Little Mushroom

======The first rose, 2103

"We have no other way."

"Everything in the world is devouring humanity and our numbers are decreasing day by day."

"Child." Madam Lu took the gold rose badge from her chest, placed it on her palm and slowly closed her fingers. She could feel the undulating and soft lines of the rose petals, as if touching a real rose.

"Everyone has to take up the weapons they have available to fight against this era." Her voice was as gentle as a wave of water.

"However, you won't get anything Mother."

"No individual will benefit from it. It is humanity as a whole that will benefit. Once humanity gradually gets rid of the bad situation then we as individuals will get better, even if it is hundreds of years later. The truth is that when you save everyone, you will be saved yourself."

"Still, we can't rule out a situation where our salvation is much later than everyone else's salvation." She stated. "That's when we will take up arms to protect ourselves."

"Will there be that day, Mother?"

"There will be a day." Her voice was shockingly determined. "Unless—unless all of us are saved, we are doomed."

"Child, you must remember something. In any case, humans are made to love each other."

"Child, do you love them?"

"Love."

She gave the badge to her young daughter.

======The second rose, 2105

There was a loud bang. The heavy object fell to the ground and spun around. Her mouth hit her on the back of the neck and she fell heavily to the ground. There was the bang of the bedroom door being closed. Then there was a click as the door was locked.

She should've fainted but in the last second before fainting, a glittering golden object slipped from the pocket of her jacket. The colour brought back her last consciousness. Her ears were buzzing like there was the roar of an airplane. There was a sharp pain like her head was being split apart and a numbness like she had lost all his limbs. In the midst of this, she stretched out her hand to grasp the golden rose badge and gasped for breath.

She wouldn't let herself faint. She had a gentle temper but her willpower was stronger than ordinary people. This was also recognized by her mother.

Her mother was such an outstanding and excellent woman. Aunt Lin Shan had said that her mother showed extraordinary leadership talent when she was a young girl and was even one of the initiators of the fertility law in the Rose Declaration that saved humans. Up until now, when the oppression of women was becoming more and more serious, beyond the original agreed ceiling, her mother and her peers had picked up weapons to safeguard their freedom and dignity.

It seemed like a long time. Half an hour, an hour or two hours. Through the bedroom door, she heard a rough knock at the entrance. There was the sound of high heel shoes walking across the ground. This was her mother, Madam Lu. Everyone knew that Madam Lu had been elegant all her life. She always wore a crimson dress and black high heel shoes in a beautiful manner. She never changed with age.

The door opened and the guests came in. Their footsteps were heavy and there was the sound of military boots colliding with the ground. She felt danger but these things happened frequently these days.

The next thing that followed was the sound of words that seemed to be deliberately lowered. She vaguely heard some words like 'change', 'stop' and 'concentration'. In the past three months, her mother had been talking frequently with some people. Although her mother deliberately avoided her, the words she inadvertently overheard were the same.

She probably knew what had happened. For half a year, the 'roses' had been fighting against the endless oppression and the base had tried to reach a settlement with them.

"I don't agree." Her mother raised her voice.

"I'm afraid you need to come with us."

"I've already made many trips with you."

"This time it is different, Madam."

"Is there anyone else?"

"There is only you, Madam. The marshal wants to negotiate with you in person. You can also choose to bring other people."

"I wanted to ask Lieutenant General Lin Shan to accompany me with her guards."

"Of course, Madam." The officer said after a moment of silence.

The officer appeared to dial a number while her mother went to the filing cabinet near the bedroom door.

The officer hung up the communication.

After a moment, Madam Lu stated, "I will prepare some materials. Once Lieutenant General Liu Shan arrives, I will go."

There was the sound of the filing cabinet opening and everyone in the living room was silent. It was so long that she almost lost consciousness. Yet she was still wondering why her mother had knocked her unconscious.

Why? Why?

Because…

Because—

She thought about it as she was losing consciousness.

—Until a shot rang out.

She trembled all over and her hands were sweaty. Her gold badge slipped from her hand and hit the ground with a clear sound the next moment. Her crumbling faith was the same as this badge. In this difficult to measure time, she struggled to grip the badge in her hand again, bringing her fist to her chest.

For a long time, blood slowly flowed through the gap in the door like the tentacles of an octopus. She looked away from there toward the warmly decorated room. She didn't know if it was sadness, hatred, pity or nothingness in her eyes.

The next moment, she completely lost consciousness.

======The third rose, 2105

She was taken to a place where she stayed with girls of the same age in a few small rooms. Food and water were delivered to her every day. She knew that many things happened outside for at least three months, because such a life lasted for three months.

She had been thinking about why her mother knocked her out if her mother didn't know the danger that was going to happen. If her mother knew the danger, why not take precautions earlier? If killing Madam Lu with the gun could solve the problem, why did the chaos last for three months? If it was predicted that the chaos would last for three months, why choose to kill her?

Sometimes, she suspected that her other deliberately killed herself. In addition, her mother knocked her out to keep her alive.

Her mother said that apart from the women closely related to the declaration, the other members of the base were indifferent to the opposition. Of course, there was a way to make them care. It was to let them see that the thing that oppressed them was so huge that it would one day crush everyone.

Or maybe she would never know the truth.

No matter what, her mother Madam Lu and Madam Lu's companions had failed. It was because she and her companions were brought to a large, white hexagonal building that she had seen every day when she opened the curtains. It was called the Garden of Eden.

In the hall, an old, strange woman took her hand.

"Child." The lady asked. "Do you love humanity?"

"In any case," she spoke softly, looking into the lady's eyes. "Humans are made to love each other."

She went in. She knew that years later, she would be known as Madam Lu. It was as if her mother was still alive.

======The fourth rose, now.

There was a dark green monster.

An Zhe squatted down to look at it.

It was dying. There were three bowl-sized bloody holes in its abdomen and a thick, black liquid was flowing out. The skin composed of thin scales and the protruding thorns and pimps on its body undulated weakly. Four of the five eyes were compound eyes, covered with an ominous white glaze. The fifth was rightly closed. The compound eyes on the back were dim.

It was hard to see a critically wounded and dying monster in the abyss. This meant it had just barely won in a fight and the bloody breath hadn't yet been discovered by other hunters.

It wasn't very big and was as long as a newborn human baby. Of course, this didn't mean that it was always this long when alive. It was because polymorphic monsters in the Abyss could freely transform between forms. Polly said that under the former theoretical system, it was unbelievable. It was because some materials disappeared out of tin air while some materials appeared out of thin air. However, if it was explained using the fluctuations and frequencies then this switch of form was just a change in frequency. It was easy to do.

Now, it might be in this state when dying because it wanted to die in this form. This might be its original form or its favourite form.

An Zhe touched the head lightly with mycelium but there was no reaction.

"It's dying." He frowned as he looked at the monster.

Lu Feng said only one thing from beside him. "It's raining."

An Zhe raised his head. The sky was covered with clouds and there was a 'patter' as the rain fell between the trees, branches and leaves to splash on the ground. The next second, another drop fell on the monster's wound. It twitched for a while, seeming to feel pain.

The summer rain came quickly. Just a few seconds later, dense raindrops hit the leaves like drums. Lu Feng covered An Zhe's shoulders and head with his uniform coat. An Zhe stated, "When I came here, there seemed to be a cave nearby."

He grabbed Lu Feng's hand and stood up, hesitating for a few seconds. Finally, he picked up the small monster that was trembling with pain and went to the hill nearby.

"The form isn't quite right." Lu Feng said.

An Zhe didn't feel it. There were many such landforms in the Abyss.

The cave entrance was there, a deep opening among the tangled vines.

The monster in his arms was still trembling. A long time ago, he dragged the seriously injured An Ze back to the cave in a similar manner. He knew that the hole in front of him definitely wasn't the one in the past but he strangely felt that time and fate overlapping with each other and he was walking down that road again.

However, once he stood at the entrance of the so-called cave, he finally believed in Lu Feng's judgment.

This hole wasn't a common irregular opening. It was vaguely arched. This was an abandoned building squeezed into the current shape for the raised ground. There were indeed some ruins of human cities in the Abyss. There were various buildings with different functions in the ruins. In the past 100 years, the creatures of the Abyss had grown and spread in them.

They walked in and there was only darkness with the occasional fluorescence of plants. An Zhe put the monster down and placed the flashlight in the right position. The flashlight lit up a limited space. It was a wide hall with decaying furnishings. It seemed to be a church with mottled walls and traces of monsters living there. However, it seemed to have been abandoned a long time ago.

There was the sound of a carapace moving against stone as the injured and dying monster moved five centimeters toward them. An Zhe reached out and touched the fluff on its feet. The monster's head turned. There were no mammalian pupils in the insect's compound eyes. It was difficult to recognize the focus of its vision but An Zhe knew it was looking at him.

Why was it watching him? What was it thinking? What type of feelings would the monster with five eyes have when it was dying? An Zhe didn't know that the white mycelium was creeping up the monster's body and gently covering its deepest wound.

The feet moved like it was approaching An Zhe but the next moment, its body didn't move. It was going to die.

An Zhe looked at it but didn't take back his mycelium. There seemed to be a gaze coming from the side. He turned his head and found Lu Feng leaning against a dilapidated pillar in the church hall, arms folded and eyes directed here, watching An Zhe's every move.

Lu Feng asked, "Do you do this often?"

"Sometimes." An Zhe answered while folding his arms.

He knew what Lu Feng was asking. If he met an injured creature in the Abyss, he would drag it back. Occasionally, a seriously injured creature would survive because he got it into a safe cave. Most of the time, it was seriously injured and would die.

The same was true of An Ze.

Lu Feng was still watching him. "Did you have any awareness by then?"

An Zhe recalled it and shook his head. At that time, he was just a mushroom. He didn't even know how to describe the living condition of a mushroom in the human language. He pursed his lips and continued, "If my mycelium breaks, I will hurt. I'm afraid to die."

"So when I see them dying, I try to help."

After a long time, he saw Lu Feng smiling. "It is what you do."

The coat was wet due to the rain and this place was particularly dark and wet. Fortunately, there was some charcoal blocks in the backpack. They set up a bracket, made a fire and turned off the flashlight.

"Are you cold?" Lu Feng asked An Zhe.

An Zhe shook his head but leaned back against Lu Feng, who reached for his shoulder. They didn't speak anymore. An Zhe just leaned on Lu Feng's shoulder and watched the dancing flames.

"Can I find An Ze?" he asked after a long time.

He and Lu Feng had agreed to stay in the Abyss for one month and then the base for one month.

Lu Feng didn't hate the Abyss. An Zhe even thought that the colonel preferred the Abyss more than the base. The colonel knew a lot about the Abyss and could collect many samples for the institute during the one month. However, no matter how familiar Lu Feng was with this place, the Abyss was still very large.

Lu Feng stated, "As long as the cave is still there."

An Zhe recalled everything in the Abyss. "The cave might be covered with mushrooms, it might be flooded with water, it might've collapsed due to fighting monsters… there are times when a cave comes alive. It wakes up and leave."

He declared, "Still, I have to find it."

"That's what I promised An Ze."

"Even though he doesn't know."

"It is what I have promised myself."

An Zhe was speaking to himself while Lu Feng just stroked his hand. In the end, the told An Zhe, "He won't be angry because you are late."

An Zhe nodded. An Ze was a very nice man. He put away his thoughts and continued to watch the flames. Slowly, he spoke about the things in the Abyss and Lu Feng just listened.

It was unknown how long it took but An Ze suddenly thought that everything about his life as a mushroom had been told to Lu Feng. Lu Feng knew about the rainy season, the grass, An Ze and Josie, all the people he knew and all the things he had encountered. On the contrary, he didn't understand Lu Feng's past.

"You…" He wondered. "Have you ever promised something that you couldn't do?"

An Zhe had already thought of an answer. He thought that Lu Feng wouldn't easily make promises or have any unrealistic fantasies. Yet to his surprise, after a brief silence, Lu Feng replied, "Yes."

There was the crackle as the firewood gradually decreased, the burning flames becoming a red light among dark charcoal. The surroundings dimmed and dust rose. The staircase on the 22nd floor of Eden was also a dark and dusty place.

"On that day," Lu Feng heard a gentle female voice in a trance. "On the day when all of us are free, I won't have to secretly meet my children like this."

Ji Balan wasn't Madam Lu's child but he also often came to the 22nd floor. At this time, he was sitting on the handrail of the emergency stairs, swinging his legs. "Madam, you will definitely see that day."

The lady touched his head. "Here is our great scientist."

Ji Balan raised his head and whistled. "Lu Feng and I will see that day too."

The lady's eyes moved from Ji Balan to Lu Feng. "Are you going to the Lighthouse too?"

Lu Feng shook his head.

"Then you are like your father." The lady kissed his forehead. "You need to protect the base once you grow up."

Then the lady took one of his hands and one of Ji Balan's hands. She held them together and placed her hand on it.

"We will all see that day. On that day—" Her face was full of gentle joy. "On that day, we will be together along with your father. You promise me."

"I promise."

"I promise Madam."

"I promise you too."

Lu Feng's story was short but An Zhe watched him and heard it. This time, Lu Feng was the one watching the dying fire.

An Zhe reached out a hand. He straightened up and tried to hug Lu Feng like Lu Feng hugged him. The colonel seemed to understand. He adjusted his angle and leaned toward An Zhe. An Zhe hugged his shoulder. He was a bit unaccustomed to it but it was okay.

"You once told me that she became a bee due to a rose from many years ago." Lu Feng stated. "I've been thinking about who gave it to her."

An Zhe was startled. On a day when the ultrasonic disperser hadn't yet been invented or when the disperser failed briefly, a bee strayed into the city. It was attracted by the flower and stung Madam Lu's finger. The bee's faint frequency lurked in her body and was awakened by the great, unknown fluctuation from the universe.

In the base, only Madam Lu had roses. It was because she loved these things and others loved her. Lu Feng's father and later Lu Feng would send her the seeds after the Lighthouse had confirmed their safety—only these two people.

An Zhe gently held Lu Feng's hand. The firewood was burnt and the dim red light had faded. The wind echoed through the church like another windy night.

"I want you to go to the United Front Center," Mrs Lu had told him.

It was the last time Lu Feng had talked with her before joining the military. At that time, he was in a small field base flanking the base, at a distance where the base's communications could barely reach.

"It is the best place for you. It might be out in the wilderness but it is also the safest." She told him. "After so many years of serving the base, this is my only selfishness. I want you to live. I want all my children to live but I only know you."

Lu Feng didn't speak.

"If it is somewhere else then I won't stop you. Just don't go to the Trial Court. I'm afraid of that place." She whispered. "Last year, there was another shooting incident in the Trial Court. The many dramatic changes in the base started a bloodbath and the Trial Court is bleeding every day. That place is too painful."

"Are you listening?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm here," he answered.

"Then you promise me."

"You must promise—"

Suddenly, there was a current sound.

"Beep—"

This was immediately followed by soothing music and a gentle female voice. "Sorry, the base signal has been interrupted due to the solar wind in the ionosphere. This is a normal situation so please don't panic. All activities will continue as usual and the communication signal will be restored from time to time. A public broadcast will be sent to you so please keep listening."

"…please keep listening."

Once all the wood was burned to loose, white ash, the church sank into darkness and silence.

Just then, there were countless faint green lights. The insect monster An Zhe had picked up had died. An Zhe looked over and saw its body gradually disintegrating, becoming little green fireflies. They were like bright green smoke or a swarm of fireflies.

They enveloped An Zhe and Lu Feng like a dream at first. Then they rose up, illuminating the entire dilapidated church, showing the mottled status of the weeping Virgin Mary on the left wall and the huge crucified Jesus in front. Withered vines hung from the shoulders of the Virgin Mary and her cheeks were scratched by the claws of a beast. Jesus' body was covered with mildew. Their eyes were the only clear things. They stared at the world silently from behind the vines, mildew and dust.

The light flew away.

Destiny drifted in the world.

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