Chapter 438, Section 437: The Source of Life

A few drops of clear liquid were contained in the small glass tube.

It looks like water, but it's more viscous. When you shake the tube, it slowly slides down the inside of the glass, leaving some marks.

They were all collected from Lin Jun's body.

After regaining the skill, the mushroom cap of the green mushroom began to secrete this liquid, which is why it initially felt moist.

Looking back now, the reason why I didn't notice this change when the skill was applied to other Puji is probably due to their body size.

Even if we disregard the heavily armored Puji, the addition of a few drops of water to its body wouldn't cause any noticeable changes.

This must be a liquid produced by the [Life Essence], right? What's it for?

We need... a test subject...

Lin Jun's gaze shifted to Norris, who was setting up traps and establishing a perimeter around his mushroom house...

No, no, I turned around subconsciously.

Now that his family and business are large and successful, Norris no longer needs to personally handle risky projects.

The perspective shifts again, leading us to another unknown cave in the deeper layers.

Lin Jun's stronghold was kept secret for safety reasons, and this place was kept secret because Lin Jun didn't want her subordinates to misunderstand her as some kind of ruthless and terrifying ruler, which would be detrimental to unity.

The faint glow of the fluorescent light illuminated some huddled figures inside the cave.

Most of them are human, from Mushroom City.

Among them are psychopathic killers, ruthless adventurers, bullies, gangsters... In short, as long as they meet the two conditions of disappearing without attracting too much attention and being able to do whatever they want without any psychological burden, then that person will eventually appear in this place.

Besides humans, there are also a few half-demons and lizardmen.

These are the prisoners who committed unforgivable crimes. Among them, those with strength of Gold level or above will be completely parasitized and become mushroom guards, while those who are too weak to be fully parasitized would be a waste of their capacity and will be thrown here to make them contribute to the mushroom garden as much as possible.

The fact that you can enjoy delicious red wine in West Ghimmond is largely thanks to this place.

Pfft—Chirp—

A fat otaku plopped into the cave, instantly enlivening the once quiet space.

When they saw that it wasn't a vampire puke that came to draw blood, but a fat otaku puke.

Whether they were demons or humans, they all tried desperately to shrink back, wishing they could hide themselves in the cracks of the rocks.

Those who were taken away by the fat otaku never came back; nobody thinks they were released...

The fat guy's thick tentacles swept over their heads, as if he were choosing vegetables, and finally picked a guy with dull eyes who neither dodged nor flinched.

Lin Jun still remembered him. Just out of envy and jealousy, he secretly poisoned his teammate who was planning to retire, and cleverly devised a plan to divert the sheriff's investigation and avoid being caught. Lin Jun exclaimed that he was a high-IQ criminal.

Then, on a dark and stormy night, she used her charm to bring him over.

When it first came in, it was cursing and trying to resist and escape. I never expected that it would break down in less than two months.

Those without the will to survive will die quickly if left unattended; they need to be used up before that happens.

Only after the heavy footsteps completely disappeared did a large number of heavy breathing suddenly erupt in the deathly silent cave. Several people hadn't even dared to breathe properly.

...

A single drop of liquid goes down the throat, and the effect is immediate.

As if equipped with a high-level [regeneration], the old and new abrasions and bruises on the test subject's body healed and faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, without leaving a single scar.

At the opportune moment, the soldier beside him swung his mycelium-bladed whip, and with a shrill scream, the test subject's left arm was severed at the shoulder, blood gushing out.

However, the liquid you drink continues to have an effect.

The flesh and blood at the cut and the fungal hyphae embedded in the body wriggled and intertwined wildly, regenerating and recovering at an astonishing speed until most of the arm had grown back before stopping.

One more drop and it was fully grown.

Hmm... I can save money on limb regeneration drugs from now on?

Just as Lin Jun felt that the result was a bit subtle, he suddenly noticed that the panel of the experimental subject had changed.

[Level Up: LV28 → LV29]

Your level has increased?!

The complete restoration of the body, along with this sudden increase in strength, seemed to reignite the survival instinct in the test subject's eyes.

He let out a low growl, and his previously limp body suddenly burst forth with power. The muscles in his arms, which were bound by mycelial tentacles, bulged, and he actually managed to tear off the fat guy's tentacles!

Lin Jun then noticed that his attributes had suddenly increased by nearly 50% at some point.

The experimental subject tore through the remaining mycelium on its body, rolled awkwardly to avoid the blade whip that struck again, and then ran wildly towards a relatively wide passageway like a headless fly.

Puff puff puff—

The next second, the experimental subject, covered in mushrooms, fell to the ground, tumbling and leaving behind a mess of broken mycelium fragments.

Ignoring the experimental subject who had been completely turned into a mushroom human, Lin Jun felt that she had finally seen a glimmer of hope!

Just then, the body secreted a lot of fluid again, and the fat otaku turned around and went back to pick a few more new guinea pigs.

After all that trouble, Lin Jun finally figured out what this liquid was.

After drinking it, it will prioritize healing all injuries, and its effect is even better than limb regeneration drugs.

If you are in combat and your injuries have healed, the remaining energy will be converted into a temporary boost to your attributes, with almost no side effects like those of regular berserk potions.

The best-performing test subject almost doubled its attributes in a short period of time.

If there are no injuries or battles, the energy will be peacefully absorbed by the body and steadily converted into experience points, promoting leveling up.

However, drinking too much in a short period of time seems to reduce absorption efficiency.

In summary, it's like a combination of experience potion, berserk potion, and regeneration potion.

It seems to work that way, but in reality, this liquid should be pure life energy!

Lin Jun even suspected that it had the function of prolonging life, but unfortunately this was difficult to prove through experimentation.

Recalling that divine artifact called the "Visiting Life Wood Core," its operation also involved the control and utilization of life force.

This [Life Essence] does indeed fit the power style of the Divine Tree Master.

So, with this endless supply of life energy liquid, wouldn't I be able to quickly break through level 70, surpass level 80, and reach level 90, ultimately exceeding my limits and standing at the top of the world?!

Although the effect will decrease if you absorb too much, as long as the production is large enough, you can absorb it all yourself and still make a lot, right?

In the days that followed, Lin Jun consciously controlled her body and reabsorbed the life energy fluid that had been secreted.

This cycle repeated itself for many days, and he eagerly anticipated the changes within himself.

However, the expected level leap did not occur, and there was no upgrade at all.

Filled with doubt, Lin Jun had no choice but to set up a control group—he brought in Xiao Hei, who had just reached LV63 and whose level was only one level lower than his own.

The life fluid produced each day was divided in two, and he and the "control group" drank it together.

Of course, this wasn't discussed with Xiao Hei, and Xiao Hei didn't notice anything wrong either. He just felt that the Puji had become stickier recently, and it made a smacking sound when eating it.

Then one day, Xiao Hei successfully advanced to LV64, reaching the same level as a certain mushroom, while Lin Jun, who had drunk so many more days of the Water of Life, still failed to level up.

Such brutal experimental results forced Lin Jun to seriously reconsider a question she had thought about before:

How much more experience do I need to level up compared to others?!

(End of this chapter)