RNP Chapter 68 Humans are the most intelligent of all things, and mushrooms are the true essence of heav
Chapter 68 Humans are the most intelligent of all things, and mushrooms are the true essence of heav
Yuan Lao's eyes were so fervent that he seemed to want to devour the heart that was still beating on the lab table.
He grabbed Li Fulan's arm with astonishing force, his withered fingers clamping down like eagle claws, his nails almost digging into her flesh.
"Comrade Li! Quick! Plant your martial spirit... that mushroom!"
The old man's voice became sharp and hoarse from excessive excitement, and spittle flew everywhere, with a few drops even splashing onto Li Fulan's face.
"Humans are the most intelligent of all beings, and mushrooms are the essence of heaven and earth! I have a premonition that this is the real key! This is the key to unlocking a new world!"
Li Fulan withdrew her arm without making a sound and shrugged helplessly.
This old man is truly ruthless when he goes crazy.
He walked to the experimental table, held his breath, and mobilized the strange power within him that he had brought back from his transmigration and that was now bound to the depths of his soul. That power rose from his dantian, flowed along his meridians, and finally gathered in his palm.
The ring flashed with a faint light.
A completely transparent mushroom, emitting a faint, ethereal blue glow, slowly grew from Li Fulan's palm. The mushroom was only about the size of a thumb, its cap crystal clear, with wisps of blue light faintly visible inside, like some kind of liquid gemstone solidified.
He gently pressed the mushroom onto the dark red heart.
Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the point of contact.
There was no rejection reaction as expected.
The mushroom seemed to have encountered the most fertile soil; its roots instantly burrowed into the heart's veins, so fast it was as if it were being sucked in. In the blink of an eye, it became one with the heart, even beginning to contract and expand with its heartbeat, emanating a strange yet harmonious life rhythm.
With each heartbeat, the mushroom swells up.
When the heart contracts, the mushroom contracts as well.
It seems that some incredible symbiotic relationship has been established between the two.
"White mice! Hurry!" Yuan shouted, his voice cracking.
A researcher quickly opened the cage next to him and pulled out a small white mouse with snow-white fur and bright red eyes. The mouse had a small metal tag on its ear with the number "A-001" engraved on it.
It was placed in a sterile isolation hood.
The little white mouse twitched its pink nose, seemingly attracted by the aroma emanating from the mushroom. Its whiskers twitched a few times, and then it pounced without hesitation on the transparent mushroom growing on its heart.
"Click-clack-clack-clack—"
The crisp sound of chewing echoed in the quiet laboratory.
In just a few bites, the mushroom was swallowed whole by the white mouse, leaving not a trace.
"Monitor its physiological indicators!" Yuan stared intently at the isolation shield.
The next second, a miracle happened.
Right before everyone's eyes, the white mouse's silhouette began to fade.
Its outline is like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser, blurring, fading, and dissipating from the edges until the whole body becomes transparent and disappears completely into the air.
"It...it's gone?!"
"Impossible! The isolation enclosure is sealed; it couldn't possibly escape!"
The researchers were in an uproar; some even frantically checked the airtightness of the isolation shield.
But they soon discovered that on the screen of the infrared thermal imager next to them, they could clearly see the outline of a small heat source that was moving back and forth.
The mice are still inside the isolation enclosure.
It simply became invisible.
"Scan its internal structure!" Yuan's voice trembled. "Quickly! Use X-rays!"
"Scanning..."
A researcher frantically operated the equipment, and soon an X-ray image appeared on the large screen.
That picture made everyone gasp.
"Report! The mushrooms were not digested!" The researcher's voice trembled; he almost shouted.
"It...it's actually taken root again in the mouse's stomach! The roots have penetrated the stomach wall and are connecting to the mouse's entire nervous system through blood vessels...My God, it's differentiating! It's becoming a completely new organ!"
On the screen, you can clearly see that the mushroom's roots spread out in all directions like a spider web, perfectly blending with the mouse's body.
That's no longer parasitism.
That's symbiosis.
"The previous samples will all be metabolized..." Old Yuan muttered to himself, his cloudy eyes fixed on the screen. "Even other mutated plants, even the most resilient parasites, will be broken down by the digestive system... but this... this mushroom..."
He slammed his fist on the table and burst into deafening laughter.
"Hahaha! I knew it! I knew it!"
"This won't be metabolized! This is symbiosis! This is evolution!"
Yuan Longping opened his arms wide, as if embracing some truth he had pursued throughout his life. The hem of his white coat fluttered, and his whole body trembled, resembling the legendary image of those mad scientists who discover great truths that change the world.
"What does this mean? It means that every human can have their own 'destiny mushroom'!"
"This means we could gain superhuman abilities through transplanting this symbiotic organ!"
"This means—humans...can also cultivate immortality!!!"
Just as the laboratory was filled with Yuan's maniacal laughter, the heavy electronic door was suddenly slammed open.
"Bang!"
Zhou Zhibai rushed in, panting heavily.
Her usually casually styled ponytail was now completely disheveled, with a few damp strands clinging to her sweat-drenched forehead. Her black-rimmed glasses were askew on one side of her nose, one temple almost slipping off.
The coffee she cherished as her life spilled halfway out, leaving a large brown stain on her white coat, but she didn't care about that at the moment.
She was halfway there when she suddenly received an alarm from the lab's monitoring equipment. The unfamiliar energy reading made her instantly realize she might have missed something important. Without a word, she turned and ran back, almost losing her slippers in the process.
She pushed up her crooked black-rimmed glasses, stared wide-eyed at the "invisible" white mouse on the screen, then looked at the heart that was missing a piece of flesh but was still beating stubbornly, and finally fixed her gaze on Li Fulan.
The eyes that were usually half-dead and uninterested in everything were now filled with shock, regret, and an indescribable breakdown.
That was a kind of despair called "losing the server's first kill".
"What?!"
Zhou Zhibai's voice rose eight octaves, a rare occurrence, and his hand pointing at the screen trembled slightly.
"The generation of new organs? Complete symbionts? Even gene fusion that breaks down reproductive barriers?"
She frantically scratched her hair, completely disregarding her aloof persona. The woman who usually spoke sarcastically and with a sharp tongue was now like a cat with its fur standing on end, radiating a resentment called "Wasteful."
"I actually...missed this historic moment because I went back to get a packet of instant coffee?!"
She slumped into the chair next to her, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Why... why now of all times... I only left for five minutes... five minutes..."
Looking at her utterly hopeless expression, Li Fulan couldn't help but twitch her lips.
Isn't this an overreaction? It's just missing an experiment, is it really worth it?
Lin An leaned close to his ear and whispered, "She's the kind of perfectionist who's all about witnessing everything. Any major discovery feels incomplete if she doesn't see it firsthand from beginning to end. Last time, when Yuan Lao successfully cultivated a mutated vine while she was in the bathroom, she was upset for a whole week."
"Are all the people in your base this crazy?"
You'll get used to it.