Players, Please Board the Train

Zhuo Wangsun and the others followed down behind him, unable to hold back their exclamations. ”This place is absolutely stunning.”

With the lights off, the fungi in the passage automatically emitted a faint glow, forming an exceptionally clear path.

”I’ve never seen mutated fungi before. I always thought that even with evolution, the changes creatures like fungi could undergo were extremely limited. It seems my experience is still lacking,” Zhuo Wangsun remarked with feeling, walking up to a green fungus and wanting to collect a bit to take with him.

*Whap!* The Female Player slapped the light switch at that moment, the bright light shining right in his face. ”How many dungeons have you even been to? There are plenty of things you haven’t seen. Many of these things can build their own nests underground by themselves. I think it’s better not to take any.”

Zhuo Wangsun shielded his face with his hand and looked back. ”These can all be taken back for experiments. The sooner we know, the sooner we can prepare.”

Si Ming stood on the Female Player’s side. ”Actually, us coming in here wasn’t very appropriate. There are many types of fungi; some might even attach themselves to us. You’ve all seen this entire area is covered in mycelium, showing their powerful reproductive capabilities. If we accidentally bring them back to our own world, who knows if it might cause a new disaster.”

All three people present turned to look at him.

The Female Player was rather speechless. ”Why didn’t you say that earlier? If you’d said so earlier, we wouldn’t have come down!”

Si Ming sighed helplessly. ”Anyway, we’ve already crossed the foggy forest. Going back through it again would probably be the same. The point is, don’t casually touch the fungi on the ground to avoid unnecessary complications.”

Only then did Zhuo Wangsun abandon his idea of taking some fungi back for research.”Cleaning solution should be able to handle it,” Xu Huo said. ”Let’s first try to see if we can clear the stage.”

The Female Player and Si Ming each took out their little flags in turn, then shook their heads.

Xu Huo let out a soft sigh and shone his light forward. ”Since we’re already here, going forward a bit to look shouldn’t be a big problem.”

After saying that, he took the lead and walked further in along the passage.

Zhuo Wangsun watched his retreating back for a moment, then followed without saying much more.

The four of them traversed this winding passage. After walking for a few minutes, an incredibly massive underground maze appeared before their eyes. Crisscrossing mycelium hung between the stone walls and earth like silk satin. Some connected to the suspended stone pathway beneath their feet, while others plunged straight down into the darkness dozens of meters deep. All around, and on these mycelium strands, grew various colorful, fuzzy-looking fungi. Under the glow, they looked more like silk ribbons embedded with gems.

Xu Huo gave these mycelium strands a cursory glance. Most of them were suspended in mid-air. The rootlets growing from their undersides, unable to absorb nutrients, curved back and pierced into the mycelium itself. These extremely long mycelium strands were unbroken, meaning they could grow to lengths of dozens or even hundreds of meters.

Wind blew up from the abyss beneath their feet. He listened carefully and discovered there was also an extremely faint sound of flowing water down below.

These mycelium strands relied on a water source to grow. He wondered if this was the same place as the underground fungal world mentioned in that notebook. If it was, then there should be defensive mycelium here.

”Look what I found!” the Female Player exclaimed, picking up an old-fashioned canteen from a corner. ”Someone has definitely been here before. Look at these suspended stone paths, with bridges and piers. They must have been deliberately constructed.”

This was an underground world. Apart from the narrow pathways clinging to the rock walls, the things that could span the two sides were the arched bridge-like suspended stone paths interspersed in the middle. These suspended stone paths were laid one after another, crisscrossing left and right as they descended, seemingly forming a path leading precisely downward into the depths.

”What’s so good down there?” Si Ming said. ”They even went to the trouble of deliberately building a path.”

”Humans can evolve into players. Fungi can probably be put to other uses,” Zhuo Wangsun said. ”Never mind other things, those sticky mycelium strands are very useful. Also, many fungi are poisonous. Toxins are also valuable research materials.”

The Female Player tried her flag again nearby. Still not clearing the stage, she simply stuffed the item into her bag and tightened the straps. ”I want to go down and take a look. Might be able to scoop up some good stuff.”

Xu Huo was the first to second the motion. Si Ming was cautious, and Zhuo Wangsun’s attitude also seemed somewhat wavering.

”Do you think this underground passage might possibly connect to Clown City?” Xu Huo said at this point.

Si Ming said in surprise, ”Why do you say that?”

”The cleanup area originally belonged to Clown City. The scope of this underground nest isn’t small, and it’s full of passages everywhere. It might have already grown beneath Clown City,” Xu Huo said off the top of his head. ”The cleanup task is quite strange. Honestly, to reclaim this bit of land, there’s no need to sacrifice so many lives at all. Could it be that Clown City can’t use heavy firepower to eliminate the Mutants precisely because of these fungi?”

”Or perhaps, whether to reclaim the cleanup area isn’t important anymore. If this place is overrun with fungi, there really aren’t the conditions for reconstruction anyway.”

This reasoning, of course, didn’t hold water. At least to anyone with clear sight, the matter of the cleanup area task couldn’t be linked to the underground nest. If this underground nest truly extended beneath Clown City, either Clown City would have opened passages underground, or they would have completely sealed the passages off. In any case, they wouldn’t just leave it as is, unattended.

Only things without value are ignored.

However, Xu Huo had already thought of a good reason. ”Fungi can use the corpses of animals and plants as nourishment. Since the cleanup task isn’t important, could all those people piled up there have been used to feed the mushrooms?”

Put that way, the logic seemed to flow. The Female Player slapped her thigh. ”I knew it! There was no need for so many people to die. And Clown City was reluctant to send advanced players or true elites. They were probably using these people as fertilizer! These fungi definitely have major uses!”

Zhuo Wangsun was also tempted. ”Then let’s just go down. Might even get bonus points when clearing the stage.”

The higher the rating when clearing a dungeon, the better the items obtained. This is beyond doubt. Additionally, the higher the rating, the fewer dungeons needed to level up. The sooner you reach a higher level, the better the items you can get corresponding to that level after clearing stages. This is a tangible benefit every player is willing to take risks for.

Si Ming gritted his teeth. ”Fine!”

The group of four proceeded down along the suspended stone paths. After descending about thirty or forty meters in depth, the temperature below gradually dropped. Frost-flower-like fungi grew in the crevices of the stone walls. Occasionally, snowflake-like objects were released from above, occupying a space about ten meters high.

Repeating the previous journey, it wasn’t until they had descended about a hundred meters in depth that Xu Huo stopped. ”Don’t go any further. We need to find another path.”

The further down they went, the more complex the types of fungi became, but the overall environment was roughly similar to above. Moreover, traces left by previous people gradually became invisible. So, whether looking for another exit or truly valuable things, this wasn’t the correct path.