3: Genetic optimization

Walking slowly downstairs, Qiao Yu weaved through the narrow alleys.

In this era, land utilization was almost at its limit, and every alley was as cramped as a miner's small tunnel.

Except for some special areas, almost every building was a square, hand-in-glove structure.

After passing through several alleys, Qiao Yu finally arrived at the wet market in the low-rent housing district.

The aisles of the wet market were equally narrow, with just enough space for one person to pass between each stall.

Most vendors had already closed, with only a few stalls still dimly lit.

The aroma from the snack street at the other end of the wet market mixed with the fishy smell of the market, creating a strange odor that made Qiao Yu instinctively cover his nose and mouth.

Three thousand yuan remained from his father's compensation.

For the past four years, Qiao Yu had paid Gong Xinlan for food every month.

To avoid hurting Qiao Yu's self-esteem, Gong Xinlan symbolically accepted two hundred yuan, claiming that children didn't eat much.

Thanks to this, Qiao Yu wasn't reduced to borrowing money now.

Of course, even if he had to borrow money, he could only ask Luo Feng's family.

Qiao Yu wasn't sure how the quantity of the flesh and blood mycelium was measured; the original fungal swarm was 100 milliliters, calculated based on the remaining instant noodle soup.

Monster meat, however, had been bled, and monster blood was not circulated in the market, making it difficult to purchase.

Qiao Yu only bought ten catties of ordinary pork and ten catties of one-horned wild boar meat for a comparative experiment.

After all, he only had three thousand yuan left, and the remaining money had to be used to its fullest, spent where it mattered most.

Once his strength improved in the future, the returns would multiply, and then he wouldn't have to live so frugally.

Due to most of the land being occupied by monsters, there were very few places available for farming, and the prices of various meats and vegetables consequently skyrocketed.

Ordinary pork, originally 34 yuan per catty, was discounted to 30 yuan per catty because it was leftover stock.

And one-horned wild boar meat, originally 100 yuan per catty, was discounted to 98 yuan per catty.

Qiao Yu bought ten catties of each type of meat, spending about a thousand yuan in total, and carried the meat back home.

He placed the meat in the bathroom, which was damp and cool, very suitable for fungal growth.

Qiao Yu wasn't sure how much help this system could provide him. If it could help him become a martial artist, he could then expand the fungal swarm in the Wilderness Area.

The natural environment was the true paradise for bacterial colonies.

Qiao Yu took two iron pots and placed the meat into them separately.

After the original owner's father passed away, these two iron pots had rarely been used.

He then poured some warm water into the iron pots, submerging the pork.

Suitable temperature and a humid environment would allow the fungi to reproduce more quickly.

Finally, all that was left was the original fungi in the instant noodle bucket.

After evenly distributing them, Qiao Yu felt no discomfort looking at the greenish-white fungal bodies in the two iron pots.

Feeling the connection of the fungal swarm from the depths of his soul, Qiao Yu gave them their first command.

"Expand the fungal swarm as quickly as possible and completely erode the flesh and blood in the pots."

After the command was issued, to Qiao Yu's surprise, just as he was about to cover the pots and patiently wait for the fungal swarm to expand,

the original fungal swarm in the two iron pots spread across the entire surface of the water, like dye dripping into clear water.

Since the water surface was covered by the fungal swarm, Qiao Yu couldn't see how the fungal swarm was reproducing.

But he could sense, through his perception, that the fluffy fungal swarm was continuously expanding downwards, already adhering to the surface of the pork.

The original fungal swarm frantically devoured the meat chunks on their surface.

And the originally greenish-white fungal swarm gradually turned reddish-white at this time.

In just half an hour, ten catties of ordinary pork had been completely devoured and decomposed by the fungal swarm, leaving only the reddish-white fungal swarm in the iron pot that held the ordinary pork.

Meanwhile, the iron pot containing the one-horned wild boar meat showed a blood-red state.

"Indeed, there's a difference between ordinary meat and monster meat as culture mediums."

An hour later, the one-horned wild boar meat was also completely consumed by the fungal swarm.

With a thought from Qiao Yu, the flesh and blood mycelium from the two iron pots entered his body through his nasal cavity.

[host: Qiao Yu (Junior Trainee, Psycher Master not yet awakened)]

[Current flesh and blood mycelium quantity: 1100 milliliters]

[flesh and blood mycelium quantity required for the second genetic optimization: 10000 milliliters]

Qiao Yu had already checked the system panel when the ordinary pork was being devoured and transformed by the fungal swarm.

Ten catties of ordinary pork could transform into 100 milliliters of flesh and blood mycelium, while ten catties of one-horned wild boar meat could transform into 1 liter of flesh and blood mycelium, just enough for the first genetic optimization.

"System, begin genetic optimization!"

[Ding! Initiating first genetic optimization for the host. This optimization will consume 1000 milliliters of flesh and blood mycelium!]

As the system began optimizing Qiao Yu's body, faint warm currents flowed from his heart to all his limbs and bones.

Every cell in his body was nourished by this warm current.

Qiao Yu felt a tingling sensation all over his body, and a wave of drowsiness washed over him.

As time passed, the drowsiness grew stronger, and Qiao Yu lay down on the bed in advance, falling into a deep sleep... July 1st, 2056, five in the morning.

There was no first ray of morning sun between the hand-in-glove buildings.

Inside the low-rent apartment, a human-shaped hairy tofu covered in fungal fuzz woke up from the bed.

With a thought from Qiao Yu, the white hairs all over his body merged into his cells, leaving no trace on his appearance.

The old injuries left by the original body's excessive training were also repaired one by one, and he now felt as if he had inexhaustible strength.

As soon as he stood up, the bones throughout his body rattled like popping beans.

After stretching his limbs, Qiao Yu tried a few push-ups, feeling no resistance in his muscles.

He then switched from push-ups to handstand push-ups, only then feeling a slight resistance.

After doing a hundred handstand push-ups consecutively, he only broke a slight sweat.

"My current strength should be at the level of an Intermediate Trainee," Qiao Yu guessed.

He summoned the system panel.

[host: Qiao Yu (Intermediate Trainee, Psycher Master not yet awakened)]

[Current flesh and blood mycelium: 100 milliliters]

Seeing that his data on the system panel had indeed reached the Intermediate Trainee level, Qiao Yu's excitement was beyond words.

The original body, under Luo Feng's guidance, spent four years and was still just a Junior Trainee, which was enough to prove how ordinary his talent was.

However, among the nearly five thousand high school students in Yian District Third High School, students with ordinary talent like Qiao Yu accounted for a full ninety percent.

The first lesson these ninety percent of high school students learned was to accept their own mediocrity.

It's important to know that even the lowest-ranked Junior Warrior among martial artists was an existence beyond the reach of ordinary people.

And Qiao Yu, simply through one genetic optimization, by initially fusing his cells with the flesh and blood fungi, entered the ranks of the remaining ten percent.

As the flesh and blood fungi fused with Qiao Yu's own cells, Qiao Yu could now feel a spiritual connection with every cell in his body.

It was as if each cell and fungus was intertwined, 'you in me, me in you'.

His control over his body became more adept, and his neural response speed was incredibly swift.

As long as Qiao Yu willed it, every cell in his body could exert its maximum potential.

However, merely reaching this level of strength was far from enough; the next step was to continuously adapt his body to the increasing power.

While the surge in strength was certainly joyful, it also gave Qiao Yu a strange conjecture.

He couldn't determine whether he still belonged to the human category, or if he had evolved, or rather, mutated into a walking 'Fungal Human'.

But he had no regrets. In a world where one could die at any moment, strength was the only guarantee of survival.