Chapter 102 - 101: Mutated Hazel Mushrooms and Gastrodia

Only now did Scarlett Thorne realize that Flynn Jenkins had planned to abandon her and run away by himself. And her goddess, Lana Florian, was the very first one to abandon them and flee. Realizing all of this in hindsight, Scarlett completely gave up resisting, covered her face, and burst into uncontrollable sobs.

Seeing that the enemy no longer had the ability to fight, Doctor Jenkins finally approached the Jelly Cradle to check on Rick Kaye’s condition. Waves of transparent light halos surrounded Rick’s body. The results of the examination made the doctor’s eyes turn red. Not only had Rick severely overdrawn his Ability, but remnants of the Two-headed Lizard’s dual Ice and Fire Attributes also lingered within him. They treated his body as a battlefield, constantly clashing and destroying his meridians. To make matters worse, he had severe blade wounds on his shoulders and back, and half of his body had been frozen stiff by the Ice Ability. Even if they managed to expel the cold later, it would be extremely difficult for the frostbitten tissues to recover.

Doctor Jenkins was filled with anger and sorrow. Just a short while ago, he had been chatting and enjoying good food with Rick. At that time, Rick was full of vigor, his physical fitness so strong that he looked like he could live for hundreds of years. But now, in just a few short days, he was at death’s door.

A few minutes later, Doctor Jenkins used his Ability to lift the Jelly Cradle into the aircraft carrier parked on the ground. Crystal Stone followed closely behind and boarded the aircraft carrier, hauling Flynn Jenkins in her Left Hand and Scarlett Thorne in her right. The two were now their captives. Flynn was very pragmatic. Once he realized he couldn’t escape, he stopped resisting and obediently became a captive. He figured that with his cousin around, they wouldn’t actually kill him.

Doctor Jenkins deliberately left the body of the Two-headed Lizard behind. Butler Stone didn’t stand on ceremony and directly stored it into his Space Button.

"Consider this Two-headed Lizard’s corpse as payment for my treatment of Rick Kaye," the Head of the Stone Family said. Doctor Jenkins nodded in agreement.

After all, Rick was currently on the verge of death. Without the Head of the Stone Family, a Sixth Tier Healing Master, he probably wouldn’t have lasted another half hour.

A thick, wrist-sized stream of rich green light flowed from Brandon Stone’s palm, pouring continuously into Rick’s body. It was evident that he was giving it his all. Meeting Doctor Jenkins’s worried gaze, he couldn’t help but gently shake his head.

"Alas! His injuries are far too severe. I can only temporarily save his life. As for how long he can hold on, that will depend on his own will to live.

"The right half of his body will most likely remain stiff and numb, similar to traditional hemiplegia.

"From now on, he won’t be able to condense his Ability either. In his final days, try to ensure he leaves with as few regrets as possible."

The Head of the Stone Family’s words were equivalent to handing Rick a delayed death sentence. Doctor Jenkins pressed his lips tightly together, unable to speak a single word for a long time. From his tightly clenched fists, Sev Steele could tell that he was forcing back his grief. Sev also felt terribly sad. Although Rick had survived for the time being, she still hadn’t been able to change his fate as cannon fodder.

Sev looked away and gazed out through the porthole. The surrounding terrain was covered in craters, clearly the result of a fierce battle. Suddenly, beneath a pile of rotting leaves, she caught a fleeting glimpse of green light. Following the green light, she spotted a flat, hemispherical, honey-yellow object about the size of a dinner plate.

She wondered why this thing looked a bit like a mushroom cap. Recalling the large mushrooms she had gathered before, a Spiritual Light flashed in her mind. She wondered if this thing could possibly be a mutated honey fungus. In the past, when she followed her grandfather into the mountains to hunt, they would occasionally come across honey fungi. Their flesh was thick, smooth, and tender, with a very delicious taste.

Right now, the atmosphere inside the aircraft carrier was heavy, and everyone present was a prominent figure. As an ordinary person, it would be best for her to minimize her presence as much as possible at a time like this. If she said she planned to go down and pick mushrooms, it would obviously be highly inappropriate. However, this might be her only chance to encounter honey fungi. After all, the danger level deep within The Murkwood was incredibly high; as an ordinary person, she would never dare come here alone. Asking her to pretend she hadn’t seen the honey fungi truly made her heart ache! She tried to think of an excuse to go outside the aircraft carrier for a stroll.

She racked her brains and suddenly remembered a characteristic of the honey fungus. She had also followed her grandfather to dig up some common Chinese herbal medicines in the past, including gastrodia tubers. The scientific name for the honey fungus was Armillaria mellea. It grew parasitically on rotting wood, and the gastrodia tuber obtained nutrients by absorbing its mycelium. Hence the saying, "Gastrodia relies on honey fungus to survive." Since there were honey fungi here, there was a high probability of finding gastrodia tubers as well.

Thinking of this, she said to Doctor Jenkins, "I spotted a mutated honey fungus over there. These plants usually grow symbiotically with gastrodia tubers, and gastrodia is highly effective in treating limb numbness.

"How about you accompany me over there to see if we can gather some gastrodia?"

"How do you know about herbal medicine?" Doctor Jenkins asked in confusion.

"Uh, I heard it from a chatty old man back when I was at the orphanage. He was a doctor before the Great War," Sev casually fabricated a lie. In reality, in her hometown in the countryside, many people knew about the benefits of gastrodia. Whenever they saw it, they would dig it up, dry it in the sun, and sell it to the traditional Chinese medicine clinics in town for money.

"Since it’s beneficial for Rick, I’ll go take a look with you," Doctor Jenkins said decisively, not pressing the matter any further. He actually didn’t hold much hope; it was just better than nothing.

With Doctor Jenkins, a Fifth Tier Ability User, accompanying her, Sev could finally gather plants in the depths of this dense forest with peace of mind. There were plenty of fresh, tender wild vegetables around, but Sev ignored them all, not even sparing them a glance. She walked straight to the spot where a mushroom cap was faintly visible. Parting the dense bushes, the sight before her made her face light up with unrestrained joy.

Among the thick layer of rotting leaves grew a massive cluster of cream-colored, umbrella-shaped mushrooms. The stems were, on average, waist-high and as thick as an adult’s arm. The caps varied in size; the largest was the size of a washbasin, and the smallest was the size of a bowl. They were densely packed together. Judging by the sheer quantity, there had to be at least seventy or eighty of them. Sev’s eyes sparkled intensely. Such a massive haul of honey fungi would last her a very long time!

Wearing a fawning expression, Sev turned to Doctor Jenkins and said, "Could you please use the needle-shaped detector to test this big mushroom?"

Doctor Jenkins, thinking she was worried that this large mushroom might be poisonous and contaminate the symbiotic herbs, quickly took out the detector. He inserted it deep into the thick stem, and soon, a voice broadcast chimed:

"BEEP! Wild mutated mushroom detected. The tested ingredient is not on the list of edible plants. Radiation level 23. No conventional toxins. Edible."

This familiar broadcast reminded Doctor Jenkins of when Sev had asked him to help test the large mushrooms earlier. He had every reason to suspect that these mushrooms were the real reason Sev had asked him to accompany her. As for that so-called gastrodia herb, it was probably just an excuse she threw together. However, considering that Rick was also a foodie, letting him taste one more delicacy before he died wouldn’t be a bad thing.