No living thing in the mushroom forest was weak, for ever since Shen Feng discovered that the mutated beasts in the forest lived by a method of raising gu, scientists had deduced a conclusion: weak mutated beasts in the mushroom forest could not survive. This was because mutated beasts needed constant combat to have the capital to survive.
The researchers' conclusion was simple: "Even though the mutated beasts in the mushroom forest are powerful, precisely because of their power, their numbers are not sufficient. The weak have all been eaten, that's all."
Although the weak were of little use on the battlefield, a small number was also a major disadvantage. Weak mutated beasts could be used to consume cannon fire, the so-called cannon fodder. This was an effective combat method when artillery was invented, using cannon fodder to wear down the enemy's artillery fire. When the opponent's ammunition reserves were insufficient, they could charge forward and achieve victory.
And now, the mutated beasts were very powerful. Perhaps the mushroom forest was their home ground, and even if the army attacked the mushroom forest, they would have to pay the price. However, the mutated beasts could not decide the battlefield now. In external combat, the mutated beasts' huge size was a burden.
At this moment, a Yunnan snub-nosed monkey emerged from the mushroom forest. What was most striking was that the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey was holding a flag in its hand, walking upright like a human while frantically waving a white flag, looking very comical.
There are three types of snub-nosed monkeys in China, one of which is the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey. The most prominent feature of this snub-nosed monkey is that its mouth looks like two sausages. This type of snub-nosed monkey lives on steep cliffs in deep mountains. Most people can see Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys in zoos, but they can hardly see Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, because Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys are even more mysterious than Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys.
When the commander saw the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey with a red mouth appear, waving a white flag, he couldn't help but murmur to himself, "I haven't heard that France has Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys. Why does this snub-nosed monkey feel like it has French blood?"
The white flag is used for surrender according to international rules, both in China and abroad. The saying was introduced to China from abroad. Generally, as long as a white flag is raised, it means surrender, and the victorious side will not continue to attack.
At this moment, a staff officer couldn't help but say to the commander, "This snub-nosed monkey is being controlled. Look, there are mushrooms on its head. It's impossible for it to surrender on its own. Therefore, it's possible that the mushroom forest is surrendering."
Hearing this analysis, the commander quickly took out his walkie-talkie and said, "Halt the attack for now."
The mutated beasts in the mushroom forest had suffered too much damage. At this moment, everyone stopped their attacks, no more shells were fired, and no more guns were fired. For a moment, there was a temporary silence on the battlefield. The mutated beasts also took this opportunity to retreat. As for the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, it walked in the heavy rain with a colorful mushroom on its head, waving a white flag as it walked.
The commander found a loudspeaker and then shouted loudly, "Hey monkey, are you surrendering? Can you speak human language?"
Not all monkeys are as capable as Sun Wukong, and the commander did not think the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey in front of him could speak. The similarity between Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys and humans is that they are both primates. As for their kinship, it is too distant. Chimpanzees are closer to humans than snub-nosed monkeys are to humans.
The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey indeed could not speak, it just kept waving the white flag and stood motionless in the center of the battlefield. No one knew what this monkey meant. Could it be that it thought waving the flag would prevent it from being killed next?
Just as everyone in the camp was still wondering, a human walked out of the damaged mushroom forest. This human also had a mushroom growing on his head, but his consciousness was still relatively clear. As he approached the camp, he shouted loudly, "We surrender, we surrender."
The commander immediately made a decision and said, "Let this human come over, but be ready to act at any time. Let's hear what this person has to say at this time."
When Chu Chaoyan saw the human appear, he was also very confused. "This person looks like an ordinary person. Why can humans survive in the mushroom forest? What is going on? They are so weak, shouldn't they have been eaten on the first day?"
The person who walked out of the mushroom forest was approaching the camp, shouting loudly as he approached, "I am human, I am one of you. The King has sent me to surrender. We admit defeat. As long as you don't kill us, you can make any demands you have."
"King? You'd better be clear-headed. The King is long gone. Who is your King?" Upon hearing this, everyone became displeased and said.
The person quickly explained at this time, "I mean the Fungus King, the king of this mushroom forest. I don't mean that someone is claiming kingship and dominance at this time. Also, I am one of you, you must believe me."
As soon as this was said, the commander said coldly, "One of us? I don't remember having any of our own people with mushrooms on their heads. Do you live in the mushroom forest? Then you are a running dog! We have been camping outside the forest for so long, and you never appeared. Now that we have the advantage, you appear. One of us? Is being a turncoat considered one of us?"
This was also the thought of everyone present. If they were one of them, they should have appeared earlier, providing some intelligence would have been good. But now, seeing that the situation was not good and they were about to lose, they said they surrendered. This was just a fair-weather friend.
The person who surrendered immediately felt wronged and said earnestly, "Heroes, it's not that I didn't want to leave. It's just that after we were captured by the Fungus King, we lost our freedom. We were forced to attend classes every day and had no personal freedom. Even if we wanted to leave, mushrooms had already grown on our heads. As long as we thought of leaving, the Fungus King could kill us with just a thought. How would we dare to escape?"
Upon hearing this, everyone understood his actions. If they were captured and lost their freedom, there was nothing they could do. Moreover, it seemed that this so-called Fungus King was indeed intelligent, and had even begun to learn human knowledge. After capturing humans, it didn't use them for fighting, but for learning.
"I am the commander here, what is your name?" the front-line commander asked in a deep voice.
Everyone clearly did not expect that the mutated fungi underground would also surrender. This was the first time they had encountered such a situation. As for Chu Chaoyan, this was the second time she had seen such a scene, because the first mutated individual to surrender was Lin Qin from Yuzhou, who was very resilient and intelligent.
"My name is Ma Jun, I am a local. I am here to negotiate on behalf of the Fungus King. As long as you are willing to spare the Fungus King, it will agree to any conditions," the Fungus King's envoy said at this time.
The commander directly asked, "Since you are surrendering, why didn't the Fungus King come in person? And why didn't you surrender earlier? Isn't it too late to surrender now?"
Ma Jun quickly said, "The Fungus King's main body is underground, and it cannot move easily. However, there are fungal hyphae in my brain, and the Fungus King can know our communication through my brainwaves. It can hear our conversation now, and it has learned languages and can understand what we are saying."
This answer was unexpected. It was unexpected that the Fungus King could control the parasitized individuals from such a distance, and even hear conversations through the parasitized individuals. In this case, Ma Jun's current self-awareness was also under the control of the Fungus King.
"Then please come in. As for the final negotiation, it depends on your conditions. Four thousand soldiers have been parasitized by the Fungus King. How can such a bloody feud be ignored?" the commander said directly at this time.
Ma Jun then entered the camp gate and was taken to the conference room. This was a container, which was turned into a conference room after some tidying up. Although it was simple, the content of this meeting was not to be underestimated.
Several leaders sat down, with soldiers standing guard nearby. At this time, the leaders directly asked, "I heard that the mutated fungi want to surrender? They have blocked our path for two and a half months and caused us heavy casualties. Now we have the absolute initiative. Do you think surrender is still possible?"
Ma Jun quickly said at this time, "The Fungus King means that it was wrong. It should not have blocked the road, nor should it have attacked you. To make up for its mistakes, it can restore the parasitized soldiers to normal. And it has only one request, which is to let it have a way to survive."
When the leaders heard this condition, their eyes immediately lit up. It was obvious that they understood how tempting the other party's condition was. If four thousand soldiers could be restored to normal, their combat effectiveness could also be quickly restored.
It could be seen that this mutated fungus was quite sensible. After knowing that it could not defeat humans now, it immediately chose to back down. As long as it could survive, it would do anything.
The leaders in the camp pondered for a moment. It was obvious that they knew they had the initiative at this time, so they directly put forward their demands: "Let the underground fungi immediately leave the vicinity of Ruili and never return. Go to the mountains in the west to live, but in the future, do not capture humans. Can this requirement be met?"
Ma Jun quickly nodded and replied earnestly, "Yes, yes, but now, the Fungus King and its core are under attack. Can you pause the attack at this time?"
The Fungus King agreed to the human side's conditions without hesitation. It was just a matter of moving away from here. As long as it could survive, it didn't care about anything else. However, at this time, the underground fungal core was being attacked by bacteria. Even the huge Fungus King could not ignore this damage. Even with slow corrosion by bacteria, the entire fungal core would be rotten in another half a month.
The leaders exchanged glances, knowing that the reason the Fungus King surrendered was that Shen Feng and Qian Bufei at the front line had succeeded. If the core had not been threatened, the Fungus King would not have chosen to surrender so decisively.