The four cautiously entered the first-floor lobby of the teaching building, but did not venture further in. Seeing that the bloodthirsty vines outside had not infiltrated the teaching building, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Only the first-floor lobby of the teaching building offered sufficient space. If they were to enter and hide inside, they would have to operate in cramped quarters, making it difficult to evade traps in time.
"Not coming in? Then I shall come out. It makes no difference anyway."
A man in a white tailcoat and a green top hat emerged from the shadows, removed his green hat, and bowed to the four.
Yan Xiu asked with a solemn expression, "Who are you?"
Although the man in the white tailcoat displayed no overt hostility, Yan Xiu still felt immense pressure. Merely standing there, the occasional flicker of his aura was far more powerful than Lin Zhe Yuan's!
"Disaster Sequence... no, perhaps a precursor."
The man with the green top hat smiled, revealing a set of peculiar teeth. Beside each of his normal teeth was inlaid a vivid green jade false tooth, making them look like cavities at first glance.
"You need not panic. I am merely a harmless botanist named Feng Rao. You may call me Dr. Feng. I have invited you here simply to assist me with a small experiment."
You Han narrowed her eyes and asked, "Dr. Feng? Or Dr. Mad? What kind of experiment do you want to conduct?"
She refused to believe this fellow was truly harmless. The ability to transform ordinary people into such beings could only be considered the work of a demon.
Dr. Feng cleared his throat and said, "It's like this: my research in botany has reached a bottleneck. I've discovered that no matter what I do, I can only produce these kinds of results. This bottleneck has troubled me for many years."
He clapped his hands, and eight plant-people emerged from the corridor, lining up before Yan Xiu and the other three.
Dandelions, climbing ivy, roses, cabbage...
Some of these plant-people were beautiful, some grotesque, and some endearingly simple. But what they all had in common was the tragic state of the humans who served as their hosts.
"Although the strength of these plant-people meets my requirements, they cannot infect other life forms like zombies can. I have to personally create each one, which is far too slow. However, those that can infect and proliferate automatically all have fatal flaws."
"He wants to use plants to infect other life!" Li Dazhuang exclaimed, horrified. If this could infect humans, what kind of immense disaster would it cause?
An uncontrollable, fanatical smile spread across Dr. Feng's face. "Therefore, I ventured across disciplines and began researching fungi. Then, I discovered a treasure trove I had never encountered before. If I can thoroughly research it, my long-held wish can be fulfilled."
The four exchanged glances. They didn't know what this fellow's wish was, but it clearly wasn't anything as mundane as prosperity, democracy, civility, or harmony. If he wasn't eliminated, he would likely bring about a great disaster. Yet, given this man's strength, they would be lucky to even escape with their lives.
Dr. Feng chuckled and said, "I have now completed an initial piece of research and wish to know the strength of my new product. Therefore, I need to use all of you to verify its effectiveness and collect data. Please resist with all your might. If you can escape from it, I will certainly not pursue you."
He clapped his hands again, and heavy footsteps echoed as a giant purple mushroom-person squeezed out of the corridor. It walked over to the plant-people, grabbed a head of cabbage, and stuffed it into its mouth, then reached for another plant-person.
With each plant-person it consumed, its size increased. The protrusions on its large cap gradually transformed into countless eyes, and something seemed to writhe within the folds beneath the cap.
After consuming them all, the mushroom-person looked at Yan Xiu and the others with a semblance of innocence, each eye filled with hunger, making the four's scalps tingle.
Dr. Feng suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, I almost forgot to ask, have you heard of The Disaster Containment Facility?"
All four wore expressions of confusion. However, except for Lin Lu, the other three were feigning it. They were utterly shocked. This was the first time they had heard the words "The Disaster Containment Facility" from anyone other than a Containment Officer.
Disappointment flickered across Dr. Feng's face. "If you haven't heard of it, then so be it. I was entrusted with this task, and I had hoped to research that marvelous place."
The giant mushroom-person grinned menacingly and charged at them like a tank. They hastily dodged. The mushroom-person passed by them, smashed through the teaching building's doors, and rushed outside.
The bloodthirsty vines outside immediately ensnared the mushroom-person, attempting to drain it dry. However, the mushroom-person's cap released bullet-sized, wriggling special spores that burrowed into the vines.
The bloodthirsty vines, penetrated by the spores, instantly became weak and limp, coiling into a ball. Their physical structures were rapidly transforming, seemingly shifting from plants to fungi.
Witnessing this scene, Yan Xiu and the others felt their scalps go numb. If they were also wounded by that thing, would they also turn into mushroom-people?
Dr. Feng smiled and said, "There's no need for you to be afraid. I would very much like it to infect you too, but at this stage, I haven't developed a strain capable of infecting superhumans. It can currently only infect the plants I've modified. I call it the Hell Hungry Mushroom, as it's always in a state of hunger, which is also a flaw that needs improvement."
After infecting the bloodthirsty vines, the Hell Hungry Mushroom turned its gaze back to Yan Xiu and the other three, drooling viscous saliva.
"There's no other way, let's go!"
Yan Xiu took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, and a white light shot out like a sharp sword, charging towards the Hell Hungry Mushroom. Li Dazhuang's Doom Guard also rushed towards it.
Lin Lu and You Han attacked the Hell Hungry Mushroom from its left and right sides respectively. However, the Hell Hungry Mushroom's cap was covered in countless eyes, leaving no blind spots. It easily blocked all their attacks and did not come into contact with the Doom Guard's body.
Yet, after the first round of confrontation, Yan Xiu and the other three discovered that although this thing was powerful, it wasn't so strong as to be impossible to resist. If they could defeat it, they would have a chance to escape with their lives!
Yan Xiu pulled out a revolver and began shooting at the Hell Demon. Each bullet carried a true statement, and he also coated the bullets with his white light energy, giving each bullet a formidable attack power.
Meanwhile, a pair of blue butterfly wings sprouted from You Han's back, allowing her to dance like an elf and attack the Hell Hungry Mushroom from various angles.
Li Dazhuang looked at You Han and Yan Xiu, wondering why those wings and that handgun seemed somewhat familiar...