Chapter 647: Mushrooms and the Future

Kelei En's voice drifted vaguely, echoing in Lei Ke Dun's ears:

"I went to see Wei Er Angsaiting; he knows information about the Ghost Empire, and he requires a method that can restore a certain amount of power during a weak period as payment."

"It's simple for you: a talisman that borrows power from history only needs to consume a Spirit Worm."

Lei Ke Dun gave a brief explanation, and while speaking he raised his left hand, where specks of pale blue starlight materialized and fluttered swiftly, sketching a three‑dimensional, strange rune.

Even through the gray mist, as Kelei En stared at the symbol, he felt dizzy, as a flood of information far beyond his capacity and comprehension surged into his mind, yet remained formless because he could not grasp it.

Kelei En rested one hand on the table, the other on his temple, forcing himself to memorize the entire symbol.

"One memorization is enough; even if I forget, above this gray mist I can quickly retrieve it through divination."

After forcibly memorizing the mysterious symbol Lei Ke Dun displayed, Kelei En exhaled, noticing the memory beginning to blur but not caring, then asked, "How should I inscribe this peculiar symbol onto a talisman?"

Lei Ke Dun's voice resonated over the gray mist through deep‑red stars: "Carving advanced talismans can only be done bit by bit with mental power, so once a talisman exceeds one's own sequence, it becomes very difficult."

"This technique of borrowing power from history belongs to your next sequence, 'Ancient Scholar'; engraving such runes shouldn't be too hard for you."

Is that not too hard? I can barely memorize the whole symbol, I muttered quietly to myself, Kelei En said, ending the brief exchange and leaving the gray mist, ready to attempt making the talisman.

Lei Ke Dun spent some time in the forest with Tu Ba Ge, letting it acquire information on common animals, plants, and even some extraordinary creatures.

When exhausted, Tu Ba Ge lay at Lei Ke Dun's feet, recalling the newly gathered data and murmuring softly, "Pomont Hare: coarse fur, strong biting and leaping, hind‑leg meat firm, suitable for stewing or grilling. Black Golden Parrot: the smartest bird, gifted with high learning and mimicry; older ones can even craft tools, making them a component of scholars' magic elixirs."

A moment later, it suddenly puzzled, "Boss, the information in my head seems off; I feel I could easily dissect the forest's animals and plants into a delicious feast."

"Solving the food problem is the Southern Continent's greatest need, and also the best way for you to digest magic elixirs."

Lei Ke Dun gave a brief explanation; inspiration struck, and he lifted his hand to catch a pale‑yellow sheet tossed from the spirit realm by a book messenger, shaking it out and spreading it before him:

This is Frank's letter; his arm was injured by those mushrooms, so I had to write it for him.

Recently his research made great strides; according to his description, the mushroom that can survive in darkness and feed on monster flesh is nearing success, and he wishes to invite you aboard the Future to see if you're satisfied with those mushrooms.

As the captain of the Future, I also hope you can come aboard; otherwise this place will become a mushroom paradise. Frank doesn't know what materials he used; those mushrooms are insane, pouncing on anyone they see.

I can't protect Frank's experimental results while merely clearing those mutated mushrooms. No, in our eyes all those mushrooms are abnormal. In short, I hope you can come to the Future soon and take Frank and his mushrooms off the ship for a while.

Lei Ke Dun exhaled a long breath, his deep eyes gazing ahead as if he could see the Future, anchored at sea, being overtaken by Frank's mushrooms.

He paused two seconds, tossed the letter back into the spirit realm, then lowered his head toward Tu Ba Ge at his feet, hesitating whether to bring the rabbit onto the Future, worried his own rabbit might gain unnecessary insight from Frank.

After all, a rabbit's mind differs from humans. If later at sea there is Frank Li and on land Frank the rabbit, that would be troublesome.

He sighed inwardly, and Lei Ke Dun lowered his gaze, saying:

"I'm going to the Future, you."

Before he could finish, Tu Ba Ge sprang up from the ground, hands on his hips, with an unsurprised expression, "Are we going to find Frank? Indeed, he's already a Druid, so he surely knows how to digest a biologist's magic elixir."

Seeing Tu Ba Ge's high spirits, Lei Ke Dun swallowed the words about sending him back to Pas River Valley, placed a hand on its head, helping it transform into an informational being and surge toward the Suniya Sea.

On the Future, pale‑green smoke billowed; upon close inspection, the smoke writhed slowly, as if composed of countless living microscopic organisms.

On the deck, along the hull, and in the cabin crevices, the towering sails pulsed with mushrooms of all sizes, beating like individual hearts.

Naval Captain Ao Tuoluo Fu and Sailor Chief Nina organized the crew to spray antidotes throughout the cabin's mess hall, suppressing the wildly growing mushrooms aboard.

Dropping the empty spray bottle, Nina found a relatively clean chair, sat, glared at Frank who was struggling with the mushroom overgrowth, and muttered, "Damned, these bastards' creations—I never want to see mushrooms again in my life." Saying so, she still felt unsatisfied, stepped toward Frank, kicked his back, sending him into a corner pile of mushrooms.

White, thread‑like mycelium shot out from surrounding mushrooms, enveloping Frank layer by layer, burying him in the mushroom heap.

"Um"

Frank tried to open his mouth to shout, but as soon as he did, white mycelium blocked it, leaving only a whimpering sound.

After two struggles, his body swelled, brown short hair tearing his clothes, instantly transforming into a giant bear two people tall.

The surrounding mushrooms throbbed rapidly, expressing excitement, while the white mycelium spewed outward freely, drowning the brown bear Frank had become.

Some mycelial strands acquired a silvery metallic sheen, becoming unusually sharp, grinding away the bear's outer skin bit by bit, oozing bright red blood; other strands softened, gaining elasticity, purposefully probing the bear's body.

Those mycelial strands proved unexpectedly resilient; no matter how the giant bear strained, they never fully released, gradually becoming numb and weak under the toxin's influence.

Jia Deli Ya lifted the glasses on her nose, seriously scrutinizing the extent of the mushrooms' mutation, noting it wasn't something a simple experimental runaway could cause. What problematic material did Frank use when cultivating these mushrooms? Or is the sea itself flawed? Across the mess hall, Naval Captain Ao Tuoluo Fu voiced her thoughts:

"My god, these mushrooms have evolved again. What monster did Frank create? Is this food for humans or are we food for them?"

"Um um. Um~~"

The giant bear thrashing violently among the mycelium and mushrooms slowed its movements; its whimpering tone shifted, becoming low and patient, both painful and pleasurable.

Crew members who witnessed the scene instinctively stepped back, as if recalling some terrible memory.

"Captain?" He‑si Dao Er, pale‑skinned with a translucent hue, hesitated, looking toward Jia Deli Ya.

Jia Deli Ya let out a soft sigh, saying with a hint of resignation, "These mushrooms have gradually adapted to my magic, greatly resisting the sleep effect."

Then just leave it alone; besides being disgusting, these mushrooms aren't directly lethal, at most they spawn a bunch of tiny mushrooms. The nasty stuff he created, he has to experience himself.

"If he hadn't been tossing mushrooms everywhere, how would these damned things have covered the whole ship so fast? The Future is almost overtaken by mushrooms."

She paused, then looked worriedly at Jia Deli Ya, leaning close to whisper:

"Captain, you really can't clear these mushrooms?"

Jia Deli Ya slowly shook her head:

"Without damaging the Future, it's difficult; these mushrooms have rooted deeply in the ship, almost becoming one with it."

"These mushrooms have been subjected to extremely high‑level contamination, making them hard to fully eradicate; coupled with their rapid reproduction, they're nearly merged with the Future."

"Damn it, all Frank's fault," Nina glared at the brown bear now engulfed by mushrooms, muttering through clenched teeth.

She recalled waking from her nap to find mushrooms everywhere—some on her chest, some on her thighs, even on her mouth and the upper thigh, secreting a white, milk‑like fluid, which made her nauseated.

Jia Deli Ya cast a wordless glance toward Frank's direction, still unable to fathom how these mushrooms evaded her perception and covered the entire Future.

Based on when I wrote this letter, Al should be arriving soon; I hope he can deal with these mushrooms, otherwise we'll have to forcefully remove them, which will inevitably damage the Future.

As thoughts drifted, inspiration struck; she turned her head toward the deck, a deep pale‑purple flash in her eyes.

On the Future's deck, a "glow" invisible to most extraordinary beings materialized out of nowhere, waves of massive information converging rapidly, reconstituting Lei Ke Dun and Tu Ba Ge's bodies.

(End of Chapter)