Chapter 328

Chapter 328: The Three Questions of Mycelium

Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?

These three abstract questions are often referred to as the three fundamental questions of life.

But for the mycelium life forms before us, it might be more fitting to replace every "I" with "we."

Humans have actually managed this aspect quite well. Despite the concealment and distortion of true history, general education courses lead human youngsters to immediately recall the standard answers:

Who am I? I am human.

Where do I come from? I come from the Old Era.

Where am I going? I will defeat the mycelium and reclaim the planets that belong to humanity.

However, the mycelium do not share such thoughts.

Assimilating or utilizing what humanity has provided them isn’t entirely beneficial; they have also inherited some human flaws.

Thus, at this moment, these mycelium life forms might also be pondering their origins and their destinations.

Yet, they are not human. Even though they have assimilated some human thoughts, they cannot truly immerse themselves, as if caught in a paradox of self-awareness dysfunction.

A class swiftly concluded. Those mycelium life forms, disguised as humans, departed from the tiered classroom, appearing just like ordinary university students.

In a corner unseen by Professor Lu, they vanished directly into the dreamscape, sparing that precious brain any additional burden.

Meanwhile, the timeline continued to progress. Lin Qingliu observed Professor Lu preparing his family emotionally, watching as he bid farewell to friends and other relatives before boarding the spaceship.

Contrary to most assumptions, they couldn’t simply lie down in the sleep pod and drift off for the impending centuries-long stasis.

Only the parts that were inherently human could enter the sleep state; all other forms of life had to be eradicated.

Clearly, if humanity didn’t wish to awaken to an oversized giant or a pool of unidentifiable liquid upon opening the sleep pod, they needed to thoroughly eliminate the vast quantities of bacteria within their digestive systems.

Thus, after consuming their final meal from the Old Era, thousands of crew members ingested a potion designed to promote "clearing out."

The ensuing three days were agonizing. Fifty-year-old Professor Lu felt cleaner than he had ever been.

His aged body underwent rigorous testing, achieving complete cleansing both internally and externally.

All personal belongings were confiscated, and every crew member donned uniform sterile suits, transforming the spaceship cabin housing the sleep pods into a completely sterile zone.

Finally, utterly exhausted in body and mind, thousands of people lay down in their sleep pods. Under the influence of the hypnotic gas, they swiftly lost consciousness, and the signals before Lin Qingliu’s eyes were completely severed.

It felt like watching an immersive film. When the scene before Lin Qingliu flickered back to life, everything exuded an unsettling aura.

On the viewing window, which integrated display screen functionality, a red exclamation mark flashed within a yellow triangle frame, with the words "Damage detected" pulsating like a hammer striking the hearts of the newly awakened.

He heard the hissing sound of escaping air and the sharp clang of the alarm bell, catching fleeting glimpses of debris and rising dust.

In such a situation, Professor Lu awoke.

The abrupt awakening filled him with a sense of dread. Instinctively, he raised his frail wrist and realized that the direction of gravity didn’t seem to be straight down, or rather, the sleep pod had lost its proper horizontal alignment.

Although not a member of the spaceship’s staff, Professor Lu had undergone some training and roughly understood the current predicament.

Something must have gone awry.

His body stirred from slumber, overwhelmed by the weakness resulting from hundreds of years in stasis, as if the seemingly robust muscles beneath had been hollowed out, leaving only empty shells.

Forcing himself to maintain mental clarity, Professor Lu quickly activated his muscle groups and prepared to verify his identity to open the sleep pod from within.

At that moment, with a sharp "crack," something collided with the sleep pod. A milky, gel-like substance began roaming around the corner of the viewing window. Although it lacked any organ resembling eyes, it sent a shiver of dread through Professor Lu.

Amidst the rustling noises, he could sense something crawling incessantly outside the sleep pod.

The plan to open the sleep pod was temporarily put on hold.

But the problem was far from resolved.

The human body, having just awakened from hibernation, had entered its normal operational state. However, in this state, a human could survive for no more than three days without food or water.

For Professor Lu, who had undergone a clearance procedure before entering stasis hundreds of years ago, this survival time might be even shorter.

Decades of rational thinking had ingrained a mental inertia that now forced him to remain calm. Professor Lu began to strategize ways to overcome the current predicament.

The unknown creature continued to crawl outside. He attempted to deduce its life form and sensory capabilities based on his brief observation.

That entity was undoubtedly not from the human home planet. Even the most intelligent octopus with the best color-changing ability couldn’t achieve such a feat.

As he compelled himself to think clearly, a sudden "clank" resonated from outside the sleep pod.

The sound was akin to someone unscrewing a nut from a bolt and casually discarding it nearby.

Was this instinct or intelligence at play?

And where had the nut come from?

Professor Lu determined his position by assessing the direction of gravity. His body was leaning forward, indicating that the entire sleep pod was tilted.

This orientation was hardly favorable for the spaceship…

His sleep pod was now hanging upside down on a slanted surface.

Professor Lu recalled the training he had received:

The sleep pod was secured using an electromagnetic adhesion device, with bolts at each corner to prevent accidents.

"Clank, clank…"

The sound of the nut falling echoed once more, and Professor Lu muttered a curse under his breath, then experienced a sudden sensation of weightlessness.

The sleep pod plummeted straight down. Despite multiple system failures, the airbags beneath the outer shell deployed as intended.

Amidst the loud crash and the sound of inflating airbags, Professor Lu felt himself tumbling.

A sharp fragment of spaceship debris pierced through the airbags encasing the sleep pod, creating a crack in the specially hardened viewing window.

As Professor Lu was thrown into disarray, he caught another glimpse of the unknown creature.

The milky-white entity approached the viewing window, slowly coiling its web-like body, resembling freshly kneaded dough.

Then, it gradually moved toward the radioactive crack—

Like mercury spilling, it seeped into every possible crevice.