What follows is An Zhe’s struggle to find his spore against Lu Feng’s attention all while humanity continues to struggle to survive. “Humankind's interests take precedence over all else” and An Zhe bears witness to this as he watches countless people die. Judgement Day has arrived and the Arbiter must bear that weight. To keep it spoiler free, this second book in the duology was absolutely wild. It's the most unpredictable book I've ever read - anytime I thought I could guess what would happen next, I was proven wrong. I'm convinced the author's brain is just built different from the rest of us mere mortals.

Post apocalyptic story is one of the story that I actually love to read and happy to started this book without knowing anything other than it’s danmei and found this book own that story and A REALLY GOOD ONE *heart eyes* i also find it very interesting how the author has an zhe not care/be calm about certain things (like war crimes), not because he’s “not into politics” or whatever, but because he’s literally not human. Like why would a sentient mushroom care about human rights? Now, when there are rights violations against sentient mushrooms, an zhe cares very much. Ok, maybe this is a bit misleading—an zhe cares somewhat human rights, but he cares in a way that’s too rational for a human? he is very removed emotionally from the fate of humans An Zhe is determined to go to the human base to search for his spore, which had been harvested by humans. Once there, however, he faces the omnipresent risk of discovery and certain death as he tries to keep his non-human nature hidden from the Judges, whose responsibility is to inspect for and eliminate xenogenics like himself. And of all the Judges, Colonel Lu Feng is the most perceptive and merciless—as soon as he determines that someone is a xenogenic, he will execute that person on the spot. I WAS HOPING THERE WOULD BE A SPICY SCENE BUT JUST HAVING LU FENG SAY THINGS LIKE THAT SATISFIED ME BECAUSE WHHHAAAATTTTTT???? Sir said let’s turn this into a kink along with that sexy hyphae 😏😏😏

8. The Little Mushroom

I’m a teeny bit disappointed that there are no explicit sex scenes (they are implied, this series is solidly NOT for children). The soldier...deliberately lowered his voice... ‘What is the Colonel doing?’ ‘Fixing the faucet.’ ‘The Colonel knows how to fix faucets?...Then you and he are...' ‘Right now, we're neighbors.’ ‘What about before?’…An Zhe recalled how they had slept in each other's beds. ‘Friends, I suppose.’…He seemed to not believe An Zhe. Perhaps it was that Lu Feng very rarely took apart other people's faucets." Humans, ambitious creatures as they are, are so rarely truly satisfied with what they are, what they represent, what they do, who they are. At least in that aspect, he is their equal. They propagated in the human cities, indiscriminately infecting all people and leaving corpses everywhere."

The world of Little Mushroom is divided based on infection level, with level 6, The Abyss, being the highest. That’s where our main character comes from. A breeze blew at that moment, rustling the dark hair. He watched it. A chill seeped into his bones and shivered down his spine. Finally, with a sigh, An Zhe straightened out his legs and hopped down from the roof. It would have been a more painful impact, jumping from the height of the car, had two arms not immediately circled his waist and caught him as he descended. An Zhe frowned. Lu Feng lowered his head and gently spoke into his ear. "Let me see you give birth to another one." Even the side characters throughout this novel felt so 3-dimensional, like Doussay, Mr. Shaw, Hubbard, Dr. Ji, Jenson, Colin, and my favourite of the side characters, Seraing. I feel like Seraing is the type to say “hun” a lot. He gives motherly energy, even though he’s training to be an Arbiter and shoots loads of people in the last chapter. He can do crazy violence, but also be affectionate- get yourself a man that can do both!bluntly interacts with the dehumanization of people who have been to prison, people with less education, impoverished people, and the elderly the underground city base was out thermonuclear weapons…i can’t believe they’re out here using MULTIPLE nuclear bombs Book two dials up the plot to a thousand with fast paced action, twists and turns, and a truly despair-inducing apocalyptic vibe. However, it also continues to explore the emotional themes introduced in book one such as human kindness in the midst of turmoil and what ultimately defines the nature of humanity. Speaking of emotions, you will have many and you'll probably tear up at at least one point. Lu Feng gazed at the distant sky with always cold and calm eyes. “I hope he forgets it all.”“Why?”“The human base and I have only caused him pain. I hope he never feels this.” ” Where are the ladies???? I know i shouldn’t read BL novels expecting women, but i want more women than this!!! Also, even with the weird women who can vs can’t give birth thing and women who can have babies being forced to stay at the garden of eden, there should still be women around who aren’t fertile (since that’s apparently most of the women?) and like old women

The characters in this book are incredibly well-developed. The author has a talent for making characters feel vivid and real, whether they're a passerby described in one sentence or someone who'll accompany the reader for a few chapters. An Zhe in particular was a delightful protagonist. His perspective on the story events and his exploration of what it means to live as a human is equal parts endearing, funny and bittersweet. As for Lu Feng - I won't say much but as the second most important character, every scene with him in it had me gripped!I think every Dystopian novel brings to the front questions of morality and humanity. Some do it better, and some less so, but it’s always at the front when facing a fallen society. Judgment Day is interesting in that, in its exploration of morality, righteousness, human nature, and the humane, it has a clear side… and that side is with the Arbitrator, who is seen by many as a cold-blooded murderer. While reading, you’re likely to be on his side as well. But looking at it objectively, if I were living in that world, I’ll probably be among those protesting his “cruelty” and demanding transparency, if only because that transparency can in turn suppress discourse and dissonance. I… won’t give it to you.” He reached out to protect his belly, his voice trembling violently as he cried out intermittently, “I hate… you.” i can guess though - there's only one scene in the entirety of little mushroom in which a character breaks down sobbing and it's our little mushroom protagonist an zhe. maybe to show how the non-human character was actually the most human of them all? i don't know, it feels like a stretch. and it led to me being disappointed and detached from the story. i want to perish this book caused me so much pain yet i loved every second of it. i'm too tired to write a proper review so here are some of my annotations. please excuse the inappropriate amount of will wood references.