As Qian Bufei directed everyone to clear the surrounding mushrooms, the soldiers began their work. These giant mushrooms were enormous, and since mushrooms lack woody tissue, they couldn't be as slender as trees. The mushroom stalks were thick, but not incredibly hard.
The soldiers could easily hack notches into the mushroom stalks with their sabers, making it far easier than felling trees.
The soldiers from Yunnan, upon seeing the giant mushrooms toppled to the ground, all showed expressions of regret, as if they felt sorry for the mushrooms. For the people of Yunnan, eating mushrooms is an essential part of their diet. Now, an entire forest of mushrooms stood before them, and they couldn't eat them – it was truly a waste.
Shen Feng couldn't understand the people of Yunnan's obsession with eating mushrooms. This was humanity's pursuit of deliciousness. The human palate actually possesses umami. Before MSG was extracted, natural sources of umami were scarce. Mushrooms contain umami substances. Therefore, to obtain umami substances that are not usually available, such as glutamic acid, one could only eat mushrooms.
However, the soldiers were comforting each other, "In two more months, it will be the rainy season. Then, mushrooms will be everywhere on the mountains, and we'll surely be able to feast."
When it comes to wild mushrooms, no one understands them better than the people of Yunnan. Even abroad, people generally only eat cultivated mushrooms like shiitake or king oyster mushrooms, which are known to be harmless. Finding even a little truffle would be an unaffordable luxury for most people, something only the wealthy could truly savor. But to the people of Yunnan, these are nothing.
The giant mushrooms felled on the ground were a rare sight. The soldiers were using saws to cut them into pieces, which were then transported elsewhere. A large open space was thus cleared. While cutting giant mushrooms was much easier than cutting trees, it was still strenuous labor. This mushroom forest occupied a circular area with a diameter of eighty kilometers, a vast expanse larger than many prefectures.
Shen Feng estimated that at the current pace of clearing, it would take at least ten days to reach Ruili, the true border city. However, no further dangers had been encountered in the mushroom forest. If it were merely hallucinogenic spores, it wouldn't be a major issue; they could simply be blown away. Moreover, everyone was wearing protective suits, which could block external spores, further reducing the threat of the mushroom forest.
At this moment, Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan stood together. Chu Chaoyan was constantly taking pictures and remarking, "I think this mushroom forest is too bizarre. North America has a fungus with a diameter of twenty kilometers, but that took over a thousand years to form. Yet, this mushroom forest here suddenly appeared. This must be a mutated fungus, and reaching Ruili certainly won't be easy."
Shen Feng quickly nodded and said, "Don't worry, with your husband here, if we can't win, I'll carry you and run. Who can catch us?"
Chu Chaoyan recorded her day's observations in her notebook. She had also decided to write a novel about her experiences. By the end of the apocalypse, she believed it would surely sell well, and she might even become a world-renowned literary giant through this book.
Furthermore, Chu Chaoyan worried that no one would believe her. She was specifically taking photos at this time. Once they returned to Yuzhou, she would have the photos developed as evidence.
Qian Bufei explained to Shen Feng, "These giant mushrooms being transported away will be sent to farms to feed mealworms. These worms are resistant to the mushroom's toxins. The mealworms will then be fed to other animals, and eventually, they will reach our dining tables."
"Alright, alright, don't say anything more. If you keep talking, I won't be able to eat my meat," Chu Chaoyan had developed a psychological aversion to insects. Hearing that the meat she ate might have been fed to mealworms immediately made her feel disgusted.
Qian Bufei smiled and said, "Tonight, we'll have vegetarian food, Miss Chu can rest assured. Since we haven't found much prey nearby, perhaps they were killed by the mushroom forest. We only found some wild vegetables, so tonight we'll eat steamed buns and wild vegetables. We are the advance team; food and supplies will arrive tomorrow."
The people of Yunnan intended to seize the port, and to do so, they needed sufficient supplies. However, at this moment, if they couldn't pass through the mushroom forest, it would be very difficult to head south. In other directions lay dense forests, already tropical rainforest regions, which were dangerous. Transportation issues were a significant constraint at this time.
After a day of hard work, they had only advanced one kilometer towards Ruili. Shen Feng realized his earlier estimate had been too optimistic.
During their rest that night, Shen Feng couldn't help but say, "Qian Bufei, are you determined to open the road in Ruili? If you proceed so cautiously, when will you be able to lay the oil pipeline?"
Qian Bufei explained, "There's no other way. This is already the most favorable location for transportation. The pipeline passes through here. If we can't maintain a long-term presence here, and problems arise later, we'll still have to come here for repairs. This would involve repeated back-and-forth efforts. It's better to open a road directly through the mushroom forest."
Shen Feng shrugged and said, "Then let's just wear it down slowly. But my time isn't unlimited. If there's no progress for a long time, I'll return to Yuzhou."
Shen Feng had been invited here, and the food alone given as a gift amounted to twenty thousand tons. Logically, since others had put in so much effort, Shen Feng couldn't just leave. After all, there's a saying: "He who rides in another's carriage bears his troubles; he who wears another's clothes harbors his worries; he who eats another's food dies for his cause." He should at least help resolve the issue before leaving.
However, Shen Feng was the lord of Yuzhou. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to be away for too long, especially as migratory birds would soon be returning to the Northern Hemisphere, his child was about to be born, and there was land reclamation to be done in southern Yuzhou. With so many matters, Shen Feng couldn't stay out indefinitely. Therefore, at this moment, Shen Feng directly expressed his intentions.
Qian Bufei quickly replied, "Don't worry, we'll definitely be able to open a road through the forest within two months."
The soldiers cleared mushrooms along the road. Mushrooms also grew on the road, but they were shorter. They couldn't easily take root on the cement surface. Although mushrooms don't have roots, only mycelia, the mycelia couldn't penetrate the cement ground, so they couldn't grow too tall. They were mushrooms half a meter high, with colorful caps. When Shen Feng's strong winds blew, the spore powder was immediately dispersed, and the unstable mushrooms collapsed on the spot.
Shen Feng knew that they were just the scouts and that the five hundred people weren't solely responsible for clearing the path. There were tens of thousands of people in Tengchong, ready to act at any time. With so many people, opening a road was naturally not a difficult task.
Even while sleeping, everyone dared not relax, sleeping in their protective suits with only their heads exposed. If anything seemed amiss, they could immediately put on their suits.
Nothing happened during the night. Although they were outdoors, it was very quiet. Apart from the whistling wind outside, nothing could be heard.
But when everyone went out the next morning, they were stunned. The area cleared yesterday had regrown mushrooms. In just one night, the road, over a kilometer long, was covered in mushrooms, and the mist formed by spore powder had reappeared.
Shen Feng immediately used his abilities to blow away the mist in the mushroom forest. Looking at the mushroom forest that had recovered overnight, he felt a sense of foreboding.
Shen Feng had learned from television about the fastest-growing plants in the world, which was bamboo. Bamboo could grow over ten meters in a single night under suitable conditions. People near bamboo groves could hear the sound of bamboo shoots growing. However, Shen Feng hadn't expected this mushroom forest to have such powerful growth capabilities.
"Qian Bufei, you've seen the current situation. Do you still think you can open a road through the mushroom forest in two months?" Shen Feng then asked Qian Bufei.
Qian Bufei frowned, crouched down, and looked at the ground of the mushroom forest. He then frowned and said, "It seems this mushroom forest also has mycelia underground. The true body of a fungus is actually the mycelia, not the mushrooms on the ground. To completely eradicate the fungus here, we would have to dig three feet deep and excavate all the underground mycelia."
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng couldn't help but shake his head and say, "That's simply impossible. This mushroom forest is so vast, and you still want to till the soil here. With tens of thousands of people, it would take ten years to achieve that."
Qian Bufei thought for a moment and said, "This is somewhat beyond my expectations. However, we have other ways to deal with the underground mycelia, such as using chemicals. If we sprinkle wastewater containing heavy metals on the ground, the mycelia cannot grow under such conditions."
"Oh, you mean you're planning to use poison? Polluting the soil is easy, but cleaning it up later will be difficult," Shen Feng understood Qian Bufei's intention upon hearing his words. He intended to pollute this land, which would prevent the mycelia from growing and thus achieve the goal of opening a road.
Qian Bufei said earnestly, "There's no other way. Normal methods cannot clear the mushrooms along the way. No matter how much we clear, by the next day, the mushrooms will have fully grown. Under these circumstances, we wouldn't be able to complete the mission in a hundred years, so even if we have to pollute the soil, it's a necessary action."
Among all forms of pollution, water and soil pollution are the most difficult to manage. Soil, in particular, is difficult to regenerate. Once polluted, it can take decades to recover. Previously, companies that polluted the soil were investigated. But now, Qian Bufei intended to pollute the soil, completely disregarding the environment.
Shen Feng shrugged and said to Qian Bufei, "As long as you can make up your own mind, I can't make decisions for you, because, in the end, it's not my soil that's being polluted. As long as you're not afraid of being criticized, I'll pretend I didn't see it."
Once the soil is polluted, it will remain toxic for decades. Japan once experienced the issue of toxic rice. When heavy metal content exceeded the standard, consuming it could easily lead to intellectual disability because heavy metals significantly affect the nervous system.
Therefore, Shen Feng knew that once the soil was polluted, Qian Bufei would inevitably become an object of scorn, perhaps even be reviled for eternity. After all, land has always been the lifeline of the Chinese people. If the current soil is polluted, it will become unusable, and this area will inevitably become sparsely populated in the future.
Qian Bufei said with a wry smile, "Mr. Shen, you're overthinking it. I'm only going to use wastewater along the road. As long as there are no mushrooms growing on either side of the road, that's enough. I'm not going to pollute the entire forest with wastewater; you're exaggerating."
Then, Qian Bufei immediately began his actions. First, he arranged for the wastewater to be prepared. Wastewater containing heavy metals is directly obtained from wastewater treatment plants and is common in many metal smelting factories. Before the wastewater was ready, Qian Bufei ordered his men to hold their positions.