When dinnertime came around that evening, Ye Fei was too stuffed to eat.
But he was surprised to see skewers of roasted mushrooms alongside the rabbit meat.
"Don’t worry, go ahead and eat. I’ve tried these mushrooms. They taste amazing, and there are no side effects after they’re cooked. At most, you’ll see a couple of little people dancing in front of your eyes, and you’ll feel super relaxed."
Luo Zai added with a grin, "Pure bliss for body and soul!"
"Uh..."
Ye Fei was momentarily stunned. He’d forgotten that Luo Zai was one of the Yunbei People.
Working long-term in Mine 301 came with the risk of inhaling radioactive dust, which significantly increased the chances of developing cancer later on.
So, even though the pay was high, it was hard to find workers. Most of them came from the Yun-Gui Mountains.
Ye Fei could already picture the scene of these mushrooms becoming a craze throughout the entire mine.
Not to mention, this stuff grew fast. With a bit of soil and wood, you could grow it right inside the mine!
Before long, the members of the Hunting Squad returned, and they too were full of praise for the taste of the mushrooms.
Everyone had initially been worried that the mushrooms might be poisonous or dangerous, but after trying them, those suspicions faded. Many people stopped being as wary of the mushrooms as they were of other Mutant Beasts.
Qin Jiezhou, on the other hand, curiously asked Ye Fei about the mushrooms.
Ye Fei answered truthfully that he had been too full and gone for a walk near the mine entrance, where he’d smelled a strange scent and noticed something was off.
It was just a "natural phenomenon," after all. There was nothing to hide. He even took the opportunity to demonstrate his Superpower.
"Maybe we can intentionally expand the cultivation area and surround this place with these mushrooms. They could serve as a form of protection and also attract rabbits to alleviate the food shortage."
Ye Fei suggested, taking the opening.
"That’s a good idea."
Qin Jiezhou nodded in appreciation.
Although he didn’t want to bother with those who couldn’t advance... he couldn’t just let them all starve to death, could he? If they could grow mushrooms to feed these people, it wasn’t a bad idea.
Most importantly, this kind of tedious but necessary chore was perfectly suited for the ordinary people who had no other Abilities.
But then another problem occurred to him. "What about the red Hallucinogenic Spores?"
When they knocked out animals, they would inevitably have a hallucinogenic effect on the Human Race as well.
Ye Fei had already anticipated this. He began to explain:
"My sense of smell is very sharp. I took a good whiff today, and the scent is on the Spores, which makes it heavy. If it hadn’t been so windy, I wouldn’t have smelled it at all. As long as we plant the mushrooms in the lower gullies and valleys around here, the Spores will act like mist and slowly sink downwards. They won’t pose much of a threat to the mine entrance, which is on higher ground. If we gather some gas masks, we can move around in the Spore clusters. It would be very convenient, whether for harvesting mushrooms for food or for luring a powerful Mutant Beast into them at a critical moment!"
"That’s right! We can use the mushrooms as a natural trap!"
Someone’s eyes lit up.
’This is so much better than fighting to the death!’
As soon as this suggestion was made, those who were previously uninterested started to get excited.
"Then we’ll need a very large patch of mushrooms. What we have now is far from enough." The source of this chapter is g.com.
Another team member spoke up.
"Exactly. That’s all the more reason to mobilize the ordinary people. They don’t have much to do anyway. We can organize them to plant mushrooms in some of the tunnels and around the mining area,"
Ye Fei said.
Everyone nodded in agreement with this proposal.
The Superpower Users, though they didn’t say it out loud, had all felt to some degree that the ordinary people were a burden. Now that they could actually serve a purpose, everyone was happy to see it.
That very night, the hundred-plus survivors in the mine sprang into action.
There was no need to mobilize them. After tasting the mushrooms, their inner farmer had been awakened. They all eagerly began planting mushrooms in the horizontal tunnels No. 3 and No. 4.
Just like that, lying on his bed, Ye Fei could clearly feel his Perception rapidly expanding. With his eyes closed, he could even "construct" the shape of the two tunnels based on the star-like dots of the mushrooms’ locations in his mind.
Because he was blind and needed someone to help with daily life, and Liu Ru still needed to check on his physical condition, Ye Fei had not moved into tunnel No. 0.
’Huh?’
Suddenly, Ye Fei noticed a small cluster of mushrooms continuously disappearing. It was... coming from tunnel No. 0, from Luo Zai’s room.
’That guy really loves his mushrooms. I hope he doesn’t get poisoned...’
Ye Fei couldn’t help but worry a little.
But on second thought, although the mushrooms still had hallucinogenic components, the concentration wasn’t high. Even if a Superpower User ate their fill, it wouldn’t be enough to kill them. It shouldn’t be a big problem.
"These mushrooms are really amazing. Outside, they grow all over the place, but in here, they only grow on the tunnel walls and sides, leaving a path for us. It makes planting them much more convenient."
"You don’t get it, do you? It’s mutation. If we can get smarter, so can the mushrooms."
"True... The rocks in our mine have started to glow. That’s probably a mutation too. A little mutation in the mushrooms is no surprise."
"Remember to lay down a layer of soil mixed with wood chips and rotten leaves before planting."
Outside his room, the survivors’ discussions could be heard.
Ye Fei felt a secret thrill as he listened. With the help of the survivors, the mushrooms were now growing easily in areas where they couldn’t before. Some people were even carefully tending to them.
Tunnel No. 3 was 800 meters long and tunnel No. 4 was 1000 meters long, both about 2 to 3 meters wide. There were also some wider rest areas. Mushrooms were now starting to spread through all these places.
’Sweet!’
Thanks to the survivors’ efforts, Ye Fei felt a warmth spreading through his body. His physical constitution was getting stronger. He tested it and found he could now micromanage 7 mushrooms at once. This meant that the growth of the mushrooms during this period had given him a 2-point increase in ’spirit.’
Correspondingly, his constitution and strength should have also increased by 2 points.
When he could only control 5 mushrooms, his Fist Power was 1000 jin. By that math, for every additional mushroom he could control, he gained 200 jin of Fist Power.
In other words, he had effortlessly gained an increase of 400 jin to his Fist Power!
’This is so much faster than Cultivation.’
Ye Fei was overjoyed.
The only regrettable thing was that they couldn’t just plant the mushrooms anywhere they wanted yet. After all, they were mutated mushrooms, and the Superpower Users of the Hunting Squad were still wary of them, afraid they would grow everywhere and become uncontrollable.
This was especially true for Liu Ru. As a doctor, her professional habits made her feel that this thing carried a risk of wound Infection and had to be handled with caution. Visit NovelPing for the full chapter.
Ye Fei didn’t have a good solution for this at the moment. He figured he could try to persuade everyone tomorrow.
As the mushrooms proliferated, his mind, which had been exhausted from Cultivation, recovered significantly. He immediately got out of bed, grabbed some Mutant Beast meat, and resumed practicing his Breathing Technique. The progress was slow—a single complete ’breath’ only granted 8 jin of strength—but every little bit counted. Ye Fei wouldn’t pass up any opportunity to obtain Extraordinary Power.
And so it went, until three hours later, when his mind was exhausted once again. He collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
「...」
What Ye Fei didn’t know was that, elsewhere, Luo Zai was indeed eating mushrooms—just not in the way he imagined.
Luo Zai felt that just roasting them wasn’t exciting enough. So he gathered a few old friends from his hometown, set up a pot, and started making a mushroom stew.
Mushroom stew was his specialty. He’d simmer it slowly over a low fire until the soup became rich and fragrant, then reduce the sauce over high heat.
This made the stew even more aromatic and delicious.
’All the good stuff is in the concentrate!’
"Mmm... Not bad, not bad."
Smacking his lips a couple of times, Luo Zai was very pleased with his mushroom stew.
But before he could savor more of the delicious flavor, he started to feel dizzy, and the whole world began to change colors. The large pot in front of him stretched and then compressed. When he looked up, the lights began to twist and dance, eventually forming into two dazzling, multi-colored humanoid figures that danced before him.
A goofy grin spread across Luo Zai’s face as he started happily singing and dancing along with the little figures.
When he finally came to his senses, he realized more than half an hour had passed.
"Awesome~"
Unlike most people, Luo Zai wasn’t satisfied yet. It was at this moment that he suddenly noticed he felt incredibly energetic, and his mental state was better than ever. This unexpected discovery made him think the hallucination hadn’t worn off.
Dubiously, he ate a piece of meat and began his Cultivation.
A dozen or so minutes later, he opened his eyes with delight.
"Holy shit! It really works! I’m about to rise up!"
He hurriedly continued his Cultivation.
At the same time, he added more mushrooms to the pot, continuing to reduce it over high heat to create more concentrate for later use.
The other Superpower Users from his hometown were stunned when they saw this. Once they snapped out of it, they all rushed toward the big pot.
Soon, as the fragrance of the mushrooms and the sound of people happily singing and dancing spread, more and more Superpower Users were drawn by the commotion and joined in.
"What are you all doing!"
Qin Jiezhou roared and lunged forward, grabbing Luo Zai, who was wiggling so hard half his ass was showing.
’It’s just mushroom soup, is it really worth all this? They’re all acting like maniacs!’
But soon, he too joined the party. He was even angry that these guys hadn’t told him sooner. ’Is this what I get for being the leader? Do I have to piss people off?’
The mushroom stew was just too amazing. Not only was it a blissful experience, but it also restored one’s spirit, allowing them to immediately resume Cultivation! For Qin Jiezhou, who advocated for advancing by any means necessary, this was the perfect Cultivation Potion.
And so, the situation in tunnel No. 0 quickly devolved into a rave...