Although it was Number Four who aggressively pulled Inanna out the door, it froze the moment it stepped outside.
After all, this wasn't the familiar mushroom garden—it had no idea which way to go.
In the end, it was Inanna who led the two Puchis, winding through the camp until they found Alama and Lorenzo in the temporary command post, where the atmosphere was heavy.
Inanna wasn't actually foolish enough to just be led around by Number Four's nose.
Before going out, she had quietly consulted Boss through the fungal network. Lin Jun only had her conceal some key information.
Lin Jun himself was very clear that the spread of the fungal mat and the special nature displayed by the Puchi army could no longer possibly be treated as ordinary monsters.
This point became apparent after the fungal mat covered the entire valley, from several private conversations between Alama and Lorenzo that he overheard.
Though those two human leaders deliberately avoided Puchis whenever they discussed this matter, they obviously didn't understand the fungal mat well enough—every inch of fungal mat spread throughout the valley was Lin Jun's extended senses.
The human leadership knew that a power not so simple was hidden behind the Puchis, but with a great enemy before them, they still needed to rely on this power and temporarily couldn't—and didn't dare—investigate deeply.
But to say they had no wariness in their hearts would absolutely be deceiving themselves and the mushrooms.
Lin Jun's purpose was also simple: since humans were already speculating that Puchis might possess intelligence, he would go with the flow and present them with several intelligent Puchis!
Just as Lin Jun had been constantly telling Little West, those who have Puchis have the world.
His thirteen intelligent Puchis under him—he could distribute them one by one later: place a few in the Northern Tribes, arrange a few within human territory, some with the elves, and even with the demons, it wasn't impossible to give a few.
Let everyone see that whoever gained the recognition and assistance of these "intelligent Puchis" could, to a certain extent, command Puchi power.
Whether people would suspect risks behind this didn't matter. As long as Lin Jun himself wasn't exposed and the intelligent Puchis could provide real, tangible power, then if someone gave up Puchis because of suspicion, they would be giving up power within easy reach!
This was Lin Jun's open conspiracy.
And the ultimate purpose of all this was to spread the fungal mat more smoothly, absorb more nutrients and magic power, and continuously strengthen Lin Jun himself!
Truthfully, Lin Jun didn't want to turn himself into some ambitious demon lord intent on conquering the world.
But the Divine Tree's words were still before his eyes: in as little as a dozen years, or as long as several decades, the world would likely face its end.
Lin Jun couldn't be one hundred percent certain whether that big shot was deceiving him, but the various signs of decay this world displayed made him feel he had to believe it was possible.
Seeing that time might be running out, yet the various races on this continent—whose souls had no real difference—were still wallowing in internal strife, enthusiastic about dynastic struggles and racial slaughter.
Rather than hoping these mutually hostile forces could suddenly set aside their prejudices and unite to face the unknown apocalypse...
Lin Jun felt it would be better to have them all convert under the glory of mycelium, integrate all power, concentrate all resources, to fight for that slim chance of survival for him, Lin Jun!
In his vision, ideally within three to five years, the fungal mat would successfully spread to every corner of the world.
By then, the incomparably vast fungal mat network would bring him massive amounts of experience and virtually unlimited magic power supply. His level would continuously rise at an astonishing rate, and his power would expand to unimaginable proportions.
After that, he could forcibly integrate all forces on the continent with the momentum of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, unify their command, and respond to the approaching crisis.
Of course, this was ultimately just an ideal plan.
Lin Jun knew full well that reality would inevitably be full of variables and obstacles, and he wouldn't be surprised at all if it ultimately failed.
If it really came to that, he could only follow the Divine Tree's example, retreat to his dungeon lair, and either wait for destruction to arrive or hope for the "someone else" who might or might not exist to save the world.
Fortunately, Lin Jun was quite confident about the Puchi Dungeon as a fallback.
Through his unremitting efforts, he had mastered about seventy to eighty percent of the dungeon core's permissions, with only the last portion of core rules still being explored and decoded.
Although still not in complete control, Lin Jun had enough confidence that within this dungeon, even if that Blood Clan prince he'd encountered before with terrifying destructive power came in person, it would be impossible to truly threaten his main body.
...
On the other side, when Inanna led the two Puchis in, Lorenzo and Alama simultaneously swallowed, the same thought surfacing in their minds—was she going to lay everything out after having her secret exposed, giving up and coming to have a showdown?
From a certain perspective, they weren't wrong—it was indeed a showdown, just that the cards were completely different from what they expected.
The two men stared blankly as one of the Puchis excitedly waved its mycelial tentacles, sometimes raising them high, sometimes angrily slapping the ground, while its short mycelial feet kept stamping the ground, making rapid "puchi puchi" sounds.
They exchanged glances, both seeing the same bewilderment in each other's eyes, not understanding what was going on.
After passionately delivering a speech praising the greatness of the mushroom race, Number Four discovered that the two old non-mushrooms before it showed no reaction, still looking confused. It turned around puzzled and asked Inanna through the fungal network: "Pink Puchi, why aren't they reacting? Was my explanation of the mushroom race's greatness not clear enough?"
Honestly speaking, Number Four felt a bit guilty. Usually this kind of work was done by big brother Number One. It was completely imitating now, and was afraid of doing poorly and embarrassing the mushroom race.
Inanna crouched down: "Probably because they're not connected to the fungal network..."
"Not in the fungal network?!" Number Four's worldview received another shock. "Then how do they communicate?"
Inanna gently parted her lips and made a sound: "Like this, talking with the mouth."
"Talk... ing?" Number Four's mental projection was full of disbelief. "There's such a primitive communication method?"
This couldn't be blamed on Number Four's ignorance.
In the mushroom garden, even the mushroom citizens had long been accustomed to direct communication at the thought level through the fungal network.
No language barriers, the conveyed meaning wouldn't produce ambiguity, and even across hundreds of meters, as long as you could lock onto the target with your eyes, you could clearly "converse."
So convenient, naturally it gradually replaced spoken speech.
Those who still retained the habit of speaking in the core area of the fungal fortress were mostly newly collectively affiliated tribespeople who hadn't fully integrated yet.
And these people weren't qualified to enter the mushroom garden and wouldn't be encountered by Number Four.
It naturally assumed that all intelligent beings should communicate through mental projection.
On this point, even the more composed Number Ten was no exception—it just would never show its inner surprise.
"How about... I help translate for you?" Inanna was somewhat helpless, never expecting that one day she'd serve as a real-time interpreter.
At this moment, Lorenzo across from them seemed to have figured out something from this bizarre scene. He tentatively asked: "Niece, this Puchi... those movements just now, was it trying to express something to us?"
"Actually, it was just 'talking'..." Inanna explained.
Lorenzo immediately sent for an army mage proficient in telepathy. After having the person drink a potion of magical enhancement, the mage struggled to support a temporary mental link, barely connecting the thoughts of three people and two mushrooms together.
It was indeed very strained—that mage's face looked like he was forcibly bearing a thousand-pound burden.
Thanks to this mage's dedication, for the first time, Alama and Lorenzo's minds achieved dialogue with the mushroom race.
"Two old non-mushrooms, can you hear me now?"
Lorenzo and Alama instinctively exchanged glances, the same thought rising in their minds: This Puchi's way of speaking doesn't seem very friendly...
(End of Chapter)
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