The mycelium finally stopped, settling in a ravine. A few small wildflowers grew in the ravine, surrounding a small white mushroom. Apart from that, the most common green umbrella mushroom was nowhere to be seen.
"Splat—"
Yu An was caught off guard and was thrown down. He turned his head and gagged a few times.
Mycelium: "..."
Feeling guilty, the mycelium patted him on the back.
Yu An hadn't eaten anything, so naturally he couldn't vomit anything. He sat on the ground and glanced at the little white mushroom in front of him.
When the little white mushroom saw him coming, it immediately went over to him.
Yu An looked at the little white mushroom that was moving, and a trace of clarity remained in her still dizzy head.
This little mushroom looks familiar.
"Big brother!"
A soft, sweet voice rang out, and the little white mushroom pulled itself up, jumped onto Yu An's lap, and rubbed against him affectionately.
Yu An: "!"
It's Zai Zai's voice!
Yu An was stunned. He looked at the color of the little mushroom and vaguely felt that something was wrong: "Little one, have you faded?"
The faded white mushroom drooped its cap, and its once clear, slightly childlike voice was now filled with deep sorrow: "Big brother, Xiao Jiu got beaten up!"
Xiao Jiu, who had already entered adult form, was forcibly beaten back into a child form.
Even with his hazy memories, Yu An could still recognize Zai Zai at a glance. He instinctively felt a pang of sympathy for Zai Zai: "Who hit you? Didn't you ask the other kids for help?"
Xiao Jiu: "..."
Xiao Jiu hesitated for a moment.
He didn't know whether he should tell his eldest brother that the kids didn't really get along. Especially the third brother, who always wanted to eat them all up.
If it weren't for their elder brother, they would have stopped pretending to be harmonious long ago.
Yu An held the little white mushroom in his palm and examined it carefully. The little white mushroom was visibly weak, and its voice was noticeably weaker.
"Don't be afraid, little one. No one will beat you up anymore."
After inspecting the little white mushroom, Yu An wrapped it in a cloth and put it in his pocket.
The green mycelium in front of him also wanted to squeeze into his pocket, but it was intimidated by the little white mushroom and dared not force its way in.
The mycelium swayed in the wind.
The little white mushroom nestled in the pocket, silent, conveying its message through its thoughts: "Get out of here."
He hates it when others compete with him for his brother's affections.
"Thank you, thank you."
The mycelium, no longer displaying the arrogance it had shown Xie Chiyuan, softly thanked the little white mushroom: "I'm going to die, thank you for turning me into this."
She has no regrets at all.
I don't regret that when I was being tortured and dying in a filthy pigsty, this little white mushroom gave me the right to choose.
Her choice at that time was: "As long as I can get revenge, I'd gladly go to hell!"
The little white mushroom allowed the umbrella-shaped mushrooms around her to eat her bit by bit. Then, she transformed into an umbrella-shaped mushroom and gained the ability to take revenge.
The little white mushroom was lazy and ignored her.
The mycelium slowly turned transparent, and just as it was about to completely disappear, it suddenly spoke to Yu An: "I won't have a chance to leave this place."
"My name is Yang Zhuzhu, and I live in the Cultural Community on Zhenyang Road in Qingyun City. If you happen to pass by here and meet my parents, please tell them that I'm doing well, but I died after being infected. Please tell them not to look for me anymore, okay?"
Yu An nodded and said seriously, "Okay."
He remembered the name.
Yang Zhuzhu lives in the Cultural Community on Zhenyang Road, Qingyun City.
As its final words were spoken, the transparent mycelium, like a blown-away mist, gradually dissipated into the world.
When Xie Chiyuan arrived and saw the boy unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
fine.
This mutant did not regenerate by continuing to eat people. Mutants are far more terrifying than zombies; a zombie only needs a headshot, but even if a mutant's core is destroyed, there is still a one percent chance it will miraculously regenerate.
"Yu An".
Xie Chiyuan approached Yu An, about to call him, when he saw Yu An rub his eyes and slowly say to him, "Big Head, I'm so sleepy."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yu An's body went limp and collapsed.
Xie Chiyuan: "..."
Xie Chiyuan raised his hand and reflexively caught the person.
As the mutated mushroom dissipates, its hallucinogenic effects will naturally disappear as well. Yu An, who has been under its spell for two days, will need some time to recover.
A moment later.
Xie Chiyuan carried Yu An back to his teammates, whose expressions became even more subtle upon seeing this.
Goodness, when has Xie's father ever held someone like that before?
It seems that what the child said is true.
Tang Xin cleared his throat, his survival instincts kicking in as he averted his gaze from them, and turned to business: "Has the mutant been completely resolved?"
Xie Chiyuan hummed in agreement.
The report stated that the A09 variant was a fungus. The green umbrella-shaped mushroom he personally killed was also a fungus. Furthermore, after the mushrooms disappeared, the barrier that had trapped them clearly also disappeared.
Thinking that there were still a few living people in the village, Xie Chiyuan lifted his leg and walked into the village.
But by the time they arrived, all the villagers who had been there that morning, except for the zombies, were gone. The zombies that hadn't been shot in the head were quickly and cleanly finished off by the team.
"Commander Xie, we haven't seen the village chief or the other people you mentioned."
Even the body was not found.
These people committed heinous crimes, but they are soldiers. The best course of action right now is to take the survivors back and await further instructions from higher authorities.
Unable to find anyone, Xie Chiyuan stopped wasting time.
"Fall back."
He gave the order in a calm voice.
His mission this time was to eliminate the A09 variant. Now that the mission is complete, it's time for him to return to base.
Yu An was fast asleep, his hand gripping Xie Chiyuan's shirt tightly.
Tang Xin and the other team members kept their eyes down, pretending not to see anything. They couldn't afford to mess with Commander Xie's wife.
Xie Chiyuan, whose arms were aching from carrying so many people without anyone offering to help, glanced at his subordinates and secretly made a fuss about it.
Not long after.
Yu An was carried out by Xie Chiyuan, while the little white mushroom nestled in the pocket let out a small burp.
I feel so full.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Xie Chiyuan: I came here single, and I'm back married with kids :)
Chapter 13
As soon as the group walked out, the logistics convoy waiting outside immediately came to greet them.
"Thank you all for your hard work. Those who are injured, come with me here. Thank you, sir. I have something to attend to—"
The logistics captain, who was about to report the situation, froze when he saw Xie Chiyuan carrying someone. He recognized the boy in Xie Chiyuan's arms as the one who had trespassed into the quarantine zone two days ago.
Seeing the boy with his eyes closed in Xie Chiyuan's arms, the logistics captain had a guess in his mind.
"Commander Xie, is he seriously injured? We have prepared medicine and can treat him at any time," the logistics captain asked solicitously.
Xie Chiyuan said calmly, "No, he's just asleep."
It's sleeping like a little piglet and hasn't woken up yet.
Upon hearing this answer, the logistics captain's mouth opened slightly and remained agape for a long time.
"grass."
When he came to his senses, his long-dormant verbal tic resurfaced uncontrollably. He looked at Tang Xin, bewildered, "Dr. Tang, what's going on?"
Tang Xin said vaguely, "That's all there is to it."
The logistics captain paused for two seconds, then realized what was happening, his expression turning horrified, and blurted out, "Holy crap!"
Commander Xie is having an affair? How could that be!
The others were also quite shocked by this scene, and they all grabbed Tang Xin and gossiped: "Dr. Tang, tell us about it, and we'll chip in to buy you nice things when we get back."
Tang Xin was pulled back.
Xie Chiyuan, the person involved, returned to his car and placed Yu An on the car seat.
Yu An's hand was still clutching his clothes; when he tried to pull away slightly, the other person gripped it even tighter.
"Yu An?"
Xie Chiyuan intended to wake him up, but before he could even call twice, Yu An, with his eyes still closed, grumbled and threw a tantrum: "Don't move!"
Xie Chiyuan: "..."
Xie Chiyuan frowned, preparing to forcibly pull the clothes out.
Yu An still had his eyes closed. He groaned again, his tone tinged with annoyance: "If you move again, I'm going to cry!"