REON-4213

Links: Novelupdates | Oyen (Chrysanthemum Garden)

Tags: Apocalypse, Psychological, Romance, School life, Sci-fi, Supernatual, Yaoi

Chapters: 154

Read on: 06/03/2026 to 06/05/2026

I'm retreating from Ancient China novels back to my beloved sci-fi..... The summary on this one looks interesting, and I'm always a sucker for both 1) experimental subjects 2) mushroom powers. The reviews are mostly positive so I'm excited~

Tang Xiao decides to try out a new holographic game.. Its rumored to be so hard even professionals don't get very far. It even has monsters that match his aesthetic- an odd mushroom creature with bright red mycelium. Full of confidence, Tang Xiao logs in.

And within a few minutes, Tang Xiao is devoured by the mushroom monster he was excited to see.

Tang Xiao: .... Garbage game! I'm complaining to Customer Support!

Not to mention his main quest is to raise this thing's favorability to 100 (Favorability? Is this some kind of dating game...?), and evolve him into the King of Mushrooms. Trying nth amount of times to survive the first encounter with experimental subject 428, which indeed has an odd fixation on him, labratory minion Tang Xiao finally counterattacks and lives through the encounter.

While other researchers are looking at this newbie with awe, wondering how he could handle 428 so smoothly, Tang Xiao sneers. He'll finish this main quest.

Going from assistant researcher, to formal researcher, writing thesis after thesis, Tang Xiao slowly gains traction within Third Eye's labratories, catching the eye of many established scientists. He even applies what he learns to real life, joining a lab in reality as well. All the while trying his best to keep 428 from being scrapped. This mushroom guy was also slwoly becoming attached to this researcher who wants to help him evolve and escape....

When Tang Xiao dies to complete the main quest, he thinks everything is over. Heartbroken, but glad 428 is alive and will evolve perfectly, he returns to reality.

But for 428, Tang Xiao was everything a mushroom needed to grow. He needed no one else. Where did Tang Xiao go? He had to find him. Even if he had to cross dimensions and fuse their worlds together to do so, even if he had to lie to lure back the scientist that loved humanity so much. Back to his side.

Ahhhhh I really love this novel!! It lures you in with promises of Experimental Subject × Researcher.... and then hits you over the head with lab politics, thesis writing, and research research research. I honestly feel bad for Tang Xiao through most of the novel, the weight on his shoulders is really heavy... The plot is perfect, the romance is really good and organic, the ending made me really sad. I have to wonder if the author is a biology student themselves....

Tang Xiao's growth through the novel is really satisfying. I love his helpless scramble in the beginning, his worries of being exposed as a biology dummy until he builds his knowledge base, the confrontations between him and 428. Getting the mushroom to not immediately eat him is not easy, and the struggle in the beginning of the novel is really well written. He slowly becomes more confident as he continues, fighting hard to keep 428 from being scrapped and slowly learning how to actually love what he's doing. He ends up really loving his research, his mentors, and his peers in the lab. Tang Xiao glows when doing research, like he was born for it.. I will also say, all the abilities he's able to use through the game system is explained perfectly later. He's not overpowered because of it, its more like he needs the knowledge to even survive through what is coming. If he can't make it through and doesn't complete his main story quest, both worlds are doomed.

428 isss really good. From moving only by instinct to slowly evolving and understanding the human he's attached to, to falling in love and wanting to consider his feelings.. Its good. Tang Xiao is his world, he doesn't need anyone else. But Tang Xiao loves this world, so maybe he won't destroy it... He's sticky with Tang Xiao and insecure, convinced Tang Xiao will never choose him first. 428's little side comedy of sneaking into the counselling office and asking the counsellor for relationship advice is really funny. I can't talk a whole lot about 428 though, because the name he eventually gets as well as his real identity are ✨️ spoilers ✨️. Its very good though.

The side characters are very good. From Tang Xiao's eventual mentors in both worlds Xiao Bai, Dr Feng's partiality towards this promising junior, to his lab mates... Even Leon ends up being a nuanced character while opposing Tang Xiao and Xiao Bai's labratory status. Tang Xiao's parents and older brother's concern for him.. I think the author balanced the cast of characters very well.

Anyways here's another positive review to add to this novel's repertoire! I love things with time loops in them, I love scientific stuff, I love mushrooms. Give me all the mushroom characters please (I currently have 3 nickels).

How was the translation? Okay. Oyen's work always feels like it needs an extra editor... Awkward phrasing, typos, "Gunther" is translated as "Quintus" and as "Gentes" a few times, Raw text left in, pronoun confusion (tho this may be the author's fault tbh), "Lodge" is translated as "Rocky" once, "Alliance" is translated as "Union" in one chapter, excessive use of italics in a few later chapters. Its readable, but not perfect.

Would I recommend this novel? Yes!!

Would I reread this novel? Yes!!!

Trigger Warnings: Gore, Body horror, Animal death (mention), Self harm (mild), Experimentation on a sapient being (mushroom), Human experimentation (mention), Child death, Suicide, Vehicle accident (mention), Human sacrifice (mention, IF extra), Dubious consent (IF extra)*

*Don't read the IF extra if you don't want to see 428 in evil god form taking advantage of Tang Xiao.

one time i got a huge pile of stuff and he STILL said it and i said "dude, you would not be satisfied with all the riches of heaven!!" and he said "i don't even get a commission. i just love doing this."

That text post that's been making the rounds that goes something like "Omg you made it to the same red light as everyone else but faster and more dangerously and recklessly, should we call nascar? Do you want a medal?" summarizes exactly what I'm trying to talk about.

It's like when I have to change buses at one of the bigger and busier bus stops, and the people who get off the same bus as me shove and elbow past me to get off before me, and then shove and elbow past anyone even slightly in their way on the way to the bus they're switching, only to end up on the same bus as all the people they shoved and elbowed with several minutes to spare before it leaves and plenty of open seats left.

I think this unnecessary urgency a lot of people feel in their day to day lives drives a lot of bad behavior. I'm not saying I'm innocent of this, I've felt it too in plenty of situations that didn't call for it, and regrettably was less kind than I should have been as a result. But I try to be aware of it, and always try to ask myself it it's really as urgent as my lizard brain is trying to tell me it is, and even if it was that urgent, does that still justify unkind behavior?

Is shoving or elbowing another person aside going to make the difference between whether or not you make it to the bus before it pulls away? (hint: at least where I live, most of the time that's a no because the drivers usually won't leave if they see people from another bus heading towards their bus). Is shoving and elbowing people aside in a crowded grocery store going to make any noticeable difference in how quickly you get your shopping done?

That fully rewired my brain.

Thanks for these tags @disability-etiquette, because this unnecessary urgency (in situations that aren't actually urgent) really is a massive driving factor for ableism, and that needs to be addressed and discussed.

So many strangers have been so cruel to my elderly and disabled family members for being "too slow" in public.