The sharp whistling of giant metal claws tearing through the air, like a death knell, was magnified infinitely in Pei Du's vision, blurred by blood and spores. The fungal leader's single, venomous, deep yellow eye reflected his arm, twisted by the mutation, and Xu Shuangyao's tiny figure, limp on the ground. Behind them, the terrifying sound of the animated plant roots writhing and entwining, and the roar of the approaching fungal puppet army, like a closing iron wall, completely blocked the retreat.
Despair! Pure, suffocating despair!
Pei Du could feel the last bit of strength drained from his body, like a completely hollowed-out sack. His mutated right arm felt heavy as lead, and the dark red lines spread like burning brands from the fingertips to his shoulder blades. It felt as if boiling magma was flowing beneath his skin, bringing with it a tearing pain and an inhuman tingling sensation that penetrated deep into his bones. Every heartbeat was accompanied by the crown's greedy sucking, and his vitality was draining away at a terrifying rate. He could even "feel" those dark red lines trying to break through the boundaries of his shoulder blades and erode his chest and neck! An ominous dark red shadow, spreading like bloodshot, began to appear at the edge of his vision.
Give up?
This thought, like a cold, venomous snake, flashed across his mind, on the brink of shattering. Then, it was completely consumed by a more primitive, raging flame mingled with overwhelming hatred and unwillingness!
"roar--!!!"
A roar that was completely inhuman, filled with endless pain and a desire for destruction, burst out from Pei Du's torn throat! Not at the falling giant claws, not at the approaching fungus puppets, but at the heavy pressure on the entire world, hanging overhead like a cold star - the will of the Fungus Lord!
At the moment the roar was uttered!
A cold and sticky torrent of thoughts, carrying the desperate wails of billions of lives, like an invisible, filthy mudslide, followed the thorn spikes that were forced through the fusion crown and poured into Pei Du's consciousness that was on the verge of collapse!
Mental pollution! The whisper of the fungus master! Officially arrived!
It is no longer the spiritual scream when the countdown reaches zero, but a more insidious, more deadly and more pervasive erosion!
"Give up... defective product..." A cold, grand whisper, like countless overlapping voices, echoed directly in the depths of Pei Du's soul, with an indifference and absolute authority that looked down on ants. "Your existence... is worthless... Your struggle... is nothing but a laughing stock..."
"Look at your hands... Look at your body... Ugly... Twisted... A failure..." The whisper was like venom, precisely pouring on the wounds of his shattered identity and the fear of his body's transformation. "You are just... inferior nutrients prepared for the 'perfect vessel'..."
"The 'you' in that incubator... is the real 'Pei Du'... the chosen 'throne'..." The whisper distorted, transforming into a clear image - in the dark blue incubator, that 'self' slept peacefully, his skin smooth and flawless, exuding a cold aura of 'perfection'. In reality, his mutated arms, bloodstained body, and distorted face looked so ugly in contrast! "You... are just... an error code... about to be eliminated..."
"Integrate into us... return to your origins... abandon this meaningless suffering... become part of 'perfection'..." The whisper was full of temptation, like the venomous snake in the Garden of Eden, "Your anger... your unwillingness... will only accelerate your destruction... become the first sacrifice... for the awakening of the 'perfect vessel'..."
This whisper was more deadly than any physical attack! It used the truth about the clones Pei Du had just learned, the terrifying reality of his body's accelerated mutation, and his deepest inner anxiety and self-doubt to weave a huge, suffocating web of despair! A cold sense of nothingness, like a maggot on the tarsal bone, instantly wrapped around Pei Du's heart, making it almost impossible for him to hold on to the last bit of resistance! The burning pain in his mutated right arm seemed to have become numb.
"No...no..." In reality, Pei Du roared in pain, his body shaking violently, his eyes starting to blur. The Fungus Master's mental contamination, combined with his physical collapse and the desperate situation before him, created a perfect and decisive blow! The shadow of the falling metal claws had already enveloped his head!
“Pei Du——!!!”
A faint but extremely sharp cry, like lightning tearing through the darkness, suddenly pierced Pei Du's consciousness! It did not come from the outside world, but directly from the forced and painful symbiotic connection!
It’s Xu Shuangyao!
In severe pain and on the verge of death, she used up her last bit of willpower and, through the connection of the crown, sent a torrent of extremely strong emotions into Pei Du's polluted and eroded core of consciousness!
That's not language, it's a pure storm of emotions!
It was the unspeakable, bone-deep fear she felt as she faced the imminent crushing death under the shadow of the fungal leader's giant claws! It was like an icy tide that instantly submerged Pei Du, allowing him to experience the cold touch of death with his own heart!
But beneath this tide of fear, there was a faint yet incomparably tenacious desire, like clinging to the last straw in a raging storm—the obsession of protection! The target of that obsession was him—Pei Du! Not herself!
It was when she, in her blurred consciousness, sensed that Pei Du's mental defenses were about to be completely broken by the whisper of the Fungus Master that she burst out with an almost instinctive, desperate alertness and call! Like a drowning person's last struggling hand!
This torrent of emotions, which came from Xu Shuangyao on the verge of death and was a mixture of extreme fear and obsession with protection, was like the most powerful stimulant, and like a red-hot iron, burning Pei Du's consciousness which was frozen by the whisper of the fungus master!
“Ugh—!!!”
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