This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 332, page 331. Video
Actually, it would be better to kill it, Lin Jun thought.

However, considering that old Dylan was already quite old and had no daughter, killing his interracial friend in front of him might make him depressed, so they spared the shapeshifter's life.

Anyway, as long as he's within the fungal carpet area, there's no way he can do anything.

But what if the Empire wants to transfer him away?

Then the only option is to make him fake his death.

Dylan was quite happy to work with Chlorlo, and he mentored him like a newcomer, teaching him how to replenish magic power through the fungal network, how to use the fungal network to send messages, and how to control Puji.

The rest of the matter was left entirely to Dylan to handle. Even if it was just for the sake of his good older brother's life, Dylan would do his best.

Lin Jun's attention then turned to the newly upgraded core skills.

[Skill Upgrade: Mycelial Network LV7→LV8]

It is a skill that cannot be upgraded through greed alone, but only through slow and painstaking effort.

The last upgrade unlocked the "node" capability, and this time... well... it seems to be... visual sharing?
Give it a try.

……

[Are you really not considering Karen?] The yellow book in Phnom Penh was printed in pink font.

“Senior, didn’t I already say that she’s a werewolf? And I am…” Norris tried to refute.

[What are you? A tailless lizardman?]
[Norris, race has never been an issue. I've seen more interracial couples than you've eaten mushrooms, and there's even been vampires and bread together!]
“But… I don’t like her either…” Norris’s eyes darted around, but another blurry figure unconsciously flashed through his mind.

[Look at you now! Humans would treat you like a monster, and lizardmen would be disgusted by your lack of a tail! Now that a werewolf girl doesn't mind your race or appearance and is interested in you, you're being picky!]
[Besides, by your general aesthetic standards, Karen's human form in sunlight is acceptable, isn't it?]
Young people often fantasize about finding true love, but where in the world can you find so many perfectly matched true loves waiting for you?
Every word hit a nerve, and Norris, his face contorted with grief, weakly protested, "What...what does this have to do with you, senior? Why do you always try to match me up with Karen?"

[This looks like it will be very interesting]
"..."

[Hey? Let's talk this out, don't treat me like this—]
Norris slapped the old man back onto the center of the shield and then plunged into the gibbons.

He's taken a hit and needs to calm down.

Suddenly, a clear image crashed into his mind without warning, leaving him stunned.

In the scene, seemingly in a cave deep within the area, beside a small pool of water, the werewolf Karen is grooming his wet fur.

Water droplets slid down her grayish-brown fur, while many shed wolf hairs floated on the surface of the water.

These werewolves didn't actually have the habit of bathing before. Water resources on the tenth floor weren't plentiful, at least not enough for werewolves to bathe freely.

Therefore, most werewolves who have just descended always carry a strong, indescribable odor.

Puji couldn't smell it, but it was a real hardship for Norris, who was in charge of receiving them.

The situation has improved a lot recently. Although most werewolves still don't like the feeling of their fur getting wet, they can at least wash it once a month.

Karen is undoubtedly one of the cleanest ones among them; in fact, Norris has hardly smelled any odor around her lately.

But Norris couldn't understand why he could "see" this scene so clearly in his mind.
Could it be... could it be that deep down I actually have feelings for Karen...?

"How is this possible!"

No matter how rich his imagination is, he couldn't possibly create such detailed and realistic dynamic scenes in his mind out of thin air!
"Boss! Is that you?" he blurted out almost immediately.

"Norris, you've changed!" The boss's heartbroken voice immediately echoed in his mind. "You'd rather suspect that it was me, your boss, who did this than believe that you've finally come to your senses! It breaks my heart."

"So what I see is this..."

"I did it!"

Why are you showing me this?!

"It sounds like it would be really interesting."

"..."

Norris curled himself up as much as possible. He couldn't understand where he had gone wrong to end up in this situation, with so many "good" companions.
He carefully reviewed his life and realized that he hadn't taken the wrong path; he simply had no choice from the beginning.

Even sadder.

……

That's about it, except for the addition of a video function.

Unlike a photographic recorder that can capture and preserve images, or one that can conjure up imagined scenes, it realistically and synchronously transmits what is happening. This function isn't particularly useful to Lin Jun himself, but for his subordinates… well…

Can we hold a video conference now?

I tried it out, and it seemed to handle different live feeds simultaneously without any issues.

Unfortunately, there's really nothing urgent that requires us to call a meeting to discuss right now.

You can't just drag your subordinates into video conferences for no reason, can you?

That would make me look like the eldest brother who's idle and good-for-nothing, spending all his time thinking about useless things, which would have a very bad influence.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Jun casually picked out some of the most dazzling and uniquely shaped gemstone images in Mushroom Capital, packed them up, and handed them to Xiao Hei.

That day, Little Black, who had received the "Dragon God's revelation," anxiously searched every corner of the mushroom garden, but still could not find a space similar to the places in his mind where the glittering things were stored.

……

Fishing Port.

This port city, located at the southernmost tip of the kingdom, is one of the two cities closest to Mushroom Capital.

Despite being called a port, its geographical location is actually awkward. To set sail westward from here, one must either risk venturing into the treacherous open sea teeming with marine monsters, or carefully navigate through treacherous waterways riddled with reefs.

Therefore, maritime trade has never been associated with this place.

Its port was primarily built to accommodate the large local fishing boats. In the past, most of the seafood caught here had to be transported long distances to distant towns for sale.

Today, the neighboring mushroom capital is rising at an astonishing pace. The demand for seafood in this emerging city has instantly injected vitality into the fishing port, driving a wave of prosperity.

However, the conflict between the Puji Masters and traditional adventurers, just like the one encountered in Norvid, is playing out here as well.

The lord of Fishing Port felt a bittersweet mix of emotions.

Recently, the conflict seems to be escalating.

This lord possessed only this small fiefdom, and although he had a standing army under his command, it was of limited size.

If a large-scale riot breaks out, even if it can be suppressed in the end, the losses will be heavy, so he needs to take precautions.

He didn't know how to resolve the conflict between the Puji Masters and the adventurers, but strengthening overt military deterrence to make potential troublemakers hesitate was a simple and brutal method that was often effective.

The usual procedure is to pay a certain price and request reinforcements from surrounding cities.

But in these extraordinary times, lords in various regions are tightly guarding their own military strength, fearing that it may not be enough.

Asking for help at this time would likely come at a price far too high to bear.

After much deliberation, the Lord of Fishing Port chose to seek help from the only organization that seemed to have spare capacity at the moment—the Church.

The church represents the majesty of the God of Light. The presence of church warriors has a far greater deterrent effect on troublemakers than that of ordinary guards.

His request was quickly granted.

This is inevitable. Maintaining stability in the area surrounding Mushroom Capital is crucial for the kingdom, and it will inevitably receive a response no matter where it seeks help.

The most recent "Wings of Judgment" team received orders and quickly headed to Fishing Port.

On the day they marched into the city in a grand procession, clad in gleaming silver armor and cloaks adorned with sacred emblems, the street order visibly improved considerably.

As agreed, this team temporarily took over patrol duties in the area that had previously been the most chaotic in terms of public security.

Among the team was Solarin, whom Lin Jun had met, fought, and ultimately let go.

However, she felt extremely bad at that moment.

The moment she tried to activate [Vision of Truth] to investigate the city's condition, she was overwhelmed by the indescribable chaos that filled her vision.

The intense, distorted sensation assaulted her senses, reminding her of the time she was blocked by a poop, and she ended up vomiting in the street in a very unseemly manner.

She couldn't understand why these people would live so naturally in such a terrifying environment.

Why are those terrifying, chaotic-colored monsters walking so naturally on the streets?

Solalin, who hadn't paid much attention to information about Mushroom City before coming here, now just wanted to find someone as soon as possible to find out what exactly happened here.
(End of this chapter)