Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 264 - 256: Puki’s Autumn Harvest
By observing with the [Inspiration] skill, Lin Jun finally figured out what this bizarre space was all about.
The [Fall Curse] that immediately entangled Puki upon arrival, at its core, likely imposes a "weight" on the soul!
When this invisible weight accumulates to a certain critical point, it is enough to drag the adventurer’s soul into a deeper space.
Using the soul’s position to determine the space where the body exists in reality.
Although Lin Jun didn’t quite understand how this was achieved, he still managed to figure out why he couldn’t move downward.
Damn it, too fat to squeeze through!
What kind of situation is this!
To illustrate, entering the Underground City is like a marble falling onto a stretchy net, as the soul’s "weight" increases, the marble gets heavier, stretching the net below until it falls through to the lower layer.
However, the marble controlled by Lin Jun... exceeded the size limit! Trying to let such a massive presence pass through this net was, in a way, an impossible task for the net...
Even when double the "weight" that would cause an ordinary adventurer to fall was applied, Lin Jun could barely feel a very faint sense of tugging. To truly fall, who knows how long Scout Puki would have to spend in this cursed place!
And logically speaking, this kind of stacking effect generally also has a limit...
Doesn’t that mean he doesn’t have the ability to traverse different layers of the Scarecrow Abyss?!
This feels quite incompatible.
Lin Jun started to regret closing that rift on Level 6.
The other side was clearly a deeper region of the Scarecrow Abyss, while what he left were the upper layers with weaker curses.
He didn’t think he’d find himself in a situation where he couldn’t go down! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
But if the rift on Level 6 was left open, most of Level 6 would become scorched earth, and it was still slowly spreading. How could he abandon Level 6, abandon the Tree Demon?
Moreover, there was no way to foresee the rules here would be so bizarre.
Compared to this, the Purple Crystal was really straightforward—just go down layer by layer!
It’s really... just after reaping the benefits of a large soul in the Purple Crystal Dungeon, he immediately suffered a loss here in the Abyss. Truly, fortune and misfortune come hand in hand.
He couldn’t go down, so what about going up?
Lin Jun found some raven nests and searched each one.
After searching through more than ten, he finally found a slightly dim yellow gemstone.
Flying to another area, Lin Jun tried to use it to "bribe" a raven that didn’t have [Puppet] marked in its status bar.
The raven was cautious of the suddenly appearing Puki, circling around it repeatedly.
But after taking the gemstone, it professionally flew off in a certain direction.
Under its guidance, Lin Jun indeed saw the "edge" area from afar.
However, whenever Scout Puki tried to fly towards it, the scenery ahead would begin to warp and blur, and at the final destination, it was still that same endless wheat field!
Even the raven, with the gemstone in its beak, tilted its head in confusion, looking at Puki.
After thinking for a while, it decided it had completed its task, and Puki not being able to get out wasn’t its problem, so it decisively flew away with the gemstone.
Lin Jun even tried to have Puki jump directly into a deep ditch, allowing it to free fall.
But no matter how long it fell, as soon as Puki flapped its wings, within a few beats it would return to the edge of the ditch.
Clearly, in the Scarecrow Abyss, the position of the body is meaningless; without the soul passing through the layers, one simply can’t leave.
Luckily, Lin Jun still had the rift.
After nearly three days of exploration, Scout Puki returned to Level 5 without incident.
The "Wheat Field Maze," whether due to the monsters or mechanisms, posed no threat to Scout Puki.
The most troublesome [Fall Curse] for adventurers—like a time limit on exploration—was utterly meaningless to Lin Jun.
Lin Jun even wished it had some meaning, but unfortunately, it didn’t.
Ultimately, the evaluation was that this rift wasn’t of much value, sealing it didn’t matter.
[Seven Sins of Greed Triggered]
[Plunder Skill: Corrosive Curse LV1]
[Plunder Skill: Sensory Enhancement LV1]
But ultimately it wasn’t completely without value. Before sealing it off, reaping one last round was indeed appropriate.
...
The continuous flapping sounds echoed in the Mushroom Garden, disturbing a large Goblin to come and see what was going on, this time cautiously camouflaging itself in advance.
One Puki flew across the rift and landed at the edge of the deep ditch, eventually gathering nearly five hundred Pukis, all specifically carrying [Corrosion Resistance].
The circling flock of ravens were restless and agitated, their cries forming an ominous noise.
The wheat waves surged as scarecrows nearby converged upon receiving the signal, parting the wheat, and rushing towards the fewer than fifty Pukis, who were more numerous.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions sounded, straw and tattered cloth flying everywhere!
Lin Jun had long been ready to attack, allowing them to get this close simply to avoid damaging his own wheat, or rather, the Evil Grass.
After patiently waiting a while longer, the raven alarm indeed attracted a dozen or so more straggling scarecrows.
Once cleared out, the grand "Autumn Harvest" finally began!
The Pukis clearly divided their tasks.
Scout Puki stood on the wooden pole, scanning back and forth, on guard against sneak attacks.
The melee Pukis swung their Tentacle Blades, diligently harvesting the wheat.
Behind them followed the Cow and Horse Pukis, bringing heaps of Evil Grass into their bodies, ferrying them back to Level 5 when filled, and constantly shuttling back and forth.
It’s just that the remaining rift was too small, preventing the Fat Otaku Puki from passing through; otherwise, the Cow and Horse Pukis wouldn’t have to work so hard.
But if they’re not working hard, what’s the point of being Cow and Horse...
As for the Mushroom Cannon Pukis, apart from destroying that initial wave of scarecrows, they were no longer needed afterward.
Occasionally, any scarecrows that came over were handled by the melee Pukis, since a Mushroom Cannon round would not only kill the enemy but also ruin a section of the wheat field—not worth it.
From time to time, cawing ravens flew too low and were casually picked off by the Mushroom Cannon Puki—better than nothing.
Lin Jun did not plan to extensively spread a Fungal Mat here, after all, this rift was to be abandoned, only extending it slightly.
The harvest only included the nearby portion since there were several rifts leading to the Scarecrow Abyss, no need to exhaust the resources quickly.
During a harvesting pause, Lin Jun was fortunate enough to "witness" a team of adventurers’ "layer change" process.
Several indistinct souls first descended, then the figures of several adventurers emerged abruptly like they were separating from thick fog, suddenly appearing in the perception of Scout Puki.
They were a party of dwarves, who also noticed the commotion on Puki’s side from afar, paused momentarily, then unhesitatingly turned and fled in the opposite direction.
Lin Jun paid them no mind, the fungal mat hadn’t spread to that distance, leaving Lin Jun with no real means to deal with them.
Soon, the once-lush wheat field was shorn into a barren expanse, with only a few lonely wooden scaffolds remaining.
A "farmer" scarecrow, holding onto its pitchfork, watched from a distance as the Pukis left fully laden, unclear if it harbored any thoughts.
Meanwhile, on the Mushroom Garden side, the Evil Grass industriously transported back by the Cow and Horse Pukis had already piled into a small hill, exuding a cursed aura!
The originally deep-sleeping Dylan suddenly felt a tingling on his skin, and as he cried out and jumped up, Lin Jun recalled that he didn’t have any resistance.
Having the Pukis carry Dylan, who had begun shedding skin and fungal threads, away from there.
[Seven Sins of Greed Triggered]
[Plunder Skill: Corrosive Curse LV1→LV5]
[Plunder Skill: Perception Enhancement LV1→LV2]
[Plunder Skill: Resilience LV6→LV7]
