“Tasty?” the Voice Puffshroom coiled on Slick’s neck asked softly.
Though the meat soup was bland, barely salted, Slick wiped his mouth and roared, “Delicious!”
“Good!”
Puff!
Before the words settled, a mushroom burst through Slick’s thigh scales and flesh, sprouting with bloody tendrils!
“Arghhh!” Bone-deep pain crushed Slick. He collapsed, screaming.
“What… is this?!” He stared, horrified, at the eerie mushroom, mind blank.
Puff, puff… More mushrooms slowly, cruelly pushed through his scales, popping out.
Captives gaped in terror—Slick, just smugly “rewarded,” now a shrieking wreck.
Some, having seen fully parasitized mushroom people on the battlefield, had a chilling guess.
Slick wasn’t one of them.
“Strength deserves respect, but…” the Voice Puffshroom, still on his neck, sank his heart with each word, “are you strong?”
“Look around—missing limbs, scars everywhere. Why are your scales…” its tone sharpened, “so shiny, not a decent scratch?!”
“I… I…” Slick’s voice choked in pain and fear.
Lin Jun answered for him. “When your chief got blown to bits, you ran fastest! Caught by my Puffshrooms, you barely showed claws before begging! That’s strength?”
“Worst, a captive, a sinner, daring to demand special treatment?”
Two more mushrooms burst with bloody foam. Slick curled on the icy ground, coughing blood, trembling, babbling, “Wrong… I was wrong! Spare me… I can serve…”
The Voice Puffshroom left his neck, scooped by Shòu, returned to Marshal Puffshroom’s hat brim. “You’ll serve… differently!”
Puff!
With a final muffled pop and a cut-off scream, Slick shed his captive status.
He stood rigid, sprouting mushrooms, a new jailer.
“Anyone else feel strong? Want to cut in line? Want privileges?”
Silence. The new “mushroom lizardman” Slick stood stiff at the line’s front. Most captives bowed their heads, avoiding his gaze.
The meal line turned orderly, no more cutting, no more half-demon-lizardman tension. All ate in silence, taking nearly two hours for “re-education” meal one.
Only then did Shòu rise, holding a thick hide scroll of rules, voice booming.
“You’re invaders, sinners. I’d love to fertilize fields with you! But the boss is merciful, giving you a chance to reform!”
“Mushroom Garden Captive Rules! Hear, memorize, obey! Break them, face the consequences!”
“No fighting, stealing, destruction, causing trouble, or spreading rumors…”
“Sinners must work daily to atone. Extra work earns contribution points!”
“Points can buy supplies—food, hides, weapons, even… freedom!”
Handing Slick’s control to Shòu, Lin Jun tuned out.
Taming captives was a long game. First, fear carved rules. Later, benefits and environment would grind down their edges. It needed time, no rushing.
Three to six months to fully absorb these captives, and Mushroom Garden’s power would climb higher!
Full parasitism? Only as a last resort.
Captives’ value wasn’t their fighting strength but their role as nodes to expand Puffshroom ranks.
Fully parasitized mushroom people lost node potential, just another control-slot Puffshroom.
At parasitism, their souls fled, leaving only skills and bodies.
No soul meant no adding skills or breaking them down for skill points.
Past mushroom people, except Gold-tier and above, were less useful than regular Puffshrooms. Post-battle, Lin Jun recycled the weak into pure mana.
Still, making a mushroom man like Slick was perfect for scaring others straight.
Future troublemakers would glance at Slick and cool off.
Lin Jun shifted focus to Piggy.
She leaned lazily on a wall, crimson eyes half-closed, licking pale lips, savoring lingering screams.
When the boss’s brutal tricks hit others, it thrilled her to shivers.
If aimed at Empire rivals who fought her for promotions, that thrill would double!
Like the jailed vampire countess, Yuneer.
From different dukes, they had little contact, but Louisa had labeled Yuneer a “fraud.”
A countess, tangled up by her and Starfire with Puffshrooms? Clearly a skirt-climbing fake!
These frauds, hogging promotion slots, forced her to fight tooth-and-nail for scraps, pushing her into risky missions…
Louisa’s sharp fangs ground unconsciously. She schemed to nudge the boss to plant some pretty mushrooms on “noble” Countess Yuneer!
“Piggy.”
“Here!” Louisa snapped straight.
“Meeting room.”
“Yes!”
The “meeting room” was a rough-hewn cave with stone chairs and a table.
Stepping in, Louisa’s gaze locked on the table’s center—a thin, eerie Yellow Codex, one page, ready to fall apart.
“Holy Tome…”
(End of Chapter)
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