Little Mushroom

"Hubbard." Tang Lan muttered the name. "He…"

He seemed to be speechless. It was only after a dozen seconds that he opened his mouth again, his voice slightly hoarse. "…Is he okay?"

An Zhe recalled his memories of Hubbard.

During the time when the insect tide raged and District 6 was bombed, Hubbard was on a mission outside the city. This was a wise move. Not only did he avoid the extermination of the outer city, he also avoided being arrested by Lu Feng for 'illegally stealing the information of a judge.' Later, he led the team back safely and was welcomed by the main city. Then the legendary mercenary captain met Lu Feng. He and the colonel took the PL1109 plane to the Underground City Base for rescue. When An Zhe was in the mine, he and Lu Feng occasionally chatted. According to Lu Feng, Hubbard and Lu Feng had completed the rescue task and came back safely together.

"He's fine," An Zhe replied.

Tang Lan's eyelids lowered and he seemed to smile. He didn't ask anything else and just said, "That's good."

An Zhe stared at Tang Lan.

The first time he knew of this person was in Boss Shaw's store when he saw a beautifully made, almost real doll. Boss Shaw said it was made by Hubbard who spent half his assets. Hubbard was the captain of the most legendary mercenary team in the entire outer city. Tang Lan was the vice-captain that he had a life and death friendship with who didn't return after an adventure. Not even the dead body was found.

Next to the doll was a label with various data. The first line was the name: Tang Lan.

Now the alive Tang Lan was standing in front of An Zhe. He was safe and didn't look like he had suffered any injuries. He had actually survived in the depths of the crisis-ridden Abyss and lived so well.

"You survived." An Zhe asked, "Why didn't you go back?"

A hint of a helpless smile filed Tang Lan's eyes. "I can't go back."

With that, he buried the marked stone in his hand into the soil.

"I have a map so I can go back." An Zhe told him. "…Do you need it?"

"No, I don't need it." Tang Lan stated, "I'm not human anymore."

An Zhe, "……"

Tang Lan smiled and took out a gleaming dagger, carving an arrow on the tree next to him before asking, "Do you know what I'm doing?"

An Zhe replied, "I don't know."

"After being infected, most people are unfortunate and completely turn into monsters. On the other hand, there are 1 in 10,000 people who are more fortunate and sometimes they are like people. I'm showing the way to those who are lucky—just like when I was first shown the way."

An Zhe didn't speak. He found he had the special ability to identify a person who wanted to tell a story.

However, Tang Lan's story was short. "That day, Hubbard and I had a small argument. He wanted to go deeper while I thought it was time to go back. In short, it wasn't pleasant. I didn't see him that night and kept watch in another car."

"There are always things in the Abyss. At 12 o'clock, a monster found us. I had never seen anything so dangerous." Tang Lan finished marking the arrow and put away his dagger, his voice clear and sharp. "I warned the others and led the monster away in the other direction. Later, I died. I should've died miserably."

"I don't know why but I woke up again and became something very powerful. I'm fused with the monster but I'm still awake." He played with the dagger and spoke to An Zhe. "What about you?"

An Zhe pondered on the wording.

Just then, Tang Lan turned his head violently, his eyes shooting at the centre of the forest like an arrow. A rustling sound had come from there. He whispered to An Zhe, "Go!"

The moment he finished speaking, a huge black shadow emerged from the forest!

An Zhe's arm was caught and Tang Lan placed him on Tang Lan's back with an indisputable force. The next moment, there was a huge cracking sound and a pair of black wings spread from Tang Lan's back!

An Zhe suddenly left the ground. Behind him, the mountain-like monster's claws slammed down but Tang Lan flew faster, leaving the dense forest behind almost instantly. Looking down, everything on the ground grew farther and smaller as they rose while the tall mountains in the south were getting closer.

He asked Tang Lan as the wind blew toward him, "Where are we going?"

The wind was becoming stronger and his voice was blown away. In the midst of this, Tang Lan asked him, "Have you ever heard of the fusion faction?"

He carried An Zhe higher and higher, gradually approaching the highest mountain peak. As the sky got closer, the highland shone a red-gold as it reflected the setting sun. A white building at the top of the mountain gradually emerged at the junction of the sky and the mountain peak.

The first thing that caught An Zhe's eyes were the two cylindrical white towers with a smooth appearance. They were divided at two ends and connected by lines in the middle. Between the two white towers was the main body of the building, an oval, three-storey low-rise building, flanked by auxiliary buildings and various other scattered buildings. The open space in front of the main building was filled with all types of strange devices. Behind the building was a flat land with dozens of tall wind power generation towers. The snow-white, three wind turbines were rapidly rotating in the howling wind.

A huge, dark green vine was divided into dozens of strands and surrounded the entire building ground. Its branches were placed on the fence and the white tower. When Tang Lan took An Zhe to the ground, a vine came over and sniffed them before leaving.

The huge black wings on Tang Lan's back were slowly retracted into his body. Tang Lan's body trembled lightly and his fists clenched, some pain appearing on his face. An Zhe watched without blinking until Tang Lan opened his eyes again.

At first glance, Tang Lan's eyes were dark and inhuman but he recovered within three seconds. Tang Lan explained, "The conversion process is a bit confusing and uncomfortable but I'm already lucky."

He looked at the vine. "This guy can't be human anymore."

An Zhe glanced at the vine. "Does it have a human consciousness?"

"Some." Tang Lan stepped forward and An Zhe followed. The strong wind on the mountain blew their clothes as they gradually approached the oldest white building in the centre.

Six o'clock in the evening was when the sunset was at its peak.

In the southwest sky, the clouds were tumbling as a huge red sun burned while sinking, the golden red light illuminating the open door and the figure standing in the middle.

An Zhe wasn't very clear about the age of this human except for the fact that the man was at least the same age as Boss Shaw. The human was at least 60 or 70 years old. However, he didn't show any aged posture. An Zhe approached and saw he was wearing a black suit and a silver-grey shirt with a bow tie. His white hair was neatly brushed back and his face had become calmer and kinder as the years passed. He had mild grey-blue eyes.

These eyes made An Zhe feel that this person had seen all the storms and changes in the world.

"Sir." Tang Lan stood in front of the man and his voice was respectful. "I brought a new member back."

The man smiled and looked at An Zhe, those grey-blue eyes couldn't help giving people a feeling of closeness. An Zhe watched him as he extended his right hand to An Zhe. An Zhe hesitated for a moment before shaking hands in a slightly rusty posture. The other person's palm was warm and dry while his handshake movement was gentle yet powerful.

"Welcome to the Highland Research Institute. We take the liberty to call ourselves the fifth base of humanity." The man said. "I'm Polly Joan."