Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 240 - 235: Redemption

The Stone Castle Dungeon has undergone a massive transformation.

The middle part of the ancient castle now appears to be in a semi-abandoned state. On the mottled stone walls, there is no one besides the ever-present fungal strands in the crevices.

According to the Demon's casual chat, there used to be moving Armor Guards and monsters disguised as Treasure Chests here, but unfortunately, they all went extinct after the arrival of Chis.

The ancient castle is now just a stone-brick open space, and even if mushrooms were planted on a Fungal Mat, the underground areas are far more suitable, so naturally, Lin Jun has ignored this area.

The canyon in the Upper Area has almost become a pasture for the Pukis, as Demons lead their subordinate Pukis to regularly feed prepared mushrooms to the Fat Worms.

Occasionally, they select individuals that have suffered heatstroke and send them for treatment on the Fungal Mat.

This repetitive daily work has been entirely handed over to these Demons by Lin Jun, and so far, apart from the occasional Puki being eaten by a Fat Worm, there haven't been any issues.

Incidentally, getting a Puki eaten results in a deduction of Contribution Points.

Lin Jun now has a reduced Puki capacity, but his territory continues to expand, so he, of course, delegates any miscellaneous tasks to his employees.

To facilitate their work, many Demons simply applied for Mushroom Houses in the third Mushroom Garden. Lin Jun even thoughtfully provided them with magic replenishment services, which encouraged more Demons who accepted fungal integration to stay in the Mushroom Garden.

After all, although they could consume mushrooms to convert into Magic Power, in terms of efficiency and satisfaction, it's far inferior to direct charging on the Fungal Mat.

The influx of Demons has also made the third Mushroom Garden lively.

Norris successfully mingled among them as a tailless Lizardman, and no one knows he's actually human.

Xiao Hai gradually got used to the presence of these Demons. Initially, Lin Jun was worried that Xiao Hai might discreetly seize a Demon Core from a Demon when he wasn't paying attention! 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

But actually, because the Demon Core's color was rather dark and dull, Xiao Hai showed little interest.

As long as the Demons don't get close to her Mushroom House, everything is fine; if they do, Xiao Hai will protrude her head, staring fiercely at the intruder with her golden, vertical pupils.

Considering Xiao Hai's reputation for instantly tearing apart formidable monsters, which has spread widely among the Demons, none of them are willing to risk testing her limits with their lives.

Therefore, the area within ten meters of Xiao Hai's Mushroom House has tacitly become a no-go zone for the Demons.

In the most prominent spot of the third Mushroom Garden, under the largest Mushroom Tree emitting a gentle fluorescent glow, there's a bulletin board made from "cowhide."

On it, with slightly wavy, rounded Demon Race script, is a "Contribution Points Redemption List," ranging from the cheapest mushrooms to Demon Crystals, various potions, and even customized Mushroom House expansion services!

Lin Jun has listed everything he could think of to incentivize... motivate the Demons to work, and anything he missed can be added later.

As for why the script on this list, which should be angular and full of power in Demon Race language, is so rounded?

You can't expect a Puki to use its soft, fungal tendrils to produce sharp and expressive writing on rough "cowhide," can you?

Anyway, the Demons seem to understand it...

...

Shou, who had just completed his task of guarding the cave, returned to the third Mushroom Garden.

Even though his two arms were disabled, they were equipped with sharp weapons. Despite his disability, his Level remains as it is, making it easy for him to kill some demons roaming in the caves.

With the assistance of Qiong, he removed the weapons from his arms.

Afterwards, he gathered the clansmen currently in the Mushroom Garden, and after a brief discussion, Shou submitted a special redemption request to Lin Jun through the Fungal Network—a Demon Core.

These Demon Cores belonged to the thirty or so Demons who were unfortunately lost in Chis' trap.

After taking over Chis' territory, Lin Jun found these indigestible Demon Cores from deep within the Clumsy Worm's stomach and, with Little Pig's reminder, collected them all.

Putting the Demon Cores into the redemption project was a deliberate decision by Lin Jun.

If the Demon Cores are as important to the Demons as Little Pig described, they would surely have more warriors work to exchange them back as soon as possible, which would help Lin Jun quickly gain control over the entire tribe.

It turns out, Little Pig's intelligence was accurate!

This time, Shou wanted to exchange for a Demon Core first.

Lin Jun did not immediately agree to the request but instead asked each Demon present to explicitly declare through the Fungal Network: whether they voluntarily contributed their personal Points for this exchange.

Shou is the tribe's chieftain, but within Lin Jun's system, he has no special privileges over other Demons. He cannot force clansmen to sacrifice their Contribution Points, even though Lin Jun knows the Demons present agreed; this confirmation step still has its significance.

As expected, none of the Demons had any objection. Everyone thought bringing back a comrade's Demon Core was the right thing to do.

Shortly afterwards, a plump Puki wriggled out of the huge Mushroom Tree's Fungal Mycelium Network.

It twisted its fungal tendrils and rolled out a Demon Core, emitting a faint glow, from its body, taken from the mysterious treasure room of their leader that no one knew existed!

Qiong, with trembling hands, gently held the Demon Core handed over by Puki.

The surface of the Demon Core was covered with tiny cracks, like a spider web, but miraculously retained its integrity, internally still carrying a faint, familiar Magic Power pulse.

Tears fell suddenly and unexpectedly. Qiong hoarsely called out the Demon Core owner's name: "Huo Yan...!"

The surrounding Demons all bowed their heads, and silent grief filled the air.

Although the initial suggestion that caused the Demon's misfortune originated from Huo Yan, he did it all for the tribe and, in the end, stood alone at the narrow passage, blocking the swarm with his body.

The Demons did not expect that the first Demon Core to be exchanged back would be his.

"Bring Huo Yan... back to the tribe." Shou's voice was also somber.

Before leaving, Shou turned once more to the Puki who brought the Demon Core.

He straightened his back and, with a ceremonial gesture, bowed deeply—a bow Lin Jun had never seen before.

"Leader, thank you," Shou's voice was low yet clear, filled with sincere gratitude, "Not only for giving the tribe hope but for allowing Huo Yan, and our clansmen... a chance to go home."

Beside him, another plump Puki suddenly took a short running start, nimbly leaping onto the broad mushroom cap of the Puki that delivered the Demon Core, stacking itself there steadily.

The fungal tendrils pat Shou on the head, again "accidentally" brushing past his severed arm.

"This is all earned by your own efforts, deserved! Work hard, not just for Demon Cores, but your hands can be restored too! Even becoming stronger, or securing a better residence for the tribe, it's not a dream!" Lin Jun skillfully painted a picture.

"Your words, we will keep in our hearts."