The End of the Universe Is a Foodie

A little quieter would do, huh? Han Mingyue froze for a long moment before a wry, helpless expression crossed her face. "Ah... our apologies, then. Please tell it we're sorry." Dora nodded softly, closed her eyes again, and unfolded that invisible psychic network to establish a link with the Baiyue Province broodmother's consciousness right next to them. This time, it took her somewhat longer. Professor Sun Zewen stared at her for quite a while before glancing at Ye Shi, who was standing beside them, and urged him, "Don't you know how to use psionics too? Why don't you give it a shot?" Ye Shi gave a helpless shrug. "Just because I can talk doesn't mean it's willing to talk back to me." Sun Zewen: "..." That was so undeniably true that Professor Sun had no retort for a moment. In fact, it really was the case. Even without psionics, simply using a psychic interference device was enough to make a mutant slime mold broodmother with a higher intellect understand human speech. Yet the sharper an organism's mind, the stronger its own opinions. To this day, aside from Yu, the Alliance hadn't truly managed to tame a single mutant slime mold broodmother using that contraption. Honestly, if not for being unable to locate where the Baiyue Province broodmother actually was, combined with the crop yield buff it provided to the region, Ye Shi figured that Ah Guang back in the shelter might have already prodded Yu into taking out the broodmother here long ago. Aside from the broodmother in Qingquan City, more than a few others had already perished by Yu's hands. Then again, that wasn't entirely certain either. After all, thanks to the investigations of the Gemini's surviving crew and Ye Shi's reports as a psionic, the Alliance now had a fresh perspective on the true nature of Planet Gaia and the mutant slime mold. The technical prototype of the "Seed of Gaia" was actually the Pioneer civilization's planetary ecological maintenance system. Who would pass up a sacred relic? Relying on that technology, the Alliance might well be able to create several more habitable planets. In particular, the developmental traits of the Baiyue Province broodmother were the most similar among all the broodmothers on Earth to the system known as the Tree of Ein Sof on Planet Gaia. Ye Shi suddenly realized that this thing's strategic coalition value was off the charts! Minute by minute slipped by before Dora finally opened her eyes again. Meeting the expectant gazes turned toward her, her face filled with sheepish embarrassment, and she whispered shyly, "It says... it doesn't need your insincere apologies, since you won't change anyway. But if you really feel bad about it, you can give it some of those colorful granules you dump into the fields... It wants to taste some too." "...Er, colorful granules?" Han Mingyue was utterly bewildered by the request, turning blankly toward Professor Sun Zewen beside her, who looked just as dumbfounded. Dora didn't know how to explain it either. Such was the inherent limitation of psionics. A psychic bridge could only be forged between individuals who acknowledged one another, and the information conveyed had to consist of concepts mutually understood by both parties. That was the prerequisite for resonance. She could only gaze helplessly at everyone present, hoping that the people living here could decipher what that familiar consciousness concealed within the forest was trying to convey. Right then, Ye Shi coughed softly and ventured in an uncertain tone, "Could it be referring to... chemical fertilizer?" "What?!" Professor Sun Zewen gaped at him, his eyes bulging so wide they nearly popped out. Not just Professor Sun—the rest of their traveling companions cast bizarre glances his way as well, clearly caught off guard by the sudden turn. "Don't look at me like that, I'm just taking a wild guess," Ye Shi said with an innocent shrug. "Why don't we try it?" That was the quickest way to verify it. "Let me report to the research division first..." Han Mingyue nodded with a peculiar look, then turned back to Dora and pressed, "Did it say anything else? Just this?" She couldn't shake the feeling that explaining just this wouldn't have taken that long. Sure enough, a look of having been seen through flashed across Dora's face. Han Mingyue narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing those evasive eyes with playful curiosity, as if she had stumbled upon a major clue. This girl was hiding something from her! Under that sharp gaze, Dora didn't realize the gravity of the situation at all. Blushing with embarrassment, she confessed, "It told me there are tons of treasures in this tribe, and it urged me to steal some and hide in the forest. It also said it could protect me so no one could find me, as long as I brought along some of those... 'colorful granules' for it? Ah, of course I refused! Truly!" Han Mingyue raised her eyebrows and asked with keen interest, "Oh? What kind of treasures?" Planet Gaia's folk really weren't good at lying. The creature hiding in the forest probably hadn't expected its fellow countrywoman to be so straightforward either. Regardless, she felt she was getting closer and closer to the truth! Ye Shi had been thinking she was overthinking things from the start. No matter what, was that broodmother really going to blow up Port French Fries with a few bags of fertilizer? Besides, for people who had established a psychic connection, discerning each other's malice or goodwill was child's play. At the very least, he hadn't sensed an ounce of ill intent from Dora. And that was indeed the case. Unable to withstand the pressing scrutiny any longer, Dora finally caved in. She held up an index finger, trying to mime an object she had never even laid eyes on, and murmured, "For example... a type of yellow fruit, drenched in a milky-white liquid." Han Mingyue, who had been expecting to unearth some profound secret a second ago, froze entirely, her voice cracking. "What?!" Startled, Dora pulled her head back and shot a pleading look at the psionically gifted "Progenitor" standing nearby. Ye Shi sighed, rubbing his forehead. "She might mean... uh, mango sticky rice with coconut milk?" Han Mingyue's short-circuited brain snapped back in an instant, her face flushing crimson as she scrambled to explain, "Of course that's what I meant!" Ye Shi: "...?" *Why the hell are you blushing?!* Dora didn't know if that was what it was called, but she couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva. "Is it tasty?" The Doma people didn't have much variety in their food—it was either sweet or tasteless. She still remembered that when she told the broodmother earlier that food was only meant to fill one's belly, the latter had mocked her mercilessly. Because of that, she had suddenly grown curious about what the Progenitors usually ate. "Hahaha! That stuff is quite popular indeed, though I personally prefer the local beer," Captain Chen Jianhong, who hadn't spoken until now, chimed in with hearty laughter to smooth things over. "Come to think of it, it's already past noon. You haven't eaten since coming down from the space elevator, right? I happen to know a decent restaurant nearby. This meal is on me!" Only then did Ye Shi remember that he had been so focused on business along the way that he hadn't treated this guest from Alpha Centauri to a proper meal. Looking at Dora's expectant face, he smiled. "Fair enough. Let's eat first." ... The outskirts of Port French Fries were dotted with numerous plantations and farms, producing the cotton and sugarcane required by the factories of Golden Gallon Port. Because the local vegetation grew at an astonishing pace, these plantations and farms routinely made heavy use of various types of chemical fertilizer to keep the soil fertile. Otherwise, the crops would only shoot up tall without bearing fruit or ears of grain, or simply wither and slump to the ground. Colorful granules... That was the only thing Ye Shi could think of. The only surprise was that the slime mold broodmother of Baiyue Province actually craved the stuff. The real kicker was that the broodmothers elsewhere weren't like this at all, were they?! Suddenly, another memory surfaced in Ye Shi's mind. He recalled that many game versions ago, the Institute of Biological Research had published a report regarding the mutant slime mold broodmother of the Baiyue Strait. The report mentioned that the broodmother in that region appeared to exist in a dispersed form as the ancestral strain of Na fruit, establishing a symbiotic relationship with the local forest. What was more, through this special symbiosis, the broodmother could integrate foreign species' DNA into the forest's other flora and fauna, maintaining ecological balance and cranking up the difficulty for outside invaders. That game-breaking ability had once terrified players so much they didn't dare relieve themselves outdoors, petrified that their gene sequences would be stolen by the monsters in the forest. When he really thought about it, this creature might very well be the broodmother most similar to "Gaia"—or rather, the Tree of Ein Sof. First, like the Tree of Ein Sof, it wasn't confined to the single form of mutant slime mold. Instead, it blended seamlessly and silently into the environment, lacking a concrete shape yet omnipresent. Second, it could fuse two entirely distinct organisms together, rather than merely assimilating them into its own body like other broodmothers did. The original green-skinned folk on Planet Gaia were, in fact, the product of human DNA fused with the DNA of other species... Using the spare time before lunch was served, Dr. Han Mingyue reported the details of the "first contact between a Gaian and the Seed of Gaia" up the chain of command, which promptly captured the Alliance Institute of Biological Research's attention. Hardly long after the group had sat down for lunch, Chen Yutong, who had been delivering a report in Dawn City, flew over in a rush with several researchers from Vault 79. The broodmother of Baiyue Province had always been her research subject. Even when her focus had temporarily shifted to developing a vaccine for Death Agent some time ago, her research into the Baiyue Province broodmother had never ceased. "Fascinating... A mutant slime mold broodmother showing interest in chemical fertilizer? We've never heard of such a thing before." After hearing the full briefing, Chen Yutong stroked her chin with great interest, then looked at Dora and pressed, "We have quite a wide variety of chemical fertilizers here. Did it specify which kind?" At that moment, Dora was cradling a bowl of shaved ice drizzled with brown sugar syrup, blissfully shoveling spoonful after spoonful into her mouth, unable to stop even as the brain freeze made her wince. Only now did she truly understand why that broodmother had told her that once she tasted such flavors, there would be no going back. Forget going back... She even felt an urge to stay here forever! As for the edge of the universe, or the ruins of the gods who had planted the Tree of Ein Sof, Little Koala could just accompany the venerable Lord Progenitor to look for them! "Straw... strawberry flavor!" Looking at Dora, whose brain had clearly frozen over, and Chen Yutong, who wore a bewildered expression, Ye Shi cleared his throat lightly to nudge her. "She's asking about the fertilizer." "Ah!" Dora snapped back to reality, setting down her spoon in embarrassment. "Um... it didn't specify." Chen Yutong stared at her for a few seconds before suddenly bursting into a chuckle. "Hahaha... delightful! Let's get a bit of everything, then." Not like the stuff was expensive anyway. Tossing out the latter half of the sentence in a teasing tone, Chen Yutong gave a knowing look to the researcher waiting nearby, who immediately caught on and went off to make the phone calls. It didn't take long. Two rookies from the Goblin Corps promptly showed up at the agricultural produce market on the outskirts of Port French Fries. Following the mission briefing, they purchased fifty tons of various types of chemical fertilizer without bias—organic and inorganic alike. Then, they loaded them onto trucks, trundled over to a nearby military base, and dumped them into the adjacent forest using propeller planes. The billowing curtain of granules swept across tens of thousands of mu of woodland in the blink of an eye, even sweeping up players who were out running quests nearby. Showered in granules raining from the sky, the player [Just Want to Be a Quiet Dog] immediately looked up in irritation, only to see the culprit already buzzing away. Brushing the dust off himself, he muttered a stream of curses. "Damn it, what the hell did they just drop?!" [Just Want to Quietly Screw Dogs] bent down, snatched a pellet off the ground, and tossed it into his mouth. Less than a second later, he spat it out. "Pah! It's bitter!" This smooth, unhesitating sequence of actions left a random teammate in the squad completely dumbfounded, blurting out, "Holy crap, you really will shove anything into your mouth!" [Just Want to Quietly Screw Dogs] chuckled. "Who cares? Not like it'll kill me—" Before his sentence finished, a rustling sound suddenly drifted from the surrounding brush. The previously grinning players snapped to alert instantly. Their hands reached in unison for the weapons strapped to their waists, aiming toward the nearby shadows. This was the forest of Baiyue Province, after all! An officially certified Level 30 map! Encountering any outrageous mutant species here was par for the course—in some respects, it was even more dangerous than the Great Desert! After all, dying in the Great Desert might go unnoticed, but losing your head right on your doorstep would guarantee a whole day of relentless mockery from your gamer buddies. The rustling grew louder and clearer, and the surrounding vegetation began swaying with increasing violence. Apprehension gradually crept onto everyone's faces. "Bro, should we just bail?" [Just Want to Quietly Screw Dogs] was getting cold feet; he wasn't great at dealing with enemies that skulked in hiding. [Just Want to Be a Quiet Dog]'s expression flickered before he finally made up his mind and waved a hand. "Fall ba—" The moment the word left his lips, an incredible scene unfolded! The forest before their eyes seemed to come alive, twisting and shooting upward at an unbelievable speed while spreading outward in all directions. Having never witnessed anything so absurd, the three players in the woods froze in stunned silence, the rifles in their hands suddenly utterly useless. Seeing vines on the verge of walling off their escape route, [Just Want to Quietly Screw Dogs] jumped in fright and shrieked, "Holy shit! What the hell is going on?!" The player named [Just Want to Be a Quiet Dog] kept his cool slightly better, though not by much. Drawing his combat knife, he hacked through a vine reaching for his ankle and roared, "Never mind what's going on! Get the fuck out of here, now!" The same scene played out all across the woods as squad after squad of players on quest duty retreated from the forest. The wildly surging trees even alerted the Jungle Corps stationed at the suburban military garrison. Hulking soldiers hefting chainsaws assembled instantly, boarding Chimera APCs to head for the logging camp reportedly hit hardest by the "Tide." Over a dozen NPCs were trapped inside a warehouse there. According to them, the "trees" had done it. If the squad leader hadn't seen the frenzied timber with his own eyes, he would have suspected his ears were playing tricks on him. Just as the Chimera was about to pull up to the logging camp, an accident struck without warning. A root as thick as a man's thigh slithered across the concrete road like a darting python at preposterous speed! Hampered by limited visibility, the driver never saw the root thrusting straight beneath the chassis, and the APC's front wheels rammed right over it. Traveling at high speed, the entire vehicle was jolted into the air! Caught completely off guard, the tin cans riding aboard were flung out like shot puts, tumbling across the roadside dirt. Fortunately, every single one of them was tough enough to take a beating, and landing on soft earth and grass prevented any non-combat casualties. Listening to the NPC officer shouting questions over the comm channel, the squad leader finally caught his breath from the crash and panted, "This is the Jungle Corps... Ranger Squad! You might not believe it, sir, but we just got into a fight with a tree." The surrounding trees and vines continued to rage. It wasn't even just the trees and vines! All the vegetation around Port French Fries seemed to have been injected with steroids, running amok at an incomprehensible speed! Although it hadn't caused any casualties yet, the sudden turn of events caught both the residents of Port French Fries and the players completely flat-footed. This forest had been perfectly well-behaved until now—why had it suddenly thrown a tantrum?! Not only were the residents of Port French Fries shocked, but the culprits standing at the forest's edge were equally awed by the commotion unfolding before them. Gazing at that seemingly animated woodland, Professor Sun Zewen muttered deliriously, looking as though he had lost his mind. "Psionics! Is this the power of psionics...?" He had clearly misunderstood something. Not that it mattered anymore. "We might have messed up..." Chen Yutong swallowed hard, her face turning pale. Who could have guessed that a mere few dozen tons of fertilizer would produce such terrifying power? She had no time to calculate property damages right now; she only prayed in silence that nobody got hurt. If lives were lost, the cost of this experiment would be far too steep... However, her worries were clearly unfounded. The residents of Port French Fries knew full well what kind of place the forest at their doorstep was; none of them ever crossed the chain-link fences and boundary walls cordoning it off. As for the players... Getting a good scare was real enough, but being killed by a few trees was out of the question. Including the NPCs trapped in the logging camp warehouse, every bystander caught in the chaos had already been shielded. Beside Dora, Ye Shi stared slack-jawed at the wildly surging trees and vines, managing to squeeze out a sentence only after a long pause. "Holy crap... The absorption rate is that good?!" Couldn't it have at least waited for a rainfall first?! Ye Shi wasn't the only one; Dora was equally stunned by the horrifying growth rate. On Planet Gaia, the Doma priests could accelerate plant growth through prayer, but nowhere near this astonishing degree! She watched with her own eyes as a shin-high vine scrambled up to the treetops in a flash, and a waist-high shrub shot up another inch in just a few breaths. However— Now was not the time to be awestruck. Hearing that voice drifting into her mind from the unseen realm, Dora snapped back to her senses immediately, turning to Ye Shi beside her and speaking in a rush. "It says... these logs are a gift for you. You can take them and use them directly, don't mention it." *A gift, huh...?* Talk about a massive misunderstanding. Ye Shi looked at Dora with a wry, helpless chuckle. "Tell it the gift is fantastic, but don't give it like this next time."