Mygo, you guys seem to be getting a bit heavy-hearted.

So what exactly is my current state? Is it an alien invasion, or have I awakened some kind of superpower that allows me to see subtitles?

Just as Xiangzi was pondering, her chopsticks missed their target.

"Eh... a mushroom...?"

"This isn't cooked through, don't eat it, okay?"

Yanming picked up the plate and moved the remaining mushrooms to a place out of Xiangzi's reach.

Although the system guaranteed there would be no side effects, Yanming still didn't want to take the risk just in case. As for the ones he had already ingested... he could only leave it to fate.

Speaking of which, isn't Moon Forest, the academy Xiao Xiang attends, a proper noble girls' academy? How come they've created these weird fungi that look like a biochemical research institute? And the teaching style is way too unrestrained!

Xiangzi smacked his lips with a hint of regret, seemingly still savoring the unique flavor: "Not cooked through? Really? I ate it without any problem."

"You've started talking nonsense."

However, Yanming breathed a sigh of relief.

At least Xiao Xiang can still talk nonsense, instead of collapsing unconscious while spraying rainbow-colored liquid.

As Xiangzi watched the subtitles that kept appearing on his retina and the elongated, distorted shadows on the ceiling, he finally felt a sense of fear.

These delicious mushrooms... are they really poisonous?

According to the only previous case, a middle school student named Kurata Mashiro, this special fungus amplifies human psychology and projects some mental images into reality. The projected objects change according to the individual's current mental state, and the effects last for about three hours... However, because the patient's account was too vague, the Foundation was unable to obtain specific manifestations of the so-called "mental images."

The woman's voice appeared at just the right time and explained the specific information about the mushroom to Xiangzi.

Thank you for your explanation. This lady might be a ghost... But why are you so calm, Mr. Yanming?

In Xiangzi's eyes, the entire house began to distort to varying degrees...

The clean, pure white walls became covered in dust, dirty and dilapidated, as if decades had passed in an instant.

The fibrous leather could not withstand the pressure, causing all the springs in the sofa to burst, its rusty body flailing wildly.

The original large-screen LCD TV has been replaced by a desktop TV with a wooden antenna. In the terrifyingly static screen, news reports of "Toyokawa Zaibatsu going bankrupt" can be faintly seen.

It was like the end of the world.

Chapter Sixty-Four: The mushrooms are big and flavorful.

very scary……

Xiangzi's pupils contracted, because these were the very scenes that had been the embodiment of the terror she had always imagined.

She was always afraid that she would end up in her current situation and never be able to turn things around.

"What did you see?"

Only Yanming, sitting beside Xiangzi, showed no change in the worry on his face.

In this bizarre and fantastical world, it was like a beam of light piercing through the darkness, shining into Xiangzi's eyes.

With him around, the things I feared didn't seem so scary anymore.

"I didn't see anything except for Yanming-kun."

Yanming blushed.

What's going on with this mushroom?

How come Xiao Xiang suddenly seems like a completely different person?

"Yanming, are you full?"

Yanming frowned as he looked at the sparse food left on the table. "You've almost finished eating... But, more importantly, is there anything that's bothering you? Are you dizzy? Did you see any little figures dancing or anything like that?"

He often sees rumors in the news describing various symptoms that people who eat poisonous mushrooms may experience, such as seeing subtitles in their eyes when others are speaking.

But what's worse than that is the appearance of all sorts of distorted hallucinations.

If the condition is more serious, the patient should be taken to the hospital for treatment.

Xiangzi shook his head: "I don't feel uncomfortable, I'm not dizzy, nothing has changed... It's just that I'm still a little hungry."

"Then I'll go get you another bowl of rice..."

Just as Yanming was about to get up, his wrist was grabbed.

Not being full doesn't necessarily mean you're hungry.

"Don't leave."

Xiangzi looked at him pitifully.

In the gray and empty house, only Yanming could give her a sense of security.

Doing nothing, just watching is enough to put people at ease.

Yanming stiffened for a moment, then sat down again. "Is it because of that plate of mushrooms?"

He could probably guess some of it.

Although Xiangzi said he was fine and nothing had changed, his eyes were fixed on him, not looking anywhere else.

It's not so much that I don't want to, but that I'm afraid to.

She must have seen something.

"Yes."

Xiangzi nodded, then shook his head. "But it's not entirely true."

The hallucinations she experienced heightened her emotions, forcing her to confront her fears and, in turn, her inner self.

Why is it that in the world I see, only Yanming remains unchanged?

Xiangzi could understand a little bit.

"Yanming-kun, tell me, if we hadn't met that day for various reasons in another world, what would we be like now?"

After saying that, Xiangzi waited quietly for his reply.

"Your questions always seem to be new and interesting to me,"

Yanming smiled and said, "I never think about such questions. Just thinking about the things I need to do every day already fills up my time."

Yanming believes that in other people's eyes, he is probably the kind of person who has no sense of romance and doesn't know how to be romantic.

Therefore, he never actively pursues anything; he simply makes do with his ordinary, contented life.

He was already content with having a place to stay with his companions.

Yanming said with a self-deprecating laugh, "I'm a bit clumsy, and I might not be able to give the answer you want to hear. It might even be a very boring answer. Is that alright?"

"In my eyes, you are neither clumsy nor boring. Compared to those turbulent days, every day after I met you has made me feel warm."

The words, more intense and sincere than a confession, came from Xiangzi's mouth, yet he himself remained quite indifferent, as if he had been infected by Yanming.

No.

You could say these two people have infected each other; even their personalities have unconsciously changed in the same direction.

“I want to hear it all. I’m willing to listen to whatever you have to say—it will definitely not be boring talk to me.”

Everything around her seemed to crush Xiangzi like a heavy mountain, trying to suffocate her and prevent her from ever raising her head to cry out again.

Malice from all directions coalesces into a visible reality through illusion.

Only Yanming was unaffected.

Therefore, she could naturally remain unmoved.

This is not salvation.

It was just a child who was picked up by another older child who also longed for warmth.

And so they began a life of mutual support.

More stable than a band, more precious than a couple, more ambiguous than family...

"Because we are a 'community of shared destiny'."

Xiangzi said this.

"……Um."

Yanming exhaled, and at the same time began to sketch in his mind...

Is there a world where he didn't meet Xiao Xiang?

With his limited imagination, it would be quite difficult for him to describe such a scene on his own.

"Dang Cang——"

Under Xiangzi's watchful gaze, Yanming picked up the plate containing the unknown mushrooms.

then.

"Chew. Chew."

The taste was much better than I expected.

Yanming put down the plate, closed his eyes, and let out a burp.

Then, when he opened his eyes again, the world had successfully changed.

"Yanming? Yanming-kun, are you alright?!"

Xiangzi shook his shoulders to the side.

Yanming slowly shifted his gaze over there.

"Yanming-kun... what am I like in your eyes?"

Xiangzi was a little nervous.

"A little blue octopus."

"Eh?"

"I was just kidding, nothing has changed."

Yanming rubbed his eyelids and looked at him again.

Just like when they first met.

At least outwardly, Toyokawa Shoko hasn't changed at all... has she?

"You seem to have gained a little weight?"

Xiangzi forcefully slapped away Yanming's hand that was pinching his cheek: "No way!"

"Ok."

Taking advantage of this rare experience from the fungus, Yanming looked around, trying to find inspiration.

The strategy guide says that after eating this fungus, one will see a reflection of their own mind.

His mental state is probably not optimistic, meaning that the thing he least wants to see may happen.

The moment his gaze left Xiangzi, a ringing sound began to pierce his brain, and the spotlight and the hospital's incandescent light shone on his face at the same time.

"Buzzing buzzing—"

Along with the tinnitus, I also heard the doctor's notification.

"Mr. Yanming, the results of your full-body examination are not optimistic."

"If you continue with band activities, your throat will never be able to produce a sound again, and your wrists will be worn to the point that your body cannot repair itself. However, you can still use them normally, but these are not the most serious issues..."

"We found something in your lungs..."

"Buzzing buzzing—"

"According to the experts' conclusions, you probably have less than ten years left to enjoy your life, and you may need to be hospitalized for care in the last few years... It is very regrettable that there is nothing we can do about it."

Chapter Sixty-Five: I Like You.