The world enters the fungal world

Qian Lili couldn't help but exclaim, "Stop talking! You're making my mouth water. I wish I could have a bowl of fried noodles right now!"

As they spoke, they swallowed hard. They had been eating raw mushrooms for the past few days. Although these edible fungi weren't particularly bad, they certainly weren't gourmet food either. They had almost no flavor. If it weren't for their unbearable hunger, they would have given up long ago.

Upon hearing Zhou Xigang mention fried noodles, everyone felt their stomachs rumbling, and the thought of fried noodles made their mouths water.

Seeing that the musty smell in the shop had dissipated somewhat, Li Yu went inside.

Fang Mingxuan followed beside him and said softly, "Li Yu, we're not going to stay here forever, are we?"

Li Yu shook his head and said, "Let's rest first, we can talk about other things tomorrow."

"Okay." Fang Mingxuan nodded, and then everyone worked together to move the simple tables and chairs to a corner to make room for rest.

Everyone sat down to rest, but Fang Mingxuan alone neatly arranged all the tables and chairs piled up in the corner.

Watching him busy all by himself, Zhou Xigang shook his head secretly and muttered a vague "crazy".

Li Yu knew that Fang Mingxuan had obsessive-compulsive disorder, so she wasn't surprised. She opened her backpack, took out a small umbrella mushroom, and started eating it.

Li Yu felt that his appetite had increased again. During the same "spore stage", he now needed to eat at least two servings to fill his stomach.

After eating, I felt my stomach digesting the edible fungi, creating a faint warm current. Most of it flowed into my right eye, and a very small portion flowed into my left hand.

Li Yu understood that nourishing these crystallizing bacteria also required nutrients and energy.

Obtaining the power of crystallizing bacteria comes at a price; it means he must consume more edible fungi and ingest more nutrients and energy.

After everyone had finished eating, Fang Mingxuan finally finished his work, sat down next to Li Yu, and picked up a small umbrella mushroom to eat.

After finishing his meal, Zou Dapeng cleaned his mouth with a mouthwash spray and said:

"Let's discuss what we should do tomorrow. Should we stay here, or try to find somewhere else?"

Qian Lili hesitated for a moment, seemingly wondering whether she should speak.

Lin Muying saw the struggle on her face and asked, "Lili, what are you thinking?"

Zhou Xigang curled his lip and said, "What good ideas could she possibly have? We should be grateful she doesn't cause any trouble."

In his heart, he always thought Qian Lili was an idiot.

Qian Lili blushed at his words, and her hands involuntarily clenched the hem of her clothes.

Lin Muying frowned slightly and glanced at Zhou Xigang.

"I think... if we can kill a group of Crystallized Pythons today, can we also kill those Blood Mushroom Monkeys?" Qian Lili finally mustered up the courage to say it.

Zou Dapeng's expression turned somewhat grim. He said, "You mean we should go back to the hotel?"

When he thought of the Blood Mushroom Monkey and the hotel, he immediately thought of Wu Limei, who had died tragically.

Qian Lili took a deep breath before saying:

"Yes, we can't stay here forever, like a bunch of lost souls, who knows when we'll die. I want to go to the hotel, go into that pit and see what's going on, see what brought us to this damned place. Maybe...maybe there really is something there that can take us back to the world we used to know."

As she spoke, her voice began to tremble with sobs; she had had enough of this damned place.

Upon hearing Qian Lili's words, everyone fell silent, their faces showing thoughtful expressions.

Suddenly, Li Yu, who had been keeping his eyes down and silent, spoke up: "No."

Qian Lili was taken aback and looked at Li Yu, saying, "Don't you want to go back to the hotel?"

She could understand others' opposition, but Li Yu's opposition was unexpected, since Li Yu was the most capable among the six of them.

Fang Mingxuan was also stunned, looking at Li Yu, seemingly not expecting Li Yu to object.

Li Yu slightly raised his eyes, looked at Qian Lili, then at the vast grove of giant mushrooms outside, before slowly saying:

"Our strength is indeed much greater than before, and dealing with that group of Blood Mushroom Monkeys is no problem. But you've forgotten one thing: even as we grow stronger, the fungal beasts in the hotel may also be evolving."

"We only reached the lobby on the first floor and encountered a group of Blood Mushroom Monkeys. What about the second and third floors of the hotel? Are there even more powerful fungal beasts there?"

At this point, a cold look appeared on Li Yu's face as he slowly swept his gaze across the crowd: "If you want to go and die, you can go to the hotel."

These words sent a jolt through everyone present. Lin Muying nodded slightly and said:

"Li Yu is right. We were too optimistic before, which led to Li Mei's death. We can't make the same mistake again."

Then she looked at Qian Lili and said, "Lili, don't worry, we'll figure out a way to get back."

Qian Lili was also stunned by Li Yu's words. Hearing Lin Muying's words, her voice trembled with tears as she said, "Muying, does this mean we can never go to hotels again?"

For her, going to the hotel might lead to discovering the truth about her journey to this world, or it might lead to returning to the world she once knew. This was her only obsession.

Li Yu said, "Who said that? I just don't agree with going now, not that we'll never go. We'll go when we're strong enough; that would be safer."

Qian Lili said, "But didn't you say that while we're getting stronger, the monsters are also getting stronger? What's the point of us becoming stronger then?"

Li Yu's eyes narrowed slightly as he gave Qian Lili a deep look. A faint, cold smile suddenly appeared on his face: "It's simple. Just become stronger than the monsters, and become even stronger than them."

Qian Lili felt a little uneasy under Li Yu's gaze, and she was speechless for a moment after hearing his words.

Zou Dapeng quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Since we can't go to the hotel for the time being, where should we go? Although the booklet mentions Lingxu City, we don't know which direction to go there. Staying here indefinitely doesn't seem very practical."

As he spoke, he looked around the store.

Fang Mingxuan, who had been somewhat lost in thought, suddenly spoke up: "Let's go to Binhu New Garden."

The others all looked at Fang Mingxuan.

Li Yu knew that Fang Mingxuan's home was in "Binhu Xinyuan" and he had always wanted to go home to visit.

"Then let's go to Binhu Xinyuan tomorrow."

After Li Yu finished speaking, Lin Muying and Zou Dapeng did not object. Zhou Xigang moved his lips, as if he wanted to offer a different suggestion, but in the end he closed his mouth and did not speak.

After that, apart from Fang Mingxuan who was on duty, the other five people gradually fell asleep.

The six had already agreed on the duty roster: two people each night, divided into the first and second half of the night, with the six taking turns. Tonight, it was Fang Mingxuan and Zhou Xigang's turn.

Nothing else happened that night, and Li Yu slept soundly. He had been having nightmares every night since entering this world, but tonight was a rare exception, and he slept soundly until dawn.

When he woke up, he felt very hungry, and there was light outside; it was already daylight.

Everyone else was awake except for Fang Mingxuan, who was on night duty and was still asleep.