Are Your Mushrooms Even Legit?

"Those mushrooms... aren't poisonous, right?" Zhou Lu asked hesitantly as he looked at the mushrooms in Wu Xiaoqing's hand.

He had suffered at Wu Xiaoqing's hands before.

"It's fine! It's fine!" Wu Xiaoqing patted her surging waves as she guaranteed, "Although it was a Class A Toxin when it was Tier 1, after it evolved, I conducted thorough testing. There were no signs of poisoning during the animal trials."

"..."

While Zhou Lu fell silent, Xiao Xi had already drifted over.

She curiously examined the mushroom in Wu Xiaoqing's hand and asked, "Is this the mushroom you applied for?"

"Yes, it was specially prepared for exploring Secret Realm S2933."

Secret Realm S2933 was the latest spirit beast secret realm discovered by humanity. It was said to contain a boundless desert, one that exploration teams had yet to successfully cross.

As Wu Xiaoqing spoke, she began proudly listing the advantages of the mushroom in her hand.

"Even after it's digested and excreted, the undigested portions can regrow in extremely harsh environments." Wu Xiaoqing said proudly, "In a sense, this is an infinitely regenerating food!"

Once food like this was born, she, Wu Xiaoqing, would surely become a saint of this world!

"Come, come, come!" Thinking of that made Wu Xiaoqing even more excited. She took out a pile of seasonings and set them before Zhou Lu. "Hurry up and make me some stir-fried mushrooms!"

Although Wu Xiaoqing was a woman living alone, her cooking skills, compared to her skill at insulting people, were truly beyond words. At the very least, they had left a profound impression on Zhou Lu.

Zhou Lu looked at the mushroom in his hand. It truly lived up to its designation as a Tier 2 Spirit Beast. Even after being picked and separated from the wood it had clung to, the mushroom on the plate still stubbornly wriggled its body.

Were these mushrooms really legit?

Zhou Lu was a little afraid that if he brought down a knife, the mushroom might fight back.

This was a fucking Tier 2 Spirit Beast!

But Wu Xiaoqing repeatedly assured him that there would absolutely be no problem.

Zhou Lu could only trust this generous big sister.

The cooking process went even more smoothly than Zhou Lu had expected.

It was just that throughout the process, Zhou Lu wanted to complain countless times. Was it really appropriate to use laboratory equipment to cook dishes in a laboratory?

"Don't worry, Xiao Lu!" Wu Xiaoqing said with a thumbs-up. "Cooking in the lab is also something the Breeding Academy has no choice but to taste."

The breeding discipline was divided into Combat Breeding and Civilian Breeding.

The former specialized in cultivating suitable combat beast tamers' beasts. Researching spirit beast evolution paths and special evolution paths was their strongest subject.

Civilian Breeding, on the other hand, focused more on expanding spirit beasts' applications in everyday life: shipping, transportation, energy, medicine, and naturally, food.

Wu Xiaoqing was a graduate student specializing in Civilian Breeding.

Still, Zhou Lu seriously doubted her professionalism.

It had to be admitted that Wu Xiaoqing's result this time was at least flawless in appearance once it became a finished dish.

The cooked mushrooms were crystal-clear, even faintly giving off light.

Their enticing fragrance spread rapidly through the entire laboratory along with the rising steam.

"Just looking at it makes it seem delicious!" Wu Xiaoqing's appetite was stirred, and she happily patted Zhou Lu's shoulder. "It wasn't for nothing that I snatched those chili peppers from the senior students."

"Huh? Snatched..."

"Of course. Their Flying Jade Bees have been going missing lately, and they actually suspected me of doing it. They wouldn't let me get anywhere near their vegetable plot." At this point, Wu Xiaoqing was still quite indignant.

But the delicacy before her soothed Wu Xiaoqing's mood nicely. She eagerly picked up her chopsticks.

"Sister Xiaoqing, not yet..."

Before Zhou Lu could finish, he saw Wu Xiaoqing happily take a bite.

"Are you okay?" Zhou Lu asked cautiously.

"I'm fine!"

The next second, Wu Xiaoqing collapsed onto the table.

Seeing Wu Xiaoqing like that, Xiao Xi asked in amazement, "Was it really that delicious?"

Was that a fucking expression of deliciousness?

"What a pity there wasn't any clothes exploding." Xiao Xi said disappointedly.

"Now is not the time to care about that!" Zhou Lu pointed at Wu Xiaoqing. "Mushrooms are growing all over her!"

Beautiful white mushrooms were growing wildly across Wu Xiaoqing's body.

It's over. My future guide was probably going to die here in bitter hatred—because she ate mushrooms carelessly.

Just as Zhou Lu despaired, a card flew out from Wu Xiaoqing's body. The card was then released, and a gigantic, strange-looking toad appeared in the laboratory.

This was Wu Xiaoqing's initial spirit beast: the Curse Toad.

The Curse Toad skillfully shot out its tongue, wrapped up the Wu Xiaoqing lying on the ground, swallowed her into its mouth, and immediately began chewing.

At that moment, the system's voice rang beside Zhou Lu's ear.

Ding! Mission failed.

You nearly killed Wu Xiaoqing, but failed at the final moment.

Although the mission failed, your decisiveness and courage are worthy of praise.

You have received 90% of the mission reward. Please check it.

The system has reset this mission. Keep up the good work.

While Zhou Lu was utterly dumbfounded, the Curse Toad had already finished its work.

It opened its mouth, and the wet Wu Xiaoqing rolled onto the ground covered in transparent Sticky Slime, rolling all the way to Zhou Lu's feet with a gurgle.

"Mmng~"

Wu Xiaoqing murmured as she opened her eyes.

Zhou Lu silently took a step back. "Are you okay?"

Wu Xiaoqing sat up, rubbing her head. "I think I just saw heaven..."

She shook her head, seemingly becoming a little more lucid. When she raised her head, she saw the strange look in Zhou Lu's eyes.

As though she had thought of something, Wu Xiaoqing smiled at Zhou Lu. "Don't worry! My froggy is a girl. I wasn't violated."

That wasn't fucking what I was worried about at all, okay?!

"Mm." Seemingly to convince Zhou Lu, Wu Xiaoqing even produced evidence. "The senior students next door often ask me for my froggy's Sticky Slime to test whether the spirit beasts they've cultivated are pregnant."

"..." Zhou Lu was completely speechless.

"Looks like the experiment failed." Xiao Xi flew before Wu Xiaoqing and said, "Although it passed animal testing, it has powerful lethality against humans. Mm... judging from what just happened, it was probably among the very strongest even among Class A Toxins. If not for your Curse Toad, you likely would have died here."

Wu Xiaoqing sighed as well, but she was not discouraged. "It's okay. At least aside from being poisonous, its other traits already meet the requirements very well."

"Oh, right!" At that point, Wu Xiaoqing seemed to remember something and looked at Zhou Lu. "You should be preparing for your exams, right?"

Unlike Wu Xiaoqing's breeding department, Zhou Lu attended the Combat Department of Xin'an Beast Taming Academy.

Combat Department beast-taming students generally had only two future career paths.

One was the competition route, using the spirit beasts they cultivated to fight other Beast Tamers and earn prize money and fame through competitions.

The other was the adventure route, mainly taking their cultivated spirit beasts into secret realms to explore places humanity had never explored, obtaining precious materials and official rewards. They could also trade the intelligence they acquired through exploration with the Knowledge Fairy.

The former was safe and stable, and it was easy to become famous, turning into a big star admired by countless people. The latter, however, was extremely dangerous. Even in secret realms already opened up by the Pioneer Army, one careless mistake could cost someone their life, and the returns were highly unstable. Therefore, many Combat Department students now preferred the competition route.

If not for this system, Zhou Lu would probably have chosen the former as well.

Of course, with a plant as his initial spirit beast, he never hoped to achieve anything in the arena. He had merely planned to compete in a few matches before retiring, then become a beast-taming teacher in some remote town. With the insurance compensation from his father's accidental death, he would have enough to live out the rest of his life peacefully.

"Here! This is for you." After receiving Zhou Lu's affirmative answer, Wu Xiaoqing operated her phone.

Zhou Lu's phone vibrated. Looking down, he saw that Wu Xiaoqing had transferred several Fairy Coins to him.

Fairy Coins were currency obtained through trading with the Knowledge Fairy. They could be used to purchase skills and knowledge known by the Knowledge Fairy, and could also be used in trades with Beast Tamers. They were an extremely valuable resource.

"Take these and buy some skills." Wu Xiaoqing said with a smile. "The exams are very difficult."

New author, new book. Please follow and keep reading! It's really important to me!