Chapter 134
For ordinary people, casually taking anesthetics is very dangerous.
If one is not careful, it can paralyze the heart and affect the oxygen supply to the brain. Once the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than five minutes, irreversible necrosis of neurons will occur.
And neurons do not regenerate.
But for Evolutionaries, there is no such concern. Although there is still a risk of death if the dose is too high, there is no need to worry too much about possible side-effects. At most, they will feel a little dizzy upon waking.
Si Chen attached a portable vital signs detector on Sheng Wu and said to Song Ziyu, “You stay here and guard him. If he looks to be waking up, give him another shot. Take precautions and be careful not to get infected by the spores. We’ll wake him once I come back.”
The RV was installed with an air circulation system. Even if they find themselves at the bottom of the ocean, their oxygen supply was guaranteed. Si Chen said this purely because he couldn’t rest at ease.
Song Ziyu quickly asked, “What about you?”
Si Chen replied, “I’m going to the museum. I’ll be back before dark.”
As he spoke, he loaded supplies into his portable backpack. Mainly gene medicines, tranquilizers and the booster shots gifted to him by Chen Zhizhou. He also packed snacks sent by White King, these would serve as rations to feed Si Yuan to prevent it from getting hungry on the road.
He planned to head to the basement first. If he fails to eliminate the mother plant and they become trapped in the Space Fold, this would be their last resort.
Song Ziyu made to speak but stopped. He wanted Si Chen to take him along but then changed his mind after some thought. Due to being parasitized by No. 9’s fetus, his level had dropped so much that he feared he’d be a burden. It was better to let Si Chen act alone. Best to put all his doubts aside. He swallowed back down his words.
Song Ziyu reminded, “…Be careful out there.”
Si Chen walked out of the carriage and looked at the ground.
The mycelium covering the ground seemed to be alive. It had climbed up the wheels. After just a few hours, the white fungus blanket had spread upwards by more than ten centimeters. Small green dots grew out of the white fuzz. It looked like mushrooms were growing.
His prosthetic eye detected weak energy fluctuations coming from these little mushrooms.
Si Chen left it alone and didn’t pluck it. He decided he better come back early.
He walked towards the museum. The road leading to it was beautifully built. This must have been an attraction built when Serpent Staff Gene was at its peak. Now, it was all un-concealable desolation and dilapidation. Instead of weeds, wild fungi grew between the gaps in the stone slabs.
Although the Eternal Life Abyss kept whining, saying it was hungry and wanted to eat mushroom hot pot, Si Chen didn’t dare feed it these fungi. He was afraid little dancing people would appear before his eyes if he eats these.
Were that to happen outside, at worst, he’d find himself in the hospital. But in a Space Fold, he might end up in a grave.
The fountains on either side had dried up, the pools covered with green moss. But the gilded sculptures standing to the sides had been completely preserved.
These sculptures were bizarre.
A dog with three heads; a strange ant that looked like a bacteriophage; a huddled cocklebur; a tentacle-d slug that looked like slime… Judging from artistic expression alone, they were so hideous as to give children nightmares.
Si Chen’s expression turned thoughtful.
He had seen similar creatures in the “Illustrated Encyclopedia of High-Dimensional Creatures”.
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As Si Chen got closer, he realized that the Gene Museum was a lot larger than he imagined.
He walked in slowly.
Light strips lined the corridors of the Gene Museum. The overall lighting was very dim and there were no windows anywhere.
Mycelium liked dark and moist environments, but there wasn’t much fungi in the museum. Only a few adhered to the walls, leaving large patches of mildew.
Si Chen did not feel lucky for this.
This did not conform to fungi growth patterns; which only meant there were far more terrifying things in here; things that made it so that these mutated fungi dared not spread.
He saw the museum guide map at the entrance. The first and second floors were exhibition halls. “Studio” was written on the third floor, which was off limits to ordinary visitors.
On the map, there was no mention of a basement.
Si Chen memorized the map and headed towards the emergency passageway to see if there was an entrance to the basement.
Only that, to reach the emergency passageway, one needed to go through the entire exhibition hall.
He walked through the long and narrow corridor at the entrance of the museum, holding his breath slightly as he entered the exhibition hall.
Over the years, the indoor air vents have become clogged with fungus. The smell inside was unpleasant, rotten and turbid.
Huge glass boxes, connected to the ceiling, stood in the exhibition hall.
The glass boxes were equipped with light tubes, allowing visitors to better view the exhibits inside.
Si Chen’s eyes fell on the glass display closest to him.
It was filled with liquid and the water inside had turned green.
Within the water tank, a huge spherical creature was bobbing up and down, its skin bulging like a sponge full of water. This spherical creature was made up of countless small balls gathered together. It looked exactly like the cocklebur sculpture outside.
Si Chen originally thought this creature dead but the next second, it spit out a dense swath of bubbles as it moved back and forth in the green liquid.
A cetacean cry sounded in Si Chen’s ears, long and profound.
Si Chen’s pupils narrowed for a moment.
They were alive.
In front of the display case, there was a description plaque.
【Gene Museum】
Introduction: Ever since mycelium began to spread pervasively in nature, our world has been filled with spores. Only the mycelium men can continue to survive.
In recent years, the extinction of wild creatures has been accelerating due to the raging proliferation of fungi. However, we have also found that a completely new branch of species has emerged in the wild. Some mycelium retain the animal’s body after killing it, using the animal’s body to move. We collectively call these “mycelium lifeforms”.
Much to the researchers’ surprise, the mycelium lifeforms in each area has been found to be controlled by the same “mother plant”. Overall, mutation has been geared towards being larger, more aggressive and more conducive to survival. Mycelium lifeforms controlled by the same mother plant show a convergent evolution method (such as gigantism, hyper-toxicity, increased agility, saprophytic properties, etc.).
Research has found that mycelium lifeforms we once thought to have no intelligence are evolving, showing strong imitation and learning abilities. Perhaps one day, a mycelium lifeform may rise to replace humans to be the overlord of this biosphere.
The exhibits you see within are “mycelium lifeforms” collected by the Serpent Staff Gene Group from different areas. Some of the strains are precious raw materials for mycelium capsules. This is not only a collection of nature’s bounty but also a masterpiece of human technology.
…
…
To put it simply, because of the existence of mycelium, not only humans but also animals had begun to mutate. Some were the result of evolution in the wild, natural selection; while others were man-made.
These mycelium lifeforms on exhibit were all extremely deformed and they were huge.
These strange fungi reminded Si Chen of “cancer cells”.
There was no doubt that these mycelium were nature’s cancer cells; they destroy all lifeforms except fungi.
Outsiders might feel terror upon seeing it but to the ignorant people of that time, they thought it a miracle of life and a gift from nature.
Perhaps only by waking Dr. Sheng can they ask what sort of thinking led them to build a place such as this Gene Museum.
Most of the display cases were well sealed. Some of the exhibits lived in liquid solutions while others in simulated landscapes.
Si Chen even saw one case filled with pink mycelium.
White ants crawled around these fleshy hyphae.
They kept dividing but couldn’t leave the display case, until they filled every inch of it.
These ants were constantly eating their own kind for energy. The uneaten ants became the gelatinous substance used to hatch new larvae. This was covered with white spores, like diseased mold spots or abscesses on flesh.
The white spores dropped and turned into small ants.
They reproduced from generation to generation in this closed environment.
Suddenly an idea flashed through Si Chen’s mind.
For these lifeforms in the glass cases, the tourists looking in from outside must be “high-dimensional creatures”.
Could it be that someone was looking in at them the same way? Like a god looking down at the world, casually arranging and combining disasters.
He quickened his pace but was careful not to make a sound. He reached the innermost part of the exhibition hall.
The last showcase actually had no lights. The space near the emergency passageway was pitch black.
“Click.”
There was a slight noise in the deathly quiet exhibition hall.
Si Chen slowly moved away.
Just now, he’d stepped on something.
Its texture was completely different from the fungus carpet spread on the ground. Si Chen slowly squatted down and picked up the fragment.
With the faint light, he analyzed what the fragment was made of. It was glass.
The glass was thick and the fragment’s edges were sharp.
Si Chen turned his head and looked at the glass display case beside him. Because the glass display case was so huge, he couldn’t even find the damaged part.
“Something escaped…”
There should have been an exhibit inside but the creature had broken the case and escaped.
Maybe it has left the museum or maybe it was sleeping somewhere within. Or, perhaps, it was lurking in the dark, waiting to strike a fatal blow.
Si Chen only hesitated for a moment before continuing to walk towards the emergency passageway.
His target was the slime mold solution. If this mycelium lifeform was still in the museum, he would encounter it sooner or later. In a Space Fold, there is no place that is forever safe.
The door to the emergency passageway was closed tightly and seemed to be locked from the inside.
Si Chen took a deep breath and kicked open the door.
In the empty hall, the sound was infinitely amplified.
He raised the flashlight and shone the light into a stairwell.
Densely packed hyphae grew within. It looked like a monster’s lair.
Countless sticky hyphae had gathered together, reaching almost to his waist.
The passageway was paved with a layer of pink fungus blanket, covering every surface, from floor to wall to ceiling. It had an uncomfortable fleshy texture when stepped on; like some monster’s esophagus.
Mushrooms of various colors grew wildly on this fungal carpet.
If Dr. Sheng were here, he would find that many of the mushrooms growing here were of precious medicinal strains. In the past, it was extremely difficult to cultivate even a single strain.
The Eternal Life Abyss sniffed and said softly, “Mom, I want eat mushrooms.”
In esophagus part I start feeling sick
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Oh wow I’m really grossed out (good job writer and translator!)
Blegh. Good on Si Yuan for still having an appetite!
Thank you for your hard work!