The world enters the fungal world

Chapter 113 Zombie Beetle (10,000 words, please subscribe and vote/thanks to Wild Donkey from Lop Nur for the reward)

Li Yu was also looking around. After listening to Zhou Xigang's introduction, he slowly recognized that the overpass that had been winding through the area and was mostly collapsed should be part of the "ring road".

The towering buildings in the distance are what Zhou Xigang called "Yuexiu New Garden," which belongs to the "Yuexiu District" in the west of Jiangcheng.

Qian Lili shook the raindrops from her hair. Although she had studied at university in Jiangcheng for a few years, she wasn't particularly familiar with the city. She replied, "Don't tell us what this place is. Just tell us which district on the map this is and how far it is from Supply Point No. 5."

Zhou Xigang touched the raindrops from his nose and mouth before saying, "It belongs to the western area on the map, with a medium level of danger. As for the distance to supply point number five—"

His mind started racing, calculating the distance, and he quickly said, "Following this ring road south, the distance to Supply Point No. 5 should be between 12.5 and 12.8 kilometers, as long as we don't take a detour."

Qian Lili glared at him and said, "Your calculation isn't as accurate as last time. There's a difference of three hundred meters between these two values. Is your memory failing you?"

Zhou Xigang's eyes widened, and he became anxious: "What do you know? The farther the distance, the greater the error will be. I have to take all of it into account. Twelve kilometers, with an error of only 300 meters, what more do you want? This is a human brain, not a real satellite navigation system. You need to respect objective facts."

He has always considered himself intelligent and had a good memory, and now that someone is questioning him, he immediately gets anxious.

Seeing his flushed and anxious face, Qian Lili couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing so hard she bent over backwards.

Li Yu watched them bickering and shook his head, saying, "Don't be so happy yet. Let's think about what day it is today and how many days we've been trapped in that underground world."

Upon hearing this, Qian Lili stopped laughing.

Lin Muying thought for a moment and said, "They must have been trapped for two or three days."

Zhou Xigang said with certainty, "No need to think about it. Today is the 6th. We fell into the ground on the 3rd and have been underground for three days. Judging from the sky, it's most likely around the afternoon of the 6th."

Seeing how certain he was, everyone looked at him with some surprise. Qian Lili asked, "Are you so sure?"

She felt dizzy the whole way. In that underground world, she couldn't perceive the passage of time at all, and couldn't even distinguish between day and night. How could she remember how long she had been gone?

Zhou Xigang said confidently, "If you don't believe me, just ask one of the indigenous people."

Fang Mingxuan suddenly asked, "Where are we going next? To the supply point? Or continue to the hotel?"

Qian Lili couldn't help but turn pale and said, "Don't even mention the hotel. Just thinking about it is terrifying. If I fell in again, I would go crazy."

Lin Muying suddenly said, "Do you think the abyss beneath the hotel might be connected to the underground world we fell into before? After all, the place where we fell was very close to the hotel."

Li Yu nodded slightly and said, "That's a possibility, but we'll have to go and see for ourselves to know for sure."

Lin Muying's beautiful eyes flickered as she looked at Li Yu and asked, "So, where do you think we should go next?"

Li Yu thought for a moment and said, "If Zhou Xigang's calculations are correct, today is May 6th, so there are still nine days until the 15th."

Could he reach the top level in nine days? Li Yu himself didn't know. The only thing he could feel was that after advancing to the advanced level, as the spores grew in size, it became increasingly difficult to grow again.

"We need to figure out how to get to the top first. If that's really hopeless, then we'll have to find a way to get some gold."

Zhou Xigang said, "Those fluorescent mushrooms can be sold for 10,000 gold coins, but there are five of us. If each of us gets 10,000, we'll still be short 40,000."

Li Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked into the distance, saying, "Let's go back to the supply point first. I still have five enhancement crystal cores that haven't been fused yet. Let's see how much each one can sell for. I estimate it will definitely be more than the price of the Glowing Star Mushroom. Plus, there are a few symbiotic bacteria that can also be sold."

"The probability of obtaining enhanced crystal cores and symbiotic bacteria from hunting those rare beasts is not low, which is also a way to make money."

Li Yu paused slightly before continuing, "My idea is that we should spend the next five days hunting as many fungal beasts as possible. I want to try to reach the top level and collect enhancement crystal cores and symbiotic bacteria at the same time. If there is really no hope, we should try to make as much money as possible in the last four days, raise 50,000 gold coins, and head to Lingxu City to escape this fungal disaster."

Lin Muying and Qian Lili both nodded slightly in agreement with Li Yu's plan. Zhou Xigang then asked, "So, we'll postpone our trip to the hotel for now?"

Li Yu said, "Mu Ying is right. The underground world we fell into is very close to the hotel. If the abyss below the third floor of this hotel is the same place as this underground world, it would be a waste of time for us to go there. After we survive this bacterial disaster, we will have plenty of time to go to the hotel to find out what's going on."

Fang Mingxuan pursed his lips slightly and said, "Li Yu, you've forgotten something."

"Hmm?" Li Yu turned to look at Fang Mingxuan.

After receiving the amplification bacteria, Fang Mingxuan regained his confidence. His previously dull face regained some luster, and he even became more talkative. He spoke up, saying, "Back then, the hotel was smashed through with a hole about three meters in diameter. We suspected it was a meteorite that fell from the sky. If the underground world we went down into was the deep pit beneath the hotel, then where is this meteorite? Why didn't we see it?"

Li Yu nodded and said, "I remember this. There are only three possibilities. One is that the underground world we saw and the deep pit under the hotel are two separate places. The second possibility is that the two are connected, but we failed to find the fallen meteorite. Another possibility is that we have already encountered the fallen object, but we just don't recognize it, such as that mysterious severed arm."

His words startled everyone. Lin Muying frowned and said, "Li Yu, do you mean that the severed arm fell from the sky, smashed through the hotel and the ground, and then hit that silver-purple mushroom cap?"

Li Yu smiled and shook his head, saying, "I'm just saying there are a few possibilities, and this is one of them. But no one knows the real situation right now. We'll only know when we get to the hotel and see for ourselves."

Lin Muying nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

Zhou Xi smacked his lips before saying, "It seems we need to go and see for ourselves to understand this hotel. There's no point in speculating here now."

Li Yu said, "Yes, so my opinion is to first try to reach the top level. If that's hopeless, then we should try to earn enough gold coins. If we can't even raise 50,000 gold coins before the 15th, then there's nothing we can do but try our luck again downstairs at the hotel."

Fang Mingxuan nodded slightly and said, "Yes, it's always good to be prepared. It's always good to have a few extra options."

"I wonder when this rain will stop." Qian Lili walked to the edge under the overpass, stretched out her hand, and let the rain hit her hand, feeling very comfortable.

This is the first rain since they entered this world.

Li Yu squinted slightly, looking at the countless mushrooms of all sizes and the overwhelming mycelium that appeared vibrant in the rain. The spread and growth rate of some mycelium could even be vaguely seen with the naked eye.

This fungus reproduces and grows at an incredibly fast rate.

"This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon, we can't stay here indefinitely."

Fang Mingxuan suddenly stood up. He wanted to break through as soon as possible and advance to the advanced level. Now it was clear that there were two ways to accelerate the growth and evolution of the spores.

One way is to eat higher-grade edible fungi, and the other is to constantly fight and kill, which can accelerate the digestion of edible fungi and allow the spores to absorb more energy and nutrients in the same amount of time.

Li Yu had the same idea. If Zhou Xigang's estimate was correct, there were only nine days left. He needed to break through to the top level and couldn't afford to waste a moment.

"Let's go then, our clothes are already wet anyway." Li Yu gripped the iron spear with his left hand. With their current physical strength, they wouldn't get sick even if they wore soaking wet clothes for a long time; at most, they would just feel uncomfortable wearing them.

The others nodded in agreement. If the rain was going to last all day, they couldn't afford to waste a whole day here. For now, they had no choice but to brave the rain.

Li Yu, holding an iron spear, was preparing to brave the rain when he suddenly heard a noise behind him and immediately turned around to look.

But then, from among the giant mushrooms about twenty or thirty meters away, a swarm of giant beetles, each over a meter long, appeared in the rain. They crawled quickly and were surging toward them.

These beetles no longer have a pure carapace texture; most of their bodies are covered by layers of parasitic fungi.

The skull retains the beetle's distinctive mandibles and mouth, and the compound eyes are covered by a bacterial membrane, turning into cloudy, dark red, round pupils, making it appear lifeless.

From the cracks in the shell on its back, a cluster of twisted, umbrella-shaped fungi emerges. The stipe is grayish-white, and the cap is dark brown. The hyphae spread and grow along the shell's texture, like a living, patterned armor.

Its six legs are thick and sharp, with swollen tubercles at the joints and sharp claws coated with fungal fluid. It crawls in the rain, making a faint sound.

"Zombie beetles?" Zhou Xi recognized them immediately upon seeing them, his face showing more joy than surprise.

Looking at the giant beetles that rushed out, Li Yu recalled the pictures and descriptions in the booklet. They were indeed D-level elite fungal-like beasts, the Zombie Beetles.

The zombie beetles that rushed out from the gaps in those giant mushrooms were a dark mass, numbering at least twenty or thirty. They spread out in a fan shape, trying to surround the five people.

Instead of fleeing, the crowd went to meet them.

Just as Zhou Xigang was about to test the effects of the Swift Shadow Bacteria in battle, he stomped his right foot and charged forward like a cannonball.

Upgrading the Swift Shadow Bacteria to level two gave him an astonishing boost in strength.

Almost instantly, the Shadow Fungus and Bone Armor covering his right foot erupted simultaneously. With a "bang," his right leg left a blur in the air, instantly kicking a zombie beetle that charged at him.

The Swift Shadow Bacteria enhanced the speed of his right leg, and combined with the power of the bone armor, this kick was like a steel whip lashing out, with a faint explosion echoing in the air.

The charging zombie beetle had no time to dodge and was instantly kicked, its body exploding and its internal fluids splattering everywhere.

The enhancements and upgrades he received during the intermediate spore stage meant that his strength was already comparable to that of an elite-level fungal beast. Now, with the speed boost from the second-level enhanced Swift Shadow Fungus, his strength has begun to overwhelm even D-level elite beasts.

With a single kick, Zhou Xigang killed an elite-level zombie beetle. He was greatly encouraged and let out a loud laugh. He pushed off the ground with his left foot and swept his right leg out again.

On the other side, Fang Mingxuan also rushed forward at the same time. In front of him, a zombie beetle suddenly jumped up, stretched out its claws, and rammed towards him.

His right hand was covered with a faint glow, which was the power of the "amplification bacteria" inside.

A spore arc of electricity, amplified by the "amplifier bacteria," slashed through the air and instantly struck the zombie beetle that had jumped towards it.

A blinding flash of light erupted from the zombie beetle's body, spreading a pungent, burnt smell. Struck by the enhanced arc of spore electricity, the zombie beetle was instantly killed.

Fang Mingxuan swung his long sword at another zombie beetle.

The light on his right hand extended outwards, enveloping the long sword in a faint white glow, as the amplifying bacteria enhanced the power of the strike.

With a "whoosh," the zombie beetle was struck by the blade, and its shell, parasitized by zombie fungus, split open, cleaving the zombie beetle in two.

With the boost from the Level 2 Enhancement Amplification Bacteria, Fang Mingxuan's current sword strikes completely overwhelm this elite bacterium beast.

Lin Muying snatched the spiked club from her hand and charged into the swarm of zombie beetles. With a swing of the club, she immediately knocked one zombie beetle away, while another zombie beetle leaped into the air beside her and pounced on her.

Despite her surprise, Lin Muying remained calm. She opened her left hand with her rock claw and suddenly grabbed the zombie beetle, causing its five claws to vibrate and contract.

With a hiss, a huge bloody hole appeared on the zombie beetle's head, and most of its head was torn off.

The giant hook fungus that Qian Lili had twice enhanced was even more amazing. She snatched it away, and it could hit targets more than three meters away.

Each swing of the giant hook precisely pierces a zombie beetle, killing it instantly.

Li Yu did not make a move immediately, but observed the four people. He was slightly surprised by their performance, and then a smile appeared on his face.

This trip to the underground world was incredibly fruitful. Not only him, but Lin Muying and the other three also gained amazing improvements. The symbiotic bacteria in their hands had all been enhanced twice, greatly increasing their abilities.

With their strength now at the mid-spore stage, they could easily crush this group of elite zombie beetles.

The twenty or thirty zombie beetles that rushed out were quickly killed by them, with half of them killed in no time.

Li Yu then revealed his crystallized blade and charged forward.

He wanted to use these zombie beetles to test the power of the crystallized blade, which had been enhanced three times.

He darted forward, wielding his crystallized blade. With a soft whoosh, a crystal-colored afterimage appeared in the air. The bodies of the two zombie beetles that charged at him shuddered and suddenly split open.

With one strike, Li Yu killed two zombie beetles. Mycelium extended from his right hand, reaching half a meter in length. Combined with the one-meter-long crystallization blade, it became one and a half meters long.

He controlled the mycelium, seized the crystallization knife, and transformed it into a giant wheel. Wherever this wheel swept, the zombie beetles there instantly shattered.

Although these beetles have strong shells, how could they possibly withstand a crystallized blade that has been enhanced three times?

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