Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 136: Bathtub

Due to the existence of the Five-Person Decision-Making Committee, other members in the team often didn't need to worry much about the overall situation. Instead, they had more time to ponder their own special abilities.

Chang Junyan was a typical example.

This guy's imagination was getting bigger and bigger.

Under Tang Jing's research and guidance, his special ability was continuously developing.

"I heard from Tang Jing that your control has improved a lot?" Tang Jing would discuss the situation of everyone's abilities within the organization with Chen Mu from time to time, but with the increasing number of people, Chen Mu could no longer take care of everyone.

Chang Junyan chuckled, "Yes, now I can make it itch if I want, and make it stop itching if I don't. I can even control the intensity of the itch. When it itches the most, I can barely stand it myself."

"But what's the use of that?" Chen Mu couldn't help but feel a bit speechless.

"It's useful!" Chang Junyan exclaimed excitedly, "For example, when I'm sleeping, I can create two bumps in my ears to block out the sound. This way, I won't be able to hear Old Wei's snoring. But you guys can't do that, haha."

Although Wei Dalei already had his own room, it wasn't very far, so if he woke up at night, they could still hear his snoring. Of course, it was much better than before.

"By the way, if you can already make the itch go away, why do you keep scratching it?" Chen Mu looked at Chang Junyan, who was still rubbing his feet in place, feeling somewhat powerless to comment.

"Because it feels good," Chang Junyan said matter-of-factly.

Chen Mu: "..."

In Chen Mu's view, Chang Junyan's ability had great potential in terms of defense. If that's the case, he should continue to explore the depth of this ability in that direction. Instead, it seemed a bit upside down to keep using it for scratching, just like he used to.

However, Chang Junyan obviously didn't think so, and Tang Jing seemed to support his approach as well.

Guiding others in developing their abilities was Tang Jing's primary responsibility, and as the most experienced and mentally powerful ability holder, Chen Mu naturally had the qualifications to advise others.

But whenever their opinions clashed, Chen Mu would usually take the initiative to step back.

"Well then, keep it up," Chen Mu made a gesture of encouragement.

"Yeah, I will."

Chang Junyan kicked his shoes and slowly walked towards the restroom.

Watching his back, Chen Mu was a bit worried that this guy's shoes would be damaged ahead of time. However, looking at his appearance, it seemed that going barefoot might be even better. His soles directly rubbing against the cement floor... just imagining it made Chen Mu feel good.

...

After breakfast, Chen Mu, Dong Junwei, Tang Jing, Wei Dalei, and He Ying all gathered by the water reservoir.

Since the water supply system was established, its efficiency wasn't very high due to the absence of a bathroom. Everyone could only use a temporary partition near the entrance for bathing, and showering was not possible.

After taking care of other more important matters, Chen Mu shifted his focus to this issue.

It was time to build a bathroom.

In fact, with their current size, the way they used water was completely different from before. For example, it was difficult to perform the action of "pouring water" using a cup for drinking; instead, it was more like suction.

Due to surface tension, atmospheric pressure, and capillary phenomenon, at their current scale, the shape of water differed greatly from what it used to be. Naturally formed water droplets had a minimum size, which, for the current shrunken humans, appeared quite large.

Especially when the pipes were narrowed to a certain extent, relying on gravity for water flow became impossible, and water would come out drop by drop.

This posed a significant technical challenge for taking showers.

If the water quantity was too small, the water flow couldn't be continuous, and they would have to continuously wet their heads with water droplets while wiping their bodies, but that would defeat the purpose of showering.

However, if the water quantity was too large, people could easily lose their balance and even get washed away. Moreover, considering Ah Ming's current conditions, they couldn't afford to be wasteful with water.

After several calculations, they ultimately decided to give up on the shower plan and opt for a bathtub instead.

The practice of bathing in a bathtub had almost disappeared in ordinary households due to its inconvenience and water wastage. Besides, installing a bathtub in a high-priced apartment nowadays would be considered extravagant, as it might end up being used for raising fish or as a large basin.

But in the current situation, a bathtub turned out to be a good choice.

After breakfast, Chen Mu, Dong Junwei, Tang Jing, Wei Dalei, and He Ying all gathered by the water reservoir.

Compared to showers, bathing at this time was more water-efficient. It only took about two or three drops of water to fill a bathtub that could accommodate a human.

After a discussion among the five of them, they chose a location not far from the water reservoir for the bathtub.

"Currently, we have a small number of people, so we can each have our own bathtub. However, in the future, we should still consider a more optimized shower solution."

"What about a communal bathhouse?"

"If the number of people reaches over 100, it might be possible, but drainage remains an issue. With the current size of these bathtubs, just pouring the water on the ground will evaporate it quickly. However, once it becomes a bathhouse, we might need to set up a drainage system."

"I have a question," He Ying suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"The weather is not a problem for bathing now, but what about winter? We won't have hot water."

"That depends on the team leader," Tang Jing smiled.

"Boiling water?" Dong Junwei suggested.

Tang Jing nodded, "My preliminary idea is to create a metal coil. Before everyone takes a bath, the team leader can heat it up. By calculating the temperature, length of the pipe, and water flow rate, we can control the water temperature."

"A water heater," Wei Dalei exclaimed.

"But does that mean the team leader will have to heat it up every time we take a bath in the future?"

Although it was a good idea, it sounded a bit impractical in the long run. They wouldn't be able to sustain it for too long.

"For now, it's the best we can do. With only a few of us and the materials available, there's not much we can accomplish," Tang Jing explained.

"Do you have any plans for the future?"

"From a technical perspective, centralized heating isn't that difficult."

"Building a big furnace?"

"That's also an option to consider, but the fuel aspect is more troublesome. In the beginning, it might be coal, and later on, natural gas. The principle isn't complicated, but the challenging part is the massive scale of the project and the need for remote control and automation. Otherwise, humans won't be able to approach the furnace, let alone operate it."

"So it's not achievable in the short term?"

"Yes," Tang Jing nodded. "The utilization of open flames has a low cost-effectiveness before we have a certain population base, and it comes with higher safety risks."

"Fire hazards?"

"Yes, with our current size, even a small flame would be difficult to put out, and flames don't care how big humans are. Once they ignite, we probably won't have time to escape."

Several people fell into silence, imagining what their chances of survival would be if this storage room caught fire while they were sleeping.

"What do you mean by centralized heating, then?"

"In fact, we have a relatively easy-to-obtain heat source," Tang Jing said, pointing to the outside window.

"Solar power!?"

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