Chapter 37: The Oriole Behind

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: The Oriole Behind

Looking at the sudden appearance of the Red Robe, Chen Shang sighed. "So you guys have all been playing dead this whole time... but you could at least figure out the situation before jumping out!"

The Red Robe froze. In the next second, countless fungal threads surged up, accompanied by the Hallucinogenic Mushroom’s frenzied shrieks. "I want to be a Wizard! I don’t want to be eliminated! Ahhhh, you damn Apprentices..."

BANG! The Red Robe’s Protective Talisman triggered, eliminating him from the trial.

Chen Shang shook his head. The Red Robe had assumed the fungal threads were suppressed because they had gone quiet, but in reality, both sides were locked in a fierce tug-of-war. Trying to swoop in and steal the kill at this exact moment? It would be a miracle if he didn’t suffer the full brunt of the Hallucinogenic Mushroom’s counterattack.

After the girl with dark circles gritted her teeth and launched another round of nightmares, the Hallucinogenic Mushroom’s mental defenses gradually collapsed. The giant fungal monster was reduced to an empty shell. The fungal threads, as thick as arms and as dense as hair, hung limply, as if their bones had been extracted.

Chen Shang stepped out of his protective shield. The fungal threads beneath his feet were soft and spongy, stripped of their threat. He switched to his Huluwa Da Wa form.

[Heaven and Earth: Incomplete!]

Dark red light seeped from his palms as his body instantly swelled to seven or eight meters tall. Transforming his hands into vines, he plunged them deep into the fungal layer, probing downward along the lifeless threads.

A few breaths later, Chen Shang’s face lit up with joy. He found it!

The Hallucinogenic Mushroom was nestled in the heart of the giant fungal monster, shrunk into a fist-sized ball. It was tightly wrapped in an outer layer of fungal threads, resembling a shivering cocoon.

Chen Shang stood up and walked over to the fungal giant’s chest. Reaching inside, he pulled the threads apart. The fungal threads, which once possessed such tenacity and frenzy, were now like a pile of soaked cardboard, tearing effortlessly beneath his fingers.

A few minutes later, Chen Shang found the innermost cavity. The true body of the Hallucinogenic Mushroom was cowering in the cocoon right in the center of the hollow space. It no longer looked like that green-haired Elf. Instead, it was a tiny mushroom with a light Blue cap bordered by white spots and a milky-white stalk.

Chen Shang reached out, gently grasping the fungal cocoon and pulling it out. The Hallucinogenic Mushroom didn’t put up any struggle. Then, fine, pale Gold vines surged from his palms, wrapping around the mushroom layer after layer until it was completely encased in a Gold egg.

This completely severed the connection between the Hallucinogenic Mushroom and the fungal threads. Consequently, the threads outside the cavity began to collapse outward from the center, rippling like dominoes. An endless rustling echoed through the rift, sounding like millions of snakes shedding their skins at once as clouds of dust billowed into the air.

Chen Shang climbed out of the collapsed pile of fungal threads, clutching the vine-wrapped mushroom in his hand. The girl with dark circles and the Black Fog girl stood not far away, staring at him with burning gazes.

The intent behind their stares couldn’t be any more obvious. The most troublesome thing in the world was when you just finished defeating the boss, and your teammates suddenly revealed their own health bars.

He had deliberately used Heaven and Earth to demonstrate his martial strength, subtly warning them that he still had hidden trump cards and that they shouldn’t get any funny ideas. But evidently, the other party wasn’t buying it.

The two girls were expressionless, yet their meaning was crystal clear: there was only one Hallucinogenic Mushroom, so how should it be divided?

Chen Shang sighed and tucked the mushroom into his jacket. "I’m a pending Apprentice of Starfall Laboratory, Chen Shang. Since we’ve fought side by side, why don’t we properly introduce ourselves?"

The girl with dark circles hugged her little bear tighter to her chest. "Nightmare Laboratory. Aira Amber."

The mist around the Black Fog girl thinned slightly, revealing a delicate face. "Shadow Laboratory. Twilight."

Chen Shang nodded. "This Hallucinogenic Mushroom is of great significance to me. Not only is it a trial objective, but it’s also crucial for my next Biological Mechanical Armor. Because of that, I can’t give it up."

"We can negotiate. What are you offering?" Twilight spoke up first.

Wizards were relatively pragmatic; fighting and killing were never the end goal—securing benefits was.

Chen Shang waved his hand behind him. The last three surviving Ben Bo’Erba climbed out from the rubble. He had them walk over to the two girls, assigning one to each of them.

"This is a Biological Mechanical Armor I crafted, Ben Bo’Erba. It possesses four Runes—Underwater Breathing, Dark Vision, Stealth Enhancement, and Scent Concealment—which combine into a complete Mechanical Armor.

"You also saw its performance against the Hard Antimicrobial Silk just now."

Aira crouched down, reaching out to trace the Rune engravings on the Ben Bo’Erba’s shoulder. Twilight looked at the Ben Bo’Erba. A wisp of Black Fog drifted from her body, circling the creature’s skin before floating back.

"It’s a decent Mechanical Armor, but it’s not enough," Aira said, standing back up.

Twilight picked up the thread of conversation. "You must also share whatever you research through the Hallucinogenic Mushroom with us. After all, this is our collective loot."

Chen Shang thought it over. Once the finalized Da Wa was developed, giving them a copy wouldn’t be out of the question. Mechanical Armor was replicable by nature; it just meant carving a few more sets.

He nodded. "Fine. But you’ll have to provide your own Materials."

Aira and Twilight exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

"Deal."

With the negotiations settled, Chen Shang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he had backup plans, he didn’t want to fall out with them right away, as no one knew what trump cards the other side might be hiding.

Suddenly, all three of them froze at the exact same time. An overwhelming sense of oppression descended from above, feeling as if a mountain were plummeting from the sky.

Chen Shang looked up. At some point, a mass of shadows had appeared above the rift. Some sort of Energy cluster was coalescing, growing brighter and more blinding by the second. It hovered directly over the rift like an overturned bowl, its rim facing downward and its base aflame.

"Sigh, I knew it!" Chen Shang wasn’t surprised in the least.

Luna Xiya had broadcasted to the entire channel, but it was impossible for every Apprentice to show up. There would always be skeptics, opportunists, and those who hid in the dark, waiting to strike only after both sides were mutually wounded.

Moreover, the timing of this ambush was impeccably chosen. The Hallucinogenic Mushroom had just been subdued, and the three of them had just exhausted their Spiritual Power.

To strike at this exact moment—clean, decisive, without a single word of nonsense, even skipping the introductory villain monologue—this was the work of a master.

The Energy cluster detonated. White light cascaded from above like a torrential waterfall. Wherever it passed, rocks melted, fungal threads vaporized, and the air ionized, producing a chain of loud CRACKLES and POPS.

Chen Shang dove into his protective shield. The deep Blue light barrier barely managed to cover the three of them and the three Ben Bo’Erba. The shield trembled violently, ripples spreading across its surface like a lake being battered by a torrential downpour.

"Do you guys have any other methods?" Chen Shang asked through gritted teeth.

Aira shook her head. Her little bear was curled up in her arms, completely tattered. Twilight also shook her head and spoke up. "We can run first and figure it out after we recover."

Running when outmatched was never a shameful act for Wizards.

Chen Shang glanced up at the cascading white light and shook his head. An attack meticulously prepared by someone else wouldn’t be so easy to escape. Even if they managed to break out, they would likely be encircled and hunted down.