When presented with a large flatbread, Shen Feng did not accept it. He said earnestly, "I already ate outside during the breakout. I'm not hungry now. You should distribute the flatbread to others."
Since Shen Feng had said so, the soldier didn't say much more and could only hand the flatbread to others, who had not yet eaten.
Everyone envied Shen Feng. It was good to be an ability user. More than eight thousand people were trapped in the forest, helpless, yet Shen Feng could freely enter and exit the forest at this time, unstoppable. His strength was truly immense, and such a powerful ability user naturally didn't need others to worry too much about him.
However, in reality, Shen Feng hadn't eaten anything all day. He had only drunk some mineral water at noon. As an ability user, his own energy consumption was relatively high. At this moment, his stomach was rumbling, how could he not be hungry at all?
The reason he lied was that Shen Feng was worried that once he appeared outside his protective suit, he would be easily infected by the spores. Seeing countless soldiers eating flatbread with their protective suits open, even if there were no damaged protective suits before, exposing his head now would easily allow spores to enter his body.
Shen Feng watched others eat flatbread, his eyes filled with envy. However, he knew at this moment that he could not open his protective suit for a small desire. He could only close his eyes and pretend not to see anything.
"I hope that after tonight, there won't be too many problems with the soldiers' infections. If too many soldiers are infected, it will be really troublesome in the future," Shen Feng thought to himself.
At this moment, Shen Feng saw the risks of the soldiers eating flatbread, but even so, Shen Feng could not stop the soldiers' actions. The soldiers had been fighting for a long time and were very tired now. As everyone knows, the most important things to resist fatigue are replenishing food and resting. He was not the leader of these soldiers, and even if he tried to stop them, it would be useless.
Shen Feng did not choose to eat or drink at this time. He kept observing his surroundings and indeed found many people who had made the same choice as him, choosing to stay inside their protective suits, not eating or drinking, and quietly waiting for the next day.
Fighting in an unfamiliar place in the middle of the night was a great challenge. The commander could not possibly lead everyone to break out at this time. At this moment, everyone was waiting for the daytime to arrive. Only when daytime arrived and their vision was restored would they have a chance to successfully break out.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they went to sleep again. Sleeping in a pile of rocks was not a good choice, as it was almost impossible to find a flat place, and sleeping would make one's back sore.
But there was no other way. If they wanted to break out successfully, they had to conserve their strength. Even in a pile of rocks, they had to find a way to sleep. Most people leaned against the rocks to sleep, holding their rifles, ready to fight at any critical moment.
Shen Feng did not sleep soundly. He simply leaped onto the cap of a twenty-meter-high mushroom and sat there. It had to be said that the mushroom was moderately soft and hard, and sitting on it was much more comfortable than in a pile of rocks.
Suddenly, Shen Feng, sitting on the mushroom, saw a red light emanating from the forest in the distance. This scene was too bizarre. Upon seeing this, Shen Feng hesitated: "Deep in the mushroom forest, there seems to be something. Should I go and take a look?"
After thinking carefully, Shen Feng suddenly remembered something: "That's not right. The helicopters flew over many times before, and they didn't see anything unusual. It's impossible for them to see anything unusual at this time. In my opinion, this is most likely a trap specifically designed to lure people in. I can't go there easily."
Therefore, Shen Feng pretended not to see the red light in the depths of the forest.
Shen Feng had expected that nothing would go wrong overnight, but just as dawn was breaking, there was a commotion in the temporary camp. Many people clutched their heads and cried out in pain, "My head hurts so much, someone save me!"
"Something has entered my head, and it's still moving. My head is about to explode."
Upon hearing the cries of everyone, Shen Feng immediately felt that something was wrong. He thought, "Oh no, these people have been infected. It looks like at least several thousand people have symptoms. This is not good at all."
Fortunately, the sky was gradually brightening, and the mushroom forest was becoming clearer. Shen Feng had been using his abilities all along, so the area where everyone was located was free of spore powder and fog. At this time, the commander ordered, "Everyone prepare yourselves. Our target is to break out of the mushroom forest."
The soldiers' heads ached terribly, but fortunately, they were not yet controlled at this time. They still had their reason, so everyone gritted their teeth and charged out. Tanks led the way, firing constantly. After the shells landed, they continued to roar. No matter what kind of mushroom was hit by a shell, it would be directly pulverized.
Taking advantage of the powerful firepower, they took two hours to break out of the mushroom forest. As they broke out, countless people collapsed on the ground.
It was already difficult for those infected by the fungi to fight their way out. Along the way, there were mycelia blocking their path. The soldiers directly cut through the mycelia to break out. Not only was their bodies exhausted, but their heads also felt like they were about to explode.
As a result, after breaking out of the forest, many people collapsed on the ground. Many people at this time were clutching their heads and rolling around, as if trying to relieve the physical pain in this way, but it was all in vain.
Qian Bufei, who was in the camp, showed a look of despair when he saw this scene. He had not expected that his worst fear had come true. It was not a big deal when dozens of people were infected by the fungi before, because the medical standards at the time could barely keep up. But now, nearly four thousand people were infected by the fungi, and the medical system alone could not cope.
"What about your casualties in the forest?" Qian Bufei found the commander to inquire about the situation.
The commander shook his head slightly and said, "No one was injured, and no one died, but almost half of the soldiers were infected. Many of their protective suits were torn during the battle. Under these circumstances, we are completely unable to resist the spores. Now, most people will lose their combat effectiveness."
This answer was the worst possible outcome for Qian Bufei. Qian Bufei could accept personnel casualties because the impact of reduced numbers would not be particularly significant. However, at this time, half of the soldiers, four thousand people, had lost their combat effectiveness, and it was unknown if they could be cured in the future. Therefore, at this moment, Qian Bufei was completely disheartened.
"Let's take the soldiers back to the camp for treatment. I will not give up on saving anyone, but to prevent them from doing anything drastic, they still need to be tied up. Execute this immediately. As for now, we cannot enter the forest for a short period," Qian Bufei said in a deep voice.
At this time, Shen Feng saw Chu Chaoyan. Chu Chaoyan looked at Shen Feng with concern and said, "You didn't come back all night, and I've been worried about you. Others said you came back, but I didn't see you. Why didn't you look for me after you came back?"
Shen Feng said helplessly, "The situation was urgent. I didn't have time to explain it to you, so I had to leave in a hurry. It seems now that we cannot underestimate any enemy, even fungi are not to be trifled with."
Before, including Shen Feng, they were not particularly worried about the mushroom forest. The reason was simple: mushrooms were just mushrooms, what threat could they pose? As long as they avoided the hallucinogenic spore powder, it would be enough.
But things had developed to this point, and everyone finally realized that there were great dangers hidden in the mushroom forest. Not to mention that mushrooms themselves were difficult to completely clear, there were also mutated beasts in the mushroom forest. These mutated beasts were controlled, and it was difficult to gain an advantage without heavy firepower.
When heavy firepower was available, the army underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly. On the first day of obtaining heavy firepower, they advanced into the depths of the forest. It could be said that their combat effectiveness was very strong. No matter what kind of mutated beast it was, it could only be killed. As a result, at night, they encountered a sneak attack by mycelia, and at this time, four thousand soldiers were infected, and Yunnan Province suffered heavy losses.
Chu Chaoyan looked at Shen Feng worriedly and asked, "Are you alright? You also stayed in the mushroom forest all night. Did you encounter any danger?"
Shen Feng nodded seriously and said, "Yes, I encountered a great danger in the mushroom forest, which was that I was almost starved to death."
When Chu Chaoyan heard the first half of Shen Feng's words, she was still worried about Shen Feng, wondering what kind of danger Shen Feng had encountered. But after hearing the second half, she was speechless. She said angrily, "I'm so worried about you right now, and you're still joking. Let's go, I'll cook for you."
Shen Feng shrugged and followed Chu Chaoyan back to the camp. In fact, what Shen Feng said was not entirely a joke. Shen Feng was indeed hungry. When he was on the deserted island before, Shen Feng could still fish. Although he wasn't full, he had something in his stomach. But last night, Shen Feng had nothing in his stomach. Shen Feng could only endure hunger silently, never knowing that starving was such a terrible thing.
After eating his fill in the camp, Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan went to observe the situation near the hospital. Before they even entered the hospital, they heard various wails. Countless people were screaming in pain, as if their heads were about to explode.
This was only the initial stage of infection by the fungi. At this time, everyone could still feel pain. Although they were infected, as long as they could feel pain, it meant they still had consciousness. What was truly terrifying was that the fifty-odd people who had been infected before were now completely still.
Shen Feng went to the deepest part of the military tent. There were more than fifty beds here. The people on these beds were all lying quietly, making no sound. And above their heads, a mushroom had already grown. To prevent the spread of spore powder, the medical staff wrapped the mushrooms with plastic bags.
Looking at the scene before him, Shen Feng couldn't help but ask the medical staff here, "Are these infected soldiers really beyond help?"
Seeing Shen Feng appear, the doctor could only honestly reply, "As it seems now, yes! There is no way to help. The human brain is the most fragile, and it is difficult for drugs to reach the human brain. If the fungi infect other parts of the human body, they can be treated. But it is precisely because the fungi infect the brain that there is really no way."
After receiving this answer, Shen Feng could only shake his head helplessly. However, at this moment, Shen Feng thought of something, so he hurried to find the researchers. There were professionals here who studied fungi, and no matter what questions they had about fungi, the professionals could provide answers.
"Excuse me, I want to ask one thing: do mushrooms glow?" Shen Feng then began to inquire about the abnormal situation he had seen in the forest.