The dark red "asphalt" tissue covering the severed arm sent waves of tingling and burning deep into his bones, like countless tiny, red-hot steel needles stirring within. Each heartbeat pounded heavily against his chest, bringing a dull, tearing pain. It was the hollow, sharp pain left behind by the forceful extraction of the Fusion Crown's power, like the echo of a hollow valley. Pei Du's remaining left hand dug desperately into the cracks of the cold, rough concrete wall, his knuckles white with the strain. He supported himself and the nearly weightless body on his back, barely maintaining balance on the edge of the ruined building, which shook violently, like a giant beast struggling in its death throes.
Under your feet, the picture of hell is spreading wildly.
“Boom—!!!”
The dull rumble didn't come from an explosion, but from deep within the earth! It was as if the earth's crust, dormant for eons, was being ripped apart by an invisible giant hand! Countless bottomless cracks, like ugly black centipedes, crazily spread and expanded across the already shattered ruins of the city! A sticky, dark green fungal mat, emitting a strong, sweet, and fishy smell, erupted like boiling asphalt from those bottomless cracks! They greedily devoured rubble, metal wreckage, and abandoned vehicles. Wherever they passed, everything was covered and assimilated, becoming part of the wriggling fungal mat! The earth was "coming alive"! Driven by the will of the fungal master, it became a living swamp that expanded and devoured everything!
“Sizzle… rustle…”
As the fungal blanket erupted, countless suffocatingly thick, animated vines, like ancient pythons awakened from the abyss, broke through the surface, ripped apart buildings, and soared into the sky with the momentum of destruction! These vines were a sickly dark purple or dark green, covered with a thick, scaly cuticle that gleamed with a cold metallic luster, its edges sharp as knives! Countless gigantic, terrifying flower buds, opening and closing like painfully wailing mouths, dripping with highly corrosive mucus, and densely packed spore sacs, like eyes, gleaming with a faint green light! They twisted, entwined, and lashed frantically! Huge concrete buildings were easily crushed and toppled by these animated vines like fragile building blocks! Smoke and dust mixed with a thick fog of spores covered the sky and the sun!
The sky is no longer the sky.
A thick, metallic silver-gray cloud of fungi, like an inverted, foul ocean, completely enveloped the sky. The cloud hung so low it seemed palpable, its surface slowly wriggling and surging like a living thing. Vast, lightning-like veins of fungal mycelium flickered within, casting a chilling, bleak green light. Sunlight was completely blocked out, and the world was plunged into an oppressive, apocalyptic gloom. A sticky, spore-laden, cold "fungus rain" dripped down like pus and blood from heaven, corroding everything in the ruins not yet consumed by the fungal blanket.
The city wailed, its "fungalization" at an unprecedented rate, driven by the fully awakened will of the fungus master! Skyscrapers, entangled and strangled by animated giant vines, finally collapsed with a teeth-aching snap, sending plumes of fungal mat and spore dust soaring into the air. The streets were completely submerged in the flowing fungal mat, transforming into a sticky river of death. The air was filled with a nauseatingly strong stench of sweet spores, rusted metal, and decaying organic matter. Every breath felt like inhaling scalding, corrosive dust.
Even more despairing is the manifestation of the power of the main fungus.
As far as the eye could see, the skeletal warriors, who had once merely coldly followed orders, seemed to be infused with a frenzied vitality! The silver-gray fungal armor on their bodies grew thicker and more hideous, and the pale hyphae exposed at their joints grew thicker and more tangled, like wriggling blood vessels! Their movements became swifter and more violent, and their scarlet electronic eyes flashed with an even more bloodthirsty light! Furthermore, a terrifying creature never before seen appeared:
The "Fungus Colossus" is tens of meters tall and is formed by the forcible fusion of countless fungus warriors and metal debris. It is like a moving mountain of flesh. Every step it takes causes an earthquake!
The "Fungal Cannon Beast" is like a giant insect, covered with thick fungal armor, and sprays highly toxic spore acid from its tail!
And countless more twisted and indescribable killing weapons made of proliferating hyphae and activated machinery!
The entire ruins had completely transformed into a living purgatory, an extension of the Fungus Master's will! The torrent of destruction was sweeping everything away!
"Ugh..." Xu Shuangyao's faint, painful moan echoed from his back. Her body was ice-cold, her breath as faint as a candle in the wind. The crown of thorns hung askew in her hair, so dim it was barely radiant. The backlash from forcibly interfering with the Master's will had nearly completely shattered her spirit. Pei Du could feel the candle of her life rapidly fading, and every weak breath brought a lingering, needle-like pain from the severance of the symbiotic bond.
"Hold on," Pei Du growled hoarsely, his voice nearly drowned out by the violent vibrations and the roar of the raging fungus vines. He didn't know why he carried this burden with him, this "creator" who had dragged him into the abyss and then created his replacement. Perhaps it was simply because this damned crown still connected them? Perhaps it was simply because he needed a witness to see him tear it all apart? Perhaps... it was the determination she conveyed in that final moment before the collapse, a desperate attempt to disrupt the Fungus Master?
There was no answer. Only the crumbling floor beneath his feet and the falling concrete shards above his head urged him to move.
Just then—
An irresistible, immense pull, like a magnet attracting iron filings, suddenly surged from the city center! Its source wasn't a physical location, but rather the dim Fusion Crown atop their heads! The pull was cold and powerful, carrying the unquestionable summons of the Fungus Master's will! It was as if an invisible chain pierced through space, tightly tethering the Crown, dragging them to the final slaughterhouse! Simultaneously, the pull seemed to point in a single direction—a direction that seemed to offer a temporary escape from the crumbling high-rise!
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