Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 255 - 247: Searching

"Ah... I’m really sorry for making you worry." Vera had the group sit down and served each of them a bowl of warm red fluorescent mushroom soup.

The swordsman took a sip, his eyes lighting up slightly, but his thoughts quickly moved away from this peculiar delicacy and he asked, "Why have you been stuck here for so long? Did you run into some trouble?"

"We... were asked by the Puki and the Tree Demons to restore the vitality of this layer." Vera pointed to the sprouting demon plant seedlings dotting the surrounding soil and explained a bit sheepishly.

After all, he was too embarrassed to say that they had been captured to work because they angered the Puki.

"Luckily, we’re almost done."

The swordsman glanced at Vera with suspicion, thinking to himself if this guy’s overly helpful nature had worsened to the point of even including demons in the scope of his care.

Either way, the fact that everyone survived was the best news.

Feeling relieved, the swordsman focused his attention on the mushroom soup, trying his best to ignore his two teammates.

Now those two were fawning over that elf with excessive attentiveness. Admittedly, the elf was indeed strikingly attractive, but it was terribly embarrassing.

"Eh? A man?!" The mage suddenly exclaimed loudly, not knowing where their conversation led.

Immediately, both the mage and the hunter slumped to the ground, looking utterly defeated.

The difference was, the mage rolled back to the swordsman in frustration while the hunter, after a brief disappointment, regained his spirits and became even more enthusiastic towards the elf!

Seeing this, the swordsman silently decided never to team up with this somewhat dangerously inclined hunter again...

...

More than half a day later, the elf Sirean finally completed the revitalizing work in the last corner. Although the recent meals in the Underground City had been fine due to the presence of red mushrooms, everyone was eager to return home.

The only uncertainty was whether the Puki were really willing to let them go...

Leading the uninformed swordsman and the other two, Vera cautiously approached the entrance to the staircase leading to the fifth layer. However, when they reached the staircase entrance, Vera’s heart sank because a group of Puki was blocking the path.

"No way..." Vera’s face turned grim.

Sirean sighed and said, "Perhaps... only I need to stay behind so the rest of you can try leaving first?"

"How can that be!" Vera immediately rejected the idea, "I was the one who came up with the initial plan. If we’re leaving, we’re all leaving together."

"Vera, what is really going on here?" The swordsman became even more confused by their conversation.

Vera was about to explain when the leading Puki wiggled its soft body, extended a tentacle into its white and plump body to explore a bit, and moments later, extracted a pure purple Demon Crystal the size of a fingertip!

"A... A Level Demon Crystal!" Fei Yin immediately recognized the quality of the crystal and exclaimed.

Everyone’s attention was instantly captured by this small crystal, and Fei Yin subconsciously swallowed; no mage could resist the allure of an advanced demon crystal!

Luckily, everyone present had a certain moral standard. Such an A Level Demon Crystal, if dropped into some teams, could cause backstabbing drama.

The Puki wrapped the precious Demon Crystal with its tentacle and eventually presented it to Sirean, as it was thanks to his natural magic that life was restored.

Although others felt envious, they ultimately averted their gaze.

As for Vera and the other two, each received a small bag of red mushrooms.

Then the Puki leisurely dispersed, busying themselves elsewhere, completely clearing the path to the stairs.

"Does this mean... we’re allowed to leave?" Vera tentatively took a few steps forward, and no Puki came to stop them.

Seeing this, everyone quickly followed.

Just as they were about to leave the sixth layer, Fei Ling couldn’t help but look back and whispered to Vera, "Vera, do you think... Puki would make a good magic pet?"

...

On the fifth layer, deep in the damp swamp, Lin Jun was going through recent plans.

The repairs on the Underground City were nearly complete, with ecological changes in various layers, but everything was still under control, not a major issue.

On the surface, with the cooperation of the Pink Puki, they managed to get official endorsement and could now grow freely.

The only unexpected obstacle to the spread of fungal mats was something Lin Jun had longed for greatly—the sun.

The photosynthesis driven by sunlight was faster than the natural magic absorption by the fungal mats, and the direct sunlight wasn’t a problem, as the high temperature resistance was more than sufficient.

But... there was a lack of water.

In the forests and underground with moist environments, natural moisture was enough to maintain the vitality of the mycelium. However, in open areas exposed to direct sunlight, the dry land caused the mycelium to wither and die.

There was no choice but to divert water from surrounding areas to sustain these regions of fungal mats, greatly limiting their expansion in non-shaded areas, unless there was a stable water source nearby.

The solution was either to extract groundwater or use water magic to condense moisture from the air.

However, groundwater was limited, sufficient for small patches of fungal mats but unsustainable for large-scale expansion. As for magic, it meant Lin Jun doing it personally; no matter how much energy Lin Jun had, it seemed a waste to do it this way.

It would be better if humans could be guided to do it, like planting rice, setting up some canals for their mushrooms as well...

On another note, Lin Jun was producing a batch of second-generation scouts, whose strength was positioned between knights and elite Puki, designed for specific missions.

Lin Jun had repaired the vast majority of the Underground City rifts, leaving only a dozen or so scattered across different layers. These rifts led to various alien realms, some potentially interconnected.

For example, there were four rifts leading to dense forests and three exuding a faint cursed aura...

The rifts affected the normal operation of the Underground City, and keeping them from expanding required computational resources.

Currently, the number of rifts was still too high. Lin Jun planned to eventually retain only the most essential passageways, which meant selecting the most suitable nest point among similar rifts leading to the same type of area.

The second-generation scouts were thus born for this purpose.

This was also Lin Jun’s means of exploring the regions beyond these rifts, at least to ascertain whether what’s on the other side was another Underground City and its location, to better plan future actions.

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

Mushroom Garden No. 3.

Beside the warmth-radiating Puki, Qiong, along with a few clansmen, sat together enjoying hot mushroom soup, having even invited the tailless lizardman to join them.

As for the Dragon Man staring from afar, Qiong tried to strike up a conversation but was ignored, so he just let it be.

Ever since Qiong shared this delicacy with Shou and witnessed the momentary relaxation and enjoyment on his face, he couldn’t stop himself from recommending this exquisite taste to his clansmen.

At this moment, watching everyone joyfully enjoying the food, chatting and laughing, Qiong’s heart was filled with indescribable satisfaction, feeling that nothing could be more delightful. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Just then, Shou’s figure approached from a distance.

Qiong’s eyes lit up and he cheerfully waved him over, "Shou, come on! It’s just made!"

Shou approached, his gaze sweeping over the relaxed smiles of the clansmen, finally resting on the bulging leather bag filled with delicious red mushrooms beside Qiong.

He pondered for a moment and asked, "Qiong, how many contribution points do you have left?"

"Cough!" Qiong choked while drinking his soup, not lifting his head, his eyes avoiding and fixing on the bowl in his hands.

Shou sighed softly, his voice low, "Qiong, red mushrooms are indeed delicious and enjoying them occasionally is fine, but this way..."

He paused, his tone increasingly heavy, "We still need contribution points to reclaim our fellow’s core, and Xing Huo is also hoping for new tribal births, needing enough points to trade for fat beasts at the breeding farm..."

"I’m sorry..." Qiong hung his head lower, his voice faint as a mosquito, and the accompanying members of the Demon Race had also stopped, faces full of guilt.

Shou said nothing more, merely extending his nicked hand to gently pat Qiong’s head in reassurance.

In a corner, Norris held a half bowl of still steaming, aromatic mushroom soup, finding the bowl scorching, frozen in place, unable to drink or set it down, just wishing he had asked the boss for a hole-digging skill...