Unlike the desperate ride on his way out, Dylan’s return journey took more than a month.

He kept his face wrapped tightly in bandages, like a mummy.

He avoided towns as much as possible, resupplying only at waystations or small villages.

When he finally returned to Yafeng Town, he didn’t linger. He bought supplies quickly, then entered the Dungeon alone.

He didn’t bother gathering tavern gossip. The Dungeon had been the same for ages—what could have changed in just two months?

He traveled through paths with little value, and therefore few monsters—safer routes. He wasn’t here for money this time.

He wanted to see that swamp again.

He wasn’t sure what he expected. Every time he thought about hiding away somewhere, the image of that treasure-room scene would surface in his mind.

He had considered it might be some kind of parasitic mental suggestion, that going back would mean being devoured.

But in the end, he chose to see for himself. If it killed him… then so be it.

Walking along the massive stone corridor between the fourth and fifth floors, his heels struck the steps, echoes bouncing between the walls.

But the footsteps weren’t his alone. A party of adventurers appeared below.

When they passed each other, both sides gripped their weapons tightly.

Trust no one in the Dungeon—such caution was necessary.

“Friend, wait a moment.”

Dylan turned. The speaker was a young man in leather armor, a curved blade at his waist.

Despite being under twenty, he was climbing up from the fifth floor—clearly a talent others could only envy.

“What is it?”

As he spoke, Dylan took a couple steps further down, widening the gap.

The youth noticed but only said with genuine concern:

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s been some strange change on the fifth floor. Nobody knows exactly what’s going on. Best not to take the risk.”

“Strange change? The Parasitic Trees went berserk?”

“No, not that. It’s the Pujis.

A whole swarm of mutated Pujis has taken over most of the floor. No one understands their habits yet, but there are already rumors of people dying to them.

We tried to bypass them to reach the caverns, but every path we found was blocked by Pujis. So we came back.”

The youth really did sound sincere. Dylan nodded slightly.

“Thanks.”

Then he continued downward. He had come precisely to find the Pujis.

“Tch, what a shady weirdo. Vera, you waste your breath. He doesn’t believe you.”

Dylan hadn’t gone far when the female archer in the youth’s team mocked him bitterly.

“Alright, enough. That’s normal. Let’s move. We still need to check the other passage.”

Their voices faded into the distance.

Dylan couldn’t help but like that helpful young man. Of course, his goodwill probably wouldn’t amount to much.

As for the woman’s sneer—Dylan was long past the age of caring about such things.

There were three connected passages between the fourth and fifth floors. The one he had taken led near the Poison Mist Lake.

He downed an antidote potion early, but when he arrived, he froze.

The lake was still there—but where was the poison?

Before, thick green fog had shrouded the entire lake, toxic and blinding.

Now, he could see clear across the water.

At the distant shore, a few Pujis were wandering. As the youth said, they blocked the path toward the caverns.

The poison fog had been created by the Jade-Eyed Frogs, who constantly spewed it until it covered the entire lake.

And yet now, with such visibility, not a single Jade-Eyed Frog was in sight.

Only a few stray Corrosive Slimes and Water Sprites lingered.

What on earth had happened here?

He pressed on uneasily.

Fortunately, the Pujis behaved as before, ignoring him as he passed. Dylan sighed with relief.

He crossed the now-clear Poison Mist Lake and headed toward the swamp’s edge.

His plan was to skirt past the Parasitic Trees and sneak into the treasure room to see its condition.

But once there, he was met with yet another shock.

The treasure room was gone!

Not sealed. Gone. The stone gate and the chamber itself had simply vanished.

Dylan was certain he hadn’t mistaken the place.

Just as he stood there, bewildered, a voice rang in his head.

“What, you wanna touch the treasure chest or something?”

———

Lately, Lin Jun had been troubled.

Not by the mushroom garden’s development—everything on the fifth floor was going according to plan.

The Gnolls of the forest had already been turned into Mushroom Gnolls, puppets who obeyed his commands just like Pujis.

But Lin Jun wasn’t satisfied.

Their combat strength wasn’t high, they consumed too much energy, and they needed meat.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, they couldn’t compare to Pujis at all.

He kept them around only to study the skill [Fusion Parasitism].

Now that his research was nearly complete, Lin Jun was considering whether to throw them into battle as expendables or simply bury them as fertilizer.

What really troubled him was his strained relationship with humans.

Adventurers now either avoided Pujis or attacked them on sight. And Lin Jun wasn’t the type to just take it without fighting back…

And all of it had started thanks to one dumb party of adventurers.

Three bronze-ranked adventurers above level 25 had brought along a novice girl mage barely level 16 to explore the fifth floor.

And of course, they just had to pass through the swamp—his own bedroom, essentially.

Naturally, Lin Jun refused. He sent Pujis to block their path, even fired one artillery shot as a warning.

The three veterans understood. But the rookie mage didn’t.

She decided to strike first. After a long chant, she flung a Lightning Claw spell at a nearby Exploding Puji.

Lin Jun truly didn’t understand—why would a mage fight in melee range?!

But if someone wanted to die, Lin Jun was always happy to oblige.

In a dazzling explosion, the young beauty was hurled five meters into the air. By the time she hit the ground, she was nothing but pulp.

Lin Jun had been ready to let things end there. He hadn’t planned to hold them accountable for trespassing or for killing an innocent Exploding Puji.

But then one of the remaining adventurers, tears streaming down his face, charged at the Pujis in a rage.

Another hesitated, then followed. The result was obvious—pulp +2.

When the Pujis turned to the last man, he immediately tore open a scroll and vanished.

A teleportation scroll!?

So such things really existed.

Heaven knew Lin Jun hadn’t intended to kill them all. He had always been acting in self-defense.

But judging by how adventurers reacted afterward, this was one stain he couldn’t wash off.

He had no idea how it would develop.

Would it turn into all-out war?

Or should he abandon the swamp outskirts, lower his presence, and wait for the storm to pass?

But when he noticed Dylan—half man, half mushroom—returning to the fifth floor, he suddenly had an idea.