By noon, Ye Fei stumbled out of Pit Sector 0, steadying himself against the wall. He was so full he felt like he was about to throw up. He decided to head for an air vent to recover.
Because it was the apocalypse, people finally didn’t have to go to work.
Inside the tunnels, you could see many people who hadn’t gone out for the day. They were scattered about, chatting. Some lay right on the ground as they talked, while others caught and roasted earthworms to eat, looking as if they had completely given up.
Meanwhile, just a single door away in Pit Sector 0, Luo Zai was training hard with his eyes shut tight. Stimulated by Spiritual Power, his body grew highly active and his temperature rose rapidly, causing white steam to rise slowly from his forehead.
Of course, Ye Fei could understand why these people had given up. After all, they risked their lives even when facing a mutant rabbit. Besides, not everyone was lying flat. Some were honing their weapons in preparation for the next expedition, while others were deep in discussion, trying to figure out a way to awaken a Superpower without venturing outside, or hoping to commission a Superpower User to create a special weapon.
For most people, there were only two goals at the moment: survive, and become a Superpower User.
’But what they don’t know is that even if you risk everything to become a Superpower User, it’s only the beginning. Not only can you not relax, but you have to fight even harder. Plus, Superpower Users are the primary targets for Mutant Beasts...’
Right now, Ye Fei’s mind was a blur, his head was buzzing, and his stomach was churning.
In just one morning, his attitude had gone from ’Cultivation? Sounds interesting!’ to ’Cultivation? Bleh!’
’Besides, Cultivation itself isn’t easy.’ Ye Fei had discovered that the ’Breathing Technique’ wasn’t without its costs. ’Each breath requires me to use my consciousness to visualize things. Is this essentially consuming my consciousness to transport Spiritual Power, or maybe causing some kind of "chemical reaction" on a conscious level?’
In any case, it consumed a tremendous amount of mental energy, leaving Ye Fei feeling increasingly exhausted and filled with a deep sense of emptiness. He couldn’t muster the energy to think or do anything else.
Still, Ye Fei forced himself to focus and summarize his first Cultivation session.
’My Talent for perceiving Spiritual Power is quite strong; I could sense it right from the start.’
’My Cultivation Talent for the Breathing Technique itself is average. It takes me 30 minutes to complete a single cycle.’
’But once the Spiritual Power enters my body, its effect on enhancing and transforming me is subpar.’
’When others expend "one unit of energy" to acquire "one unit of Spiritual Power," they gain 20 pounds of strength. For me, it’s not even half that—only 8 pounds.’
’My body’s Talent for absorption and conversion is abysmally bad.’
’According to Luo Zai, his own level was already the floor of the squad. I didn’t think it was possible to go lower, but here I am, down in the gutter.’
’I’ve noticed my vision, sense of smell, and even my reaction speed have all been enhanced.’
’In other words, the results of my Cultivation are being distributed evenly across my entire body. I’m being transformed by the Spiritual Power in a balanced way, unlike others who focus narrowly on a few areas like strength and speed.’
What’s more... Just then, Ye Fei reached the entrance of Pit Sector 0. A little further ahead was the main mine exit. A ray of sunlight streamed through a crack in the iron gate, illuminating the side of his face. He glanced outside and saw a mushroom growing quietly, facing the wind and the Sun, its Spores drifting on the breeze. A smile spread across Ye Fei’s face. ’It doesn’t matter if my Talent is lacking. I have a cheat!’
’A true physical cheat—the mushroom!’
At that very moment, an idea struck Ye Fei like a bolt of lightning. ’Imagine myself as a plant... breathe... Strictly speaking, some of my body organs *are* mushrooms! Fungi might be their own kingdom, but they’re still pretty similar to plants, right?’
’I wonder what would happen if I just think of myself as a mushroom?’
Spurred by the thought, Ye Fei rushed back to Pit Sector 0. He found the dining table, stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth, and, while dry-heaving, "connected" to the mushroom.
HUMMM~ Amidst a field of Crimson vision—mushroom, activate!
As the mushroom’s senses fully connected with his, it became easy for Ye Fei to think of himself as a mushroom. He didn’t even need to hypnotize himself—it was simply a fact.
Ye Fei tried to "will" his Fungal Hyphae to absorb Spiritual Power. A moment later, he watched as Spiritual Power drifted over and fused into his body.
HUMMM!
That familiar sensation of pleasure erupted once more. A jolt shot through Ye Fei’s body as if he’d been electrocuted, and his eyes snapped open.
This time, his eyes were filled with elation.
’It worked!’
’The Breathing Technique has been simplified for me like never before! I can skip the hardest part—the self-hypnosis—entirely. As long as I connect to the mushroom, I can absorb Spiritual Power instantly!’
’And the time? Ten minutes!’
’Haha!’
’That’s three times faster than when I struggled through the self-hypnosis method. My Cultivation efficiency has skyrocketed!’
Moreover, Ye Fei made another surprising discovery. The very act of connecting to and controlling the mushroom counted as using his Superpower, providing the same training benefits that other Superpower Users experienced.
’Vigorous use of my Superpower means I can digest food faster, which in turn increases the total amount of Spiritual Power I can acquire.’
’Even better, by connecting to the mushroom and focusing all my Perception on it, I can temporarily block out most of the input from my human organs. This reduces the misery of eating that disgusting food by ninety percent. The positive feedback is maxed out!’
’Awesome~’
’A physical cheat is really the way to go~ The mushroom is invincible!’
Ye Fei immediately got up and returned to the entrance of the main mine tunnel.
He remembered that outside Mine 301, there used to be a large, flat clearing halfway up the mountainside, paved with concrete and gravel to serve as a parking area for equipment. Two rows of office buildings stood not far from it.
But now, peering through the crack in the iron gate, he saw that these man-made structures had been completely upended by wildly growing plant roots. Some roots were thicker than a person’s waist, arching out of the ground like great earth dragons and causing the concrete and buildings to shatter. At a glance, the scene looked like ruins that had been abandoned for centuries.
His gaze followed the cracked earth and the dense, tentacle-like vines down the steep slope to the left of the mine entrance. The garbage dump that used to be there was completely gone, replaced by a large cluster of mushrooms.
He had only been able to sense them before, but now, seeing them with his own eyes, Ye Fei felt a surge of accomplishment. These were the fruits of his labor from last night.
’But this is far from enough. I’ll keep at it today!’
After making a quick visual plan, Ye Fei began to control the mushrooms’ growth.
Before long, as a ray of sunlight pierced through the forest, the rabbit that had eaten its fill the day before returned. This time, Ye Fei could see it clearly: a fat, heavily mutated rabbit. It had Crimson eyes, sharp claws, and was as large as a husky. Its tongue lolled out, drool dripping, the picture of impatience.
To Ye Fei’s delight, the rabbit hadn’t come to get high alone; it had generously brought its family along.
The other two rabbits were clearly new to this. They cautiously observed their surroundings at first, but upon seeing the veteran rabbit chow down, they relaxed their guard and began to feast joyfully.
Clearly, the delicious, juicy mushrooms suited the rabbits’ tastes perfectly. More importantly, Ye Fei noticed that as they ate, they grew dazed. Their hops became unsteady, as if they were drunk.
’Are they... poisoned?’
Ye Fei was surprised.
’Looks like the slime that evolved on the Mushroom Caps is toxic!’
After observing for a while longer, he discovered that the toxin secreted by the mushrooms wasn’t lethal; rather, it was hallucinogenic. Judging by the way the rabbits were acting, they were experiencing the blissful high of an overdose.
Apparently, this "high" was the primary reason compelling them to keep eating the mushrooms.