This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 382 381. Mission
To be fair, even though Iros was turned into a wooden figure by the divine tree, Lin Jun genuinely felt that this big shot was quite easy to talk to.

Despite having the option to ignore all the questions Iros asked, Shenmu still provided explanations for each one.

Furthermore, the other party's attitude towards her seemed to be subtly different, so Lin Jun simply asked the question that had been bothering her.

"I know what you're curious about, but I won't tell you," Shenmu's voice remained calm.

"The Riddler? Why?!" Lin Jun couldn't help but ask.

“Speaking out means getting involved, and it’s all meaningless anyway. I just want to go back to sleep and not bother me again.” The tumbleweeds began to disperse, and the glowing “eye” in the center began to dim.

A root curled up the core of the *Yesheng* tree on the ground, lifting it up along with *Puji*, who was clinging tightly to the end of the staff.

The roots trembled, but failed to shake the little thing off.

The tumbleweed, which had spread out halfway, paused: "What are you doing?"

"This is the equipment I got from defeating the BOSS! Since you're going to take a nap anyway, it won't hurt if I use it!" Lin Jun made a last-ditch effort.

He worked so hard, but suffered heavy losses, including a knight and an S-class magic crystal!
If you don't get anything, that would be a huge loss; you'd be working for the elves for nothing!

"No, time's almost up, and I don't want anyone waking me up with this."

The sacred tree shook its roots mercilessly, finally unable to hold on any longer, and fell to the ground with a thud. It watched helplessly as the wood core disappeared among the roots.

“However…” Shenmu’s tone suddenly changed.

The word "however" was like heavenly music, and Puji immediately straightened its cap, assuming the standard posture of preparing to accept a task.

“I have a piece of this wood core missing. If you can help me find it, I wouldn’t mind giving you a reward.” A fruit radiating a soft light appeared in front of Puji.

The panel clearly displayed a skill with no level: [Life Essence].

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

Although she didn't gain any direct benefits, getting an SSS-level mission was some consolation for Lin Jun's wounded heart.

The tumbleweed completely disappeared, and the next moment, two Puji appeared next to the sacred tree sapling at the bottom of the dungeon.

He was kicked out, and the last words from Shenmu still echoed in his mind: "Don't come back until you find what you're looking for. Your voice is really awful..."

Lin Jun: "..."

I will endure!

When I reach LV99, I'll definitely send a dozen voice chat characters to hold concerts here in turn!
Although they came out, the two Puji didn't get anything, so they had no reason to exist and were quickly decomposed by the surrounding fungal carpet.

……

Meanwhile, the Elf Kingdom remained shrouded in the shadow of chaos.

The first to receive the devastating news was Galadriel, the daughter of the Elf King, who remained in the capital to maintain order in the rear.

She was somewhat prepared for her father Aurel's sacrifice.

However, what truly unsettled her was another piece of news that followed: Iros and Eko suddenly engaged in a deadly battle, ultimately resulting in both being severely injured and losing their artifacts along with them.

As two elders of the Elven race, both senior and powerful, they should have worked together to stabilize the situation after the Elven King's death and presided over the important task of selecting a new king. But now, they might perish together? Not to mention that even their divine artifacts have been lost.

Upon hearing this news, Galadriel felt dizzy and as if disaster was about to befall her.

Regarding the reason why the two fought, the eyewitnesses present could only truthfully report the fragments they heard.

Simply put, either Eko suddenly went mad, or Iros betrayed him, and neither possibility made any sense to Galadriel.

As the leader of the Ranger Force, Eko was determined and experienced. How could he be easily infected by madness and instead only chase after Iros to attack?
As for Iros betraying the Elven race?

That would be even more absurd. What would he be after?
Surely we can't just surrender to the demons and pursue that bullshit immortality, can we?

Unlike short-lived humans, elves, who live for thousands of years, generally have little desire for immortality.

Vampires' immortality, which sacrifices all the pleasures of the living, is, in their view, not as good as dying early and returning to nature!
Not to mention, vampires have an extremely low conversion rate to races other than humans, practically suicidal. Regardless, Galadriel immediately dispatched people to search for the two and the artifact.

A few days later, the elven troops, who had finally managed to escape from the dungeon with great difficulty, brought even worse news: Iros's betrayal was indeed true!
Salian then explained the reasons why the other party did this in detail.

That's not even the worst part.

The worst thing is that only Iros appeared, which means that Eko was killed by him?

Now... while it's not accurate to say that the Elven race's high-end combat power was completely wiped out, it has at least suffered more than half of its strength and is severely weakened!
The only saving grace is that the revitalization of the giant tree has completely stopped.

The elves wouldn't be reduced to the embarrassing situation of having to cut down their own giant trees.

But that's about it.

During the revitalization of the giant tree, although it did not move, the active branches destroyed most of the elven city that was originally built on it.

Even now, Galadriel still dares not let her people return to their homeland, because the culprit, Iros, is still missing!
Did he obtain the divine artifact?

What will they do next?

Galadriel didn't know, and could only wait passively.

And this wait lasted a whole week!
They didn't get to see Iros, but instead, they were greeted by an unexpected figure!

Captain Eco, who was thought to have died, has actually returned alive!
Galadriel's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled the moment she saw Eco.

However, the only problem is... Eco, who returned, had some unnatural white mycelium on his body, and on his head, there was a... plop?
……

When Eco fell into the spiral, unlike the artifact which bumped and fell to the bottom, he landed directly on the next level.

Lin Jun, who had been observing the battle between the two, naturally sent Puji to the scene immediately to take him away before the monster could devour him.

It's only thanks to the fact that there are now fewer than one in ten monsters left in the Divine Tree Underground City; otherwise, we might not have been able to save them in time.

Lin Jun had no intention of bringing Eco under her wing; it was obvious that that was impossible.

This is a ruthless character who wouldn't even risk his own life if he got angry. Lin Jun had neither enough incentives to tempt him nor any leverage to threaten him.

In the end, it only parasitized and repaired his injuries. Then, relying on the life-saving grace and the subtle positive feelings after parasitizing him, it shamelessly let a puji climb onto Eco's head.

Anyway, the fact that Puji can spread spores and coexist with the seriously injured to save their lives can be easily found out by asking around in human territory these days.

As for letting Puji sit on Eco's head, that was an advertisement put forward by Lin Jun.

The head guard is already a Puji Master, so what is there to worry about or doubt about the other elves?
In short, Elf City could be the next Mushroom City!

Of course, this was all Lin Jun's own "perfect" plan; the actual development of events was slightly different...

……

In a severely damaged corner of the elven city, Elawen's cottage miraculously remained intact.

Its location on the edge brought the cabin good fortune.

And here, Salian, sporting a puffy hairstyle, met his sister.

"elder brother?!"

"Ellawen! I'm so glad you're alright!"

Finally meeting, Salian greeted them with tears in his eyes.

The next moment, Ellawen kicked the unsuspecting Salian in the stomach.

"Why is Chii's mushroom cap crooked?!"

(End of this chapter)