Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The Dungeon.

Half of the artificial magnetic poles stood tall on the barren ground, resembling grand tombstones in the sandy landscape.

This location was strategically excellent, with towering mountain ranges on all four sides sheltering it from storms and cold currents. In the middle lay an expansive plain with a stable geological structure, strong enough to support the construction of the incredible underground facility. The size and capacity of this subterranean city could rival the great metropolises of humanity's heyday.

Initially, when the four human bases were first established, it was prophesied that if there ever came a day when humans could no longer hold their ground, the Dungeon Base would be the last one standing.

However, now, the vast plain was stained with blood. Monster blood, alien blood, human blood; limbs, severed hands, and remnants of heavy weapons littered the ground.

A black fighter jet swooped low, releasing several high-yield bombs. Muffled explosions echoed, followed by deafening howls of monsters that were soon drowned out by the billowing dust.

The aircraft climbed higher, circling calmly overhead. Lu Fen held a walkie-talkie, saying, "The surface monsters have been cleared."

Beside him was Hubbard, the legendary mercenary captain of the outer city. He gazed at the entrance to the Dungeon, remarking, "It'll be tough inside."

Lu Fen also looked in that direction, not speaking but tacitly acknowledging Hubbard's assessment. Over the past few days, he had collaborated with the captain in directing aerial operations, building a strong rapport. After all, they were both among those who had ventured deepest into the frontlines of the abyss. No one knew the creatures' habits and destructive power better than they did.

The Dungeon was a stronghold that was difficult to conquer but easy to defend, a secure and formidable fortress with inherent advantages against radiation. However, its structure also predetermined one thing: once breached by the aliens, it would be in utter chaos.

And now, it had been infiltrated.

" Their greatest shortage is firepower. Their birth rate can't keep up, and they lack troops. They've overextended themselves militarily, so they can't mount an effective defense now," Hubbard's hawk-like eyes narrowed slightly. "We have ample supplies and arrived at the right time, so we still stand a chance."

Just then, a voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"The Dungeon expresses gratitude for your generous assistance," the operator's voice trembled, "but, out of humanitarian principles, we must inform our comrades at the Northern Base: there have been observations of contactless infections within the base. Unpredictable outbreaks could happen at any moment..."

"Received at the Northern Base," Lu Fen interrupted the operator. "Prepare for ground support."

Hubbard furrowed his brow.

Lu Fen said, "The aerial fleet should hover temporarily. I'll take a team down."

"I'll go," Hubbard offered. "Listen to him. It's more dangerous than we imagined down there. Once you go down, you might not come back."

"You don't have that obligation."

"I don't have any attachments."

Lu Fen's tone was indifferent. "Neither do I."

Hubbard smiled and countered, "No attachments at all?"

Lu Fen met his gaze. His cold green eyes revealed no emotions, but this time, he remained silent.

"You sometimes stare out of the porthole for a long time," Hubbard observed.

"I left someone behind at the base," Lu Fen said, leaning against the porthole with his arms crossed. "He wears a bullet casing around his neck that I used to kill."

"Whose life did you take from him?"

Lu Fen didn't respond.

"So there's a grudge between the two of you," Hubbard mused, as if recalling something. "I once met a boy who had one of your bullet casings. He asked me if I knew its origin."

A hint of a smile tugged at Lu Fen's lips.

Hubbard commented, "Then your relationship is quite complicated."

"Perhaps," Lu Feng replied, stepping outside. "My relationships with everyone are complicated."

His voice was detached as he instructed the pilot, "Prepare for landing."

This time, Hubbard didn't intervene. He watched Lu Feng's retreating figure thoughtfully.

- Under the vast, crimson sunset on the western horizon, the fleet touched down, and the doors opened. Lu Feng exited PL1109, heading for the city that sprawled beneath the ground, soaked in blood.

*

Northern Base.

Just as An Zhe was about to scan his ID card at the sensor, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to find a patrol team of soldiers led by a familiar judge.

The judge spotted him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

An Zhe looked down slightly. "I'm helping Dr. Ji with something."

"Is the doctor still conducting research?" the judge inquired.

An Zhe softly hummed in response, not saying anything further. The judge didn't ask any more questions but said, "Head back early. The military has something on today."

An Zhe replied, "Thank you."

After they left, An Zhe took a deep breath and placed his ID card against the scanner. Fortunately, the access control system was still active, and with a click, the door unlocked.

Pushing the door open, the hinges creaked from the friction. He closed it immediately after entering. Under the dim lighting, the large instruments cast eerie shadows. In the center of the room stood a cylindrical glass tank. A faint beam of light illuminated it from below, and a cluster of tiny bubbles were rising from beneath.

An Zhe held his breath. Before opening the door, he had prepared for the worst: being caught, the spore already moved, someone else in the lab… At that moment, his heart seemed to have stopped beating.

— Until his gaze penetrated the glass tank, through the pale green nutrient solution, and landed on the solitary white mass suspended in the middle.

An Zhe's breath quivered. The corners of his lips curled upward, and his heart pounded fiercely. He wanted to rush over immediately, but due to the overwhelming emotions, he could barely move.

That small, snow-white entity seemed to be drifting in the depths of the ocean under the dim lighting within the liquid. An Zhe stared at it without blinking.

Just then, he noticed the spore's motionless suspension pause. Then, its mycelium suddenly unfurled, or perhaps exploded would be a more accurate description.

Then — it floated towards him at a pace that couldn't be considered slow. It suddenly halted at the glass wall as if it had collided with something.

An Zhe rushed in three strides and pressed his palm against the glass tank, his entire body adhering to it.

His spores also clung tightly to the glass wall, with their mycelium uneasily reaching out to touch him through the barrier, clearly desiring to be closer. An Zhe couldn't help but smile. When Lu Fen was around, this cluster of spores seemed to ignore him, but now, it recognized him. He didn't dare blink, watching as the delicate and fragile mycelium stretched towards him, hindered by the glass, and thus striving even harder to get closer, almost forming a small white pancake on the inner side of the tank. Every filament emphasized its longing to be near An Zhe.

Reliant on it, An Zhe felt a long-lost sense of comfort envelop him, albeit separated by an unbreakable membrane.

He had to save it from the tank. Struggling, An Zhe detached himself from the tank and moved to the side, where there was an operating console. Following the general rules of human machinery, he tried pressing the largest circular button, and the console's screen indeed lit up. A slot beside it illuminated, indicating that he should insert a card. He swiped Lu Fen's card again, and the indicator turned green, revealing that this person had unfettered access throughout the base.

However, faced with buttons identical in shape, each marked only with complex symbols, An Zhe became perplexed.

How could he open the tank?

His finger hovered uncertainly over the console, finally mustering the resolve to press the central button.

Three seconds later, the water in the tank stirred, and the spores were helplessly swept back and forth, eventually swirling in the center. Witnessing the tiny cluster's helpless rotation, An Zhe felt his own head spin. With a pounding heart, he pressed the first button.

In the next moment, a red laser illuminated the top of the tank, and even An Zhe standing nearby could feel the heat. The spores' mycelium snapped, then wilted limply, as if about to be dried out in the next second. After a while, it snapped again.

An Zhe suspected it was silently screaming in agony. He furrowed his brows in distress—was this the daily torment the spore endured in human laboratories? But he had no time to dwell on it as he pressed another button.

The red light pulsed, detonating the spore again and again.

Swiftly, An Zhe pressed a button far away. This time, the red light vanished, and he sighed in relief. However, in the next moment, a humming sound—"Zzz—" filled the air, and blue ion sparks flickered fiercely within the tank. Then, the water began to tremble slightly—the spore was also thrashing wildly underwater.

An Zhe: "!"

He had electrified the water.

Panicked, he frantically pressed buttons one after another. Finally, with a loud thud, the pale green nutrient solution slowly drained from the container. An Zhe pressed a button beside it, and with a click, the lid at the top of the tank opened.

The tank was too high, so he fetched a chair and stood on it, finally able to reach inside the tank's opening.

But by now, most of the nutrient solution had been drained, and the spore could no longer float to that height.

Then, An Zhe saw the spore cling to the glass wall, climbing up slowly while sliding back down. It would slide for a bit before continuing its ascent.

This small creature, still not fully mature, had already inherited his ability to move freely. An Zhe extended his hand, his arm and fingers transforming into billowing white mycelium that curled down the inner walls of the container, touching the spore.

It was as if an electric current surged through his entire being, transforming him from within. He had reclaimed a part of himself. There must have been some strange aura surrounding him.

With great care, he lifted the cluster, and all the errant mycelia of the spore obediently recoiled, rolling around within his own network of mycelia.

An Zhe watched it with a smile, his mycelia intertwining with its, gently incorporating it into his body. The spore's form fully unfolded, merging seamlessly into his. A joyful sentiment reached An Zhe's mind; it had finally returned to where it belonged. Human nutrient solutions were ineffective; only within the sustenance of an adult could it continue to grow until maturity.

This time, no malicious force would snatch it away. Though he didn't know why the spore had instinctively gravitated towards that individual.

In retrospect, it was fortunate that the spore hadn't approached him that day. Any sign of it drawing near would have immediately caught the researchers' attention, casting suspicion on An Zhe's identity. Thus, he unilaterally concluded that his spore possessed extraordinary intelligence.

With the spore's return, the emptiness within him was replenished, and all unease settled. It was an indescribable sensation, akin to being reborn. An Zhe strolled to the window and pressed a button, raising a metal panel.

Blinding light flooded in, causing him to squint.

Beyond the window, at the edge of the sandstorm, the golden dawn revealed a radiant red sun rising in the sky.

Slowly, An Zhe turned his head, taking one last look at the silver laboratory. Machines stood side by side, wires were distinct, and test tube racks on the storage cabinets were meticulously arranged. From this single lab, he could envision the entirety of the base.

This was humanity's base, a place that had no connection to him in the past, present, or future.

His hand clutched the windowsill, knuckles turning white as he forced open the three-layered transparent glass window.

The window cracked open by a finger's width, scorching hot winds laced with sand grains slapped against his face. Along with it came a stinging sensation in his fingers; the wind and air outside were saturated with intense cosmic radiation. Within that massive oscillation were countless tiny ripples – it was as if he could hear the abyss calling him back.

He could leave now, depart from here, venture outside, and return to the abyss. The outside world was just as ruthless, and he didn't know if he'd survive, but he had retrieved the spore – he no longer had any fears.

... He was fearless.

An Zhe gently pressed his left hand against his abdomen, his forehead leaning against the windowsill as he closed his eyes, his entire body suddenly trembling slightly.

He withdrew his right hand from the windowsill, pushing in the opposite direction, and with a soft thud, the window closed once more. Immediately after, the radiation-shielded metal layer sealed shut. He caught his breath, forehead pressed against the metal panel, fingers slowly curling by his side, as if he had made a difficult decision.

As the radiation was blocked outside, the prickling sensation on his body gradually subsided, reminiscent of that night when Lu Fen held him, using his own body to shield An Zhe, rolling away from the radioactive area. In reality, Lu Fen would have done the same for anyone else, but precisely because of this, that scene left an indelible impression on him, much like how he vividly remembered every instance of Lu Fen's departure.

An Zhe stepped out of the laboratory, encountering two soldiers passing through the corridor. The patrol team from earlier had already moved on, and these were different personnel.

Their gazes met, and An Zhe offered a slight smile as a greeting before turning towards the stairwell.

In the dimly lit stairwell, only the sound of his heartbeat echoed, pulsating faster than usual. Human hearts tend to quicken in fear, but he wasn't sure what exactly he was afraid of.

Secrecy wouldn't last long, he knew. Once order was restored and research resumed, the disappearance of something significant from a human laboratory would surely lead to an investigation. He had to leave, and the sooner, the better.

Yet, he couldn't resist taking out a cool, geometric object from his shirt pocket – the badge that Lu Fen wore on his coat, which he had taken off.

Holding it in his hand, he thought that he would wait until the aurora illuminated the sky and news of PL1109's return reached them – if that day ever came.

There was little to commend this city, except for its decent potato soup.

If it weren't for... if his spore hadn't constantly yearned to be near Lu Fen, he would have left long ago.

Author's Note: Mushrooms speaking mushroom language.