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Little Mushroom
Type
Web Novel (CN)
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Rating(4.8 / 5.0, 1684 votes)
5    85% (1439 votes)
4    10% (170 votes)
3    2% (39 votes)
2    0% (8 votes)
1    2% (28 votes)
Language
Support Book (#ad)
Author(s)
One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
N/A
Year
Example: 2012
2019
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
84 Chapters + 5 Extra (Completed)
Licensed
Yes
Completely Translated
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
Release Frequency
Every 1.2 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #838
Monthly Rank: #187
All Time Rank: #712
Reading List
[Graph]
On 15931 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #1228
All Time Rank: #76

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

“Until the day humanity falls.”

In the year 2020, Earth’s magnetic poles disappeared and humankind was nearly wiped out by cosmic radiation. Within the span of a hundred years, living creatures began to mutate and devour each other while the remaining humans, numbering in the tens of thousands, struggled bitterly in their man-made bases.

In the Abyss, home to the mutated xenogenics, there lived a sentient little mushroom. Because it had been nourished by the blood and flesh of the deceased human An Ze, not only did it take on a similar-looking human form, but a similar name as well: An Zhe.

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.

But An Zhe’s mutation goes undetected by Lu Feng’s eyes, and so a tale of humans and xenogenics unfolds…

Silver Award winner at the 12th Chinese Nebula Awards for Chinese Science Fiction.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Cây nấm nhỏ
Xiao Mogu
เจ้าเห็ดน้อย
小蘑菇
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Saving Unpermitted (13)
How to Feed an Abyss! (11)
Thrive in Catastrophe (8)
I’m Not Shouldering This Blame (7)
Laws of the Other World (7)
Mist (5)
Recommendation Lists
  1. YOU'RE NOT HUMAN?!?
  2. Already read / need to reread
  3. Personal top -ten- 21,,
  4. Read the comic
  5. surviving through an apocalypse

Latest Release

Date Group Release
05/23/25 Little Pink Starfish c89
05/23/25 Little Pink Starfish c88
05/23/25 Little Pink Starfish c87
05/23/25 Little Pink Starfish c86
05/22/25 Little Pink Starfish c85
05/22/25 Little Pink Starfish c84
05/22/25 Little Pink Starfish c83
05/22/25 Little Pink Starfish c82
05/22/25 Little Pink Starfish c81
05/21/25 Little Pink Starfish c80
05/21/25 Little Pink Starfish c79
05/21/25 Little Pink Starfish c78
05/21/25 Little Pink Starfish c77
05/21/25 Little Pink Starfish c76
05/20/25 Little Pink Starfish c75
123…6
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336 Reviews sorted by


Sandstorm143
New Sandstorm143 rated it
May 20, 2025
Status: Completed
I was just curious about why this was always in the list of best BL stories. It wasn't my cup of tea, I like yandere MLs. But I also can't say I dislike it because I know this novel will linger in my heart for a long, long time.

The whole novel has this melancholic, sad tone. An Zhe, our little mushroom, is extremely simple, like a naive baby who accidentally got thrown into the harsh world of adults while looking for his missing favorite toy.

The Judge, Lu Feng, is an... more>> extremely unique character. For me, the "Unconditional Love" tag is from Lu Feng. His love was subtle, not overbearing, not possessive, not showy -- yet we all know he loves An Zhe. He doesn't even say anything that correlates to him loving An Zhe. Yet, his love was in all the hidden words. Words unsaid and yet felt.

For me, the world-building was mid. But honestly, can you even call it a world when the human population is so few and when the future is so uncertain?

Living in that kind of era is bleak, where your only source of faith is hope. Hoping that everything changes for the better. One moment, it'll seem like things are good. Next moment, dozens or hundreds are dead.

The Judge, responsible for those deaths, had to take all the blame. Hatred and despair always seem to be directed at him. However, he remained headstrong and his beliefs never wavered.

Spoiler

"I have only known you for three months but this is my lifetime." -An Zhe

An Zhe, our sweet, naive, little mushroom. The calmest baby I've ever read about.

[collapse]

Spoiler

"He is the one who judges me." - Lu Feng

Our unique ML, this bully whose love is so subtle yet so loud. This is perhaps what happens when a hero fated to save the world fell in love with a monster.

[collapse]

Overall, the romance part is top-tier. World-building is creative but because of how few the humans are, the world felt way too small. Characters were unique, every side character felt alive. We didn't delve into their stories but they had more feeling than some novels which focused on side characters' lives. <<less
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Indelible Faith
New Indelible Faith rated it
May 16, 2025
Status: Completed
So, I've read the official TL now, and accordingly left a review for both volumes—so, a spoiler warning is in effect for the Revelations review.

JUDGEMENT DAY

Judgement Day: when your good deeds and evil ones are judged to declare you innocent or guilty.

... more>> "Just what am I judging, and who will judge me in the end?"

Lu Feng is the the Arbiter—the Judge with the highest authority in their base, and with a 100% success rate at finding out infected humans and xenogenics. One glance at An Zhe and he knows, An Zhe isn't human.

But what does being human mean? The DNA test proclaims An Zhe to be "not infected" and having no markers of either insects, or plants or animals. As a small little mushroom, indeed An Zhe is neither of those... but is he human?

He feels grief, and sorrow, and jealousy. He helps those who ask him for help, and cares for the human younglings as instinct drives him to. Every thing that Lu Feng subjectively thinks makes him human.

Lu Feng, who the dissenters of the base proclaim as inhuman, in his deeds and actions and merciless killing of those he judges as infected.

A person's wavering starts from the first time their heart softens.

At this point, I don't know where the story is headed. All An Zhe wants is his spore, and by the end of Judgement Days he manages to successfully retrieve it as well. Lu Feng is more embroiled in the daily tasks of keeping their base safe, but can't help but be drawn to An Zhe, who is the most compelling case of non-human human he's seen, despite not knowing for sure.

One thing I have to say—this novel is beautifully atmospheric, and the pacing is quite well done with lows and highs, and constant reminders of how much danger they are in, in this apocalyptic world

REVELATIONS

Humankind had never gone gentle into that good night.

"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage, against the dying of the light." A motto that every surviving human believes and preaches in this apocalyptic world, but for An Zhe, who is, after all, just a little mushroom... his only purpose is to grow his little spore and then—

—indeed, then what?

It seemed that all tangible things in the world would eventually be separated.

Revelations made me truly feel like the book was living up to its Sci-fi genre. Like I was giving a physics exam I didn't have the syllabus for. From geomagnetic properties to behaviour of atoms in space and time, the author tried to include all of them in a very organic manner. All this, while also brutally, cruelly, delivering the most hearwrenching story of humanity... and acceptance, that 'humanity' might surpass being simply 'human'.

But even during our final moments, I'm still willing to believe to the greatest possible extent in humankind's kindness and leniency.

Here, in part two, we come across more xenogenics. And the brutal history of the Arbiters and the Trial Court. Amongst all of this, Lu Feng and An Zhe, now finally confronting each other truthfully, have a lot of grievances between them. In the end, they're two opposing species in a war for survival.

Yet, it's almost beautiful, how An Zhe's persevering love for humanity is shown. Just as Lu Feng's selfishness in one instance where he places his own wishes above humanity's, going against the code of the Northern Base.

The sacrifice of countless people, the sacrifice of one person.

He was just a... little mushroom.

4½⭐️ <<less
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turelight
turelight rated it
February 1, 2020
Status: Completed
Little Mushroom, with its cute title and the funny synopsis, tells us about the struggle of humans who fight the change of the universe and try to restore the glory of humanity while throwing their humaneness to the pit called Sacrifice.

They create the Judge, who has the right to kill everyone as appropriate, to perform Judgment to protect the remaining humans from Gene Pollution so the race can survive.

For this duty, the man, whose hands are soaking with blood, needs to bear the hatred and stands tall for his faith.... more>> Even he is falling into deep dark loneliness, striking by ridiculous fate, his belief is still there and not shaken at all.

Through the eyes of naive Little Mushroom, who does not understand humans, we will see many massacres caused by that man repeatedly. Yet he can still have silly conversations, being bullied, and funny interactions with that man. And finally, he wholeheartedly trusts him.

WHY?

For that question, I drove deep into this desolate world that loves to throw dilemma stones at people. Finally, I found the answer myself, and it is incredibly beautiful. <<less
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DereDevil
DereDevil rated it
January 28, 2020
Status: --
This is NOT a fluffy story! NOT FLUFFY AT ALL. This story contains despair, hopelessness, a bleak future and.. Did I say DESPAIR?!

On the other hand, I LOVE this story very much. I love how simple MC can be, his relationship with the ML and how the author build the world.

I LOVE THE CONTRAST

... more>>
Spoiler

you know that this is a dystopian world yet the MC live really simple and honest and when you thought things are going for better then BAAAM! MASS KILLING! GORE! CREEPY INSECT! And will wake you up from your daydream to face the cruel reality. I LOVE IT!

[collapse]

Ps. Im so happy that this is finally completed or.. Is it? Thanks translator for your hard work and keept it up.

P.S.S [ I'm Always Watching.] ○_○ <<less
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xmilady
xmilady rated it
July 4, 2020
Status: Completed
This pit is too deep.

The little mushroom is good.

Spoiler

"I have only known you for three months but this is my lifetime."

[collapse]

The judge is good.

Spoiler

"He is the one who judges me."

[collapse]

End of text
88 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Syeki
Syeki rated it
March 23, 2020
Status: Completed
MY HEART MY HEART TAKE IT I NEVER NEEDED IT ANYWAY!!!!

What else can I say when I've stumbled upon this novel which has taken over the top spot on list of fave C novels?

100% RECOMMENDED. This novel will make you cry, make you laugh, make you ponder on the fleetingness and fragility of life, and so much more! The Little Mushroom takes us along on his trip to learn about what it sometimes mean to be human.

The MC is a little mushroom who is ignorant of the world but is... more>> NOT s*upid. Naive yes, because he's only been human for a very short while, but he learns and adapts very fast. He feels that he himself is a bystander, spectating the struggle of humans, without realizing that he himself is sometimes very much more human than some humans. He considers himself apathetic to their despair, not realizing that his gentleness and sadness is making him anything but apathetic. His feelings for the ML fluctuates between terror, more terror, awe, irritation, empathy, concern and gradual love, which is wonderful to read about.

And the ML is one of the most well fleshed out ML I've seen. He's strong yes, but unlike most MLs in other novels who are depicted as young with mindblowing achievements but tosses all their values aside for their One True Love, this ML holds steadfast to his faith and ideologies despite it meaning he may have to destroy the person he's come to love. But at the same time, he's not irrationally blinded by it, and understands himself all too well without having too many inner struggles, which to me, showcased how truly strong he is. As a Judge with the authority to kill on sight seemingly without rhyme or reason, this strength is what keeps him sane when everyone else including other Judges consistently question if their decisions to kill were correct, always knowing they may have inadvertently mu*dered an innocent. It also raises some very interesting questions along the way about how far one would be willing to go to preserve humanity, and what even is their definition of humanity.

What I like best about this novel is despite it being post apocalyptic in nature, it chooses to highlight the way humans still retain their kindness and generosity instead of devolving into the more common selfishness brought about by survival necessities. There is grief, there is despair, but there is also hope.

Chapter count wise, it may seem comparatively short, but is is so packed with content that it doesn't feel rushed ot lacking at all. But I do wish there were more Extras as I still miss this pair very much even after the story has ended. <<less
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Meiyap
Meiyap
March 25, 2020
Status: c82
I cried.

It's HE.

I'm emotionally tired now. People I come to like keep dying.

The characters. They have a heart. I believe they can exist. Maybe not the MC but that's a special case.

ML cold and arrogant. But unlike most ML, the world rejected him, yet he still loves humanity. His faith. His code. Great ML

... more>>
Spoiler

I truly wonder. Was ML's mom truely in control of her actions. Was it really because of her instinct as an insect? And not as a person who has had enough?

[collapse]

Edit.

... Means I skipped dialogue.

Spoiler

His love and hatred seemed worthless in this grand doomsday. Lu Feng has his mission and he also has his destiny.

He took another step

...

It's been a long time since they parted, but their meeting was so unexpected.

...

The last piece of human territory is falling.

Humanity is about to go extinct.

...

"He was picked up at the Abyss by our people.... He was a good boy and he had a good time here."

Looking at him, Polly said softly "I know the base can't keep him. Did you knew he was here?"

Lu Feng's eyes finally moved from the backback to Joan Polly.

"I didn't know. " he said.

Dr. Polly's eyes flickered and closed his eyes in pain.

"I'm sorry." he said.

The unexpected reunion was the last farewell. Such a cold torturous thing in the world.

.......

"Where is he" He repeated the question word by word. All emotions broke down at that moment. There was a vague madness in his eyes. He was like a prisoner who had been sentenced to death, but had to confirm the sentence again and again.

A sorrowful smile appeared on Dr. Polly's lips.

..........

Suddenly a white ball on Lu Feng's shoulder was blown away by the wind and fell onto Dr. Polly's clothes. It stretched out its soft filaments to touch him.

"What's this?" Dr. Polly picked it up and asked.

"Inert Sample" Lu Feng said "His most important thing."

Joan Polly naturally knew who Lu Feng was referring to there was only one "him" between them.

He stared at the mycelium

"This is a spore of an as*xual fungi clone" he stared slightly "He never told us which species he belong to, so he was -"

Looking at the cluster of spores, Lu Feng said softly "He's a mushroom."

His voice was hoarse, but seemed to have endless pity and tenderness.

"He's just... A little mushroom."

[collapse]
<<less
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Keisotsuna
Keisotsuna rated it
March 27, 2020
Status: Completed
What a misleading synopsis. This isn't anywhere near fluffy at all... It has a lot of dark and depressing undertones, especially in regards with death and human survival among many others. And yet, I was completely hooked with this novel. Even when I didn't understand all the scientific and physics explanation going on, I was still able to immerse myself in the whole story and the moods of the characters.

The romance is very subtle. And its presence helps reduce the depressing atmosphere in the story, especially in the early chapters,... more>> when the main characters interactions are very interesting, filled with teasing and subtle affections that even they themselves have yet to realize.

This story is definitely an HE (happy ending). And yet, it was so heartbreaking to go through all those sad and gloomy chapters just to reach that well-deserved ending. I cried so much when reading the later chapters. ? All the characters in this novel each has their own stories, emotions and ideas which makes themselves unique and makes it even harder for me to part with them as they faced that dark, seemingly helpless world. Everything in this novel just makes me sad, unable to extricate myself, and I am always left hoping that everything ends for the better. And thankfully, it did, although it was hell of a ride and at the cost of a great price.

This story is so beautiful even with the dark and sad undertones. I hope that readers won't get scared off by the angst and drama and give this one a chance, because this is truly a wonderful story worth reading. ❤ Perhaps, my only regret in this story is the lack of extra chapters. I would've love to see how their lives come to be in that new era of (relative) peace, which could've also give the readers break from the gloomy atmosphere.

★★★★★ <<less
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Michelle-08
Michelle-08 rated it
July 31, 2021
Status: Completed
Steps in reading this novel.

Spoiler

1. Read the synopsis and get duped. 2. Don't love any side character's as much as possible. 3. Prepare 3 boxes of Kleenex/ large towel/ or your blankie will do 4. Buy a mushroom spore and name it An Zhe 5. Be sad because you're single AF while the little mushroom has Lu Feng. 6. SMILE BECAUSE IT'S A HAPPY ENDING!!!!!!!!!!!

[collapse]
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Elysia015
Elysia015 rated it
January 29, 2020
Status: Completed
Welp, the summary did promise a fluff story, but you'll get the twist plot right from the start. It's despairing but kinda addictive story with apocalypse as the main genre where the human being strive to live in the rapid evolution of the nature. No zombies and the like. But more depressing than when there's zombies. But I guarantee that you'll get addicted, cause I end up binge mtl this.

The romance is kinda slowburn. The emotion growth between the MC and ML is growing steadily throught the story, and that's... more>> one of the reason why you want to read more.

Darn, the emotional ride was wild till the end. And the word that the ML said in the end of the story is the most erot*c word that I've read from any ML in the danmei novel. Although in sense, it's not erot*c word, but still, the foreshadowed meaning.... The word make me squell so much and my cheek burn.

Darn. Colonel, you tease our cute little mushroom a little bit too much. (≧▽≦) /~┴┴ But I LIKE IT!!!

I really want to know the life they lived after the story ended.... Darn..... (ﾉД`) you'll know why... (T⌓T)

This is absolutely become one of my favorite BL novel that I've read so far. <<less
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Melange
Melange rated it
April 26, 2020
Status: Completed
This is a happy ending. This is a happy ending. This is a happy ending. Repeat this to yourself starting from halfway through the novel until you reach the end. Because just when you think it can't get worse... it does.

The summary is a complete trap. This novel is not a romance novel, nor is it comedy. Rather, it's the story of how one little mushroom saved destroyed all of humanity.

MC in this novel is one of the most unique MC I have read. He composed and calm by nature... more>> but gradually acquires more human emotions. At the same time, his naivete easily leads him to be easily bullied by ML (and just about anyone else).

I haven't read the extras as it shows they're still ongoing but they better make it up to us for all the suffering.

Spoiler

MC and ML only ever kissed a few times... If they don't make a little mush mush I swear... ?️?️

[collapse]
<<less
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xblkdragonx
xblkdragonx
March 9, 2020
Status: Completed
Wow. This was such a poignant novel. The romance is very subtle with lots of undertones. Its not in your face, but like the novel, it's tinged with beautiful subtleties and sadness. Every single character in this novel feels alive with emotions and motivation. This is about the brutal truth of survival, but rather than focusing on the ugliness of human nature in the face of an apocalypse, it focuses on the stark beauty. Life is cruel, nature is unforgiving, but from the eyes of a Mushroom, humans and their... more>> will to survive slowly wins him over. I cannot stress enough how beautiful and heartbreaking this novel it. Think The Last Unicorn. A mushroom that learns to be human in order to trick humans, but in the end learns to be human and falls in love with him. <<less
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SalmonRapier
SalmonRapier rated it
September 15, 2020
Status: Completed
[HONEST REVIEW]

Firstly, despite the cute summary, the content of the novel is not as cute. It carries some heavy themes.

However, seeing the other reviews, I had expected this to be full of angst but that was not the case. In all honesty, the angst is just minimal. And before you call me heartless, I will have you know I am a very emotional person, but I cried just once in the entirety of this novel.

... more>> Totally recommend this if what you're looking for is an "apocalypse" themed danmei!

GETTING ON WITH THE REVIEW:

I don't think I've come across reviews that talk about how brilliant the world of this danmei is — from the mutations and creatures, the theories and the various areas of what remains of this dying world, the different types of groups and people involved in this storyline. Simply brilliant!

This is probably the best danmei with an apocalyptic setting I have read. It doesn't involve your usual apocalypse themes or even OP characters (even though some people claim that our ML is OP, from how I see it, he's not) . I seriously cannot stress enough about how the world building is just — chef's kiss!

You have descriptions of the mutations and creatures that will give you chills. You have details right from the Abyss to the Northern Base that you can vividly imagine.

You have all those moments when disaster strikes, when the characters face narrow escapes — it actually leaves you scared, thrilled; you can actually feel the change in environment, and the danger! It is so exhilarating! And that's what makes it a brilliant danmei cause it sucks you in and you can almost experience the apocalypse yourself.

There is also a lot of technical terms and explanations. Parts where you have to carefully read, or you'll be left confused and missing out on important bits.

The MC, An Zhe, is a little mushroom who became human. He is naive and "easy to bully", but that doesn't mean he's a character you get annoyed with. In fact, seeing the entire world that is dying through his eyes is a novel experience. He isn't all accustomed to human ways and the Northern Base to him is a foreign place. In that way, you get to experience the newness with him, his curiosity and all his responses to everything that happens to him and around him. It is a fascinating journey through his point of view of different kinds of people with so many stories to tell, and conflicting emotions.

The ML, Lu Feng, is The Judge. A person who "judges" whether people are infected and pose a threat to the safety of the base — and as a result of being the best at discerning such factors, he has a lot of blood in his hands. He is a sad and almost tragic character, headstrong and has a firm belief on the base. To the people who call him OP, is he not allowed to be good at something? If he was OP then this story would have been very smooth sailing. But that's not really the case, is it?

He faces near deaths and he experiences pain. He wants to be a protector but is feared and seen as the embodiment of evil by all the people he's striving to keep safe. He is cold — but what else would you expect from someone who has killed so much (not recklessly, but with reason), and knows that he is hated? He is not heartless. And it is quite unfair people just go slap the "OP" title on him without looking deeper into his character.

The relationship between the two of them is a growing one. Not slow paced, nor fast, just natural and very heartwarming.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and would definitely recommend it to be read! :') I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! <<less
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spicychicken
spicychicken rated it
February 1, 2020
Status: Completed
THE ADVENTURES OF THE LITTLE MUSHROOM!! The plot is very interesting and I 100% recommend it. This is an apocalypse theme novel but don't expect any OP MC or zombies. Our MC is actually very naive innocent little fool and often get teased by the ML_ (:3」z) _

The readers will follow the MCs adventures to save his spore from the human base. Though the goal of MC is to take back his spore, the story is a bit more centred around the little mushroom's interaction with humans and expanding his... more>> knowledge of humans (feelings, bonds,..)

The novel is pretty face paced. 84 chapters is considered pretty short for a Chinese web novel. The interactions between the ML and the MC are really funny. It gives u a nice laugh despite the depressing things that happens. The heavy atmosphere made me doubt it would be a BE BUT DONT WORRY GUYS it's definitely a HE.
Spoiler

MC dies but will be revived

[collapse]

ML and the MC won't get together until the later half of the story but DONT WORRY!! The author feed us well with their cute interactions (*´ω｀*)

PS: The author is such a TEASE!!! I WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!! I WANT THE ACCESS TO SMUTTY LAND!! THE ENDING IS TOO MUCH!! DONT TEASE ME LIKE THAT MY HEART CANNOT TAKE IT!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! <<less
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Achiless
Achiless rated it
December 9, 2020
Status: Completed
Since there's a lot of reviews already, I'm going to review about the things in the novel I see differently/I find missing from other reviews.

I don't see enough people talking about the science. Science sucks in school, but it's actually interesting af on its own, especially if it's intergrated in a novel. This philosopher warned scientists about how the things we consider to be laws of nature might just be habituation, and this book kind of goes into that from a different angle.

An apacolypse actually (reasonably) supported by science... more>> and mindblowing hypotheses?? No cringy meteor and zombie explanation? We stan.

I haven't read much apacolypse settings, but from what I've read, apacolypse themes is tr*sh. Little mushroom is like gold in a tr*shcan. Few authors can actually handle an apacolypse setting, and most endings get shitty. Little mushroom on the other hand just keeps getting better. I was prepared for a sh*t ending that never came.

I do miss some more depth of the story itself. The storytelling is like done 99% well, and because of the missing 1% I lack the rush of adreline when new discoveries about the world were made, and it felt more as if I was reading a historical report (I mean, that would prob make me more excited). All the info were interesting af, but I just reallly miss the mindblown feeling. Enjoyment 4 stars, but the rest was just executed so well I have to ignore my subjective enjoyment and give 5 stars.

I agree with other reviewers saying that the book is heavy with lots of moral questions, but it's truly not that angsty and tragic. Probably because the MC has yet to fully associate with human emotions and the concept of loss.

Also, the morality issues aren't very heavy, but instead pretty shallow. But there isn't anything wrong with that. The author choose that way of writing, and did a good job with that. Also, with shallow I don't mean shallow as in elementary-school cringiness, but just that the questions are pretty straightforward.

The moral conflict about having the authority to kill at will that many reviewers talk about, isn't worked out well. The author made the ML, who has that authority, too perfect without explanation (so the ML is 100% accurate in spotting cantagious people). Instead of having a "moral conflict", you'll just side with the ML as reader. I'd rather say it's a stance (to give someone absolute authority in times of chaos) that the writer takes instead of a moral conflict she delivers to us. To see it as a moral issue, the reader has to use more brains (to put themselves in the situation blah blah) than they should.

I also want to point out that the mushroom MC IS s*upid while also naive. Not s*upid in the annoying sense though, but in the clumsy-in-light-moments sense. He still has enough intellegence to keep up with big discoveries, but lacks some common sense sometimes. That, I repeat, isn't annoying at all, coming from someone who detests dense characters.

Another thing is how the MC isn't able to understand everything about the moral questions that arise. That's really the job of the reader. But then there'll be this conflict while following the MC through the book: 1) you concentrate on the MC's storyline since he's a storyline heavy character 2) you need to put yourself into the place of the MC and use your own brain to think. Those two don't rly work well together. Either remove the storyline of the MC and truly make him a spectator, or make the MC question the things the reader should question. But that's just something small. <<less
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joytothewild
joytothewild rated it
June 19, 2020
Status: c87
I don't really need to say much about all the good qualities of this story, all the other reviewers have already praised it enough. This review can be considered me nitpicking at a nearly perfect story, one that is unique, engaging, and immensely thought-provoking (seriously, people who like fishing for philosophical themes in fiction are going to love this).

The one problem I have with the story is the dynamic of the relationship between the two main characters. Look, I love both the MC and the ML, they are both likable... more>> as persons and have lots of depth, but I find myself frowning at their interactions most of the time. I won't spoil too much but Chinese web novel authors tend to stick to stereotypes when they create their MCs and MLs, and I'm afraid this amazing author can't escape that trap.

The ML is your typical stone-cold beauty with a tragic backstory which makes him emotionally constipated. The MC is the shou, soft and naive, although he does draw his own bottom line and puts his own needs and goals first, which makes him different from some other stereotyped bubbly shou's out there. HOWEVER, at one point in the story, he will throw all that away once he comes to understand ML's pain and suffering. Why? Because there's this one trope authors love, where the female lead/shou bursts open the door to ML's dull life and fixes him, makes him better as a person by destroying all his walls and helps him achieve his goal--but these MCs' OWN aspirations and goals are never mentioned or just briefly talked about and forgotten. At least in some of these stories the ML does sacrifice something of his own for MC, but in this story I was very disappointed to find out that ML never has to go out of his way for MC. It's MC who becomes sort of a doormat once he learns what a greaaaat person ML is by shouldering all that responsibility alone--the author emphasizes this very often, making most secondary characters hammer this fact into MC and the readers--he becomes weak, he cries for ML's sake, he understands ML's principles but never hopes ML will try to understand his.

It just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to see MC who has his own goal which he risks everything for become someone who caters to the ML, who never tries to make compromises for him. And worse,

Spoiler

ML even tries to kill MC several times. Yes, the reason is MC is not human, but his godly instincts should've also told him that MC is absolutely harmless as well, no? I find his actions inexcusable, but MC forgives everything because ML has been through a lot *rolls eyes*

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Not to mention the fact that MC doesn't make an effort to make his own friends and the only one he cares about is ML, until very late into the story he becomes sort of buddies with ML's friend. (Not very healthy, I think) ML also never really develops much as a character, the only way he expresses his grief is by getting angry and threatening to kill someone near--very alpha, I must say.

Other than this little issue I had everything else was absolutely great, yep.

TL;DR. Story is great. The only flaw is the gong-shou dynamic, which derives from the very patriarchal romance tropes circulating in Chinese BL. Shou becomes a doormat, while gong never develops as a character. But still it's a must read for the plot. <<less
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Honefuusen
Honefuusen rated it
February 11, 2020
Status: Completed
I love this novel very much *ugly bawling face*

This is sooo goooood. The synopsis is extremely misleading, not that it doesn't represent the story just that in censored much of the heartbreaking things happening in the novel.

I cannot believe I am so moved by a mushroom. The depressing undertone of this novel makes you keep thinking if this all ends in tragedy despite the disclaimer saying it ends happy. Things kept getting worse and happiness was like glimpses, fleeting and easily swept away. But the specks of happiness keep you... more>> engaged. It drives the story, you can't wait for the next fluffy things to happen. The MC and ML are very lovable. They are both naive in a way, both are growing while they were interacting despite how worse things just keeps on coming for them. It was heartbreaking when they were separated. MC narrative was immersive. I loved how the world of the novel was build, the myriads of vivid characters contrasting the MC and ML was so glaringly beautiful. It is a very sweet novel. Somewhat naive like the MC, somewhat hopeful, but also so so indifferently cruel. It is such a poetic novel I can't praise it enough. I'm already blind to any shortcoming this novel might have beside being somewhat short. This was an amazing read and I will comeback to this novel time and again. I highly recommend reading this novel. <<less
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Animelover0897
Animelover0897 rated it
March 5, 2020
Status: Completed
??? It was so sweet!! The whole story was soo depressing and just down right... Ugghhh... just.. the whole plot was the exact opposite of a fluffy and sweet BL novel u woulda expected from the summary.... I got cha-baited but the book was just too good to put down even though I MTLed it. Although it was sad and dark 90% of the time, just the interaction between the ML and MC countered all the negative emotion, especially MC naive nature of just accepting everything and being in a... more>> bystandard point of view with the collapse of humanity untill he realises that he's already influenced by humans that his willing to die for the survival of man kind because of ML???. Ahhhh it was a good cry... ?? <<less
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gnessa14
gnessa14 rated it
February 1, 2020
Status: Completed
This story was very different from other apocalypse stories. It wasn't a zoombie apocalypse, but a beast tide or animal riot. MC was a mushroom looking for his spore and in the process, he encountered ML who was on the verge of collapse due to the countless deaths under his hand. ML was suspicious of MC not being human and their involvement saved ML from his mental collapse.

The entire story had a depressing tone. MC in this story was more like a passerby with a goal, someone who didn't participate... more>> or care about world-saving. Thus, there wasn't much action going on but the writing was smooth and it was hard to stop reading.

Spoiler

MC didn't directly save the world but he was the specimen who helped the scientists to solve the apocalypse.

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Ritsuka
Ritsuka rated it
January 28, 2021
Status: Completed
I LOVE LOVE AND LOVE THIS NOVEL!!! THIS IS CLEARLY ONE OF MY FAVOURITES NOW!!

I literally can't describe it into words how great this novel is.I really want to type a long review discussing all the aspects of this novel but I know I can't even describe it and whatever I say will end up spoiling for the future readers. This is extremely extremely thrilling and it kept me totally on the edge of my seat the whole time.I binged it in 2 days!Believe me and go into it blindly. You won't regret it!

The writing style of the author is *chef's kiss*. The words and lines are so poetic yet they drag you into the atmosphere outright with beautiful dialogues and explanations. Such styles are treasures I love and... more>> they are rare, really rare!

The only thing i'll tell you is that its not fluffy. The setting and atmosphere of the whole novel is somber and despair inducing with angst enough to make you anxious/uneasy and cry. Yet we see how in the cruel apocalypse, Humans who are weak just like ants, even tho they have no hope for survival continue to stubbornly and tenaciously look for ways to survive. Even though they despair, they die but they continue forward.I found it beautiful.This novel clearly describes how an apocalypse would be. There would be no one to give humans abilities. Even fate or nature won't be on our side. Yet we as human who are weak with only our intellect and willpower continue to survive and hope. In this novel, we see there is still human kindness in this world left making our hearts warm. How humans still remain kind in the face of adversity. The little mushroom's interactions with Colonel were the only sunshine for me in this novel. This was the only fluff yet it made my heart warm so many times that I really felt chocked up.

We follow the perspective of Little Mushroom in this novel. We see his story. How he comes in contact with different kind people. How he views them. We see how this kind being views people, interacts with them, forms his own views and ends up being moved. He is one of the purest beings I might have read about.I love and treasure him so much!

I really want to say a lot about Colonel our ML too. But anything I say is a spoiler so i'll shut up. But believe me I love this man to death too! I literally felt my heart jump by his confession! His words are gonna stay with me forever!

Both MC and ML are so unique. Scratch that! This whole novel is so unique.I bet all my money, there isn't a single aspect thats not unique. Its one of a kind truly!!!

DW! You will cry and feel anxious but its a HE with cute extras!

I once again repeat! Read it! Its Too Good/10. Like Whoa no wonder it has 4.8 rating. It deserves a 5/5 tho. Not gonna change my mind! <<less
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rhianirory
rhianirory rated it
March 15, 2020
Status: Completed
this story is one of the top 100 on JJWXC for a good reason.

the series is well written and will make you think long after you've finished reading, even of all you can do it MTL. And cry, let's not forget all the bawling. I would recommend not reading it in public if you're an ugly crier like me (sniffling in public places is liable to set off full-blown panic right now anyways).

... more>>
Spoiler

I usually hate the 'idiot shou/bully ml' template but found it tolerable here. The MC has a good reason for being completely ignorant (not human) and the ML is broken because of his job and on the verge of blackening. There is character growth for both as the MC grows and learns more about the world and the humans.

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this story has some very bleak moments and melancholic imagery so don't expect a lot of fluff but it's also beautiful and definitely worth the read.

I also recommend the author's other story 'C Language XuiXian, ' even though the comp programming stuff is a little hard to understand for those of use without tech specialties, the rest of the story is very good, especially the second half. Hopefully it will be picked up for translation at some point. <<less
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rebel_rebel
rebel_rebel rated it
July 13, 2023
Status: Completed
A novel that I desperately wanted to like but was left disappointed.

I loved Little Mushroom's world-building and originality, huge props to the author for thinking up a truly unique post-apocalypse scenario. The pacing was good for the most part, and the plot was engaging and very well thought out. You'd never guess this novel would have a happy ending, but when it came I found it believable and satisfying.

However, after we get past 3/4 of the novel, the narration quality declines quickly. We're thrown from one major story arc into... more>> another in a very short period of time, which gets very annoying very fast.

Spoiler

I hated 'An Zhe at Pauli's base' part of the story the most, because not only our MC and ML are apart for it when it could've been used to deepen their frankly very underdeveloped relationship, but we also get a huge amount of info-dumping to explain what exactly is going on with the magnetic fields and why everything started fusing together.

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The sci-fi plot is already complicated enough, but because of the overall good pacing of the story it was served to the reader in small comprehensible chunks which were easy to follow. It felt to me as if the author had to rush the ending and crammed everything together at the very end, hence the info-dumping.

I also couldn't bring myself to love any of the side characters, except for Shaw whose interactions with An Zhe were hilarious. Other characters were either uninteresting and served no purpose to the plot or were killed off too quickly for me to start really caring for them. I felt like there was more to An Ze and his friend/ex-boyfriend's story, but it ended up amounting to nothing. Dousay, Poet, Lily and her friend all seemed interesting, but their characters ended up superficial and unexplored.

I wasn't a fan of the romance between An Zhe and Lu Feng either. At first, I enjoyed their dynamic and was looking forward to their every interaction, but as the story progressed, their relationship remained underdeveloped.

Spoiler

I was excited when Lu Feng's jet crashed and he ended up stranded with An Zhe, but their time together was again cut short, and by the time An Zhe is reborn in the epilogue, they felt like two strangers who got thrown together by the plot and didn't understand each other at all. Don't get me wrong, I usually like novels that focus more on the plot than the romance, but here the romance felt like an afterthought.

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To sum it up, Little Mushroom is a decent sci-fi novel that is worth reading if you're a fan of the genre, but unfortunately, I personally didn't find it as groundbreaking as the reviews make it out to be. <<less
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