As a Charming Mushroom, I Fell into the Apocalypse (MUSHROOM)
A child's intuition sometimes comes faster than an adult's. Xiao Bao only realized something was wrong when he looked down and noticed Hui Gu, who had been comfortably nestled in his pocket, had bristled up at some point.
Hui Gu hissed at the suddenly appeared person like a small animal.
Xiao Bao immediately sensed danger and instinctively tried to run, but was grabbed by a hand.
Excruciating pain shot through his shoulder—fingernails seemed to dig deep into his flesh. Biting his lip to suppress a cry of pain, Xiao Bao twisted his body, struggling to break free.
His face flushed red: "Nothing! There's nothing!"
The spider possessing the young man instantly darkened its expression.
The young man spoke ominously: "Give him to me."
Amidst the crowd, he had immediately caught the unique scent of the mushroom.
It was a treasure unlike any other life form possessed—a treasure that should belong to him alone.
For a moment, his pale face contorted unnaturally, and saliva rapidly filled his mouth.
In desperation, Xiao Bao bit down hard on the young man's hand.
Yet the other showed no expression, merely flicking his hand and sending Xiao Bao tumbling to the ground.
"Ah!" Xiao Bao rolled twice before crashing into a wall and lying still, his vision blurring with spots of color.
Hui Gu was also thrown from the shallow pocket by the force of the motion.
Stripped of cover, the tiny mushroom lay pitifully on the ground.
The young man's originally pale face flushed with an unnatural redness: "L-long time no see."
Hui Gu glanced back at Xiao Bao, who had lost consciousness from the impact, his hands still instinctively trying to cover his pocket.
Perhaps this was for the best.
Hui Gu withdrew his gaze and looked up, emitting a low, threatening growl at the spider: Get lost!
Unexpectedly, instead of retreating, the spider seemed even more excited by the scolding.
"M-more, say more." The human-like pupils gradually shifted to green, revealing a beastly greed and possessiveness.
The commotion drew the attention of others. The new human left on guard duty, under Gu Wang's orders to look after Xiao Bao, turned and saw Xiao Bao lying unconscious on the ground. Startled, he immediately started heading over.
Tch, bothersome humans.
The young man frowned in displeasure, reached out, and swiftly took Hui Gu away. Using the gathering crowd as cover, he quickly left the scene.
Everything went dark. Only when all other sounds faded, leaving only the spider's heavy breathing in his ears, was Hui Gu released.
He leaped out abruptly, muttering a stream of curses only mushrooms could understand.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, he was still shocked by what he saw.
As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest. He never expected it to bring him back to that laboratory.
Even though all the corpses had been removed by Gu Wang's orders, Hui Gu could still sense it—the lingering scent of blood that hadn't fully dissipated.
If not for that, he might not have recognized the place so quickly.
The laboratory had long lost its cold, technological feel, replaced by a sinister atmosphere. As far as the eye could see, everything was covered in white spider silk, resembling a massive natural cocoon cave.
Hui Gu scanned the surroundings, closed his eyes, and thought to himself.
It's finally come to this.
This damn sense of déjà vu.
Making his mushroom cap ache faintly again.
The young man tilted his head, his expression appearing genuinely innocent: "My treasure..."
His pupils had completely turned deep green, with faint signs of expanding further.
"Chirp!" Shut up!
Hui Gu looked at him with utter disgust.
When he had previously subdued a group of followers, other insects called him Mushroom King, or at the very least, Big Brother.
This ugly spider that looked like it had albinism insisted on calling him master, and after revealing its twisted possessiveness, it switched to this even more disgusting form of address.
The more Hui Gu thought about it, the angrier he became, almost puffing up.
The spider's covetous desire was completely undisguised in its eyes. It reached out to touch him but was nimbly avoided.
It wasn't angry, instead laughing like a human, neurotically asking: "Wh-why so unhappy? Aren't you glad to see me?"
Its speech grew increasingly fluent, finally becoming completely smooth.
Hui Gu coldly watched its madness.
After asking himself several times, the young man suddenly had an epiphany: "Did I do something wrong?"
He abruptly looked up at their surroundings: "This nest isn't perfect enough, right? Give me a bit more time."
To rush and see Hui Gu, he had only spent half an hour building the nest, leaving many areas incomplete.
This wouldn't do. For his gift, it must be perfect.
The young man opened his mouth, beginning to spew large amounts of white silk. The spider threads squirmed continuously upon emerging, spreading outward, moving toward corners and dead ends, even beginning to fill the glass container.
Within an hour, these spider threads would start covering both floor and ceiling, leaving no place to step. Anyone entering would become like a trapped animal in a snare.
Even if controlled by then, escaping this nest would be extremely difficult.
Hui Gu immediately opened his Mushroom Cap, revealing the white soft interior, while numerous spores carrying unique Enchantment pheromones drifted out.
So fragrant, so fragrant...
White Spider's pupils instantly contracted into thin slits, then exploded outward to cover the entire eyeball, until both eyes completely turned green.
The silk secretion from its mouth stopped as it uncontrollably nearly revealed its insect form. Its originally pale face flushed red, emitting strange sounds from its mouth, back arching unconsciously, eyes becoming moist as it looked at Hui Gu.
I like this, I like it so much.
But it's also so uncomfortable - resisting the nest-building instinct during courtship is so painful.
Hui Gu paid no mind, using pheromones to command: Cease nest-building behavior.
White Spider hesitated momentarily, its previously decent features twisting slightly from struggle, yet pretentiously unwilling to abandon human form, appearing neither human nor ghost.
It squeezed hoarse sounds from its throat, unclear whether from excessive pleasure or pain, completely losing composure.
Hui Gu intensified the pheromones, commanding again: Stop!
The fragrance acted like an invisible net, capturing all creatures it contacted, turning them into enchanted loyal hounds and puppets.
These pheromones were trapped inside the dense white spider silk unable to escape, all greedily absorbed by White Spider.
It ultimately stopped spewing silk, kneeling to look at Hui Gu, voice full of grievance: "My treasure, keep commanding me..."
The surrounding white spider silk began to surge with excitement, as if trying to engulf them in a white tide.
White Spider retracted its pupils back to a human-like appearance, tilting its head as it leaned on its own hand. "I like it. I like being commanded by you."
Hui Gu concealed his current panic with indifference. "Gu."
Then I command you to die.
Even just hearing the sound, White Spider's reaction was intense. Its breathing grew sticky as it panted. "No, choose something else, my treasure."
Of course, it wasn't because it couldn't bear to die itself—it couldn't bear the thought of losing Hui Gu after death.
Such a beautiful, precious treasure should belong to it alone.
If it died, the poor Mushroom would fall into the hands of other mutant creatures or even humans.
They all deserve to die—every existence that covets him must die!!
White Spider's expression abruptly shifted, turning damp and gloomy like moss sprouting from the earth.
It thought of that damned Titan Arum, which, relying on its higher level, tried to snatch the treasure away. It had nearly been killed.
Severely wounded and half-dead, it barely managed to escape. But losing combat ability in the wasteland was almost equivalent to death.
Probably, the Titan Arum assumed it was doomed and didn’t pursue it far from the Mushroom.
If it hadn’t encountered those foolish humans who arrogantly tried to control it, it might have truly died.
Thinking of humans, White Spider’s face grew even darker.
And that man who suddenly appeared... Who knows how long he had been with the treasure? He carried the treasure’s unique scent all over him.
The fragrant, precious treasure had been tainted by a human. It would have to lick him clean later.
That man had also killed the offspring it had split off. With old grudges and new grievances combined, it was determined to turn him into its nourishment.
Ah, right, doesn’t the treasure like him very much?
When the time comes, it will cut off his head and give it to the treasure as a gift.
The treasure will surely be very happy. It hasn’t heard him laugh in so long.
Watching White Spider, lost in some fantasy with its expression constantly shifting, Hui Gu fell silent.
He suddenly felt a twinge of regret. Perhaps he should have resisted more fiercely earlier and not fallen so easily into its grasp.
How could this thing seem even crazier after dying once?
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