Simple explanations for people who are confused

It's long but trust me I've kept it extremely simple! There's a lot of important details. If you're confused or have forgotten the premise of the story, please read-


This is a world far into the future where one day the magnetic field of earth that protects our environment suddenly disappears. UV and cosmic rays start invading our planet, causing genetic mutations in other animals (mainly insects and other micro-organisms). These dangerous mutants are able to infect human beings and transform them into brainless beasts (xenogeneic). Think of them as viruses who infect people immediately in contact of blood.

Just to be clear, mutants and xenogeneics (human beings who get infected and transform into mutants) do not have any conscience or ability to think like a human being left. Their intelligence level turns into just like an insect's (in most cases).

Except for Lil Mushroom, who is our main character of the story. He is, as his name suggests, actually a mushroom (fungi). He was growing in the abyss, in his own world.

Abyss is the outside world, or more like the uninhabited areas of the world. If you have watched AOT, think of this as people/societies living inside walls (human base) in extreme quarantine and scientific protections while the outside world (abyss) roams with dangerous mutants and forests.

>This is where the story starts: An zhe, a young man, goes into the abyss with his fellow "friend". There he gets brutally attacked by a mutant beast. His friend ditches him right at the spot and runs for his life without trying to save An zhe. An zhe was already at the verge of dying but thankfully he was in the area where Lil mushroom was growing.

Lil mushroom starts feeding on An zhe's bleeding body and somehow gains it's own "human conscience". This is a very important point of the story which might feel a little complicated but let me try to explain.

This incident is never heard of before because it's usually brainless mutants infecting people and turning them into brainless mush as well. Not the other way around where an organism (lil mushroom) comes in contact with a human being (An zhe) and gains "human conscience". In a way, in this case, Lil mushroom (a fungi) got infected by a human being.

After gaining the ability to think like a person, Lil mushroom tries to stop An zhe's bleeding and save him. But An zhe tells him that it's no use. He has already been wounded and infected. He is a xenogenic now. It's over for him as the human base only allows pure human beings to enter.

Hearing the word "human base", Lil mushroom suddenly becomes desperate. He tells An zhe that he has to go to the human base cause someone from there stole his spore (as ya'll already know, it was Lu Feng).

An zhe warns him to never go there as Lil mushroom will immediately be killed. But Lil mushroom tells him that reviving his spore is the only purpose left in his life. An zhe still warns him, offers Lil mushroom to completely feed on his body and leaves him his human base id cards as he passes away.

Lil mushroom slowly takes over An zhe's dead body and basically turns into a human being. With the help of An zhe's id cards and An zhe's body, he manages to enter the human base.

Please note that Lil mushroom is his OWN person
with his own conscience and personality. An zhe and him are two SEPERATE individuals even though they share the same body. An zhe is already dead and done with. He does not get reborn. Lil mushroom gets human conscience and takes over An zhe's body. This is Lil mushroom's story, a fungi who got infected and turned into a human.

As this was a reverse case, he is unable to infect another human being in any way, unlike other xenogeneics or mutants.

And this is why Lu feng, despite being very suspicious of Lil mushroom, can't tell for sure if he is a xenogeneic. Let me talk a bit about Lu Feng.

Lu Feng is the "Arbiter". The only one in the military with the power to kill at will (anywhere, anybody and anytime, without any explanation).

The one in the role of an arbiter usually has the ability to identify a xenogeneic just by looking at them. And even if they are wrong in their identification and kills someone innocent, it is a sacrifice worth taking rather than letting a possible xenogeneic mix with other people and risk the entire base getting infected.

There's a thing called "buffer period". A xenogeneic/infected person usually takes some time to completely transform into a beast. Before that, they might come off as a normal person like any other. If someone suspected of being a xenogenic doesn’t turn into a monster within that "buffer period", he is deemed uninfected and free to go.

Thing is- an arbiter (specially Lu Feng) usually doesn’t wait for things such as buffer period or medical testing and kills the moment he suspects someone. The stakes are too high to take risks like waiting for a xenogeneic to turn into a pure beast every time.

That's why, for obvious reasons, the general public absolutely loathes Lu Feng as many of them lost their loved ones in his hands without having 100% proof that they were xenogeneics. The position and power of an arbiter is very controversial and comes with permanent stains of blood on your hands. You have to be absolutely heartless and a mass murderer.

Lil mushroom was the only unique case where Lu Feng suspected him of being a xenogeneic but instead of killing him on the spot, he sent him in for the buffer period. In a way, he truly is a tiny bit soft towards Lil mushroom for some unknown reason.

I request people to please read the novel (2 parts). This webtoon literally has the most gorgeous art I've ever laid my eyes on but the simplified storyboard compromises a lot of the complexities and intensity of the plot.