Chapter 206
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Chapter 206: "Crossing the River in White Clothes"
The moment Lin Qingliu sensed the mycelium from dozens of kilometers away, he felt an inner sense of relief.
Yes, relief.
Relief that he had detected the anomaly and that it still fell within the scope of his comprehension.
The most terrifying things in the world are the unknowns lurking in secrecy. Lin Qingliu feared that the world he inhabited was one governed by unknowable truths.
He worried that at the end of his Ascend to Godhood journey, a host of indescribable monsters awaited, ready to drastically alter the world’s fabric.
He even recalled an absurd interworld joke from his past life—about a traveler who frees slaves and develops productivity, only to encounter a moving fortress.
In short, the moment he saw the mycelium, Lin Qingliu understood why the Nian Team had been infected.
The five individuals in the team lacked enhanced vision. Even Vine, who could communicate simply with plants, could not reach an agreement with the mycelium.
During the day, as these foreign invaders moved constantly, the mycelium found it difficult to approach and infect them.
But humans always tire; they always need rest; they always have moments of stillness…
This was the opportunity for infection.
Having pieced this together, Lin Qingliu began to observe the situation quietly.
This was not due to a lack of empathy; on the contrary, he was well-prepared. If the situation deviated from his expectations, he would quickly alert Wang Xiao and Su Xiaogu, who were stretching nearby, using the armor’s alarm system.
Lin Qingliu’s confidence stemmed largely from the second piece of advice he had given Wang Xiao.
As a versatile super ability that had helped resolve the majority of Lin Qingliu’s early challenges, Dimensional Shift allowed him to infiltrate most areas of Hope City with ease.
This included the heavily guarded exploration team’s equipment store.
He crushed the dried grass leaves and mixed them into each portion of the nutritional paste consumed by Wang Xiao’s team, ensuring everyone received ample nutrition daily.
All of this was based on deductions from the mimic’s memory.
As mimics that still appeared humanoid, how did these Dummies ensure they did not get lost in the dry grass?
Theoretically, this could be achieved through the identification of the biological field, but in this wilderness covered in dry grass, the density of mycelium organisms was insufficient for the biological field to function effectively.
In other words, this wilderness was more like hair or nails—capable of sensing but not finely controlled—rather than the nerves or muscles of the will of the mycelium.
This meant the Dummies must have had some special method to pass the scrutiny of their own kind.
Lin Qingliu had added ingredients to the nutritional paste to make the five individuals exhibit some qualities of mimics, allowing them to pass the examination.
Similarly, this internal marker could somewhat obscure the unique biological field on Wang Xiao and Shi Jin, which would otherwise drive the Supreme Will into a frenzy, preventing a small beast tide from erupting outside the city.
Lin Qingliu privately referred to this "sneaking in quietly and striking without alerting anyone" tactic as "Crossing the River in White Clothes."
Although objectively, the general’s tactics might seem underhanded, he found it quite satisfying when he employed them himself…
Lin Qingliu focused on the direction where the three were sleeping. The strands of mycelium, no thicker than a hair, quickly crept up the edges of their sleeping bags, stretching toward their faces in sync with their breathing.
Watching all this, Lin Qingliu remained unresponsive, while the night watchmen, Wang Xiao and Su Xiaogu, noticed nothing unusual.
Their watch felt as ineffective as the Maginot Line, making it hard for Lin Qingliu to keep a straight face.
Meanwhile, three strands of mycelium finally entered the ears of Fresnel, Shi Jin, and Beacon, beginning to execute the planned identification of these outsiders.
As soon as the mycelium made contact with human skin, it took root rapidly, like a seed.
But the diameter of these mycelium was too small to rouse the deeply slumbering superpowered individuals.
Two hours later, Su Xiaogu’s night watch duty concluded. Wearily, she woke Shi Jin, entirely oblivious to the spider silk-like mycelium near her ear.
As Shi Jin stretched upon waking from In Dream, the mycelium silently disintegrated.
Long before completing her task, the mycelium had begun to wither; now it resembled nothing more than ordinary dust.
Everything appeared unchanged.
At least, that’s how it seemed to Lin Qingliu.
Far away in Hope City, he remained on guard, knowing he would continue to monitor the team in the coming days to prevent any shameless Supreme Will from targeting his carefully chosen followers.
A night passed without any anomalies.
Everyone replenished their strength through sleep, meaning the mycelium had completed sampling all of them.
Unbeknownst to them, the endless dry grass seemed to have ceased growing.
—
The next day, in the year 52 of the New Era, October 11th.
“Captain, have you noticed the dry grass under our feet… ?”
“I have.”
Fresnel replied lightly.
“Oh? What’s wrong with the dry grass?”
Shi Jin asked nervously.
“It’s nothing, but it seems the dry grass we encountered is different from what the Nian Team faced.
“All the grass they encountered kept growing taller during their exploration. By the time they returned, it had reached neck height. But here, after growing to our ankles, it hasn’t changed much; it’s still just at ankle height.”
“So, the two explorations have different circumstances… Even though it’s the same path, this might not be a good sign.”
“Stay alert, but don’t be overly anxious. Just follow the training protocols.”
Fresnel finished his portion first, stood up, and began using his custom goggles to scan the surroundings, calibrating the team’s direction with the built-in features.
This was an essential step in exploration, especially in areas like forests or wilderness where it’s easy to get lost. Every two to three hours of travel, they needed to recalibrate their direction to avoid getting stuck in a loop.
Suddenly, Fresnel, who was observing the distance, looked astonished as he stopped at a certain direction.
He removed his goggles to take a closer look, then put them back on, a puzzled expression on his face.
“Captain, what’s happening?”
Fresnel gathered his thoughts before speaking:
“I think I’ve spotted… the end of the wilderness.”
