The Stone Fortress Dungeon had undergone drastic changes.
The middle section of the ancient castle now appeared half-abandoned. On its mottled stone walls, apart from the ever-present threads of mycelium creeping into every crack, there was not a soul in sight.
From the chatter among the demonkin, Lin Jun learned that this place once had animated armored sentinels, monsters disguised as treasure chests, and other such creatures. Unfortunately, ever since the Qis came, those monsters had gone extinct.
Now, the castle was nothing but an empty stretch of stone bricks. Even if someone wanted to lay down a Mycelium Carpet here to grow mushrooms, it was far less suitable compared to the deeper levels underground. Naturally, Lin Jun had chosen to ignore this area.
As for the canyon in the upper levels, it had essentially become the pasture of the Pujis. Every day, the demonkin led their Pujis there on schedule, feeding the fat worms with the mushrooms they had prepared in advance.
Occasionally, they would pick out a worm suffering from heatstroke and send it to the Mycelium Carpet for treatment.
This kind of tedious daily work Lin Jun had completely handed over to the demonkin. So far, aside from the occasional Puji getting eaten by a fat worm or two, there had been no issues.
Incidentally, a Puji being eaten would deduct contribution points.
Since Lin Jun’s Puji capacity had decreased while his territory kept expanding, it was only natural that he handed over as much menial work as possible to his “employees.”
For convenience, many demonkin had even applied for mushroom houses in the No. 3 Mushroom Garden. For these residents, Lin Jun had thoughtfully provided mana-replenishment services. This made the demonkin who had undergone Mycelium fusion more willing to stay in the mushroom garden.After all, while they could eat mushrooms to restore mana, the efficiency and satisfaction were nothing compared to a direct charge from the Mycelium Carpet.
With a large number of demonkin moving in, the No. 3 Mushroom Garden had become bustling with activity.
Norris, under the identity of a tailless lizardman, had successfully blended in, and to this day no one had discovered he was human.
Even Gray had gradually grown used to the presence of these demonkin. Lin Jun had originally worried she might sneakily pluck out a demonkin’s mana core when he wasn’t looking!
But in fact, since demonkin mana cores were darker in color, Gray had little interest in them.
As far as she was concerned, as long as no one approached her mushroom house, it was fine. But if someone dared to get close, she would immediately poke her head out and fix them with her golden vertical pupils.
Given Gray’s already well-known record of instantly tearing apart powerful monsters, none of the demonkin were eager to test her limits with their own lives.
Thus, the ten-meter radius around her mushroom house had silently become a forbidden zone.
Meanwhile, in the most eye-catching spot of the No. 3 Mushroom Garden, beneath the largest mushroom tree that glowed with soft luminescence, there was a notice board made of “cowhide.”
On it, written in slightly crooked, rounded demonkin script, was a “Contribution Point Exchange List.” It ranged from the cheapest mushrooms to mana crystals, various potions, and even included custom mushroom house expansion services!
Lin Jun had basically written down everything he could think of that might… encourage the demonkin to work harder. Anything he forgot could always be added later.
As for why demonkin writing, normally sharp and angular with a sense of power, appeared so round and soft on this board?
Well, you couldn’t expect a Puji, with its squishy mycelium tentacles, to carve out bold and forceful characters on rough cowhide!
Still, the demonkin seemed able to read it just fine…
…
After finishing his cave-guarding duties, Shou returned to the No. 3 Mushroom Garden.
Both of his arms were stumps, bound with sharp weapons. Even crippled, his level was still there, and killing the wandering monsters inside the caves wasn’t difficult.
With Qiong’s help, he removed the weapons strapped to his arms.
Then, gathering the clansmen present in the mushroom garden, Shou discussed briefly with them before submitting a special exchange request to Lin Jun through the Spore Network—one mana core.
These mana cores belonged to the thirty-some demonkin who had fallen into the Qis’ traps and perished.
When Lin Jun had taken over the Qis’ territory, he had found them deep inside the stomachs of the Grubs—indigestible, still intact. At Piggy’s reminder, he had kept them all.
Including mana cores in the exchange list had been intentional.
If mana cores were truly as important to demonkin as Piggy had said, then surely they would work even harder to earn contribution points and redeem them. This, in turn, would help Lin Jun accelerate his control over the tribe.
And indeed, Piggy’s information had been correct!
This time, Shou wanted to redeem one mana core first.
Lin Jun didn’t immediately approve. Instead, through the Spore Network, he required every demonkin present to state clearly whether they were willing to voluntarily contribute their points toward this exchange.
Shou was the clan leader, but under Lin Jun’s system, he held no special privileges. He had no right to force anyone to give up their contribution points. Even though Lin Jun knew they would all agree, the process of confirmation still carried meaning.
As expected, no one objected. All of them felt that retrieving a comrade’s mana core was only natural.
Before long, a round Puji wriggled out of the Spore Network tunnel beneath the glowing mushroom tree.
Waving its mycelium tentacles, it pulled from within its body a mana core retrieved from Lin Jun’s treasure chamber.
The mana core glowed faintly, its surface covered with fine cracks like a spiderweb, yet miraculously still intact, a weak but familiar magical fluctuation lingering within.
Qiong trembled as he received it with both hands. Tears spilled without warning as he rasped out the owner’s name: “Huoyan…!”
The surrounding demonkin lowered their heads. A heavy silence of grief filled the air.
Though it had been Huoyan who first proposed the ill-fated plan that led to such losses, he had only done so for the sake of the tribe. In the end, he had stood alone in the narrow passage, using his body to block the swarm.
None of the demonkin had expected the first mana core to be retrieved would be his.
“Bring Huoyan back… back to the tribe,” Shou said, his voice thick.
Before leaving, Shou turned once more to the Puji who had delivered the mana core.
Straightening his spine, he bent deeply at the waist in a bow filled with solemn ritual—something Lin Jun had never seen before.
“Boss, thank you,” Shou’s voice was low but firm, filled with heartfelt gratitude. “You have not only given our tribe hope, but also allowed Huoyan, allowed our people… a chance to return home.”
At that moment, another round Puji suddenly gave a short run-up, then leapt nimbly onto the first Puji’s broad cap, balancing there with ease.
Its mycelium tentacle patted Shou’s head, then “accidentally” brushed across his severed arms.
“This is what you earned yourselves,” Lin Jun’s voice came through the Puji. “You deserve it! Work hard—your arms can be restored! You may even become stronger. For your tribe, even better lands are not a dream!”
Once again, he painted them a bright vision of the future.
“Your words, we will never forget.”