The mighty Marshal Puffshroom stood on Jida’s hatch, a mycelium tendril hoisting a big mushroom with a trippy, colorful glow that screamed trouble. It faced Norris in the cockpit. “Come on, Norris, open wide—ahh!”
Norris looked up, the Puffshroom’s shadow looming, his face all resistance. “Boss, can’t… can’t someone else try it?”
“Norris!” Boss acted offended. “What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m just some jerk messing with you?”
Knowing the anger was 99% fake, Norris caved fast.
He shut his eyes, braced for doom, tilted his head back, and opened his mouth wide, ready for whatever hit.
“That’s more like it.”
The Marshal Puffshroom squeezed, and colorful juice splattered, drenching Norris’s mouth and face.
Soon, Norris noticed something off. He leaned closer, catching more dripping juice.
The mushroom was crushed flat. Norris, still hungry, wiped juice off his face, licked his palm, and asked, “Boss! What is this?”
He’d never tasted such weirdly delicious juice!
“Hmph!” The Marshal Puffshroom stuffed the shriveled mushroom remains in Norris’s mouth. “New Juicy Tasty Mushroom! Share the rest with Little Black.”
[Tastiness LV8] plus [Juicy LV2]!
The dazzling color effect? Purely Lin Jun’s flair—epic stuff needed epic looks.
This custom “Juicy Tasty Mushroom” was a treat raw and could be squeezed for fancy juice drinks!
So slick, Lin Jun half-considered a monopoly, launching it at Puffshroom Home for big bucks.
But crafting a legit source story was too much hassle, so he dropped it.
Pity, he couldn’t extract [Skin Permeation] from the Pale Pilgrim’s fruits—his poisoning game would’ve leveled up.
Godwood Dungeon’s depths were in bad shape.
If the elves didn’t find a fix, its ancient ecosystem would take a fatal hit.
Bad for Lin Jun too—short-term, he’d harvest beast corpses, but long-term, the dungeon’s “treasure vault” output would tank.
No choice but to hope the elves stepped up while he sped up mycelium spread and tunnel digging, salvaging what he could before the collapse.
This haul was thanks to the half-demon leader. Lin Jun gave Bastardos a full bucket of mushroom juice, 5,000 contribution points, and a month’s paid leave.
Now, Bastardos lounged by his hut, sipping chilled juice like a retired bigshot, watching other captives work.
But the skill bow lent to him? Lin Jun took it back.
Not stingy—Bastardos’s archery was just okay, nowhere near the bow’s original owner.
Time to return it!
“Lightsting…” Elf ranger Pelagel took his beloved bow from the Marshal Puffshroom’s tendril, fingers gently tracing its frame, whispering its name.
Lin Jun just learned the bow had a name.
“Pelagel, hope you turn over a new leaf and be a good mushroom!”
“Yes, Boss!” Pelagel snapped upright, eyes blazing near-fanatic zeal. “For Mushroom Garden’s glory, I’ll give everything!”
[Status: Cognitive Swap]
[That’s evil]
“Huh… what’s evil?” Norris, wrestling Little Black over the Juicy Tasty Mushroom, glanced at the Yellow Codex.
In a flash, Little Black chomped half without chewing.
[Keep at it, rookie!]
Norris blinked, totally lost on the Codex’s meaning.
Sigmund could lean on draining captives and Dreambloom Potion to hold a defense line, barely fending off Lin Jun’s mental invasions, enduring just two hours of connection daily.
But captive elf ranger Pelagel had only raw willpower, facing relentless, 24/7 erosion.
Holding out so long in that hellish pressure? His grit was unreal.
Sadly, all that fight meant nothing.
Through dream tweaks, Lin Jun slowly swapped Pelagel’s deep “Ark” fanaticism for Mushroom Garden loyalty.
Didn’t expect to pull off a “Cognitive Swap” status.
Would a heartfelt call from loved ones, full of memories, break it?
For now, Pelagel was Mushroom Garden’s most devout, fearless warrior!
The forced mind-rewrite had a clear downside—memory gaps.
His brain, to make Mushroom Garden loyalty click, sealed off clashing memories, causing obvious confusion and breaks.
Still, Lin Jun dug useful intel from his fragmented mind:
Like, [Madness]’s ritual was abyss magic, meant to pollute Godwood Dungeon’s ecosystem, sparking mass chaos.
Like, [Madness] spread via emotional resonance—close combat’s adrenaline rush made it contagious, while calm, rational mages were toughest to infect.
Like, he named several “Ark” members, but the names were strangers to Lin Jun, useless.
Too bad Lin Jun wasn’t the elves’ buddy. He wouldn’t snitch to their leaders or meddle in their “Ark” feud.
Tipping the elf squad to [Madness] was enough.
Compared to Mushroom Capital’s business, elf stuff was low priority.
Recently, demon spy Cloro, pulled into the fold, brought news: his latest task was tracking Duchess Inanna’s location and reporting it.
(End of Chapter)
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