I am Jinshan Youxia

"From now on, you will be number one, number two, number three, and number four."

Xiangdao is honored to be number one.

"Please, please let me go..." The prisoner next to him, who claimed to be a professor at the University of Tokyo, was still begging for mercy.

Aishima knew this man wasn't lying; he was indeed a professor at the University of Tokyo, but also a notorious serial killer who, like him, had been waiting for his death sentence in prison for several years.

The prisoner who had been trying to threaten him shouted loudly beside him, trying to attract the attention of those outside. Although he was not free in prison, he was unlikely to die or be used as 'material' for some unknown purpose.

After removing their blindfolds, the strange man exclaimed, "Your eyes are beautiful." With that, he pulled a syringe from his pocket and injected it directly into Xiangdao's neck, pushing the strange, brownish-gray substance inside into his body.

"Boom!"

Xiangdao felt a wave of dizziness and lost consciousness.

Okay, it's the first day of the work week again.

Aside from taking leave, I'll be updating three times a day starting tomorrow!

I can't wait to write something even more interesting!

Chapter 307 The Increasingly Strange Microbes

Number 1, [Mold Progress: 59%]

Number 2, [Mold Progress: 35%]

Number 3, [Mold Progress: 27%]

Number 4, [Mold Progress: 24%]

"The bacterial flora is growing well, and parasitism is complete. We'll have to wait a while."

Zhang Chengyi glanced at the four prisoners who had fallen into a deep sleep after being implanted with the bacteria, and then flipped through their files.

The prisoner placed in the next cell, let's call him Number Five, is, according to the information, one of a gang of itinerant family murderers. A few years ago, he was pursued by the police and fled into the Demon Mountain, but in less than a day, he escaped alone and surrendered.

He became somewhat insane, silently confessed to every charge, and eventually ended up in prison.

Because it was targeted by the Demon Mountain, even with the infection of mold, the mold growth rate was only 1%, so it was not suitable for microbial transplantation and modification.

"The more twisted a mind is, the higher the degree of mold growth after infection. But after coming into contact with out-of-control rules, the rate of mold growth will be reset to zero, because the mind has already been taken over by out-of-control rules?"

After reviewing the files of the five prisoners and combining them with the patterns he had observed during the spread of the mold, Zhang Chengyi was able to deduce the truth.

Just like a mold infection has a mold growth progress bar, other out-of-control rules will probably have corresponding progress bars. Once the bar is full, they can completely capture humans.

From this perspective, mold is not a powerful, uncontrollable rule. Its spread is limited by certain conditions. The characteristic that a full value would kill humans and turn them into mold culture dishes is too weak. The rapid increase in mold growth when it is not restricted would actually limit the efficiency of mold spread.

It is well known that the faster a disease kills its host, the harder it is for it to spread.

Ha~ Ha~

Number Four, a former gang thug, woke up panting heavily, his muscles slowly relaxing.

"Bang!" All the ropes binding him snapped, and he lunged forward.

"Sit down." Zhang Chengyi's words came much faster than his voice, since it was essentially the noise from the friction of mycelium, and the information was being transmitted through a translation function.

"Boom!"

Number Four sat down firmly, his expression natural, then turned somewhat surprised.

Once you've established a symbiotic relationship with the microbiome, you can't resist the microbiome's master.

Zhang Chengyi stretched out his finger and poked at Number Four's muscle, beginning to communicate with the completely transformed bacteria within the other's body.

This is a bacterial flora that can increase muscle and bone density and enhance nerve reflexes, with the added benefit of protecting internal organs. Its specific manifestation is very simple and direct: it improves physical strength, speed, and resistance to blows.

It perfectly matches the appearance and experience of the fourth brute.

"The desire to distort the mind will have a corresponding influence on the rooted microbiome, causing it to evolve in a directional way."

Zhang Chengyi determined why infections with the Changsheng bacteria primarily affect the elderly.

Because only older people want to be young.

As for this group of bacteria that enhances physical fitness, let's name it the "Enhancing Bacteria Group".

Just like the longevity bacteria, the enhanced bacteria die quite quickly after being exposed to the air. After all, it is a type of mold that grows in the mind to obtain nutrients, so it is normal for it to die faster after losing nutrients.

After Zhang Chengyi integrated the enhanced microbial community into his body, some of the hyphae were so excited that they almost crawled out of his nostrils, and even the microbial community in his eyeballs became much more active.

In such a dark room, his eyes were truly shining.

Strengthened gut microbiota can coexist with other gut microbiota, and its self-strengthening effect can greatly increase the body's tolerance to gut microbiota, making it a friendly counterpart to the vast majority of gut microbiota.

Of course, for ordinary people, there still needs to be enough moldy minds as soil, otherwise it is impossible for supernatural bacteria to reproduce.

Given the super-fast birth and death rates of these supernatural microbial communities, if the air does not meet the conditions for their survival, the human body can at most only delay the death of these microbial communities for a short while.

However, it's worth considering creating injectable solutions that could temporarily provide ordinary people or those without corrupted minds with supernatural bacteria.

The idea flashed through Zhang Chengyi's mind: supernatural bacteria are still bacteria. If extracted using the right method, they can be sealed and preserved. Even if they die after being injected into the body, they can still gain temporary enhancement. Perhaps even after the bacteria die out, they can still retain some permanent enhancement.

After all, the effects of bacteria on humans are mostly byproducts.

"Quiet down." He looked at Number Three and Number Two, who were waking up one after another, and after performing a simple bacterial flora mutation test, he casually gave them this instruction before sitting down at the table and writing furiously.

Thinking about things in your head can easily lead to a break in your train of thought; putting them on paper makes things much easier.

There's just one small problem: does he even have a brain?

[My train of thought has wandered off course again] Zhang Chengyi sorted out his constantly jumping thoughts and returned to the experiment.

Number Three, the guy who shouted that he wanted to surrender and called himself a professor at Tokyo University, has cultivated a very dangerous bacterial flora that can continuously produce a special secretion that can strengthen his nervous system and pheromone-secreting glands. He's doing alright now, but after a while, he should be able to influence others with his pheromones just by getting close to them.

For humans without supernatural abilities, this ability is really dangerous. The difference between influencing and controlling it is not that great. It's practically the ability to hypnotize others without a remote control, and it will continue to strengthen over time. But whether it will change the body is unknown.

Since waking up, Number Four's muscles have swelled to twice their size thanks to his enhanced gut flora, making him look like a bodybuilder.

Zhang Chengyi strongly suspected that if these two were continuously strengthened by the bacteria, they might turn into non-human beings.

Compared to the more realistic styles of No. 4 and No. 3, the bacterial colony cultivated by No. 2 is somewhat surreal—

He can fly.

Of course, it's not just about being able to fly. The bacteria that grew inside Number Two can counteract external forces, including gravity, through completely incomprehensible logic. So when he woke up, he could almost jump to the ceiling with a little effort.

The only downside is that the force of offsetting depends on the number of bacteria, while the rate at which the supernatural bacteria of an infected person multiplies depends on the degree of mental corruption. How many bacteria a person can bear depends on how much their body can withstand. Number Two's ability seems impressive, but it doesn't have much of an effect on strengthening the body, so it is destined to have a not-so-high ceiling.

Similar to the Longevity Bacteria, it has unparalleled special effects. The Longevity Bacteria can continuously regenerate organs and body tissues, which is equivalent to immortality. However, apart from the special effects, the enhancement to the body is just slightly stronger, slightly faster, and more durable. There are no other effects.

If we continuously inject the No. 4 bacteria into the bodies of other people infected with supernatural bacteria to improve their physical fitness, and then use martial arts techniques to regulate their physical growth...

Zhang Chengyi tapped his experimental log with the tip of his pen, a strange smile on his face. He had already thought of many interesting ways to play.

Chapter 308 Zhang Chengyi Records Everything

[Experiment Title: The Influence of Mind Corruption on the Willpower of Infected Individuals]

[Experiment Participants: No. 2, No. 3, No. 4]

【Experimental Preparation: None】

[Experimental Procedure: The bacterial communities of the three experimental subjects were adjusted to varying degrees, placing them at different stages of psychological decay for comparative questioning.]

[Experimental Results: After the mind was completely occupied by the microbiome, the experimental subject's thinking logic did not change significantly, and there was no impact on the body. There was a certain degree of memory loss and distortion, and the selfish, greedy, and malicious components of the personality were severely lacking. Adjusting the microbiome could adjust the degree of occupation of the mind without adverse effects...]

[Experimental Conclusion: Based on the three experimental subjects observed so far, the rate of psychological corruption must be maintained at over 10%, otherwise the infected individuals' values ​​will be completely distorted.]

Zhang Chengyi tormented the three test subjects repeatedly for more than an hour. The first test subject, who was still lying there, suddenly began to tremble violently. He got up and walked over, and under the gaze of the three test subjects whose eyes were full of fear, he pointed his finger at the first test subject.

[Xiangshima...pain...death...]

【"sorry"】

["Pfft!"]

A massive amount of information was constantly echoing within the microbiome, with absolutely no logical flow between events. The information jumped around so drastically that any normal human being would be overwhelmed by this sheer volume of information.

But the modifier expert was able to calmly summarize and organize the information, and as he read the information, a strange expression appeared on his face.

"I see."

Zhang Chengyi understood why he had obtained the first body he could control, and he also figured out why the rules of losing control had changed.

It turns out that he didn't unintentionally control a corpse at all. The person who initially committed suicide wanted to give up everything and only seek death. In the end, he actively merged into the "mold," and his mind became a part of the "mold." After the body died, mold grew on it for a period of time, and both his mind and body became part of the mold.

That's how he got the first body he could control.

However, he had been dead for too long, and the memories in his brain had been almost completely destroyed by the death of his brain cells, so even if he could control them, he still felt a bit confused.

When Zhang Chengyi sensed the corpse, his mind had already completed its transformation, becoming part of the mold. Because mold, as an uncontrolled rule, has no distinction of strength or weakness, it cannot be described as a drop of water merging into the ocean; it is far more silent and invisible.

The ability to influence and control mold is a special ability that arises when the body is 100% moldy due to the integration of the mind, causing the rules of "mold" to take over the body.

To put it bluntly, the fundamental rule of being out of control hasn't changed; it's still an invisible rule. It's just that after the human mind merges with it, the body becomes the link between the rule and reality, resulting in different changes.

The key is people.

The death row inmate Xiangdao before us is another infected individual who willingly chooses death. Due to the bacteria injected beforehand, driven by Xiangdao's moldy mind filled with self-destructive desires, the bacteria are painlessly killing this body, and his mind is also gradually sinking and merging into the mold.

If it evolves naturally, it will probably take another two days.

"Click~"

Zhang Chengyi directly snapped Xiangdao's neck. This reduced Xiangdao's pain. The trembling was the result of the bacteria in his body resisting the symbiote that wanted to commit suicide. It was better to kill it quickly and avoid further torment. Since he had already become an experimental subject, there was no need for torture.

On the other hand, killing it directly can effectively speed up the transformation into its vessel. The dead soul will integrate into the mold faster, and the body's transformation will also be faster.

The three test subjects nearby felt a chill run down their spines just from witnessing this scene. They couldn't understand it and could only assume that the experiment had failed, which was why Number One had been killed.

"Shut up and come with me." Zhang Chengyi stood up, carrying the corpse. After the enhanced bacteria took effect in his body, his strength continued to increase. However, he had stronger control over his body, so his muscles didn't appear to change much.

The three subjects still need to be observed for a period of time, but they are still human beings after all and need to be supplemented with nutrition. We can't just keep them in the house where the bacteria are stored and where they live.

So he had already arranged for several old guys in Moshan Town who were infected with the Longevity Bacteria to buy the detached house next door and prepare it as a room for experimental subjects.

The money issue ceased to be a problem once the proliferative bacteria began spreading among the elderly population in Moshan Town and some surrounding cities.

"Stay in this house and do not leave. Do not cause damage. Do not harm each other. Verbal abuse and provocation are also prohibited. Do not use your abilities when your life is in danger..."