This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 309, Section 308: I Did It

The "Puji House" inn was unusually quiet after nightfall. Bianca had already gone back to take care of her mother, leaving Dylan alone behind the counter, slowly flipping through the account books by the dim light of an oil lamp.

On the surface, he was checking income and expenditure, but in reality, he was reporting the recent progress to Lin Jun through the mushroom network:
"Today I went to the guild to ask about the Scarecrow Abyss raid quest. The bounty has been raised to 800 gold coins, but there seems to be no progress yet."

I've heard that there have been a lot of unexpected events over there recently, and the adventurers are trying to figure out new ways to deal with them, so they're not able to go any further for the time being.

However, there is progress in acquiring the corpses of the other two types of monsters.

The task of finding the electric rat has already been taken, and the bounty on the earth bear has been fulfilled. The bear carcass has been embalmed, but it will take some time to transport it over.

"Oh? That's not bad!" Lin Jun was quite satisfied.

The task of collecting negative energy in the abyss is not progressing for the time being, but there's no rush.

"Electric Mouse" was a monster he carefully selected from the catalog given to him by Aidin. It was a monster with the attribute of lightning and had several lightning skills. He thought it might be suitable for Puji.

As for the "Earth Bear," Lin Jun had long coveted its [Gravity Field] skill.

Although the elf already had a bear cub at home, the little thing had already recognized Scout Puji as its big brother, so it was a bit of a psychological hurdle to eat it. So, they simply put up a bounty.

In fact, he had his eye on far more than just these two types of monsters, but posting too many bounties at once would be too conspicuous, so he could only proceed slowly.

"Boss, there's also the recent use of funds..." Dylan said, flipping open the ledger beside him.

But Lin Jun interrupted him as soon as he started: "Stop, there's no need to give the specific numbers."

Lin Jun had no interest in the tedious details of the accounts. As for money, enough was enough; she couldn't be bothered to inquire about where the excess money went.

Even if we take a step back and say that we really want to investigate whether our subordinates are embezzling, wouldn't it be more direct to monitor their daily activities through the microbial network than to listen to reports?
Dylan put down the ledger, looking somewhat disappointed.

"However, our current funds are almost exhausted. Should we issue other bounties?"

Of course, he'll send it, but Dylan clearly means he needs money.

Waiting for adventurers to 'donate' is too slow; perhaps we should sell another A-grade magic crystal?
"Boss, have you ever considered going into the pharmaceutical business?" Dylan suddenly suggested.

Common medicines don't have high profit margins due to competition, but he knew that the boss clearly possessed some unique formulas that hadn't been passed down locally.

In Dylan's view, as long as the source of the raw materials can be properly concealed, this business is definitely profitable.

"Selling medicine...that's an option."

Lin Jun hadn't really considered making money by selling potions before, and he only intended to use the medicine internally. Even the two bottles of hair growth potion that Dylan had were originally just given to him for his own use.

Dylan didn't seem to realize that the hair on his head had been thinning lately.

However, selling potions...

Hair growth potions obviously cannot be sold in large quantities, as several of their core ingredients are special products of the elven territory, and their origins are difficult to explain.

But the old elf has a lot of strange recipes. I should be able to find a few potions with common ingredients but whose recipes are not known locally.

Given the elves' expertise in alchemy and their secluded nature, finding a suitable recipe shouldn't be too difficult.

Then, by symbolically announcing some acquisition tasks for related materials, the source can be well concealed.

at this time.

Dongdong——dongdong——

The heavy knocking sounded particularly jarring against the locked wooden door of the hotel in the night.

Almost instantly, Dylan grasped the hilt of the longsword hidden under the counter, and at the same time asked through the mushroom web, "Boss?"

Lin Jun's response came quickly: "Ah, there's probably no danger." Dylan then walked to the door and opened it a crack.

Standing outside the door was Rita's rookie partner. At that moment, he was pale, breathing rapidly, and constantly looking around, as if afraid of being followed by someone.

Could this kid have gotten into some trouble and fled to me in a panic?!
Dylan's heart tightened, and he instinctively wanted to slam the door shut.

However, Lin Jun's voice rang out again: "It's okay, you can let him in."

Since the boss had spoken, Dylan no longer hesitated and turned to open the door wider.

The newbie stumbled in, about to speak, but was stopped by a sharp look from Dylan.

Even if business is slow, the hotel is not empty. How can we let him talk nonsense here?

Dylan didn't speak, but simply pointed his index finger towards the ground.

The newbie paused for a moment, then understood, forcibly swallowed back the words that were about to come out, and nodded nervously.

Upon entering the secluded basement, the newbie could no longer suppress his panic and blurted out incoherently, "D-Dylan-senpai! You...you saw Rita-senpai today?"

Dylan shook his head.

"As expected, Senior Rita has disappeared!" The rookie's face showed a look of utter despair.

Seeing his flustered state, Dylan sighed inwardly: "Don't panic, stay calm and explain slowly."

Before the senior whom Rita "trusted," the rookie didn't hide anything and told her everything: "Senior Rita said this morning that she was going to inquire about the rumors of that newly appeared 'parasite,' and asked me to go to the old contact point to deliver the previous secret report. But after I came back, I haven't seen her! I've secretly searched all the possible places, but she's not here! I thought she might come here to you... but, but..."

"Calm down!" Dylan snapped. "Didn't you teach you how to handle this kind of situation?"

"It seems like I was taught... we should... we should immediately assume that Senior Rita has met with misfortune, prioritize transferring her to a safe location, and then look for an opportunity to report to our superiors after ensuring her safety..." Under Dylan's reminder, the rookie recited the rules as if reciting a regulation.

"Then what are you doing now?"

The newbie was stunned for a moment, then looked ashamed: "I-I'm sorry! I...I'll leave now!"

Dylan grabbed his arm, his tone filled with exasperated anger: "Only now you think of leaving? Useless! You would have been exposed long ago! Rushing out now only makes it easier to walk right into their trap! You newbies are really..."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The newbie apologized repeatedly, so ashamed that he could hardly maintain his posture and almost curled up into a ball.

"Alright, let's stay here for now and lay low for a while before we talk about it again."

"Thank you, senior... This is my first mission, and I've encountered this. It's really... terrifying..." The rookie's voice was still trembling.

Seeing his expression, Dylan softened his tone and patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, I understand. Everyone starts as a newbie. Remember, think things through before you act."

After finally settling the terrified rookie spy down, Dylan had a moment to contact Lin Jun again via the microbial network: "Boss, do you know what happened to Rita?"

The eldest brother's mushroom carpets are all over Mushroom Town; he probably knows something.

Lin Jun's answer did not disappoint him; it was simple and direct: "I know, I'm hanging up."

Dylan wasn't surprised by the answer, and curiously asked, "Were you discovered by the church? Or did you fall into the hands of the guild?"

"I killed him."

"Ah this..."

Dylan ran his fingers through his thinning hair, suddenly realizing he should have been gentler with that newbie...

(End of this chapter)