"The real Spirit Object might not be in the mining area at all, but has been hiding here the whole time."
Little Bao, who had just regained a bit of sanity, started telling Master Fuli the intel he'd gathered.
There were some things he didn't dare say out loud, worried the walls had ears, so he just used the direction of his pointing fingers to indicate things to Master Fuli one by one.
"Master Fuli, you have to help me, drag that thing out and blow it to bits!"
The mental strength Little Bao had been barely holding up also snapped the moment he voiced his wish. The taut string in his heart loosened, and he slumped over, fainting on Huang Ming's arm. At the corner of his eye, a single clear tear silently slid down.
Little Bao was infected by the fungus, and although he didn't suffer any irreversible trauma—
During the process of wills linking together, he could clearly see the other infected people.
The will of the purple-black fungus took over their bodies, while the hosts' own wills were exiled into a grassland that looked like it belonged on the Tropical Continent.
On that tropical savanna, resources were abundant, the bros drove luxury cars to pick up girls by day, and worked hard making babies by night.
Throughout the whole thing, Little Bao was stuck watching from the sidelines, with a seductive voice calling him over to join the fun.
The pain in his flesh he could grit his teeth and endure. Even when Huang Ming said he went bird-watching under the moonlight, Little Bao didn't care; at worst, it was like the bathhouse walls suddenly collapsing while he was showering, revealing his naked self to a crowd.
But the trauma to his mind really made Little Bao feel he just couldn't accept it.
It's one thing to kill someone, why force me to sit through those goddamn scenes?
[Waaah... my eyes, my eyes, why the hell are there so many Elephant-Trunk Tribe guys, I don't want to watch, and they're still prying my eyelids open, this is pure evil! — After being hit with the Fungus Lord's full-force temptation, Little Bao spent several days watching a heavenly brothel show, mind and soul exhausted. Right before he passed out, he made an extremely devout wish, hoping Master Fuli would suppress the Fungus Lord beneath the land of Sichuan and Chongqing.]
[Wish fulfilled: The fungus's ass faces outward, and tiles are laid atop the mountain (the ancient relic has long since awakened, secretly peeping at the mortal world from the shadows; perhaps death can bring it endless good fortune...)]
"Little Bao!"
Seeing Little Bao pass out, Huang Ming was startled. He reached out and pressed his hand against Little Bao's neck. Only when he felt that the pulse was steady and showed no sign of deterioration did he let his heart drop back down from his throat.
"What did he just go through..."
A golden light flashed in Ansheng's mind. A wish at the top of the wish list popped up, radiating resentment.
Ansheng's face showed a surprised expression, and he subconsciously glanced at Little Bao, who had fainted with a rather unpeaceful expression.
"First time I've seen a wish carrying this much resentment. What the hell did this guy see when his consciousness got linked?"
Looking at the details page, Ansheng couldn't help secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.
The mainstream aesthetic in Xia Country is pale skin and pretty faces—then maybe white hair and childlike features, or a nice front-and-back curve.
That so-called Fungus Lord... slapped a Tropical Continent aesthetic right onto Little Bao. No wonder the resentment was off the charts.
You using this to test investigators? Which investigator can't withstand a little test, huh?
"Hm? [Don't kill or kill quickly]?"
With his consciousness immersed in the wish list, Ansheng casually skimmed over the other wishes as well.
There was a wish from Lin Wanying. The completion condition was simple: if there was a need to fight in Gold-digging Town, she hoped Master Fuli would go all out.
If he could hit at eighty, don't hold back to forty; just maintain Gravity Hammer output the whole way through and it would be fulfilled.
"Even though the details page explains it, this wish is still way too weird..."
"If Master Fuli swings the Gravity Hammer at full power, I'm afraid Old Li won't be able to explain himself in military court."
"The judge's little gavel might just crack his skull open."
Ansheng's expression turned strange. He really hadn't expected someone to wish for him to go abroad and act like a demolition crew.
Shoving Lin Wanying's wish aside, Ansheng shifted his gaze to the wishes made by the locals.
The intel Little Bao brought back, and even the details page of his wish, kept repeating the same thing.
That ruin in the gold mine... apparently, there's only an empty shell left in there. The Dragon People didn't go as far as catching a flight back to their hometown in the Northeast, lounging with one leg crossed, drinking soy milk and eating fried dough sticks, and grabbing an extra chive pocket on the way to work.
But the fact that it has awakened is beyond dispute.
"Looks like we need to swing by the mining area first." Ansheng thought, his brows slightly furrowed.
The locals didn't really understand Damballa; they just knew that through a ritual, they could summon Damballa.
Or in other words... the Fungus Lord from Little Bao's details page.
The summoning method was extremely simple: just find an open space and offer up a Spirit Beast, or a Spiritual Particle Plant, and you could summon the Fungus Lord beneath Gold-digging Town.
Any creature that borrowed the Fungus Lord's power would eventually end up as a fungal infection victim.
The natives of Gold-digging Town had used the power of summoning the Fungus Lord to kick Noren and the others out of the city.
As for where the ritual to summon Damballa came from, the wish didn't say.
But anyone with a butt could figure it out: it had to be the Dragon People secretly brainwashing folks, making the townspeople of Gold-digging Town collect or lure Spirit Beasts into traps on their behalf.
"What the hell is wrong with these immortals, why are they all such sneaky cowards? The King of the Universe was better—no fancy tricks, if he didn't like something he just came out and fought head-on..."
With a face full of distaste, Ansheng shook his head and looked toward Huang Ming, who was in the middle of settling Little Bao, saying:
"Little Bao's issue is already taken care of. You guys contact the organization now and get him sent back home. I've still got stuff to do, so I won't stay for afternoon tea."
As he spoke, Master Fuli waved his hand, turned around, and ran straight out the clinic door.
"Yes, sir!"
Huang Ming gave a salute, feeling a wave of emotion, and reached into his pocket, planning to light a cigarette before contacting the embassy to arrange an emergency route home.
Only, when he patted his pocket, he stared at his empty hand with a big question mark on his face.
"Huh? Which one of you swiped my lighter? I literally just put it in my inside pocket..."
...
"Xiao Lin, what are you doing? We're leaving." Standing up and walking out of the clinic, Ansheng looked curiously at Lin Wanying, who was crouching in front of a shop window, and called out to her.
"Lord Immortal Fu, it looks like there's an outfit here that would be perfect for you to wear for check-in photos!"
Lin Wanying turned around, pointed at the shop window, and said to Master Fuli, referring to a set of accessories with a strong Egyptian vibe.
"Then grab it for me first. Later, just have Old Li reimburse it..."
Ansheng sat in the driver's seat, picked up a can of cola and set it in the cup holder by the door, shifted into reverse, floored the gas, and drifted the car to straighten it out on the road.
"Come on, get in!"
Master Fuli waved at Lin Wanying. She looked surprised, hugging the bundle in her arms as she got in, sat in the front passenger seat, and fastened her seatbelt.
"Hm?"
"Lord Immortal Fu, your fox tail seems to have hooked onto something shiny..."
"It's nothing. When I'm thinking, my tail works like a magnet, generating a bit of magnetism. It's especially sensitive to metal objects..."
Ansheng looked down at the lighter he'd unconsciously picked up while lost in thought, and waved it off.
"So that's how it is—"
"Huh?"