New Challenges

After almost a year of the Miniature Cataclysm, the mutated individuals have gained a lot of knowledge about the surrounding food and environment. Mushrooms like the one mentioned earlier, known as spotted mushrooms, can often be collected on relatively damp and mossy walls and floors. They have a delicious and fragrant taste, making them a rare nutritional food.

Even now, they have also chopped several spotted mushrooms. The mushroom that 357 went to chop just now has a very similar appearance to spotted mushrooms, so 357 did not pay attention carefully.

Unexpectedly, such a mushroom would hide deadly corrosive dust on its cap, which is truly surprising.

The gladiators looked around the body of 357 and then at the spotted mushroom that was the culprit, all feeling uneasy. There are still several flowers around, if they are all like this, who dares to go up?

The single kidney dog drove the Labrador mutant dog over and impatiently scolded, "What are you all looking at? Hurry up and work for me. I didn't collect enough 30 spotted mushrooms before dark. When I go back tonight, I'll pick someone to feed my dog."

Tom turned around and suggested, "Dog, let your dog help us break this mushroom." Other mutated mushrooms like this may also have crystals inside, but of course, this is just his guess.

But the single kidney dog was unwilling to say, "Why? My dog's leg is even more valuable than your little life. If it hurts, you can treat it? You are the captain, and you have an obligation to verify which of these spotted mushrooms can rot people. Hurry up, it's getting dark!"

Tom looked at the fearful gazes of the others, then at the head of the single kidney dog protruding from the dog's head on the 4th floor, sighed, picked up a knife, and walked towards the spotted mushroom that had just killed 357.

The spotted mushroom only opened its cap and shook off the dust when it approached the front and back at 357. Tom decided to make a quick decision and rushed towards the spotted mushroom at lightning speed. He slashed the stem with a machete and then used inertia to jump out and roll to widen the distance.

This method may seem silly and awkward, but it can trigger the spread of the spotted mushroom while quickly escaping the range of dust.

As expected, the mutated spotted mushroom once again stretched and shook out the dust. This time, the amount was not as much as before, and there were not many scattered ones. Tom also successfully escaped the coverage of the dust and was unharmed.

"Captain, this move is great, haha!" Number 176 exclaimed in admiration, and others also cheered.

Don't worry about this one for the time being, Tom led everyone to the next spotted mushroom and began to explore it as planned. If the speckled mushroom has not triggered dust, it indicates that it has not mutated. On the 176th, two gladiators were immediately assigned to chop it down, and then on the 97th, they dragged it aside and built it.

When cutting to the fourth one, the dust was indeed triggered again, once again proving that the mutated spotted mushroom on the unlucky stall 357 just now was not the only one.

After chopping down 36 mushrooms one by one, Tom found that 4 of them were dusty, so these spotted mushrooms were naturally not suitable for taking back for consumption. Despite the strong physical fitness of mutated humans, they lack confidence to compete with other mutated plants in nature.

How can we transport the supplies back to the small people when they find them outside? That's naturally through other means of transportation.

Although a single kidney dog feels superior, its Labrador variant is still the best choice for handling.

The single kidney dog controls it to lie down in front of a pile of concentrated spotted mushrooms, and the gladiators use a crane to lift the spotted mushrooms up, which are then fixed by mutated humans. As the captain, Tom can now wander nearby under the pretext of assisting in surveillance, as long as he does not cross the warning line drawn by the mutant next to him.

He came to the first mutated spotted mushroom and quickly ran over with the same technique, cutting off the stem. This time, the cap could no longer be extended, probably because the corrosive dust inside had been exhausted. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and rushed forward to cut off the mutated spotted mushrooms twice.

Mutated plants do not exhibit aggressive behavior for no reason, basically for the purpose of obtaining nutrients, just like the mechanism of flytrap. Spotted mushrooms trigger defense mechanisms when a creature approaches and invades them, and the corrosive dust shaken off by the spreading cap corrodes the creatures under their umbrella. The purpose may not be as simple as killing the invading organism.

After chopping down the spotted mushrooms, Tom began to dig through the soil under their feet with a knife.

Mushrooms are composed of two parts: mycelium and fruiting body, and mycelium is a nutrient organ. Mycelia can be divided into basal hyphae, aerial hyphae, and spore hyphae.

Basal hyphae crawl and grow on the surface of nutrient substrates or extend into the interior of substrates. They have the function of absorbing water and nutrients like the roots of plants.

Tom found a bone, a human bone, in the damp mud where the mycelium of this spotted mushroom had penetrated.

This confirms his speculation: the mutated spotted mushroom mutates into corrosive dust, corroding organisms close to it. After corrosion, the remaining nutrients of the corpse are absorbed by its basal mycelium, leaving only a mottled skeleton.

In addition to human bones, Tom also discovered some hard shells of ants, which can resist these corrosive dust, but the unprotected parts of the hard shells are powerless.

If the blood of a mutated dog can provide it with crystal energy, what about a mutated spotted mushroom?

Tom looked around and saw that the big guy's attention was focused on moving, so he squatted down and used a knife to cut open the stem of the spotted mushroom, digging out some of the mycelium inside. He hesitated for a moment as he looked at the mycelium, but still stuffed it into his mouth to chew.

The bitter taste is not very pleasant to chew, but after a few more bites, it becomes a bit sweet.

"Now... can I also be considered as indirectly cannibalistic?"

At that time, Wen Yikui believed that the Jingba dog had eaten the crystal energy that humans had not yet slept and purified, which was why it was absorbed by Tom. I just don't know how to purify this spotted mushroom after absorbing the crystal energy contained in human flesh, because no one knows if plants or fungi have the concept of "sleeping".

According to the definition of the R&D department, the crystal energy contained in the human body is collectively referred to as crystal energy. Other organisms eat human meat and also consume these crystalline energy sources. If humans directly consume crystalline energy, it will cause mutations. But after eating crystal energy, organisms fall asleep, and the mechanisms inside the body begin to filter and purify the crystal energy, removing some impurities that are not good for the human body, condensing into crystals, and becoming clean crystal energy.

He gambled that spotted mushrooms are different from living organisms in that they do not need to filter and purify those crystal energy sources. If these mycelium contain crystal energy, the crystal nuclei in his body can absorb these crystal energy sources and provide capital for resistance.

In two days, he will face another gladiator in the health care team, who is second only to Captain Mao in strength. Not only is he tall, but his strength is also not small. If it's just hand to hand combat, it's okay. Once he picks up a sharp blade to fight, his killing power is not something his current defense can withstand.

After taking a few bites, Tom suddenly felt a warm sensation in his abdomen, which was the location of his crystal nucleus, proving his correctness. This mycelium was indeed rich in the crystal energy he needed.

Taking advantage of no one's attention, he quickly took a big bite into his mouth and peeled a long piece, secretly stuffing it into his single clothes. Finally, he pushed the mushroom into the pit, so that others could not easily notice anything unusual when they turned back from a distance.

A total of 48 spotted mushrooms were packed into a box on the back of the Labrador mutant dog, and then the mutant guards gathered around to count all the gladiators, ensuring that every person brought out was a considerable number (excluding the dead 357). Only then did they all fit into a large carriage, which was dragged back by the Labrador dog.

Due to being at night, the carriage is made of iron sheet with only some ventilation holes, so the interior is pitch black. After dealing with everyone, Tom found a dark corner and quietly took out the mycelium containing crystal energy under his clothes to eat.

If it were directly cannibalistic, it might be more effective, but Tom couldn't cross this hurdle. All he could do was look for opportunities to replenish his crystal energy as much as possible, in order to restore his strength and leave the mutant camp and return to the shelter.

During this period, on the 176th, he ran over with some curiosity, but was constantly alert and perfunctory. Then, he continued to stay alone and continue eating mycelium.

Once returning to the campsite, in order to ensure that the gladiators who go out to collect resources cannot hide the collected materials and go back, they need to be stripped naked and searched, and not a single crack will be missed. So Tom must finish eating all the hidden mutated hyphae before returning to the camp.

Fortunately, the dog with a single kidney couldn't run too fast to pull the carriage, so the return journey was a bit long. Although Tom had limited time to stay alone, he still managed to eat up the hidden mycelium before returning to the supermarket campsite.

After returning to the campsite, they found that the campsite was once again in a frenzy. Upon inquiry, it turned out that Zhao Xifeng had completed the construction of the Flame Fighting Vehicle for Zhang Meng. This morning, he proudly drove out with a group of mutants to capture a survivor camp, bringing back more than 40 ordinary survivors. It is said that there were also several awakeners inside.

However, Awakeners who rely on crystals to use their abilities are limited by the energy stock of crystals, and a few Awakeners, along with Zhang Meng and more than twenty battle type mutants, find it difficult to resist and ultimately fall.

This night is enough for them to make a fuss.

However, this has nothing to do with Tom and others. After they were released and unloaded, they were moved into the warehouse and then driven back to their own prison, waiting for the arrangements for a new day tomorrow.

Tom returned to his exclusive bed and lay down, feeling the warmth of his navel. However, his body was unexpectedly very tired. He speculated that perhaps the crystal nucleus began to readjust its body after absorbing crystal energy, which was why it was so tired.

On the 176th, I ran over to ask him about something and expressed my concern when I saw his tired appearance. After all, due to the recent humid climate, many people have had health problems. Tom said it's okay, just take a nap and leave with peace of mind on the 176th.

Before Tom closed his eyes again, he unexpectedly saw number 97 looking meaningfully at the back of number 176 leaving, and then turned to look at him with a pitiful expression in his eyes, which made Tom somewhat puzzled.

Over the past month, he found that the 176th was very respectful to him, and if he had any doubts, mentioning the 176th was a matter of knowing without hesitation. In terms of combat, the 176th has a slightly weaker strength, but has a good strategic awareness, and its score is at a level of neither high nor low. In terms of combat effectiveness, the number 176 is considered to be at a mid to low level. But because this person is very knowledgeable, many people in the team still respect him.

On the other hand, this number 97, although he has always been very dissatisfied with Tom being the captain and often opposes him in his words, has never compromised or delayed the team's task execution. In the last four on four brawl, he not only performed well in the battle, but also knew how to take care of other teammates, resisting several very threatening attacks for his teammates.

Nearly a year after the micro disaster, people have adapted to the survival laws of the apocalypse, but some people are not bad in nature. They only learned how to protect themselves in the life and death environment of the apocalypse.

Tom didn't have time to think so much, and he quickly fell asleep, feeling exhausted all over.

Just don't know how long it was before he was awakened by the noisy voices. He opened his sleepy eyes and looked at the crowd with a faint light. He found that there were several men and women in the crowd who were relatively poorly dressed, and it seemed that they were new. Of course, this is not the point. The point is that four or five team members fell to the ground motionless, unaware of life or death.

"Captain, Captain 301, wake up quickly. The new newcomer is here to challenge you!" 176th walked over quickly with a happy expression on his face.