Shen Feng asked the question that puzzled him the most: did the mushrooms glow?
The expert, upon hearing this question, was almost speechless and directly replied, "Mr. Shen, do you think this is Plants vs. Zombies? How can plants just glow casually? There are no sunshrooms in the world."
Shen Feng immediately said, "But I saw glowing mushrooms in the mushroom forest, emitting a red light. What do you say about that?"
The expert frowned and pondered for a moment before replying, "Although mushrooms don't glow, and glowing would be useless. The mycelium of fungi is basically underground. Even if it glowed, there would be nothing to see it. However, the appearance of the mushroom forest is actually due to mutated fungi, and mutations can lead to any possibility. Perhaps, fluorescent substances have also appeared in the mushrooms, but I haven't heard anyone mention this."
Shen Feng quickly said, "I'm a grown man in my twenties, would I lie to you? Anyway, I really saw the mushrooms glowing. If you don't believe me, just have the helicopters patrol carefully tonight, and you'll be able to see the glowing mushrooms I'm talking about."
After explaining what he had discovered, Shen Feng directly took Chu Chaoyan and left the area where the researchers were. He had been at the outer camp of the mushroom forest for a long time, and Shen Feng wanted to clean himself up. He had been wearing a protective suit in the camp all day and didn't dare to take it off. He could faintly smell the stench.
So, Shen Feng carried Chu Chaoyan on his back and returned directly to Tengchong. It only took half an hour to reach their destination. Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan leaned in the hot spring, letting the water wash away their fatigue.
"Hoo," Shen Feng let out a long sigh and said sentimentally, "I thought it would be a relatively easy mission, but after arriving here, I realized that the difficulty of this mission is too great. The mushroom forest is not simple at all."
Chu Chaoyan said at this moment, "I heard that Yunnan Province is preparing to air-drop medicine, probably intending to use pesticides to clear a path in the mushroom forest like clearing weeds. This is a good method."
There were steps in the hot spring. Shen Feng leaned on the steps, closed his eyes to rest, and said directly, "Even the best methods can have unforeseen circumstances. I think the simplest method would be to spray Agent Orange in the mushroom forest. Forget fungi, it would kill even plants. But, the mutated beasts are still not resolved, which is still useless. I really want to know what method Qian Bufei mentioned he would have when the rainy season arrives."
Shen Feng's perspective was quite thorough. Methods like spraying wastewater from the air had been proposed before, but they were likely ineffective, which is why they were abandoned. At this moment, he decided not to think too much and rest for half a day, as he had to return to the camp later.
Just then, Chu Chaoyan suddenly remembered something and quickly said to Shen Feng, "By the way, in North America, there is a powerful sixth-tier ability user who is said to have encountered an evolutionary bottleneck and has been unable to reach the seventh tier. North America is now discussing that the limit of human ability is the sixth tier."
Upon hearing this news, Shen Feng couldn't help but frown and say, "This is utter nonsense. Only ability users at my level can know that abilities still have room for development. How can the sixth tier be the limit for humans?"
Shen Feng completely dismissed these foreign remarks, not believing them at all. As for the existence of evolutionary bottlenecks, Shen Feng had already learned about it before. It was mentioned by the mutated plant Ling Lin in the laboratory. However, Shen Feng did not believe that the limit of ability users was so low. Shen Feng had always felt that he could fly into the sky with his abilities. Now that his wish had not yet been realized, people were saying that the limit of ability users was the sixth tier. Shen Feng did not accept this statement.
"Before I became the first fourth-tier ability user in the world, most people also believed that the limit of ability users was the third tier. But later, I accidentally ate an evolution base and became a fourth-tier ability user. The current situation is exactly the same as back then, so I have reason to believe that there is still something that can be consumed to break through the current evolutionary bottleneck," Shen Feng expressed his thoughts directly.
Suddenly, Shen Feng thought of something and said to Chu Chaoyan, "Chaoyan, you've been stuck at the fifth tier of ability user for a long time, haven't you? You're almost ready to become a sixth-tier ability user. Let's do it that way when we get back to Yuzhou."
However, Chu Chaoyan immediately shook her head and refused Shen Feng's suggestion, saying, "No, I can't evolve now."
Shen Feng quickly asked, "Why? Others are because their strength is insufficient or they can't get an evolution base, but we don't lack evolution bases in Yuzhou. Why haven't you evolved yet?"
Shen Feng found himself unable to understand Chu Chaoyan's thoughts. Evolution was clearly the best choice, but Chu Chaoyan refused to do so. It was truly a woman's heart, as unpredictable as a needle at the bottom of the sea.
Upon hearing Shen Feng's question, Chu Chaoyan gave him a glare and said, "It's all because you're not trying hard enough! The more powerful an ability user is, the more difficult it is to have children. Aren't I waiting to have children? And yet, someone's strength is not enough."
There were actually discussions about ability users now, as ability users were held in high regard, and everyone was always paying attention to them.
The common saying was that the fertility of ability users had declined. This world was very fair; powerful animals had weaker reproductive capabilities, while weak animals had strong reproductive capabilities. Powerful creatures like whales and elephants were very selective when giving birth to offspring, without any carelessness. However, creatures like krill reproduced at an astonishing rate. It was precisely because of their strong reproductive capabilities that krill had not become extinct to this day.
Shen Feng finally understood what Chu Chaoyan meant and couldn't help but explain, "Having children is a matter for two people. You can't blame me, can you? Look at Senior Sister, she's an ability user, isn't she? She can still have children."
Chu Chaoyan scoffed, "Then why don't you look at Sister Du? She's a normal person, and she got pregnant so easily. In the end, this is a problem with the physique of ability users. If I continue to evolve, it will be even harder for me to have children."
Shen Feng was speechless, as there was some truth to this. After all, Du Xinshi was just a normal person. When she was with Shen Feng before, it was all done secretly, yet she got pregnant much faster than Chang Jianyi. This indicated that the physique of ability users did indeed have obstacles when it came to reproduction.
After resting in Tengchong for half a day, Shen Feng then carried Chu Chaoyan back to the camp on the edge of the mushroom forest. At this time, the people in the camp were racking their brains to treat the soldiers infected by the fungi, but even with medication and injections, there was little effect.
With four thousand soldiers infected, the morale in the camp was immediately hit. When they set out, almost everyone thought they could complete the mission with ease. But now, the soldiers realized that even avoiding infection was very difficult.
Other voices began to spread within the army, suggesting a detour. Some people said to go from Jinghong to Mian Dian, where there was no mushroom forest. Although there were more wild animals, mutated beasts were still easier to deal with than the eerie mushroom forest.
However, Qian Bufei and others could not agree with such ideas. Firstly, in terms of transportation, Ruili was the best southward passage, with complete roads and oil and gas pipelines passing through here. Detouring to Jinghong? Once you go out from there, it's all rainforest and mountains. Before you even get out, the warlords in northern Myanmar would become vigilant. This was simply not a good choice.
In response to the dissenting voices in the camp, Qian Bufei could only make a promise, saying, "Wait another two months. After two months, everyone will definitely get a satisfactory answer."
Now, the arrival of the rainy season was Qian Bufei's last hope. As soon as the rainy season arrived, he would show his prowess.
While waiting, the helicopters continuously observed the situation in the mushroom forest. Finally, they did find the scene of the glowing mushrooms that Shen Feng had mentioned. However, as the helicopters approached, the glowing areas in the mushroom forest directly disappeared, as if they were evading the helicopters.
"There are still secrets in this mushroom forest. I need to go in and take a look." After hearing the helicopter's intelligence, Shen Feng immediately decided to gather information himself.
Shen Feng was unwilling to take risks, but at this time, over thirty thousand people were blocked outside the mushroom forest. Without taking risks, it would be impossible to obtain sufficient intelligence. Moreover, Shen Feng possessed self-preservation abilities, and he could fly into the sky at critical moments. Therefore, under these circumstances, Shen Feng set off with a portable paraglider on his back.
Shen Feng dared not enter the mushroom forest because it was pitch black all around, making it difficult for him to see his surroundings. At this moment, Shen Feng moved along the tops of the mushrooms. Wearing his protective suit and using the "As Swift As Wind" movement technique, he continuously leaped above the mushroom forest, his figure like a ghost, making him impossible to capture.
Fortunately, the moonlight was bright, allowing Shen Feng to see his surroundings clearly while moving on the mushroom caps.
After searching for two hours, Shen Feng finally located the source of the red light and quickly moved towards it.
As soon as he approached the location of the red light, Shen Feng heard roaring sounds, as if wild beasts were fighting. Shen Feng immediately rushed towards the direction of the sound. When Shen Feng arrived at this place, he found that a circle of short mushrooms around the area were emitting red light, illuminating the surrounding area.
This was an open space, about three football fields in size. In the open space, a large group of beasts with mushrooms growing on their heads were fighting. The roaring sounds Shen Feng had heard earlier were coming from here.
"These mutated beasts have all been infected, but why are they still fighting? What does it mean?" Shen Feng was completely confused. He had thought that the areas with red light in the mushroom forest were luring people into a trap, but after witnessing the situation here with his own eyes, Shen Feng felt that something was wrong.
What reason would infected mutated beasts have to fight? Weren't these mutated beasts all controlled?