"Having trouble capturing it? Here's a perfect one right here!"
Zhang Chen thought to himself.
No wonder it said it would die if it left the room.
Zhang Chen then noticed that the entire floor and walls of the room were covered in dark mushrooms.
The slime could move freely around the mushrooms and survive, but it would die if it left.
Outside the laboratory, there were no mushrooms, so it was effectively trapped here.
"Don't kill me, I'll give you anything you want!"
"I can sense everywhere there are mushroom colonies. I can sense everything on them, including creatures, resources, and energy..."
"I'll give you anything you want!"
"I can kill everyone in the entire camp and have the corpses bring you supplies themselves!"
"I'll tell you anything you want to know! I'm very obedient!"
The slime said, its voice constantly shifting.
Zhang Chen was speechless. Did this mushroom think he was an idiot?
If he let it go, it would attack again. Then, after being beaten, it would beg for mercy. Was this amusing?!
"I lack nothing, nor do I have anything I want to ask. I know your true nature now!"
"You can rest in peace!"
Zhang Chen said calmly and slowly raised his right hand.
As soon as he closed his five fingers, the immense pressure of the force field would instantly compress the slime into a crystal.
Of course, this was a physical effect.
But for a living organism, it would be completely destroyed before any physical changes could occur.
"No, no, I can tell you things you don't know!"
"Please don't kill me, I'm very valuable!"
"The consciousness of all living beings outside exists within me. If you kill me, you'll become a murderer! That's not good at all!"
The Hades Mushroom roared desperately.
"In the apocalypse, who doesn't kill? Besides, this isn't my first time doing something like this, so I won't feel guilty!"
Zhang Chen felt that the other party's mental defenses were about to collapse. It seemed to be mentally unstable to begin with, possibly having merged too many consciousnesses, resulting in a split personality. It would be better if it could reveal something valuable.
After all, in the apocalypse, the most valuable things besides supplies were intelligence.
"No, no, no, you don't understand what I mean!"
The Hades Mushroom eagerly explained:
"The humans I'm talking about are not the later arrivals, but the humans native to this world!"
"Their consciousnesses are inside my body. If you kill me, it's equivalent to killing all the people in this city."
"Can you really bear to do that?"
Zhang Chen scratched his head and said confusedly:
"You're talking about the natives? These guys were never good people anyway. If they're dead, they're dead. What does it have to do with me!"
As he spoke, Zhang Chen raised his right hand again.
"Hold on! I have more important information!" the Hades Mushroom shouted again.
"Speak!"
"I can revive people. I can temporarily store human consciousness and transfer consciousness to other bodies. I can even create a new consciousness if I have enough energy. How about that? Impressive, right!"
"If you keep me by your side, no one around you will die, and they can always be resurrected through other bodies!"
"For example... you could let someone you like enter a sexier body, or turn someone you dislike into an insect. What do you think?!"
The Hades Mushroom said, with a hint of smugness in its tone.
"You can grant immortality?"
Zhang Chen asked with a hint of surprise.
"Of course, but... I have to absorb all their energy and consciousness first. If they die before I absorb their consciousness, then I can't do anything about it!"
The Hades Mushroom answered truthfully.
"So, you mean you have to kill them to revive them?"
"And the ones revived are the crooked-mouthed ones?"
Zhang Chen pointed in the direction of the corridor.
The girl who had guided him earlier was standing there.
"No, no, no, that was just my consciousness being injected into the body. After all, I'm not human, and I can't understand human emotions."
"But someone told me that smiling is the most basic courtesy between people."
"The real situation should be like this..."
The Hades Mushroom shimmered, and a stream of energy instantly flowed into the little girl standing in the corridor.
Indeed, a series of rapid gasps could be heard.
After a while, a very small voice was heard:
"Is anyone there? Why... why have I become a woman?"
"What's going on? WTF?"
Then, another flash of energy occurred, and the corridor returned to calm.
The Hades Mushroom still stood there foolishly, stating with conviction:
"See? I can return human consciousness to their bodies. It's just that I don't quite understand gender... and those humans don't seem to be any different..."
"It's like how you humans see us mushrooms. Can you tell the difference between these two dark red mushrooms?"
"If I scatter them among a large patch of mushrooms, can you accurately find them?"
"So... occasional mistakes are normal!"
"You said... you can create consciousness?" Zhang Chen suddenly asked, without continuing the previous topic.
"That's right, I can create consciousness, but... creating human consciousness is very difficult!"
"I can only create something resembling consciousness. As for whether they meet human requirements, that's up to those humans to handle."
"Originally, those people treated me very well, growing large mushroom forests for me and providing sweet nutrients."
"But for some reason, they suddenly became very anxious and started arguing incessantly."
"In the end, they all left here, but they forgot to let me out, so I had to forage for myself..."
"It's just that the food around here is getting scarcer. If you hadn't come, I might have starved to death soon."
The Hades Mushroom voluntarily confessed everything.
"I can give you energy, but you must guarantee that you will always obey my commands!"
"If you dare to violate my will, or exhibit any aggressive behavior, you will be erased by me immediately, with no second chances. Do you understand?"
Zhang Chen said coldly.
"Yes, Master. You are my Master, and I am willing to obey your commands."
The Hades Mushroom submitted.
"Very good!"
Zhang Chen slowly released the force field surrounding the Hades Mushroom.
At the same time, he was prepared. This thing was a bit clueless and unpredictable.
If it really tried to resist again, he would erase it on the spot.
However, to Zhang Chen's surprise, the Hades Mushroom was extremely afraid of death and stood obediently in place, seemingly waiting for Zhang Chen's command.