Chapter 335: Chapter 327: How Long Can a Mushroom Live?

Not afraid of death, such a hard bone!

His mental defenses are high too; it seems it will take a lot of time to extract information.

This made Lin Jun a bit worried.

He suddenly remembered that he still had an old booklet he had found earlier in the secret chamber. At that time, due to his insufficient Elf Language level, he had to rely mostly on guesswork, so he had put it aside and never read it closely.

Thinking now, perhaps this booklet might be related to Peragel’s group of elves?

Reading it himself was certainly unrealistic, with his Level 6 Elf Language skills, reading it was approximately half guesswork.

Fortunately, there was someone in his team now who was a “Master of Language.”

…

Puki placed the old booklet and the Yellow-covered Book together.

[?]

“Translate,” Lin Jun ordered succinctly.

[Understood!]

The Yellow-covered Book immediately went to work, the pages corresponded with the content of the booklet, displaying the translation page by page. The booklet wasn’t thick, and the translation work was quickly completed.

However, the result left Lin Jun somewhat disappointed.

It wasn’t a book recording any secrets; its content mainly described the phenomenon of “mist,” denouncing it as “the tumor of the world,” claiming it can devour everything and turn whatever it touches into chaos.

And in a small passage at the end of the booklet, it also criticized the current Elf Royal Court for being complacent and indifferent to the drastic changes outside, saying: when disaster truly strikes, it will be too late to react.

No wonder this kind of statement was locked away in a box to gather dust.

Among the content about “mist,” it did bear some resemblance to what the elf’s speech on the street said the other day, but it seemed to have little connection with Peragel’s group that spread “frenzy.”

Sigh… It seems under the harmonious facade of the elves, there are also a multitude of problems!

However, Lin Jun agrees with the book’s assertion that “the mist is the tumor of the world.”

According to some historical records he knows, the Western Islands once had thousands of islands, an influential presence that various forces competed to win over.

Unlike now, with only over three hundred islands remaining, their presence is far less significant than before.

Everyone is well aware that eventually, the mist will completely swallow the entire archipelago.

But then what?

Will the mist continue to spread and start devouring the continent?

Although there is no precedent, Lin Jun feels this possibility is not small.

In the long term, “mist” is undoubtedly a threat that needs to be taken seriously. The best scenario would be for all races to set aside their past grievances and explore the root cause together, seeking a solution.

However, in the current situation where each race harbors ulterior motives and war is raging, aside from those struggling local forces on the archipelago barely surviving, who has the energy to concern themselves with the distant mist?

The humans and the Demon Race, being the closest to the archipelago, are almost at each other’s throats on the continent.

As for the dwarves and elves, no matter what they think in their hearts, the vast distance is a reality they cannot bypass.

This is also what Lin Jun feels is the problem with this booklet—what difference does it make if the Elf Royal Court focuses on the mist?

If you send a team over, humans might think you’re there for intelligence gathering.

To Lin Jun, the core issue is not the mist itself but—how long can he live?

He is, after all, a mushroom!

It is not entirely impossible for him to suddenly wither and die tomorrow.

If he only has a few years or decades left to live, then how the mist turns out in the future is of no concern to Lin Jun.

After his death, why should he care if the mist ends the world?

But if he could live for several hundred years, or even obtain near-immortal life like a vampire… then the problem becomes serious!

Of course, regardless, the mist is not something he should worry about right now.

If neither humans nor the Demon Race care, why should Lin Jun, a mushroom, concern himself with it?

Having not gleaned much useful information from the booklet, Lin Jun could only return the Yellow-covered Book to Norris.

Regarding the [frenzy] event, the elf angle should not be easily abandoned. Although Peragel is resolute, spiritual power will always diminish with continuous consumption.

As long as enough time is spent and repeated attempts made, there will eventually be a chance to break through his mental defenses and extract critical information.

Of course, all hopes cannot be placed solely on interrogating the elves. It may also require forming an exploration team to delve into the lower levels of the Divine Wood Dungeon and survey the situation there.

Lin Jun has a feeling that spreading [frenzy] shouldn’t be the ultimate aim.

After all, even if the entire Demon population in the Divine Wood Dungeon turns into deranged combatants until extinction, who truly benefits?

Oh, maybe he could break it down for good…

Following this line of thinking.

Following this line of thought, elves discover the continuous spread of [frenzy], leading the dungeon ecology to the brink of collapse. Then, as the Fungal Mat and Puki seize the opportunity to “take over” each level, it appears so natural and logical…

It turns out… the greatest beneficiary is actually himself!

Lin Jun was beginning to suspect if he was the mastermind…

Of course, that Ark Oath likely has other purposes unknown to the mushroom, and the exploration team is supposed to go down and find related information.

After much thought, there are essentially two options.

Either guide the elves to notice the anomaly here and let them take the lead.

After all, this is essentially an issue on the elves’ own turf, and Lin Jun is merely an “outsider”—there’s no reason to shoulder all the troubles himself!

However, the problem with that is Puki will have a hard time blending into the elf team to obtain real-time intelligence.

The second option is to send his own people down to explore.

Since the operation would be outside the Fungal Mat’s coverage, the main force naturally can only be commanded by subordinates, while Lin Jun could at most control a few Scout Puki via [Subordinate Control] remotely.

Considering the inherent dangers of the lower dungeon levels, plus the unknown variables brought by [frenzy], and the mission’s highly vague targets, it’s conceivable that this would be a mission with quite a high danger coefficient.

Using the Demon Race would be too extravagant, as recovering the Demon Core would be difficult if they died below, and losing a Demon Core is a much larger loss than merely a few clansmen becoming casualties.

So, it seems the only option is to use prisoners of war.

But judging from their combat performance in the last skirmish with the elves, the prisoners’ fighting prowess is hardly commendable.

Let’s not even talk about that idiot lizardman mage who got instantly annihilated—the control levels of the others were quite worrying too.

They could only command Puki to brainlessly swarm, with no tactical concept whatsoever.

The Puki commanded by different individuals even interfered with each other, blocking attack routes.

Overall: insufficient training and weak combat strength.

Although they are captives, they are also potential future subordinates, and Lin Jun would feel distressed over excessive losses.

If a dispatch is necessary, it seems like the only choice is the individual with relatively strong solo capabilities, such as… that Half-demon Leader?

…

In the Far North, the former Half-demon Leader Bastardos, who was feeding the Fat Worm, looked up.

He saw Marshal Puki walking towards him.

He heaved a deep sigh.

He had a foreboding sense that his leisurely days might be over…

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