The atmosphere within the Cat Squad became somewhat heavy. The other three could maintain their composure, but Little Superman couldn't help but complain:
"I don't know who made this thing. It looks terrifying. If we go up a few more floors, I'm afraid it's really going to grow a mouth and bite us."
His complaint obviously did nothing but lower the mood even more, but having someone speak up was better than all four remaining silent. Shiller comforted:
"Evolving to have a mouth to bite you is still a way off, and didn't we just eat?"
Little Superman also turned his grief and indignation into appetite, indulging in feasts in the following days. It seems this cat body grows with age, possibly still in a growing phase, as it visibly grew larger in just a few days. Shiller had to remind him not to eat so much, since agility is more important in this place, and if he eats too much, he might end up crushing the path under his weight like a truck.
As they ascended a few more floors, the situation grew increasingly bizarre. The mycelium was no longer just tossing around broken or discarded fragments, but entire objects. For example, presently the mycelium below was transporting a section of pipe, which was fully intact, with no damage to the screw ports, clearly not broken but possibly dismantled.
This implies a frightening scenario: the fungi are trying to use metal, shifting from avoiding it to actively engaging and studying it. Maybe soon, jars and metal pipes won't be safe.
Sure enough, after climbing a few more floors, the above was completely covered in mycelium. The cats had to find other means, and this was when the small drone came into play, capable of releasing weak electrical currents.
Though cats are afraid of electricity, their size meant these weak currents couldn't do much to them, yet they were deadly to the fungi. Electricity conducted through the metal, paralyzing the fungi almost instantly, allowing the cats to pass through.
They knew at this point there wasn't any chance to rest, so they had to push forward in one go. Luckily, after several days and nights, they finally reached the upper half of the cube. They could no longer charge straight up and needed to establish a base to explore slowly.
After all, whether it's the food storage area or the original fungi area, it's uncertain if they're at the top or simply in the upper portion. Going straight up might lead them to pterosaurs before finding their target, so they needed to expand their exploration breadth.
But building a shelter posed a problem; the place was covered in fungi. Except for a few places on the walls, everywhere was mycelium. Additionally, the fungi here were stronger and smarter, likely to subdue a cat in an instant without electrical current, not to mention the pile of rolling metal parts below, leaving no place to even set paw.
The cats' target was the walls, as they were currently the safest areas to reside. However, even the walls lacked footing, and Shiller had no effective solutions. It wasn't like they could perform a spiral jump and spear into the wall. House cats weren't equipped with such capabilities.
But, as they say, where there is life, there's hope. Shiller noticed one side of the pipeline on their level had no mycelium, which was unusual. Upon further inspection, he discovered a moist trace there, still seemingly leaking liquid.
This made Shiller realize that the jars and pipes weren't empty but filled with some kind of liquid, which the mycelium seemed to fear, at least enough not to make contact. This was good news, but figuring out how to open the jars and pipes posed another problem.
Peter also went to have a look but couldn't locate the leak point. He speculated it could be above, but with too many mycelia in the way, they couldn't reach it. So they had to make do with the small amount of liquid available to fend off the mycelium attacks.
Once they confirmed the liquid wasn't toxic to them, the cats started rolling in the moist spot, soaking their fur with the liquid, and continued to climb upwards. Although the mycelium didn't necessarily avoid the liquid, upon contact, it seemed to lose connection suddenly, becoming completely immobilized.
Peter realized the liquid probably inhibited the mycelium's activity, likely soaking them initially. Some incident must have allowed a portion to escape, but they clearly hadn't evolved immunity to this substance yet.
This simplified things significantly. The cats climbed upwards, eventually finding the leak point. Two floors above, the room contained almost no mycelium, the jar was damaged, and the pipe leaked, with a thin layer of liquid collecting on the floor. All fungi steered clear.
The cats were relieved, having finally found a safe room. As long as they remained here, the fungi shouldn't invade. But they couldn't let their guard down, for with the rate these fungi are evolving, resistance could develop soon. They needed to hurry.
Using this room as a base, the cats began cautiously exploring outside. With no sunlight in the entire cube, the small drone had to conserve energy, leaving the cats to rely on themselves.
Each time they went out, they had to roll on the ground, soaking their fur thoroughly with the liquid, so they ventured out wet. It wasn't pleasant, but better than being devoured by mushrooms.
Utilizing the liquid's power, they navigated the endless repetitive rooms, but it wasn't without gain. At least Shiller outlined a rough map. However, the mycelium's progress was faster, and the metal monsters now lingering on the ground looked more and more like wild animals.
The turning point occurred one night when they continued their upward exploration. Several cats were pondering whether to go left or continue upward when suddenly, a piercing sound came from above, followed by a rattling noise, causing the cats to puff up in fright.
But soon, something even more terrifying appeared. A sharp and long beak suddenly extended into the pipe's opening, and when the cats looked up, they saw countless red mycelium gushing from the Pteranodon's glazed eyes.
Their spirits were frightened out of their bodies as they leapt off the cans and bolted back to the safety house, still a bit unsettled even after returning. It was too frightening for cats!
"How can there be a Pteranodon?! Didn't they say the reactor is out of energy?!" Little Superman said incredulously.
He was so scared at the time that he couldn't see the details clearly. But Shiller and Peter spotted it; this Pteranodon was most likely driven by controlled mycelium.
As they always say, for something so heavy, it's impossible to take off without external thrust. The fungi might not understand this, or perhaps they simply found something new to manipulate, just like the pipe, and controlled the Pteranodon to come all the way here.
Considering the size of the Pteranodon, the place above shouldn't be a narrow pipe opening, and the only spot allowing the Pteranodon to come down must be the feeding pipeline leading directly to the roof terrace, meaning they were close to their destination.
However, it also meant they were closer to the God of Death. Even if it's a Pteranodon controlled by mycelium, these cats couldn't possibly beat it. They had to choose to bypass that room and find another way upward.
Fortunately, Shiller had already discovered the pattern of room distribution and quickly found another path. Upon ascending, they indeed entered another spacious area without cans or pipes, and hardly any mycelium, likely because most fungi headed toward the exit and didn't linger much on the same level.
The cats walked through the vast, empty dark space with increasing dread. The experiences of the past few days made them realize that this wasn't merely about fungi but something much more terrifying and out of control.
This gigantic space had no door, only a channel beneath that looked somewhat like an exhaust pipe, though it had long been abandoned. The cats squeezed through cautiously but didn't venture out directly, choosing instead to crouch in the pipe and look out.
In the dark, a large figure stood there. Standing at the front, Peter even had a momentary illusion, instinctively calling out:
"Tony..."
Behind him, Shiller shivered and quickly pushed to the front. Could they really have found Tony Stark?
But on closer inspection, it wasn't Iron Man, or perhaps it was and wasn't. It was a metal figure, accumulated from countless metal components, resembling Iron Man in form but much larger, and its patchwork construction made it much more horrifying.
Peter instinctively stepped out of the pipe. Despite the presence of considerable mycelium around, they weren't devoured because of the liquid coating them. He moved closer, with the other cats following.
Upon closer inspection, they found that the metal parts forming the gigantic iron sculpture were actually beasts' limbs and their metallic modifications—bird beaks, crocodile talons, lizard tails...
Those deadly metallic modifications that once blinked with lethal cold in the primitive jungle piled up here and were entwined with red mycelium, forming a figure that shouldn't exist here.
The cats realized this was actually the feeding site. The captured beasts were put here, their meat consumed by fungi, but their metal parts couldn't be digested, accumulating over time.
Four cats crouched before the vast sculpture. Red mycelium wrapped around the beasts' fangs and talons, laboriously composing a steel statue full of technological beauty—so sacred, so wild, yet filled with the aura of death, like a divine corpse standing in the boundless wilderness.
The mycelium kept surging, some components falling off while others were supplemented, yet the figure's form remained constant. Evidently, no matter how fast the fungi evolved, they couldn't spontaneously grasp the shape of the Iron Armor, unless they inherently possessed memory or, perhaps, instinct.
Simultaneously, Shiller was recalling the map in his mind, the repetitive rooms and the channels connecting them, forming a unique structure—like a complete neural system.