Unlike the rapid departure, Dylan's return journey took over a month.
Along the way, he wrapped his face in bandages, resembling a mummy.
He avoided populous areas as much as possible, only replenishing supplies at inns or villages.
After finally returning to Dumb Wind Town, he didn't stay; he hurriedly bought supplies and entered the Underground City alone.
He didn't head to the tavern to gather intelligence; the Underground City had remained unchanged for ages. What changes could have occurred in two months?
Within the Underground City, he took routes with little resources and few demons, relatively safe paths since making money was not his objective this time.
He wanted to take another look at that swamp.
He didn't know what he was expecting; every time he thought about hiding, the scenes from the Treasure Chest Room would emerge in his mind.
He had considered the possibility of some kind of post-parasitic mental suggestion, that returning would lead to his devouring.
But in the end, he decided to take a look. If he died because of it... then so be it.
Walking along the greenstone corridor dozens of meters between the fourth and fifth layers, the echo of his heels clattered against the steps, rebounding between the walls.
The sound of footsteps wasn't just his; a group of adventurers appeared below the stairs.
As they brushed past each other, both sides gripped their weapons tightly.
One must be cautious; all sorts of people exist in the Underground City.
"Friend, wait a moment."
Dylan turned; the one calling him was a young man dressed in leather armor with a curved saber at his waist.
His youthful face looked less than twenty, yet able to ascend from the fifth layer, possessing enviable talent.
"What is it?"
As Dylan spoke, he took two more steps downward to increase the distance.
Seeing his action, the young man merely offered a well-meaning reminder:
"I don't know if you're aware, but there's been a mutation on the fifth layer recently. Everyone's still unsure of the situation, so it's best not to take unnecessary risks."
"Mutation? Have the Parasitic Trees gone berserk?"
"Not that, it's the Puki.
A swarm of mutant Puki has occupied over half the layers. Their nature is unknown, but supposedly some people have already died in there.
We, too, wanted to bypass the Puki to the cave, only to find Puki blocking every path we could take, so we returned."
The young man's reminder seemed genuinely well-intentioned, and Dylan nodded slightly:
"Thank you."
Then he continued downward; he had come to find the Puki.
"Tch, such a secretive weirdo, Vera, it's a pity your kind reminder wasn't believed by him at all."
Before Dylan could walk far, the female archer in the young man's team sneered disdainfully.
"Alright, alright, this is normal. Let's go, we still have to check the other passage's situation."
The young man's voice gradually faded.
Dylan rather liked enthusiastic guys like him — although his liking probably wouldn't serve much purpose.
As for the female archer's sarcasm, he'd long outgrown taking such matters to heart.
Between the fourth and fifth layers, three interconnected passages existed, with this one adjacent to Poison Mist Lake.
Dylan had already consumed an Antitoxic Potion, but emerged only to be stunned.
The lake was still there, but where was the poison?
Previously, a green mist surrounded the entire lake, not only poisonous but significantly obscuring sight.
Now he could see far into the distance in one glance.
Dylan saw a few Puki wandering along the distant lakeshore, just as the young man had mentioned, blocking the way to the cave.
Originally, the reason for the poisonous mist on the lake was because Jade-eyed Frogs resided here, continuously exhaling the green poison mist to cover the entire lake area.
Dylan then noticed with such clear vision, he couldn't spot a single Jade-eyed Frog.
Only a few scattered Strong Acid Slimes and Water Spirits were visible.
What exactly had happened here?
Continuing to walk forward, Dylan felt a little uneasy.
Fortunately, the Puki remained indifferent to his passing, which allowed Dylan to breathe a sigh of relief.
Traversing through the once-poisonous but now clear Poison Mist Lake, Dylan proceeded toward the swamp's edge.
He planned to bypass the Parasitic Trees, sneaking into the Treasure Chest Room to examine the situation there.
But upon reaching the swamp, he encountered similar scenes once more.
The local demons were nowhere to be seen, replaced by roaming Puki...
When the young man mentioned the Puki occupying over half the layers, Dylan thought they must have integrated into the fifth layer's ecosystem.
It turns out, it seemed they had exterminated the original resident demons?
Recalling how the Puki could easily kill Parasitic Trees before, it didn't seem impossible.
Arriving at the stone wall, an unexpected surprise occurred again—
The Treasure Chest Room was gone!
It wasn't merely closed; the stone door and the whole room had vanished entirely.
Dylan was confident he hadn't mistaken the location.
Just as he felt at a loss, a voice popped up in his head.
"What's up? Want to feel the treasure chest?"
————
Lin Jun was quite troubled recently.
It wasn't the construction of the Mushroom Garden that concerned him; the fifth layer progressed according to plan.
The Forest Jackal Wolfmen had now turned into Mushroom Jackal Wolfmen, becoming puppets completely obeying Lin Jun's commands, similar to the Puki.
But Lin Jun was not very satisfied with these puppets.
Their combat power wasn't particularly high, consuming lots of energy while still needing meat.
Their cost-effectiveness couldn't compare to the Puki on multiple levels.
Retaining them till now was purely for researching the skill of "Fusion Parasite."
Having researched it thoroughly, Lin Jun contemplated whether to send them into battle to wear them out or bury them as fertilizer.
The point that troubled Lin Jun was the strained relations with humans recently.
Whenever adventurers saw the Puki, they'd choose to avoid or attack first. Lin Jun wasn't in the habit of not retaliating...
All of this stemmed from a squad of dimwitted adventurers taking a newbie to explore.
Three Copper Level adventurers over LV25, leading an LV16 newbie female mage, ventured into the fifth layer for adventure, insisting on crossing the Swamp Area.
It was akin to someone wanting to explore Lin Jun's bedroom, so naturally, he disapproved.
He sent Puki to block the path and even fired a shot beside them to demonstrate their power differences.
The three Copper Level adventurers understood, but the newbie mage didn't.
Feeling compelled to act preemptively, she chanted for a long time before managing to conjure an Electric Claw Skill, targeting a nearby self-destructive Puki.
Lin Jun genuinely didn't understand why a mage would want to engage in close combat?
When faced with someone courting death, Lin Jun was always inclined to oblige.
In a splendid explosion, the beauty flew over five meters high, landing as a heap of flesh.
This might have been the end of it, Lin Jun hadn't planned to hold them accountable for trespassing the swamp or for the innocent self-destructive Puki's death.
Unexpectedly, one of the adventurers charged forward weeping, seemingly seeking vengeance.
One among the other two hesitated but followed, with predictable results—another pile of flesh +2.
When the Puki turned their gaze to the last person, he promptly tore open a Scroll, vanishing completely.
Teleportation Scroll!?
He hadn't expected such a thing to truly exist.
Heaven knows, Lin Jun had no intention of killing to silence; he was merely defending himself.
Yet judging by the adventurers' subsequent reactions, clearing himself of guilt seemed impossible.
He didn't know how things would ultimately develop.
A full-scale war?
Or should he abandon areas outside the swamp, diminish his presence, and wait for the storm to pass?
However, upon noticing the half-human, half-mushroom Dylan reappear on the fifth layer, Lin Jun instantly had an idea.