Chapter 1: Becoming a Mushroom

Chapter 1: Turning Into a Mushroom

"Dear player, welcome to Sun Town."

"You've inherited your grandfather's farm."

Jiang Ye heard a strange voice and tried to open his eyes.

He smelled fresh grass, and a gentle breeze idly rustled the leaves.

He lay on the ground, his view stretching far and wide. The trees around him were tall and lush, with water beside the trees, mountains beyond the water, and a stretch of white beyond the mountains—impossible to tell if it was clouds or snow. A small oak cabin was nestled among it all, as if it had stepped right out of a fairy tale.

The morning sun adorned a perfect painting, so beautiful it felt surreal.

"Dear player, congratulations on obtaining the Sun Town game qualification."

"Here, players don't need to clock in for work, have no homework or essays, and certainly no performance targets."

"The villagers of Sun Town never age, children never grow up, animals never die, food never spoils, and players always have N+1 lives."

What a beautiful utopian world, indeed.

Jiang Ye thought it was beautiful, like a world after death.

"Trial period: one month."

"During the trial period, the farm is completely protected from any monster invasions."

"During the trial period, the farm is completely protected from any player invasions."

"During the trial period, the farm is safe from 99% of natural disasters."

"Ultimate quest: Enjoy life."

Jiang Ye fell silent—how was this quest even more vague than a high school essay prompt?

"Please strive to improve your quality of life to receive the game's gifts and the Chief Deity's blessings."

The voice faded, leaving only the breeze whispering in his ear.

Jiang Ye sat up and gazed at the cabin about twenty meters away, nestled among trees and clouds. That was his home in Sun Town—a gift from his "grandfather."

From today on, the vast expanse of land where the cabin sat belonged entirely to Jiang Ye.

Looking around, Jiang Ye murmured softly, "Endless, absolutely endless..."

As a freshly graduated rookie office worker, busy every day with no time to even breathe, he'd never dared to dream of owning such a vast private farm.

The enormous farm felt overly quiet and desolate, save for the rustling leaves and chirping birds. But Jiang Ye was quite satisfied with it, eager to step into the cabin that was entirely his own.

The cabin was modest, built of neatly stacked logs with a red-painted roof. It seemed to have been renovated to welcome its new owner, standing out among the green grass and white clouds.

In front of the cabin was a small pond, its water clear and blue.

Jiang Ye glanced into the pond and suddenly remembered a very important question.

"I still don't know what I look like now," Jiang Ye said.

Having inexplicably entered a game and obtained a massive farm, Jiang Ye was curious whether his current appearance differed from his real-world self.

He looked down.

The clear water reflected the sun's rays, dazzling Jiang Ye so much he couldn't keep his eyes open.

It wasn't an illusion—the light kept growing brighter.

Whoosh!

The water's surface transformed into a glowing screen, unfolding before Jiang Ye.

"Congratulations, player. You have triggered the character customization feature."

The voice prompt sounded again.

"Please enter your ID."

Of course, playing a game required a name. Jiang Ye thought briefly, recalling the creamy mushroom soup from last night's midnight snack—maybe because he was hungry, it had been absolutely delicious.

"ID: Mushroom Soup."

"Please choose your skin tone."

Jiang Ye was pleasantly surprised—this game seemed to pay great attention to detail.

"A: Fair"

"B: Brown"

"C: Red"

"D: Blue"

Jiang Ye: "..."

Originally, he absolutely did not want to pick the fair option. In real life, Jiang Ye's skin was already fair, with a cool-toned undertone. He always felt that a guy being this pale made him look weak, especially when surrounded by female coworkers asking him for skincare advice...

But the other options...

Jiang Ye played it safe and chose A.

"Please select your height."

"A: 1.5"

"B: 1.6"

"C: 1.7"

"D: 1.8"

"Ahem!"

Jiang Ye clenched his fist, raised it to his lips, and coughed softly.

"I'll pick D."

Ever since middle school, Jiang Ye had dreamed of being over 1.8 meters tall. That dream had persisted through middle school, college, and his office worker years... always out of reach.

Until today, when it was finally about to come true.

"Congratulations, player. Character creation complete."

The prompt vanished again, and the light screen rippled like a pond's surface, gradually settling. The little pond in front of the cabin went back to being still.

Jiang Ye stood by the pond, looking down. He could see the blue water shimmering, the bottom spotless—no weeds, no fish. It was like a natural mirror, reflecting...

Jiang Ye's reflection wasn't in the water—only a tiny white mushroom.

"Weird, where am I?" Jiang Ye froze. Not ready to give up, he stepped closer and tilted his head.

In the water, the little white mushroom wobbled.

"Wait..."

Jiang Ye froze again, staring at the mushroom wiggling with an almost theatrical flair.

A white mushroom...

Pale skin.

A tiny mushroom...

About 1.8 centimeters tall.

Jiang Ye gasped sharply. So 1.8 was centimeters, not meters—what a massive mix-up.

Jiang Ye couldn't help but wonder: do mushrooms have grandpas? Can mushrooms inherit farms? Do mushrooms have to farm too?

Jiang Ye had been reborn as a little mushroom.

The cap was perfectly round, as plump as a dandelion. The ring had three layers, like a tiny gentleman sporting a cravat. The stem was soft and springy, like a sweet, fluffy little cake.

The mushroom faced the morning sun, glowing white and adorably plump.

The mushroom had no eyes, no mouth, and no hands or feet, either.

But the mushroom wore an earring.

Shocked, Jiang Ye tilted his head, and the mushroom in the water twisted with him. On the left edge of his white, plump cap was a tiny silver earring.

Jiang Ye thought, I've gotta be the first mushroom ever to wear an earring...

"Please try touching the earring."

When Jiang Ye heard the prompt, he felt a little hopeless. How was a mushroom with no hands or feet supposed to touch an earring on its head?

He tried to raise his hand, but the mushroom in the water didn't move, and he couldn't see a thing.

Jiang Ye used his left hand to touch the silver earring.

Whoosh—

The light screen popped up again, with a simple nav bar at the bottom.

"Log"

"Profile"

"Social"

The little white mushroom tapped "Log" with a hand that didn't exist.

"Log: Enjoy life."

Jiang Ye nodded. The log meant quests.

Then "Profile" was even simpler to figure out.

Jiang Ye was a gaming pro, familiar with all kinds of game mechanics.

He opened "Profile," and sure enough, it had more sub-sections.

"Item Inventory"

"Affinity"

"Map"

"Personal Info"

"Exit Game"

Jiang Ye went through each one.

The item inventory was totally empty, with a big, bold zero in the corner—0 rupees. That was all Jiang Ye had to his name.

He clicked on affinity, and it was also empty.

Jiang Ye then clicked the map, which was a huge white blank. Thick fog blanketed the map, like a beast's rose under a frosted glass dome, waiting for an explorer to peek in.

The rules were simple: anywhere the player hadn't been wouldn't show up on the map.

He closed the map and moved on to personal info.

"Personal Info:"

Name: Jiang Ye

ID: Mushroom Soup

Occupation: Mushroom

Satiety: 40/100

Stamina: 100/100

Health: 100/100

Sanity: 99/100

The mushroom touched its nonexistent belly with a hand that wasn't there. With fullness at only 40, it was definitely a little hungry. Especially after looking in the "mirror" and seeing such a tasty ID...

Jiang Ye thought, fullness 40, stamina 100—this is the legendary hunger-resistant king.

Too tough to take down...

In the "Profile" menu, only the last "Exit Game" button was left.

Jiang Ye raised his hand, finger hovering in mid-air. He wasn't planning on leaving this place anytime soon.

"System Notice: Social Features Unlocked."

A new prompt expanded, and the light screen automatically jumped to the "Social" page. Jiang Ye was instantly dazzled by the flurry of chat messages scrolling up. Every second, multiple lines of text rolled upward on the screen, making it clear that the game's online player count was beyond imagination.

"Wednesday Off": Is the newbie gift pack in the house only 15 Windproof Seeds?

"Cold-Faced Pig-Raising Succubus": Why am I a garlic seed?

"Up Till Two": (Shocked emoji) My newbie gift pack has a grass-green thong...

"Lu Ban, Five-Foot Tall": How the hell do you plant Windproof Seeds? I've never even taken a bus, and you want me to farm???

"Lu Ban, Five-Foot Tall": 50k a month, who's gonna farm for me?

"Le Yi Li": WTF! Can anyone tell me how to quit this piece-of-crap game?

"Le Yi Li": This game sucks! Who wants to play a farming sim? I came for the roguelike—false advertising!

"You Got Nothing Better to Do": Dude, there's a quit button in the system.

"You Got Nothing Better to Do": Dude, farming games are the GOAT!

"Le Yi Li": Scam! I've hit quit like a thousand times, and it does nothing!

"Le Yi Li": Screw this! Damn! I'm so freaking pissed!

"The Man Who Would Be Smoked Fish King": Tears of joy. Who else gets it? I, the Angler, caught three fish here in one morning! No more buying fish for dinner, wahhhh—

"The Man Who Would Be Smoked Fish King": Grilled fish for dinner tonight!

Jiang Ye watched the chat feed, and it just made him hungrier. He checked his stats and saw his fullness had dropped fast—down to 28.

"You Got Nothing Better to Do": Oh no, no fishing rod in my newbie pack, can't catch fish, gonna starve tonight.

"Le Yi Li": If my fullness hits zero, do I die of hunger?

"The Man Who Would Be Smoked Fish King": Nah, dude, you won't. You'll just wish you were dead from hunger. I heard this game is hard to die in.

"Lu Ban, Five-Foot Tall": I see some mushrooms in the yard—white and plump. Are they poisonous? Can I wash 'em and grill 'em?

Mushrooms?!

Jiang Ye jolted.