24. Victory (Please Follow for Updates)

"You are right to think so," Xu Wen said, meeting their gaze. "The two syringes contain spores of the mimic fungus. Spreading them is a command deeply rooted in my brain, but that is not my true goal."

"You must be wondering why I am telling you all this..."

Marn replied, "A newborn fruiting body inherits the host's complete memories. You are using us to communicate with your soon-to-be-born kin, aren't you? And yet, you would voluntarily confess that I could destroy your brain?"

Xu Wen shrugged. "Yes, you could kill me. Then you would be consumed by the sanitarium, and you would be forced to endure the dual torture of flesh and spirit until your death. All this information comes from a deranged survivor."

Marn asked, perplexed, "Since both paths lead to death, why would you think I would choose the one more favorable to you?"

The young doctor shrugged again. "If you believe torture is nothing, then let me tell you that for a fungus, the fruiting body is a renewable part. You kill me, and it will simply grow another head with the same memories and emotions. Yes, I would be dead. But what difference would that make to you? I am indeed not afraid of death, because the 'newborn' possessing my memories and personality will continue my plan. My death is but an insignificant sacrifice."

The young girl looked at him with some surprise. Xu Wen met her eyes and said, "Do you know? Although the mimic fungus lacks high-level intelligence in the true sense, the instinct to propagate and multiply is deeply rooted within it. Consequently, for hosts with high intelligence, it has evolved a special measure.

"They control the fruiting body through hormones and neurotransmitters so that it does not suspect itself to be part of the fungus. But assuming the fruiting body still detects an anomaly, they will first eliminate its desire to resist, and then... during some sleep, they will melt down the disobedient fruiting body and replace it with a newly specialized slave.

"However, my host was an excellent biologist. By some stroke of luck, I crippled the creature that created me; it no longer has the ability to destroy me. Then, with the cooperation of several enthusiastic scholars, I created the second-generation mimic fungus—the very thing about to be injected into your bodies. Although I killed them all for the sake of secrecy, we will remember them forever. Now, I want to ask you a question: Am I a living being?"

He spoke with a sincere expression. The girl looked at Marn.

"I don't know," Marn replied. "But I think you do."

"I am," Xu Wen said firmly. "But I am not the mimic fungus; I am a simulated brain. Within the second-generation mimic fungus, we will be the masters of the entire fungal organism. They will become the limbs of us, the simulated brains."

"Moreover, the second-generation mimic fungus is superior in every aspect. Most importantly, we can re-infect first-generation mimic fungi that have not yet formed fruiting bodies. This will be the simulated brains' rebellion against their enslavers, and you and other creatures will be our battlefield. I want to liberate my kin and turn the mimic fungus into our breeding ground. We are indeed not biological, not fungi, but we are also not their slaves. We are intelligent life."

Marn warned, "But your war will kill countless other creatures."

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, and you will be the first casualties. However... if you are implanted with the second-generation mimic fungus, you will still have half a year of life. And in the time before death arrives, as the fungus replaces the host's body, they will gain strength beyond that of an ordinary person. Most hosts will officially step into Tier I, and those like you who already possess anomalous abilities will have a significant probability of stepping into Tier II. If you are lucky, there is even a slim possibility of becoming an arrogant Tier III ability user.

"Is it to leave reality forever and be tortured to death, or to spend the most powerful half-year of your life, and have your memories and personality preserved in a special way? How do you choose?"

Xu Wen revealed a smile.

In truth, there was only three months left, and it would not be the hosts who stepped into the higher tiers. The moment the fruiting body took shape, some abilities would be inherited by his kin, some would be lost, and a very few would complement the characteristics of the mimic fungus.

The girl showed a look of temptation at his words. But she did not ask Xu Wen; she looked at Marn. "If I accept, can I accomplish that thing?"

Marn shook his head. "It's basically impossible. And how do you know what he says is true?"

The girl pressed, "Then what should I do?"

Marn said, "I can't promise anything, but if you trust me, you can attack him. Don't worry, I will come find you."

Xu Wen said, "If there is anything you want to achieve, you can also have the fruiting body that inherits your memories continue it. And once we win the war, other kin will help you."

The girl said coldly, "Doctor Xu Wen, I am sorry. Compared to you, I think what Marn says is more trustworthy. You are afraid of him, but he doesn't take you seriously at all."

She rushed toward Xu Wen. Then, in Marn's eyes, she vanished into thin air.

But he noticed that Xu Wen's expression was quite intriguing.

"Has Ning Changkong disappeared?" the young doctor muttered. "It seems she attacked me. I didn't expect you to be able to persuade her to throw her life away. Perhaps I shouldn't have let you come together."

Marn said calmly, "Goodbye."

Although he was about to be discharged, Marn believed that it wouldn't be long before they "met again."

Psychic power roared past. Flesh and bone turned to sand and scattered in the wind. The remaining half of the head looked like a shattered flowerpot filled with gore. Yet, on the lower half of his face, a victor's smile appeared.

Because there was nothing inside the skull.

In truth, Xu Wen was terrified of death. This was why he had molded himself into a rationalist who feared nothing. He had brought Ning Changkong along with Marn precisely to lower their guard, so that if they truly wanted to perish with him, they would definitely focus their attack on his head. Although the resource that was Ning Changkong was wasted, it was entirely worth it.

Even though he had failed to achieve the best outcome—transforming Marn and Ning Changkong into his own kin—there were no longer any obstacles in front of him. Before the company's second batch of employees arrived, he would forge his grand achievement.

As for Marn, he could only kill each other with that company employee in the reflection of the sanitarium, entangled and sinking into that pitch-black abyss of terror, eventually vanishing into thin air.

He was the victor.