Chapter 127: New Mushrooms

Chapter 127: New Mushrooms

In the bottommost cabin of the Future, within an environment of absolute darkness, Frank Lee lit a candle, illuminating the long table piled with flesh, mushrooms, wheat, and fish.

He casually pushed those things aside, clearing out a space just large enough to hold a sheet of letter paper.

Immediately afterward, he spread the paper flat, picked up his fountain pen, and began writing with an excited expression:

“My dear friend Gehrman,

“I am delighted that you found the dried mushrooms from last time quite good. Perhaps they are even more useful than I imagined. When I have free time, I will reexamine them.

“Because I have thrown myself wholeheartedly into the experiment you mentioned, I have already stopped producing them. Most of the previous batch was also snatched away and burned by Nina, leaving only the last three. I hope they can help you.

“Along with them are my newest products: a type of mushroom that can grow and reproduce by devouring flesh in dark environments. It has three categories. One has been crossbred with wheat and can be ground into mushroom flour to produce bread. One has been mixed with the traits of dairy cows and can be milked. One has mated with fish, giving it a refreshing taste and dense, firm flesh.

“One thing that requires attention is this: they absolutely cannot be eaten raw. They must be boiled in water above ninety degrees Celsius for at least five minutes to kill their activity. Otherwise, no matter what form they take, they will actively absorb the flesh around them, including human organs.

“Another point is that they cannot distinguish between normal flesh and monster flesh, nor can they effectively process the latter. They will accumulate the corresponding toxicity or madness.

“I feel that, depending on different kinds of monster flesh, they will undergo different mutations and produce different dangers. However, I have no way to confirm this because I lack enough monster corpses for research. If you obtain any during your adventures, please be sure to send them to me. I only need a very small amount.

“As for whether there are other problems, I am not entirely sure. These are still semi-finished products, so I cannot conduct more trials and observations…

“May everything go smoothly for you, and may your adventures be fruitful.

“Your most sincere friend,

“Frank Lee.”

Putting down his fountain pen, Frank read the reply from beginning to end. Satisfied, he folded it, found a gold coin, and pressed it on top.

He swiftly set up the ritual for summoning the messenger and prepared to recite the incantation.

At that very moment, he subconsciously looked around and froze for two seconds.

Then Frank moved all the soil piled nearby out beyond the door.

…

In Queen Borough, inside the Hall family’s luxurious villa.

Audrey was hiding inside her room, staring at the glass bottle in her hand.

The bottle contained a transparent, colorless, viscous liquid. When it was still, it resembled a mirror, capable of perfectly reflecting everything within range. When ripples appeared, one tiny vortex after another silently spun beneath its surface.

This was precisely the Hypnotist potion that had just been successfully concocted!

Audrey had already digested the Psychiatrist potion. She planned to advance to Sequence 6 before the Backlund branch of the Psychology Alchemists contacted her.

Using Soothe to adjust her mental state, Audrey lightly bit her lip, raised the glass bottle, and gulped the potion down.

After a brief coolness, she abruptly felt her consciousness explode, and even her body seemed to be affected, becoming somewhat illusory.

At that moment, her Spirit Body, Astral Projection, and Ether Body seemed to be absorbed and assimilated by her Mind Body. Her entire person seemed to become an aggregate of pure thoughts, drifting upward. She sensed that boundless sea of collective subconsciousness connected to all living beings, as well as the spiritual sky corresponding to it.

Having experienced fright at the Psychiatrist stage, Audrey did not panic now. She maintained a trace of lucidity the entire time, suppressing the instinctive impulse to merge into the “sea.” She allowed her consciousness to scatter boundlessly, then contract back like a rubber band.

At some unknown point, she finally recovered herself. She saw fine, firm golden scales covering the backs of her hands. She saw a few strands of hair hanging over her shoulders turn glossy and heavy, as though forged from true gold.

These mutations receded little by little. Audrey soon returned to normal. However, when she looked into the mirror, she discovered that her emerald-green eyes appeared clear, yet they concealed strange vortices whose bottom could not be seen. Anyone who looked at them would find it difficult to shift their gaze away and would easily sink into them.

This is a manifestation of spirituality leaking outward before it has fully been restrained…

Audrey’s brows and eyes slowly relaxed, and her smile gradually became clear.

Facing herself in the mirror, she nodded lightly and said, unable to hide her smile, “Audrey, you are already a Sequence 6 now!”

Only after her emotions had calmed somewhat did she seriously inspect herself to confirm what Beyonder abilities she had obtained and what substantive changes had occurred.

After some busy testing, Audrey roughly figured out the situation.

First, her physical constitution had been greatly enhanced. Whether strength or agility, both had already surpassed the level of ordinary humans. She could also create a layer of “scales” over the surface of her skin, allowing her to resist and weaken damage to a rather significant degree.

Second, Psychological Cue had undergone a qualitative change, becoming non-combat Hypnosis. As long as she made the target truly focus their attention on one thing, Audrey could open the door to the target’s Mind Body, directly modifying their consciousness and influencing their subconscious.

In this way, the target would unknowingly follow her arrangements and commit actions contrary to their true will.

Of course, if Audrey’s “arrangements” directly endangered the hypnotized person’s life or whatever mattered most to them deep in their subconscious, the other party would produce intense resistance, causing the hypnosis to fail. In addition, if the target had a powerful mind and firm will, they could also resist hypnosis to a certain extent.

Third, combat hypnosis. Audrey could forcibly hypnotize enemies and make them perform abnormal actions—for example, attacking their companions, or avoiding her, the Hypnotist. However, this kind of “hypnosis” could only last a very short time. The target would soon wake and notice the problem. It likewise could not directly endanger the target’s life and could not make an enemy commit suicide.

Fourth, Psychological Invisibility. By grasping the target’s Mind Body, she could place herself within the “blind spot” of their consciousness, achieving an invisibility-like effect where, even when she was clearly right before them, the other party could neither see nor sense her at all.

“This is already very powerful… The only pity is that I still do not have any direct offensive Beyonder abilities…”

Audrey puffed out her cheeks almost imperceptibly and worked hard to restrain her spirituality, making her eyes look less intoxicating.

After initially eliminating the abnormality, she opened the door and let Susie in. With the golden retriever’s cooperation, she began familiarizing herself with her newly obtained Beyonder abilities.

Before long, her personal maid, Annie, entered after knocking. Holding an invitation, she said, “Miss, the Church will hold a charity banquet on Saturday night for a newly established educational assistance fund for the poor. They hope you will attend.”

Audrey did not immediately answer. Instead, she asked, “Did they invite my father and mother too?”

“Yes. They also invited the Earl, Madam, and Lord Hibbert,” Annie answered truthfully.

Audrey nodded and said with a faint smile, “Tell the Church I will attend.

“Also, find out the specific details of that charity fund so I can decide how much to donate.”

…

That evening, at the Intis Serenzo Restaurant.

“This place is truly magnificent—more magnificent than the parlors and sitting rooms of many nobles,” Fors said while looking around, acting as though she were collecting material.

Although she had attended many literary salons hosted by nobles, those had all been held in the hosts’ homes. She had never come to a top-tier restaurant like this before.

Xio scratched her rough blond hair and said, “This is Intis style. It is different from ours. It looks magnificent, but it does not have much substance.”

“How can it lack substance? Look, those are famous oil paintings and famous sculptures…” Fors deliberately retorted.

During this process, her voice was kept very low, because they had not entered through the main door.

As they spoke, they found the small private room Butler Walter had mentioned. Fors directly “opened the door,” pulled Xio inside, and hid in the cupboard of the dedicated service room, waiting for their employer Dawn Dantes and his guests to arrive.

“Tell me, how many gold pounds are those three percent shares of that Coim Company worth?” Fors casually asked out of boredom.

That morning, she had entered Saint Samuel Cathedral together with Xio, pretending to pray while actually providing protection.

Xio hesitated briefly before saying, “At least several thousand pounds, I think. That bishop seemed to attach great importance to it.”

“He really is rich. Several thousand pounds, donated just like that. Why not provide some relief to poor people like us?” Fors sighed in a joking tone.

At that moment, the door to the private room opened. Dawn Dantes and Councilman Macht’s family entered, taking their seats one after another, while the corresponding waiters began busying themselves.

Xio and Fors stopped speaking. They listened to the casual conversation outside while paying attention to the surroundings, their noses twitching from time to time because of the aroma of the food.

Suddenly, Xio frowned slightly, as though sensing something. Immediately afterward, she relaxed again, as though nothing had happened.

“What is it?” Fors leaned close to her friend’s ear and asked in a low voice.

Xio shook her head.

“Nothing. I’m too tense, so my reactions are a little excessive.”

At that very moment, Klein put down his knife and fork and, with an ordinary expression, glanced beside his chair.

In his eyes, activated with Spirit Vision, a bright-looking head with blond hair and red eyes had emerged from the void, biting a bulging letter in its mouth.

In that vague instant, Klein seemed to smell milk, wheat, and sea fish.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. His left hand quietly stretched out and accepted the letter, while Councilman Macht, Madam Liana, and Hazel, who sat in the other three seats, noticed nothing.

Klein had just discreetly stuffed the letter into his pocket when a waiter walked out from the service room to serve the four guests new dishes. Among them, two were butter-fried mushrooms.

At this sight, Klein suddenly felt somewhat nauseated. His expression grew a little strange, and his left palm, not yet withdrawn from his pocket, trembled lightly.