Chapter 90

At the westernmost edge of the archipelago lies Giant Jujiaodao.

During the archipelago's golden age, this medium-sized island was famous for its whale hunts targeting giant horned whales.

But now, it has been completely abandoned; not a single resident remains on the entire island, only decaying buildings left behind, their paint peeling in the briny sea breeze.

The reason Giant Jujiaodao was abandoned is simple, just like countless other forsaken islands—the mist has spread here.

Right now, the gray fog only lingers over the northeastern reef flats, yet all nautical charts have already marked this island as a pending cancellation zone; the disappearance of the name "Giant Jujiaodao" is merely a matter of time.

That time might be three years, or three months, or perhaps three days from now.

The mist's expansion never follows tidal patterns; its boundary constantly swells and recedes between the real and the illusory.

Yet at this moment, a rare group of outsiders has appeared on Giant Jujiaodao.

In the western fir forest, a hunched figure clutching a rotting hoe handle swings its arms mechanically.

Gray-white skin clings to a gaunt skeleton, cloudy eyeballs hang in sunken sockets, and it shuffles toward the forest edge with some inhuman gait.

A flash of cold light from the horizon; an arrow like a silver snake pierced his forehead, exiting through the back of his skull with shattered bone and rotting fluid, killing him in one strike.

【Level Up: lv6→lv7】

【Skill Upgrade: Archery lv2→lv3】

On the watchtower beside the Lord's Mansion, the highest building on the entire island.

The tall, blonde woman set down the longbow "Mutsuki no Hikari" in her hands, then removed the Power Gauntlets from her hands, shaking her wrists which had grown slightly sore from drawing the bow repeatedly.

Her ever-shifting geometric pupils gradually returned to a normal human appearance.

Taking advantage of the break, she asked a middle-aged man in religious vestments beside her:

"Samuel... Priest, could you explain these again... um... I still don't quite understand."

"My Lord Sophia, just call me Samuel."

The priest's solemn expression carried dignity; he did not feel the slightest contempt despite the weakness and ignorance of the person before him at this moment.

He bowed slightly and explained in a low voice with a respectful posture:

"These are the Soul-Lost, lost within the mist. They are no longer the people they once were, merely flesh puppets driven by the mist, devoid of knowledge or awareness.

Please feel no burden when you shoot them.

But do not underestimate the mist because these Soul-Lost are weak; this is merely a tiny fraction leaking out during its dormant period."

Sophia nodded, understanding yet not quite understanding.

At that moment, a fully armored guard climbed the stairs, carrying a tray of steaming hot lunch in his hands, along with a bottle of expensive mid-tier Stamina Potion.

The guard approached the two, knelt on one knee, and held the tray above his head: "My Lord Sophia, please eat."

Although it was not the first time, Sophia still felt somewhat unaccustomed to their deference.

She reached out to take the tray, sat aside, and ate on her own—no one else would dine with her; in their eyes, that would seem like disrespect toward her...

While Sophia was eating, Samuel asked the guard: "How is the mist situation?"

"Quite stable; it will not enter an active phase in the short term."

Samuel nodded; that was good.

He looked at Sophia, who had already finished her food and was now chugging the Stamina Potion.

He silently calculated the cycle required for this my lord to advance twenty levels—only upon reaching the corresponding rank could more suitable trial zones be chosen for subsequent actions.

Before humanity's hope possesses the ability to defend itself, he and the forty guards stationed within the Lord's Mansion on Giant Jujiaodao will protect her with their lives.

—

Pupu—

Pupu—

Forty Pujis stepped onto the soil of the sixth layer.

Finding himself temporarily unimpeded, Lin Jun naturally would not continue to hold back.

He had long coveted the ecosystem of the sixth layer; now it was time to formally bring it under mushroom control.

Leaving aside everything else, the Flower Spirit's skill to produce paralytic fluid was quite tempting. Of course, domesticating Flower Spirits was merely the final step.

The first step, naturally, was to spread the mycelium mat, and to spread the mycelium mat, one must first clear the Slimes!

This layer had a huge number of Slimes.

There were two types: red Neurotoxin Slimes and green Sticky Slimes.

These forty Pujis, acting as the vanguard, needed to first ascertain their distribution and where they easily spawned, laying the groundwork for the main force's subsequent arrival.

However, a small unexpected incident seemed to have occurred right now—

A group of adventurers stood before the Pujis vanguard that had just exited the staircase.

"W-why are the Pujis coming down?" one adventurer stammered, twitching his eye corner in disbelief.

Previously, everyone had been thoroughly troubled by that cross-layer Great Black Mushroom; now even ordinary Pujis could descend in large numbers?

What about the dungeon rules?

None of them dared to act rashly; everyone knew the notorious reputation of the fifth-layer Pujis now; making the first move would surely lead to a bad outcome.

"How about we throw a monster corpse to test?" someone suggested.

"That makes sense!"

Soon, a bee corpse roughly the size of a Pujis was thrown in front of the vanguard.

The vanguard "strode" forward, ignoring the bee corpse on the ground, and stepped right over it.

Seeing that they were blocking the way, the adventurers hurriedly retreated along their original path; at worst, they could take another passage to go up.

However, in their panic, the priest somehow stepped on someone's foot and tripped.

"Don't leave me behind!"

The priestess's voice, trembling with tears, caught the attention of her companions who had already run more than ten paces away.

"Damn it! Get up quickly, I'll cover you!" The archer ranger immediately tried to use his arrows to block the Pooji vanguard team, buying the priestess time, but was stopped by the other two beside him.

"You pig-brained fool!"

"Don't provoke the Poojis!"

"But... but..." The teammate made sense, but seeing the Pooji already walking behind the priestess...

"Ah—!" The priestess's scream made the ranger's heart jolt violently.

The Poojis, as if no one else existed, stepped on the priestess, quickly drowning out her figure.

The three companions could only feel their hearts like knives twisting, listening from afar to the priestess's agonized cries:

"Ah—ah—oh... oh... um... oh... um..."

The rhythmic "agonized cries" continued; the priestess's voice sounded full of energy, not like someone in trouble.

???

After the Poojis walked far away, the three ran back from a distance and saw the priestess with her entire back covered in round, black footprints.

The ranger stepped forward, lifting her head: "Are you okay?"

"Still... still quite comfortable..."

The priestess blinked somewhat blankly, her chest heaving still carrying a trace of the lingering fear of near-death, yet also seeming to have a hint of wanting more.

The group exchanged strange glances, pulled the priestess up, checked her thoroughly from head to toe, and indeed found no injuries.

Without staying long, the four picked up the dead bees the Poojis had left on the ground and hurried toward the surface—they had new bragging material!

There will be another chapter before noon.

(End of this chapter)