’There might be some strange Heavenly and Earthly Treasures at the bottom of the lake...’ Su Chen mulled it over. The thought came to him, but with his current abilities, he had no way of investigating.
After sharing their findings and intelligence, it was time to get down to business.
This base of operations was in a state of total disrepair, needing to be rebuilt from the ground up.
He turned on the all-band radio to FM 98.5, the East Float Sound, and as he listened, he activated his Telekinesis Rune. In an instant, over thirty Telekinesis Threads branched out, sorting and stacking the scattered items around the room.
With so many invisible hands working in unison, one could only imagine how efficient it was.
"...The Mind-Confusing Fungus possesses a highly effective aerosol transmission capability. Inhaling an excessive amount of these spores from the air will lead to a hormonal hijacking, manifesting as irritability, impulsiveness, and sudden aggression toward one’s surroundings."
"We’d like to remind all citizens that if you encounter an irritable and impulsive individual, please, please ensure they receive purification treatment immediately. When the concentration of spores multiplying inside the body becomes too high, it will cause irreversible damage."
The Mind-Confusing Fungus was clearly one of the major species Yan Ruoruo had discovered when she first dissected a Parasite Body.
Compared to the Bloodthirsty Fungus, its main strength was its airborne transmission, which it used to spread its spores for proliferation and reproduction.
When the spore concentration reached a certain level, not only would it confuse the mind, but it would also completely rob the host of their bodily control. The mouth and oral cavity would expand, and several long, octopus-like tentacles would emerge from within. It would also exhibit some mind-interfering properties.
Currently, this form was only an isolated case with few reported incidents, but it was still something to be wary of.
One piece of relatively good news came from a commando team’s report: they had secretly observed the Mind-Confusing Fungus and the Bloodthirsty Fungus competing for the same forest ecosystem.
These two major fungi, the main culprits behind the parasitic tide, had no concept of allies. Driven by the instinctive mission of individual proliferation, they would naturally infiltrate and attack any rival competing for territory.
It was a silver lining.
When Su Chen heard this information, he felt that the current Mind-Confusing Fungus had no hive mind to speak of.
Just like normal fungi, it had no brain or central nervous system; its behavior was based entirely on instinct and environmental feedback. The Bloodthirsty Fungus, on the other hand, was beginning to think like a human. It could fly into a rage, was becoming emotional, and was evolving to the point of using specific strategies against different enemies.
In a short period, it had already evolved twice.
The latter was the real threat.
It couldn’t be allowed to continue reading human minds and learning from them.
Fortunately, the Security Committee had some awareness of this. The Combat and Defense Department had capable people; most of the information from the broadcast matched the intelligence he had gathered himself.
The only thing not mentioned in detail was intelligence on the modified humans.
Su Chen guessed it wasn’t because they hadn’t made further discoveries, but because a radio station wasn’t a real-time social media platform. There was always a process of fact-checking, information consolidation, and broadcast approval.
"Done."
After Su Chen finished tidying up, the first floor finally looked much cleaner and more spacious.
The second and third floors, as well as the upgrading and remodeling of the entire base, would be left to the other support staff. The people from Jingcheng University would be back by tomorrow night at the latest. As potential recruits, there would naturally be work for them to do.
He didn’t need other people to call him "Boss" or other common titles.
Su Chen saw his role on the team as that of an F1 team’s lead driver. The entire crew would revolve around him, with a complete logistical system where everyone had their own part to play—forging equipment, crafting guns and ammunition, securing supplies, providing intelligence and strategy, maintaining stability at the base...
Everything was to enable him to explore and fight more effectively on the front lines.
And when he returned, he could live comfortably and at ease.
As for what he provided, the most crucial thing was undoubtedly a protective umbrella—the scarcest resource in this apocalyptic crisis.
Thinking about how the Creative Park market would open at six in the evening, they decided to have dinner much earlier tonight, even though he had no intention of rushing over right away.
Dinner was finally something other than barbecue.
Liao Dahai’s wife, Ms. Cheng Yuexin, wasn’t a hotel head chef, but she had run her own Cantonese restaurant for over twenty years. The storefront wasn’t very large, but it had a decent local reputation.
Despite the limited ingredients on hand, she still used the same batch of frozen meat packs to whip up a steaming, home-style feast.
There was a plate of Shacha beef full of wok hei, with a homemade Shacha sauce, plus glistening golden-brown honey-glazed chicken wings, and a large platter of stir-fried broccoli with shrimp. They were in for a real treat tonight.
And to top it all off, there was white rice.
It was the first proper, hot meal they’d had in many days since the apocalypse began.
Su Chen had a big appetite and openly ate three large bowls. In a way, this was the highest praise for the chef.
Ms. Cheng smiled. "I’ll make you all beef chow fun for breakfast tomorrow."
She was speaking to Su Chen, as she was well aware of who the backbone of the team was. Plus, seeing how her husband had benefited, she couldn’t help but feel motivated.
After the satisfying meal and a short rest, he and Yan Ruoruo set out together.
At dusk, a vast, enchanting, and peculiar purplish-red glow spread across the horizon. Su Chen looked north. Bathed in the radiance, he could still clearly see the Broken Star Ring below.
After they had been in the forest for some time, the light from the sky above dimmed considerably.
"My estimate for a solar day in this new world is about 25 hours and 43 minutes. The sample size of days is too small, so it might not be a fixed duration," Yan Ruoruo said.
This planet was undoubtedly revolving around a star.
And the definition of ’a day’ was the time interval between two consecutive passages of the new sun through the highest point in the sky.

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