop in this direction. In short, it was used to scare people.

Surprisingly, the effect was remarkably good. In several encounters with Yizhong High School, Liang Yan would stand at the back of the team, holding two energy balls, and the enemies would always be wary. Later, he even startled Chen Mu, who had defeated Xin Ping.

When Liang Yan joined Qing Bei, it was only for survival, but later, he was moved by the organization's ideals and determination and wanted to contribute to the future of humankind. However, there were many times when he felt like he was just an insignificant figure.

This was also why he increasingly disliked Xin Ping. Despite having powerful abilities, Xin Ping only knew how to lead a mediocre life, showing off and being arrogant, ultimately ruining his own future.

Liang Yan touched the capsules in his pocket, found the right direction, and continued on the road.

...

When the sun reached its highest point, Chen Mu and his five companions had just entered the shade of a large banyan tree. After shrinking, their resistance to heat seemed to have improved somewhat, but being exposed to the scorching sun of summer was still unpleasant.

The addition of three new members had the greatest impact on their travel speed, especially for Yu Yuan, who was a bit on the chubby side. He would break into sweat after walking a few steps and often wanted to take a rest.

There was nothing to complain about in this situation. Chen Mu calculated the distance and then appropriately reduced their walking speed, increasing the resting time along the way, ensuring they would reach home before dark.

Before leaving the shade of the banyan tree, Chen Mu found another spot to rest and took out the remaining potatoes and tomatoes.

"In about two or three more hours, we should arrive. Let's finish the remaining food," he said.

When the others heard the word "food," their eyes sparkled. Although they didn't feel hungry, not having touched any water or food for two whole months, including Yu Yuan, they were ravenous. In the past, they didn't have any food, so out of sight, out of mind. But now, the bright red tomatoes were right in front of them, making their mouths water.

Chen Mu acted quickly and gave a potato to Li Bose, who was about to drool, saying, "No drooling all over the place from now on."

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