The cold, blood-scented wind blew his mycelium and the pipes were connected to other pipes, each opening connected to another complicated pipeline structure. At the same time, an intersection appeared in front of it. It was just a short path but it made An Zhe aware of the complexity of the entire system. He didn’t have a roadmap and only knew the approximate direction of the Lighthouse. He could imagine the difficulty of entering the lighthouse from the pipeline.

However, he could keep looking. He wasn’t an impatient mushroom.

After several turns, An Zhe was completely unable to distinguish his direction and he didn’t know the passage of time. He only knew that when travelling along the direction of the wind, the pipe openings would become wider and wider and the wind would also increase. He guessed it was because he found the backbone of the ventilation system. Sometimes, he worried that his mycelium would be broken but there was no way to strengthen it or leave another strand. Mycelium was like human blood to mushrooms. Excessive blood loss would lead to death and he couldn’t use it up.

Sometimes, there would be a metal net in front of him or sharp turbines that could cut at flesh and joints. At this time, he had to carefully slide along the blade to prevent being cut.

An Zhe didn’t know how long he had been gone. Only the wind and the rusty walls of the pipes accompanied him.

In front of him was an infinitely stretched out black pipe and behind him was the same. This made him return to the time when he lost his spore and he wandered aimlessly in the Abyss. Maybe he could retrieve it tomorrow or maybe he would never find it.

Once the diametre of the pipe became as big as two people, An Zhe saw a fuzzy red light ahead. He went forward, carefully crossing a large turbine and then he fell out of the pipe.

He fell onto a hard and rough metal floor illuminated by a dim right light. He looked around in all directions and found this was no longer the interior of the pipe. It was an empty and spacious cylindrical space as large as the lobby of Eden. It was a place where the wind combined with the red light from above, so high that An Zhe couldn’t feel it.

Then his white mycelium gathered on the ground to form a human body and skin. It was very cold so the mycelium spread on him and densely wove together to form a loose white robe, blocking the cold from outside.

An Zhe stood barefoot on the metal floor and looked up.