"This, this..." The young Puki's mushroom hat trembled as it looked around for any foreign figures, "What should we do? If it really is an assassin..."
"Then you're as good as dead."
"Huh? Is there no hope of winning?"
Seeing that Inanna still harbored fantasies, Lin Jun mercilessly analyzed the situation for her:
"Think about it, we're trapped on this level and can't get out, but they can easily come down from above. The difference in strength is quite obvious, isn't it?"
"Then what should I do?"
"How about being ready to self-destruct with a demon crystal at any time?"
"Perish together?"
"At least you can die with some dignity."
"Makes... sense..."
When the Silver Thorn Squad reached the center of the Mushroom Garden, what they saw was a Pink Puki with a large demon crystal on its head, surrounded by surging magic power, ready to self-destruct at any moment.
Lin Jun thoughtfully arranged for two other Pukis to stand beside her, making her seem much more imposing.
The explosion from such a large piece of demon crystal would be incomparable to the previous one at the entrance.
Night Owl immediately wanted to use its speed to neutralize the threat as soon as possible.
[Shadow Binding]
As expected of a teammate, Ivan cast a spell to restrain Night Owl.
"Calm down, you brute."
Under Ivan's reminder, Night Owl finally noticed that the leader Nova was looking at the pink Puki in front of them with excitement.
Feeling the direction of the positioning crystal in his hand, there was no doubt that the Puki in front of them was their rescue target—the Duke's daughter, Inanna Saint Claire.
Nova then knelt on one knee and performed a standard noble ceremony for Inanna.
"Miss Inanna, we are adventurers entrusted by your father, Duke Alama, to rescue you. Sorry for startling you."
He also shot a look at Night Owl, who stood foolishly with a dagger in hand.
He was immensely grateful that he stopped Night Owl's plan to clear the field before they came in.
He dared not imagine if the Duke found that the adventurers supposed to rescue his daughter had been marked with his Revenge Mark...
Gulp—
It wouldn't just be the Duke himself hunting them down; the Adventurer's Guild would definitely issue a high bounty to clear their name of this mess.
In such a scenario, there would truly be no place for them to hide.
Thinking of this, Nova shivered and looked more unfavorably at Night Owl—she had indeed become more reckless lately; it was time to hold a reflection meeting when they returned.
"How was I supposed to know..." muttered Night Owl as she put away her weapon and mimicked the leader's kneeling posture.
Although she couldn't understand the conversation, seeing the group kneeling before Inanna, Lin Jun was somewhat sure of their intentions.
Inanna was so excited that she bounced up with the demon crystal still in a critical state atop her head.
Frightened, Lin Jun quickly urged her to calm down, jokingly saying that blowing herself up now would make for quite a spectacle.
"The old man... Father really came to save me!"
Inanna had no idea she had a positioning magic on her. After listening to the traitors before, she always thought the Duke couldn't spare time to save her.
Just now, she even suspected that the group in front of her had come to wipe the slate clean, yet now she felt a wave of joy she nearly cried, if not for the fact that Pukis don't have tears.
"Boss, did you hear that? We can leave now!"
"Once outside, you can fill my family's private forest with mushrooms."
"The old man will definitely agree."
"We can even... even..."
"Boss, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Lin Jun?"
A Puki approached her with an A Level demon crystal slightly smaller than the one on Inanna's head.
"Newcomer, you've done well these past few days; this is your bonus."
"Don't mention me to these people, and good luck in the future."
Lin Jun finally responded, but his reply was puzzling to her.
"Don't you want to leave too? Why?"
"..."
"Miss Inanna, can we communicate this way?"
The voice, as usual, sounded directly in Inanna's mind, but the speaker was not Lin Jun.
Inanna looked at the Half-Elf elder in front of her and realized he was using telepathy.
"Yes..."
"It's wonderful to see you unharmed. I know you've been affected by a transformation technique, but don't worry; once we leave the Underground City, we'll prepare a reversal ceremony for you, so please bear with it a little longer."
"Okay."
Ivan sensed the girl in front of them was shy and somewhat introverted, which didn't quite align with the information they had gathered earlier.
However, the positioning crystal couldn't be wrong; the one before him was certainly the Duke's daughter.
Considering that a young girl had suddenly suffered betrayal and was on the brink of death, a slight change in personality seemed quite normal.
"Miss Inanna, could you share what you've been through?"
"I... I don't want to talk about it..."
Inanna recalled Lin Jun's words, and after thinking briefly, chose not to fabricate a story, opting instead for silence.
Indeed, after a slight pause, Ivan took the initiative to reassure her, "Ah, it's okay, it's okay; we weren't interrogating you anyway."
Ivan was certainly aware there might be some secret in this Mushroom Garden.
Otherwise, the Duke's daughter couldn't have survived here, and she even appeared to have gotten along well with the Pukis.
At other times, he would surely explore it to satisfy his curiosity.
But now, this was a task related to the reward of an entire city.
Even if the transformed pink Puki Duke's daughter wanted to stomp on Night Owl's head and spray spores, he'd have to help hold Night Owl still.
Let alone any small secrets here.
"We're about to head back, is there anything you need us to take?"
On Inanna's cue, Ivan took out a box to store the demon crystal that had recently arrived.
As for the one atop Inanna's head, she still insisted on keeping it there.
However, Ivan replaced the fungal tendril originally used to bind the demon crystal with a tenacious ribbon.
After a brief communication with teammates, Ivan had Night Owl carry Inanna and return the way they came.
As they moved further from the Mushroom Garden, the connection with the Fungal Network grew weaker.
Without the visual input from the network, Inanna suddenly felt as though she was back to just being transformed into a Puki.
Loneliness, fear—
————
As he watched the adventurer team disappear into the tunnel, Lin Jun's main body piloted the strongest Puki out of hiding.
Of course, he couldn't leave with Inanna.
Having spent so much time with Inanna, he knew that what she expressed was her genuine thoughts.
But Lin Jun couldn't bring himself to trust adventurers, much less the kind of high nobility like Inanna's father.
He was unsure whether there was something about him that would interest these people.
Even if taken outside, he'd probably only be considered the Duke's daughter's pet.
And if the Duke discovered he could gain great benefits by merely getting rid of his daughter's pet, what would he do?
It's merely a hypothesis, but Lin Jun would never pin his hopes on others.
Moreover, not leaving with Inanna didn't mean he wouldn't follow them from afar, making use of these adventurers to carve out a safe path for himself.
He placed a piece of Sunstone Fragment and an S Level demon crystal under the shell of the super Puki.
Gathering all 40 of the combat Pukis he had.
Lin Jun took one last look at the Mushroom Garden, which he had created single-handedly and which helped him through the toughest times—it had already fulfilled its mission.
Following the faint signal from Inanna through the Fungal Network, Lin Jun also stepped into the tunnel.