Chapter 205
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Chapter 205: Hidden Team Members
The exoskeleton armor, with its robust defensive capabilities and futuristic design, crunched underfoot on the withered grass leaves, producing a sound that would enthrall any enthusiast in the field. The five members of the former Team 25, now part of the Exploration Plan Phase Two’s Fifth Team, traversed the wilderness outside the city. Their varied equipment gave each a distinct appearance, making them resemble a team from another world on a quest for knowledge.
The members of the “Fresnel” team were as cautious as the “Nian” team members who had recently passed through here. The unknown future beckoned them.
“Captain, do you think we’ll disappear like them once we return?”
At this moment, during the lunch break, the team members skillfully opened their nutritional paste to begin a simple meal, while the Puppet Master seemed somewhat anxious about the future.
“I think worrying about that question assumes we can return alive.”
“Fresnel” maintained his usual expression, suggesting he was mentally prepared for such developments.
He observed the troubled faces of his teammates and continued,
“In terms of combat capability, even during the day, we would stand almost no chance against that team, so…”
“Then why did you choose the North Gate? Going in another direction might be safer.”
“Fresnel” calmly swallowed his food and replied,
“The other directions are more uncertain. Although they disappeared, it happened within the city, so the survival rate is relatively higher.”
Upon hearing the captain’s explanation, “Beacon” showed surprise:
“Other teams must have thought of this too, so why are we the only ones…”
Fresnel sighed and said,
“Because our ranking is low… no matter what, putting on a brave face, the higher-ups actually don’t want to face too many casualties.
The samples brought back by the Nian Team have already been analyzed at the research institutes, concluding that it involves a type of mycelium mimicking native plants.
As for why it doesn’t display the green of most common plants, it might be due to a lack of relevant abilities; after all, according to the records, most fungi don’t exhibit those colors.”
The group fell silent for a moment, but eventually adjusted their mood and finished their meal, preparing to continue the exploration.
Wang Xiao, who had not spoken throughout the entire meal, watched as each team member finished their portion of the nutritional paste, and finally felt a sense of relief.
Rewind to ten hours earlier: in preparation for the early exploration the next day, all members of the six teams had already fallen asleep.
And Wang Xiao encountered a familiar face in his dreams.
This was the benefit of entering dreams; at least in terms of confidentiality, reality could not compare.
Lin Qingliu briefly synchronized some of his findings and arrangements with Wang Xiao, allowing him to mentally prepare for the journey ahead.
He emphasized two things: first, that Wang Xiao should never abandon his helmet, and second, that he must ensure every teammate consumes their meals, making sure of their nutritional intake.
Faced with these seemingly vague instructions, the earnest Wang Xiao assured that he would comply.
Just like now, even Wang Xiao himself had finished taking his portion of nutritional paste.
Before long, his enhanced body experienced something unusual.
It felt as if something had been absorbed…
Wang Xiao realized that he was the only one who noticed this change, as his teammates had no different reactions than normal.
The dry grass beneath his feet reached up over his ankles, and in that moment, Wang Xiao suddenly felt a connection with the mycelium mimics on the ground.
The first day of exploration was dull and monotonous; the unending dry grass stopped changing after growing a few centimeters. Wang Xiao and the Puppet Master were assigned to be the night watchmen.
In the team embarking on this exploration journey, the accounts relayed by the members of the Nian Team were not secrets.
Fresnel made adjustments to the night watch plan based on their arrangements.
With Wang Xiao in their team—an individual who could bounce back with energy even after only two hours of sleep—their night watch had a significant advantage.
Yet Fresnel did not let his guard down; he still arranged for two people to take turns each night, meaning there would always be four vigilant eyes watching everything around them.
At this moment, Wang Xiao had set aside his larger exoskeleton armor on the ground, moving around to limber up.
He hadn’t activated the armor’s power source throughout the day, relying entirely on his natural strength to move the bulky equipment.
Now free from constraints, he felt even more energized than during the day.
Meanwhile, Puppet Master Su Xiaogu sat in her life pod, scanning the surroundings while gently tapping the explosion-proof glass viewing window, creating a rhythmic thud.
Of course, at this moment, there were more than just four eyes watching the area where the team was located.
In a corner they had not noticed, Wang Xiao’s armor helmet showed slight anomalies; the goggles on each side seemed to have ideas of their own, slowly rotating.
At this moment, one of the eyes belonging to Fulan had already been controlled by Lin Qingliu.
Through a connection with his own flesh and blood, the information transmitted ignored the interference of the biological field outside the city and proceeded toward the inner city.
At that moment, tens of kilometers away in the inner city, Lin Qingliu lay in bed with his eyes closed, but the scenery outside the city was vividly reflected in his mind.
This invisible connection was clear and stable, a testament to Lin Qingliu’s generous blood donation to Fulan, the shape-shifting creature, before the plan began.
As long as he wished, he could even to some extent project his consciousness into Fulan’s body, achieving an effect similar to the Puppet Master controlling extraordinary beasts.
However, since this ability stemmed from his control over flesh and blood, other abilities showed significant attenuation.
At this moment, Lin Qingliu was using his “castrated” Knowledge path ability to spy on everything around him.
And two hours after the other team members fell asleep, he indeed found some suspicious traces.
Mycelium had appeared!
This wilderness made of dry grass theoretically should be entirely composed of mycelium mimics.
According to Lin Qingliu’s reading of the memories and abilities of the Dummies, he knew that such mimics and differentiation were irreversible.
Now, extremely fine mycelium was emerging from the underground soil, slowly spreading upwards.
