On this day, the master of the Mushroom Garden returned once more to his loyal old capital!

But the place had been transformed by the Cave Dwellers beyond recognition, and even Lin Jun could hardly see traces of its former self.

However, the rock wall that held high-quality Demon Crystals remained, probably the most valuable asset of the Old Mushroom Garden.

These Cave Dwellers, while cultivating mushrooms, clearly did not possess Lin Jun's expertise. They didn't know how to enrich the land with Demon Crystals and certainly hadn't mined them; a few Demon Crystals in the warehouse were carelessly tossed into the corner, showing their ignorance.

In this battle, Puki's losses were negligible.

The greatest casualties came from more than twenty Pukis crushed by rocks dislodged by Louisa, while those Pukis skewered by the Cave Dwellers' spears repaired themselves after lying still for a while.

The Cave Dwellers' resistance was earnest only in the beginning, becoming a simple cat-and-mouse game later.

This outcome did not surprise Lin Jun.

Just like the Old Mushroom Garden once, it could exist simply because it was remote, unnoticed by advanced demons.

In terms of combat power, they were even inferior to the Old Mushroom Garden, and the Cave Dwellers weren't lucky enough to escape Lin Jun's attention...

If Lin Jun hadn't needed to capture them alive as much as possible, the battle might have ended quickly, without giving them any chance to struggle.

Of course, it couldn't be said that they were unlucky, as Lin Jun didn't intend to eradicate them.

Lin Jun merely wanted to achieve equality within this slave race!

Every bound Cave Dweller was incapacitated by Hallucinogenic Spores, left at the brink of death, then specialized Pukis would sprinkle spores on them, completing their fusion with the mycelium in their sleep.

Upon awakening, they would discover that the old class division by pheromone concentration was gone, and every Cave Dweller now shared the same identity—Lin Jun's sub... subordinate!

Of course, the above treatment was for the valuable common Cave Dwellers, as for the worthless fat Cave Dwellers...

Louisa was quite satisfied; although the blood lipid was a bit high, at least it was the blood of intelligent life, tasting much better than lower demons.

The Yellow-covered Book was also satisfied, having received two more souls than it anticipated.

As for Norris, Lin Jun promised to select a piece of equipment for him later.

Under Lin Jun's distribution, everyone found happiness.

What about the fat Cave Dwellers?

Though they wailed during the bloodletting, they voiced no objections.

The still-obese but bloodless corpses of the Cave Dweller elders were dumped into their mushroom fields by the Pukis.

The mycelium devoured and decomposed the bodies, resulting only in some magic power and nutrients, without acquiring any skills.

Could it be... as expected?

Skills being related to the soul was something Lin Jun had already noticed during the Yellow-covered Book's snacking, and this proved it further.

Simply put, this Yellow-covered Book is competing with me for food, seriously, who else should be starving if not you?

This reconnection with the Old Mushroom Garden also made Lin Jun realize that even parts of the mycelium he extended long ago, if reconnected, could smoothly return under his control.

However, once out of his control, the Fungal Mat would only naturally generate primitive Pukis without skills. If not for the Cave Dwellers' cultivation, they'd probably have been eaten by Slimes or similar creatures.

Lin Jun thoroughly searched through the Cave Dwellers' old nest, highlighting a single word: poverty.

Aside from food like mossy mushrooms, there were only a few bone items.

Lin Jun even saw a Minotaur's skull, suggesting they had some battle achievements in the past.

If there was any gain beyond this group of Cave Dwellers, it would be the fortress itself.

[Race: Snail Wood]

[Level: 25]

[Skills: Tenacity LV6, Hardening LV5, Physical Resistance LV4, Rapid Growth LV4…]

This structure is highlighted by being solid and reliable; Louisa's normal attack couldn't break its wooden shell directly.

And once grown, the wood resembles a giant snail shell, naturally becoming the Cave Dwellers' stronghold.

Does it grow quickly too?

Lin Jun took a few seeds from the center of the Snail Wood, planning to continue using the Snail Wood and Cave Dwellers' model, with the addition of some Pukis.

Cave Dwellers, given their low level and high mortality, were not suitable for frontline consumption as part of the expedition forces in Lin Jun's plans.

They couldn't afford it; the frontline Pukis are swapped out en masse, and rarely did any survive through three large demon caverns.

In Lin Jun's plan, she intended to have the Cave Dwellers lead the Pukis to guard conquered caverns.

These caverns had low danger levels and little defensive pressure. Entrusting these nodes to the Cave Dwellers would allow Lin Jun to allocate more capacity to support the expedition team.

Originally considering settlement issues for Cave Dwellers in new caverns, it now appeared she could simply use Snail Wood!

Of course, these were arrangements for later, as this batch of Cave Dwellers needed some education first.

There was no rush to relocate the Cave Dwellers, as no other cavern was safer than the Old Mushroom Garden.

Moreover, Lin Jun discovered the Cave Dwellers' nursery in the Snail Wood, astonishingly egg-based...

Every Cave Dweller is precious, even the unborn!

Lin Jun assigned a few recently awakened and still fearful Cave Dwellers to care for their eggs.

Meanwhile, the other awakened Cave Dwellers were handed to Norris and the Yellow-covered Book.

They trembled, awaiting their fate.

By then, Louisa, under Lin Jun's arrangement, had already taken most of the forces to recapture a cavern occupied by the Snake Monster.

Norris was left with only Lin Jun's personal guard—two Minotaur puppets and over ten Elite Pukis.

The Minotaur puppets, tall and imposing, indeed had a deterrent effect on the Cave Dwellers.

But compared to nearly three hundred Cave Dwellers, Norris's group was decidedly small.

Some crafty Cave Dwellers even thought of escaping.

However, when one Cave Dweller chose to flee and hadn't gone far when it burst into mushrooms, becoming a puppet, the others quickly learned obedience.

Lin Jun only gave Norris and the Yellow-covered Book one new task.

Teach the Cave Dwellers to use the Fungal Network, control Pukis, and most importantly—understand and obey the boss's commands.

Even if Norris didn't understand how to proceed, the Yellow-covered Book surely knew.

To prevent the Yellow-covered Book from slacking off, Lin Jun painted it a grand vision of soul-feasting.

...

With a complete view, Lin Jun was planning which caverns the trained Cave Dwellers should be sent to first.

The first batch should ideally be relatively safe caverns to accumulate experience.

While contemplating, a vibration came through the Fungal Network.

The sensation was so familiar... one could even say nostalgic!

Earth Worm?

Not only did Lin Jun sense the tremor, but Louisa, leading the expedition team past a pockmarked cavern, noticed the little stones jumping underfoot and halted.

The vibrations grew more evident, and while Louisa stood firm, the Pukis were bounced about comically.

At one moment, a burst of soil erupted outward, and a massive Abyssal mouth emerged, instantly swallowing twelve Pukis. Many more were either trampled to death or crushed by flying debris.

The scene was identical to the former campaign.

And beside the gigantic mouth, the scar from the previous Puki grand self-destruction remained vividly visible.

[Race: Earth Worm]

[Level: LV51]

We meet again, old adversary!

This time, do you bring reinforcements?

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