This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 154. Taking Office
The demons have already set their sights on the human hero; it's unclear whether this is already confirmed or they are conducting a deeper investigation.

The hero is only LV18 and doesn't seem to be under much protection.

Putting yourself in his shoes, if Lin Jun were the emperor of the Hermit Empire, he would send his capable subordinates to kill him to prevent future troubles.

Lin Jun herself is a hero, so she naturally knows that there is no such thing as a hero suddenly exploding and leveling up in a crisis.

If I had, I wouldn't have ended up in such a terrible situation.

So... what exactly do humans want to do?
Are you trying to use a hero as bait?

Thinking about it that way, it does seem somewhat possible.

It's just too tragic that a hero would be used as bait, his life and death at the mercy of others.

Following this line of thought, Silver Sand Bay is likely to become a battlefield for the two sides to fight each other, so it is not advisable to stay for long.

Lin Jun had absolutely no interest in getting involved in the conflict between humans and demons; he himself still hadn't figured out which side he belonged to.

Seriously... The skill panel and everything else are so much like a game, so why can't the faction system be like a game too, with teammates marked in blue and enemies in red, making it simpler and clearer?
As for Dylan, the trail to his daughter has now completely gone cold.

With no other option, they had to give up for the time being and boarded a ship for the return journey.

Of course, they also brought along that batch of red reef fruit.

For Dylan, the outcome was bittersweet; at least it wasn't news of his daughter's death.

For Lin Jun...

That really doesn't matter.

Throughout the entire process, Lin Jun only used one [Family Control] capacity to accompany Dylan on his aimless wanderings.

Lin Jun's goal is to see the world.

Demon spy, swordsman, abyss magic, mist, hero...

So far, he has gained a lot, at least he has a general understanding of many things.

It would be perfect if we could successfully bring the delicious red jujubes back.

God help me avoid the fog and pirates again. Losing Dylan's gold coins and +4 pendant last time was bad enough, but this time I'm carrying Lin Jun's fruit...

As Dylan embarked on his journey home, the two carriages entered the territory of Silent Wind Town.
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Inside the comfortable carriage, the white-haired young man had a gloomy look in his eyes.

Even as his month-long trek was about to end, there was no trace of joy on his face.

Along the way, half of the farmland in the villages had been poisoned and destroyed by human poisoning.

Their luck did not return as initially, and they failed to capture a second spy.

Although they didn't catch them, the towns they passed through were filled with the remains of captured demon spies—executed and left to rot.

This is undoubtedly an imperial scheme.

While the empire's grand dukes may be bloodthirsty, evil, and twisted, they are by no means foolish and would not waste their own spies for no reason.

Surely they can't be complaining that their spy network is too large and want to give away some of it to reduce expenses, right?

They must have other plans, perhaps with the elves?

Although he knew these were things that only his father and his top-ranking colleagues should be considering, what he saw and heard along the way still made Far think about them, which wasted a lot of his energy.

A peeled fruit was offered to Far's lips. He took it, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it with remarkable ease. The taste was unremarkable; after all, this was just a supply he had bought locally for the latter half of his journey.

The delicacies brought from Oath City were all consumed along the way.

However, Far didn't really care about this. Although he usually had the finest food, clothing and daily necessities, he didn't care about these culinary desires.

As the carriage entered the town, with rows of wooden buildings lining both sides of the main road, Far decided to get out and take a look. He thought that seeing it with his own eyes would give him some information that wouldn't appear in the report.

The first thing he saw when he got off the bus was a cluster of mushrooms...

After walking only a few dozen meters, Far's brows furrowed deeply.

Mushroom clumps can be seen everywhere, growing under the eaves and in the corners of wooden houses.

The bowls and mouths of the people eating by the roadside glowed with a fluorescent light.

Along the way, the words I heard most often were "puji" and "mushroom," and they were mentioned in almost every conversation.

This town...something's really wrong!
Especially when those diners with fluorescent glints on their lips all turned their gazes to Far, this richly dressed outsider, Far had the illusion that he had entered enemy territory and was being watched.

This feeling persisted until we got a little better outside the guild—the guild was built of stone and no mushrooms grew there.

The branch president, or rather the former branch president Oberon, was unusually not drunk today.

Despite his sunken eyes and obvious signs of excessive drinking, Oberon mustered his strength and completed the handover with Far in front of everyone in the hall.

The so-called handover was really just a matter of transferring the branch's official seal, introducing the members, and then exchanging a few meaningless official pleasantries.

It's just a formality.

"He hates you," Lillian whispered to Far as she watched Oberon leave.

Far nodded. He had noticed it too, since there was supposed to be a dinner together, but it seemed that the other party had omitted it.

As for why Oberon disliked him, he could guess a thing or two, but he didn't care.

After getting acquainted with the remaining branch staff, including Mirabelle, Fal sat down in the branch president's office and issued his first order upon taking office: to compile and send over all the intelligence about the dungeons after the Demon Tide.

The order was naturally given to Mirabelle. Although Far had brought his accompanying clerical staff, they had just arrived and had not yet officially taken over their respective positions, and he was not prepared to waste so much time waiting.

Far didn't necessarily want to replace the important positions in the original branch with people he brought. If the original people in the branch were also suitable, keeping them in their original positions was not a bad idea.

Mirabelle was well aware that this was an opportunity to show off, so before sunset, she placed two large stacks of documents on Far's desk.

Then, the more he looked, the gloomier his expression became, and finally—

"That bastard Oberon!"

With a slap on the table, Farr now only wanted to drag Oberon back and let Lillian give him a good beating.

There should be a limit to laziness!
What does it mean that every level of the Amethyst Dungeon doesn't necessarily contain amethyst, but it definitely contains Puji?

Although the ninth and tenth floors are not yet available, it seems like it's only a matter of time before they are.

How could Oberon act as if he didn't see such an obvious change and not even mention it in his report to the General Assembly?

What does it mean that Puji started renting out lighting?
Doesn't this mean that these monsters are exhibiting business acumen?
Despite this unusual situation, Oberon didn't make any move!
That Oberon guy!

Farr decided that once the mushroom matter was resolved, he would give Oberon, that parasite, a good scolding in the report he submitted back!
(End of this chapter)