As a Charming Mushroom, I Fell into the Apocalypse (MUSHROOM)
Watching Hui Gu's suddenly huffy retreating back, Xiao Wubian ruffled the red hair on his head, looking puzzled: "Why did he get angry all of a sudden?"
Gu Wang glanced at him, his naturally cold eyes conveying three rare words: Don't know.
He frowned, his fingers unconsciously curling as if wanting to tap something: "Where did he pick up such a bad habit."
Running off whenever angry.
Straying from the group in the wasteland was a major taboo—it could easily lead to trouble.
Xiao Wubian replied without hesitation: "Must have been spoiled by whoever was protecting him before."
The moment he saw Hui Gu, he could tell from those eyes—clear and untouched by worldly concerns—that he must have been extremely well-protected.
Like the brightest, sweetest candy in a jar, beautiful as an illusion yet radiating an undeniable sweetness.
He said this not with malice, but as a simple statement.
Frankly, even he felt protective toward Hui Gu.
Those who previously protected him might have been family—parents, siblings, or relatives—possibly friends, or even a lover.
The latter seemed more likely, given his carefree innocence that clearly came from deliberate pampering.
Gu Wang lowered his gaze, concealing the emotions in his eyes, his expression unreadable: "Then that person was truly useless."
Xiao Wubian froze for a moment, asking reflexively: "What?"
Gu Wang's tone remained flat, as if devoid of any personal feeling: "They failed to protect him properly, letting him be deceived into coming to the wasteland."
That person had probably already met their end in the wasteland. The fragile glass protection had shattered, revealing the vivid, beautiful rose within—attracting countless covetous eyes.
If that person had truly cared for him, this situation would never have occurred.
"Irresponsible behavior."
After hearing this, Xiao Wubian's overloaded brain finally started working again. He stared at Gu Wang with utter astonishment, as if seeing a ghost: "Have you been possessed?"
This person had never considered such things before, nor could he possibly possess such delicate sensibilities to feel... pity? No, that wasn't quite right. Heartache? That didn't fit either.
These words felt utterly incongruous when applied to him, and there was a stark disconnect between his expression and the words coming from his mouth.
Xiao Wubian couldn't quite articulate it, but he sensed that Gu Wang was currently deeply conflicted, his genuine emotions tangled into a complicated knot.
The only certainty was that Gu Wang kept staring in the direction where Hui Gu had disappeared, ensuring the other remained within his perception range.
...
Hui Gu had overlooked the fact that S-Class New Humans possessed senses that had reached unprecedented heights. He thought he had walked far enough away.
His puffed-up, angry cheeks deflated, though his sharp little canine teeth still ground together involuntarily.
Hmph, when he got back, he'd ignore the Incubator for a whole day.
Well, a full day might be too long. Half a day, then.
After wrestling with the thought, Hui Gu resumed kicking small stones by the roadside in displeasure.
The camera on his chest shook with the movement, following the stone's trajectory until it fell into a pitch-black cellar opening. The covering that had concealed the opening was now displaced, but the stone made no sound upon landing.
Instead, it seemed to have fallen onto something soft.
Through the camera feed, everyone in the square noticed this and saw that Hui Gu, driven by curiosity, was heading toward that direction. As he looked down, the camera angle shifted downward as well.
Their hearts collectively leaped into their throats.
"Don't go over there! It could be dangerous!"
"Someone stop him! Where's President Xiao!? And why hasn't Ji Nianwen shown up? Wasn't he with them?"
"Does Ji Nianwen not want to save these villagers either?"
"Didn't he always claim to be the kindest, different from other bloodthirsty New Humans?"
"Being kind doesn't make him a saint. Why should he save people unrelated to the base? What do they have to do with us?"
"Easy for you to talk when you're not in their shoes. You enjoy the base's protection, yet you're quick to cut ties with survivors suffering outside?"
"From the perspective of species survival, the human population has dwindled to a dangerous level."
"Let's be rational. What's the use of saving them?"
"What difference is there between you and those mutant creatures outside?"
"Stop arguing! Base regulations state that when encountering fellow humans during official wasteland missions, we should offer assistance whenever it's safe to do so."
A small group in the square inexplicably started arguing about Ji Nianwen, while most others held their breath for Hui Gu, terrified that something might reach out from the dark cellar and drag him in.
"What is that thing!?"
A sudden exclamation cut through all the arguments, drawing everyone's attention. The tension grew so thick the air seemed to thin.
As he crouched down, Hui Gu saw something twisting inside. It looked like the entire cellar was moving.
No—that wasn't right. The cellar floor itself wasn't moving; rather, some densely packed substance covered what should have been a potato storage space, now writhing in a disgusting, slimy motion!
Hui Gu's cat-like eyes widened, and he leaned in for a closer look.
It was too dark. Before he could see clearly, he was suddenly lifted by the back of his collar.
Ji!
Startled, he almost made a mushroom sound but managed to cover his mouth in time.
Gu Wang pulled him further away from the danger zone: "Get behind me and stay close."
A cold glint flashed in his eyes, though it was directed at whatever lurked in the cellar.
The scouts who had just returned reported that they had briefly searched the villagers' houses—all ordinary farm dwellings with no obvious hiding spots—yet not a single person was found.
But in such a remote wilderness, who would risk their lives playing pranks?
The moment Gu Wang caught Hui Gu's movement in his peripheral vision, his nerves seemed to snap taut. He strode over without a second thought.
Only when he saw the youth unharmed did his tension ease slightly.
He raised his voice toward Xiao Wubian's direction: "There's something in the cellar."
A pitch-black bone whip, conjured from his supernatural ability, slowly coiled around Hui Gu's waist—as if he could no longer tolerate the risk and decided to tether the boy to his side for safety.
Yet the bone whip seemed to have a mind of its own. After wrapping around Hui Gu's slender waist, it unconsciously looped twice more, and its serpent-like tip gently rubbed against the narrow curve without its master's conscious control.
Gu Wang didn't notice this detail, his attention fully focused on shielding Hui Gu while solemnly observing the cellar.
Xiao Wubian rushed over immediately, igniting a crackling sphere of electricity at his fingertips to use as a flashlight for inspection.
The moment he saw its contents, his scalp prickled with revulsion—enough to trigger anyone's trypophobia. He couldn't suppress a curse: "Holy shit! It's all eggs!"
Gu Wang stared emotionlessly at the mass for a moment. "These are frog spawn. Same origin as that tadpole from earlier."
So they were newly hatched mutant creatures—no wonder their attacks were so feeble.
"Disgusting! Let's torch them!" Xiao Wubian exclaimed while shuddering and rubbing his goosebump-covered arms.
His subordinate promptly handed him a lighter and a small bottle of alcohol.
Just as Xiao Wubian tossed the alcohol down and prepared to throw the lighter, a thunderous roar erupted. Following the sound, they saw a frog—at least the size of an armored vehicle—charging toward them.
The frog's appearance hadn't mutated drastically, but its naturally bumpy skin appeared grotesquely magnified, enough to make one's sanity plummet. Its putrid feces-yellow hue was particularly nauseating.
Gu Wang lifted his eyelids, a humorless curve gracing his lips. "Lured it out."
The desolation of this area clearly resulted from a high-level mutant creature—unrecorded by the base—claiming it as territory.
When he saw the massive clutch of eggs, he knew they would make perfect bait.
Xiao Wubian, frequently deployed in wastelands, might lack emotional intelligence but possessed hard-earned expertise. With one glance, he had grasped Gu Wang's plan—hence requesting the lighter, not merely acting on disgust-driven impulse.
Someone sharp-eyed shouted: "S-class mutant!"
"Another S-class?!"
"Our current team is undermanned... The others are still outside the village."
No one had anticipated encountering a second S-class mutant while en route to eliminate one.
Although it appeared to be a mutant creature that had only recently reached S-class, its intimidating presence was enough to evoke fear—especially among new humans below A-class, whose instincts urged them to retreat.
The two combat specialists, having mentally prepared themselves in advance, stood firmly before everyone the moment the creature emerged, resembling unshakable bedrock.
The initially tense crowd, witnessing their reliable stance, felt a surge of inspiration and promptly activated their supernatural abilities in readiness. The strong pack mentality of new humans often manifested positively in such critical moments.
Their trusted leaders, merely by standing there, could ignite a continuous rush of adrenaline, intensifying the fighting spirit within each heart.
Gu Wang glanced at Xiao Wubian, signaling him to take command.
Though he was once hailed as humanity's pinnacle commander, he now had to conceal his brilliance in the shadows.
Xiao Wubian gave an almost imperceptible nod and shouted, "Defense team! Block the sulfuric acid it spits! Don't let any comrades get hit!"
The fate of any living being struck by it was vividly illustrated by the concrete-gray corpses littering their path—each a gruesome, bloody example.
"Understood!"
The person called upon immediately activated their supernatural ability. Defensive abilities came in all varieties—some were earth element users, directly lifting a large slab of ground the moment the frog's pus sprayed over, the cement-gray fluid splattering against it without any effect.
Others were more akin to Western fantasy, conjuring one magic circle-like halo after another with ever-changing hand gestures, firmly blocking in front of everyone.
Seeing its proud trump card rendered useless, the frog grew even more frenzied, extending its tongue. The crimson tongue split into a fork at the tip, covered in teeth, and struck toward the person closest to it.
Gu Wang didn’t dodge at all—he couldn’t retreat, only confront it head-on, because Hui Gu stood behind him.
A sharp clang of cold steel meeting steel rang out, electric sparks flying between the weapon Gu Wang controlled and the tongue that appeared soft but was harder than steel plate.
A reverse-grip knife appeared in Gu Wang’s hand. He glanced at Xiao Wubian, who immediately understood the hint. A surge of electric light enveloped the knife’s hilt, wrapping it in a more powerful enchantment.
Gu Wang’s true supernatural ability wasn’t simply manifested as cold weapon forms, but he had previously disguised himself as a metal element Ability User and now refrained from using any other powers.
These weapons were ones he had never used in front of others, and the signature silver glow was also concealed—a symbol of him channeling more power into them.
Few had seen his ability, but caution was still necessary.
Hui Gu didn’t notice that the camera on his chest had been covered by the bone whip at his waist the moment Gu Wang’s ability unfolded, leaving the large screen at the base completely black.
He was completely shielded by Gu Wang, so no one could see the changes on him.
He fully trusted that Gu Wang could defeat this ugly toad, so he paid no attention to the intensifying battle. Instead, his focus was drawn to the bone whip wrapped around him for protection.
Tickled by the sensation, he smiled with curved eyes and reached out to touch the tip of the bone whip. "Hello there."
The bone whip paused, tightening its grip around his waist slightly and coiling one more loop.
On the other side, Gu Wang, who had risen into the air with the help of a wind element Ability User, also jolted mid-air at the gentle touch. This gave the toad a momentary breather—after all, it was an S-class mutant creature. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, it fiercely flipped over to counterattack.
The disgusting tongue twisted nimbly, and those who had been helping to suppress it lost control, watching helplessly as it coiled toward Gu Wang’s ankle.
"Watch out!"
Hearing the shout, Hui Gu looked up just in time to see Gu Wang execute a sharp, twisting turn. The reverse-curve knife cleanly severed the tongue with a swift hand motion.
Performing a free-fall maneuver, the man landed single-kneed on the toad’s head. The wind rustled through the corners of his black combat trench coat, his arm muscles tensing into pleasing lines. The reverse-curve knife in his hand extended into a telescoping straight blade, brutally plunging into the toad’s eyeball.
The moment Hui Gu looked over, Gu Wang also turned his head in that direction. Their gazes met mid-air, as if an invisible spark ignited between them, bursting into tiny fireworks.
Hui Gu couldn't help but grip his bone whip. It wasn't the first time he had seen Gu Wang in battle, but this time felt different, as if his heart had strangely skipped a beat.
He lowered his head to touch his chest, also incidentally feeling the Blood Jade hidden beneath his clothes. It was gradually warming up, as if responding to its master's power.
Hui Gu lowered his hand and slowly blinked.
Hmm, so strange. Has my heart malfunctioned?
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