Little Mushroom

"The colonel, the dignified judge, can only be placed under house arrest in my laboratory." Dr Ji put a pile of information on the table and laughed. "Do you need me to bring you a meal?"

The person sitting in the soft chair that originally belonged to Dr Ji wasn't the doctor himself but the Judge in a black uniform. His arms were held in an inattentive manner and his legs were crossed. A silver badge was missing from his chest but the silver spikes of the uniform filled in the colour gap, making his clothing and appearance still impeccable.

Frosty eyes swept over the silver-grey lab. "Do you think I want to stay here?"

"I suggest you be nice to me. I'm not demanding and it is enough to return 1/100th of our friendship since childhood." The doctor added, "You have to understand the situation. The Trial Court is finding it hard to protect itself. If even me, your only friend in this base, no longer accepts you then you will be immediately torn up by the people outside. I heard that the United Front Centre has held three meetings with the theme of whether a judge's qualification to kill should be abolished from the Judges' Act."

At this point, he winked playfully. "Do you regret choosing to come back from the wilderness?"

He intended to stir up this man's mood swings but he didn't succeed. Lu Feng's expression didn't change when he heard this sentence.

Ever since the discovery of the exchange of components between non-contact genetic contamination and inanimate substances, the base had fallen into a panicked atmosphere. Perhaps the magnetic poles will be defeated by the distortion at any moment and they would become monsters or merged with this steel base. The 8,000 people were the elites and leaders of the military and the Lighthouse. They were the most superior group of humans in existence. Due to their superior IQ, they could better predict the terror of the doomsday that would surely come. The dying base maintained a kind of tight peace, like a lake covered by a thin layer of ice. It seemed as solid as gold but in fact, as long as a stone was thrown then the entire thing would collapse.

The cause of the incident was a shooting 10 days ago.

"If it was someone else, it would be fine. But you…" The doctor stared at the indifferent Judge and gritted his teeth.

The man killed was a respected scientist of the Lighthouse, who had made outstanding contributions to calculating trajectories and improving artillery shells. He was a giant among men in the military industry. Naturally, researchers in the entire field loved him and the military also respected him.

10 days before, Lu Feng and Seraing encountered the scientist in the corridor of the United Front Centre and they even nodded to each other in greeting.

However, the moment they passed each other, Lu Feng pulled out Seraing's gun that was hanging from Seraing's waist. His marksmanship was always accurate and his action of pulling the trigger was fast and decisive. The bullet hit the back of the weapons expert and exploded like fireworks. Then a dead body fell to the ground.

It shocked the entire base.

The students and friends of the deceased claimed the deceased had been quick-witted, courteous, gentle and showed no signs of infection at all. They asked the Trial Court to give a judgment.

However, the person was dead and the genetic testing equipment had been completely shut down due to the destruction of core components during the wave of material fusion two months ago. There was no basis to support the Judge's judgment. In this regard, the Judge's only statement was that he acted in full accordance with the Trial Court's rules.

Many old issues were found and the call for the Trial Court to publish the trial conditions reached the highest peak. However, the powers given to the Trial Court by the Judges' Act meant they were unable to send Lu Feng to a military court and controversy over the Judges' Act reached its peak. A young man named Colin claimed to be the pioneer of the Anti-Judge Movement in the outer city. In the wake of the disaster that left only 8,000 people in the city, he had survived because he was a teacher working in the Garden of Eden, Now, the enthusiastic young man once again screamed the slogans that used to ring through the outer city, slamming the relentless trampling of human nature by the base's military system. He quickly gained a large number of loyal fans.

IN this regard, the United Front Centre chose suppression. It was just that the humans of the base were mainly members of the Lighthouse and the Garden of Eden. The United Front Centre had to limit their strength and couldn't fight hard. As long as one person died, the number of humans would be reduced by one-eighth. A riot in a 8,000 person society seemed to be an unsolvable problem.

As this reached the peak, a little-known fact from the Lighthouse was circulated and distributed everywhere.

It was a top secret archive from the 'fusion faction' many years ago. There were doubts about the existence of this faction but they did have unquestionable scientific research capabilities. After a decade of experimentation and observation, they estimated that the probability of a living person infected with a gene could retain a certain level of human consciousness was 1 in 10,000. 1% were likely to regain a certain level of human consciousness within three years after becoming a monster.

To make matters worse, this data was accompanied by an objective note. 1 in 10,000 and 65.5% were theoretical estimates. The real probability in reality might be slightly higher.

On the day of the data breach, the entire base was in a frenzy. In response, Colin wrote a long article titled, '100 years of the Trial Court — An Unverifiable Sin'.

At the same time, a crazy soldier lurked outside the Trial Court and fired at the Judge. It was said that his beloved officer and comrade-in-arm died under the Judge's gun. Unfortunately, the Judge was a soldier who was 100 times better than him in all respects and wasn't hit by the bullet at all. Still, this move inspired others. For a time, the Trial Court became a target of all kinds.

This was until Dr Ji submitted an application to the Lighthouse.

Dr Ji proposed that the spore sample from the Abyss showed unprecedented inertia to infection and distortion. If the mechanism could be studied and applied to humans then humans might also obtain this valuable characteristic. However, this strange spore showed an unusual closeness with the colonel of the Trial Court. Once it came into contact with the colonel, its growth rate and cell viability would increase.

Therefore, Colonel Lu had to cooperate with the research project and the base must also ensure the safety of the colonel, who might be humanity's last hope.

This was how a colonel surnamed Lu appeared in Dr Ji's laboratory.

"The end of the expected three months is coming. Although there is no precise evidence, the fate of humanity is counting down." Dr Ji sat next to Lu Feng and said. "Originally, the main city never cared about the judge system but now they are about to face the trial, just like the outer city. You have to understand that once the magnetic pole is defeated by the distortion, all people are at risk of infection and everyone will face trial. They might all die under your gun. Although the Trial Court hasn't done anything yet, it has become everyone's spiritual enemy. The complete distortion will eventually come. They hope that they can be the 1 in 10,000 or 65%. Overthrowing you can allow them to live longer. This has nothing to do with you. Fear of death is a biological instinct."

At this point, he frowned slightly and whispered, "No matter how much the Trial Court has been forced over the years, not one word about the trial rules have been leaked. I believe you must have a reason for doing so. Still, I want to ask you another question. The data of the fusion faction, did you know it before?"

Lu Feng's eyes crossed him to stare at the spore floating in the green culture.

Since he was in the room, the spore's mycelium stretched in a relaxed manner. It grew a bit and the spore was now as big as a person's palm.

"Are there any results?" Lu Feng asked lightly.

"Unfortunately, no. This little thing is a liar like An Zhe. Now its only function is to act as your shield and I don't know how long it can block you." Dr Ji stared into Lu Feng's eyes.

These eyes—the green eyes. The Northern Base mainly consisted of Asians, although there were some other mixed-races. Therefore, black pupils were common and other colours such as blue or brown weren't uncommon. However, the frost green was too special. Sometimes the doctor had an illusion that these eyes were some type of inorganic material with no feelings, like the man's usual gaze.

It seemed that no matter how many people he killed or how he was treated by others, Lu Feng was unmoved. There was no need to understand and no need to forgive. He had always been so lofty.

A sense of powerless chagrin filled the doctor's mind.

"I shouldn't care about you, let alone try to comfort you. You don't care." He took a deep breath and spread open his hands. "Every time I try to convince myself that you are a good person, you use actions to tell me that you are really… you are really fucking talented at being indifferent."

He examined Lu Feng's face. This person's facial features were exquisite and strong, like he was a carved doll. Unfortunately, the material he was made out of was frozen ice that wouldn't change for thousands of years. The situation outside was so tense that the doctor was afraid that someone would smash the laboratory door and throw a stone at the Judge, but this man showed no signs of internal pain or torture. On the contrary, the man's drooping eyelashes showed a solemn calmness, like a black butterfly perched on the window of a solemn temple.

The Judges' Act still hadn't been repealed and Lu Feng's authority in the system was still very high. At this moment, the computer screen next to him was playing real-time surveillance videos of the crowded base to confirm that no one was infected.

The doctor gave up and made a sarcastic remark, "I'm curious about what expression you will have to make when you are sent to the gallows by everyone in the base."

Having said that, he stared into Lu Feng's eyes, trying to capture the man's emotional fluctuations. Unfortunately, Lu Feng wasn't attracted by the fierce gaze. He was looking at the spore, the entire culture instrument or perhaps something in the voice.

"Thank you, I deserve it," the cold voice declared.

Dr Ji's fist on the table loosened and clenched. Finally, he leaned back against his chair and said, "I should push you out. You have long been crazy."

"I'm sober." Lu Feng finally turned his gaze to the doctor. "Is there anything I can do in the lab to help?"

"Look at your little fungus and make it grow faster," the doctor replied. "If you can, help me pay attention to the communication channel of the research institute."