This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 321, Section 320: Stealing from one's own home.

Inside Mushroom Garden No. 3, Norris and Louisa, who had just finished an intense training match, were taking a short rest.

"Sister Blood, thank you for your guidance!" Norris said, leaning halfway out of Jida, slightly out of breath, but with a hearty smile on his face.

Louisa nodded slightly, but looked at Norris with a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Blood Sister? Do you need...blood?" Norris tilted her head, revealing her neck.

“No, no.” Louisa shook her head. She was no longer worried about the blood; she was just a little confused. “You seem to have been in much better spirits lately.”

"Oh, is that so? Hahaha!" Norris laughed and scratched his head. "I guess I've been sleeping really well lately, unlike before when I was always having exhausting dreams."

"A very tiring dream..." Louisa repeated softly, a thought stirring in her heart. She remembered having a similar experience recently and wondered if there was any connection between them.

Norris suddenly remembered something and spoke directly to Lin Jun through the fungal network: "Boss, I saw a kind of 'Puji' that can generate electricity in the prisoner punishment room last time. Could you add that function to Jida's drills as well?"

However, the leader didn't respond as quickly as usual. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the web interface before a clearly distracted voice came through: "Let's talk about it later."

Norris leaned closer to Louisa and whispered, "What's wrong, boss? Are you in a bad mood?"

Louisa shrugged; little did she know.

……

Lin Jun was indeed in a bad mood.

The reason is simple—he's been getting "beaten up" every night lately!
Unfortunately, the investigation into the "Strange Dreams" didn't yield any useful information from Aidin's side.

And for some reason, starting from the second night, the intensity of the intrusions Inanna encountered in her dreams more than doubled!
Although she was not yet unable to protect Inanna, Lin Jun, who was originally in a relatively comfortable position, was suddenly cornered and attacked.

Now, it's not just scrapes anymore; it's gotten to the point where my little finger and thumb are stuck through a water pipe and pricked with a needle until they bleed!

Initially, Lin Jun only wanted to help Inanna resist the invasion and then everyone would be happy; now, he only wants to find the mastermind behind it all and settle the score with him.

The most direct way to turn the situation around as soon as possible is to devour a large number of Dream Flowers and quickly increase the skill level of [Mental Guidance].

Inanna resolutely accepted this arduous task—to steal flowers from her own treasure vault!

Lin Jun felt that with her abilities, she would be caught red-handed sooner or later.

Even if you get caught, it won't be a big problem.

Inanna herself will not suffer any serious consequences, and Lin Jun has her own plans for what to do if the situation of "Different Dreams" is exposed as a result.

The most important thing right now is to eat enough, upgrade my skills, and get out of this situation where I'm being passively attacked every night.

Regarding the issue of connecting the mushroom network...

The Duke's residence is about two days' journey from the Mushroom Capital, and nowadays, traces of mycelium can be seen sporadically in and around this area.

In fact, even in the neighboring cities of Norwegian and Porto de la Salle, fungal carpets have already begun to spread along their outskirts.

……

The spread of the fungal carpet expanded the range of activities for the Puji Masters, and they naturally began to become active in Norvid and Fishing Port.

Their arrival quickly aroused the hostility of local veteran adventurers and mercenaries.

The reason is simple: they're stealing my business!

A quest that originally required a four-person adventure team can now be completed by just two Puji Masters leading their Puji teams. This is even the result of forming a team specifically to reduce Puji losses.

This applies not only to raiding missions, but also to traveling caravans, which prefer to hire Pujishi as bodyguards.

Unlike human mercenaries who prioritize self-preservation when encountering enemies, the Puji are clearly more "dedicated." They will execute orders without hesitation, striving to complete the mission even at the cost of their own lives.

For merchants, the only cost afterward is a "Puji loss compensation" that is far less than the compensation for human mercenaries, which greatly reduces costs.

However, these two small cities are ultimately limited in size, and the number of commissions they can generate is limited.

When relatively cheap and efficient Pooji Masters snatched up most of the quests, the livelihoods of adventurers and mercenaries who originally relied on these quests suddenly became precarious.

Some people, adhering to the principle of "if you can't beat them, join them," set off to the dungeon to seek "baptism" after finding out the situation, hoping to become new Puji Masters.

But many more people are unwilling to accept this change and are unable to adapt. After being completely overwhelmed by the competition, they can only stay in taverns, drowning their sorrows in alcohol, complaining and venting their frustrations, while cursing the puji chefs who took away their jobs.

This sentiment continued to spread, gaining acceptance through mutual sharing, and fermenting into a widespread resentment.

Then it erupted at a certain moment!

"Get out! You freak!"

At the entrance of a noisy tavern in Norwich, a figure in a gray robe was roughly shoved out and fell to the ground.

His hood slipped down, revealing faint traces of white mycelium on his face, clearly indicating that he was a Puji Master.

The few Puji that had been quietly waiting outside immediately ran to him and crowded around him.

He was kicked out by a group of drunken mercenaries.

They blocked the tavern entrance, their faces a mixture of drunkenness, anger, and undisguised hostility.

Inside the tavern, cheers and encouragement rose and fell.

Only the tavern owner was unhappy that his customers had been driven away, but he couldn't really argue back in this atmosphere.

The voices behind him made the mercenary even more smug, and he loudly mocked the appearance of the Puji Master.

Puji Shi clenched his fists and ultimately chose to give in.

Putting aside the three mercenaries in front of him, if things really escalated, it was hard to say whether anyone else in the tavern would join in. He didn't want to risk it for a dispute that offered no benefit whatsoever.

Without saying a word, he got up and tried to leave with a puff of puff.

However, his appearance only emboldened the mercenaries further.

Not only did they mock him without restraint, calling him "a good-for-nothing who only dares to rely on a bunch of mushrooms," but one of them even caught up with him in a few steps, grabbed one of his short legs, and lifted him upside down.

"What kind of Puji master is this? He just brought a bunch of ingredients. We'll use this to make soup tonight!" He didn't hold back at all when he picked up Puji, and crushed Puji's foot.

The voice of the Puji Master came: "Put it down..."

"So what if we don't release him?" The mercenary drew his knife from his waist and pointed it at the Puji Master.

A surge of electricity coursed through his body from the puff in his hand, instantly paralyzing the mercenary.

Another Poji lashed out at the weapon with a whip, and then a Poji with a shell smashed into the mercenary's face, knocking out several teeth.

"You're asking for it!" The mercenary's two companions drew their weapons and charged forward, cursing.

……

Boom! (One more chapter in half an hour)

(End of this chapter)