As a Charming Mushroom, I Fell into the Apocalypse (MUSHROOM)
An impatient knocking sound echoed, and as the door opened, the person knocking looked down while impatiently loosening his belt, asking, "What’s taking so long in there?"
He caught a refreshingly pleasant scent and instinctively halted his crude movements. When he looked up, his expression instantly shifted, and he froze as if struck by lightning.
His face flushed red. "You…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Hui Gu cast him a fleeting glance, and he automatically stepped aside to make way.
It wasn’t until Hui Gu had walked far away that he snapped back to reality, but by then, the other was already out of sight.
Hui Gu, looking slightly puffed up with anger, casually stopped someone and asked, "Where’s that bald guy?"
"You mean the champion?"
The person he stopped swallowed hard. He didn’t dare refer to the bald man as directly as Hui Gu had, but he couldn’t resist answering the question. Pointing in a direction, he said, "He’s already on the stage. The match starts in ten minutes."
His opponent was Gu Wang, and Hui Gu wasn’t worried in the slightest.
He had absolute confidence in the strength of the Incubator he had personally chosen.
"What about the people around him?"
The man, still dazed, pointed Hui Gu in another direction.
Hui Gu turned and headed straight over, completely unconcerned about the stir his sudden appearance had caused in the rest area.
With directions in hand, he quickly found the group that had been disparaging Gu Wang earlier.
They were standing amid a pile of trash, loudly discussing how much money they had bet on the champion while eating.
"I’ve staked my entire fortune on the champion winning!"
"Are there really fools betting on that newcomer? I’ve never even heard of him. What skills could someone from a small boxing ring possibly have?"
"Enough to beat both you and that bald guy into rice dumplings." A clean, refined voice, entirely out of place with the group, interjected, delivering the provocation with utmost restraint.
"Looking for a death wish?!"
They all turned around instantly with their faces filled with rage, but the moment they saw Hui Gu, their expressions froze abruptly, as if choked, leaving them with strangely contorted looks.
One of them was the first to react. "Aren’t you the one from the Nightclub promotional video?"
The others exchanged glances, their expressions shifting repeatedly before settling into somewhat nauseating smirks.
One of them rubbed his hands together. "Did you come alone?"
They all ignored what Hui Gu had just said, their gazes fixed on him like little lambs that had accidentally stumbled into a pack of wolves.
And they were that pack of hungry wolves, their eyes gleaming with a greenish light.
"Right." Hui Gu suddenly smiled at them. "Could you come with me somewhere?"
The beauty's smile was like blooming flowers, his words akin to a siren emerging from the stormy sea, emitting an enchanting melody.
By the time they regained their senses, they had already followed Hui Gu to a deserted corner.
“What do you want with us here?” Before they could even process what was happening, their mouths moved faster than their brains, letting out teasing remarks.
“Has anyone ever told you that someone as pretty as you shouldn’t wander out alone?”
They exchanged glances again, letting out harsh, grating laughter.
“No one will disturb you here.” Hui Gu shrugged at them, releasing a hint of the pheromones he had been holding back.
“What do you mean?” someone sensed something amiss.
But it was already too late.
Hui Gu looked at them with an innocent expression, yet his words carried a childlike, cruel indifference: “I don’t want to dirty my hands. You… fight each other.”
He raised a single finger, tilting his head slightly. “Only one of you can remain standing.”
Under this absurd command, their eyes widened in terror as they watched their own arms and legs lift uncontrollably, attacking those beside them.
Hui Gu watched them with delight. The pheromones he emitted were just enough to make them obey his orders, but their minds hadn’t fully surrendered.
They could clearly feel the horror of their limbs moving against their will.
With each punch landing on flesh and the searing pain of breaking bones, their fear swelled to its peak. They finally realized they had provoked someone they should never have crossed.
But it was too late. Completely under his control, they fought mercilessly, using every underhanded trick they’d employed against others in the ring, now turning them on each other as if they were mortal enemies.
In the ring, they could stop, but now, even with their hands shattered and physically unable to move, they couldn’t halt the manipulated attacks. Every joint in their bodies felt as if pulled by invisible strings, turning them into puppets who owned nothing but their pain.
“Ahhh—!”
Someone couldn’t bear it and cried out in agony.
Hui Gu softly shushed them, a faintly troubled expression on his face. “Too noisy. Be quiet.”
He didn’t want to attract anyone else.
That person’s mouth instantly clamped shut as if stitched tight, unable to make a sound, their face turning purple from suffocation.
A demon.
He was a demon.
As they stared into Hui Gu’s beautiful blue eyes, not a single improper thought remained in their minds—only sheer terror.
Though only twenty minutes had passed, to them, it felt like hundreds of times longer, an eternity of torment in hell. One by one, the others collapsed, unable to endure, until only one person remained standing, barely, covered in wounds.
He watched in horror as Hui Gu approached, as if facing something utterly terrifying.
Hui Gu looked at him. “Do you understand your mistake now?”
“Mmm-hmm.” The man nodded frantically.
Hui Gu pressed a slender finger to his lips. “If any of you speak out of turn again, I’ll make you cut out your own tongues.”
His expression was amiable, his face still as innocent as a lamb’s.
But this time, no one dared to underestimate him. They all nodded in terror.
Their bodies felt as if they’d been run over by a truck, with only their necks able to move weakly.
Hui Gu curled the corner of his lips, a playful smile appearing. “Alright, from now on, you’ll forget everything about seeing me today.”
The pheromones drifted over silently, swirling around them until dreamlike expressions appeared on their faces.
This method of using memory-erasing pheromones had no effect on mutant creatures, but worked exceptionally well against the most intelligent bipedal creatures on Earth.
They all fell into a deep, drug-like coma. When they woke up, they wouldn't remember the details of these events, much less Hui Gu.
But the pain would remain, and those psychological fears would linger, like a nightmare that left deep marks on their hearts—shadows that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Having dealt with these annoying humans, Hui Gu hummed cheerfully as he headed toward the fighting ring.
Over there, the match was also nearing its end. The audience had gone from stunned silence to erupting in overwhelming cheers. They didn't really care who won; what they truly enjoyed was the visual impact of the violent aesthetics.
However, some people looked grim because they had bet large sums on the reigning champion winning and were now facing complete financial ruin.
Standing in a corner of the crowd, Hui Gu asked cheerfully, "He won, right?"
Who's that? Disturbing me while I'm watching the match?
The person beside him initially felt annoyed, but for some reason, upon hearing that pleasant voice, he patiently turned his head. "Yeah, that newcomer named Gu Chen has surprised everyone... Hey, you're from Nightclub!?"
He exclaimed in surprise but was immediately silenced by a look from Hui Gu.
Hui Gu found it strange—it seemed like many people had recognized him as a Nightclub employee today.
But as the match on stage was coming to an end, there was clearly no extra time for him to ask questions.
He looked toward the man on stage who had just kicked the bald-headed fighter flying onto the platform.
While fighting, Gu Wang kept glancing out of the corner of his eye toward a certain direction in the audience.
Hui Gu knew he was looking at Old Jin, or more precisely, paying attention to himself, who should have been in the pocket.
He blinked, realizing he had to hurry back. If he delayed, he might be discovered sneaking out again.
He quickly retraced his steps, unaware that his brief appearance in that small area had caused a minor commotion. Many people craned their necks to catch a glimpse of him.
Unfortunately, he was already gone, and they could only regretfully return to their seats.
Hui Gu returned to the restroom, transformed back into his original form, and then, taking advantage of everyone's focus on the ring, slowly made his way back into the jacket in Old Jin's hand.
He squeezed in with a soft grunt.
The cheers at the venue were deafening. As the bald-headed fighter completely lost consciousness and the ability to fight, the referee rushed forward. Not daring to touch Gu Wang, he could only signal for him to raise his own hand.
The referee exclaimed excitedly, "A new champion is born!!"
"Gu Chen! Gu Chen! Gu Chen!"
Someone in the crowd started shouting, and in this underground fighting arena where the air felt stiflingly crowded, filled with the mingled scents of blood and sweat, the inner beasts in everyone's hearts seemed to awaken. The voices grew louder and louder, eventually chanting Gu Wang's alias in unison.
He stood on the stage, the sole beam of light falling on him, surrounded by darkness that felt almost devouring. Half of his face was hidden by bandages, showing no expression as the light cast sharp shadows across his features.
He had no intention of accepting the coronation either, simply walking straight down and disappearing from the audience's view.
Gu Wang steadied his hand that had just restrained his fighting spirit.
Due to their pollution levels, new humans instinctively crave combat or killing, making them more susceptible to the interference of such bloody atmospheres compared to ordinary people.
Yet at this moment, Gu Wang's mind was completely clear, not even feeling the urge to fight. There was only one thing in his eyes.
Old Jin, seeing the man stop before him, quickly reached out to hand him his clothes: "I kept a close watch on them for you. No one touched them."
Hui Gu in the pocket also nodded solemnly: Yes, kept well.
Not a single mushroom escaped.
Gu Wang lowered his gaze and touched his pocket, feeling his fingertips gently pressed against the fabric from inside. The frost-like expression on his face finally softened slightly.
He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but during the match earlier, when he glanced this way, he'd intuitively sensed something strange.
Fortunately, it was just his imagination. The mushroom was well-behaved and hadn't run off.
The crowd was somewhat noisy, with several people seizing the opportunity to squeeze through and curry favor: "Congratulations on becoming the new champion."
"You're amazing. Today's match must have earned you plenty of admirers."
"Hey, that stunning new face from Nightclub was here earlier."
"He must have come to watch your match, completely won over by you."
Someone tentatively said: "He seemed to have come specifically to watch your match, completely ignoring everyone else. He left right after you won."
Gu Wang cast them a cold glance, his eyes icy, enunciating each word clearly: "Don't know him."
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