MASG chapter 139

 

Judging by the appearance of the chest and abdomen, it was impossible to see what was inside.

“Are you… in pain?” Mo An anxiously, touched Xia Yu’s ribs.

Xia Yu shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt. I don’t feel anything at all. How’s Doudou over there?”

Mi Duo was already inside the cultivation room wearing a full suit of gear. His helmet was sealed tight; not a single gap was visible on his body. All that was missing was an oxygen tank. Xia Yu found this sight strangely familiar. He recalled reading a book that chronicled the history of human aviation.

Humanity’s highest technology had already enabled them to escape the solar system. Astronauts wore similar equipment when walking in space. Now that artificial intelligence dominated the globe, Xia Yu had no way to judge how far aerospace technology had developed—it had most likely stagnated.

Silver Fang and Lao Gui stood at the entrance of the cultivation room, both holding guns.

Xia Yu walked to the large glass window of the cultivation room and knocked very lightly. “Doudou, how is it?”

“Use this.” Mo An handed him a walkie-talkie. “His work suit is soundproof. He probably can’t hear us talking.”

“Oh, right, I forgot.” Xia Yu hadn’t worked on this job for very long and thought Mi Dou could hear him as soon as he spoke. He picked up the walkie-talkie again. “Doudou, how’s the progress?”

Mi Dou heard everything this time. He turned around and waved at them. “I just put the spores into the cultivation device, and I’m about to add the nutrient solution.”

“Is the nutrient solution from here?” Xia Yu asked.

“Yes, it’s all from here.” Mi Dou nodded, then shrugged helplessly. “I didn’t prepare anything.”

Silver Fang and Lao Gui exchanged a look. Since things had already come to this, they both knew they had to say what they really felt. Silver Fang, who didn’t quite trust the organisms here, spoke first. “Are we taking too big of a risk?”

“I think so too. I really like Xiang Xing, and I hope he can return to the team. However, there are two things we can’t confirm right now.” Lao Gui, still grieving Wang Ming’s departure, forced himself to speak. “First, what exactly is in that so-called nutrient solution? Is there a possibility of mutation? Second, don’t forget—Xiang Xing is a carnivorous fungus.”

Carnivorous. These words implied a danger no less than that of the monster species in Yukun City.

“What if we raise some… weird and extremely aggressive carnivorous mushroom?” Lao Gui asked Silver Fang while glancing at the gun in his hand.

“If it really comes to that… the moment you and I open fire, we’d better be fast. We absolutely can’t hesitate.” Silver Fang shook his head and looked toward Xia Yu.

Xia Yu picked up the walkie-talkie again. “Doudou, how do you feel right now? Be careful. Once you drip the nutrient solution in, withdraw immediately. Don’t stay in there!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll take good care of myself.” Mi Dou was already panting heavily.

The full set of equipment was very heavy, and he became clumsy and slow. Everything he did was slow; he had lost his usual speed. The sealed gloves made his hands look “fat.” Whether he was holding a culture dish or a test tube, he had to spend several times more attention and effort.

A lot of sweat had already been trapped inside the suit, and none of it escaped. Inside the protective suit, it was like being in a heated sauna. A thin layer of mist formed on the semicircular sealed face shield as if it were pressed directly onto Mi Dou’s eyeballs.

He was extremely careful, not daring to make a single mistake. He hoped this was Xiang Xing, but he also knew the risks of scientific experimentation—that nothing was ever one hundred percent certain. Even the slightest flaw—as little as one percent, could lead to spore mutation.

“I can do it. I can do it. It’s fine, I can do it. Mom will protect me.” Mi Dou muttered to himself, holding the test tube and using this method to relieve pressure. Xia Yu heard every word. “Doudou, how about we—”

“No, I don’t want to give up.” Mi Dou dripped a drop of nutrient solution into the receiver of the instrument. “I know what everyone is thinking. This is our only chance to revive Xiang Xing.”

“I know. What I mean is, how about we switch people? Let me do it,” said Xia Yu.

“No, I don’t want to give up. I don’t want to be the one who needs protection. I have my own abilities and pride, too. Besides, do you even know how to use these things? You guys don’t even know how to turn it on.” Mi Dou looked firmly at the instrument.

Above the instrument was a floating data display screen. Semi-transparent blue characters constantly displayed the temperature and humidity of the culture dish. Even higher up was a clear screen equipped with a high-level microscope and slow-motion lens. This allowed people outside to see the development of the culture from the beginning.

Right now, only a small cluster of white threads appeared on the screen.

Xia Yu carefully observed those filaments. Every strand looked as if it would snap at a touch. As the nutrient solution continued to drip in, the filaments began to move like little tentacles.

“That’s enough, Doudou. Come out now,” Xia Yu emphasized again.

“Okay, I’ll come out right away.” Mi Dou placed the remaining two test tubes in the standby positions. Once the first nutrient solution dripped empty, they would automatically replenish. The instrument was very bulky. Although its interior was extremely precise, its exterior was angular. Mi Dou stepped back and looked up at the screen above his head.

Inside the screen, the white filaments twitched rapidly.

The culture dish was inside a sealed chamber measuring one meter in length, width, and height, which was not see-through. The machine provided all lighting, eliminating natural interference to the greatest extent. One of the filaments was growing particularly fiercely, shooting out and extending about ten centimeters in the blink of an eye.

“Doudou! Get out now!” Xia Yu shouted urgently.

“Ten centimeters can’t be observed with the naked eye… what kind of miracle is this…” Mi Dou had his back to them.

“No matter what kind of miracle it is, you have to come out now.” Xia Yu urged again. Mi Dou unlocked the entire cultivation room. It could only be opened with the password lock on the inside. Lao Gui and Silver Fang tried to open the door, but they couldn’t.

“Mi Dou, come out!” Xia Yu unconsciously slapped the glass. “Ling Shi, Jingwei! I don’t care which one of you has that ability. Just open the door for me.”

Jingwei: [I cannot connect to any devices in Yukun City.]

“Ling Shi!” Xia Yu was frantic.

Ling Shi: [Sorry. I can open it, but I cannot. This is the highest-level cultivation room. If a biochemical leak occurs, all of you will die. I cannot confirm what is inside.]

Mo An also slapped the glass. “Mi Dou, what are you doing? Hurry up and come out!”

“I want to come out, but I can’t.” Only then did Mi Dou turn around and point to his transparent face shield. “Did you see it? My face shield cracked just now. It happened right when I dripped the first drop of nutrient solution…”

“How could that happen?” Xia Yu looked at the crack. The tiny fracture spread like a pulsing signal, running outward.

“I don’t know how it happened either.” Mi Dou tried his best to stay calm. “The spores only came into contact with the air in this cultivation room, so you’ll be fine. But if it’s dangerous, then I’ve definitely inhaled it by now. I’m sorry, everyone. I can’t come out.”

Mo An, whose legs had already recovered, paced back and forth in front of the glass. “Then what do we do now?”

“I have to protect your safety.” Mi Dou turned back and looked at the holographic screen again. “It’s fine. As long as this spore is Xiang Xing, everything will be fine.”

“Mi Dou…” Xia Yu pressed his hand against the glass. If he had known earlier, he would have gone in himself. Who could have thought the protective suit would fail and crack?

The white, filament-like substance on the screen seemed endless and capable of growing wildly without any energy input. Inside the culture dish, the filaments tangled with each other frantically and soon “flooded” the glass walls. Some of the filaments began to change color, turning a pinkish shade.

“So far… it doesn’t look too bad,” Mi Dou said.

Everyone had just let out a sigh of relief when the pink filaments began to connect with each other, thickening and forming muscle tissue! The entire sealed room became its fertile ground. The pink, flocculent mass slammed into the inner walls with loud bangs. Not even metal could hold it back! Alarms blared and red warning lights flashed overhead throughout the cultivation room.

Xia Yu hated this lighting.

The day he escaped the research institute, warning lights had been flashing above his head.

In the blink of an eye, the sealed chamber collapsed! Massive energy surged outward, bursting through the metal. An explosive growth phase ensued, comparable to a miracle. Mi Dou didn’t dare move, nor did he want to. If he got infected, he would only harm everyone else. He might as well stay and witness this unparalleled spectacle with his own eyes.

Sacred vitality—this was the true essence of life itself.

Not suppressed by metal or fate, life was simply living—even if death came tomorrow.

“Mi Dou!” Xia Yu didn’t have that transcendent mindset. “Silver Fang, Lao Gui, break the door open!”

Silver Fang and Lao Gui had already started prying at the door, but it just wouldn’t budge. Mo An snatched the gun from Lao Gui’s hand and fired two shots straight at the glass in front of him. The result was exactly what he’d expected—no penetration. It was all bulletproof.

“Don’t move! Nobody move! Don’t scare it!” Mi Dou warned them at that moment. “Xia Yu, don’t get agitated. If you do, you might trigger the incubation of the monster species inside your body!”

The pink, flocculent mass of meat and filaments had completely escaped, floating in midair like a lump of flesh. Xia Yu’s whole body trembled, and his fingers twitched from nervous reflexes. The shapeless chunks of flesh constantly changed form in the air, sometimes forming rings, sometimes spheres. Each piece resembled muscle, only to transform into minced flesh in the next instant.

Mi Dou stood where he was, continuously analyzing the worst-case scenario in his mind. “Xia Yu, do you see that red button outside?”

“I see it.” Xia Yu was breathing rapidly.

“That’s the ignition device.” Mi Dou hadn’t expected to be this calm. He didn’t even frown. “If it pounces on me, press it.”

“What?” Xia Yu was so anxious that a nosebleed started flow.

“It’s carnivorous. If it starts chewing on me, I don’t want it to hurt that much.” Mi Dou refused to be eaten alive. “After it eats me, it’ll become stronger. It might rush out of here… What should I do now? Should I call its name?”

No one could help them. Mi Dou stretched his hand forward, opening his cracked face shield and gulping in air at the same time. The air in the room felt heated. Mi Dou guessed that this was the energy released during spore development, similar to the heat released when a host transforms into a monster.

“Xiang Xing?” Mi Dou asked shakily. “Is it you?”

The flesh mass continued to contract. Some areas shifted from meat-pink to blood-red.

“Xiang Xing, we… we came to pick you up. It’s me. I’m Mi Dou. Do you remember me?” Mi Dou tried to step forward.

At that moment, the flesh mass stopped moving, but it was definitely not dead. It suddenly developed a breathing function. Though it was clearly just a lump of flesh, it began to rise and fall. Mi Dou couldn’t find any respiratory organs, yet it was breathing.

A few seconds later, a white fungal filament extended from the mass and wrapped around Mi Dou’s finger. Mi Dou’s legs gave out, and he fell back down. The fearless scientist who had just offered himself bravely seemed like a different person. At this moment, sweat poured down like rain.

“It’s him.” Mi Dou smiled at the glass outside. “It’s Xiang Xing.”

“That’s great… that’s great. It’s him, it really is him.” As soon as Xia Yu finished speaking, it felt like something kicked him in the abdomen.

He looked down at his lower belly. A round object bulged outward.

“Talos!” Xia Yu didn’t waste a second and immediately gave orders. “Shut down the main console. Mo An, prepare to absorb ecological electricity! Ling Shi, activate Operating Room A. I’m going to operate on myself!”

Talos had been waiting by the main console the entire time. At Xia Yu’s command, he tore out the crucial power cable decisively.

The massive mainframe of the virtual world rumbled twice, then fell permanently silent. The cultivation room suddenly lost power, and all electricity was redirected to one place—Area A.

Ling Shi: [Area A activation complete. The operating room can be used.]

However, Xia Yu dropped to his knees from the intense pain. Mo An scooped him up and rushed out of the corridor, sprinting straight toward Area A.

The round monster species moved from Xia Yu’s abdomen to his chest as if it knew it was about to be removed and was fleeing frantically.