Genesis: Starting with Growing Mushrooms

Chapter 1 The World of Scholars
This is a world for scholars.

People take pride in reading, using it to understand the principles of the world and cultivate their spirit.

People respect scholars and admire highly intelligent Confucian scholars, while powerful literati and writers are said to control the heavens and earth, kill with their breath, and fly on swords.

In different regions, those who become stronger through reading are called magicians, witches, qi cultivators, or Confucian scholars.

But that was five thousand years ago; nowadays, it's generally referred to as: Nian Shi (念師).

The drizzle is hazy.

Rehe No. 13 Key High School.

blah blah blah!
The rubber track pattered and thumped under the murky, sulfur-smelling rainwater.

Si Anhe, the beautiful homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 12, is leading the class in morning exercise:
"Starting my morning run now, an 800-meter race in the rain, only use an umbrella if it gets too hot."

Through the rain, the teacher's voice was strong and resonant.
"Children born in slums must learn to struggle in acid rain. It is precisely because I have succeeded that I am tearing down your umbrellas!"

"To reiterate, being born in Rehe City is our good fortune. The pharmaceutical residue and hormone waste gas emitted into the atmosphere from Rehe Heavy Industry stimulate our bodies! It will promote our intellectual development and drive the growth of our mental abilities."

"This is something that poor students elsewhere would kill for!"

"Others have to order rainwater from our city by mail to take a bath, but you can just let it rain on you! Don't be ungrateful for being born in a radiation-affected area!"

"Those of you who were able to get into our Rehe No. 13 High School are all exceptional talents. Don't let this city down!"

A vibrant and beautiful teacher is leading a group of students on a run.

We sing praises of youth and passion in the rain!

We enjoy the free benefits this city offers!
We inhale a violent storm of heavy metals and acid rain!
Liu Jun, who was running in the crowd, was out of breath. Rainwater seeped into his eyes, making his vision very blurry.

"Are we all talents of this city? Or are we just talents who absorb radiation?"

bitter.

This school is so tough!
How did I, Liu Jun, end up in this kind of world?
The students around me seemed to be very precocious because of the hormones in the rain.

Some people have already developed gray hair at the age of seventeen or eighteen, with graying temples, and some have even developed bald patches.

I heard that more than 700 years ago, the people also held demonstrations to resist the city's emissions.

However, a brilliant scientist later proposed the concept of dual industries, and Rehe Heavy Industry started its second business in biopharmaceuticals.

The residue from the production of the mental energy enhancement drug, mixed with heavy metal fumes, was released into the air, giving hope to countless poor students who couldn't afford the drug.

Heavy industrial waste gas?
Harmful to your health!

Heavy industrial waste gas mixed with medicinal residue?
Improve your health!

Rehe Heavy Industry, which was once criticized for polluting rivers, was also selected as the top of the ten most conscientious entrepreneurs and the philanthropist of the year.

Many years later, Rehe Heavy Industry is now ranked among the world's top ten super companies.

As the birthplace of this large company, Rehe naturally became a legendary first-tier metropolis, attracting a large number of children from poor families to study there and breathe free industrial waste gas, perfectly achieving a win-win situation for both entrepreneurs and ordinary people.

The more Liu Jun thought about it, the more distressed he became.

Over the years, he has been so cruelly broken by life that he can no longer even scream!

Just as Liu Jun's legs went weak and he was about to give up, the sound of someone falling came from the back of the morning run group.

"Teacher, Xu Changsheng has fallen down."

"Fainted."

"Oh dear, take it to the school clinic quickly."

"I heard he was dumped by the school beauty."

"real or fake?"

"It's just one person with cerebral palsy."

Liu Jun immediately stopped, raised his hand high, and shouted, "Teacher, I'll take Xu Changsheng to the school clinic."

Si Anhe nodded. "Go ahead."

Zou Anmeng and Li Feng, who were standing nearby, also raised their hands: "Teacher, let's help him support him too."

Liu Jun and the other two carried Xu Changsheng to the school clinic. None of the three had the strength to talk, and they all lay on the chairs panting like a drenched stray dog.

"Sigh, this world."

After a while, Liu Jun exhaled.

Li Feng glanced at Xu Changsheng on the hospital bed, his eyes filled with pity: "This guy will definitely not be able to break through to the third level. He'll probably only live to be in his thirties."

As soon as he said this, Zou Anmeng, who was standing next to him, also fell silent.

Aren't they the same?

The high schools in Rehe City, through their frenzied training that pushes students to their limits, are achieving a training speed comparable to that of wealthy students in big cities.

But he only lived to be in his thirties.

Want to live forever? It's simple: just have the money for cloning surgery and get a young, healthy body.

But without breaking through to the third level, where would the tens of millions come from for body transplantation and regeneration surgery?

But the high schools here are still packed.

In this world, the realms of mind-manipulation are divided into four: wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.

A being at the third-tier Thunder Realm level is extremely formidable. Even in a big city, a Thunder Realm cultivator in their thirties would be considered a top genius.

The level of competition among students in this city is far more intense than that among wealthier students in other cities.

—They risked their lives to go to school!
More than ten minutes later.

Xu Changsheng also regained consciousness, but was in a daze and his mind was hazy.

Liu Jun didn't dare to delay, and together with Li Feng and Zou Anmeng, they helped the patient take a hot bath before he went to the morning reading session.

Back in the classroom, the students of Class 3, Grade 12 had already gone to the bathhouse to wash themselves clean, and were chatting in small groups around their desks.

With the college entrance examination just around the corner, all they were discussing was the scores on the test papers that had just been handed out.

Soon, Xu Changsheng was targeted again.

"Xu Changsheng, you even get such bad grades in biology, which you can only learn by rote memorization. Is there something wrong with your brain?"

"Exactly! The teacher has already outlined the scope of the exam this time. It's like an open-book exam. All we have to do is memorize 37.21 million words of questions. It's so easy! Are you out of your mind?"

Several students surrounded a boy sitting in the back seat by the window, making a fuss.

Xu Changsheng clenched his fists, his face slightly contorted, and remained silent.

Liu Jun sat in the back row, silently watching the show, but dared not utter a sound.

Oh no, oh no, oh no! Luckily, I don't have a school beauty fiancée, otherwise I might be the one being bullied.

"Look, Xu Changsheng is angry, he's furious."

"He has lost the ability to manage his micro-expressions. He's probably already a person with intellectual disabilities from birth. You'll see if you don't believe me."

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, a boy snatched Xu Changsheng's phone, held it up high in a showy manner, and showed it to the other students in the class.

Sure enough, there was a text message on it.

[Rehe Smart Loan reminds you: Dear Xu Changsheng, your PC198 Sage Brain rental period has expired as of March 16th, 7791. To avoid disrupting your life, please renew your rental in time.]

[You are currently classified as a person with primary intellectual disability, Level 4 (mild), exhibiting mild intellectual impairment accompanied by mania, affecting your daily life, work, and studies.] [Due to the lack of an assistive brain, your current brain capacity is only one percent of that of a normal person, and your brain is unable to effectively perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within billions of numbers.]

"It turned out to be true!"

"He stopped lending money, and now he's lost his mind! No wonder his memory has gotten worse!"

"It's probably because the brain loan is overdue."

The mocking voices in the classroom pierced Xu Changsheng's heart like sharp thorns.

Liu Jun silently watched this insane world without uttering a sound.

In this world of scholars, the mind is very important.

Brain-sharing loans, also known as "Sage Brain Rent-a-Debt Loans," are the best option for the poor.

Humans in this world generally have three brains: the left brain, the right brain, and the supercomputer.

Many poor people share the debt to rent a smart brain and take turns using it while working, going to work, or going to school. This is often the first choice for poor families.

This world has extreme contempt for people with low intelligence.

In this era, without AI, one is like a person with intellectual disabilities who is missing limbs, unable to even go to school or work.

Therefore, an unquestionable truth has been formed in this world:

—The poor are generally brainless.

In this day and age, a good mind can drain the fortunes of three generations.

One head passes on loans to three generations, one bag to one generation, and the loans continue for decades.

Many middle-class families in this city appear glamorous on the surface, but behind the scenes, they've all been living a life of hardship for a long time.

The commotion in the classroom grew louder and louder.

"I won't play with people who are mentally challenged."

"Intellectual disability does indeed significantly impact one's life."

"You went out without your brain, what's the point of studying?"

"Left brain, right brain, and AI brain—if you're missing one of these three brains, you're brain-damaged."

Bang!
"Is it funny?"

With a serious expression, class representative Li Chengshan stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted, "What 'brain-dead'? What 'brain-paralyzed'? Can't you speak properly?!"

The surrounding area fell silent immediately.

The class monitor is not only the smartest person in the class, but also the best student.

His AI device was a limited-edition autumn collector's edition purchased from the luxury goods counter at Rehe Heavy Industry.

The price is three times higher than others because the speed of cultivating mental energy brought by high intelligence is extremely fast, making them top scholars on the intelligence hierarchy.

The class representative spoke up, saying:

"Is it funny? What right do you have to laugh at him! He's working so hard! I see a melancholy ape sitting in the classroom, yearning for knowledge."

"I saw a spirit of perseverance in him!"

"But! Xu Changsheng, humans won't be in the same class as monkeys. You should be prepared to be kicked out of the top class."

Xu Changsheng blushed.

The boy's radiant warmth speaks louder than any explanation.

"He's angry again, he's angry again. I've heard that people with intellectual disabilities who are missing a brain often have this kind of irritability."

"He's going to hit us! He's going to hit someone! Quick, go find the teacher!"

"I'm begging you, please bring your brain to school. You're no different from a wild animal now. Who knows if you'll suddenly become aggressive? It's very unsafe for girls!"

"You've been watching too many movies, haven't you? You actually believe the plot where a guy who forgets his smart brain turns into a beast and starts hitting on beautiful women because of a drop in intelligence? It's all fake!"

At this very moment, Xu Changsheng, the man below, is suffering severe intellectual discrimination.

At the classroom door, Si Anhe, dressed in a black formal suit, quietly peeked her head out of the window at the back of the classroom.

Ding--

The teacher's gaze.

The noisy students immediately fell silent.

The homeroom teacher, Si Anhe, was a legendary academic star who graduated from this school back then, and is now the dream girl of many students in the school.

In this world of scholars, people are not superficial.

Appearance doesn't matter, height doesn't matter, personality doesn't matter, and they don't care about money; they are mostly intellectually attracted to sex.

They value a person's inner qualities.

For example, Li Chengshan, a top student with a high IQ, has many girls who admire him.

Si Anhe sighed, "Xu Changsheng, come to my office."

"Yes."

Xu Changsheng lowered his head and silently walked out of the back classroom.

"Hmph, I guess Xu Changsheng, the guy next to me, has angered the biology teacher again," the female student next to her snorted.

Li Chengshan shook his head, drawing everyone's attention back. "Forget it, let's not talk about him anymore. Let me give you all a brain teaser."

"what?"

Faced with everyone's doubts, Li Chengshan smiled slightly and said:

"My AI brain, [Change at Will], is about to expire. I'll give everyone a good brain workout, blow up some machines, set off some fireworks, run a supercomputing problem of the century, and then go get a new one."

"Really?"

"Amazing!"

"Tsk tsk, some people can't even afford to use their brains, but the big shots choose to use their brains!"

Liu Jun silently moved closer, not for any other reason than to watch the big shot perform.

Watching people rack their brains can be quite interesting.

"boom!"

At this moment, Li Chengshan's AI crackled and emitted flames, followed by a burnt smell, and a slight ripple of psychic energy suddenly impacted the entire classroom, nourishing the students' nerves.

clap clap.

The crowd applauded.

As this gentle energy spread, a line of text appeared in Liu Jun's mind.

Welcome to the Fungal Planet

Life is nothing more than a 70% watery soup of interwoven cells and bacteria. Your task is to bring calamity, plague, and despair to this filthy world, and to fight against humanity.

Liu Jun's pupils contracted.

Is this the idle/placement game I played before I transmigrated?

Did the class monitor give me some cheat codes?
(End of this chapter)