With their destination set, Tang Xiao and Jun Tesi didn’t stay long in the villa. After restocking supplies, grabbing a map, and waiting for a security lapse at the base, they seized the opportunity and slipped away.
They traveled far, passing by azure lakes in the wilderness, walking through bases with different customs, crossing rivers, climbing rocky mountains, leaving footprints in desolate places, and embracing each other atop mountain peaks.
Almost everywhere they went, Tang Xiao would take pictures as souvenirs. But he never printed them out or showed them to Jun Tesi. Jun Tesi wanted to see them, but Tang Xiao always refused with a smile, saying he would only show them at the very end.
Even though this was a journey toward a shared death, both Tang Xiao and Jun Tesi indulged in the scenery along the way, savoring every last moment they had.
Until winter snow melted, and the earth turned green again.
At some point, the human forces pursuing them disappeared. Perhaps with winter coming to an end and the beast tides stirring, neither the Alliance nor Third Eye had the resources to continue the chase. But as Jun Tesi’s body deteriorated further, the dangers in the wild intensified. Their once-leisurely journey gradually turned into a precarious struggle, where every step felt like walking on thin ice.
Then, one day, they were ambushed by a large pack of feral beasts—creatures driven mad with hunger after awakening from hibernation. Tang Xiao wasn’t careful enough. A deep gash tore across his arm, and blood splattered onto the ground.
“Xiaoxiao—” Jun Tesi turned his head, his pupils contracting. Without hesitation, he threw himself into the battle, trading wounds for kills to swiftly wipe out the beasts, before rushing back to Tang Xiao’s side.
“I’m fine,” Tang Xiao pressed a hand against his arm, quickly wrapping the wound with a prepared bandage. His lips were pale. “We need to get out of here. Fast.”
Based on their past experience, the King of Mushroom would undoubtedly detect their location through the underground mycelial network. They had to leave immediately.
“The wilderness is no longer safe. We’ll head to the nearest base.”
“Mm.” Jun Tesi understood the urgency. Without another word, he carried Tang Xiao on his back and left without looking back.
Less than twenty minutes after they were gone, the underground mycelial network suddenly erupted into motion. All the mycelium in the area gathered, coalescing into a humanoid figure the color of withered leaves. Kneeling on one knee, it picked up a bloodstained leaf between its fingers.
“…Finally found you.”
The King of Mushroom murmured.
With its command echoing through the mycelial network, the beasts in the area went berserk, launching a frenzied hunt for any humans nearby.
By then, Tang Xiao and Jun Tesi had already arrived at Base 071—the closest settlement. It was no coincidence. When planning their route, Tang Xiao had deliberately kept close to human bases to ensure access to supplies.
Jun Tesi used his pheromone disguise once again to smuggle Tang Xiao into the base. But this time, as soon as he finished using his ability, his entire body wavered—and collapsed onto Tang Xiao.
“Jun Tesi—!” Tang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly held Jun Tesi’s face in his hands, only to find that his skin had already begun peeling away, exposing mycelium beneath.
Terrified, Tang Xiao wasted no time. He scouted out an abandoned, unfinished building and carefully snuck inside. Finding an empty room, he hid Jun Tesi away, then rummaged through his backpack, pulling out a vial of blood to feed him.
It took two full hours before Jun Tesi could regain control over his body. Even without a word, Tang Xiao could see it—Jun Tesi’s condition was terrible. He was barely holding on, struggling even to maintain his human form.
Yet there were still at least 15 kilometers between them and the volcano. They had already traveled well over 100 kilometers these past few days, making detours to avoid beast tides and natural disasters. It had cost them time.
And now, they had reached the hardest, final stretch of their journey.
Their position had been exposed. Jun Tesi needed to rest, but the King of Mushroom would not give them that luxury. It would soon amass an army in the area. If it couldn’t find them, it would inevitably attack the base.
And if they tried to break through, the King of Mushroom would chase them down like a rabid dog.
When Jun Tesi finally regained his senses, the first thing he saw was Tang Xiao leaning against the rough concrete wall, his gaze lowered, lost in thought.
“Xiaoxiao…” Jun Tesi instinctively looked at Tang Xiao’s arm. Seeing that it had already been re-bandaged, he sighed in relief and took a step forward, reaching out to heal him.
But Tang Xiao quietly dodged his touch.
“...Xiaoxiao?”
“You need to rest.” Tang Xiao shook his head. “We don’t have much time left. Even a few seconds could make a difference—you need to recover to your peak condition.”
Jun Tesi fell silent. He knew how dire their situation was.
“The King of Mushroom has already found us. Even though we’re hiding in this base for now, it will definitely gather a beast tide to launch a massive attack. We have to leave before the base falls,” Tang Xiao said calmly. “But the problem is—when we die together, the King of Mushroom can’t be chasing right behind us. Otherwise, if it jumps into the volcano too, or has the beasts fill the crater to retrieve our bodies… In short, we need to create a time gap, long enough that it can’t catch up, ensuring that our bodies are completely destroyed by the lava.”
Jun Tesi silently nodded, agreeing with Tang Xiao’s plan. But there was one issue.
“Then… should we leave now before the encirclement forms?” Jun Tesi asked tentatively.
“No.” Tang Xiao licked his lips and looked at Jun Tesi. “You haven’t recovered yet. Returning to the wild like this would be too dangerous. How much more time do you need?”
“To reach the state I was in three days ago… at least one more day,” Jun Tesi replied.
One more day.
That was all the time the King of Mushroom needed to locate the base and gather a beast tide to attack. Last time, it had only taken a single day to summon that massive horde outside the Third Eye’s base.
Tang Xiao rubbed his temples in frustration, eyes closed in thought. There had to be another way.
The volcano was still at least 15 kilometers away in a straight line, and they’d have to pass through a dense forest filled with danger.
No—before that, by the time Jun Tesi finished recovering, the base would already be surrounded by the beast tide. Breaking through that would be a problem in itself.
“Jun Tesi, can you still use a clone to lure away the King of Mushroom, like last time?” Tang Xiao asked.
Jun Tesi shook his head. “No. I can still create a secondary body, but I can’t control two at the same time anymore. If I focus on the clone, my main body won’t be able to move.”
“It just won’t be able to move?”
“…I also wouldn’t be able to sense my surroundings, and I’d be extremely fragile,” Jun Tesi admitted. “Besides, the King of Mushroom fell for it once already—do you think it would fall for the same trick again?”
“If it knows… your current condition, it just might,” Tang Xiao murmured.
Jun Tesi’s body had been in an unstable evolutionary state ever since his time reversal, with no way to stop the deterioration. That was definitely the King of Mushroom’s doing.
It must have realized the bond between them and deliberately targeted Tang Xiao, forcing him to use the time reversal ability, thereby pinpointing his location.
They both knew—this was the final battle. There was nowhere left to run.
Their only advantage was that the King of Mushroom still didn’t know their destination—or their plan to die together.
After a long silence, Tang Xiao finally spoke. “If—I’m just saying if—you lure away the King of Mushroom, while I carry your body to the volcano…?”
Jun Tesi was momentarily stunned, hesitating before replying, “It’s possible, but I wouldn’t be able to create the clone for at least another day. And, Xiaoxiao… how would you cross 15 kilometers?”
Carrying Jun Tesi’s body across 15 kilometers, possibly through a perilous forest—it wasn’t an easy task. Most importantly, Tang Xiao couldn’t afford to bleed or get injured. At least, not seriously. Otherwise, the King of Mushroom would immediately realize that the other side was a decoy.
Tang Xiao glanced at the achievement reward he had unlocked after reaching 100 affection points with Jun Tesi, as well as the unused lottery draw from this run. A faint smile appeared on his lips. “It’s not entirely impossible. Now, the last issue is—if the beast tide seals off the base, how do we break through? Actually, I already have an idea.”
Jun Tesi gazed at Tang Xiao, his eyes filled with trust. “I believe in you, Xiaoxiao.”
No one knew better than Jun Tesi how intelligent Tang Xiao was. He had watched him grow from a rookie to the person he was now. If Tang Xiao set his mind to something, he would make it happen.
So if there was a way to create the perfect ending for their fateful journey, Jun Tesi had absolute faith in him.
“Alright. I’ll head into the base to prepare weapons and supplies.” Tang Xiao stood up and stopped Jun Tesi from trying to get up. “You rest here and recover as quickly as possible. Tomorrow, you’ll be the one responsible for luring away the King of Mushroom and the beast tide. How long I can run depends entirely on you.”
Jun Tesi watched him silently. “Do you need me to go with you?”
“If I can’t even handle this, how could I possibly carry you across 15 kilometers?” Tang Xiao shrugged, then picked up some gold and walked out of their hideout alone.
The base was still bustling with activity, but Tang Xiao knew the alarms would soon blare. Instead of heading straight to gather supplies, he took a detour after leaving his hideout, then made his way to a weapons shop to purchase inactive agents.
With the mushroom activity season approaching and the recent unusual atmosphere, inactive agents had become incredibly scarce. Their price had skyrocketed to at least ten times the winter rate, but Tang Xiao didn’t hesitate to spend a fortune on ten doses. As soon as he stepped out of the shop, he ducked into an alley and sprayed one on himself.
Half an hour later, he walked out of the alley, expression unchanged, and headed for the communications center. He reported a Third Eye internal communication number.
With the base station destroyed and personal communication options limited, the only available channel was the official network.
As soon as he stated his name, the other side quickly switched operators and fell into complete silence.
Finally, the other person spoke first.
“Where are you?”
It was Xiao Bai’s voice.
“Somewhere far away,” Tang Xiao replied.
“Mm. Then don’t come back.”
“How’s the situation at Third Eye?”
“We’re holding on.”
“......”
Silence followed.
“I need Third Eye’s help,” Tang Xiao said.
Xiao Bai nearly laughed out of frustration. “I thought you would’ve realized by now that after defecting from the base, the organization would never help you again.”
“I didn’t betray humanity,” Tang Xiao said.
“Then what exactly are you doing?” Xiao Bai’s anger erupted. That fury had been festering in him ever since his most promising student defected. He couldn’t understand why Tang Xiao would do this—why he would elope with an experiment subject who wasn’t even human, and at a time when humanity was at its most vulnerable.
But with just one sentence, Tang Xiao extinguished Xiao Bai’s rage completely.
“I just want to end all of this.”
“What do you mean?”
Tang Xiao left the communications center. To be cautious, he reapplied the inactive agent on himself. Even though he knew that ever since eloping with him, Jun Tesi had stopped planting mycelium on his body, he didn’t want to risk anything at this critical moment.
Whether or not Third Eye believed him was beyond his control, but to execute the final step of his plan, he needed Apollo.
With the remaining time, Tang Xiao swiftly went to the weapons shop and a clinic to buy all the necessary supplies, using up every last bit of gold without hesitation.
Before heading back, he casually unwrapped a bandage and picked at his healing wound, letting his blood drip onto the ground before calmly returning to his hideout.
As expected, the moment he reunited with Jun Tesi, the base’s alarm system blared.
Tang Xiao stepped into the abandoned building he had chosen earlier. The moment he entered, crimson mycelium shot toward him like sharp blades, only retreating after recognizing him.
“Xiaoxiao, what happened outside?”
The sudden alarm startled Jun Tesi. He had thought the King of Mushroom had already launched its attack.
“Probably detected the beast tide gathering outside,” Tang Xiao replied casually.
In truth, he had used his blood to let the King of Mushroom confirm that they were here.
As expected, the King of Mushroom would soon respond by summoning the nearby mutant beasts to besiege the base.
But gathering an army took time.
Tang Xiao looked at Jun Tesi. "How’s your recovery?"
“I still need a little more time.”
Tang Xiao nodded, then set down the supplies he had bought and cupped Jun Tesi’s face. “I’ll help you speed it up.”
Jun Tesi’s gaze darkened, and the mycelium that had surfaced twisted into a shy knot before eagerly burrowing under Tang Xiao’s clothes.
That night, the two were more intense than ever. Tang Xiao, who usually disliked losing control, indulged himself for once. Normally, he would stop Jun Tesi after two or three rounds, but that night, he abandoned all restraint.
Even when Jun Tesi, mindful of their mission the next day, tried to stop, Tang Xiao’s teasing made him rise to the occasion again.
“Xiaoxiao… mmh… we have a battle tomorrow,” Jun Tesi murmured.
“This is the last time. Do you really want to stop?”
Hearing that, Jun Tesi silently wrapped his arms around Tang Xiao’s waist, gazing into his shimmering eyes. Unable to resist, he kissed away the tear at the corner of Tang Xiao’s eye.
“Don't be afraid. Everything will go smoothly tomorrow.”
“Mm.”
In the early hours of the morning.
Jun Tesi carefully rose from Tang Xiao’s body. Using his ability, he gently massaged Tang Xiao’s waist, ensuring that there would be no lingering effects when he woke up. Only then did he close his eyes in satisfaction and focus on continuing his recovery.
Jun Tesi didn’t see that after he closed his eyes, Tang Xiao opened his again, silently gazing at Jun Tesi’s face.
He watched like that for most of the night, until the sky gradually brightened and the horizon turned pale. Only then did Tang Xiao finally close his eyes, seizing what little time he had left to sleep.
The base’s defensive forces remained on high alert throughout the night. Everyone watched in silence as the radar displayed an increasing number of red dots. Judging by the sheer quantity, nearly all the mutant beasts in the surrounding area had gathered here.
A bleak atmosphere spread through the command room. Everyone knew this was a battle they were destined to lose.
On normal days, a few thousand or tens of thousands of mutant beasts would be enough to destroy a small base. But according to the radar, the forces outside Base 071 far exceeded that—nearing 200,000, and still growing.
No one knew for sure if the total forces defending Base 071, even counting every soldier and every able-bodied civilian, could reach 200,000.
What was even more unsettling was that the mutant beasts weren’t attacking immediately. Instead, they had completely surrounded the base, as if they were trying to prevent someone from escaping.
The higher-ups convened an emergency meeting overnight to decide what to do. It was almost certain the base could not be defended, but at the very least, they had to evacuate some of the leadership and key personnel. They couldn’t all perish here together.
A breakout was necessary. However many people they could take, they had to try.
But the question remained—how could they break through the ever-growing blockade of mutant beasts?
Base 071 didn’t have large-scale weapons like nuclear warheads. Only single-digit-numbered bases had access to such armaments. Their small base held little strategic value, and even if they submitted a request, approval was unlikely.
Just as the high command reached this grim conclusion, they received contact from the Third Eye.
Dawn had arrived.
The King of Mushroom had finally assembled a force it deemed sufficient. Hundreds of thousands of mutant beasts surrounded the base in an impenetrable blockade, with the target clearly inside. There was no way the King would let this opportunity slip away.
As the nearby mutant beasts finished gathering, the King of Mushroom ordered the attack. But at that moment, a familiar sense of threat appeared in the sky.
The massive army of mutant beasts fell into chaos. The King looked up, its expression ice-cold.
Three Apollo warheads plummeted toward the base from three directions, like miniature suns crashing into the earth.
Light and heat erupted violently, instantly annihilating a massive number of mutant beasts.
The King’s face darkened—it immediately understood what was happening.
The base’s gates burst open. Human forces took the lead, charging out from the three craters left by the Apollo explosions, escorting a large number of civilians in an attempt to break through the encirclement.
Three directions, plus the base itself—four choices.
The King of Mushroom could sense Tang Xiao’s blood in four different places: inside the base, with the group escaping toward another base, with the team heading toward the volcano, and with the unit breaking out toward the coast.
Four options, but in truth, the King of Mushroom had no choice at all.
The three Apollo warheads had already wiped out 40% of the mutant beasts—every beast within a 20-kilometer radius. If the remaining forces were split evenly, the humans might escape.
And yet, there was only one choice the King of Mushroom absolutely could not accept.
The King of Mushroom swiftly made a decision. A large force of beasts was dispatched to chase the team heading for the coast. Meanwhile, the remaining forces were split into two groups—one to pursue those escaping toward the other base, the other to continue encircling Base 071. Only a small number of beasts were assigned to chase the team running toward the volcano.
Beyond the volcano, there was no terrain to hide in, nor any human bases—only the deep inland territories. Even if they really fled in that direction, it would be a dead end.
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