Chapter 297: Fungal Human Heads

On the Infinite, Lin Xian replied to Xiang Ningjing: "A 22-kilometer track laying, even at the most basic standard, is a massive undertaking."

"That's right," Ningjing mused. "My engineering team has reviewed the drone reconnaissance images. Multiple sections have collapsed, flooded, or become blocked beyond count. The two main issues are track materials and time-safety constraints."

"With so many End Train units, surely everyone has some emergency track preparations on hand?" Shu Qin spoke up.

"We already counted," Ningjing answered. "Everyone only prepared emergency tracks—hundreds of meters at most. Combined, we'd barely cover three or four kilometers. There's another option: dismantle tracks from the rear to patch the front. But then the time…"

In Car 2, everyone turned to look at Lin Xian.

"Our emergency track is only three hundred meters," Da Lou said. "That's nowhere near enough."

"Lin Xian, twenty-plus kilometers—even if you're making it yourself, won't that take a lot of effort?" Kiki turned in her swivel chair to face him.

Lin Xian shook his head. "Track manufacturing is simple, not labor-intensive. With so many adepts among us, clearing obstacles, plus the Longshan No. track-laying machine, it's not complicated. My only problem… is materials."

He had emptied his Decomposition Space during the repair of Chu Haoji. Now, it held only 30 grams of iron—just the small alarm clock he'd just devoured.

"But if we mobilize every train for track laying, the noise will be enormous. We don't know what might happen in this situation," Chen Sixuan said. "Could Longshan No. 's all-terrain vehicle drag the entire 22-kilometer train directly?"

"Drag a 15-kilometer train?" Kiki sighed upward. "Even if you wore out Longshan No. 's tracks, you couldn't move it. And if it derails, getting it back on won't be easy."

"She's right."

Lin Xian spoke now: "The best solution is still track splicing."

He thought a moment. "Let's form a small team to gather materials from the city. Combine them with the emergency tracks from other trains to supply Longshan No. 's laying machine. That'll be the most efficient."

"Seems like that's the only way," Kiki turned from her chair, her gaze teasing as she looked at Lin Xian. "Another burden for the savior."

Deep in her eyes lay a faint, nearly imperceptible concern—expertly concealed. Her acting was superb.

Hearing this, Chen Sixuan looked helplessly at Lin Xian: "Something feels off about this city… and the air…"

Lin Xian turned to Kiki. "Let's go down and check."

"Mm." Kiki nodded.

Lin Xian then discussed the plan with Ningjing and others. He took Kiki, had her extend her psychic shield to block external air, and prepared to disembark. For caution, he sealed the carriage alone, leaving only the two of them to open the door.

"Everyone stay on board. I'm going down first. All convoys remain silent. Await further orders."

"Understood, Lin Team Leader."

Voices from over a dozen convoy commanders echoed from behind. No one questioned this young train commander. All followed the Infinite as leader—this man had been the key to resolving the Xilan City crisis. Even Luo Yang of the Sun Train were his loyal followers.

Whoosh~

The hatch of Car 1 opened. Kiki extended her psychic shield to block the outside air, then both floated out of the Infinite.

Outside, the air was bitterly cold. Everywhere stretched glowing fungal colonies—on the ground, walls, vehicles, even people—strikingly eerie in the night.

"If these didn't grow on people, they'd be kinda beautiful," Kiki murmured, gazing at the glowing patches.

"Things that grow in eternal night—I have no taste for scenery," Lin Xian asked her. "How's it look?"

"No unusual sensation," Kiki, revived, reached down and plucked a glowing mushroom. She squeezed it gently—pfft! It burst, spraying brownish-yellow powder in all directions.

Kiki immediately used her psychic force to sweep it far away.

"Fungal spores?"

Lin Xian scanned the human-fungal hybrids. "This fungus seems capable of parasitizing humans directly."

"Not another parasite, another fake human?" Kiki recoiled. "That'd be disgusting."

She extended her psychic force toward the nearest human-fungal hybrid—a tall man still clad in a thick jacket, now entirely discolored by fungal filaments. Her power tugged—and the mushrooms and filaments peeled off his body… along with his dried clothing… and his skin and bones.

Creak-creak-creak—a grotesque sound. Kiki pulled harder, nausea rising. Her brow furrowed deeply.

At this moment, she felt as if she'd peeled the crispy skin off a fried chicken. Seeing the wet, rotting organs beneath the man's fungal shell, she nearly vomited.

Ugh~

Kiki gagged. She didn't notice that, as she peeled, the creature's eyes spun wildly—as if in excruciating pain.

Lin Xian frowned. This fungus seemed to turn people into something plant-like. He didn't even know its true form. If one got infected accidentally, it'd be game over.

"Let's go up and check," Lin Xian pointed upward.

"Alright." Kiki released her psychic hold, letting the human-fungal hybrid drop. Crack! Its head snapped off its neck like rotten wood, rolling on the ground—a bulbous mass of filaments and mushrooms.

Kiki then lifted them both with psychic force, ascending rapidly within their shield.

Soon, they reached several hundred meters high. Wind whipped fungal fragments against their gas masks. Lin Xian tightened his tether, tilted his head, and stared down. The dead city of Yijin was entirely smothered in strange fungal growths. Once a western tourist hotspot, now it was a kingdom of spores. Fungal veins flowed like glowing rivers across the ground; spore mists drifted slowly between buildings. Lin Xian felt a quiet awe. He now partly agreed with Kiki: without the grotesque human-fungals, this place looked like an alien landscape—strangely beautiful.

But don't look too close. Up close, the brownish-yellow fungal vines coiled like spiderwebs, layering buildings and ground. Condensation dripped from his mask into his collar, sending a chill through him. The glowing mushrooms pulsed faintly—dim, then bright. The entire fungal city breathed like a contracting womb, triggering visceral discomfort.

I remember before Revelation Day, Yijin was a popular online hotspot. Tourists flooded here for the Western Flower Festival, and there was even a steam train running through salt flats and canyons. Oh, right—there were lots of casinos here, like China's Las Vegas. Everyone said the roasted lamb and rose pies were amazing…

Kiki murmured, gazing at the city's silhouette beneath the dark. Suddenly, she turned to Lin Xian: "You think Eternal Night covered these cities just to grow these little mushrooms?"

Lin Xian scanned the area with his powered armor's reconnaissance radar and air sensors, then spoke directly to Kiki:

"Let's go back. Air's fine, but we must guard against these airborne spores. And the darkness of Eternal Night might be a bigger threat."

"You're right."

They returned to the Infinite. Lin Xian immediately checked the Hetero-Cube. After confirming no darkness intrusion inside, he finally relaxed.

"Everyone stay on board. I'm forming a temporary squad to gather materials in the city. Longshan No. , prepare the track-laying machine."

"Lin Team Leader, I'll go with you," Ningjing said immediately.

"And me!" Luo Yang shouted. "Lin Team Leader, my night vision's excellent. Take me!"

Lin Xian thought a moment. "Prepare your powered armor. If it's not fully enclosed, wear gas masks."

Since the Fake Human Town incident, Lin Xian felt bringing extra experts was wise. The 15-kilometer train was safe here—those night-dwelling giant rats couldn't threaten it. So why not bring more? More safety.

Kiki, of course, was going. But surprisingly, Huo Ge also volunteered.

"Aren't you the one who likes guarding the train? Why go now?" Kiki asked Lu Xingchen curiously.

Lu Xingchen smiled effortlessly. "In Eternal Night, we don't face darkness with gentleness—we face it with fire."

Lin Xian had no rebuttal. But he knew the real reason: Lu Xingchen had been shattered in Xilan City.

As a top adept, a Rampage-class, he'd failed to land an S-rank kill. Instead, he'd been chased through the city by giant worms and sea urchins, forced to be carried by two others. A man who called himself Fire God couldn't accept that. Since then, Lin Xian had noticed his gloom. Now, hearing of a squad mission, he instantly perked up.

"So we're six…"

"And me." Ding Junyi stepped forward from behind the crowd, hands in pockets, calm. Before Lin Xian could speak, she said: "Fungi and plants are fundamentally different—no chloroplasts, heterotrophic, absorb energy by secreting enzymes to break down dead or living organic matter. I'm deeply interested in these night fungi surviving in Eternal Night. Also, I can now directly sense the Dark Mark on my body. Do you have any reason not to take me?"

"No reason at all," Lin Xian exhaled, remembering: Ding Junyi was perfect. She could even absorb Dark Intrusion and convert it into pure energy. It was almost miraculous. And this strange fungal city needed her expertise.

"Chen Laoshi," Lin Xian said to Chen Sixuan, "you guard the train. With so many of us gone, you'll be safe."

Soon, a team of seven—Lin Xian, Kiki, Ding Junyi, Huoge, Ningjing, Abai, and Luo Yang—was assembled, with a simple goal: assist Lin Xian in entering the city to consume materials and then construct a rail escape route.

Quickly, the squad formed: Lin Xian, Kiki, Ding Junyi, Huo Ge, Ningjing, Bai Ye, and Luo Yang. Their goal was simple: assist Lin Xian in entering the city to devour materials and manufacture track to escape.

The rest of the convoy guarded the trains quietly. Longshan No. 's engineers had already begun work, installing the track-laying machine using temporary tracks and cranes, detaching one locomotive. Other convoys also sent helpers—all in powered armor and gas masks. Shi Di, Chen Sixuan, Mo Nika, Qian Dele, Li Yi, and others handled defense.

The electromagnetic railgun atop the Infinite rose silently, scanning under radar for suspicious targets.

The apocalyptic train, stretching fifteen kilometers and composed of over five hundred carriages, now sat silently in Yijin City, all lights and blinds shut, as still as a steel beast slumbering in the night; white mist continuously rose from the joints between carriages, while the human fungi along the route watched the train in silence, their eyes turning constantly, radiating an eerie aura.

The 15-kilometer-long End Train, composed of over 500 cars, sat motionless in Yijin City. All lights and blackout covers were shut. Silent as a steel beast slumbering in darkness. White mist rose continuously from car connections. The human-fungal hybrids along the route watched the train in silence, their eyes rotating, radiating eerie energy.

Dressed in TRP power armor and a gas mask, Lin Xian stepped onto the ground once more; a cold wind swept through, stirring up vast clouds of dry, brittle fungal vines. There was little snow on the ground—only human clothing scattered everywhere.

Lin Xian, clad in TRP powered armor and a gas mask, stepped onto the ground again. A cold wind swept across, lifting dry fungal filaments. Little snow remained; everywhere lay discarded human clothing.

All were fully armed. For safety, Chen Sixuan gave Ding Junyi the Black Hawk armor—she was the weakest fighter here. Kiki had her psychic shield, but couldn't maintain it constantly. So she wore a gas mask too. Lin Xian ordered everyone to cover all exposed skin.

These parasitic spores were more terrifying than parasites. If possible, Lin Xian wanted everyone in full-seal Black Hawk armor—air-circulated, waterproof.

Thinking of this, he decided to gather extra materials to build one for each core member. He'd swap his TRP armor for the regular troops, then upgrade later.

"Try not to get close to or touch these things," Lin Xian said, leading the group through a gap in the chain-link fence beside the tracks. Outside lay dilapidated old houses; he did not turn on his flashlight but moved forward using only the faint glow of the bioluminescent mushrooms.

"Try not to touch or get close to these things," Lin Xian led the group through a gap in the fence beside the track. Outside lay ruined old houses. He didn't turn on his flashlight, relying only on the faint glow of the bioluminescent fungi.

The human-fungal hybrids merely turned their heads with creaking sounds upon hearing noise—no movement, no attack.

"Strange. Some of these are survivors, others are zombies…"

Luo Yang, excited, trailed behind Lin Xian like a fanboy, eyes fixed on the fungal clusters and hybrids. "These aren't new. They've been here days, maybe weeks."

Lin Xian pulled out his long-unused phone, searched, found the old Yijin City map, checked location, and formed a plan.

Not far away lay an auto city, with many shops along the way. His goal was only metal materials—he'd move fast. He didn't want to linger in Eternal Night. With the spread of Star Abyss No. , the longer they stayed, the harder escape would be.

A discarded car, overgrown with mushrooms by the roadside, suddenly dissolved into ash; the fungal vines clinging to it still retained the shape of the vehicle, their roots spreading endlessly across the ground, appearing strangely alive.

A roadside car, overgrown with mushrooms, suddenly turned to ash. The fungal filaments clinging to it still held the car's shape, roots spreading across the ground—strangely eerie.

Luo Yang and Ningjing had never seen Lin Xian use his devouring ability before. A whole car vanishing instantly stunned them.

"Lin Team Leader, can you make a car disappear from that far?" Luo Yang stared at Lin Xian as if gazing at a god.

Lin Xian's mechanical ability truly looked terrifying.

A mere wave of his hand erased an inorganic object. Even Lin Xian felt his control over machinery had undergone a qualitative leap.

"You don't need to touch things to devour them anymore?" Kiki whispered, hovering near his ear.

"Lin Brother's ability has advanced so rapidly—I must have grown too complacent," Lu Xingchen said, his voice hoarse behind the gas mask, his face filled with uncertainty.

"Lin Brother's ability advances so fast—I must have been too lax," Lu Xingchen said, voice muffled by his mask, face full of bewilderment.

Ding Junyi watched Lin Xian's actions with unusual awe, amazed by the change in his power.

"There are many monster signatures here."

Ding Junyi blinked, knowing Abai could sense monster auras and dark markers, so she too tried to perceive them; clad in Black Hawk battle armor, her vision filled with radar feeds and smart data, she was unfamiliar with the suit and could only relay the information it captured to Lin Xian: "Those human fungi seem alive, but they're different from the weird entities."

Ding Junyi blinked. She knew Bai Ye could sense monster signatures and Dark Marks. She tried to sense too. Wearing the Black Hawk armor, her visor displayed radar and smart data. She was unfamiliar with it, so she relayed what the armor detected: "Those human-fungals seem alive—but different from Strange Entities."

"Everyone, be careful. We don't know their threat level. Avoid them," Ningjing warned.

"Jing-jie…" Bai Ye's voice tightened. "The signatures I sense… aren't from these fungal humans."

Lin Xian was rapidly consuming the abandoned cars by the roadside when he sensed something odd—they were being watched by countless human fungi, yet among those gazes, some felt distinctly different.

Lin Xian, busy devouring roadside cars, sensed something wrong. They were watched by countless human-fungals—but among those gazes, something different lingered.

"Kiki."

【101】 "Got it."

Lin Xian greeted Kiki; with their powerful telekinesis ability, they could lift everyone off the ground at once if trouble arose, granting exceptional mobility.

Everyone now stood alert around Lin Xian, scanning the surroundings, while Lin Xian, regardless of danger, seized every moment to devour—this was the priority.

They had no interest in what monsters or hazards lurked in the city, nor any desire to search for supplies; their sole goal was to repair the tracks and leave as soon as possible.

Gurgling~

In the silent, damp street, a strange rolling sound suddenly echoed—muffled and heavy. All eyes turned toward it, seeing a black, spherical object slowly rolling out from the shadows ahead.

"Watch out!" Xiang Ningjing shouted, shielding Bai Bai and the others behind her.

As the sphere drew nearer, they glimpsed, under the faint glow of the night-light mushrooms, that it was a human head completely covered in fungal mycelium.

Instantly, more rolling sounds emerged from the darkness—more human heads rolled forth, each as if alive, crawling toward street corners, utility poles, city flower beds, and the edges of billboards, where they halted, then slowly turned their waxen, lifeless faces, coated in damp mycelium, to "watch" these outsiders with their eyes.

"Lin Xian?"

This sight sent a chill through Kiki; she whispered to Lin Xian, ready to use her telekinesis and flee at any moment.

None of them used any light source, and their movements were silent. Lin Xian scanned the surroundings, and soon, from every corner of the street, these rolling fungal heads stared at them with fixed gazes.

"They appear to be living human heads," Ding Junyi spoke up. She stared at the nearest fungal head. "The best course is to take a few samples back for study."

Hearing this, Lin Xian felt a sharp pain shoot through his trigeminal nerve—bringing these things onto the train would mean no one would get any rest.

Returning to the present, the growing strangeness had everyone on edge. Lin Xian pondered, then raised his hand to repair a distant streetlamp, adding a battery. With a snap of his fingers, the abandoned lamp flickered to life with a dim, yellow glow.

Instantly, the fungal heads across the street began violently twitching—"click, click, click"—ripping free their mycelial mats from the ground, jerking their rotting leg joints, some walking, some climbing, like puppets converging on the lamp. Then came the eerie sight: they gathered beneath the lamp, clustering tightly, their mycelium erupting in wild growth. Within seconds, the mycelium completely covered, wrapped, and climbed the lamp post, weaving into a biological dome that engulfed the light above. Moments later, the battery Lin Xian installed rapidly decayed and collapsed, its energy vanishing entirely.

The street plunged back into darkness.

Everyone's faces turned pale at the sight. Xiang Ningjing immediately said: "Thank goodness none of these things climbed onto our train…"

"It seems this mycelium rapidly consumes energy," Luo Yang frowned. "And if we attack them, they explode violently. They're genuinely troublesome."

Lin Xian's heart sank. These things were too strange—if they crawled onto the Infinite, who knew what havoc they'd cause? They were the perfect enemy of machinery. Worst of all, their spores floated invisibly in the air; if inhaled, there'd be no defense.

"The human body also emits bioenergy."

Ding Junyi added: "This suggests the fungal spores are more dangerous than viruses. Physical methods won't easily solve this."

Lin Xian looked at the group, suddenly headachy: "Damn. If these spores cling to us and we can't clean them off, how do we get back?"

"That's simple."

To everyone's surprise, Ding Junyi showed no concern: "There are many ways to deactivate fungal spores. We can use the lab's ozone chamber for fumigation, or UV sterilization in a clean bench—but only if…"

She glanced at the glowing mycelial mats beside the street: "These are truly fungi, not some strange dark entity."

"Director Ding, look," Kiki pointed at the fungal heads watching them from the street corners: "They're not drawn to the light—they've just been staring at us all along."

(End of Chapter)