Chapter 859: New Mushrooms
In the bottom cabin of the Future where it was pitch-black.
Frank Lee lit a candle which illuminated a table covered with flesh,
mushrooms, wheat, and fish.
He casually pushed the items away and cleared out a space that was just
enough to accommodate a piece of paper.
Right on the heels of that, he spread out a piece of paper, picked up a
fountain pen, and wrote with an excited expression:
"My dear friend, Gehrman Sparrow, I'm delighted to know that you found
the dry mushrooms to be pretty good. Perhaps it's more useful than I
imagined it to be. When I'm free, I'll take another look at them.
"As I've been fully focused, in both body and mind, in the experiment
you mentioned, I've already stopped all other creations. Most of the
mushrooms have been burned away by Nina, leaving me with the last three.
I hope it will be of help to you.
"Placed together with them are my latest products. One of them is a type
of mushroom that grows by feeding on flesh and blood. They have three
breeds. The first is crossbred with wheat and can be ground into a
mushroom powder that can be used to make bread. Another has the
characteristic of being mixed with milk, allowing milk to be drawn from
them. The last has been crossbred with fish. They come with a refreshing
taste and it has a thick meaty texture.
"The things to take note of is that they are absolutely not to be eaten
raw. They need to be cooked in 90°C hot water for at least five minutes
so as to kill any living characteristics; otherwise, regardless of what
it turns into, it will absorb the flesh and blood around it, including
human organs.
"Another point. It's unable to distinguish between normal flesh and
monster flesh, nor can they deal with the latter properly. They will
accumulate with the corresponding toxicity and madness.
"I think they will experience different mutations because of the
different types of monster flesh, producing different kinds of danger.
However, I wasn't able to verify that, because I lack a sufficient
number of monster corpses. If you were to obtain one while adventuring,
please mail me one. I only need a tiny amount.
"As for any other problems that might exist, I'm not sure either. It's
still a prototype, preventing further attempts and observation...
"I wish you all the best and to have a bountiful time adventuring.
Sincerely, your friend, Frank Lee."
After putting down the fountain pen, Frank read his reply in its
entirety before folding in satisfaction. He found a gold coin and placed
it over the letter.
He quickly set up the messenger summoning ritual in preparation to chant
the incantation.
At this moment, he subconsciously surveyed his surroundings and was
stunned.
Then, Frank moved the nearby pile of soil out the door.
In Empress Borough, the opulent villa of Earl Hall.
Audrey was hiding in her room, observing the glass bottle in her hand.
In the bottle was a translucent, colorless, sticky liquid. It was like a
mirror when still, completely reflecting everything within its vicinity.
When undulations happened, a very tiny whirlpool would silently spin
beneath the surface.
This was none other than the Hypnotist potion which she had just
successfully concocted!
Audrey had already digested her Psychiatrist potion and planned on
advancing to Sequence 6 before Backlund's Psychology Alchemists
contacted her.
After using Placate to quell her mental state, Audrey gently bit down on
her lip, raised the glass bottle, and downed the potion.
After a brief chill, she suddenly felt her mind seem to explode. Her
body also seemed to be contaminated as it turned somewhat incorporeal.
At that moment, her Soul Body, Astral Projection, and Ether Body were
being absorbed and assimilated by her Body of Heart and Mind. Her entire
person was like an amalgamation of pure thoughts that began churning.
She felt the boundless sea of collective subconscious which connected
all living creatures, and she sensed the spirituality sky that stood in
contrast.
Having experienced the sense of alarm she received during her
Psychiatrist advancement, Audrey didn't panic. She ultimately maintained
a sliver of lucidity and curbed her instinctive urge to fuse into the
"sea." She allowed her consciousness to spread out in all directions
before contracting like a rubber band.
After an unknown period of time, she finally found her inner self. She
saw the back of her hand covered in dense, firm golden scales and saw
that the hair on her shoulders turned luxuriant and heavy, as though
they were really made of gold.
After these anomalies receded, Audrey quickly recovered. However, when
she looked into the mirror, she found her green eyes appear clear, but
deep down was a strange bottomless whirlpool. It made it difficult for
others to shift their gaze away from them, easily drowning within them.
*This is a sign of the dispersing spirituality that has yet to have been
fully converged...* Audrey slowly eased her brows as her smile
turned bright.
She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded gently, finding it hard
to hide her smile.
"Audrey, you are already a Sequence 6!"
After she calmed her emotions, she seriously introspected herself to
determine her new Beyonder powers and the qualitative changes.
After some work, Audrey came to a rough understanding of the situation.
First, her constitution had received a significant enhancement. Be it
her strength or agility, it had exceeded an ordinary person's. She could
also form a layer of "Scales" over her skin, largely resisting and
reducing any damage. Second was a qualitative change in Psychological
Cue. It became a form of hypnosis within the non-combat domain. As long
as she made the target focus on something, Audrey could open the door to
their Body of Heart and Mind and directly alter their conscious and
affect their subconscious.
This way, the target wouldn't notice that they were abiding by her
arrangements, taking actions that didn't match their true intentions.
Of course, if Audrey's "arrangement" directly harmed the target's life
or something he subconsciously placed great importance to, then the
target would produce an intense resistance, causing the hypnosis to
fail. In addition, if the target had a strong soul and firm body and
mind, they would be able to resist the hypnosis to a certain extent.
Third, Battle Hypnotism. Audrey could forcefully hypnotize an enemy,
making them do something abnormal, such as attacking their companions or
avoid her, the Hypnotist. However, such hypnosis only lasted for short
periods of time. The target would quickly snap awake and sense the
problem. Similarly, it was unable to harm the target's life and make the
enemy commit suicide.
Fourth was Psychological Invisibility. With one's control of the
target's Body of Heart and Mind, allowing oneself to remain in the blind
spot of one's consciousness, she could achieve the effect of
invisibility despite someone standing in front of her without being able
to sense her.
"Very impressive... My only regret is that I still lack Beyonder powers
that can launch direct attacks..." Audrey puffed her cheeks in an
indiscernible manner as she tried hard to converge her spirituality and
make her eyes less intoxicating.
After mostly eliminating her abnormalities, she opened the door and let
Susie in. With the help of her golden retriever, she began familiarizing
herself with her new Beyonder powers.
Before long, her lady's maid, Annie, knocked on the door and entered
with an invitation letter in hand.
"My Lady, the Church will be organizing a charity party on Saturday
night for a newly established bursary foundation that's targeted at the
poor. They have invited you."
Audrey didn't directly agree as she asked, "Did they invite my parents?"
"Yes, they were also invited, as well as Lord Hibbert," Annie replied
honestly.
Audrey nodded and said with a smile, "Tell the Church that I'll be
participating.
"Also, figure out the exact situation with the charity foundation so
that I can better decide on the amount to donate."
In the evening at the Intis Srenzo Restaurant.
"This place is truly dazzling. It's much prettier than the living rooms
and activity rooms of many nobles." Fors looked around as though she was
here to gather material.
Although she had participated in many noble-organized literature
saloons, she had always visited them at their residences and not at such
top-end restaurants.
Xio grabbed at her coarse blonde hair.
"This is the style of Intis. It's different from us. It might look
pretty, but it lacks substance."
"How does it lack substance? Look, those are all famous oil paintings
and sculptures..." Fors deliberately retorted.
During this process, she suppressed her voice, as they hadn't entered by
the main door.
As she spoke, she found the private room mentioned by Walter. Fors
directly used Door Opening and pulled Xio in. They hid inside a pantry
cupboard and waited for their target of protection, Dwayne Dantès, and
his guests to arrive.
"How much do you think the 3% shares of Coim Company is worth?" Bored,
Fors casually asked.
In the morning, she had entered Saint Samuel Cathedral with Xio to
provide protection while feigning prayer.
Xio hesitated and said, "At least several thousand pounds. The bishop
seemed to place a great deal of importance on the matter."
"How rich. Donating thousands of pounds just like that. Why doesn't he
save poor people like us?" Fors said poignantly in a joking manner.
At this moment, the door to the room opened. Dwayne Dantès and Macht's
family walked in and took their seats. The waiters also started rushing
around.
Xio and Fors didn't speak further as they eavesdropped on the chit chat
outside as they observed the surrounding situation. From time to time,
their noses would twitch because of the food's fragrance.
Suddenly, Xio frowned as though she had sensed something before quickly
easing her brows as though nothing had happened.
"What's wrong?" Fors leaned in towards her friend's ear and whispered.
Xio shook her head.
"Nothing. I was uptight, causing me to overreact."
At that moment, Klein put down his fork and knife, glancing to the side
with a normal expression.
In his eyes which had his Spirit Vision activated, a blonde, red-eyed
head had appeared out of the void. In its mouth was a thick letter.
Klein faintly caught the scent of milk, wheat, and fish.
The corners of his mouth twitched as he secretly reached out his left
hand to grab the letter. And sitting in the other three seats, Macht,
Riana, and Hazel didn't notice anything.
Klein stuffed the letter into his pocket without anyone noticing as a
waiter walked out of the pantry, serving a new dish to the four
customers. Among the dishes, two of them were butter-fried mushrooms.
Upon seeing this scene, Klein suddenly felt disgusted. His expression
turned odd as his left palm that remained in his pocket trembled.