Chapter 27: No Heat, No Joy |
Stepping out of the factory gates, Lino was starving.
It should have been mealtime right after his enhancement serum injection.
But the scene was a total mess, and Robnos was in a fit of rage, so his free dinner had naturally fallen through.
Pressing a hand against his rumbling stomach, Lino planned to use a Milk Mushroom to ease his hunger once he got home.
Eh? Wait.
What was the Milk Mushroom's Fungal Ability called again?
I think it was the Hunger Satiation Technique.
It sounded like an ability that could fill a stomach.
Lino opened the interface, found the panel for the Hunger Satiation Technique, and took a look.
[Unlock Requirement: 1 skill point]
[Associated Fungus: Milk Mushroom]
[Effect: Consumes a certain amount of Milk Mushrooms to satiate the designated target with pure water, carbohydrates, and proteins. The greater the consumption, the better the satiation effect.]
[Currently Available Skill Points: 2]
[Unlock this Fungal Ability?]
Unlocking Brain Paralysis had cost 1 skill point, and he had gained 1 point after finishing today's injection. Balancing out, his total remained at 2 skill points.
Lino thought for a moment, silently muttered 'Unlock,' selected 500 grams of Milk Mushrooms from his Fungal Storage, and activated the Hunger Satiation Technique on himself.
In an instant, his hunger faded significantly.
This ability was amazing.
It skipped the eating process entirely, converting food straight into nutrients and stuffing them directly into his stomach.
'Could I use the Hunger Satiation Technique to stuff an enemy to death, then?'
Lino's eyes lit up slightly, his imagination running wild.
"Hey, Lino, wait for me."
Hurried footsteps rapidly approached from behind.
It was Amy.
She jogged over, her cheeks slightly flushed and her breathing ragged. "Did a monster appear over by you guys?"
Lino stopped and raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"
Amy clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath.
"The moment the monster appeared, the alarms went off in the lab. A few of us were working overtime taking care of the mushrooms. The supervisor told us there was a minor situation in your Collection Department and that Borg had already gone to handle it, so we shouldn't panic. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Lino smiled. "Borg and his men burned that monster to a crisp. Still, it's strange. Why would a monster suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
Amy glanced around, then lowered her voice.
"Rumor has it that if the concentration of the Ghost Serum exceeds the critical threshold, the user will mutate, growing deformed tumors or extra organs. Do you think the monster appeared because of a mutation?"
"Mutation? I guess that's possible," Lino muttered in reply.
For the Kram Family, who were researching the Ghost Serum without knowing about The Warp, explaining it away as a "mutation" was a bit far-fetched but still made sense.
Lino was speechless at this.
He had no intention of informing the Kram Family about the existence of The Warp, nor did he plan to warn those researching the Ghost Fungus.
Only those who didn't understand The Warp would dare reveal the truth about it.
Right now, Lino just wanted to survive the training phase and safely transfer to the Experimental Department. He didn't want any extra complications.
The two chatted as they walked, and the topic shifted to the Cocktail Fungus Amy was currently cultivating.
The fungus looked exactly like a "goblet."
Inside the "goblet" was a pink paste, which served as its mycelium.
If the mycelium was separated and applied to a wound, it could disinfect the injury and promote healing.
Medical gels and tablets made from Cocktail Fungus also possessed these same wound-healing properties.
"Why do I feel like the effects of the Cocktail Fungus are pretty much the same as the psionic energy awakened by the Ghost Serum?"
Lino couldn't help but ask.
Amy gave a slight nod.
"Of course they are. You didn't know? The Ghost Serum you've been injected with is the newest model, and it contains Cocktail Fungus components. So, an Artificial Psyker's psionic energy is definitely related to self-healing abilities."
"Oh, that explains it. I was wondering why two successful cases in a row resulted in psionic energy that enhanced self-healing."
It suddenly dawned on Lino. He made a mental note to study the Cocktail Fungus when he got back.
If its Fungal Ability could serve as a life-saving trump card, he wouldn't mind staying up all night again to domesticate the Cocktail Fungus too.
They continued chatting about the Cocktail Fungus as they walked, eventually parting ways at an intersection.
On his way back, Lino stopped to buy materials for cultivating Dull Mushrooms.
Facts had proven that Brain Paralysis was highly effective against hallucinations.
Since that was the case, he needed to step up his game and stock up on a hundred kilograms of Dull Mushrooms first.
Once home, he set his things down and got to work cultivating the Dull Mushrooms. After finishing, he activated the fungus analysis function on the Cocktail Fungus.
[Name: Cocktail Fungus]
[Analysis Results:]
[A wild fungus found growing near radioactive waste. Its growth and reproduction are highly dependent on high temperatures.]
[Free from contamination and toxicity, but carries a certain amount of radioactive material. After purification, its spores and mycelia can be processed into medicine for treating physical trauma.]
Lino silently gave Miss Lai Ya a thumbs-up for her carefulness.
The sample she brought had undergone some processing to reduce the concentration of radioactive materials on the Cocktail Fungus down to a safe range.
Otherwise, a normal person like himself would have definitely fallen victim to it and suffered slight mutations.
Continuing down the page, Lino's gaze fell on the [Fungal Ability] column.
[Fungal Ability: Healing]
[Unlock Requirement: 100 skill points. Reduces to 1 upon domestication.]
[Effect: Consumes a certain amount of domesticated Cocktail Fungus to drastically increase the target's self-healing ability and rapidly treat physical trauma. The treatment's effectiveness correlates with the target's inherent cellular activity.]
[Domestication can be achieved simply by removing the radioactive materials from a wild Cocktail Fungus.]
The Fungal Ability really was related to healing. That was fantastic.
It would save him a lot of money on medical services the next time he suffered a physical injury.
As for how to remove the radioactive materials, Lino already knew the answer.
When he was chatting with Amy earlier, she had voluntarily brought up the details.
The radioactive materials on a wild Cocktail Fungus were actually metallic ions.
Soaking the mycelium in a specialized chelating agent would eliminate the radioactive metal ions.
Amy hadn't specified which chelating agent to use.
But that wouldn't stop Lino.
The Water Guild would definitely use chelating agents when treating industrial wastewater. He could just buy some and test the effects himself.
Lino dug out his ration cards from beneath his bed, grabbing a large handful and stuffing them into his pocket.
With the specific kind of heartache reserved for the broke, he pushed his door open and headed for the Water Guild's counter.
Hard work pays off.
At midnight that evening.
After cycling through five different chelating agents, Lino finally found one that could remove the radioactive materials without harming the mycelium.
Another half hour passed, and he discovered a method to cultivate the Cocktail Fungus without needing radioactive waste as a substrate.
The method was incredibly bizarre, to the point where Lino momentarily thought this world had gone irreparably insane.
Didn't wild Cocktail Fungus grow near radioactive waste?
Through repeated simulations, Lino confirmed that the radioactive waste could be substituted with a heat source.
Place the Cocktail Fungus in a heat-resistant glass vessel and continuously heat it using the flame of a Promethium Lamp.
By doing this, after undergoing six hours of high-temperature baking in the simulated experiment, the Cocktail Fungus actually freaking grew successfully?!
What was wrong with the fungi in this Warhammer world?
First, there was the Water-ball Fungus that could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, and now there was the Cocktail Fungus that thrived on heat.
Was a fungus that only grew after being electrocuted going to show up next?
"Forget it, I'm tired. Just destroy it all. This world is crazy beyond saving..."
Lino cultivated ten kilograms of domesticated Cocktail Fungus, stuffed them into his Fungal Storage, and immediately went to sleep.
Unlocking Healing could wait.
He currently only had 1 skill point on hand.
It wouldn't be too late to unlock Healing tomorrow after he finished his injection and brought his skill points back up to 2.
That way, he could ensure he always had an available skill point, keeping him from being caught short at a crucial moment.
