You said mechs were going to fight monsters, but instead you're destroying stars with your bare

Chapter 88 The Abyss on the Tip of the Tongue Season 2

Look around.

The sky was a sickly yellowish-green, as if it were forever shrouded in a thick layer of poisonous fog.

Beneath your feet lies sticky, slippery, and constantly bubbling soft mud.

With each step, it made a disgusting "gurgling" sound.

As far as the eye could see, there was a forest full of life, yet also incredibly disgusting, composed of wriggling, eerily fluorescent fungal carpets and giant mushrooms.

here……

That is the Sea of ​​Decay Forest.

A world completely different from the Steel Empire.

A world filled with primitiveness and wildness, flesh and decay.

That's when.

The fungal carpet beneath my feet suddenly began to wriggle violently.

Clumps of thick, translucent, snot-like substance slowly "grew" out from the fungal carpet.

【Slime and Rotten Slime (STSLM-15017)】

[Type: First Generation Abyss Apostle - Slime - Fungal Mutant]

【Combat strength: 1.7】

【Special Abilities: ① High Physical Resistance: Provides extremely high damage reduction against conventional physical attacks. ② Corrosive Slime: Can spray highly corrosive slime, causing continuous damage to mech armor.】

[Note: I am not a slime]

At the same time, the giant mushrooms around them also began to shake violently.

Beneath their canopies, large swathes of colorful spore clouds suddenly erupted.

【Highly poisonous spore mushroom (STSPO-16016)】

[Type: First Generation Abyss Apostle - Fungal Species - Fungal Mutant]

【Combat strength: 1.6】

【Special Abilities: ① Spore Cloud: The released spores contain potent neurotoxins that can interfere with the mech's piloting system and cause mental confusion in the pilot. ② Camouflage: When not attacking, it blends seamlessly with the surrounding ordinary mushrooms, making it extremely difficult to distinguish.】

[Note: Do not pick mushrooms growing by the roadside]

"interesting."

Li Zhe looked at these brand-new monsters, a playful smile curving his lips.

Although they were just low-level mobs on level 0.

But their attack methods and characteristics are even more disgusting than those "iron lumps" from the Steel Empire.

However, for Li Zhe now...

These unique little things are still just appetizers.

"Xing, start preparing the meal."

Li Zhe activated the Demon God Armor Mode.

He fought in black mecha for the first time in a long time.

I charged forward, heading straight towards the colorful cloud of spores and the sticky, slimy creatures.

A brand new "food hunt" has begun.

……

The battle was easy.

But the outcome... was somewhat subtle.

After a fierce battle, Li Zhe looked at the brand-new "ingredients" in the maintenance hangar and fell into a long silence.

Clumps of "fungal tendons" that were still wriggling slightly and emitting a sour smell.

Each petal is brightly colored, yet drips with a sticky, putrid liquid—a "petal of rotting flesh."

And those bulging, pus-filled spores, looking like they might burst at any moment...

These things...

Is it really edible?
“Commander, please don’t worry.” Xing seemed to see through his concerns and calmly analyzed, “Although the appearance and smell of these materials do not conform to conventional aesthetics.”

"But the energy contained within it is far purer and richer than that of the 'inorganic matter' of the Steel Empire."

She paused, then projected a detailed "cooking plan".

"Based on my analysis, mixing the fungal tendon with the rotten flesh petals, using the spore pustules as a fermenting agent, and baking at a low temperature can neutralize its toxicity to the greatest extent and bring out a unique flavor similar to fermented bean products."

Li Zhe's lips twitched slightly as he looked at the "recipe" that resembled a biological weapon manufacturing process.

Fermented soy products...

Are you sure you're not talking about "stinky tofu" or "canned herring"?
But in order to become stronger, he gritted his teeth and followed Xing's plan to cook a "dark cuisine." When that "dish," which emitted an indescribable smell and looked like something indescribable, was ready...

Li Zhe felt his SAN value was dropping rapidly at a visible rate.

"I...I did it!"

He closed his eyes, steeled his resolve, and swallowed the lump of food whole.

next second.

"Um?!"

An indescribable, complex flavor, a blend of rich mushroom aroma and a unique, sweet meatiness, exploded in his mouth!
good to eat!

It was surprisingly delicious!
[Ding! Enhancement successful! Your base combat power has been increased to 4.52!]

"Cool!"

Li Zhe's eyes lit up instantly.

You can't judge a book by its cover, and the same goes for food.

Over the next few days, Li Zhe immersed himself in this bittersweet experience of monster hunting and food exploration.

His figure traversed every corner of the Sea of ​​Decay forest.

They hunted all sorts of monsters, each one more dreadful to look at than the last, but each one more delicious to eat than the last.

His combat strength also steadily improved through this daily "nutritional supplementation".

4.55...

4.6...

4.7...

On the evening of June 28, Li Zhe's basic combat strength successfully reached 5.0.

Just then, Xing's voice rang in his mind once again.

“Commander, through energy analysis of a special plant called ‘Purifying Moss’ in the Corruption Forest, I seem to have… found a way to neutralize the violent abyssal energy of the [Fallen Star Core].

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhe's spirits lifted.

Without hesitation, he retrieved the two Fallen Star Cores he had obtained from the Fallen Mech from the maintenance hangar.

One of them was combined with the freshly collected "purifying moss" and prepared in a special way.

When he swallowed that star core, which emitted a soft glow as if it had been completely purified—

"boom--!!!!!"

An unprecedented, more powerful energy than ever before, instantly exploded within his body!

His basic combat strength skyrocketed like a rocket!
5.5...

6.0...

6.5...

Finally, it came to a steady stop...

6.99!

"Awesome! By the way... 6.99?"

Looking at the familiar ".99" on the panel, Li Zhe felt a sense of foreboding.

He immediately tried to eat the hot spring egg dish with a rotten sea forest theme that was in stock.

Under normal circumstances, this hot spring egg can increase my combat power by 0.01, and I haven't developed any resistance to the food here yet.

Theoretically, we should be able to continue increasing our combat strength...

however……

The numbers on the panel remained unchanged.

"Commander, you... have hit a bottleneck again."

Xing's voice carried a hint of solemnity.

Li Zhe took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He knew that this meant he would face a completely new challenge.

Could this pseudo-mecha of mine be some kind of pseudo-spiritual root? There are so many bottlenecks here.

"Xing, list out the new breakthrough plan."

"Yes, Commander."

A brand new list of materials was presented to Li Zhe...

(End of this chapter)