Chapter 286 285. Mutual Assistance

After coming out of the Adventurer's Guild, Norris was still savoring the wonderful taste lingering on his tongue.

Because the reward involved was a considerable amount, they were ushered into a separate private room to handle the matter. The drink they provided was a kind of drink he had never tasted before, with a fruity aroma and subtle bubbles. It was sweet and refreshing and left a deep impression on him.

As a "cadre" of the mushroom garden, Norris has no shortage of delicious mushrooms, but there is really no culture of alcoholic beverages in the underground city.

Norris wanted to go back and buy some to share with Louisa, Xiao Hei, and several of his demon friends including Qiong.

But we'll have to talk about this before we go back.

In addition to the bounty, they also have another mission this time...

…

Near Mushroom Town, in a forest that has not yet been developed.

A woman wearing coarse linen clothes and looking like an ordinary peasant woman quietly came to a small pond in the forest.

The scene around the pond was miserable, with flowers and plants rotting and turning black, and trees withering and dying, as if swept by a plague.

This was all her "masterpiece" yesterday when she poured a whole bottle of "corruption potion" into the pool.

However, instead of the joy of success, the woman's face was filled with gloom and anxiety.

Because beneath the dead branches and leaves that symbolize death, the white fungal mat is still spreading tenaciously, even clinging to the newly dead tree trunks, absorbing the last nutrients and appearing even more... vigorous!

"Even the corruption potion doesn't work?" She whispered in disbelief, and her teeth subconsciously bit her nails hard, making a slight "click" sound.

Within a few days of arriving here, she tried all six poisons she had with her, but the results were so terrible!

Potions that could easily destroy entire fields of crops were almost completely useless against these fungal mats.

Even the most promising corruption potion only caused the circle of mycelium closest to the pool to shrink.

If you want to really kill the fungal creep, you have to pour the undiluted potion directly on it.

But who the hell can bear this kind of loss?

The price of a bottle of corruption potion in my hand can buy a whole truck of mushrooms, but it can only destroy a mushroom field of less than four square meters.

Obviously, the plan to poison and destroy the fields was no longer possible.

"Damn it!" The woman bit her nails even harder.

She could report back with this result. After all, no one had expected that Mushroom Field was so resistant to poison, and it was not her fault.

But again, there is no credit.

However, for this mission, she mixed in with the refugees and walked for a month and a half from the front-line city, but she didn't get any credit. She was really unwilling to accept it!

Suddenly, her ears moved slightly - there was someone!

He took a few steps and hid behind a tree, holding his breathing to the minimum, and listened attentively.

The two people who came were not heading towards the pond, so they should not have noticed her.

The two men stopped at a distance and talked about something.

The distance was not close, and an ordinary person would probably not even be able to notice someone talking.

But she is different, her hearing is extremely sharp!

"How is it?" A slightly hoarse male voice sounded.

"We went all the way down to the seventh floor and got some key information. What about you?" The other voice sounded younger.

"This is the town's latest mushroom field distribution map and population structure." A hoarse voice replied.

"Old rules, let's exchange." The young voice suggested.

Then there was a rustling sound of paper rubbing against each other.

"If you ask me, it's just a bunch of broken mushrooms. What's the big deal? Just let the front line work harder to defeat humans completely, right?" The young voice was filled with a hint of complaint.

"Shut up!" The hoarse voice suddenly said sternly, "Your Majesty and the Twelve Pillars' plans are not something you and I can arbitrarily discuss. Do more, complain less, and be careful of your mouth..." Before he finished speaking, his voice suddenly rose, "Who?!"

Dylan and Norris turned around at the same time, and the weapons at their waists were instantly unsheathed, with cold light pointing directly at the woman who slowly stood up from behind the dead tree!

"She heard it! We can't let her get away!" Dylan growled.

Norris and Dylan rushed over like arrows from a bow string. However, the woman did not panic, and even a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

Judging from the two men's sprinting movements and speed, their strength should be slightly inferior to hers. Fighting one against two, she was confident that she could escape.

And she wasn't going to run.

Her arm squirmed and deformed, turning into a monster claw.

Norris and Dylan, who had rushed forward, stopped abruptly.

"Should I consider him one of us?" The woman smiled, shaking her inhuman claw.

Norris and Dylan exchanged glances and slowly put down their weapons, but did not sheath them, maintaining a vigilant posture.

"Don't be so nervous!" The woman regained her humanoid arms and spoke in a relaxed tone. "Well... I have good ears, so I happened to overhear something. Since we all work for the Empire, why not share information? Helping each other will make everyone feel more relaxed, right?"

Dylan glanced at her coldly and sheathed his sword. "Information? We've already exchanged intelligence. We don't need any more."

"Don't be so cold!" The woman reached into her bosom and fumbled for a moment, pulling out several strangely colored glass bottles that shimmered with a dangerous luster. "I don't have any information, but you guys don't think it's too much poison, do you? Even if we sell it secretly, it'll be a pretty good profit!"

“That’s…that’s true.” Norris licked his lips and reached out to take the medicines that were still warm.

Rita quickly withdrew her hand. "Just call me Rita, shapeshifter. As for who I'm loyal to... I can't reveal it. You two, shouldn't you be honest too?"

The flesh color of Norris's arm faded, revealing silver scales: "Norris, lizard man."

The illusion on Dylan's face dissipated like water waves, revealing a strange, inhuman face covered with green mycelium: "Dylan."

Rita looked at Dylan twice, who did not report his race, and quickly searched in her mind for a race that matched his appearance. Several possibilities flashed through her mind, but they were all a little different.

I'm afraid it's some extremely rare race. They don't reveal more because they don't want to expose too many weaknesses?

There was no need to dwell too much on this scene. After confirming the basic information, Rita readily handed over the poison.

After Norris and Dylan confirmed it, they gave their respective "intelligence" to Rita.

"One more question," Rita asked as she reviewed the intelligence, "Are you planning on the long-term or short-term?"

Dylan: “Long term.”

Norris: “Short term.”

Rita wrote down both pieces of information and handed them back to the two men. She turned to Dylan with a glint in her eyes: "Perhaps, we can establish a longer-term cooperative relationship?"

After a moment's silence, Dylan whispered, "In a while, there will be an inn called 'Puji House' opening in this town."

Dylan paused. "Don't try to fool me with a few bottles of poison next time, understand?"

Rita smiled and said, "I understand, I understand. I owe you this time."

After a brief exchange, the three of them quickly separated and disappeared in different directions of the dense forest as if they had never met before.

After Rita walked away under the surveillance of the fungal creep, Dylan and Norris met again.

"Boss," Norris's voice echoed through the fungus network, a hint of confusion in his voice. "I still don't understand why you insist on asking me to play the role of a greedy and lustful lizard man?"

"Do you understand what character creation and enriching personality mean? I think you don't understand it at all!" Lin Jun said angrily.

"Boss," Dylan also asked, "Will I be the hotel owner in the future?"

“That’s right!”

The demon spy who sneaked in a few days ago made Lin Jun aware of the possible risks.

For spies, killing them all would be too conspicuous.

If you leave it alone, you don’t know what kind of trouble will come out.

It is better to take the initiative to "manage" it.

This inspiration came from Dylan's experience working with Chloro.

The demon clan's spy network is huge, but it is not a monolithic entity.

They belonged to different dukes. The emperor gave targets to the dukes, and the dukes then assigned spies to carry out the specific tasks.

In theory, spies from different dukes fight independently. But in reality, spies in the same region often band together for survival and efficiency—sharing intelligence, reporting independently, and making contributions. Why not?

Although there is a risk of being traced, the overall benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

After all, once you have accumulated enough merits, you can be transferred back to the empire to enjoy life. Who wouldn't want to end these days of fear as soon as possible?

Helping each other is undoubtedly a shortcut.

Lin Jun decided to be the initiator of this "mutual aid organization"!

Anyway, there is no need to worry about failure. If Dylan is exposed, we can just implement the original plan and wipe out the spies.

Are you afraid that they will cause trouble on your own territory?

——

After a break, Norris returned to Mushroom Garden No. 3 with a large bucket of drinks.

He was thinking about who to invite first to share this "luxury" with him.

Walking to his familiar mushroom house, he stretched out his hand and opened the gap——

“Crash—”

A few glass beads rolled out, and a familiar growl was heard from behind.

(End of this chapter)