Little Mushroom

"Last month, one of my… uncles was bitten by a monster outside and died. Then a few days ago, another uncle went out to look for resources. In those days, the temperature suddenly increased and there was a sandstorm. He also didn't come back. Finally, there were the two uncles I mentioned previously." Xi Bei's fingers clasped the rolled-up paint on the table and he spoke slowly, "I'm left here with Grandpa but Grandpa's illness is getting worse. Previously, he could still talk to me but his mind hasn't been clear these days."

"He sometimes yells in pain and sometimes he says things I don't understand." Xi Bei stared at Lu Feng hopefully. "Can you cure him?"

Lu Feng said, "Perhaps back at the base, we can figure out the case."

He didn't guarantee a cure. An Zhe looked at the base's monthly magazine. On this page, an obituary was posted stating that a gentleman who had contributed to the monthly magazine had died of illness. His serial novel was discontinued.

In the base, at least in the outer city, few people could live to be 50 or 60 years old. People who were fortunate enough to enter old age were faced with diseases. The intensity of the artificial geomagnetic field was weaker than the original geomagnetic field. The incidence rate of genetic diseases, mainly cancer, was still high. More than half the elderly people died from this. Living on the edge of the knife for many years meant the survivors had endless stress and psychological trauma. This was also a chronic disease that couldn't be eradicated.

"Thank you… thank you." Xi Bei exclaimed. "My grandfather has raised me and taught me how to understand our generator. My grandfather has been repairing it. When everyone said there was no one else in the world, it was Grandpa who kept us waiting. He said there is an aurora in the sky, indicating that there are human organizations left in the world."

Lu Feng asked, "Is he an engineer here?"

"Yes," Xi Bei replied.

Lu Feng's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you know that the aurora represents a human organization?"

Xi Bei thought about it before explaining, "This is a magnetite mine. Grandpa is an engineer in this area. He said… he used to work at a research institute and it had been studying magnetic poles. Grandpa's teacher told him that the cause of the disaster was a problem with the magnetic poles but the institute was trying to find a solution."

"The Highland Research Institute," Lu Feng stated lightly. "A research base on artificial magnetic piles."

Xi Bei nodded. "It was called this."

"I have temporarily lost contact with the base." Lu Feng didn't continue the topic and shifted it. "Once communication is restored, I will take you back to the base."

Xi Bei nodded forcefully. "Thank you."

Thus, they stayed there. It was unknown when the communicator would recover. Xi Bei took them around to give them a general understanding of the structure of the cave.

The place where they were now was the core area. Before the disaster happened, this was a temporary rest area for miners and engineers. There were rooms for people to live in, basic living facilities and some mining machines left behind, including a generator and many tools. Since it was deep underground and hard on all sides, this was a safe area as long as the hole was protected. Outside the core area was a number of deep mining holes. They were the product of previous excavations along the vein.

"It might be dark but there are no monsters. You can rest assured." Xi Bei told them.

At noon, Xi Bei went to cook. An Zhe was interested in the kitchen here but he and Xi Bei weren't familiar with each other. He didn't dare to break into another person's territory and found something else to do.

Mushrooms liked water and humans also needed drinking water. Water was very important, sometimes more important than food. Therefore, people in the mines put in a lot of effort to collect enough water.

The period when it rained outside was the concentrated water storage time. Every time, a large amount of rainwater was collected, purified with alum powder and stored in a large cement bucket. Still, the weather was unpredictable after all and no one knew when the next rainfall would happen. After many years, the people living here had created a catchment system. Along the largest and deepest mind, they cut complicated lines on the entire stone wall. The inside of the mind was extremely humid and due to the temperature difference between day and night, fine water droplets would condense on the wall. Once these water droplets reached a certain weight, they would flow down and slowly gather in the artificial nicks, falling drop by drop into a water collection bottle at the bottom. After hundreds of plastic water bottles were filled, they would have nearly 100 litres of water.

According to Xi Bei, the recent batch of water bottles was almost full and ready to be gathered.

Therefore, An Zhe and Lu Feng each took a plastic bucket and steam lamp. They heated to the main road of the pit to help Xi Bei recover the water. An Zhe first picked up the plastic bottle at the entrance, poured water into the bucket and put the bottle back. He continued to go forward, looking for the next one.

Then he realized that Lu Feng hadn't moved and he glanced back. The man was leaning on the stone wall, watching him work. Some time passed before he took a few steps forward to gather water with An Zhe. An Zhe was puzzled by the attitude just now but the colonel's next moves were serious so he didn't question it.

The mine extended deep into the ground with a metal track in the middle. He and Lu Feng were on one side each, filling their own buckets.

This was a magnetite mine and it was rugged on all sides, covered with traces of excavation. The main area seemed grey0black and the light from the lamp was also dark in this humid and foggy environment.

Humans might not like this environment but the moisture made An Zhe feel comfortable. He even felt that the spore was rolling around comfortably in his body. He smiled, the corner of his eyes slightly curving as he rubbed his belly gently as a response to the spore. Putting the spore in this place made him feel safe.

He moved along the mining track and more and more water filled his bucket. Once he finally reached the end of the water collection system, the plastic bucket filled with water had become the world's deepest thing.

The last bottle of water was poured in and An Zhe worked hard to lift the bucket and turn around. In front of him was a long, dim and dark mind. The plate where he entered had become a faint spot of light like Mars. The bucket in his hand was so heavy and the road so long. He had to go back but he was now almost unable to hold the bucket. It would be impossible for him to carry the bucket back.

An Zhe suddenly stopped.

Footsteps rang out in the cave and Lu Feng came to him. The colonel asked, "You aren't going?"

The tone at the end rose slightly, as if with derision. An Zhe was unable to speak as he looked at the end of the mind and felt his IQ extinguishing little by little.

Lu Feng glanced at him and spoke lightly, "If you had gone here first and started filling the water—"

An Zhe, "…"

This person wasn't very nice. If he had come here with the empty bucket first and then gone all the way back, collecting water while walking, then he just needed to take a trip with the bucket. Now, not only did he carry an increasingly heavy bucket all the way, he had to carry it back.

He also finally knew why Lu Feng hadn't moved when this person saw An Zhe's movements. This man, this man—

This man clearly anticipated the consequences from the very beginning but just watched as if nothing had happened.

An Zhe decided to be angry. He was a self-respecting mushroom so he walked back with the heavy bucket, trying to speed up. However, Lu Feng's legs were long and he effortlessly kept pace with An Zhe. It wasn't until they took a dozen steps that the man reached out and held his shoulder.

"Look over there." Lu Feng pointed.

An Zhe looked.

A two metre square cart was parked on the metal track. It contained several pieces of ore and was apparently a cart used for transporting stones. Suddenly, his hand lightened. It was Lu Feng who grabbed his bucket, placed it in the cart and also put his own bucket on it.

An Zhe was just thinking that the colonel wanted to save energy by using this means of transportation when he heard the colonel order lightly, "You come up too."

An Zhe gazed at the mine cart with a bit of hesitation. He always felt that Lu Feng's eyes were full of interest and he seemed to want to play some weird games. In the end, he didn't obey but didn't refuse so he was picked up by Lu Feng.

The inside of the mine cart was very spacious. He turned his back to Lu Feng and sat down with his arms around his knees. Lu Feng hung the lamp at the front of the cart and slowly pushed the small mine cart along the track, the sound echoing gently in the mind.

Surrounded by mountain walls, this place was isolated from the world and there were no dangers lurking. The yellow light of the lamp illuminated a small area in front. Sometimes, the ore would shine with a star-like fluorescence and it was like a human fairy tale had appeared in this place.

An Zhe watched in front while leaning back against the cart, feeling relaxed. The nature of a mushroom was to sit and he didn't like moving. He wasn't resentful about being pushed like this. Although he couldn't see Lu Feng, he somehow felt that this person should also be very happy now. The happiness of a mushroom was obviously based on laziness. He just didn't know what the happiness of the colonel was based on.

He looked ahead and snorted coldly in his heart.

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