Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 224 - 221: Integration

[Seven Sins of Greed Triggered]

[Plunder Skill: Cold Resistance Level 7→Level 8]

[Plunder Skill: Biting Level 3→Level 4]

...

On the fungal mat, the flesh and blood of the fat worm had been completely decomposed, leaving only a thick, tough hide and a circle of blunt teeth.

This hide is a good material, tough and thick, many of the Demon Race use it to sew clothes for warmth.

Although Lin Jun couldn’t use it for now, he dried it and stored it in the material library for future use.

As for the teeth, they were too ordinary and of no use. Even if polished to a shine, they couldn’t catch Xiao Hai’s eye, and ultimately could only be discarded as waste, thrown into the belly of the corrosive Puki for disposal.

Although the resistance was enough, Lin Jun did not give up on cultivating the fat worm.

Resistance, being a passive attribute, can never be too high.

Moreover, in this barren land of the Far North, besides raising these tough-skinned and thick-fleshed fat worms, there really weren’t many other production options.

On the other hand, with the resistance meeting the standard, Lin Jun immediately sent a batch of Drilling Puki to dig their way underground toward the tribe.

However, digging holes in the Far North was much harder than expected.

The heat emitted by the Drilling Puki would melt the tiny ice crystals in the soil, leading not only to wet and muddy passages but also to a useless consumption of a large amount of energy, resulting in a digging speed much slower than that in the Purple Crystal Dungeon.

More troublesome was that the deep layers here weren’t all frozen soil; encountering large areas of hard ice layers was a common occurrence, and in such cases, the Puki could only choose to go around.

After all, no matter how powerful the mycelium was, it couldn’t grow directly on ice layers...

It was estimated that completely opening the underground Fungal Mycelium Network connecting the Demon Tribe and its surrounding areas would take at least about half a month.

What comforted Lin Jun was that the Demon Tribe did not send people south but chose to make contact with him first.

...

"Pukis, I’m back again!"

From afar, Qiong waved his intact arm, greeting the Pukis feeding the fat worms in the distance.

This time, he was accompanied by two other people.

Both hands still disabled, Shou, and another brand-new Demon.

Regardless of whether they migrated south or not, obtaining food from the Underground City was a necessity for survival.

Out of caution, Shou decided to come personally to see what this "working" that Qiong talked about was all about.

A bat Puki flew down from the cliff, landing precisely on top of Shou’s head.

Shou’s eye twitched slightly, but he said nothing.

"Qiong, Shou, welcome back. This is...?" Lin Jun’s voice reached the consciousness of the two through the fungal network.

"He’s Ze! He’s here to work with us this time!" Qiong habitually replied loudly, as if speaking to the air.

"What?" Ze looked puzzled, hearing his name suddenly but not the fungal network communication, and instinctively looked around.

"Huh?" Qiong then realized, blinking in confusion. Could it be that Pukis are shy and don’t "talk" to strangers?

He had thought that Pukis communicated using telepathy.

Shou, on the other hand, was deep in thought, glancing down at the mycelium entangled around his arm.

Bringing the three to the Mushroom Forest, the forest had taken shape, with mushroom trees emitting a faint blue fluorescence standing scattered, and fluorescent spores floating in the air like fine snow, revealing the unique charm of the Mushroom Forest.

All along, Ze couldn’t take in enough with his eyes, curiously observing the busy Pukis, the fungal mat covering the land, and the various glowing mushrooms.

Then they witnessed the scene of Jida and the vampire fighting.

Shou and Ze instinctively tensed, readying for combat, with Ze instinctively reaching for the bone blade at his waist!

"Don’t be nervous, it’s just practice." Lin Jun promptly stopped them.

To be precise, Norris had used his own blood to invite Louisa to practice, but there was no need to explain this to the Demons in detail.

Once the three bowls of "special glowing mushroom soup" emitting a faint light were placed on the table, Lin Jun got to the main point:

"Qiong, Shou, you’re welcome to work anytime. But as for Ze..."

"Is there a problem?" Shou asked.

"Here’s the thing," Lin Jun explained, "I can communicate with you because of the mycelium symbiosis within you. But Ze doesn’t have it, so I can’t even communicate with him."

In fact, there was also the language Puki, but Lin Jun obviously wouldn’t bring that up now.

"So, does it mean he needs to symbiosis with the mycelium first to work?"

"That’s right. The consciousness connection is the foundation of Puki operations," Lin Jun admitted, "but let me be clear. Once in symbiosis, the mycelium is hard to separate, and you’ll need to regularly replenish magic power. When I first met you, Qiong couldn’t communicate, and Shou was on the verge of death, so I had no choice. I hope you understand."

"No problem! It’s lucky to be alive, how could we blame you..." Qiong waved his hands repeatedly.

Shou, on the other hand, was weighing things quietly.

He brought Ze this time to learn about the mycelium in their bodies. For the tribe, all three were expendable if necessary, something Ze understood before coming.

But looking at it now, the Lord Puki, apart from using "symbiosis" instead of the harsher "parasitism," didn’t seem to hide anything else, even pointing out the consequences of difficult separation after symbiosis.

At least for now, there was no obvious malice or trap.

In fact, deep down, he wanted to trust the Puki that saved his life. But as the leader of the tribe, even if he didn’t want to, he had to consider more.

After Ze nodded in agreement to connect with the fungal network, Lin Jun summoned Louisa.

Qiong seemed to guess something, but Shou frowned, "Initial Embrace?"

"Of course not, just making some space inside him so we can fit the mycelium in," Lin Jun awkwardly explained.

No choice, because if he said it was easier to parasitize when half-dead, it would seem too evil.

Louisa was delighted at the "pleasant task," enthusiastically giving Ze, who was ready to face death, an "affectionate" hug.

Afterward, Louisa, quite gentlemanly, cradled the weakened Ze and carried him to rest in a nearby Mushroom House.

Half a day later, a slightly weaker Ze emerged from the Mushroom House, formally becoming a proud "Half Mushroom Man."

Then, guided by the Puki, they passed through the Rift.

But this time, Lin Jun didn’t have them collect Firefly Grass.

Instead, he sent the three to a cave guarded by Cave Dwellers, to jointly defend against demons.

Cave Dwellers were not particularly friendly neighbors, showing cold hostility towards the new Demon arrivals.

Qiong felt uneasy all over, compared to the last time happily digging grass with the Pukis, it felt much more oppressive now.

Shou, however, was observing deeper: these low-intelligence creatures, also parasitized by mycelium, seemed to live not too badly.

Plenty of food, and in battles they fought alongside the Puki, not treated as consumables.

As for the small unpleasantries among Cave Dwellers colleagues, it actually made Shou feel a bit more real, giving him a bit of reassurance...

In just two days, the mushrooms the three earned piled up like a small hill, needing two Fat Otaku Puki to carry them!

This time, Lin Jun symbolically took two contribution points for transportation costs and reminded, "Next time, it’s best to bring your own transport tools, save the contribution points for something else."

Watching the trio depart, Lin Jun knew this Demon Tribe was likely stable.

In the communication before leaving, through the fungal network, Lin Jun sensed that Shou’s guard toward him had eased considerably.

Sure enough, just two days later, the third Mushroom Garden welcomed more Demon visitors.

Louisa looked at the endless stream of "clients" and fell into a long-lost, sweet dilemma.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hai felt a vague sense of vigilance. At her strong request, Lin Jun had to help her move her Mushroom House and Bright Crystal to an unfrequented corner, where she finally felt at ease.

-----------------

In the Far North, Lin Jun continued to gradually assimilate the Demon villages, while not neglecting the harassment of the core region’s Combat Puppets.

The Pukis charged across the platform’s midline time and again at a fixed frequency, fleeing hastily, only to meet their demise, then as the Combat Puppet returned to position, the next cannon fodder Puki rushed in again...

Over time, the collapse of the Underground City visibly intensified, directly affecting the uninformed adventurers...