Chapter 130
An unlucky person could crash into a Space Fold while simply taking a stroll at night.
Si Chen didn’t think he was unlucky enough to have stumbled into another entrance exam. It must be that this human skin paper could only provide information in the form of a test paper.
Large areas in the wilderness are “no signal” areas. But for travel safety, this RV had its own signal tower.
Although it didn’t get a strong enough signal to play online games, receiving real-time data sent by the official website was no problem.
From Jiangchuan to Baidi City, the RV changed its route three times in order to avoid Space Folds. Unexpectedly, they still bumped into one in the end.
Si Chen looked at the red dots that had appeared on the screen and at the slender figures that kept gathering amidst the fog beyond. He could only sigh once again.
Thinking about it this way, although the Zhuangshan District where he grew up is a Disaster Zone, it is also ranked among the most prosperous of Disaster Zones.
At least in it he successfully managed to reach the age of 18 in relative health, going on to be admitted to a university in a Safe Zone.
In real Disaster Zones, not even corpses are left, only empty cities.
He immediately woke up Shen Yanxing and Song Ziyu, who were still sleeping in the bedroom.
“Wake up, we’ve encountered a Space Fold.”
Song Ziyu got out of the sleeping bunk with a blank look in his eyes. “A Space Fold? Why did we run into a Space Fold? Wasn’t this running on auto?”
Shen Yanxing was relatively calm. “Nowhere is safe. Not even Safe Zones are completely safe.”
Si Chen took out the test paper. “Look at what’s written on it. This is the Gene Museum of Serpent Staff Gene. And the key character is Dr. Sheng.”
Song Ziyu looked confused. “Why have I never heard that the founder of Serpent Staff Gene is someone called Dr. Sheng? Shouldn’t his surname be Chen…?”
He was a direct descendant of the Song Family. It was a pity that he was still too young. He hadn’t even finished his schooling yet. He hasn’t truly come into contact with the cruel side of this world.
High-dimensional invasions may perhaps not only occur in Space Folds and so-called Great Families may perhaps only be puppets pleasing to the eyes.
Shen Yanxing frowned. “The land of hope has become a cemetery housing tombstones of despair.”
This time, the test paper gave surprisingly little introduction to the exam venue. It was obvious that it really didn’t want to go back to work.
And what surprised Si Chen was that there was only one question on this test paper, which was to find the holographic image of Dr. Sheng.
The real-time terrain scan was transmitted back. The road ahead was uneven ground covered with crisscrossing tree roots.
Si Chen originally thought they would abandon the car and walk on foot. He was already packing his luggage and Si Yuan’s snacks, but Song Ziyu entered the cockpit and after fiddling with the settings for a while, the RV actually hovered three meters into the air.
Song Ziyu explained, “Jet power systems aren’t anything new. Although it consumes a lot of energy and is a bit expensive, it’s at least more convenient than walking.”
The car is equipped with a store of energy stones. Without using the on-board weapons, they could travel from Jiangchuan to Baidi City ten times simply driving.
It was nighttime. Rain poured down accompanied by lightning and thunder. The cold rain hit the roof of the car, making a racket. The cold wind howled and the curtain of rain was blown nearly horizontal by the strong winds.
During a split second when lightning illuminated their surroundings, Si Chen saw what those slender figures were.
They were humanoid shapes wrapped in mycelium. Some crawl onwards. Some stood upright and walked slowly.
Like a moldy corpses covered with fuzz.
Si Chen didn’t know what these fungus people relied on to move or whether they were still conscious. But after observing for a while, he found that these fungal people were all heading in the same direction.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Si Chen pulled out his gun. “Song Ziyu, can you stop the car temporarily? I want to catch one of those fungus men and have a look.”
Vbcu Ilse kjr raeccfv. “Yxjs yea yf mjgfoei. Ktlcur ilxf atfrf jgf ufcfgjiis lcofmalber bg abzlm. Zjxf regf ab qgbafma sbegrfio.”
Vtfc Tjczlcu rabbv eq. “P’ii ub.”
“Po sbe uesr ub, P’ii yf kbgglfv.”
Vl Jtfc qea bc qgbafmalnf mibatlcu, tlr ktbif ybvs kjr mbnfgfv alutais. Ycis tlr ragjcuf-mbibgfv fsfr mbeiv yf rffc atgbeut atf ubuuifr, bcf yijmx jcv bcf rlinfg. Ktfgf kjr cb cjaegji rtffc bo wblraegf bc tlr rlinfg fsf yea atfgf kjr j rqfmlji rlinfg-ktlaf tjib.
Shen Yanxing pursed his lips and did not force the matter.
The RV stopped, suspended in mid-air. The car door opened, Si Chen tied the zip line around his waist and jumped out.
These fungal beings were indeed conscious.
When they noticed Si Chen approaching, they raised their hands in unison, trying to catch Si Chen.
Data regarding these fungal beings appeared through his prosthetic eye. They weren’t high level, probably around the Second Step.
Si Chen kicked something that was about to pounce on him. It felt like he had kicked a ball of moist air.
White fuzz spread like a spider web on the surface of his protective clothing.
Soon, these white filaments withered, unable to find anything to parasitize, turning into a puddle of black mud. It smelled as disgusting as sewage.
Si Chen observed it. These hyphae grew from the human corpses. Each was about 5cm long and densely packed. After being wet by rain, they looked like long strands of hairs sticking to the skin.
These filaments grew out not only from the skin but from every part of the human body. There were signs of the hyphae’s stubborn growth in eye sockets, in the nasal cavity and anywhere they could drill out.
People parasitized by fungi aren’t considered alive. Their internal organs are completely devoured and they are simply turned into containers for the fungus. They were merely skin left attached to bones.
Si Chen murmured, “Ordinary mycelium people will show aggression when people approach them. Their sensory range is about 1 meter. The fungus on their bodies is contagious and parasitic but not corrosive.”
He waved towards Shen Yanxing.
The other party did as he’d been instructed before Si Chen left the car and dropped a lively crayfish.
As soon as the crayfish fell among the mycelium, its body quickly stiffened. Out of survival instinct, it used its pincers to cut off the fungal threads that kept drilling into its body but it was all in vain.
The crayfish soon stopped moving and became a shell covered with white hair.
The Eternal Life Abyss was heartbroken. “Squeak!”
This was the last crayfish in the refrigerator. It didn’t expect that it wouldn’t even get to eat it. It had been wasted on these white hairs.
The fungus kills the original living body quickly and retains the body.
Si Chen threw down another dead fish. But the difference was that the fish was wrapped in a sealed bag.
This time, the fish did not turn into white-haired fish.
“Ordinary protective clothing can be used for isolation to prevent infection.”
Si Chen observed very seriously, he was in full awe of science.
Suddenly, a dog’s bark cut through the sound of wind and rain.
A large dog nearly two meters tall let out a roar and ran towards Si Chen.
The dog was wearing metal armor, a very slender dog collar wrapped around its neck.
Because of the restriction of the collar, the dog was like a balloon tied by a string. This connection between the body and the head looked like it could break at any moment.
This shaggy dog was extremely fast.
“Watch out!” Shen Yanxing’s voice rang out from above. The next second, there was the deafening sound of gunfire.
Bullets penetrated the mutant dog’s head, but it did not stop.
The dog leapt, its mouth opened wide, almost at a hundred eighty degrees.
Into this rainy night, irrationally, a beam of purple-red fire shot out.
This flame was undaunted by the thunderstorm and the flames reached a height of three to four meters in just a few seconds.
The mutated dog’s body quickly shrank from the fire, finally burned into a ball of sticky black ash.
Song Ziyu, hand on his belly, couldn’t help letting out a shout. “So cool!”
Of course, he never thought that Si Chen ranking first was all due to luck but Song Ziyu had never seen Si Chen in action. He’d been a little dissatisfied at first.
But to see is to believe. Si Chen was a biological Evolutionary but he hadn’t even used the Eternal Life Abyss. His ability to control fire alone was already a big advantage over others.
You must know that this kind of skill that didn’t depend on fused bodies, parasites or mechanical modifications; rather, a characteristic that one personally possessed, is actually very rare.
For example, White King’s wind control, or airflow control was unique in all the world.
Si Chen’s protective clothing created a somewhat soundproof environment and he couldn’t hear clearly.
He continued to voice record his observations, “These mycelium are afraid of fire but I am uncertain whether fire will always be effective.”
If fire was effective against all strains of mycelium, then the mycelium wouldn’t have taken over the entire Space Fold. The original survivors of this Space Fold wouldn’t have been wiped out.
The test paper wouldn’t have called this place a “cemetery.”
Underneath the dog’s skin, it must have all been mycelium, which was why it had looked extraordinarily huge.
Si Chen jumped down and picked up the dog’s tag off the ground.
There were a few lines of small text on the back of the rusty dog tag.
-Hello, this is my pet dog.
-If you find it, please contact me: 184******05 (Dr. Sheng)
-Or send it to the Life Research Institute.
Because of his past experience with Kuafu, Si Chen was quite wary of the founders of these conglomerates.
In film and television, as well as in literary and artistic works, the “mad scientist villain” is a very popular trope. Reasons why they indirectly destroy the world include, but are not limited to, attempting to resurrect their daughter/lover; pursuing a neurotic sense of vengeance against the world; and accidentally dragging the whole world along with them in pursuit of the truth.
The question given in the test paper required Si Chen to find Dr. Sheng’s holographic image. Assuming that the test paper wasn’t intentionally trying to harm him, this must probably be the key to understanding this world.
After Si Chen disinfected himself, he climbed back into the RV, with a rope as a guide.
He hadn’t noticed while he was outside but when he got back in the car, he realized that the temperature outside must have been much, much colder. His protective clothing, soaked by rain, quickly froze indoors.
Si Chen took out the dog tag. “Although the test paper called this place the ‘Gene Museum’, we may have to go to the ‘Life Research Institute’ first.”
He presented the information he had collected, “These mycelium survive by parasitizing living things. They are not corrosive and die shortly after leaving its host. They are afraid of fire. I don’t know if they are afraid of light. When coming in contact with them, remember to wear protective clothing. There must be no gaps in your protective clothing.”
The other two nodded.
Song Ziyu raised the test paper in his hand. “A new line appeared on the paper just now.”
Si Chen lowered his head, taking a look.
Below question 1, the steps to solve the problem were given:
- Learn about the “Life Research Institute” from the dog tag. (3 points)
Si Chen: “Even points are given according to steps…”
Song Ziyu: “I’ve been wanting to asking. Is this the paper we used during the practical exam?”
Si Chen gave an “en” and said, “Teacher gave it to me.”
“I thought it was specifc use only. I didn’t expect it could be used in other Space Folds.” Song Ziyu’s eyes revealed an envious look, “High-dimensional props like this one that can obtain information are extremely rare. The only other one I’ve heard is the Chen Family’s ‘Bi Xian‘. It was obtained from psychic high-dimensional creature. Every time it’s used, it exacts a high price. ‘Bi Xian’ will ask the user to do something for it and if the user fails, it will bite back… I didn’t expect that our ancestor would prepare one for you.”
Si Chen has never participated in an auction and items listed on the Association’s official website were only the most basic products.
Thus, he didn’t have good idea of the price of something like the “Prophet’s Skin”.
But after hearing what Song Ziyu said, Si Chen decided not to pull White King’s oxygen tube when he finds himself lying in the ICU.
After all, he wasn’t a hard-hearted person.
Si Chen put away the test paper, folded it into his pocket. He then said, changing the subject, “Let’s find the Life Research Institute first.”
“How are we supposed to find it? We don’t know even how big this Space Fold is.”
Si Chen pointed at the mycelium people below walking slowly forward, “For now, let’s see where they’re heading.”
And so, the RV moved onward in the direction that mycelium people were heading towards.
After three or four hours, the rain slowly stopped. The sky turned from black to white, gradually turning brighter.
Si Chen leaned against the car window, observing the state of the outside world.
As the sky got brighter, the mycelium people moved slower and slower, until they finally melted into the ground like ice melted by the sun.
But these beings did not die. They were merely temporarily dormant. They connected together across the ground, like one carpet connecting to another.
Shen Yanxing couldn’t help observing, “They look like spread out human skins.”
The carpets were indeed human shaped.
Slender mushrooms grew on the surface of some carpets. About 3cm high, like a bunch of enoki mushrooms.
The breeze blew gently, and the caps of the enoki mushrooms suddenly exploded, blowing spores far away like dandelion seeds.
…Fortunately, they’d kept the windows closed.
After driving a few more minutes, a square building appeared ahead.
It was cube-shaped building, about 30 meters high. Its surface looked like a broken Rubik’s Cube, with stained glass windows attached in a 9×9 pattern.
The RV stopped in front of the building.
Si Chen was already wondering about oxygen tubes… he moves fast (*/ω＼)
Thank you for translating!
You already thinking about killing your grandpa
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Thanks for the update 🌹
Wow if Song Ziyu hadn’t been there!!