CHAPTER 38: WHY DID THEY PASS BY MY HOUSE?

Puff pui—

Puff pui—

On the spiral corridor, seven Pukis were hopping up step by step.

These stairs, tailored for humans, were a bit too tall for the short-legged Pukis, only half a person’s height, so they had to jump little by little to advance.

These were the Pukis that Lin Jun sent to the first floor.

Thanks to the kind adventurer who left the moon shadow stone—a peculiar mineral that changes color every half day.

Lin Jun could now keep track of the days even in the Underground City.

When Dylan hadn’t returned for seven consecutive days, and even the adventurers gradually disappeared, Lin Jun clearly realized: something big was happening!

Could it be that the Underground City had reached the end of its useful life and was due for demolition?

No matter what, Lin Jun naturally couldn’t just sit around and wait.

In order to find out what was going on, in addition to the large group of Pukis previously decided upon to be sent to the lower floors to investigate the sources of magic fluctuations, Lin Jun also added a team heading upwards.

Given that the demons on the first four floors were of lower levels, this group of Pukis wasn’t large, only seven.

The situation was as expected; the demons, although restless and eager to take a bite upon seeing Pukis,

would calm down after a single Mushroom Cannon shot.

Using the strategies Dylan had long ago provided, the team took only a day to almost reach the first floor.

Half of the time was still spent climbing the stairs.

Though each floor’s terrain and ecosystem differed greatly, the stairs connecting each level were carved from the same mold.

Lin Jun seriously suspected that the builders lazily copied and pasted them directly.

When the Pukis finally reached the first floor, Lin Jun felt a bit excited.

This was the closest he’d come to the outside world; previously, Lin Jun had tried not to send Pukis to other levels to avoid drawing attention.

The first floor was as Dylan said, a corridor maze.

The architectural style was of ancient bluestone bricks, which at first glance bore a resemblance to the Eighth Floor.

However, unlike the Eighth Floor’s hell-level difficulty maze, the first floor’s maze had no teleportation arrays, no traps, and no monster stacking.

Monsters were sparsely distributed and weak in combat, accessible even to novices fresh out of training.

The corridor structure itself was disorienting, but its challenge had long been nullified by detailed strategic plans.

The Pukis followed the shortest route straight to the Underground City’s main gate, eager to see what the situation was.

Puff pui—

Hmm?

A familiar sound came from the corner up ahead, and soon a familiar figure emerged—

A wild Puki!

Opening the panel, it showed Level 1, five-dimensional attributes all 1, no skills except for the spore-scattering talent.

The sole purpose of its existence was to release spores when eaten by other demons.

It was truly an all-natural Puki.

In comparison, Lin Jun’s Pukis, equipped with four or five advanced skills, were overlords among mushrooms.

The wild Puki seemed completely unaware of its kind, aimlessly wandering along the corridor.

Lin Jun’s Puki lightly shook its mushroom cap, attaching a bit of spores to the wild Puki.

Suddenly, a new member was added to the Fungal Network.

Stop!

The Puki retracted its small leg as instructed, complying with Lin Jun’s order, just like the seven others.

Lin Jun’s guess was confirmed, easily obtaining control over these low-intelligence demons with no self-awareness, only instincts.

Even if they weren’t created by him, as long as they were connected to the Fungal Network, they could be easily controlled.

But it didn’t carry much significance.

With the wild Puki in tow, the group arrived near the main gate.

Nearing the destination, the area seemed drastically different in style, so much so that it felt like another floor entirely.

Eight pure black stone pillars stood in the hall, each carved with dark golden geometric patterns.

Atop the pillars, there were vaguely visible metallic components, connecting the pillars in a ring, from which sixteen chains extended toward the center, all linked to a hovering, intangible circular magic array.

Under the magic perception, the array flickered, much like a faulty old light bulb from a previous life.

Beyond this hall, ahead was the gate to the Underground City.

Lin Jun didn’t send all the Pukis, but instead sent the wild Puki alone to scout.

When the Puki reached the gate, it was met with a field full of trap barricades.

A twelve-meter-wide door was blocked until only a narrow horizontal gap remained.

Through the gap, Lin Jun saw several pairs of terrified eyes and a crossbow aimed at the Puki.

Swish—

The poor wild Puki was pierced through and flew three meters away, dying immediately, releasing a cloud of spores.

However, Lin Jun noticed the spores quickly losing vitality, seemingly affected by the hall’s peculiar influence.

It was now confirmed that humans had blocked the door.

Lin Jun didn’t yet know why, but upon getting closer, he detected a Fungal Network signal outside the door.

The seven Pukis moved along the wall’s edge, out of sight, getting close to the wall near the door.

Only then did Lin Jun finally connect with the other side.

"Dylan?"

"Boss! You actually made it to the first floor! Are you here to break through the Underground City too?"

For a moment, Dylan felt deeply conflicted, unsure whether to side with humans or the mushrooms...

"What nonsense are you talking about, cut the crap, and tell me why humans sealed the Underground City gate?"

"Huh? Oh, oh!"

Realizing his mistake, Dylan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly relayed all the information about the Demon Tide to Lin Jun.

Then Lin Jun was dumbfounded.

Demons would rush out collectively?

Including those from the Deep Area?

Does that mean those demons would have to pass through the fifth floor before reaching the first floor?

What kind of situation is this!

Dylan also said the Adventurer’s Guild hired virtually all idle adventurers to take turns guarding the door.

The precautions alone demonstrated the scale and intensity of the Demon Tide’s demons.

Can his Pukis hold the line?

Given the appearance of things outside the door, it seemed impossible to hide outside the Underground City now.

But come to think of it, he is a demon too. If demons prioritize rushing the gate over fighting during the Demon Tide, maybe he doesn’t need to worry too much.

At least he understood what was happening.

He told Dylan not to get involved in the Demon Tide, as his disguise might be compromised during a fight.

Lin Jun also had to prepare himself.

The team of Pukis exploring downward was currently entangled with the demons on the seventh floor, and Lin Jun had them retreat.

He had to make as many preparations as possible before the Demon Tide arrived, and a batch of Pukis needed to over-limit explode.

The only comfort for Lin Jun was that in the Swamp Area’s secret space, he managed to embed two S-level Demon Crystals into his vehicle.

As for the third one, due to size constraints, it couldn’t be used and was left for other purposes.

Although the effects were discounted due to them not being created with his own skills but inherited from the Old Bat,

the two S-level Demon Crystals still boosted skill power by 200%, which was quite pleasing.

It was about time to officially name it... Knight!