We were all shocked to hear this news. We originally thought it had no side effects, but it seems we underestimated it.

The leader continued,

"When those Haru fight on a large scale, they eat whole mushrooms. At that time, they will see many strange, non-existent sights, and the pain in various parts of their bodies will be greatly reduced."

At this point, the leader picked up a wooden stick and, without any warning, chopped it down hard on his shoulder.

We were startled by the chief’s sudden action. The wooden stick made a dull thud and then snapped in two.

Looking at the leader's expression again, it remained unchanged, without the slightest ripple. It seems that this mushroom actually has the effect of numbing the human nerves.

As for the strange, non-existent visions that the leader mentioned, I believe they are hallucinations caused by mushroom poisoning.

These problems of illusion also occur frequently in our world.

The most frequent and severe outbreaks occur in Yunnan and other places, where a delicious mushroom called "Jianshouqing" is abundant.

If not handled properly, it can cause poisoning if ingested, leading to the seeing of many strange phenomena that do not exist in reality.

However, the kind of mushroom we encountered that can use all its toxins to strengthen its body is a rare species.

I even suspect that these mushrooms can produce something similar to injectable adrenaline in the human body, temporarily boosting the body's potential and counteracting the effects of external factors.

Now I finally understand why those Haru were so desperate to protect these mushrooms; these things were practically like having a cheat code for them.

They may later suffer a backlash from these mushrooms, becoming extremely weak.

However, when used in the fierce environment of the battlefield, this thing completely squeezes out a warrior's maximum strength.

Even if we manage to kill it in the end, it will be a near-mutual destruction tactic, and it's absolutely impossible without paying a heavy price.

Their intentions are undeniably sinister, and it's no wonder that the Mira tribe, in its heyday, was repeatedly overwhelmed by these guys. Anyone would find it a real headache to encounter such a group of reckless madmen.

However, I'm glad I set that fire, as it destroyed a large number of mushrooms. Otherwise, if the enemy had ingested so many mushrooms during our battle, the consequences would have been dire, as the saying goes.

The leader, having calmed our somewhat agitated emotions, continued,

"Our tribe suffered a great loss because of this. Those Haru became incredibly strong after eating the mushrooms, and they were not afraid of physical pain. When they went berserk, they were bloodthirsty and murderous."

This is also why the deity of the Asada tribe later instructed us to practice beast skills in the most primitive way. Only in this way could we close the gap between us, and even surpass Haru in some aspects.

Every time this topic comes up, a look of sadness flashes across the leader's face. Those days of bloodshed are etched too deeply in his memory; it's impossible to forget them.

At this moment, I roughly understand why the mysterious person from the Asada tribe didn't choose to have his people eat the same mushrooms to enhance their fighting strength.

I think he must have experimented with the mushroom at first. According to the law of conservation of energy in physics, energy cannot disappear or appear out of thin air.

Since mushrooms can temporarily boost strength significantly, the side effects must also be obvious. Leaving aside the physical strain, long-term reliance on them in combat will inevitably lead to drug resistance.

In that case, the dosage would have to be increased next time to achieve the desired effect. Over the long term, this would cause significant damage to the body and create many uncontrollable risks.

One more thing, if I'm not mistaken, those Haru have already adapted to the high-oxygen environment.

Their organs have begun to change to meet the standards of a high-oxygen environment, and they are already different from other species to some extent.

When they leave that high-oxygen environment and come to our region, it's like we're in a high-altitude environment; our bodies can't get enough oxygen, leading to altitude sickness.

This causes discomfort in various parts of the body, and the mushrooms they hold are their secret weapon to suppress this physiological discomfort. It's estimated that without the help of these mushrooms, they wouldn't even dare to start a decent battle.

This is important information. If we can utilize this information, the subsequent operations will be much simpler, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

However, something that is almost their lifeline must not be so easy to destroy, and the defense level must be very strict.

Previously, we had taken Haru by surprise and burned down the farmland.

They must have learned their lesson and are now keeping a close watch on things, never giving outsiders a chance to get close to that place again.

Su Su keenly sensed that the leader's words had a hidden meaning; he had only mentioned one use for the mushroom, but there must be other uses for it.

Otherwise, using it merely as an adjunct drug wouldn't achieve such remarkable results.

“Chief, judging from your words, these mushrooms probably have more than one use, otherwise you wouldn’t be so nervous,” Su Su said.

The leader looked at Su Su and nodded approvingly, then sighed.

“Susu, you’re right. The real purpose of this mushroom is not as simple as using it for medicine. It is also an important part of the reproduction of those strange trees in the murals.”

"What!"

This shocking news completely stunned me. This is the first time I've ever heard of a fungus needing another fungus to join it in order to reproduce and thrive.

Normally, fungi form symbiotic relationships with other vegetation; a relationship between fungi like this is almost unheard of.

The leader seemed to notice the shock in our eyes, so he quickly corrected our thinking.

However, the leader frowned and thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out how to express his point of view, so he could only communicate with Dante in their bird language.

Dante also found this problem somewhat perplexing, but after organizing his thoughts, he used a metaphor to explain the relationship between them.

Dante said that the mushroom and the strange tree were not two different species, but the same species. They needed to reproduce, just as we need men and women together to produce offspring.

Those seemingly insignificant mushrooms on the ground only grow rapidly and become new strange trees after absorbing the powder from under those strange trees.

What!

This mushroom only needs to be activated a second time with spores to grow into Protozoa. What kind of abnormal evolutionary method is this? Is it a two-stage growth?