As a Charming Mushroom, I Fell into the Apocalypse (MUSHROOM)
The moment the crash sounded from behind the door, Hui Gu froze like a startled cat, his blue eyes glistening with helpless moisture.
Without hesitation, he turned and retreated into the stairwell.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood—Gu Wang had activated his supernatural ability, and there was a high risk of it spiraling out of control.
Having been by his side for so long, the last time Hui Gu had sensed such a palpable leakage of his energy was back in the White Spider Nest.
He must have found out I sneaked out again.
But why is he so furious?
Hui Gu couldn’t understand it. He only felt certain that the other man wouldn’t want to see him like this. So, with a soft puji sound, he reverted to his true form, wriggling his way out from under his clothes.
He quickly bundled the garments and stuffed them into a hidden corner.
Only then did he cautiously approach the doorway.
A man’s agonized scream tore through the air.
Hui Gu: ?
This doesn’t seem right.
He peeked inside, sneaking a furtive glance.
Xiao Lai, resembling a heap of battered flesh, flew past him in a perfect parabolic arc.
With a loud thud, he crashed into a liquor cabinet near the entrance before sliding to the floor, unable to get up, only moaning in pain.
Why is he here?
Before Hui Gu could ponder further—
Gu Wang emerged from the room radiating hostility, lifting him up with one hand while narrowing his eyes with a murderous glint. "Where is he?"
The two-hundred-pound weight felt as light as casually picking up a stray dog on the roadside. With just a little more force, he could snap this neck.
"You really have someone hidden in your room!" Xiao Lai strained his neck, his face flushing red from obstructed blood flow. "I was about to ask you the same thing!"
He choked and coughed repeatedly. Having been accustomed to throwing his weight around the base, even though Gu Wang's strength far surpassed his, he believed the other was just a lone individual who wouldn't dare oppose the forces behind him.
He shouted loudly, "I'm not here for you! I'm looking for that Little Beauty! You have no right to restrict anyone's personal freedom!"
That platinum-haired Little Beauty hadn't shown his face since that day. Judging others by himself, Xiao Lai was convinced Gu Wang must have imprisoned him.
Even if that weren't the case, someone so beautiful must be suffering by following a disfigured freak like Gu Wang. He couldn't just stand by and watch the person he fell for at first sight sink into misery.
Growing increasingly agitated, he felt like he was playing the hero saving the beauty. The surge of adrenaline prevented him from clearly assessing the situation, and he even dared to yell at Gu Wang.
Gu Wang tightened his grip, veins bulging on his well-defined forearm, radiating a beast-like power.
He let out a cold laugh, the violence in his eyes no longer containable. "Nonsense."
Xiao Lai could no longer breathe. His small eyes, forced wide open, met Gu Wang's lone wolf gaze where killing intent was clearly visible. Only then did he feel true terror.
He... he's really going to kill me...
Shrouded by the shadow of death, he kicked his legs like a large toad but couldn't break free from the restraint. His fear was reaching its peak.
Just before losing consciousness, he was thrown to the ground like trash, dizzy and with his heart racing to the extreme until a white foam starting to spill from his mouth.
The reason Gu Wang spared him wasn't due to hesitation or soft-heartedness, but because he noticed the Little Gray Mushroom hesitantly watching from the doorway.
While Hui Gu was still peeking, the man had already taken large strides to stand before him, lifting him up.
After a slight sway, he found himself standing in the man's palm, meeting his gaze.
Gu Wang's tone carried unconscious anxiety. "Why did you go out?"
Hui Gu's mind worked somewhat slowly. From what just happened, he could only piece together the general situation.
This stinky fatty knew Gu Wang had gone to work, leaving him hidden alone at home, and had used some illegal means to break in trying to find him.
But he had bad luck—Gu Wang returned early.
The man, seeing the opened door and an unfamiliar presence in his home, immediately sensed something wrong, then discovered he was missing.
Naturally assuming the fatty was responsible, and concerned for his safety, Gu Wang had become so enraged.
Although the two had been talking past each other, he actually hadn't been exposed.
Moreover, this fatty had no evidence and kept shouting nonsense—Gu Wang would just think he was crazy or at the wrong door.
Hui Gu let out a soft sigh of relief, unconsciously relaxing slightly. He gently nuzzled against Gu Wang, emitting a somewhat innocent yet aggrieved sound: "Ji."
Gu Wang was momentarily stunned, his tone softening: "Did he scare you?"
Xiao Lai, unable to get up from behind, lay on the ground with bloodshot eyes, unable to see what was happening at the door. He could only hear Gu Wang conversing with someone.
Upon hearing this, he let out an unpleasant whimpering sound, filled with resentment.
Who was more frightening?!
This madman had just turned into a complete demon, yet now he suddenly became so gentle—was he schizophrenic or something??
A wisp of Blade Qi swiftly approached his neck. Xiao Lai glanced down in terror—a black dagger had somehow pressed against his skin. Though it hadn't fully touched him, just the proximity of the Blade Qi made his neck feel cold, and a wet liquid began to trickle down.
"N-no, you can't kill me. I'm Uncle Xiao. If you kill me, you'll be hunted down too. I won't dare anymore, I'll never bother you again."
A strong will to survive allowed him to muster his last breath to finish this long sentence before his head lolled to the side and he completely passed out.
It was unclear whether he fainted from fear or pain.
Gu Wang didn't even turn his head. He carefully examined Hui Gu, and only after confirming there wasn't a single wound on him did the violence in his eyes finally dissipate completely.
His pupils returned to their usual bottomless black.
Hui Gu chirped twice.
He nudged toward where the fat man had fallen and pointed outside.
He didn't appear too nervous because he knew Gu Wang would fill in the blanks himself.
Sure enough, after a moment of thoughtful silence, Gu Wang concluded: "He suddenly broke into the house, scared you, and you ran outside to hide, right?"
Hui Gu felt somewhat guilty, but he didn't want to anger Gu Wang by admitting he had sneaked out. So he nodded: "Ji."
A little mushroom, gray and fluffy, looking soft and pitiful as it nuzzled against you, appearing completely dependent.
Even the hardest heart would soften at this sight.
Gu Wang's eyes darkened slightly: "You did the right thing. Next time you encounter danger when I'm not around, run away."
He paused, a flicker of self-blame crossing his face.
"I wasn't careful enough." Gu Wang coldly glanced at Xiao Lai. "This person is nothing but a scoundrel."
He stroked the unharmed Hui Gu, feeling the little one's healthy condition in his palm, and finally managed to suppress the killing intent in his heart. With a flick of his supernatural ability, the dagger handle hooked onto Xiao Lai's clothes, tossing the fat man out like trash.
A dull thud echoed as a body collided with the corridor wall, accompanied by the sound of several ribs cracking.
Xiao Lai woke from the pain, only to be knocked unconscious again by the sharp agony from his internal organs.
But no one cared. Gu Wang slammed the door shut.
Gu Wang placed Hui Gu on the table: "Will you come with me to my workplace tomorrow?"
Hui Gu nodded: "Ji."
Still feeling guilty about deceiving his Incubator, he obediently nodded without hesitation.
Gu Wang's expression completely softened. He stroked Hui Gu: "I brought you something delicious."
From the man's movements, Hui Gu could see what was inside the plastic bag he brought—it was actually a strange-looking fruit.
It appeared pitch black and exceptionally plump, with a thin skin that didn't reveal the color of the flesh inside.
Gu Wang: "Do you remember the tomato paste you had last time?"
That was a delicacy he had tasted at the Shelter. Hui Gu looked at the black fruit with confusion: "Ji?"
Was this also a tomato?
But he distinctly remembered the sweet and sour tomato paste he had eaten last time was red.
The fruit was about half the size of a soccer ball. Standing next to it, Hui Gu seemed even more petite.
Gu Wang: "This is one of the mutant strains of tomatoes."
And currently the only edible mutant strain of tomatoes.
Unfortunately, its yield was very low.
Its price was also relatively high.
Gu Wang himself didn't care much about the taste of food, but he wanted to give Hui Gu the best, so he didn't hesitate when buying it.
Once again using eggs from some unknown beast, he opened a cookbook and combined the two to make tomato scrambled eggs.
However, the color was completely black, and the golden egg liquid, affected by the tomato juice, turned into an ink-like black.
Gu Wang was initially worried that Hui Gu might be picky about the appearance, but clearly his concern was unnecessary.
Hui Gu didn't mind the food's presentation at all, especially when it was cooked by Gu Wang—it always had a special appeal in his eyes.
As he did every time before, he dove right in, eating while making happy purring sounds.
The bitter skin of the mutant tomato had been carefully removed by Gu Wang, leaving only the sweet and sour flesh, which tasted almost the same as ordinary tomatoes.
The corners of Gu Wang's lips lifted slightly. Only after confirming that Mushroom liked it did he pick up his chopsticks.
Dinner passed harmoniously.
It seemed as if what had happened earlier was just a trivial incident.
After the meal, Hui Gu lay on the bed to rest. As drowsiness set in, he felt like he had forgotten something.
He turned over, and as sleepiness overwhelmed him, he pushed this seemingly "unimportant" matter to the back of his mind.
When Gu Wang came out of the bathroom, he happened to see Mushroom sleeping completely unguarded.
He gently closed the door to avoid any noise waking him, then began cleaning up.
Today, Mushroom hadn't rummaged through the household items, but due to the one-sided beating that occurred near dusk, the house had still become somewhat messy.
Gu Wang skillfully put all the fallen items back in their original places, even adjusting the angle of a cup to match how it was before.
His powerful memory allowed him to recall every detail, and the living room quickly returned to its original, orderly appearance.
After glancing around the tidy living room, Gu Wang showed no intention of stopping to rest.
When he had returned earlier, he had coincidentally encountered Xiao Lai breaking into the guest bedroom twice by prying the door, searching for something inside.
So the guest bedroom was also a key area he needed to tidy up.
Gu Wang entered the other room, his sharp gaze sweeping across the bedroom.
He also opened the cabinets to check if anything had been stolen.
The moment he opened the wardrobe, he noticed that a set of clothes was missing.
Gu Wang frowned and reached out his hand: "Hmm?"
There were many clothes in the wardrobe, but among the missing ones was a white shirt that had left the deepest impression on him.
That shirt still had crease marks, which he believed were from the previous owner wearing it just before leaving.
Now it was gone.
Gu Wang's frown didn't ease. He inspected the room more carefully.
Aside from the missing set of clothes, nothing else was gone.
Xiao Lai's disjointed and jumbled words echoed once more in my ears.
He had come looking for someone.
He probably mistook me for the person he was supposed to share the apartment with.
But then why were clothes missing from the house?
If someone else had really been here, why would they only take clothes?
Could it have been taken by that fat man?
But he had no reason to do so.
Why would that fat man think the person he was looking for was in his house?
The logic of it all couldn’t be smoothly connected into a coherent line; instead, it formed a cloud of suspicion, vaguely hinting at something else.
Gu Wang’s fingers lightly tapped on the table, emitting a steady, rhythmic sound.
After a while, he stood up as if nothing had happened and returned to his room.
The dim, unclear lighting made it impossible to discern the expression on his face.
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