Chapter 764: Cleaning the Mold
The Mutants that had crawled to the surface never returned, which suggested there might be other dangerous factors up there besides the mold.
Since he couldn’t use mental energy on a large scale, Lin Ye had no idea what was happening above.
‘Could this be what that woman meant by ‘residual anomalous creatures’? That’s way too many residuals.’
Lin Ye was almost ready to give up on this organization’s base.
But the thought that giving up now meant he had wasted the trip through three stations made him decide to try a little harder.
Using the leftover meat chunks, he catalyzed a few more Mutants. These Mutants looked incredibly strange—they only had two legs and bulging abdomens.
“Go, fulfill your mission.”
Lin Ye moved away from the platform and hid deep inside the tunnel.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of violent explosions erupted above, shaking the entire tunnel as if something was tumbling through it.
The tremors from the Mutant explosions seemed to trigger some change in the tunnel, as if something had been awakened.
After the shaking subsided, one of the two-legged Mutants ran down from above and stopped beside Lin Ye.
Lin Ye checked the Mutant’s condition. There was no sign of that mold inside its body.
Just as he was about to go up for a look, the tunnel began to shake violently again, as if some giant creature was moving underground.
This creature was far larger than the giant worm—it was likely the same massive being that had been shedding its skin in the tunnel.
Only after the underground vibrations had stopped did Lin Ye cautiously approach the surface along the stairs.
The moldy flesh that had been blocking the subway entrance was gone, probably blown apart by the spiritual energy bombs Lin Ye had made.
Lin Ye stepped out of the subway entrance. This area was on the outskirts of the city, with no tall buildings nearby.
Scattered outside the subway entrance were large chunks of moldy, dark green flesh that kept twitching.
On the road near the subway entrance, dark green fuzz had grown thick. When the wind blew, that fuzz lifted into the air and drifted into the distance.
“So this is some kind of plant infected with mold?”
Lin Ye didn’t have deep knowledge of this subject—only a general understanding.
“That’s quite a cutting-edge look you’ve got there.”
Wearing a protective suit, Singularity walked up behind Lin Ye and spoke.
“You still have time to pay attention to me? I thought you had more important things to handle.”
Lin Ye didn’t turn around. He really didn’t want to get involved in the organization’s troubles.
“I just noticed this area. Those dark green fuzz bits are a sub-project of a certain research project. That research project is stored inside the organization’s base over there, and I’d like you to retrieve it.”
Singularity observed Lin Ye’s monstrous, deformed body as she spoke.
“You probably planned for me to deal with this from the start, didn’t you?”
Lin Ye didn’t believe she had no idea what was inside that base.
“No. I’m just a researcher. When this abnormal incident occurred, the organization was severely damaged. I was only activated after that.”
Singularity explained seriously.
“Fine. Then can you give me the data on that research project?”
Lin Ye didn’t really care about that. No matter what the organization wanted him to do, he probably had to solve this problem first before he could go back.
“I can only tell you that the research project is called ‘Mold.’ I don’t have the authority to disclose the research content.”
Singularity said in a somewhat helpless tone.
“Alright. Can you at least provide some material support?”
Lin Ye was starting to have doubts about Singularity’s identity—was she really a researcher for the organization?
So far, Lin Ye had only seen Singularity as the sole active member of the organization. That was highly abnormal… Could the organization have fallen apart?
“I can’t provide you with materials. You can look for what you need at other bases.”
Singularity looked at Lin Ye, her tone flat.
“…Forget it, then. I’ll retrieve the research project.”
Lin Ye didn’t actually need material support anyway—he was just probing the organization’s state.
“Sorry for the trouble.”
After speaking, Singularity vanished from behind Lin Ye.
“…It’s not that much trouble.”
Lin Ye didn’t head straight for the mold-covered streets. Instead, he returned to the underground platform and ran back along the tunnel to the previous station.
Even without going full speed, the trip only took him two minutes.
As if sensing Lin Ye’s presence, the flesh-and-blood root tendrils began growing rapidly, wrapping around Lin Ye’s body.
Lin Ye didn’t resist. He simply replicated some Spiritual Parasites and merged them into the root tendrils.
The root tendrils quickly released Lin Ye. The entire subway station shook violently as all the root tendrils left the underground platform via the stairs.
Lin Ye ran back along the tunnel. When he returned to the surface, a massive fleshy mountain covered in blood-and-flesh root tendrils was already cleaning up the mold.
A large number of Mutants followed closely around the fleshy mountain, their bodies crawling with dark green traces—the mold had already integrated into them.
Some Mutants were devoured by the mold, while others reached a state of ‘coexistence’ with it.
The Mutants that achieved coexistence absorbed the surrounding mold and transformed it into part of their own bodies.
The fleshy mountain crawled toward the organization’s base, moving fast. The mold couldn’t stop it at all.
Before long, the fleshy mountain flattened the camouflage building above the base and pried open the base’s roof with its root tendrils.
A flood of dark green creatures covered in mold poured out from inside and slammed into the fleshy mountain.
The surrounding Mutants ignored those mold creatures entirely, charging straight into the base to search for the research project.
The fleshy mountain was soon covered in mold creatures. Instead of fighting back, it stayed in place, letting them feast on it. Before long, it had been gnawed down to nothing but a tattered layer of epidermis.
After devouring the fleshy mountain, the mold creatures didn’t return to the base to attack the Mutants invading it. Instead, they stayed where they were, dazed, and lay down on the ground.
Then they began to pray. They started to perform a sacrificial ritual.
And the sacrificial offering—was themselves.
The mold creatures emitted strange spiritual waves. At first, each wave was different, but as the ritual progressed, the different spiritual waves began to resonate with one another, eventually merging into one.
It started as a spiritual fusion. As the spiritual resonance took hold, the flesh of the mold creatures also gradually merged together.
By the time the sacrificial ritual ended, all the mold creatures had vanished. Only a dark green fleshy mountain remained in their place, radiating an eerie spiritual wave.