As a Charming Mushroom, I Fell into the Apocalypse (MUSHROOM)
Yu Zhenxin's words had swayed many people. Those who had been clamoring moments ago fell silent.
Everyone yearned for stability. If things were truly as he described...
Not everyone could accept this rhetoric, but at least it temporarily suppressed much of the dissent.
Yu Zhenxin struck while the iron was hot: "The most urgent matter now is to find it, or the entire Shelter will become its hunting ground."
This concerned everyone's interests. Finally, someone spoke up: "Then what should we do now?"
"I'm only C-Class. Going after that high-level mutant creature would be like sending a lamb into a tiger's den."
They began chattering again, and gradually, all eyes turned to Gu Wang.
Yu Zhenxin wore an expression of deep remorse, lowering his narrow, fox-like eyes: "Mr. Gu, I may have offended you before, but the situation is critical. I hope you can help us."
He bowed deeply, putting on a seemingly sincere display of submission: "Until we work together to capture it, I am willing to follow your command completely."
Even the director was adopting such a humble posture, so the others quickly followed suit, uttering similar words.
Gu Wang stood motionless, a trace of coldness flashing through his dark eyes as a faint, mocking smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
What a familiar scene.
They lifted him high, hoping he would abandon everything to become the sun in this post-apocalyptic world.
They hailed him as the supreme commander while hiding ulterior motives, waiting for the right moment to turn on him and pave their own paths.
An endless expanse of crimson spread in his eyes, his vision blurring for a moment. The unknown beast in his heart slammed against the shackles of reason, and his heart ached as if pierced by thorns.
A soft snort, audible only to him, suddenly sounded.
Gu Wang lowered his head and glimpsed through the open pocket the puffed-up mushroom.
The strange thoughts vanished instantly, and he unconsciously let out a soft laugh.
Whoever had provoked him had made the little fellow so angry it seemed to have swollen.
Sensing the gaze upon him, Hui Gu looked up and fell straight into those eyes tinged with faint amusement.
Hui Gu was momentarily stunned, then couldn't help shaking his head.
Good heavens, the human he had picked up was truly foolish—about to be used by others, yet still grinning stupidly.
Hearing no response from Gu Wang for a long time, Yu Zhenxin's unease began to spread.
Just as he couldn't resist the urge to look up, he finally heard the man give a noncommittal hum.
Yu Zhenxin straightened up as if relieved of a heavy burden: "Then we must act without delay. Shall we go look for it now?"
Gu Wang: "No. The first priority is to ensure no more victims appear in the Shelter."
"I want you to lift the restrictions between the new human and ordinary human zones immediately. Everyone must gather together to prevent isolated infections."
His tone was utterly calm, yet brooked no argument.
The others exchanged glances, but no one dared raise any objections, scattering in a flurry to assist.
...
Something major had happened in the Shelter.
Everyone could feel it—they were all gathered together like rootless duckweed. Both ordinary humans and new humans appeared utterly powerless in the face of high-level calamities.
Some noisy sounds traveled through the air to a corner that should have been deserted.
"No... don't."
A murmur came from a dead end rarely passed by anyone.
A boy crouched beside a broken vending machine, having hidden for twenty-four hours without consuming even a drop of water. His lips were pale and peeling, his eyes bloodshot.
Even so, upon hearing the sounds of the gathering crowd outside, he fearfully shrank deeper into his hiding spot, clutching himself tightly.
Can't go over there, there are monsters...!
This was the same boy who had been intimate with Yellow Hair that night and witnessed his gruesome death.
He had neither family nor friends in the Shelter. Before the apocalypse, he'd been a minor model, and after arriving here, he'd relied on selling his looks to exchange for food.
After Yellow Hair's death, no one remembered him anymore.
The boy hardly dared close his eyes—whenever darkness fell, he'd recall that bloody scene.
That face that clearly remained human, yet behaved no differently from a mutant creature.
She had been infected.
Were there others infected too?
Perhaps he was the only living person left.
Maybe everyone else had already turned into monsters.
Overwhelming panic and anxiety tormented him.
A strange movement came from above, and the boy thought he was hallucinating again in his daze.
Until the sound grew closer, more real.
He finally couldn't help but look up.
Eight pairs of gleaming green eyes reflected his pale face, their slightly bulging eyeballs appearing grotesquely distorted.
The monster had been observing him from above for who knew how long.
The boy's mouth fell open: "Ah—mmph!"
His scream had barely begun when it was abruptly cut short, replaced by painful retching and choking sounds.
After Spider gave him a greedy smile, it directly leaped down, its basketball-sized body forcing its way into his mouth.
It squeezed downward bit by bit, pushing deep into his throat, insect limbs frantically prying at the corners of his mouth.
Blood slowly trickled from his nose, eyes, and ears. At first, the boy struggled desperately, weakly waving his arms and kicking his legs against the ground.
Gradually, he began losing strength—his hands stopped flailing, his legs gave one final violent kick, then went completely still.
Only the breathless corpse of a boy remained on the ground, Spider nowhere to be seen.
A bizarre bulge squirmed in the corpse's abdomen, then slowly disappeared, completely merging.
After another ten minutes or so, the boy who had previously died suddenly opened his eyes wide and sat up stiffly from the ground, his movements appearing somewhat eerily rigid.
He raised his hand to wipe away the fresh blood that had just seeped from his face, then slowly stood up as if rusted, his wounds rapidly healing until they disappeared completely.
Using the reflective glass of a vending machine to examine his current appearance, Spider smiled with satisfaction.
However, he was still unskilled at it, making the smile appear stiff and unnatural.
He touched his face again.
There were no disgusting eight pairs of eyes—only human features.
Yes, exactly like this.
Now he had become just like those humans.
Could Mushroom like him now?
Mushroom... his Mushroom... come back to me soon.
This time, I will be even more careful and cautious. I will use all my effort to create the strongest Spider Web, so he can never leave me again.
For a moment, the boy's irises turned green before quickly reverting to a light brown, yet the unsettling smile on his face remained unchanged.
……
Gathering everyone and ensuring their safety was no easy task.
Hui Gu followed Gu Wang from inside his pocket, listening to the man's methodical commands, but eventually couldn't resist drowsiness and began to doze off.
Until a familiar voice sounded nearby, jolting the previously bored Hui Gu awake. With a soft plop, he popped his head out of Gu Wang's pocket.
Gu Wang hadn't expected the usually obedient mushroom to suddenly emerge and didn't cover him in time.
"Xiao Hui!?" Xiao Bao exclaimed in delight, tears still streaking his cheeks. But the moment he saw the mushroom, his long-gloomy mood finally brightened considerably.
Gu Wang's furrowed brows relaxed abruptly, a rare look of confusion crossing his face. "You've met him before?"
Xiao Bao nodded, wiping away his tears as he recounted his previous encounter with Xiao Hui in detail, his gaze filled with undisguised affection as he looked at Hui Gu.
So it was from the last time the mushroom had sneaked away.
Fortunately, he had encountered a child. If it had been any random adult, he might have truly ended up as Roasted Mushroom.
Gu Wang sighed silently and tapped Hui Gu lightly with his finger, carrying a hint of warning.
The touch was so gentle that Hui Gu mistook it for a caress.
Hui Gu leaped onto Xiao Bao, who hastily reached out to catch him, afraid he might fall.
Gu Wang knew what Xiao Bao had come to ask. He hadn't intended to deliberately conceal the truth about Xiao Bao's mother's death, but for such a young child, now was not the right time to reveal it.
At the very least, they needed to wait until everything was settled and all potential threats were resolved.
Hui Gu's appearance undoubtedly provided temporary comfort to Xiao Bao, who had been anxious and frightened for so long. Gently cradling Hui Gu, he stared unblinkingly at him. "You're so adorable, so soft."
Hui Gu snorted proudly, putting on a haughty little display.
If he had hands, they would definitely be on his hips right now.
Watching them, Gu Wang began to form another idea.
He bent down slightly to address the two young ones, his tone turning serious. "I need to join the search next. The target is a high-level mutant creature with an unknown rank."
Xiao Bao nodded nervously.
Gu Wang continued, "He's very timid. Bringing him along to a fight might scare him."
He glanced pointedly at Hui Gu.
Hui Gu looked around in confusion.
Timid? Who? Definitely not him, the Mushroom King.
He didn't see anyone else, only Xiao Bao.
Oh, so it's this little human.
Hui Gu nodded as if he understood too.
The human and the mushroom reached a mutual understanding.
A flicker of amusement passed through Gu Wang's eyes before quickly vanishing: "So I hope you can temporarily watch over him for a while and make sure he isn't discovered by others."
He'd been entrusted with a task.
Xiao Bao opened his mouth in surprise and nodded repeatedly.
Hui Gu glanced at Xiao Bao, his beady eyes narrowing: Take care of him?
For the Mushroom King, it would be a piece of cake.
But why should he listen...
Before Hui Gu could finish his thought, Gu Wang reached out and ruffled his mushroom cap.
"So obedient."
Hui Gu: ...
He stared at Gu Wang for a long moment, then snorted and lowered his head.
Fine, he'd help just this once.
After watching Gu Wang disappear into the distance, Xiao Bao nervously tucked Hui Gu securely into his pocket: "Let's go hide first."
He ran into the crowd and found a relatively safe spot to sit.
Being short, he didn't attract much attention from those around him.
Xiao Bao lowered his head, pretending to play while talking to himself, but actually whispering quietly to Hui Gu: "Xiao Hui, are you scared?"
Suddenly, a shadow fell over him. Xiao Bao looked up in confusion and suddenly met a stranger's face.
A delicate-looking young man gave him a slightly stiff smile: "H-hello there."
He crouched down, suddenly closing the distance between them. His wide-open eyes remained unblinking as if they never grew tired.
This person was strange, and he spoke with a bit of a stutter.
Remembering his mother's past advice about not talking to strangers, Xiao Bao covered his pocket and shrank back. Just as he turned to run, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
The young man leaned even closer. When he opened his mouth, there seemed to be a faint fishy smell. His gaze slid downward, fixed intently on the pocket as he spoke word by word: "What's... in your... pocket?"
He tilted his head, his neck emitting an eerie cracking sound.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
The completed novel is now available in my Ko-fi page.
If you appreciate what I do, please consider supporting me on kofi. Thank you!
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•