As a Charming Mushroom, I Fell into the Apocalypse (MUSHROOM)
The man's icy attitude deterred others who wanted to approach and chat. Looking at the invisible murderous aura around him and recalling his violent, unrestrained demeanor on the arena earlier, they all felt a chill down their spines and didn't dare approach to flatter him anymore.
Only Old Jin remained unafraid. Having completely regarded Gu Wang as his savior, he followed behind with a hesitant expression.
Gu Wang wiped off the sweat and bloodstains from his body. To make the performance more convincing, he deliberately sustained some minor injuries during each match.
Mainly to conceal his true capabilities.
He put down the towel without turning his head: "What do you want to say?"
Not expecting him to be so perceptive, Old Jin was momentarily stunned before quickly recovering: "I... plan to resign after today."
Old Jin pulled out the photo of his wife and daughter that he always kept hidden in his pocket, his gaze gradually firming: "I used to think being a mercenary in the wasteland was too dangerous, but actually working here offers even less human dignity."
The people here had become completely numb to life, treating human lives as nothing more than disposable materials for their entertainment.
"At least when taking on official missions issued by the base, there's substantial compensation for my family if I die."
Old Jin carefully put away the photo and looked at Gu Wang: "I have an official extermination mission introduced by an acquaintance that allows new humans not affiliated with guilds to participate."
"The point rewards are very generous. As long as we come back alive, we won't have to worry about points for the next year."
Hui Gu moved in the pocket: What? Going out to play?
He felt somewhat happy.
The wasteland that humans avoided like the plague was like returning home for him.
Gu Wang gently touched him through the pocket, his tone indifferent: "The danger level must be quite high."
Old Jin leaned in with a somewhat mysterious expression: "Of course. It's said to be a siege against an S-class mutant creature, but I heard that Xiao Wubian, the guild leader of the First Guild, is also going. The base officials will also send another S-class along."
What seemed like an extremely dangerous siege mission suddenly felt much less risky with such an impressive lineup.
Old Jin: "This mission can only be accessed through internal referrals. If you want to join, wait for me at the base's second exit tomorrow at 1 PM."
After saying this, he left.
Hui Gu poked his head out from the pocket: "Gu?"
Gu Wang looked down: "I'll think about it a bit more."
He wasn't tempted by the reward, but rather because Xiao Wubian would also be there.
If he wanted to completely eradicate the cancerous elements within this base, he needed to identify who his true allies were.
Xiao Wubian, I hope you're not an enemy.
A flash of silver light passed through Gu Wang's dark eyes, then quickly faded.
...
Just the first random match had caused Golden Fist's arena champion to suffer a direct defeat, losing to a newcomer from an unknown boxing arena. This was nothing short of humiliation for them.
Relying on their status as the top underground boxing arena, they quickly halted the competition, shamelessly postponing the championship tournament.
Golden Fist's people wanted to poach Gu Wang, but he didn't give them the chance. Before anyone else could react, he had already left the underground arena with Hui Gu.
Breathing fresh air again, Hui Gu made gurgling sounds at Gu Wang as a hint.
He immediately understood: "Hungry?"
Hui Gu kept looking in one direction: "Ji!" Over there! Over there!
Following his guidance, Gu Wang arrived at a noodle shop.
The boss lady inside greeted them warmly: "Want some Black Feathered Snake Noodles?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Hui Gu was about to poke his head out when Gu Wang's hand blocked him. The man's fingertips gently stroked him, and Hui Gu narrowed his eyes contentedly, thus not immediately jumping out from the pocket.
The boss didn't notice his small movements. Seeing rare customers in the shop, even if they were dressed somewhat peculiarly, he immediately went to the kitchen to prepare the noodles.
"Two... no, four bowls to go."
Gu Wang looked down at Hui Gu's expectant expression and silently corrected himself.
Hui Gu had a big appetite, but as a mushroom, no matter how much he ate, he could only consume food two or three times his own volume. A human-sized bowl of noodles was already too much for him.
But clearly, Gu Wang had completely become the type of parent who spoils their child, not considering the consequences of such indulgence at all.
While waiting for the noodles, the boss lady smiled: "Our noodle shop has many regular customers."
Regular customers?
This reminded him of something.
Gu Wang lightly tapped the table with his fingers, a trace of doubt appearing on his face.
He had never brought Xiao Hui to this place before. How did he know there was a noodle shop here?
The aroma of noodles wafted from the kitchen.
Gu Wang's tapping fingers paused slightly.
Vague doubts that had surfaced before reappeared in his mind, like a fog blocking the way ahead. He was close to clearing it but couldn't find the right approach.
"Noodles are ready."
The noodle shop boss came out with the packaged noodles, interrupting Gu Wang's train of thought.
He didn't say anything, just transferred the points and stood up to leave.
As soon as they returned home, Hui Gu eagerly jumped onto the table, patting his exclusive small bowl while looking at Gu Wang expectantly.
Gu Wang opened the noodles, picking out most of the meat and putting it into one bowl before finally pouring it for Hui Gu.
Hui Gu happily ate, occasionally making soft, contented purring sounds. When his belly was slightly bulging, he reluctantly lifted his head from the noodle bowl, only to find the man staring at him with deep, intense eyes.
"Ji?" Hui Gu tilted his head.
Gu Wang: "I'm planning to join the suppression mission tomorrow."
Hui Gu's eyes lit up: "Ji!" Going out to play!
"But I can't bring you." Gu Wang paused, a hint of apology flashing in his eyes.
"Gu..." Hui Gu stared at him unhappily.
Gu Wang: "This suppression mission is quite suspicious. The risks are far greater than they appear on the surface."
While listening to Old Jin's introduction, he had sensed something amiss.
For an S-class extermination mission like this, major guilds would typically monopolize the entire operation, never allowing smaller guilds or independent hunters to participate.
Yet this time, not only was it made an open mission, but besides Xiao Wubian, there were actually other S-Class New Humans joining the team. Such extravagant arrangements were enough to indicate this extermination mission was anything but ordinary.
Old Jin, being an outsider, couldn't see it clearly. Unlike regular extermination missions, high-level missions often followed an inverse logic—the better the team configuration, the more dangerous the mission.
"Ji." Hui Gu still refused to accept this answer. In his view, the Incubator going to the wasteland without bringing him along was nothing short of abandonment and betrayal.
He huffily turned his head away, directly turning his back to Gu Wang, pretending he couldn't hear anything.
Cosplaying as an ordinary mushroom.
A faint sound of flesh being sliced open by a sharp blade echoed, soon followed by that unique, intoxicating blood scent in the air that made mushrooms dizzy.
Hui Gu turned back in astonishment, seeing Gu Wang pointing a blade tip at his own chest to draw blood.
An overwhelmingly alluring fragrance wafted over, leaving Hui Gu standing frozen in place, unable to believe what he was witnessing: "Gu!?"
The Heart Blood carried an even richer fragrance for him, as if merely smelling it could nourish his very soul.
Thinking his sudden action had startled the mushroom, Gu Wang spoke reassuringly: "Don't be afraid, I'm just making you a protective charm."
After the previous "wrong door" incident, he couldn't feel at ease leaving Hui Gu alone at home. Yet he also remembered that Hui Gu seemed to possess some quality that attracted high-level mutant creatures, making it equally impossible to bring him along on the dangerous extermination mission.
Thus, using his own Heart Blood to create a protective charm became the optimal solution.
The principle was the same as when he'd provided blood to the Shelter before, only this time he was using his Heart Blood.
The supernatural abilities he controlled were essentially certain dark particle substances within the pollution level in the air. But contamination didn't just exist in the air—it was present in everyone's blood too, and these substances were contained within it.
Theoretically speaking, his abilities could even control the Dark Particles in anyone's blood, though putting this into practice would be excessively cruel. He had only ever used his abilities on his own blood.
The Heart Blood quickly coalesced in Gu Wang's palm into an exquisite pale red petal shape, its texture feeling jade-like—cool yet warm to the touch—and only half the size of a mushroom.
Gu Wang placed the jade made from Heart Blood before Hui Gu: "If you encounter danger, it will ward off calamity for you. You only need to do one thing."
Hui Gu rushed forward and hugged the entire piece of jade, reluctant to let go. Just as he was debating whether to secretly give it a lick, he heard the man's words and tilted his head.
Gu Wang: "Protect yourself well, and wait for me to return."
He reached out and gently rubbed Hui Gu.
Hui Gu looked up at him blankly, his gaze shifting gradually from the man's dark, profound eyes to the wound on his chest.
His powerful regenerative abilities had already made the wound appear less bloody, but one could still tell the man had acted without the slightest hesitation, cleanly and efficiently extracting his own Heart Blood.
Hui Gu made a gurgling sound, suddenly feeling that this protective jade made from Heart Blood had become somewhat less fragrant and appealing.
He felt somewhat sullen, his originally dull gray color appearing even more faded.
Humans were so strange.
And after staying with humans for too long, even mushrooms were becoming weird.
...
The next day before setting out, Gu Wang specifically prepared enough food to last Mushroom for quite some time. Before closing the door, he turned back for a deep glance.
Hui Gu pretended not to care as he played with the protective jade nearby.
In reality, the moment the man left, he immediately dropped the jade and ran to the doorway, listening dejectedly to the fading footsteps.
Only when all sound at the door completely disappeared did he let out a small huff. Transforming into human form, he found some clothes to wear and clutched the Blood Jade.
He wasn't that clingy of a mushroom.
After playing with the jade for a while, Hui Gu was pleasantly surprised to discover it contained vast amounts of Gu Wang's supernatural ability. This Blood Jade could also provide him with the energy to maintain his human form.
Hui Gu found a red cord, carefully threaded it through the jade, and imitating how other humans adorn themselves, wore it around his neck.
The red Blood Jade appeared even more enchanting against his fair skin, glowing with a lustrous radiance.
Hui Gu patted it contentedly.
He had received many gifts, but this was the only one given with the intention of protecting him rather than simply bringing him joy.
It was also his favorite gift he'd ever received.
After amusing himself at home for a while, he suddenly remembered he still worked at Nightclub.
So the mushroom who had skipped work without reason the previous day now went to Nightclub with complete confidence.
At the sight of him, Aide's poker face immediately cracked. His eyes widened: "Where did you go this time?"
Hui Gu answered quite honestly: "The underground fighting ring."
Aide paused, his expression turning surprised: "You actually have that kind of interest?"
You really can't judge a book by its cover.
Who would have thought someone who looked as delicate as a porcelain doll would enjoy watching such bloody and violent things.
Aide coughed lightly, momentarily forgetting he needed to reprimand him for skipping work without notice.
Hui Gu didn't mind either, helping himself to snacks from Aide's desk and stuffing them into his mouth until both cheeks were bulging like a little squirrel's.
The office door suddenly sounded, the person outside knocking twice perfunctorily before pushing it open directly.
Hui Gu turned around, chewing as he looked at Ji Nianwen who had just appeared.
Ji Nianwen also paused when he saw Hui Gu, his gaze lingering on the bulging cheeks for a moment before revealing a gentle, apologetic smile: "Sorry, I didn't know you were here."
Hui Gu: chew chew chew
Liar.
When he saw me, there wasn't a trace of surprise in his eyes.
He clearly knew I was here and came in deliberately to interrupt.
But Hui Gu didn't care about humans' messy little schemes, nor could he be bothered to expose him.
Ji Nianwen stopped at a neither too close nor too far distance from Hui Gu: "Are you here to discuss the encirclement operation too?"
Encirclement?
Catching a somewhat familiar keyword, Hui Gu's round cat-like eyes immediately turned toward Aide.
Aide felt a headache coming on: "No, he's an ordinary person. How could he possibly be involved in this encirclement operation?"
Ji Nianwen smiled gently: "But doesn't Nightclub want to create a star? What could be more moving than an ordinary person willingly participating deeply in wasteland missions?"
He spoke like a kind, considerate neighbor: "Besides, I'll be participating in this encirclement too, and President Xiao is also going. The chance of anything going wrong is very low. As long as ordinary people wear protective suits, they can move around in the wasteland, right?"
Aide's expression hardened slightly: "No, there's no precedent for this."
He indeed had personal motives. Initially, involving Hui Gu in the god-making competition was to make Ji Nianwen feel a sense of crisis, but he never truly intended to push Hui Gu into the fire pit.
As an S-class psychic, Ji Nianwen was difficult to control, so they could only use this method to make him understand that Nightclub wasn’t entirely dependent on him. In reality, he never held any hope that Hui Gu could actually compete with Ji Nianwen.
Even when Hui Gu’s speech video unexpectedly gained traction, he merely thought that most people, having lived in numbness for too long, had latched onto something novel and were thus giving it undue attention.
Although some outside rumors claimed that individuals with high pollution levels felt comforted upon hearing Hui Gu speak, he dismissed it as exaggeration.
Those whose pollution levels were nearing the threshold were already in an unstable mental state, and their nonsensical remarks might just be a futile attempt at psychological comfort.
Aide refused decisively, clearly showing a subtle inclination to protect Hui Gu.
Just as the smile on Ji Nianwen’s face was about to stiffen, Hui Gu took the initiative and said something that surprised everyone: "I want to go."
Ji Nianwen and Aide looked at him in astonishment, their expressions perfectly synchronized—neither had expected him to volunteer.
Seeing their stunned reactions, Hui Gu enunciated each word seriously: "The encirclement and suppression mission—I want to go too."
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