This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 193, Section 192: Relying on the Yellow Book?

"Boss! The dungeon is going to be gone!"

Inanna, who had just reconnected to the bacterial network, immediately relayed this explosive bad news.

But... why is there a faint hint of elation mixed in with this emotional fluctuation?
Why are you so happy that I, your eldest son, am about to become homeless?

"Boss, the dungeon's gone, are you thinking of moving? I have a forest over there..."

"Tell me what's going on. Why is the dungeon going to disappear?" Lin Jun asked.

“It was…it was that Gug Scholar who said it!” Inanna struggled to organize her thoughts. “He said the core was failing…it couldn’t be fixed by magic or anything…um…and some kind of structure collapsed…collapsed? Or locked?” She desperately tried to recall Gug’s obscure and difficult technical terms, her little face scrunched up, but the information that finally came out was still fragmented and chaotic.

"Stop! Halt!" Lin Jun quickly called for an end to this disastrous information transmission.

Fortunately, this confused guy wasn't the only one heading to the core this time.

"Aidin, what's the situation at the core of the dungeon?" Lin Jun asked privately.

"Ah! Boss!" Lin Jun's voice suddenly rang in his mind, and Aiding's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.

He quickly composed himself, regained his expressionless demeanor, and calmly and clearly reiterated Guge's analysis and conclusions within the mushroom web.

Although not word for word, the key information—that the core system was about to shut down, the underlying technology was missing, and human maintenance methods were completely ineffective—was conveyed accurately.

As expected of a mage who can reach the diamond level through her own abilities, her reliability and organization are worlds apart from that silly little girl who relies entirely on family resources and can't even speak properly!
Lin Jun didn't understand some of the more technical terms in Aiding's retelling, but she already understood that humans couldn't save the core.

Tsk!
Useless humans!

Seeing the Sword Saint leading the team with such a grand display, I thought he was incredibly capable, but it turns out he was completely helpless and was just about to pack up and leave?!
Lin Jun grumbled and cursed, but in reality, she wasn't sure herself—how could a mushroom possibly fix a core that even human experts couldn't?

If she had fingernails, Lin Jun would have started biting them by now.

I'm so worried! I'm really worried!

He took out a yellow-covered book that had been sitting under the butt of a self-proclaimed fat otaku for half a month.

[Norris! You've finally come to pick me up!!!]
However, it only had a voice acting as a megaphone in front of it.

[Huh? Ah? Boss!]
[What's wrong?]
"I have a small question for you." It was that same unpleasant voice that made you tremble.

[How small?] The yellow book tentatively probed.

"It's just a trivial matter... whether or not to casually toss you into that spatial rift next to us." His tone was as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

[......]
After a while.

[Please...please speak! I will answer everything I know!]
“You previously said the problem with the dungeon was in the core, and now it’s been confirmed that it was indeed caused by the core. But the problem is,” Lin Jun’s voice carried a hint of frustration, “even those so-called experts from humanity are helpless and have declared the core beyond saving. Even if we find the core, what then?”

[Did the humans go to repair the core?]
Having been suppressed for more than half a month, the Yellow Book knows nothing about the situation outside.

Lin Jun succinctly summarized the current situation and the core conclusions of Guge.

[Ha! Useless humans!]
The Yellow Book seems to be full of contempt for humanity.

[What kind of foundation could a united kingdom with only three hundred years of history have? A bunch of frogs in a well! Boss, you shouldn't have had any expectations of them in the first place!]
Its pages trembled slightly with excitement.

[Take me there! I'm 80% confident I can restore the dungeon to its original state!]
"Eighty percent?"

[Ahem... We always have to leave some room for unforeseen accidents...] the yellow book explained.

"Then tell me how you plan to fix it?" Lin Jun pressed.

[If there's a problem inside the core, naturally you need to find the faulty part, repair it, or replace it! But how exactly to do that... well, you'd have to see the condition inside the core to decide, right?]
Its tone shifted abruptly, becoming somewhat ingratiating. "[Um... Boss, I have a small, insignificant request.]"
"You said."

[Once the dungeon is truly repaired and you've mastered its core, could you perhaps...]
"If you can really do that, I will no longer restrict your food intake."

[The boss is brilliant!!! Long live the boss!!!]
"There's one last question."

[Boss, feel free to ask anything!]
"Will all the cracks disappear instantly after the core is repaired?"

[No, just like a crack expands slowly, it will naturally heal slowly during repair.]
After asking the questions, it shoved the yellow book back under its bouncy, plump bottom, this time without even a complaint.

If possible, Lin Jun really hopes that humans can repair the underground city, at least they won't resort to any underhanded tactics.

As for the Yellow Book?
In other words, Lin Jun had no choice but to repair the core. Otherwise, it would have been safest to ignore the yellow book and study the core on her own.

Unfortunately, time waits for no one.

However, entrusting a crucial task concerning the survival of the entire dungeon to a guy who seemed unreliable no matter how you looked at him... Lin Jun had to make other contingency plans.

At the very least, during the critical moment of performing the repairs, the main body must not remain in the Amethyst Dungeon!

Otherwise, if things aren't handled well, and some much-anticipated dungeon collapse occurs, then there might not be anywhere to run away.

If you're lucky, you might be thrown into some unknown corner and start from scratch; if you're unlucky, you might be stranded in the void and personally experience the desperate journey of disappearing into nothingness.

Safety! Safety! And more safety!

This is what Lin Jun has always wanted!
Currently, there are two options for temporary shelters. One is naturally the surface, but given how sensitive humans are to the Puji, this option carries considerable risk.

The second one... naturally refers to the cracks that have already been opened.

Leaving aside the void, the cursed environment under the slime's butt is too harsh and cannot be considered for the time being.

Compared to other places, it seems that Keith's place is just a bit less popular... While my own dungeon is being "renovated", I suppose Keith won't have any objections to staying at my good neighbor Keith's place for a while?

Of course, although she prioritized the Qisi family, Lin Jun wouldn't give up the option of the surface.

It's always better to have more backup options.

So even though the reason for humanity to attack the Puji has almost disappeared now that the Amethyst Dungeon is about to be destroyed, Lin Jun still decided to put on the show that was planned!
-
In the slightly demoralized expert team, Aidin, who was holding a specially made crystal, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“My miniature illusionary reconnaissance device… may have detected the whereabouts of the King of Puji.” Aiding glanced around, his gaze finally settling on the Sword Saint and Fifteen.

"In this deeper zone?!" Fifteen blurted out in surprise, his voice filled with disbelief.

Even though I knew there were Puji here, running from the fifth floor to the deeper areas...

“I think so.” Aiding didn’t waste any words. Magic flowed in his palm, projecting the image from the crystal.

In a cave filled with fungal carpet and poopi, a special poopi, equipped with a red cloak, silver pendant, and large shield, sits like a king atop a fat poopi mushroom hat.

When Fifteen's gaze fell upon that familiar round shield, especially the two clear, intersecting, and deep sword marks on its surface, he immediately confirmed, "That's it!"

Aidin looked at the Sword Saint and asked, "So... should we still try to 'subdue' it as originally planned?"

The implication is clear: the destruction of the dungeon is a foregone conclusion, and there seems to be no need to waste any more energy on the Puji. Letting them perish along with the dungeon seems to be the easier thing to do.

However, the Sword Saint was clearly intrigued: "Oh? This is the Puji who defeated Fifteen? Looks... rather interesting." He casually flicked his wrist. "Since we've run into each other, let's go check it out on the way."

Although the dungeon is destined to be destroyed, it doesn't mean it will collapse tomorrow. According to Gug, this process will probably last for about half a year, so when the Sword Saint wanted to take a detour, no one objected.

(End of this chapter)