The pit had been dug down to the layer of Fungal Hyphae, so Ye Fei perceived it immediately.
Ugh... blood. And quite a lot of it.
It was a period.
The corner of Ye Fei’s mouth twitched.
He felt like some kind of perverted peeping tom.
Ye Fei was a veteran when it came to pervy video games—the stalking sims, the subway scenarios, the artificial girlfriends. This situation felt disturbingly familiar. He immediately suppressed his inner pervert.
’Focus!’
At the same time, as the Fungal Hyphae spread and touched the blood, an intense desire to devour washed over him.
’This... this feels even better than the earthworms did.’
’Was devouring human blood the best choice all along?’
Ye Fei suddenly realized that after agonizing over it for so long, he had ended up right back where he started.
’If the mushroom was still growing on my body, this damn Evolution would have been finished ages ago! I wouldn’t have even felt this step!’
But on second thought, that didn’t seem right.
Because when he looked at himself, he didn’t feel that same intense craving.
Even with Luo Zai last time, it wasn’t as strong as it was with Liu Ru now.
At first, Ye Fei thought he was just pent-up, that his own lust for her was getting mixed in with the sensation. But thinking about it carefully now, it seemed more likely that ordinary humans were simply the most suitable targets for devouring. And Liu Ru was the perfect ordinary human!
HSSS~
SIZZLE~
The Fungal Hyphae grew rapidly over the sanitary pad. Ye Fei had thought the devouring process would take a long time, but to his surprise, the mushroom underwent a drastic change the instant it absorbed the first drop of blood.
BUZZ~
A searing heat transmitted from the mushroom and surged through Ye Fei’s body.
Following that, just like last time, he felt the mushroom become scorching hot. Then came a hollow feeling in his mind, as if the entire mushroom organ had been paralyzed and forced offline. But soon, more than a dozen different perceptions flooded in. The impact made Ye Fei’s head spin.
He sensed it carefully:
There were 13 sensations. The extra one from the previous Evolution was no longer an empty void; it had become incredibly specific and clear!
To Ye Fei’s surprise, as the mushroom evolved, he noticed his own physical attributes were also rapidly strengthening.
He looked over at Liu Ru. Before, he could only make out the rough shape of the medical kit, but now his vision was sharpening, and he could clearly see the red words "First Aid Kit" on the box.
This Evolution was even shorter than the last, and everything returned to normal after about three minutes. New chapters come out on g.com first.
From the outside, the mushroom didn’t seem to have changed at all.
But this mushroom was Ye Fei’s extra "arm." It was like his underwear—whether it was hot or cold, tight or loose, no one else could tell, but he could feel it with perfect clarity.
Ye Fei could easily tell that the mushroom’s growth ability had improved. There were fewer constraints on its growth patterns; this "arm" had become more flexible.
At the same time, the mushroom had grown another type of Fungal Hyphae. These hyphae were so fine they were almost invisible to the naked eye, their diameter only a tenth of a human hair. Even with his enhanced vision, he could barely see them when they caught the light. As these hyphae grew denser, they took on a faint red color, resembling the network of capillaries in a human body.
Furthermore, these hyphae would quickly wither and die in a normal environment, but they had an extremely strong Adaptability to the slightly alkaline environment of human flesh and blood.
Ye Fei perceived that its growth speed in Liu Ru’s blood was more than ten times faster than outside, and aside from increased oxygen consumption, it showed no signs of incompatibility.
This trait left Ye Fei utterly shocked.
’This specific Evolution is clearly related to devouring human blood... No, it must be the human genes contained within the blood!’
After obtaining human genes, the mushroom’s ’Adaptability’ to the human body’s environment had been significantly enhanced.
An idea struck Ye Fei. He let some Spores fall onto a small cut he’d made on his hand. Just as he expected, the Spores rapidly spread and grew over it. His immune system reacted only slightly with a faint stinging pain, but once the hallucinogenic toxin was secreted, it allowed the Doomsday Fungus Infection to spread freely.
’Holy shit! Is it going to infect the whole world?’
Excited, Ye Fei grabbed a live earthworm to continue his experiment. When the Spores landed in a wound on it, they were killed off quickly, not even lasting as long as the white Fungal Hyphae.
Apparently, the red Fungal Hyphae were a specialized organ that had evolved specifically to target the Human Race.
While this result was slightly disappointing, Ye Fei also felt a sense of relief.
"Thank you, Liu Ru. And thank you for this timely period."
"If I’d chosen to devour the earthworm back then, the Infection Ability that evolved would have been targeted at earthworms, and its usefulness would have been drastically reduced."
Suppressing his excitement, Ye Fei returned to his room and began to update the records in his mind:
[Observation Record of the External Organ Doomsday Fungus]
[Appearance]: Almost no change in external appearance. Mushroom height has increased to 10-50 cm, with the Fungus Rod diameter reaching 3-30 cm. Texture is soft, porous, and juicy. The Mushroom Cap can secrete a viscous fluid that oxidizes into a red Hallucinogen upon contact with air. Emits a rich aroma when cooked. Two types of Fungal Hyphae exist: white nutrient hyphae, which can decompose organic matter to digest and absorb nutrients; and red flesh hyphae, which are extremely adept at growing in human flesh and can cause parasitic Infection.
[Quantity]: 65,000 (Divided into 2 large Mushroom Communities, one in the ravine around the mine, one inside the tunnels of Mine 301).
[Abilities]: Rapid Growth, Spore Diffusion, Fungal Infection (Preliminary parasitism possible? Effects?).
[Organs]: Mushroom Cap, Fungal Hyphae, Fungus Rod, Spores.
[Evolutions]: Hallucinogenic, Gigantification.
[Evolution Method]: Devouring Evolution (Accumulates a flow of heat, causing the mushroom to enter a scorching state. The heat requirement increases significantly with each Evolution).
[Summary]: After a special ’Devouring Evolution’, the Doomsday Fungus has clearly integrated some of Liu Ru’s human genes, thereby gaining the ability to camouflage itself as a human organ. Its overall quality has improved, specifically in its stronger ’Perception Ability’ and ’Adaptability’. In addition to its ’hallucinogenic’ toxin, it now possesses a stealthier and more fatal ’Infection’ Ability!
After updating the Doomsday Fungus’s changes, Ye Fei tested his own physical condition. He found that the number of mushrooms he could micromanage had increased from the original 7 to 10. This meant he had gained an additional 600 jin of Fist Power. This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.
His total Fist Power easily broke the 2,000 jin mark.
"I guess I’m a true Neo-Human now."
Ye Fei murmured, recording his current Power: 2,400 jin of Fist Power.
This level of Power was already close to Luo Zai’s, which was a pleasant surprise.
However, from a human perspective, this progress wasn’t that exaggerated—it was just okay. From the captain’s perspective, he’d still have a long way to go.
But the mushroom’s progress, no matter how you looked at it, was absolutely absurd.
In less than a week, it had transformed from a delicious and harmless food into a terrifying creature capable of infecting humans.
Once it breached the host’s immune system, the mushroom could come and go from their body as it pleased.
It might not be fatal, but like a stubborn case of psoriasis, it would accompany them for life, impossible to ever get rid of.
Not to mention, this fungus was actually backed by human intelligence!
Ye Fei was very satisfied with this Ability. It meant that the idea Xu Yi had inspired in him now had a practical foundation.
Next, he could try to have the mushroom infect and parasitize humans.
’No, this can’t be called parasitism.’
’Parasitism is a one-way street. What I’m doing is called symbiosis.’
’Mutually beneficial.’
There are trillions of symbiotic bacteria in the human body; examples are plentiful.
The most famous is lactobacillus. There are also some more harmful parasitic infections, like tooth decay and athlete’s foot.
When the Doomsday Fungus infects a human body, it doesn’t have to grow a mushroom. Just letting the finest red Fungal Hyphae grow would be enough. When necessary, it could even secrete the Hallucinogen to be used as a painkiller or a Potion to restore one’s spirit.
’This is way better than having to cook mushroom soup every time!’
Of course, infectious symbiosis was a complex matter. Just as lactobacillus enhances gastrointestinal function, the Doomsday Fungus Infection should have other effects as well. Ye Fei was very much looking forward to finding out what they were.
More importantly, this would deeply bind the entire Shelter to the mushroom.
In the future, everyone would spend more effort researching the mushroom, and its development would become the Shelter’s top priority.
And Ye Fei, without anyone knowing, could reap immeasurable benefits from it all.
Just thinking about it made him eager to announce this great discovery to everyone.
"This is one small step for my genetic ascension, but one giant leap for the evolution of the Human Race."