Enemies Are All Nourishment for My Fungi..

When they found the person and pulled them out, they had already passed out, whether from being hit by heavy internal organs or from the stench was unclear, but they rushed to the hospital regardless.

Ye Nai didn’t go to the hospital, as she’d witnessed firsthand just how durable the giant toad skin was, and she was even more eager to find a skilled cobbler.

She wasn’t in a hurry for the frog skin. She was sure that a team would eventually be organized exclusively to hunt frogs, and by then she would definitely get enough skin to make a pair of boots. The intact piece she had could be kept indefinitely, as it wouldn’t rot in her space. She could sell it after a few years, and no one would ask how she got it.

After greeting the logistics and other personnel cleaning up the site, Ye Nai took out her motorcycle and leisurely went home.

Once home, she took a bath first, needing to get rid of the smell that was so strong she noticed the gatekeeper covering their nose even through her helmet’s visor as she entered the residential complex.

After the bath, she sat down in front of her computer.

She turned it on to study.

People close to her knew she had recently made a long trek back and needed plenty of rest. If she carelessly went to the training hall, it would be the same as telling other captains that she was full of energy and ready to continue working.

Spare her, let her rest for a couple of days.

While repeatedly studying the three-dimensional anatomical images of the human brain, she suddenly felt something wrong with her body and hurried to the bathroom.

She returned ten minutes later with a smile on her face.

Studying medicine was indeed useful; it had given her control over the troublesome menstrual cycle.

With her vigorous blood and energy at her age, the flow each time was torrential, requiring bathroom visits every two or three hours, lasting two days before it would decrease on the third day. She used a lot of sanitary products, her mother complained about the expense, and she could only buy the cheapest ones. She didn’t feel physical discomfort, but her mood was very irritable.

Now, after studying for several months and repeatedly experimenting on herself with fungus strands according to the pattern of estrogen, this time the flow had finally been reduced by half. The bad mood was gone as well, and everything was developing for the better. Sooner or later, she would completely sever the influence of hormones on her reproductive system.

Her idea was to have the fungus create a false environment in her body that would deceive the reproductive system, keeping it always in the follicular phase that followed the menstruation without progressing to the ovulatory and luteal phases, thus avoiding another menstrual period.

Ye Nai wouldn’t use drugs; with a safer method at her disposal, there was no reason for her to consider medication. Once her experiments succeeded, she could benefit the many women who ventured into the Secret Realm.

She already viewed the Secret Realm as something within her grasp; this was a minor challenge in comparison.

Thus, she relaxed leisurely for four days, and just after her period ended, she received a new message on her phone.

In the captain group, Captain Liu "Liu Liuliuer" and Captain Pan "Reliable Old Pan" invited her to start working again.

This mission was similar to Sister Da Ma’s last time, exploring the wetlands for the second time.

Over the past few days, the danger zone has been studying that piece of giant frog skin. Its toughness is the best among the mutant beast materials obtained so far, making it very suitable for protective gear such as boots and leather armor.

The many eggs that Sister Da Ma submitted were tested, and a few of them turned out to be unfertilized, containing energy and nutrients that could reach ordinary level. If they could capture those water birds and domesticate them over generations, it would have great economic potential.

The authorities wanted to get a better grasp of the situation, so they dispatched two teams led by Captains Liu and Pan, in addition to Ye Nai.

Resources were given in abundance: multiple high-altitude guns, track vehicles, cases of medicine, freshly cooked food, all of which was handed over to Ye Nai to be stored in her space.

Then, she herself got two sets of military camouflage combat suits, including boots; she hadn’t even started working and already reaped some benefits.

So, when they set out, Ye Nai was sitting in Captain Liu’s lead car in her new clothes, with Captain Pan’s vehicle bringing up the rear.

If you didn’t know better, just by looking at the clothes, you’d really think she was a soldier too.

The two squads, about twenty people in total, followed the route Sister Da Ma had taken last time toward the wetland.

This time entering, Ye Nai had a clear sensation, the spores she had scattered along the highway on her multiple exits and entrances to the Secret Realm had finally connected into a network within the soil on both sides of the road over these six months or so, with the energy feedback continuously flowing into her body, but it became intermittent once they entered the wilderness.

The speed of fungus propagation delighted Ye Nai, filling her with confidence about controlling the entire Secret Realm in the future.

They likewise took a detour when passing the short woods marked with the presence of the Ghost-faced Vine, with no one entertaining the idea of stopping to check on its status.

When the road became muddy, the whole team switched to track-type troop carriers and arrived smoothly at the edge of the wetland.

On the way, Ye Nai had already learned the value of the wetland, and upon arrival, she communicated with and commanded the fungus that had grown and reproduced on its own for so many days to speed up its propagation, encircling the wetland to farm the giant frogs and waterfowl.

Especially at the waterside banks, the fungus defense ring had to be thick, with the sole purpose of guarding against water snakes that might dart out to harm people, ensuring that any threat that appeared was immediately neutralized, no exceptions allowed.

Luckily, there had been many days since their last visit, and the wetland, rich in food, with optimal conditions for fungus growth and reproduction, had produced a sufficient number, and at Ye Nai’s explicit command, the fungal embankments began taking shape to her specifications.

Water wasn’t the domain of the fungus, but spores could land on each aquatic creature, controlling their life and death.

However, for such a large water surface, countless spores were needed, so the fungus had to work hard to reproduce.

The site chosen for the encampment was still the same piece of dry, hard land as last time, close to the water yet at a safe distance, with enough area to accommodate their large group.

They arranged the track vehicles in a semicircle to form a barrier facing the water surface, with three high-altitude guns set up behind the vehicles to guard against attacks from the sky.

In an area as rich in species as the wetland, the presence of birds of prey wasn’t discounted, and if they only fed on fish and water snakes, that was one thing, but if they attacked humans, then the high-altitude guns would deal with them.

For dealing with the jumping giant frogs, they brought four-barreled rocket launchers.

If the rocket launchers couldn’t kill them, then they’d level the high-altitude guns, refusing to believe in the incredible toughness of the giant frog skin.

After setting up their tents, a protective net was stretched above the outer perimeter to guard against bird droppings.

This net was very old and tattered, with many of the mesh holes torn, already on the verge of being discarded, but now it found a perfect use.

Bird droppings were both stinky and sticky. Ye Nai’s tractor had been covered in so much bird droppings that it took a full day at the car wash before they embarked on the mission to get it clean.

Seeing how hard she worked, her teammates certainly didn’t want their own tents to get dirty with bird droppings. After returning, would they wash or just throw them away?

After setting up camp, team members cautiously approached the water in groups to survey the environment, while Ye Nai stayed back at the camp, playing single-player computer games in her tent.

Before dark, everyone who had gone to scout the environment returned, and after dinner, Ye Nai got up for a walk around the camp’s periphery to aid digestion.