Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 308 - 300: Someone Always Calls Xiao Lan

Before Little Pig left, Lin Jun reminded her, "The ritual preparation will definitely take some time. In the coming days, feel free to feed on anyone you like. I’ll cover the contribution points, just don’t starve yourself."

"Understood, boss! I’ll be in top shape before the ritual!" Louisa’s eyes gleamed with determination.

"No, what I mean is, if things go wrong, at least die a full ghost."

"..."

After Louisa left with mixed emotions, Lin Jun manipulated Marshal Puki’s mycelium tentacles to poke the Yellow-covered Book, "List out the specific materials."

Most of the materials Lin Jun had in stock, or could easily buy from humans, except...

"How much did you say?" Puki’s voice pitch rose.

[Boss, I didn’t erase any words...]

"Six pieces! The size of a palm! S-level Demon Crystals?!" Lin Jun was incredulous, "Do you think S-level Demon Crystals grow on the Fungal Mat like mushrooms?!"

[Boss, using low-level Demon Crystals... isn’t impossible, but this affects the success rate!]

[Louisa is an important member of our Mushroom Garden, can’t afford any mishaps!]

The Yellow-covered Book seemed almost like it was hugging Puki’s chubby waist, begging Lin Jun not to be stingy.

"But... where am I supposed to get you six S-level Demon Crystals?"

[Please find a way!]

[Well... don’t the two Combat Puppets have some?]

"That’s your plan?" Lin Jun nearly laughed in disbelief.

The Combat Puppets are indeed filled with S-level Demon Crystals, taking a leg off would suffice.

But isn’t that like removing the engine from a starship to use as a tractor engine?

Of course, this analogy is a bit extreme; Little Pig is better than a tractor, but you get the point.

As for using my own [Crystal Symbiosis Level 8] to convert?

Considering the touching conversion efficiency at present and the total amount of Demon Crystals in stock... Lin Jun had no confidence.

"Let’s put aside the Demon Crystals for now," Puki pointed at an item on the book’s material list, "For this Blood Race advancement ritual, why do you need ’fresh werewolf fur’? If werewolves went extinct, wouldn’t this ritual be lost forever?"

[It shouldn’t be that bad. Many materials theoretically have substitutes, but this record... only lists this one method.] The Yellow-covered Book seemed not very sure.

[As for why werewolf fur... why overthink it? Anyway, we have some right on hand, don’t we?]

True enough, there’s a pack of werewolves on the tenth level of the Underground City that hasn’t been dealt with yet.

After finishing the conversation with the Yellow-covered Book, Lin Jun took the Magic Array to Edin for a look.

With not many clues, Edin judged based on experience that it was some kind of refining Magic Array, rather than teleportation or a trap.

-----------------

On the tenth level, next to the entrance of the stairs leading downward, a werewolf covered with blue fur was crouching, tearing into an unknown demon’s limb with its sharp teeth.

He maintained this ready-to-strike posture, always prepared to switch to a four-legged sprinting stance, guarding against possible ambushes from other demons on the tenth level.

The tenth level is no haven for werewolves; despite being restricted by level, other demons living here still pose a threat to them.

Puki—Puki—

The werewolf’s ears perked up; a familiar sound emanated from the staircase!

Sure enough, after a moment, a round Puki emerged from the shadows of the steps.

"Oh! Big Mushroom! You’ve finally come again!" The werewolf joyfully dropped the half-gnawed leg bone and attempted to approach but forgot the invisible barrier, resulting in his nose being squashed instantly.

"Oww... that hurts!" The werewolf backed up a couple of steps, holding his nose, looking at Puki inside the staircase with a tinge of resentment, "I really envy you, being able to move freely in and out..."

"Xiao Lan, why do you squat here all day?" Lin Jun asked casually.

"Why... nothing else to do... and my name is supposed to be Wolfgang Shadow Howl Violet..."

"Stop, stop," Puki interrupted him, "I’ve meant to say, ’Shadow Howl’ as a name, don’t you find it a bit... awkward?"

Even when teased about his name, the werewolf wasn’t angry; instead, he looked at Puki in confusion, "Awkward? But everyone’s names are like this..."

"Alright then, Xiao Lan." Puki calmly walked out of the stairs, stopping without a guard near the werewolf’s giant paws, "Don’t be envious, soon you’ll be able to go down too."

"Really?!" Xiao Lan’s enormous wolf eyes widened, squatting down suddenly, almost entirely shrouding Puki in his shadow, "Big Mushroom! You saved me, I’m very grateful, but please don’t deceive me lightly! We despise deceit and betrayal the most!"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

Xiao Lan shook his head.

"There you go then, no more than a month, just wait!"

This was one thing Lin Jun wasn’t lying about; he had never stopped exploring the Dungeon Core, and recently, he had successfully ventured into understanding the aspects related to level restrictions. With a little more time, there should be results.

Xiao Lan said nothing, but his big, thick tail involuntarily swept the ground with a "thud, thud".

After sweeping for a while, he snapped back and asked, "How long is a month?"

...

Although there were plenty of issues in the Far North and Mushroom Town, Lin Jun hadn’t entirely ignored the tenth level; this werewolf was proof of that.

This guy, only Level 45, dared to challenge the Split-tooth Beast at the diamond-level cap of the tenth floor, and he actually won, albeit disastrously!

Of course, he was also bitten half to death, lost a leg, and collapsed beside the Split-tooth Beast’s corpse. Without Lin Jun, the outcome would’ve been mutual annihilation.

The Fungal Mat is now ubiquitous on the tenth floor, so Lin Jun naturally found him, parasitized him under the guise of healing, and reattached his leg.

As for the Split-tooth Beast’s corpse? It was Puki’s "medical fee".

At this point, the werewolf’s body had long mixed with the mycelium, only concealed by his dense fur.

The lifesaving favor, coupled with Puki’s Fungal Network communication and the miraculous ability to bypass the air barrier, along with Lin Jun’s occasional interesting news about the outside world, quickly led to a bond with Xiao Lan.

Perhaps worried other werewolves might harm Puki or due to other subtle reasons, Xiao Lan never mentioned this to his fellow kind, even though Lin Jun never suggested secrecy.

In reality, even if he did mention it, Lin Jun wouldn’t care.

Once Lin Jun gained control of the Dungeon Core, the werewolves’ fate was sealed; only the process differed.

As Lin Jun explained the concept of "a month" to this native of the Underground City, the werewolf suddenly leaned in close and sniffed Puki.

"Big Mushroom..." The werewolf’s tone carried a trace of confusion, unsurely stating, "Your scent... seems a little different from last time?"

This must be the nose of a dog...

So, different Pukis of the same breed have distinct odors, Lin Jun learned something new!

"How would I know? I don’t have a nose!" The mycelium tentacle pushed the wolf’s head slightly away, "Let’s not dwell on that, I’ve brought you something fun this time!"

Upon hearing about something fun from the outside world, Xiao Lan’s attention was immediately diverted.

And then Puki pulled out a bottle of dark green potion from its belly...