Chapter 13: Abnormal Creatures in the Community (1)

Just when I was feeling so happy, I heard the people next to me change the topic and they were talking about the size of that exotic plant.

"You left early yesterday, and all the shop owners here saw it. The alien plant that was carried out was really thick and strong. I don't know how many years it stayed underground and how many people it ate."

"Really? It's not easy to fight such a big alien plant."

"No, it was all soldiers who rushed forward. The battle didn't take long, but it took a long time to dig it out. We used several excavators."

"Wow, you are well-informed. You know all this?"

"What time did the excavator go in and out? It wasn't hidden from people. If the fight inside wasn't finished, would they have let the excavator in? Such a thick alien plant would have hit the excavator and overturned it."

"Wow, is it that thick?"

"That's not."

"Hey, this kind of alien plant is hard to fight, why is it so fast this time?"

"I don't know, but it's fixed. Apart from the only one injured, there's no other loss."

"That's good, it's a small loss."

"Yes, I'm lucky."

After listening to it, Yenna nodded silently. She didn't dare to say that her spores and fungi played a decisive role in it. Anyway, it was indeed good luck that she could end the battle with the alien plants so quickly.

After the break, Ye Nai came back and continued to work. Her efficiency was the same as in the morning, and she seemed not tired at all. Other students were unable to work one after another, and even if she could still work, she stopped in time and finished work with everyone else. However, she still earned nearly 20 yuan in the afternoon, and more than 40 yuan for the whole day, which was not bad.

Staff members who have seen students’ performance over the years praised her for her ability to do this job.

After returning to the city, Ye Nai still took the bus to her home, then strolled around the streets, calculated the time, brought home a few vegetables and a bag of buns, cooked, washed clothes, and cleaned up.

The following days were also similarly regular. I left home early in the morning and returned home in the evening. The weather was also good, with sunny days everywhere.

The spores that were continuously released deep into the danger zone multiplied into a very extensive mycelium under the soil, which sent Yenna a small wave of boiling energy every now and then, but none of them was as turbulent as the first time.

Ye Nai intentionally controlled the spores so that they would not fall on the organic matter on the surface. If the mycelium multiplied on a large scale, it would be visible to the naked eye, and that was the business of the local tyrants. She would not compete with them for business. She only secretly put some in the soil.

After half a month, the weather forecast started to predict rain, and Yenne's menstrual period happened to come. The danger zone was also closed on rainy days because the alien plants, beasts and mutant animals might use the bad weather as a cover to cause trouble.

"Mom, the weather forecast says it's going to rain, so we can't work in the danger zone. I'm also on my period, so it's a good time for me to rest." Ye Na finished reading the weather forecast on her phone and casually told her mother about it.

“Why don’t we work in the danger zone when it rains?”

Her parents had no idea about the working rules in the dangerous area outside the city. When they were young, Dongling City was not as competitive as it is now. They had never earned money, so they naturally had no motivation to take the initiative to learn about things they didn't care about.

"Safety rules for dangerous areas: outdoor work is prohibited in bad weather such as rain or snow."

"Really? You didn't lie to me?"

"Well, you can check it on your phone and you will know. If the weather is bad, the alien plants and animals will use the weather as cover to come out and cause trouble. Outdoor work is completely prohibited in the danger zone, and we will be notified in advance to rest at home."

"Oh, I see. Then you can buy groceries and cook for the next few days. We haven't had meat at home for many days. Your dad must not lack nutrition."

When her mother heard that she could easily check it on her phone, she stopped questioning and transferred fifty yuan to Ye Nai on her phone. "Okay."

The weather forecast was indeed accurate. The next morning, just as Ye Nai got up, she received a group text message from Danger Zone No. 1, saying that it was raining heavily there and all operations had to be stopped. They would have to wait for notification on when to resume work.

It was raining heavily outside the city, but luckily it was just drizzling inside. Ye Nai wore a raincoat to send her younger siblings to school, and then went to the market to buy 20 yuan worth of long-lasting vegetables and 30 yuan worth of meat and eggs.

I just walked to the gate of the community with the vegetables in my hand, and suddenly I felt a strange movement of the energy that was continuously returning to me. It was a bit like yesterday, but not as strong.

It's like the energy that you continuously replenish on a daily basis is like drinking room temperature water, the temperature of which you ignore once you get used to it. Yesterday it was boiling water at 100 degrees, and now it's warm water at 40 degrees. You can taste a little warmth, but compared to the usual room temperature water, this temperature change is very obvious.

Yenna's heart skipped a beat. Combined with yesterday's experience, this meant that her mycelium had eaten food with energy.

Are there any strange plants or animals nearby? !

She held the vegetables in one hand, and used her free hand to desperately release mutant spores under the cover of her raincoat sleeve. Of course, she would take away the delicious food.

Others couldn't see it, but she could clearly see that the spores did not scatter with the wind, but gathered together and rushed into the community like a torrent.

"Fuck, in the neighborhood!"

Ye Na followed her spores and ran inside, putting the vegetables in her hands into the space as she ran.

At this time, people were working and going to school, and it was raining, so there were no idle people walking around in the community. Ye Na ran all the way without being seen by anyone. As for the surveillance, well, the surveillance in their community was just for show.

When she ran all the way to the open space behind the community where she did her daily exercise, she saw a torrent of spores diving into the soil around the horizontal and parallel bars.

The soil suddenly raised a ridge, as if a dragon was turning over. The decorative tiles on the ground were lifted up, a horizontal bar was lifted up and then fell to the ground with a bang, taking the parallel bars with it as well.

The ridge of earth did not stop and continued all the way to Ye Na's feet, scaring her so much that she quickly dodged to the side.

She had just awakened, and her endurance for releasing the supernatural spores was limited. Now she was temporarily unable to release spores, but if she carefully felt the changes in her body, the energy it fed back had always been as warm as lukewarm water.

"Is this thing underground fast? Is it weak?"

Ye Na made a bold guess.

Then, she noticed that when the ridge was about to extend out of the training ground, it suddenly turned, went back, and then stopped, and there was no movement anymore.

The next second, there was movement in the space, and a huge scaleless annelid appeared inside, coiled up limply, with half of its body covered with white mycelium, filling the floor of the space, and pressing the vegetables that Ye Nai had just put in underneath.

Ye Na "took" a glance and then quickly looked away, fearing that if she looked any longer she would have a nightmare, and she took all the dishes out to prevent them from being contaminated.

The space composed of hyphae surged like breathing at this time, and more hyphae climbed onto the surface of the prey's body, decomposing and transforming this food rich in nutrients and energy, strengthening themselves and nourishing Ye Nai.

"So this is how the space is used? A kitchen and dining room after the mycelium hunts? Then I use a corner to store things and it's not swallowed by the mycelium. Should I thank the mycelium for its generosity?"

"If someone finds out about this, they will call the police immediately, and then someone will come to check and assess the risks. We have to quickly collect all the spores."

Ye Nai reacted quickly, directing the mycelium that had been reproducing on its own in the soil for so many days to release all the spores for recycling.

(End of this chapter)