Chapter Fifty-Six: A Different Kind of Evolution

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The moment he clicked to enter the game, Li Shan felt the world before his eyes spin violently.

When he came to his senses, he found himself beside a small pond, having become a palm-sized blue mushroom.

At the same time, three displays appeared in his field of vision.

In the upper right corner was a minimap showing nearby creatures.

The upper left corner displayed the number of surviving players in the current game.

At the bottom of his view, a green hunger bar was steadily decreasing.

After familiarizing himself with his new body, Li Shan addressed his fans in the livestream:

“The main stalk can’t move—after all, I’m a mushroom, not an animal.”

“But the mode is balanced; plants grow quickly.”

“For example, my mycelium spreads across the ground at about one centimeter per second.”

“Underground, it’s only half that speed, maybe slower in harder soil.”

“When I grow mycelium, the hunger bar drops faster, which makes sense—conservation of matter.”

“All right, let me see how to absorb food.”

Having explained things to his audience, Li Shan focused on exploring the game.

Perhaps due to the mode, although he was a mushroom, he still had vision—able to take in everything around him.

After observing for a while, Li Shan chose his first target: a tender sprout just breaking through the mud at the edge of the pond.

He estimated the sprout was about twenty centimeters away. Extending his mycelium to reach it would consume roughly twenty percent of his current hunger.

“My mushroom’s mycelium is corrosive. I’ll try absorbing that sprout to see if I can evolve.”

Speaking as he controlled his mycelium to grow in that direction, under the gaze of his audience, a thin white thread emerged from beneath his mushroom, quickly approaching the chosen sprout in an irregular pattern across the mud.

‘Old Demon is so thin—thinner than enoki!’

‘Finally… finally couldn’t resist, huh? Old Demon’s still just a child!’

‘Officer, that’s him!’

Seeing the barrage start to turn suggestive, Li Shan’s mouth twitched. “Guys, size doesn’t matter—what matters is being sharp, sharp!”

“Look how fast I am.”

As he spoke, his mycelium had already reached beneath the sprout, covering it easily.

But to devour it, he needed time to secrete corrosive substances and break it down completely.

The process was quick—just a few seconds and it was done.

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The once vibrant green sprout was now fully decayed, its interior completely overtaken by mycelium—creating a marvelous situation where one was within the other.

[Prompt: You have devoured an unidentified weed. Mycelium strength has increased.]

As the prompt faded, Li Shan immediately felt his body change.

After this notification, his underground mycelium instantly expanded more than twice its size, growing stronger.

While the overall growth speed stayed the same, the actual spread rate increased significantly. With the enhanced mycelium, he could penetrate complex underground terrain directly, no longer needing to wind around obstacles.

“Guys, I’ve gotten thicker.”

Feeling the change, Li Shan quickly shared it with his audience.

‘I don’t believe it—unless you show me.’

‘It feels a bit off, but I want to see if Old Demon really is thicker.’

‘Whoa! Old Demon, let’s put the thickness issue aside—if you don’t do something soon, you’re done for.’

“Done for? Are you looking down on me? As a pro player…”

Li Shan was about to argue with the fan who said he’d lose, but he swallowed his words midway.

Because, in his sight, a three-headed, eight-legged bear was charging straight toward him.

“What the hell?!”

The sudden scene startled Li Shan.

Had another player found him? Impossible—I’m just a little mushroom…

Wait!

“Damn! Someone’s screen-peeking!”

In this mode, plants could only quietly develop early on, and here he was brazenly livestreaming…

In short, someone was playing dirty!

‘Seriously? Cheating even in this game?’

‘My heart aches for Old Demon for half a second.’

‘Who is this guy? I’ll report him later. I can’t stand people who ruin fairness.’

The viewers, seeing the monstrous creature, immediately assumed it was a player.

After all, who but a player would evolve into such a grotesque form?

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

As the three-headed, eight-legged bear approached, its enormous size made palm-sized Li Shan feel as though the sky was collapsing.

“Guys, looks like this round is over.”

“Next time, I’ll stream with a half-hour delay. Otherwise, I can’t play like this every match.”

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Watching as the three-headed, eight-legged bear reached him and extended its enormous, wicked paw, Li Shan resigned himself.

As the bear lifted him, he summoned the game’s exit button, ready to press it.

None of the viewers objected; though delayed streaming would reduce the fun, there was no choice when confronting someone who ignored the rules.

‘Delayed streaming is fine, but Old Demon, can you show us how you get crunched? Kind of curious.’

‘Be human, bro—but honestly, I do want to see.’

‘Is everyone thinking the same? Then… Old Demon, maybe you could oblige?’

“…Fake fans!”

Li Shan cursed under his breath, closed his eyes, and awaited death—the bear’s mouth filled with sharp teeth was indeed terrifying.

“Crunch, crunch…”

With the sound of chewing, Li Shan’s screen faded to gray.

Yet the game prompt wasn’t the expected game over, but:

[You have been devoured by the creature ‘Little Bear,’ evolved in three days in normal mode by the player ‘Searching for the Immortal Herb in Vain.’]

[Game character dead]

[Evolution reset to zero]

[Next resurrection increases hunger consumption by 10%]

[Resurrect immediately?]

“Huh? A creature evolved by a player in normal mode?”

“Wait, so this thing isn’t a player?”

Li Shan was stunned.

Especially with such a ferocious appearance, and a harmless name like ‘Little Bear’—it was absurd!

‘Whoa! Data shared across modes? What kind of crazy crossover is this?!’

‘So I might encounter a creature I evolved in this map?’

‘This is getting more interesting.’

‘Look at that bear—damn! After devouring, it can evolve too? What a divine mode, this is amazing.’

Seeing the barrage, Li Shan refocused on the game.

Though dead and his screen gray, his viewpoint remained in place.

So he watched as ‘Little Bear’ devoured his mushroom entirely, then its body began transforming rapidly.

The originally earthy fur turned blue in an instant, as if it had gained the hallucinogenic effect of his spores.

“Uh…”

ps: Asking for recommendation votes! Please, I’m begging you! QWQ

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