In truth, killing him outright would have been better—at least, that was Lin Jun’s opinion.

But considering that old Dylan had already lost his daughter, if Lin Jun butchered his cross-racial friend right in front of him, the man might simply collapse into despair. So the shapeshifter was spared.

Anyway, as long as he remained within the range of the Mycelium, there was no way for him to stir up trouble.

And if the Empire decided to reassign him?

Then he would just have to stage his own death.

Dylan, however, was delighted to work alongside Clorro again. Like guiding a new recruit, he taught him how to draw mana from the fungal web, how to send messages through it, and how to command the Pujis.

All follow-up matters were left to Dylan. For the sake of his sworn brother’s life, Dylan would give his utmost.

Lin Jun’s attention turned instead to his newly upgraded core skill.

【Skill Upgrade: Mycelium Network LV7 → LV8】

This was one of those skills that couldn’t be pushed by greed, but had to be painstakingly nurtured.

Last time, it had unlocked the “Node” ability. And this time… hmm… was it… visual sharing?

He decided to test it.

…

[Have you really not considered Karen?] On a gold-edged page, the Yellow Book typed out pink letters.

“Senior, I told you already—she’s a werewolf! And I’m…” Norris tried to protest.

[And you’re what? A tailless lizardman?]

[Norris, race has never been the issue. I’ve seen more cross-racial couples than you’ve eaten mushrooms—there was even a vampire paired with a loaf of bread!]

“But I… I don’t even like her…” Norris’s gaze wavered, though in the back of his mind a different silhouette flickered.

[Look at yourself! Humans call you a monster, lizardfolk despise you for lacking a tail. Now you finally meet a werewolf girl who doesn’t mind your race or your looks, and you’re turning her down?]

[Besides, when Karen is in her human form under the sun, isn’t she considered pretty by your standards?]

[Young people always dream of true love. But tell me—how many perfect true loves exist in this world?]

Every word pierced his heart. Norris’s face twisted, and he could only mutter weakly:

“What does this… have to do with you? Why are you so intent on pushing me and Karen together?”

[Because it would be fun.]

“…”

[Hey, hey! Don’t put me—]

“Smack!” Norris slapped the book back onto the center of his shield and dove into the Pujis’ burrow.

He needed to calm down.

But then, without warning, a vivid image slammed into his mind, freezing him in place.

The scene showed a cavern in the deeper levels, beside a small pool of water. There, the werewolf Karen was grooming her wet fur.

Droplets slid down her gray-brown coat, and shed strands of fur floated on the pool’s surface.

Werewolves never used to bathe. Water resources on the tenth floor were limited, and certainly not plentiful enough for werewolves to wash casually.

As a result, most newcomers carried a pungent, indescribable stench.

The Pujis didn’t notice, but poor Norris, who often had to receive them, certainly did.

Things had improved lately. Though most werewolves still disliked the feeling of wet fur, at least they washed once a month.

Karen, however, was clearly among the cleanest of them. In recent times, Norris had barely noticed any odor around her.

But why—why was he suddenly seeing such a vivid, detailed scene in his head?

Could it be… that deep down, he actually felt something for Karen?

“No way!”

No matter how fanciful his imagination, he could not conjure such a realistic, dynamic vision out of nothing!

“Boss! Was that you?” The words burst out of him.

“Norris, you’ve changed!” came the boss’s wounded voice in his mind. “You’d rather believe it was me meddling than admit your heart’s finally opening? I’m so hurt!”

“So what I saw—”

“—Was me!”

“Why show me that?!”

“Because it would be fun.”

“…”

Norris curled up as small as he could, utterly lost as to what he’d done to deserve such “wonderful” companions.

Reviewing his life, he realized he had never taken a wrong turn. He simply… had never been given a choice from the start.

That realization only made him sadder.

…

And so, another feature had been added: video sharing.

It wasn’t like the spell [Image Projection] that could record or fabricate scenes. Instead, it transmitted real-time, actual images.

For Lin Jun himself, it wasn’t all that useful. But for his subordinates… hmm…

Could this be used for video conferences?

He tested inserting multiple live feeds at once, and it caused no strain.

Unfortunately, there was no urgent matter that required gathering his followers.

He couldn’t just hold pointless meetings—it would make him look like a lazy boss wasting time on nonsense.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Jun casually selected some of the most dazzling, oddly shaped gemstones in Mordu["Mushroom City"] and sent the images to Gray.

That day, Gray—believing he had received a “Revelation of the Dragon God”—searched every corner of the Mushroom Garden in vain, never finding the shining vault he had envisioned.

…

Fishing-Sail Port.

This city lay at the southernmost tip of the kingdom, one of the closest cities to Mordu.

Despite its name, its location was awkward. Sailing westward meant either braving the open seas teeming with dangerous monsters, or navigating treacherous reefs.

Thus, maritime trade had never favored this place. Its port mainly served the large local fishing vessels. The catch had always required long transport inland to sell.

Now, with Mordu rising rapidly nearby, its demand for seafood revitalized the port overnight.

But as in Norwid, conflict between Puji-handlers and traditional adventurers erupted here as well.

For the port’s lord, it was both pain and joy.

Lately, the clashes seemed to be escalating.

His domain was small, his standing army limited. A major riot could be crushed, but at heavy cost. Preventing it was better.

He had no idea how to resolve the Puji-handler–adventurer feud, but he knew a show of force often worked.

Normally, he could request reinforcements from neighboring lords—at a price.

But in such troubled times, no lord dared spare soldiers. The cost now would be unbearable.

After much thought, he appealed to the only power with strength to spare—the Church.

The Church, representing the majesty of the God of Light, commanded holy warriors whose presence cowed troublemakers far more than city guards.

His request was quickly granted.

After all, keeping Mordu’s surroundings stable was crucial to the kingdom.

The nearest squad of “Wings of Judgement” received orders and marched straight to Fishing-Sail Port.

They entered clad in gleaming silver armor, capes embroidered with sacred sigils. Order returned to the streets immediately.

By agreement, the squad took over patrols in the city’s most chaotic district.

Among them was Solarin—whom Lin Jun had once fought and then spared.

But now, she felt terrible.

The moment she tried to use [Truth Vision] to scan the city, her senses were overwhelmed by indescribable chaos.

The distortion made her retch violently, just like the time she was cornered by Pujis. She vomited in the street, disgraced.

She could not understand: how could these people live so naturally in such a horrifying environment?

Why did those chaos-colored monsters walk the streets as if they belonged?

Having paid little attention to Mordu’s intelligence beforehand, Solarin now wanted nothing more than to find someone—anyone—who could explain what was happening here.