Chapter 323

Chapter 323: No Negotiation

It has indeed been a long time.

Lin Qingliu easily recognized the consciousness within this temporary humanoid body standing before him.

This was the will of the mycelium that he had battled against during the Infected outbreak in the outer city, engaging with all living beings in the surrounding biological field.

At that time, he had the home advantage, coupled with the blood rain, enabling him to successfully crush the part of the will that had seeped into Hope City through the biological field.

Now, half a year later, these two entities, perhaps no longer even human, were meeting again under such circumstances.

Before this, they had never truly encountered each other; they merely recognized each other’s presence through the biological field.

“You actually came out and entered our world; that’s truly surprising.”

The insect-formed body gradually spoke more smoothly, its adaptability far exceeding that of humans, while its tone sounded like a blend of several superpowered individuals.

Lin Qingliu scoffed dismissively:

“If you can send your avatars into Hope City, why can’t I come out?”

The tone of the humanoid body across from him wavered slightly:

“Indeed, that part of ‘us’ was wiped out by you. No wonder all the biological fields disappeared in an instant, leaving no trace behind.

“However, there’s still a difference between you and us. We can feel that this is your true form. You are quite bold.”

Lin Qingliu nodded, not intending to hide this fact:

“Bold? Do you really think you can kill me here?”

“Of course not. You and we both know that no one can be the victor now.”

The insect-formed body seemed to mimic Lin Qingliu, its previously blank face gradually acquiring sharp angles, and its features began to form.

“Our strength cannot concentrate like yours can, and your power cannot cover the entire continent, cannot completely eradicate ‘us.’”

Lin Qingliu did not oppose the facts stated by the will of the mycelium. It seemed this was also the reason it chose to communicate with him rather than launching a direct attack.

Whether on a physical or mental level, he and the will of the mycelium represented two extremes.

One side was extreme concentration, with powers from many paths converging in one person; the other was extreme dispersion, where each thread of mycelium remained incredibly fragile, yet could never be completely exterminated.

“Enough with the nonsense. If you want to fight, let’s fight. If you want to talk, then talk. Discussing irrelevant matters here is beneath your intelligence.”

Lin Qingliu, floating in the air, displayed impatience. The humanoid body across from him was becoming increasingly human-like; just moments ago, its wooden-like hands even began to show fingers.

Lin Qingliu despised this clumsy imitation. Coupled with his prior knowledge of the experiences of Wang Xiao and Fresnel, he could clearly sense that imitation and learning seemed to be an instinct of the mycelium, just as it was for most sentient beings.

“It was you who interrupted ‘our’ research, who destroyed our…”

The body paused, as if searching its vocabulary for the right word:

“Laboratory.”

Lin Qingliu shook his head:

“For you, this may seem inconsequential—after all, you dissolve the bodies of your kind, and extraordinary beasts also devour one another—but for humans, it is an insult.”

“It’s clear that this is one of the special characteristics of the concept of ‘humanity.’”

The body seemed to have truly become a human now, perhaps a researcher, with its speech becoming much more precise:

“We always encounter resistance on the level of will when we assimilate these humans. Their reasons for not wanting to integrate are similar to what you said.

“We cannot understand; perhaps it is because we are beings of a higher order.”

Before Lin Qingliu could refute, the humanoid body continued:

“You cannot defeat ‘us’ because your power, while concentrated, has not truly reached its limit.

“If you rely on your uniqueness to assimilate all the humans in that city and lead with your will, then…”

“Then what difference is there between you and me?”

Lin Qingliu interrupted the humanoid’s speech:

“Let’s avoid these foolish questions in the future. I have no interest in discussing them, and you do not deserve to hear them.

“Perhaps you have plans for cooperation or the like, but that became impossible the moment you killed the first human, so I will refuse that too.

“You even stole your ability to think from humans; I really don’t know what qualifications you have to call yourself a higher form of life.

“Next, I want to see how far this so-called higher life form has expanded. If you feel offended, you can try to kill me.”

The humanoid body seemed unfazed by the provocation; perhaps it did not possess such feelings.

In response to Lin Qingliu’s warlike words, it merely nodded:

“Then, an unprecedented beast tide will soon strike your city.”

Lin Qingliu remained unfazed:

“Let’s see who is faster then!”

In the next instant, a shadow leaped to Lin Qingliu’s side, and the entire space seemed to twist instantaneously; everything vanished from sight, leaving only a body that now appeared entirely human except for its color.

At this moment, the body’s face began to twist and ripple rapidly, like cells dividing in an instant.

A few seconds later, once the division finished, it stared blankly at the spot where Lin Qingliu had disappeared. Its mouth opened wide, and a voice, indistinguishable as male or female, emerged from the insect-like sounds:

“He left.”

The right side of the humanoid’s head began to form another face, and its mouth suddenly split open with a crack, another voice uttering:

“Protect ‘our’ brain.”

At the same time, a crack also appeared on the left side of the head, and a third face formed:

“I am already doing so.”

From the original back of the head, a smaller face appeared:

“Wow wow~”

No one paid attention to this unclear voice. After a moment, the foremost face spoke:

“He doesn’t want to cooperate with us, and the plan will fail again.”

“He cannot comprehend the existence of higher life forms; that is his problem.”

“Are we truly higher life forms?”

“As long as we can win, we are.”

“Wow wow~”

On the twisted and gnarled trunk, countless cracks emitted weak light.

Translucent cocoons, some green and some blue, began to grow at an unimaginable speed.

The rate at which these biological cocoons expanded seemed to have surpassed all limits, and with each cocoon’s swelling, the trees anchoring them became increasingly withered.

In the forest at dawn, countless glimmers illuminated the ground hidden beneath the thick fog, as humanity was about to face the shortest time interval between beast tides.