Chapter 117: The Mushroom People

Li En and his group met the agreed-upon temporary laborers beneath a large mushroom-shaped rock.

But upon first seeing them, Li En thought he had been ambushed.

"Puff!"

With a soft sound, pale green smoke dispersed, and heavy footsteps appeared all around the temporary team.

Were they ambushed? Had the attackers arrived?!

Li En instinctively held his breath and drew his sword, but the next moment, a voice echoed in his mind.

"Comrade, please don't attack. Gugugu has arrived as agreed. Gugugu brought the promised digging tools."

One by one, tall and short figures emerged from the shadows—they were mushrooms of all sizes, walking on their own.

"Mushroom people? Fungus folk?"

These beings were neither cute nor terrifying; they looked exactly like walking mushrooms—and in truth, they were.

The only features clearly different from ordinary mushrooms were their thick, short legs and a pair of rather poor eyes.

No wonder the temporary team hadn't noticed them; when buried in soil with eyes closed, they blended perfectly into a mushroom forest.

"Stop." Li En called out. The leader of this group—he had seen him in his dream last night.

The sudden mushroom people ranged from tiny to huge; the smallest were smaller than Li En's foot, while the largest were more than twice his height.

They also brought large mushroom beasts for carrying gear, and atop platforms lay piles of mining picks and other tools.

Li En sheathed his sword. He had not only seen them last night—he already knew they were rare, mostly neutral, and benevolent beings of the underground world.

"Is this the mind-link spore?" That explosive spore might be the reason they could now communicate.

"Yes. Based on our experience with outsiders, it's easier to simply release the spores than to spend effort convincing them to accept them," said the pale yellow mushroom person who had appeared last night—he seemed to be the leader of this group.

The pale green smoke that had just burst was composed of tiny mental-speech spores; in a sense, they were part of these mushroom people themselves.

They lacked normal language ability and could only communicate via mental spore perception; if one refused the spores, the entire conversation would be like talking to a duck.

"I am Gugugu. Mushroom King of the Grayrock Fungus Tribe, and also our tribe's alchemist. Teacher, Senior Brother, greetings."

Don't let the title "Mushroom King" sound frightening—it's merely the leader of a community of about a dozen mushroom people. Mushroom people live in small villages.

Mushroom people are fungal organisms, far older and wiser than they appear. They have their own deities and an entire system of unique racial alchemy.

Outsiders cannot learn this technique—after all, no one but mushroom people can grow small mushrooms on their own bodies.

Their legendary origin lies in divine alchemy, using fungi and mushrooms as materials, entirely distinct from existing alchemical systems, yet producing unique effects—especially skilled in detoxification and healing.

Their clan numbers are usually small (no more than twenty), a survival wisdom: they deliberately limit their population.

Most Qiangzhe in the underground world are carnivorous; they have no interest in eating mushroom people, who pose no threat and even provide useful materials.

Watching the two thick hands of Gugugu clasped in greeting, the massive mushroom cap bowing slightly, Li En was surprised.

It seemed this one was unusually… different.

"Truly astonishing. I've met many mushroom people and Mushroom Kings, but never one so much like surface dwellers."

Violet Rose also looked astonished, uttering words that made one question her age.

How many mushroom people have you actually seen?

"I'm speaking on behalf of my Qiyueshou Melur. She has traveled widely through the underground world." Uh—wasn't this an unnecessary clarification?

But Violet Rose was right: this giant mushroom person even wore a top hat and a bowtie—clumsy, yet oddly humanoid.

Normal mushroom people appear dull and slow, showing little interest in the outside world.

Talking to them, though friendly, usually met with indifference; this one was decidedly "not mushroom-like."

"Perhaps because, when I was still a young spore, I was born inside the body of a surface traveler. His travel journal was my favorite childhood reading."

Body? More like a corpse. Li En decided, for the sake of his sanity, not to ask for details.

Li En had a faint feeling—perhaps Kuku's selection criteria were precisely…

"Outsiders? Or freaks?" Li En directly asked Kuku through their pet's mental link.

"Heh, are you talking about yourself?" Kuku's reply was full of pride.

But having a cooperative native was indeed a good thing.

Soon, the temporary team arrived at the designated location—a seemingly barren wasteland.

If Kuku's guidance was correct, the unfortunate machine race should lie beneath.

"Solid rock, at least three meters thick." Larry tapped the ground, sensing vibrations, then shook his head.

But this didn't mean Kuku had chosen the wrong spot.

The underground world is never single-layered; hollow caves, multi-level structures, internal passages, layers, and voids are common.

Not to mention magical realms and special passages created by spells—perhaps the machine race lies even deeper.

Normally, one would now detour, searching for possible entrances.

A Ditanshi search is standard; with luck, one might find it in a few days.

"Dig!" Kuku snapped his fingers cheerfully, and everyone immediately began working.

Searching for an entrance? Not here. If a deep passage might lie below, just dig it out.

For other races, such digging might risk collapse—but the machine race, already buried deep, had nothing left to lose.

"Boom!"

The mushroom people were all expert diggers; with a single punch (if one could call it that), they carved deep pits—their raw strength was considerable.

Mushroom people aren't strong in the underground world—they fear fire and are somewhat sensitive to bright light, making their weaknesses obvious—but few willingly provoke them.

They master alchemy, hence poison; their melee strength is solid and they fear no death; most importantly, killing them just leaves behind mushroom debris.

Battlefield remnants often linger; by next year, a new tribe might sprout from them and launch a revenge war.

But if one trades normally, one can regularly buy dried mushrooms to improve flavor.

Though no one dares drink their alchemical potions, they're generally effective when life is at stake.

Even the ruthless dark elves have no reason to bother mushroom people—what's the point of capturing a dozen? The loot is nearly worthless.

"We want to go out and see the surface," Gugugu, the Mushroom King, made no effort to hide his goal.

"You? Or your community? (Mushroom people organize in communities of fewer than twenty.)" Li En was surprised. "You don't mean to travel as a group?"

"We are one." It seemed they truly planned to leave together.

Mushroom people have long used mental communication; their mental networks are traditionally interconnected, with no secrets between them.

They have almost no personal desires, need no reproduction or conventional food, wear no clothes, own no possessions—pure collective existence in another sense.

Combined with their long-standing mental network, this has led to individual homogenization; when one becomes an outlier, the entire community gradually follows.

"I might be able to help. But can you endure the surface sun?" After thinking, Li En decided he could assist.

Mushroom people are fungi, naturally drawn to cool, damp places—that's why they live underground; the surface sun is their enemy.

"I invented a potion that gradually alters our physiology. Our mushrooms fear no sun; our community loves the sun."

Well, this was truly a scholar-mushroom. Of course, anyone who resonated with Kuku was never normal.

But Gugugu spoke truth: for them, environment could be overcome—the greatest danger was always human hearts.

Underground dwellers might not care for your mushroom flesh, but some surface people would sell you for a few copper coins.

"Fine. Perhaps I have a suitable place for you to live."

The docks don't care who lives there; if they can't adapt quickly, the cavern connecting to the underground world can serve as their home.

Dimon would look after these "little brothers"—and he was always short of hands.

"Bring extra alchemical potions. On the surface, just staying alive costs money and taxes."

"Uh, but surface people dare not drink our medicine, right?"

Uh—you actually know that?

Fungal alchemists use various fungi and mushrooms as ingredients; organic-grown mushrooms grow fastest. What's the most abundant organic matter in the underground world? You don't need to ask.

"Once on the surface, don't grow mushrooms from corpses—at least not openly. If they guess, just deny it."

Saying this, Li En gave a bitter smile.

"As for whether they dare drink it—adventurers who descend underground aren't ordinary people. They can buy potions from professional alchemists."

"Docks residents are just glad to survive—what do they care what's in the medicine? Healing potions will sell well."

Li En's words amounted to a strong guarantee—he had no reason to refuse these mushroom people entry to Huicheng.

After all, Gugugu and his kind had proven terrifyingly pure in detecting evil and judging sin—yes, the moment Li En saw them, he immediately cast Detect Evil.

This might not be a good habit on surface streets, but in the underground world, it was essentially correct.

"Later, I'll introduce you to the Princess—though she might seek you out. Remember to ask for a high price." Li En patted the giant mushroom, then turned to the freshly dug pit.

With underground gnomes and mushroom people digging, efficiency was high—they hadn't even used explosives.

When the earth, roughly four to five meters deep, was cleared, a hollow space below was revealed.

Yet, as they neared the cave, a chill ran instinctively through them—an urge to avoid stepping inside.

Li En leaned closer and felt a persistent cold wind brushing his face, a sense of discomfort emanating from within—but when he probed carefully, it seemed like nothing at all.

"Uh… negative energy? Someone died down here."

This sensation, similar to a Shadow Dragon, made Li En feel instinctive unease—this was a pool of negative energy formed by accumulated death.

"Likely shadow creatures or undead. If it's the latter…" Li En sighed, recalling the candidate he had recently dismissed.

Not this unlucky—just met one possible Absorber candidate, and now another?

(End of Chapter)