Chapter 164: 164 Adventurers

In the swamp, where countless corpses lie buried, mosquitoes buzzed as usual today, painting a scene of vibrant life.

A giant mushroom cap suddenly appeared at the swamp's edge; a fat one, Pujji, dragging its clumsy body, barely managed to climb up with the aid of mycelial tentacles.

Then came a second, a third... seven fat ones in total!

After landing, they rolled several times on the ground; though still stinky, at least they no longer dripped sewage.

Then they lined up and walked toward the six-tiered staircase.

Not far away, a small hole, Knight Pujji emerged with its true form, spread its wings, and flew onto the cap of one of the fat ones.

Inside these fat ones were Lin Jun's entire belongings: magic crystals, equipment, books, gold coins, and various miscellaneous materials.

While Seeing Xiao Hei slept, Lin Jun packed his luggage, preparing to move to a new home.

The new home was located on the sixth layer, by the rift; a new storage room had been dug there in advance, and surrounding monsters had been hired to clear out space.

The network tunnels connecting the upper and lower parts of the rift had already been excavated, and there was more than one.

This location meant no worry about cracks everywhere, while allowing an immediate escape to the deep zones at any time; safety was guaranteed.

Even if humans discovered Lin Jun and wanted to pursue him, they would either have to bungee-jump into the rift or obediently descend the staircase layer by layer before turning back.

And by the time they reached the bottom... Lin Jun could still run back to the sixth layer via the network tunnels.

Of course, this was merely a contingency escape method; if his true form were actually chased by humans, the situation could be described as dire.

The move was not hurried; after all, the humans had not rushed down immediately but had first issued a public quest.

Although Lin Jun could not directly observe the interior of the guild, he could gather considerable information from the adventurers' idle chatter after drinking.

—

Mute Wind Town, Rotten Willow Tavern.

The air was thick with the smell of cheap wine, stew, and sweat, as noisy as ever.

But amidst today's noise, there was a hint of unusual hesitation and low murmurs.

"What do you think of the guild's latest quest?" Horn asked, spinning an empty cup in his hand, addressing his teammates who had already formed a fixed party.

Old Hammer, a dwarf shield warrior with a white beard, rich experience, and countless scars, sipped his murky ale.

Hearing this, he shook his head, his white beard trembling along: "Here it comes again; why does someone always keep thinking about those Pujjis?"

Ranger Amy played with a worn gold coin, letting it flip skillfully between her fingers, making a faint clinking sound.

"The reward is generous," she said concisely, her voice flat, but her eyes gleamed with shrewdness. "Silver-rankers get a base of thirty gold coins, equivalent to how many dungeon runs? Moreover, they are recruiting ranged professionals; I heard this time Church warriors and other experts will hold the front line, so those who take the quest only need to provide ranged support from a safe rear position; it's no different from free money."

Amy suddenly thought of something and asked the priest in the squad: "Noah, aren't you also from the Church? Do you know any special intelligence?"

Noah looked troubled: "I'm only an apprentice priest in the Church; what could I possibly know? How many ordained priests would come out to be adventurers..."

"That's true."

Seeing the ranger eager to try, Horn couldn't help but remind her: "Amy, did you forget what happened to the Iron Heart squad? Four Gold-rankers and twenty Silver-rankers were wiped out just to subdue one big black mushroom. And this time, the guild quest is to clear the entire fifth layer!"

Old Hammer, sitting nearby, nodded heavily, put down his cup, and tapped his finger unconsciously on the knife-scarred table.

"Not just Iron Heart," his voice dropped even lower, carrying a fatigue and vigilance born of witnessing too many deaths. "Who knows how many skilled hands have fallen at the feet of the Pujjis before and since! You've been in Mute Wind Town for so long; have you heard of anyone bringing out news about the Mushroom Forest or the swamp? No news is the clearest news!"

Horn nodded in agreement: "In the end, the Pujjis are fine where they are; as long as we don't provoke them, there's no danger. Why go out of our way to subdue them?"

For Horn, the Pujjis were not dangerous at all; the fat ones' lottery draw was an indispensable experience item every time he entered a dungeon. He fundamentally disagreed with the guild eliminating the Pujjis; if the Pujjis were gone, wouldn't the monster corpses become worthless again?

However, he was just an ordinary adventurer, insignificant and powerless; all he could do was not participate. "Yes, why go out of our way to subdue the Pujjis?" Noah looked at the Copper-rank adventurer at the next table eating fluorescent mushroom porridge, his face full of confusion. "After eliminating the Pujjis, the mycelial mats and mushrooms will have to be destroyed too, won't they? Doesn't that mean cheap mushroom porridge will disappear?"

Old Hammer snorted: "Who do the lords upstairs care if we adventurers eat cheaply or not! Even the adventurers themselves don't care; the guild issues a quest, gold coins jingle, and that is the greatest 'should' and 'should not'."

At the end of his speech, Old Hammer looked meaningfully at Amy.

Amy tucked the gold coin into her chest, patted her leather armor: "Exactly, gold coins are the greatest reason. Thirty gold coins are enough for me to live freely for a few years; I'm going to sign up. As for the risk? Isn't eating risk the very meal adventurers eat?"

After standing up, she looked at Noah: "Those two are both melee fighters; they aren't qualified to scoop up this money. Are you in?"

Horn and Old Hammer were silently drinking their wine at this moment, saying nothing.

Although they were teammates, everyone was free; adventurers are only responsible for their own choices; others should not interfere.

Noah looked around helplessly, and finally shook his head to refuse; although he also wanted that money, the examples mentioned earlier had somewhat frightened her.

Amy sighed in disappointment.

At this moment, Old Hammer suddenly said: "If you want to go, just go; don't worry about us finding someone to replace your spot. Actually, before this storm passes, I plan to rest for a while. What do you two say?"

Horn shrugged indifferently; resting for a while was not a problem.

Noah also nodded.

Before the ranger left, Noah instinctively reached out, gently grasped her wrist, and whispered the customary blessing: "Amy, may the radiance of Ixion protect your journey."

"Don't worry!" A cheerful smile bloomed on her face, her voice carrying her usual vitality. "When I return, I'll treat you all to the tavern's new honey-glazed catfish belly! Enough for everyone!"

Shortly after Amy's figure disappeared behind the tavern's wooden door, accompanied by the creaking sound of the door hinge, Vera entered with Feiling and Feiyin.

Seeing them, Horn greeted: "Yo, Vera, where have you been for a while?"

Among adventurers who had long hung around Mute Wind Town, they knew each other to some extent; mostly, it was the kind of acquaintance where they would say hello if they met.

Vera was just about to say she had taken Feiling to the city to get a tooth filled when she felt someone kick her shin hard.

She could only say vaguely: "Went to the city to handle some matters."

Horn nodded understandingly and tactfully asked no more.

The tavern's noise wrapped around them again; after chatting a few idle words, the topic, as if attracted by a magnet, circled back to that "latest quest."

"Vera," Horn leaned forward slightly, "you saw that 'big order' the guild just posted, right?"

"Mm, glanced at it." Vera took the wine just placed down by the tiger-man waiter, brushed off a few hairs, and spoke in a flat tone.

"What do you think? Do you have any ideas? Are Feiling and Feiyin qualified enough?" Horn asked tentatively, his gaze sweeping over the twins sitting quietly behind Vera.

Hearing this, Vera immediately waved her hands vigorously, her face showing a look of "respectfully declining," even carrying a hint of fear: "Don't mention it! Last time with Iron Heart, we almost got dragged in and ended up dead! This time? We'd be too scared to even run away in time!"

He took a sip of wine, his tone filled with regret: "If I had known such a thing would happen, we would have stayed in the city for a few more days!"

(End of Chapter)