Global Livestream 08

"Murder!"

Someone in the crowd let out a shrill scream. The school gate, already crowded and panicked, instantly descended into chaos. People scrambled to flee, and those standing closest were so horrified by the bloody scene that they collapsed to the ground, splattered with gore. They stared in terror at the girl in black holding a long blade; in the breeze, her blood-red hair ribbon fluttered like a living thing.

Even the Mutants who had been playing in the crowd fell silent, their pitch-black eyes shifting to fixate on Ye Zhao.

The school bully hadn't even processed what was happening when the cold, gleaming blade turned and thrust toward his chest. He let out a strangled shriek, bracing for pain that never came. Looking down, he saw the blade pierce the head he had been clutching, pulling out a mass of white mycelium. The fungus, still wrapped around the steel, writhed, stretched, and struggled before slowly melting into a milky liquid that dripped onto the ground.

"Ah!" The bully jumped, frantically kicking the head several meters away. Only then did he notice that the head was nothing more than a layer of skin; inside, it was packed with frantically squirming white mycelium. Even the neck of the corpse, as wide as a bowl, had white filaments growing out of the flesh, enough to make anyone's skin crawl.

"...Ugh, what, what is this? Did a mushroom turn into a monster?!"

"No idea." Ye Zhao looked on with mild disgust. She held up her blade to study the remains for a few seconds before giving up; this was clearly a bizarre species beyond her understanding. It was better to stick to things she could actually handle.

Ye Zhao glanced at the sturdy iron gate, then at the survivors huddled nearby, still trembling