Chapter 32: Crisis, The Truth Behind the Mushroom Soup

"Ah!"

In the living room, Li Feng and Zou Anmeng let out a series of pained cries, feeling as if their brains were burning—a total, catastrophic loss.

However, they soon realized that their neural processors had developed a certain vitality, as if they were thirsting for energy.

What had happened?

They exchanged glances and hurriedly searched online, only to find the internet filled with wailing and gnashing of teeth. Across the entire city of Rehe, and even in the surrounding cities, the majority of PC001 Amber Monarch butterfly-model signals had been reduced to a battlefield where grandmasters were clashing within their mental realms.

The entire city was crackling and popping with various instances of burning and overloading.

Tragic. It was simply too tragic.

Yet, a certain grandmaster posted a statement:

"Perhaps they have come to life. The entire first-tier Amber Monarch model is undergoing a metamorphosis, evolving into a first-tier Little Angel model."

Li Feng’s eyes widened.

A Little Angel neural processor model?

The brain structure of the neural processor had mutated?

The grandmaster continued his analysis:

"This situation is unprecedented; it is utterly incredible. This is an entirely new frontier."

"If one supplements this with a large amount of nutrition, it might truly change the neural processor model. This is a legitimate field of study!"

"This is the gift of the ancient King of Angels."

...

The wind shifted abruptly.

Almost in an instant, countless people began to praise this ancient King, worthy of being an angel who pursued beauty.

People began to post:

"His actions and his heart are as clear as a mirror; everything he does is for justice."

"Wuwuwu, I’m crying. He is truly an ancient monarch, the only real hero. After being betrayed time and again, he is old and gray, filled with regret in his later years. I can feel his loneliness and his greatness."

"Therefore, for the sake of my idol, I would like to purchase his 'burning' neural processors to make up for the losses everyone suffered when their processors were ignited."

In that moment, scalpers had already begun purchasing these neural processor models at high prices.

The market price for a PC001 Amber Monarch was 60,000, but now people were offering 80,000!

And even then, they were mocked:

"I can hear your greedy schemes through the internet. I’m offering 100,000 for any processor that has been burned."

"I see the unique determination and meticulousness in the eyes of this old senior. I understand what he is carrying, and I understand his tragic heroism."

"I, too, am willing to do my small part, buying up the processors he ignited to compensate everyone for tonight's losses!"

Some, with keener senses, had already hiked the offer to 120,000, declaring they would stake their entire fortunes on this gamble.

In short, a swarm of profiteers was frantically driving up the prices.

Seeing this, Zou Anmeng and Li Feng were dumbfounded: Did we not only eat the melon, but also turn a profit?

Ever since an amber piece from the Jurassic period was unearthed from the strata in our Rehe City, have we been blessed by the heavens?

Has a sage arrived, and are our lives finally improving?

Magical!

This world is far too magical.

Tonight, no one was destined to sleep.

...

The next morning.

The city’s trending topics were almost entirely occupied by last night’s angel incident.

And an even more explosive piece of news arrived:

Countless people who read "that book" last night felt their bottlenecks loosening, and some even achieved a direct breakthrough.

This was nothing short of a miracle.

The reason was actually quite simple.

Those who broke through were primarily the demographic using Amber Monarchs.

First, the emotional resonance was there.

For them, the Amber Monarch was a memory of their childhood.

Reading a book is all about immersion. In this story, watching the Amber Monarch shatter the shadows of childhood, climb to the peak, defeat various dinosaurs, and pursue the beauty of breaking through the cocoon to become a butterfly—was this not the shattering of the inner demons of their own childhoods?

Secondly, the compatibility was high.

For the poor, training with a butterfly-type neural processor at the first tier and then switching to a human-type processor at the second tier—the brain structures were not of the same species, so it was naturally incredibly stiff and difficult.

This was an invisible threshold established by the great noble families.

Good first-tier "Sage" neural processor models were kept for themselves and never easily shared.

But now, as they practiced the next stage of the Amber Monarch series, they found it naturally easier to break through.

In short.

The waves were immense, and the entire nation was in an uproar!

Countless people in other regions were openly envious of Rehe City.

Yet, faced with this commotion, the daily lives of the three students at the bottom of the social ladder remained unaffected.

Li Feng and Zou Anmeng still went to school as usual.

It was just that the topic of conversation at school today would likely be gossip about some angel.

"We’re off to class."

After seeing off the two fellows who were delighted by their windfall, watching them disappear into the rain with their umbrellas from the windowsill, Liu Jun returned to the living room.

"What on earth is this all about?"

Liu Jun felt his head spinning.

He didn't want to deal with any other messy business right now. His core problem was:

How exactly did Bug Thirteen get out!

Was his mushroom soup controllable?

This was his most fundamental issue, one that concerned his very life.

No!

No!

Liu Jun suddenly felt a sense of unease.

In the game "Plague Planet," am I really a mushroom?

He recalled the starting game screen:

A human figure sat at a dining table holding chopsticks, a pot of delicious, sweet mushroom soup placed before them. Inside the soup, an angry mushroom stared with (〒︿〒) eyes, preparing to fight against the human.

Perhaps...

His role wasn't the mushroom at all.

He was the human holding the chopsticks, eating the mushroom soup.

Every time he picked up a mushroom, he was given three choices to gain their talents!

But there would still be two-thirds of the mushrooms left in the pot, preparing to rise up against him, break out of the soup, and defeat him—the evil human?

The more Liu Jun thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

So the main quest of "Plague Planet" is that I am the human guarding the mushroom soup, hunting for mushroom talents.

Preventing those angry mushrooms from destroying the world.

This might be the terrible side effect of his "golden finger." After all, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world!

Even if he cultivated rapidly, the future was still a dead end.

"If I follow this logic, I am the villain."

"Every time three mushrooms are born, I, the human, pick one out of the soup..."

"In this cycle, there will always be twice as many talent-bearing mushrooms in the soup as there are in my possession. Sooner or later, they will rebel against me."

"Break out of the soup and defeat me, the evil human who loves eating mushrooms. But what is wrong with loving mushrooms?"

It seemed completely unsolvable.

And Bug Thirteen was perhaps just a mushroom that happened to escape by sheer coincidence.

Fortunately, Bug Thirteen was righteous and kind. If it had been some truly evil mushroom, it might have really become a Plague Monarch and wreaked havoc across the world...

This is the true "Plague Planet"!

However, at this rate, he would eventually be unable to guard it.

"My best option is to cultivate a group of mushroom powerhouses... to suppress the world for me."

"I take one-third, and let the remaining two-thirds of the mushrooms work for me."

"In reality, there may not necessarily be a major conflict. For instance, the life of this Butterfly Era isn't bad; we are getting along quite happily now. Why must we stand on opposite sides?"

Liu Jun pondered continuously.

"I am the god who holds one-third of the talents, and they, the common people of the world, share the other two-thirds... we can get along well. Each of them can only be compatible with one talent-mushroom... like Bug Thirteen, who after becoming the 'Love Is Not Eternal' mushroom, could only use 'Star-Speed Lightning' externally, borrowing a portion of its power."

"We have no conflict of interest, yet I still need to be prepared for danger in times of peace. I treated Bug Thirteen with sincerity, and the current outcome is quite good..."

"But in the future, it is not guaranteed that every life will not harbor malice just because you are good to them."

At this moment, he suddenly felt that Bug Thirteen escaping wasn't entirely a bad thing.

It was precisely because of this accident that he discovered the problem early.

This is also called 'good deeds have good rewards.'

He helped Bug Thirteen and gave him a magnificent curtain call, only to discover this fatal issue.

However.

Changing his perspective.

Liu Jun suddenly felt that this was a very interesting war strategy game.

Thinking of this, Liu Jun inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

Yes.

He felt relaxed only after discovering the terrible side effect of his golden finger.

Before, he had always felt uneasy about the windfall he had received from the sky.

He had always believed that all things in the world were balanced in the dark.

If you gain power, you must pay the corresponding obligation.

Danger and opportunity coexist.

It was like a joke circulating on the internet.

If someone says to you: As long as you defecate in the street, I'll give you a million.

Another person says: This money is too much, I feel uneasy holding it; you'd better let me eat it in the street instead.

Now.

Liu Jun was at ease!

Soon, Liu Jun adapted and began to perceive the details of each batch of mushroom soup.

"I have a feeling that even if they leave the soup, I can still choose to take... the 'Love Is Not Eternal' and 'Star-Speed Lightning' from Bug Thirteen."

"I can 100% cripple him from a distance by choosing to take a talent from his body next time."

This gave Liu Jun a sense of security.

He could sanction the mushrooms that escaped.

But the same point remained: he could sanction a portion, but what if a whole crowd of mushrooms wanted to rebel?

Treat others with sincerity; if they do not treat me with sincerity, then we shall see...

"It seems everything has just begun."

"Or perhaps, in the future, I will unlock control-type mushrooms, and once they are completely under control, I won't have to fear betrayal."

"Enough, why overthink and worry? Worrying about some inexplicable future? Only villains are ganged up on by the heroes of the world. I am a good person, working hard to do things that do not violate my conscience. As for how it develops, I will leave it to fate and watch them."

Liu Jun didn't dwell on it, nor did he go to check the mushroom soup; he simply lay down to sleep.

This afternoon nap was more restful than any sleep he had had in the days since he first obtained his golden finger.