CHAPTER 498: CHAPTER 490: WHAT KIND OF PROPER PERSON WOULD DRINK THIS?

The Awakened Warriors had absolutely no idea what had just happened.

All they saw was Qian Qi taking a bite of the mycelium, and immediately the mycelium covering the Demon Core started to drop off like dried maggot shells on a wall. The entire Fungus Cave suddenly trembled, and all the mycelium walls were rapidly retreating, accompanied by a loud and sharp scream: "Puchi——"

It was as if a waterlogged mushroom had been stomped on, emitting a piercing sound.

At this moment, in the eyes of the outer city army, they witnessed the deep yellow Three-Water Orchid Eye Spider Fungus trembling all over, then letting out a scream that was neither human nor beast. Seconds later, Three-Water Orchid Eye Spider Fungus throughout Cui City began to scream madly, the puchi sounds rising and falling as if they were performing a symphony from hell.

Qian Qi opened her mouth wide, got down on her knees, and took another bite of the mycelium beneath her feet!

More and more toxins were injected into the Fungus Cave, and the Awakened Warriors only felt another tremor beneath their feet, followed by a force pulling them rapidly upwards, then rapidly downwards, occasionally experiencing weightlessness, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Outside, the Nan Family Army tilted their heads back, staring in shock at the scene before them.

They saw the largest Three-Water Orchid Eye Spider Fungus standing up with a boom, using its rather bouncy base to hop toward the distance, fleeing while shouting, leaving a trail of "hair" falling like white rain, and wherever it passed, the nearby Three-Water Orchid Eye Spider Funguses would uproot too, roaring and fleeing along with it.

This is... what happened?!

After Qian Qi finished the second bite, she felt like her brain was drunk, dizzy and wobbly, her vision went black, and she toppled forward.

The Commander hurried to her side, put a helmet on her, remembered her gesture, then unbuckled Qian Qi’s Defense Armor. Hesitating for a moment, he closed his eyes and viciously punched her stomach.

Qian Qi! Sorry!

"Ow——"

A scream of pain rang out, not from Qian Qi, but from the Commander.

The Commander felt as if he had just hit something else, but his hands hadn’t even touched Qian Qi!

As he wondered, he suddenly heard a loud "thud" and, upon looking closely, found that Qian Qi’s head had somehow turned to the side, and there was a big dent in her Defense Helmet.

Commander: ???

Is this haunted???

With her forehead slammed by the system, Qian Qi woke up faintly, rubbing her throbbing right temple, "I feel like my blood vessels are going to explode."

[Don’t worry, the force of this system is perfectly balanced~] A tilted-eye OK image appeared on the system interface.

A heap of shriveled mycelium lay on the ground, and the Power Awakeners were striving to control the Demon Core from being taken by the Fungus Cave. Qian Qi drew an A-level knife, swiftly smashing at its tough outer shell, finally breaking a small hole.

A strand of sandy-yellow energy liquid sprayed onto Qian Qi’s helmet.

Qian Qi plugged the small hole, signaling for the warriors to bring out the coagulant, and just as she was preparing to inject it, she suddenly paused.

Qian Qi: "Hey? I suddenly have an interesting idea."

The system smacked the back of her head, [You don’t!]

"Aren’t you curious?" Qian Qi was eager to try, her small hand already preparing to lift the Defense Helmet again.

[Curious about what?! This is anti-coagulating material. Aren’t you afraid of stomach bleeding if you drink it?] the system text roared.

Qian Qi: ?

Qian Qi squinted her eyes, "You’re so weird, why would I drink such a thing? Who drinks this stuff anyway?"

System: ???

Isn’t it because you had a precedent and poisoned the mycelium at the entrance before! Who knows if you want to taste it?

[What are you curious about then?]

Qian Qi: "I’m curious about what effect the venom secreted by my teeth would have on this Demon Core."

System: [Oh~!]

The system was also curious because its database indeed lacked practical data on venom integration with the Three-Water Orchid Eye Spider Fungus Demon Core, as these two entities did not even belong to the same world. Even though it could calculate the outcome, it lacked real data support.

[Go ahead!] Now, the system was even more excited than Qian Qi.

Qian Qi nodded, then lifted her helmet and took a bite of that small hole.

The colorless and tasteless venom slipped into the Demon Core, suddenly causing the entire core’s energy to boil like it was bubbling furiously.

Meanwhile, outside, everyone saw the originally sprinting Three-Water Orchid Eye Spider Fungus suddenly twitching as if electrified, trembling subtly in place. Following this, from a certain Fungus Cave, countless Three-Water Orchid Eye Spiders crawled out, clumsily rushing toward other Three-Water Orchid Eye Funguses, frantically knocking at their thin-film doors.

Other Three-Water Orchid Eye Funguses opened their films to accept these strangers, then surrounded that contaminated fungus at a cautious distance, waiting for it to continue emitting signals.

Because it suddenly stopped emitting signals, other Orchid Eye Funguses felt a false sense of security would ensue.

And that Three-Water Orchid Eye Fungus injected with venom calmed down after trembling for a while, remaining motionless in place.

Qian Qi remained still too, as she fainted again, only waking up when the system knocked her on the left head again.

She got up as if nothing had happened, watching the ever-bubbling Demon Core, quietly waiting for the Orchid Eye Fungus to have a strong reaction like rapid withering, but after waiting all day, there was no further reaction.

"What’s happening?" Qian Qi patted that Demon Core, like slapping an old TV, utterly puzzled.

[The reaction is complete, roughly matching my calculations.] The system nodded at the panel, [It’s now edible.]

Oh?

Seeing it was edible, Qian Qi immediately loosened her grip to lift her Defense Helmet, preparing to drink the squirted energy liquid, only to have her head slammed by the system the next second, [I meant you could eat it! Not drink it!]

Qian Qi patted her head with a bitter face, "Eat what?"

[Have you ever eaten those blue-stained mushrooms from your area? Alright, you haven’t, let me educate you. They’re a type of bolete; the flesh bruises or stains blue when touched or injured, containing toxins that cause diarrhea, nausea, hallucination, and can even be deadly if uncooked. But~]

[Once cooked, they’re particularly delicious! Remember to take some back when you leave! Get Xu Jinghong to cook them for you!]

Qian Qi: ? Does this make sense??? A fake A Magic Plant turning into a dish?

[Your venom has paralyzed the Orchid Eye Fungus through the Demon Core. These mycelium won’t move anymore, but for the rest of the Demon Core, you’d better avoid using this method.]

"Why?" Qian Qi asked puzzledly, thinking this was much more convenient than injecting coagulant.

The system, looking at her Defense Helmet with big dents on the left and right, smiled: [Of course, unless you don’t mind being hit into a concussion, I’m happy to oblige:）]

Qian Qi: Oh hey~ no thank you~ (￣▽￣)~*