Chapter 120: The Red Mushroom

Three days later. Evening.

The tourists had all dispersed, and the Fantasy Park was much quieter. Qiao Mian sat in his office, legs crossed, playing a computer game.

Although the park was a place of endless wonders—a sanctuary longed for by countless people, so much so that many shut-ins had abandoned their internet addictions to practice martial arts instead—Qiao Mian remained tireless in his devotion to computer and mobile games.

He was currently playing an ancient game: Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Qiao Mian played as the Night Elves against a computer opponent set to "Easy," on a map where "Always Visible" was enabled. While the computer-controlled Human faction was busy farming creeps to level up, he kept harassing them, dragging his two heroes to maximum level. He then surrounded the enemy base with a force of Druids, Dryads, and Chimaeras, ending the game with a meteor shower cast by his Priestess.

"The computer is just too pathetic."

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and checked the time on his phone. It was 6:30 PM.

Returning to his seat, Qiao Mian opened his personal interface and converted all his popularity points into game currency. He currently had a total of 6.41 million.

With a soft sigh, he selected the "X-Mansion" from the store and spent 5 million currency units to manifest it.

A three-dimensional map of the entire park appeared before him. After a moment of thought, Qiao Mian placed the X-Mansion about five or six kilometers away from the fitness plaza, on the other side of a small stream behind the coliseum.

"Hmm? Someone's there."

***

In the jungle.

Liang Xiaoyu carried a small bamboo basket, her phone mounted to her body, and walked toward a large tree. Beneath it grew a cluster of bright red, adorable-looking mushrooms.

She lowered her head, aimed the camera at the red mushrooms, and said to the viewers in her livestream, "You all see this, right?"

"Do you think these must be poisonous?"

"Actually, they aren't!"

"The Old Urchin has tried everything edible in the vicinity. A few days ago, I watched him cook a hot pot right here and put these mushrooms in. He was perfectly fine."

As she spoke, she picked the mushrooms and placed them into the basket hanging from her wrist.

"Some say that brightly colored mushrooms are all poisonous, but that’s actually incorrect," she argued confidently. "At the very least, these red mushrooms are perfectly safe."

The audience in the chat was not buying it.

[We want to see dinosaurs and ghost women, who wants to watch you pick wild vegetables?]
[Red umbrella, white stalk...]
[Don't listen to the streamer's nonsense. I heard her chatting with the Dragon Maiden the other day—the Old Urchin almost kicked the bucket from eating random things, and it was Huang Yaoshi who saved him.]
[To the person above: Didn't the Old Urchin eat the Precious Snake Blood serum? Did it not work?]
[If the streamer is so brave, eat one right now.]

Seeing the skepticism, Liang Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow. She had nothing to do today, so she thought she would show the viewers the plants in the Fantasy Park and pick some wild vegetables to cook with the Dragon Maiden later.

Most of the edible things here had been tasted by the Old Urchin, and she had even consulted him beforehand.

"You really think I wouldn't dare eat them?" Liang Xiaoyu lifted her chin. "Then I'll eat them for you to see."

She picked up a mushroom. It was brilliant red, like a sunset, with full, plump leaves that looked succulent and delicious.

Liang Xiaoyu tore off a piece and sniffed it. "It doesn't smell like much, but the Old Urchin said it tastes great," she laughed.

When someone asked if it was clean, she smiled. "There's no dust here, so it's actually quite clean. As for the water over there, animals often pee and bathe in it, so washing it there would actually make it dirtier."

With that, she popped the piece of mushroom into her mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed. The red mushroom was slightly crunchy with a sweet, cloying taste—not bad for raw consumption.

Raw...

Liang Xiaoyu suddenly realized what she had overlooked. The Old Urchin had cooked his in a pot. She remembered watching a video once where a foreigner bought a bunch of raw mushrooms in China, insisted on eating them the "American way" with dipping sauce, and ended up with severe diarrhea and vomiting for days.

Should be fine to eat raw, right? She glanced at the chat.

[Streamer, you're a legend!]
[I salute you as a brave soul!]
[A certain streamer died from eating poisonous mushrooms.]
[Does it really taste good?]
[Waiting for the streamer to get the runs.]
[It could also be hallucinogenic, you know.]

She couldn't lose face. No, she couldn't lose face *or* the standoff!

Liang Xiaoyu coughed lightly and, biting the bullet, tore off another piece and ate it. "At worst, I'll just end the stream when I get a stomachache," she thought to herself.

"It's fragrant, it's crunchy, it's really delicious," Liang Xiaoyu said with a smug expression. "These mushrooms probably don't exist on Earth. They're worth more than gold."

She looked at the large piece remaining in her hand, hardened her heart, stuffed the rest into her mouth, and crunched it down.

As she was chewing, she suddenly felt the ground tremble.

Liang Xiaoyu looked around and saw the surrounding trees moving as if they had grown legs, rapidly retreating into the distance. Even the straight river bent like a piece of pulled dough, moving further and further away from her.

The earth beneath her feet vibrated gently, and the trees and rivers all drifted off, as if... Dr. Strange’s magic? Or... am I actually poisoned?

She blinked blankly, deciding the second possibility was the most likely. What should she do? Stand here like a fool? Or perhaps she was already rolling on the ground screaming or dancing, while in her mind she thought she was standing still?

Liang Xiaoyu wanted to cover her face, feeling she had been too careless. Just as she thought this, the light before her dimmed.

She looked up and saw a six-story building standing in front of her. The entire structure was in a Western style, with stone exterior walls adorned with numerous reliefs.

She craned her neck to look up and saw the characters: X-Mansion.

Liang Xiaoyu suddenly remembered what other employees had mentioned a few days ago. At the time, the Dragon Maiden had even asked her what the Phoenix Force was and how it compared to Chaos Magic.

Could this be the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters from the X-Men?

Liang Xiaoyu couldn't help but examine it closely. On the corner of the building, the words "Teaching Building" were inscribed. To the east stood another separate building marked "Dormitory." To the west were the library and the sports center. Adjacent to the teaching building was the office wing.

Only then did Liang Xiaoyu notice the rubberized ground beneath her feet and a large grassy area to the side—it was a soccer field.

"I can't be dreaming, right?" Liang Xiaoyu wondered. She looked at the livestream. To her relief, the chat was flooded with messages discussing the sight.

[Why did the environment around the streamer change?]
[What's going on? Where did that building come from?]
[I clearly saw the words 'X-Mansion'.]
[Is it the X-Men?]
[No way? Are superpowers coming?]
[I am a foreigner, so excited, but why aren't those characters in English?]

Liang Xiaoyu glanced at the chat and pinched her thigh. A blue mark appeared on her fair skin.

"You all see it, right?" Liang Xiaoyu said excitedly. "This is the X-Mansion. If I'm not mistaken, it's the one from the X-Men."

"I'll take you all to take a look."