I am Jinshan Youxia

So many outsiders died yesterday, it looked quite horrific, and many villagers ran away with their belongings last night.

Of course, it also carries mold.

Fortunately, most of the infected animals are still active in the village, and many elderly people are unable to leave and are still staying in the village; otherwise, he would have been forced to migrate with the villagers last night.

Zhang Chengyi stepped over the scattered goods on the ground and found the old man sitting on the ground in the corridor, trembling all over. He bent down and touched the old man, found a bottle of medicine, carefully checked the efficacy and dosage, and then took out two pills and put them into the old man's mouth.

Difficulty breathing, cold sweats, dizziness, and weakness in the limbs are typical symptoms of a heart attack.

[Mold progression: 37%]

The mold growth is relatively high in the village, indicating considerable psychological distress. This is likely related to the fact that his children live in big cities and his spouse died young.

The unfortunate old man was the owner of a grocery store. He had a heart condition and almost had a heart attack after witnessing the horrific death of the men in black suits yesterday. When he woke up this morning, he found that a lot of his goods had been stolen from his grocery store, and he collapsed from a heart attack.

Zhang Chengyi didn't want his infected body to die, so he came to save people.

Only after watching the old man's breathing gradually stabilize after taking the medicine did he stand up to leave.

"Ooh~" The old man on the ground recovered and said in a very weak voice, "Thank you."

Zhang Chengyi waved his hand and left directly. He didn't save people to gain their gratitude or to show off his kindness.

Speaking of which, he knew who the two young men who stole the things last night were. He watched them leave with the items the whole time, too lazy to bother with them. They were all his infected bodies, the ones that allowed him to keep active in this body. There was no distinction between them in terms of status or wealth.

After driving back to his house, Zhang Chengyi first threw the skeletons piled up at the door into the trunk, then drove to an open space in the village and buried them in a pit.

I don't know if the deaths of so many people will attract the attention of the police or the government, but seeing a bunch of skeletons every time I go for a walk makes me feel uncomfortable.

While the pit was being dug, several elderly villagers who hadn't left watched from a distance, not daring to approach.

It looks really weird.

After dealing with the skeletons, Zhang Chengyi went back to wipe the bloodstains on the door and in the corridor, replaced the doorknob, and started watering the plants in the yard and washing clothes like a normal human being. Except for not needing to cook, he was just like a normal human being.

After cleaning the house, he went back to the living room and took a look at the moldy flora that had been forced to grow several times.

"Antibiotics, adsorb heavy metals, decompose organic pollutants..."

Zhang Chengyi distinguished the different types of bacteria, mixed them according to their types with his fingers, and put them into different bowls. He cut his finger and let the brownish-green blood drip onto it. The sparse bacteria immediately began to multiply rapidly, and under the concept of "mold" attached to the blood, they quickly covered the entire bowl.

The complex microbial community continued to intertwine, once again entering a state of mutual contamination and mutation.

Not all mold that grows on a living organism is a spore that will infect the minds of other organisms. Especially for organisms that have completely died after reaching 100% mold growth, the mold on their bodies is normal mold. By using the body's ability to sense, control, and promote the growth of mold, he can quickly cultivate different kinds of mold.

Under the catalysis of his blood, the mold has hybridized into a considerable variety. A few days ago, he even created a type of mold that secretes aphrodisiac components.

This ability is incredible when applied to drug development, but under normal circumstances, fungi probably wouldn't think of using this kind of out-of-control situation to develop any drugs.

He cultivates bacteria to see if he can develop other, more interesting strains. Let's not talk about extraordinary things for now, but at least he should be able to solve some diseases or something.

The elderly in the village seem to have every age-related ailment imaginable: heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure...

Zhang Chengyi shook his head after just one glance at their medical records. He couldn't think of a solution. He was afraid that in a couple of days he would have to leave because the elderly die too quickly, or that his body would fall into a deep sleep.

Chapter 300 The First Contact

The constant hybridization and replacement of molds is fascinating.

The same bacterial community, when forcibly combined and multiplied in different environments, can produce more than a dozen different types of bacterial communities with varying effects.

It requires a lot of research for humans, and the experiment might fail because the bacteria could not reproduce due to the loss of their environment.

Zhang Chengyi found it very simple to operate. This body, which caused the mold to get out of control, could interfere with, sense, and control the mold to a certain extent. After all, the body was full of mold, so it should no longer be considered human.

Watching the vast amount of mold create one new effect after another under his hands, and then recombine them to produce even more new effects.

This feeling of constantly encountering new things is like playing a roguelike game called "Mold," where different combinations lead to different results, and these results are endless.

A few days ago, he regained control of his body and stayed in his room playing this brand new roguelike game. If a group of men in black suits with their own kind hadn't come later, he might still be holed up in his room right now.

He came down to the living room on the first floor because the second floor was already filled with bowls and plates containing all sorts of beneficial bacteria.

As a ruthless modder, he has no ability to control his desires. In most cases, he does whatever he wants and plays whatever he wants until he gets tired of it.

We're still a long way from getting tired of playing the same old roguelike games with moldy characters.

Several hours passed by inadvertently. Just as Zhang Chengyi was applying a secretion from a certain type of bacteria that could change skin color to his pale skin, the doorbell rang.

"Ding dong~"

He suddenly stood up, his head almost falling off. Dense fungal hyphae peeked out from his exposed neck, pulling his light head back into place. He adjusted himself manually to make sure he didn't look too inhuman before walking to the door and opening it.

"Mr. Koyama, my name is Goro Furuhata. Thank you very much for what happened this morning." The old man at the door was from a general store. He looked unwell and was carrying a bento box. After a proper 90-degree bow, he handed the bento box over and said, "This is a simple meal I made myself. Please accept it, Mr. Koyama."

"Ah."

Zhang Chengyi responded, took the lunchbox, looked the old man up and down as if he were about to die, and said, "I'm not Xiaoshan, just call me Zhang Chengyi."

Goro Furuhata's expression didn't change much, though a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

It seems plausible that someone who comes back from the dead becomes a completely different person.

With such a miraculous thing already happening, he could completely accept anything else unbelievable happening.

Rather, at over seventy years old, riddled with injuries and illnesses, living alone in the countryside, with such a high degree of mental decay, what else could he not accept?

Zhang Chengyi asked, "Have you thought about going to the city for treatment? If your heart disease is left in the countryside, I'm afraid you won't live much longer."

Goro Furuhata's expression remained unchanged. The loose skin on his thin cheeks twitched, and he said in a very ethereal voice, "Lord Zhang Chengyi, death may be more like a relief for me."

They don't want to get treatment.

Zhang Chengyi wanted to touch his head, but then thought he might accidentally knock it off, so he remained still and said, "If you're not afraid, would you be willing to get a bacterial inoculation?"

Once the other person is infected, they are no longer a normal human being. The degree of mold growth exceeds 30%. Theoretically, after the bacteria are transplanted, they can completely rely on the mold growth created in the mind to reproduce and coexist.

He hasn't tested what happens when humans and mold coexist, so he plans to ask for the other party's opinion.

I remember a few days ago there was a type of bacteria that could secrete substances that could fill organ damage. Heart disease is generally caused by structural damage and functional abnormalities. So, the secretions that fill organ damage should be fine, right?

Even if something goes wrong, with him around, there's still a chance to extract the bacteria.

"Inoculate... bacteria?" Goro Furuhata was puzzled. The translation function conveyed the meaning, but he didn't understand how bacteria could be inoculated into the body. Was it like a vaccine?

However, it doesn't matter anyway.

He said somewhat frankly, "If Lord Zhang Chengyi wishes me to do so."

"..."

Zhang Chengyi was a bit bewildered and tried to explain his thoughts, but the other party became even more confused. In the end, he simply said, "I might have a way to cure your illness. You should have heard about my resurrection, right?"

"Thank you for your trouble, sir." Goro Furuhata bowed again.

Elderly Japanese people are such a headache.

Zhang Chengyi gestured for the other person to come inside with him.

-----------------

"Squeak~ Squeak~"

Goro Furuhata followed the mysterious man into the dimly lit room, his footsteps echoing on the floorboards, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.

He may not be afraid of death, but the fear of darkness and the unknown is a human instinct.

"Sorry, I forgot you can't see in the dark," the mysterious man, Zhang Chengyi, said with a hint of apology before turning on the light.

Apart from some mold on the walls, it's just an ordinary house with poor lighting.

As Goro Furuhata passed by the living room, which wasn't fully closed, he subconsciously glanced inside and saw that the table and floor were covered with severely moldy dishes.

What are those?

He couldn't suppress his curiosity.

Zhang Chengyi did not stop and went straight up the stairs. Furuhata Goro followed closely behind. When they reached the second floor, he felt a tightness in his chest and his breathing sounded like a broken bellows.

His heart condition causes him excruciating pain, akin to death, with even the slightest exertion.

The second-floor corridor was even more moldy, and the walls and ceiling were so damp they looked like they were about to drip water.

"Whoosh~" Zhang Chengyi opened the door to a bedroom on the second floor. It was pitch black inside. He shone his flashlight on it and saw that the room was covered with dense, colorful mold. The floor, walls, ceiling, closets... everything in the room had been taken over by mold. It looked a bit scary at first glance.

The mycelium swayed by the doorway, as if welcoming its owner.

Goro Furuhata felt his mouth go dry and wondered if the other party was going to throw him in to be fed to the mold.

Zhang Chengyi walked into the room, seemingly unconcerned that he had trampled large patches of mold. He reached near the sealed window, dug out a piece, sniffed it, then poked around in it with his fingers for a few moments before pulling out a small piece and handing it to him, saying:

"Eat it."

Goro Furuhata stood frozen in place, not because he was afraid of eating the mold, but because he actually felt a little excited.

His body was welcoming the arrival of the mold.

Chapter 301 Extraordinary

"Don't worry, this stuff won't kill you."

Zhang Chengyi said with great confidence that he did not believe that a piece of mold could kill a person. Even if he was not around, a person would not die from eating moldy food. At most, they would feel nauseous, vomit, and have diarrhea. Only if they ate too much would it cause liver damage or cancer.

The human body is much more resilient than we imagine.

Then he saw the old man Furuhata, his eyes shining, stuff the piece of mold into his mouth, swallow it greedily, and keep scraping the fungal hyphae in his mouth with his tongue until it all went into his stomach mixed with saliva.

Pica?

The first thought that popped into Zhang Chengyi's head was that the progress of the mold locked on the old man Furuhata was repeatedly trying to increase, but unfortunately the modifier's ability was rigid; once it was locked, it was locked, and no matter how you changed it, it was not allowed.

The side effect of the mind becoming moldy is that the infected person has a strange urge to mold.

The body and the microbiome form a symbiotic relationship, and a moldy mind, as the soil, rapidly accelerates the process of mental decay, ultimately turning a person into a petri dish for mold...

Interesting side effects.

If the rate of mold growth can be stopped, these side effects will become advantages.

Zhang Chengyi watched as Furuhata Goro swallowed the mold, and within seconds he sensed that the bacteria in the other man's body were growing wildly, entangling his internal organs, and secreting large amounts of byproducts that could repair them.

"Boom!"

Goro Furuhata fell to the ground without a sound and fell into a deep sleep, his face turning rosy.