CHAPTER 558: CHAPTER 292: MYCELIUM GIANT_2

In the next instant, a bizarre fungus-covered corpse, hunched over and with sharp claws, still wearing an experimental dust-free suit, suddenly lunged out of the darkness towards him.

Ah!!!

This zombie moved incredibly fast, its claws scraping the ground like a beast as it lunged forward, carrying a strong smell of laboratory disinfectant.

Luo Yang’s pupils constricted immediately, and he instinctively prepared to use his superpower, but suddenly Lin Xian stepped in front of him and shouted, "Careful!"

Buzz!

A semi-transparent force field unfolded in front of Lin Xian, and the charging monster corpse crashed right into it, causing a massive burst of ash-like black matter to spray onto the walls. Upon closer inspection, the black ash continued to wriggle, continuously splitting to form sticky fungi like spiders, quickly covering most of the wall, extremely bizarre.

"Hey!" At this moment, Kiki anxiously launched a telekinesis wave, directly blasting the monster corpse, crushing out a large amount of black mist.

"Don’t touch these things, Sister Ning, you shouldn’t intervene either!" Lin Xian’s face looked grim after seeing this scene. He had brought out so many skilled people, but the encounters kept getting more and more bizarre, leaving no room for action.

Ning Jing frowned and said, "Judging by the clothing on that monster corpse, it should be an experimental subject locked in the lab."

"We’ve encountered too many types of mycelium characteristics so far. Based on the information we have, it’s best not to act rashly," Ding Junyi said, looking at the anomalies in various air parameters displayed on the holographic vision: "I suggest we quickly find people from the Deep Red World. They must know a lot of related information."

"In this situation, it’s uncertain whether any living people are left," Lin Xian remarked as he watched the scene, his feet not pausing for a second while he led the rest towards the building’s atrium.

The area map showed that the upper levels of the Deep Red Pharmaceutical Group were mainly some administrative and business areas, while the core cryogenic laboratories were all underground, accessible by the vertical elevator through the atrium. Apart from there, there was basically no other valuable search area in the entire building.

"It’s just ahead. Kiki, use the telekinesis shield to protect yourself, and don’t mind anything you see on the way!"

While arranging things, Lin Xian ran forward, but something strange happened. The closer they got to the atrium, the fewer the surrounding mycelia became, as if suppressed by some special power.

Meanwhile, the lights gradually brightened, eliminating the need for Lin Xian to use his mechanical superpower for lighting; the originally dirty floors and walls became spotless, with a high-end luxury pharmaceutical company interior emerging before Lin Xian’s eyes.

The spacious and bright floor, with holographic advertising screens along the corridor displaying Deep Red Pharmaceutical’s corporate culture. On the screen appeared a bald middle-aged man in a suit with smart glasses, speaking passionately and articulately:

"Deep Red Pharmaceutical is committed to reshaping the infinite possibilities of life from the perspective of genetic technology... We have transcended the dimensions of ’editing’ with CRISPR gene scissors — through AI-driven quantum base folding techniques, not only can we repair faulty genes..."

"As Professor Valen, a leading figure in Federation biology, once said, humanity is the pinnacle biological template of biological reproduction. Diseases, viruses, and defects are inevitable processes of biological evolution, including external factors like natural disasters. Some question: has gene editing crossed the forbidden zone of life? My answer is—when a mother sees her daughter with congenital metabolic defects running for the first time thanks to our mitochondrial regeneration therapy, when cancer early screening AI reduces mortality by 90%, sparing millions of families from terminal illness... what we are touching is not the forbidden zone but the brilliance that civilization should possess."

As Lin Xian moved through the corridor, a gigantic bright atrium hall came into view, resembling a large technology building. Countless administrative drones whizzed through the air, seemingly busy.

The cylindrical central elevator stood in front, surrounded by a ring-shaped information desk. Unexpectedly, a young woman in a uniform, apparently the atrium manager, stood before the desk. Apart from her, the entire atrium was empty, with Lin Xian only hearing his own footsteps.

The woman was extremely beautiful, appearing to be in her early thirties, and at this moment, she was looking at Lin Xian politely with a smile.

"Hello." The woman seemed to say to Lin Xian.

Lin Xian didn’t speak; he observed his surroundings, then looked back, a familiar feeling washing over him — everyone was gone, leaving only him and the woman in front of him.

Crack, crack, crack.

Lin Xian’s eyes tightened, and the Mechanical Heart rapidly expanded, capturing anything usable to determine his current situation.

Yet the woman in the uniform merely looked at Lin Xian calmly and smiled, saying:

"I understand you; constant escape won’t fail to exhaust your body and mind, surrounded by danger at every turn, potentially losing your life at any moment. Seeing such a clean, bright, end-of-world-free modern scene now, surely you think you’re in the wrong place or have entered an illusion, right?"

Crack, crack, crack.

Lin Xian’s eyes lit up with superpower energy, and the Mechanical Heart began to spread over a larger area.

"Have you ever thought you might have misunderstood the concept of death?" The woman continued as she watched Lin Xian’s actions: "As long as what you see, touch, perceive, and sense isn’t the end of the world or death, what’s the concern with the form in which life exists?"

As soon as the words fell, a tumult of footsteps suddenly echoed through the atrium. Lin Xian looked up to see large numbers of people pouring out from all channels, men and women, all completely naked. Regardless of gender, each had remarkably beautiful features and physique, like perfect human creations.