Before the stunned eyes of the demonkin, the chubby Puji leisurely pulled handful after handful of mushrooms from its belly, piling them into a small mountain.
Once the delivery was complete, the two Pujis didn’t linger for even a breath before turning and heading back toward the dungeon.
“Qiong…” Shou’s voice carried heavy confusion, tinged with a subtle edge of caution. “These… you brought these back from the dungeon?”
“Shou,” Qiong drew in a deep breath, avoiding the burning stares of the surrounding tribesmen. “Let’s talk inside.”
Shou nodded, ordering the others to gather the mushrooms while he walked with Qiong into the camp.
Not far away, an invisible Scout Puji dangled upside down, watching the tribe’s every move.
After some time observing, Lin Jun had already gauged the tribe’s strength.
One and a half Diamond-rank fighters, about a dozen Golds, a handful more Silvers. Fewer than three hundred in total.
No threat to him at all. But… they seemed to be planning a migration.
Exposing the rift and the opposite Amethyst Dungeon to the demonkin—Lin Jun had thought carefully about this.The rift wasn’t truly a secret. Humans had seen it too, yet had shown no interest in exploring.
As for the demonkin, only those carrying his parasitic mycelium would be allowed passage. And Lin Jun would make every effort to avoid letting humans stumble into it.
The biggest uncertainty was this tribe’s connection to the Empire.
By all logic, there should be none. If they had strong ties, they wouldn’t be living in this frozen wasteland. Yet just days ago, Lin Jun had seen two imperial demons visiting… which made things less clear.
He had hoped Qiong would sleep in a mushroom house, so he could pry all the answers from him. But Qiong hadn’t laid down, and Lin Jun wasn’t about to force it.
The worst-case scenario?
The tribe figured out what lay on the other side, passed the news to the Empire, and the Empire sent troops to strike at the humans’ rear lines.
Not an army—such numbers would freeze to death in this weather. But a raiding force, swift and lethal…
And if it came to that, Lin Jun himself would almost certainly fall into the Empire’s sights.
But he would not give them the chance.
From the moment Qiong returned, any demonkin heading south would be intercepted and killed.
Without his Mycelium Carpet, he couldn’t send armies. But with [Minion Control], directing a few elite squads to ambush travelers was easy enough. Worst case, he’d just send Gray.
As for the tribe migrating as a whole?
They claimed to lack food. Even with the generous mushrooms he’d provided, Shou and Qiong alone could never earn enough to feed their entire people.
If they wanted more, some of them would have to “volunteer” for parasitic bonding, gaining the right to work.
Once parasitized, they’d be half his already. And when the question of migration arose again—would they really be in any condition to leave the mycelium’s reach?
Besides, his grub-breeding was already underway. Feeding and raising them, it wouldn’t be long before [Cold Resistance] reached Level 8.
Once Lin Jun could spread his Mycelium Carpet here, this demonkin tribe would be firmly in his grasp.
To sweeten the deal, he’d even added high-value rewards to the exchange list.
Like limb regeneration.
Lin Jun couldn’t do it himself, but limb-regrowth potions could be purchased from humans—just send Aiden running errands.
The price was steep, of course. Contribution Points required were many.
But that was the plan: ideally, assimilate the entire tribe peacefully, have them all happily working under him.
And if not…
Well, a kind-hearted Puji would rather not picture that outcome.
…
The Contribution Point system itself was something Lin Jun had carefully devised.
As his organization grew, he couldn’t keep operating haphazardly.
If people were to willingly follow, they needed both tangible benefits and necessary rules.
Rewards couldn’t be arbitrary, or resentment would fester.
With more numbers, a fair and transparent system was indispensable.
Crude though it was now, details could be refined later. When time allowed, he’d call a meeting of his core members to polish it together.
——
As for the demonkin, he would let things brew for now. His focus returned to the Amethyst Dungeon.
The advance squad pushing toward the core was finally nearing its destination!
A force of five hundred Pujis, and little resistance met along the way. True threats had been cut down by the Sword Saint.
Lin Jun had even seen the corpse of a massive worm, split into three segments—larger than the one he’d slain before.
Unfortunately, by the time the Mycelium Carpet reached it, scavengers had already picked it clean.
In fact, the corpse’s decay had nourished the area, attracting more monsters than usual and slowing the team.
Now at last, they stood before the core.
A vast platform, unnatural—paved with smooth, cold black stone.
Upon it, a dust-shrouded, ancient machine.
And at its end, a black door, flanked by two towering statues over ten meters high.
No monsters dared approach this place.
The lead Puji advanced, soon halted by an invisible wall.
[Native Monsters: Entry Denied]
Ah—
That familiar, discriminatory message!
It had been a while.
[Hero: Restriction Lifted]
Good thing it wasn’t aimed at me!
The Pujis swaggered onto the platform, the Mycelium Carpet creeping up after them.
Lin Jun studied the broken machine, but it was far too complex for him.
The core must lie beyond that door.
The Yellow Book had claimed that once he entered, the problems would be clear.
But could he really trust it?
Better to check for himself first.
A Puji approached the door. As it crossed the midpoint, the statues’ hollow sockets flared with violet light.
With thunderous grinding, they rose, casting suffocating shadows with their colossal frames.
Well… exactly as expected.
In front of such a vital core gate, what else could these statues be but guardians?
Still, maybe they’d show deference to the Hero title—
The thought hadn’t even finished when—
One statue’s arm, deceptively slow but terrifyingly fast, swung down!
The massive stone club in its hand howled through the air, smashing precisely into the Puji’s path.
The Puji exploded into a cloud of shredded mycelium.
Then, flames erupted from the statue’s mouth, incinerating spores and remains alike before it slowly returned to stillness.
So much for that. The Hero status wasn’t going to help here either.
Lin Jun eyed his squad of five hundred Pujis.
Would that even be enough?