The eagerly anticipated meteor shower appeared in the sky of the coastal city, where many young girls and boys were looking forward to it.

Countless people began making wishes, including the affectionate couple by the seaside, unaffected even by the city-wide power outage.

"Darling, why does this meteor shower feel different?"

"Sweetheart, something seems off."

At that moment, the thin and weak young man sensed danger and shouted loudly to the girl, "Run! The meteorites are actually falling!"

Finally realizing that something was wrong with the meteor shower, the affectionate couple hurriedly ran towards the beach.

Unfortunately, their physique destined them for tragedy.

The thin and weak young man wasn't heartless; he didn't run away alone.

They embraced each other, forever staying on the beach...

The meteor shower in the apocalypse wasn't composed of meteorites. By the time it reached the ground, the rocky objects had already burned up from friction, revealing the mushroom spores inside.

In the blink of an eye, they started growing wildly...

Four "mushroom meteors" also fell into the yard.

One spore, the size of a peanut, landed on the roof of the bus, creating a pit in the roof upon impact.

Lucas checked and realized that if the force had been slightly stronger, the roof would have been punctured. The pre-upgraded roof wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

Fortunately, the meteor's hardness had weakened significantly after burning away its outer rocky material.

Using a welding gun, Lucas quickly repaired the roof of the bus and then got out of the vehicle carrying an oxygen tank and wearing an oxygen mask.

The mushrooms grew rapidly, taking only five minutes to sprout. Whether in soil or water, their seeds seemed to take root, and some could even adhere to the surface of stones.

Having survived for eleven years in the previous life, Lucas knew that mushrooms were extremely fragile before they fully matured and could be easily destroyed.

In just a few minutes, Lucas ruthlessly hacked the four sprouting mushrooms into pieces with a watermelon knife.

"The first meal in the apocalypse."

Lucas felt a little excited at the moment and regained the sensation of surviving in the apocalypse.

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These mushrooms were the most popular food in the apocalypse. They could improve human physical fitness and also stave off hunger. A few bites could keep a person full for an entire day.

As long as the mushrooms hadn't produced spores yet, they posed no significant threat, and one could eat as much as they wanted.

But once the mushrooms started releasing spores, they became poisonous mushrooms, causing immediate infection upon consumption.

Although it was only four mushrooms that had sprouted from the ground, Lucas still collected them.

After dealing with the mushrooms, Lucas quickly returned to the bus.

At least seven or eight mushrooms had fallen outside the yard earlier. Without any surprises, within thirty minutes, they would grow into giant mushrooms at least two meters high and three meters wide and start releasing spores directly.

The spores would drift with the wind, and once inhaled by humans or animals, they would become infected within ten seconds.

Lucas wasn't particularly afraid of the initial infected individuals; with the bus, they posed no threat to him. He didn't have to worry about the mushroom spores either, as he had at least two hundred oxygen bottles in stock.

After ten hours, the mushrooms would stop releasing spores and start wilting.

Mushroom spores lose their viability in the air after three hours and can no longer spread infection.

The only thing to fear now was insects.

Even by the time Lucas met his end in the previous life, he hadn't figured out how the insects appeared.

This was probably because Lucas lived at the lowest level, unaware of many things.

The only thing Lucas knew was that insects had a high probability of appearing around mature mushrooms.

With so many mushrooms outside, Lucas estimated that within an hour, there would be at least three to five insects in the yard.

Keeping quiet and waiting for the insects to leave on their own was Lucas's only option for now.

"System detected that the mushrooms brought by the host are still active."

"A red insect core can purify an initial mushroom spore."

"Optional side quest: Obtain a red insect core."

"Reward: One red capsule."

The voice of the system suddenly sounded, and a panel popped up automatically.

Several lines of text appeared on it.

"Purify initial mushroom spores."

Fully grown mushrooms can be consumed, and there is a chance of preventing infection by mushroom spores. The more you eat, the higher the chance of resisting mushroom spore infection.

The spores emitted by fully grown mushrooms have a certain chance of repelling insects and infected individuals.

The more fully grown mushrooms there are, the higher the level of repelling insects and infected individuals.

The maturity period for fully grown mushrooms is ten hours. The higher the level of the insect core, the longer the maturity period for purifying initial mushroom spores.

After reading the text, Lucas's thoughts became a bit chaotic.

"System, are you the devil?"

Muttering to himself, a certain spark ignited in Lucas's heart...

The days of surviving eleven years in the apocalypse from his previous life played like a movie in Lucas's mind.

Those eleven years could be described as eleven years of barely surviving.

Eating the worst food, drinking dirty water, doing the most grueling work...

Lucas had long grown tired of it.

Now that he had the system, did he still have to live like he did before?

Lucas pondered.

But his thoughts were quickly interrupted.

With the reflection of the sky illuminated by the fire in the city center, Lucas saw the shadows of mushrooms outside the yard.

The apocalypse mushrooms had already formed, and there were several umbrella-shaped plants outside the yard.

"If there's only one insect nearby, I'll take the risk and do it!"

"Just one!"

Lucas confirmed accepting the system's task, but he didn't lose his sanity either.

Killing a red insect was his final stubbornness.

Lucas began preparing, despite feeling exhausted. The temptation to change his fate was greater.

Homemade gasoline bottles, portable gas cylinders...

Welding guns, chainsaws, nail guns...

Fire axes, long knives, daggers...

With an oxygen tank on his back, Lucas armed himself completely.

Oh, right, the oxygen tank was also a weapon.

Armed and ready, Lucas got off the bus and rearranged the previously set gasoline drums in the yard to avoid the bus being affected by the fire when it burned.

The mushrooms had matured, and the spores in the air were almost visible to the naked eye, like floating willow catkins.

After puncturing the gasoline drum, Lucas returned to the bus.

Wait!

Wait for the insects to appear.

As long as there was only one, Lucas would not hesitate to take action and lure the insect into the yard.

The small unlit bonfire in the middle of the yard was prepared to attract the insects.

If necessary, playing a song on his phone would also work.

The fire in the sky of the city center grew brighter, indicating that it was already chaotic.

It was uncertain how much time had passed, but finally, the silhouette of an insect appeared in Lucas's line of sight.

One of them, just outside the wall closest to the bus, as if it had burrowed out of the ground.

The huge black shadow moved slowly.

The sharp and piercing sound emitted from the mouth with terrifying fangs reached Lucas's ears.

The fear of being torn apart by insects in his previous life instantly enveloped Lucas.

He was surrounded by boundless fear.

His muscles tightened, and cold sweat poured down.

There was no trace of color on his face.