"This... this..." The young Puffshroom's cap trembled as it looked left and right, searching for foreign figures. "What should we do? If they really are assassins..."
"Then you're dead for sure."
"Eh? No hope of winning?"
Seeing Inanna still harboring illusions, Lin Jun mercilessly analyzed the situation for her:
"Think about it—we're trapped on this floor and can't even escape, yet they can easily come down from above. The difference in strength is obvious, right?"
"Then what should I do?"
"How about preparing to self-destruct with that magic crystal at any moment?"
"Mutual destruction?"
"At least you'd die with some dignity."
"That... makes sense..."
When the Silver Thorn squad reached the center of the mushroom garden, what they saw was a pink Puffshroom topped with a large magic crystal, magical power surging around its body, ready to self-destruct at any moment.
Lin Jun had thoughtfully arranged two other Puffshrooms on either side of her, making the whole scene look much more imposing.
If such a large magic crystal exploded, it would be incomparable to that incident at the entrance.
Night Owl immediately wanted to rely on her speed advantage to eliminate the threat in the first instant.
[Shadow Binding]
Worthy of being teammates—Ivan cast a spell that specifically countered Night Owl.
"Calm down, you hot-head."
Under Ivan's reminder, Night Owl finally noticed that Captain Nova was looking at the pink Puffshroom before them with an excited expression.
Feeling the direction indicated by the positioning crystal in his hand, there was no doubt that the Puffshroom before them was their rescue target—Duke's daughter Inanna Saint-Clair.
Nova immediately knelt on one knee, performing standard noble etiquette toward Inanna.
"Miss Inanna, we are adventurers sent by your father, Duke Alama, to rescue you. We apologize for startling you."
He even shot a meaningful glance at Night Owl, who was still foolishly standing there gripping her dagger.
He was now infinitely grateful that he had stopped Night Owl's plan to clear the area before entering.
He didn't dare imagine what would happen if the Duke discovered that the adventurers who were supposed to rescue his daughter had been marked with his revenge seal...
*Gulp—*
It wouldn't just be the Duke himself pursuing them. The Adventurers' Guild would definitely issue high bounties on them to distance itself from such a mess.
Then they truly would have nowhere in the world to hide.
Thinking of this, Nova couldn't help but shudder, his gaze toward Night Owl becoming increasingly unfriendly—she had indeed been getting more reckless lately. It was time to hold a reflection meeting when they returned.
"How was I supposed to know..." The glared-at Night Owl muttered as she sheathed her weapon and knelt down like her captain.
Though he couldn't understand the conversation, seeing several people kneeling before Inanna, Lin Jun was fairly certain of their intentions.
Inanna was so excited she bounced up while still wearing the magic crystal in its critical state.
This frightened Lin Jun into quickly urging her to calm down—if she blew herself up now, that would be one hell of a joke.
"The old man... Father actually came to rescue me!"
Inanna didn't know she had positioning magic on her. Having heard those two traitors' words earlier, she had always thought the Duke would be too busy to rescue her.
She had just suspected these people of coming to eliminate loose ends, so now she was almost weeping with joy—though Puffshrooms don't have tears.
"Boss, did you hear? We can get out!"
"After we get out, you can plant mushrooms all over my family's private forest."
"The old man will definitely agree too."
"We can also... we can..."
"Boss, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Lin Jun?"
A Puffshroom carrying an A-grade magic crystal slightly smaller than the one on Inanna's head approached her.
"Newbie, you've done pretty well these past days. This is your bonus."
"Don't mention me to these people. I wish you good luck in the future."
Lin Jun finally responded, but his words left her confused.
"Didn't you want to get out too? Why?"
"..."
"Miss Inanna, can we communicate like this?"
The voice rang directly in Inanna's mind as usual, but the speaker wasn't Lin Jun.
Inanna looked at the halfling elder before her, realizing he was using telepathy magic.
"Yes..."
"It's wonderful to see you safe and sound. I know you've been hit with a fixed transformation spell. Don't worry—once we're out of the dungeon, we'll prepare a reversal ritual for you. Please bear with it just a little longer."
"Mm."
Ivan felt the girl before him seemed shy and somewhat introverted, which didn't quite match the information they had gathered earlier.
But the positioning crystal couldn't be wrong—this was definitely the Duke's daughter.
Thinking about it, a young girl suddenly betrayed and hanging by a thread, some personality changes would be quite normal.
"Miss Inanna, could you tell us what exactly you experienced?"
"I... I don't want to talk about it..."
Inanna remembered Lin Jun's words. After brief consideration, she chose not to fabricate a story but simply refused to speak.
Sure enough, after a slight pause, Ivan actively consoled her: "Ah, it's fine, it's fine. This wasn't meant to be an interrogation anyway."
Ivan naturally understood there might be some secrets in this mushroom garden.
Otherwise, the Duke's daughter couldn't have survived here, and from her appearance, she seemed to get along well with the Puffshrooms here.
Under other circumstances, he would definitely investigate thoroughly to satisfy his curiosity.
But now this was a mission worth an entire city's reward.
Even if this Duke's daughter turned into a pink Puffshroom wanted to stand on Night Owl's head and spray spores, he'd have to help hold Night Owl down to keep her still.
Let alone some small secrets here.
"We'll be returning soon. Is there anything you need to take with you?"
At Inanna's indication, Ivan took out a box and stored the magic crystal that had arrived later.
As for the one on Inanna's head, she insisted on keeping it tied there.
Ivan just replaced the mycelial tendrils originally used to bind the crystal with a sturdy ribbon.
After Ivan communicated briefly with his teammates, he had Night Owl carry Inanna and return via their original route.
As they moved farther from the mushroom garden, the mycelial network connection grew weaker and weaker.
Having lost the vision provided by the mycelial network, Inanna suddenly felt like she was back when she had just been transformed into a Puffshroom.
Lonely, fearful—
————
Watching the adventurer squad disappear into the passage, Lin Jun's main body piloted the strongest Puffshroom and emerged from his hiding place.
He certainly couldn't leave with Inanna.
Having spent all these days with Inanna, he knew she spoke her true thoughts.
But Lin Jun couldn't trust adventurers, much less trust a great noble like Inanna's father.
He wasn't sure if there was anything about him worth coveting.
Even if he were brought out, his status would probably just be the Duke's daughter's pet.
And if the Duke discovered he could gain great benefits just by killing his daughter's pet, what would he do?
This was just a hypothesis, but Lin Jun would never gamble his hopes on others.
Moreover, not leaving with Inanna didn't mean he wouldn't follow far behind them, using these adventurers to carve out a safe path for himself.
He placed his collected sunstone fragments and an S-grade magic crystal inside the super Puffshroom's shell.
He gathered his remaining 40 combat Puffshrooms.
Lin Jun took one last look at the mushroom garden he had created with his own hands, which had helped him through the most difficult period—it had completed its mission.
Following Inanna's weak mycelial network signal, Lin Jun also stepped into the passage.
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