Chapitre 13: Chapter 13 There are Abnormal Creatures in the Community (1)

Feeling thrilled inside, Ye Nai overheard the topic change to the size of the mutant plant nearby.

"You guys left early yesterday, but the shop owners here saw it, that mutant plant they hauled out was really robust, makes you wonder how many years it had been underground, how many people it's eaten."

"Really? A mutant plant that big must be tough to deal with."

"You bet, it was warriors who went in first, the fight didn't last long, but digging it out took ages, they brought in several excavators."

"Wow, you're well informed, how do you know all this?"

"The time the excavators went in and came out wasn't hidden from anyone, would they let excavators enter if the fight wasn't over? That stout mutant plant, if it hit an excavator, even the excavator could be flipped over."

"Wow, was it really that thick?"

"You bet."

"Gee, a mutant plant like that is hard to defeat. How come it was finished so quickly this time?"

"Don't know, but it's done. Apart from that one injury, there were no other losses."

"That's good, sounds like minimal damage then."

"Right, pretty lucky."

Ye Nai, having listened to the conversation, nodded silently, not daring to say that her spores and fungi played a decisive role, but ending a fight with mutant plants so quickly was indeed lucky.

The break over, Ye Nai went back to work, with the same efficiency as in the morning, seemingly not showing any signs of fatigue. Other students gradually couldn't keep up, but she, even able to continue, wisely stopped, quitting work along with everyone else. Still, she made a little less than twenty yuan in the afternoon, bringing her total to over forty yuan for the day, which wasn't bad.

Workers who had seen many students over the years all said she had the ability to do this job.

Back in the city, Ye Nai still took the bus near her home and then strolled around shopping, timing it well to bring home some vegetables and a bag of steamed buns, then cooked dinner, did the laundry, and tidied up.

The following days were just as routine—leave early in the morning and get home in the evening, and the weather even cooperated, blessing her with clear, sunny days.

The spores she continued to release deep in the danger zone proliferated a vast network of Fungal Mycelium underground, periodically sending Ye Nai a small burst of scorching energy, but none as overwhelming as the first time.

Ye Nai intentionally kept the spores from landing on organic material on the soil surface, since the widespread growth of the Fungal Mycelium could be seen with the naked eye, and that was all the local tyrant's business. She didn't want to compete with them; she only fiddled covertly with the soil underneath.

After half a month, the weather forecast began predicting rain. It just so happened that Ye Nai's menstrual period had arrived, and on rainy days, the danger zone took a break as well because mutant plants, mutant beasts, and mutated animals might use the inclement weather as cover to cause trouble.

"Mom, the weather forecast says it's going to rain, and they won't be working in the danger zone. I've got my period too, so I might as well take a break," Ye Nai said, looking at the weather forecast on her phone and casually mentioning it to her mother.

"Why don't they work in the danger zone when it rains?"

Her parents had no idea about the work regulations in the danger zone outside the city. In their youth, East Ridge City wasn't as competitive as it is now, they never earned money that way, and naturally, they had no motivation to actively learn about things they didn't care about.

"Safety regulations for the danger zone. Open-air operations are prohibited during rain, snow, or other inclement weather."

"Really? You're not kidding me?"

"Yeah, you can check on your phone. When the weather is bad, mutant plants and beasts could take advantage of it and cause trouble, so the danger zone bans all outdoor work, and they notify us to stay home in advance."

"Oh, I see. Well, then you take care of the shopping and cooking for the next few days. We haven't had meat at home for many days, and your dad can't go without nutrition."

Her mother, upon hearing that she could easily check on the phone, didn't question further and transferred fifty yuan to Ye Nai through the mobile app.

"Okay."

The weather forecast was indeed accurate. The next morning, right after Ye Nai got out of bed, she received a mass text message from Dangerous Zone 1. It was pouring rain there, all operations were suspended, and notification would follow regarding when work would resume.

While it was raining heavily outside the city, it was merely a light rain within the city. Ye Nai, dressed in a raincoat, took her younger siblings to school, and then bought twenty yuan worth of vegetables that could be stored for a while and thirty yuan worth of meat and eggs at the market.

Just as she reached the entrance of the residential complex with her groceries, she suddenly felt the continuous energy she had been feeding back fluctuating, somewhat like the day before, but not as intense.

It was as if the constant background energy was like room-temperature water one got used to and ignored. The energy from yesterday was like boiling water at a hundred degrees, and now it was like warm water at forty degrees. There was a hint of warmth that was clearly distinguishable from the usual room-temperature water.

Ye Nai's heart skipped a beat. Combining her experience from the day before, this indicated that her Fungal Mycelium had consumed energy-rich food.

Mutant plants or mutant beasts nearby?!

With one hand holding the groceries, and the other free under the cover of her raincoat sleeve, she frantically released superpower spores. Of course, she would sweep up any good food she could find.

The others couldn't see, but she could clearly see that the spores didn't scatter with the wind but instead gathered together and surged like a flood into the residential complex.

"Fuck, it's inside the complex!"

Following her spores, Ye Nai sprinted inside, stuffing the groceries into her Space as she ran.

At this time of day, those who were working went to work, and those who were studying went to school; and with the rain, there were no loiterers in the complex. Ye Nai ran wildly without being seen by anyone. As for the surveillance cameras, ha, those in their complex were just for show.

When she reached the usual exercise area at the back of the complex, she saw a spore torrent diving into the soil around the parallel bars.

The soil abruptly heaved into a mound, as if a dragon was turning underneath, lifting the decorative floor tiles. One of the horizontal bars was pushed up then came crashing down, taking a set of parallel bars down with it.

The mound didn't stop there, continuing toward Ye Nai's feet, causing her to quickly sidestep to avoid it.

She had only Awakened not long ago, and the endurance for releasing superpower spores was limited. For now, she couldn't release any more spores, but she could still feel the continuous, tepid warmth of the energy being fed back to her.

"Does this thing underground move fast but is weak in strength?"

Ye Nai hazarded a guess.

Then, she noticed the mound, just about to extend out of the exercise area, suddenly took a turn, looped back, and then stopped, quiet once more.

The next second, there was movement in the Space, and a huge legless segmented creature appeared inside, coiling limply in a circle. Half of its body was covered with white Fungal Mycelium, which filled the floor of the Space. The groceries that Ye Nai had just put in were crushed underneath.

Ye Nai took a quick look and immediately averted her eyes, afraid that looking too much would give her nightmares, and took out the groceries to prevent contamination.

The Space, composed of mycelium, started to pulsate like breathing. More mycelium crawled over the prey's body surface, decomposing and converting this nourishing and energy-rich food to strengthen itself and nourish Ye Nai.

"So this is how the Space is used? It's like a kitchen and dining room for the mycelium after they've hunted? Using a corner to store things without being eaten by the mycelium—I should be thankful for the mycelium's generosity?"

"If someone discovers this mess here, they will call the police right away, and then experts will come to inspect and assess the risk. I need to quickly retrieve all the spores."

Ye Nai reacted swiftly, directing the mycelium in the soil, which had been propagating for many days, to release all their spores for collection.

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