Chapter 389 388. Missed the good time
Norris, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, looked tiredly at the two dwarves in front of him who had kept him from sleeping well for several days.
He picked up the clipboard and asked:
"Can you design underground buildings?"
"Won't."
"Do you have experience in excavating large caves?"
"No."
"Then you must have experience in mining, right?"
“Not too much…”
Norris finally asked, "Then you must have some special skills, right?"
Thorin scratched his head and answered uncertainly: "Um... good at taking risks?"
Norris nodded expressionlessly, wrote "None" in the specialty column, and then marked "C-level" in the upper right corner.
At the same time, he muttered, "You don't even have any mining experience, how can you be called a dwarf..."
In the Mushroom Garden's prisoner grading system, Class C is the lowest level with neither extraordinary strength nor special uses.
As for the D-level below... they are all special talents who are personally "taken care of" by the boss.
After recording, Norris announced the verdict to the two dwarves in fluent Common Language:
"Thorin, Glenn, due to multiple charges including illegal entry, public bribery, collective escape, violent resistance to arrest, and attempted abduction of a mentally retarded dragon, you are hereby sentenced to labor reform for 5,000 contribution points. If you have any objections, you may appeal to the Mushroom Garden within five days, and the Boss will personally make the decision."
Tolin raised his hand. "Excuse me...what exactly does labor reform with a quota of 5,000 contribution points mean?"
"It means working hard every day. In about one to two years, you will be able to accumulate enough contribution points to regain your freedom."
Glenn couldn't help but protest: "We are innocent! We didn't even know this was your territory. This is all a misunderstanding! I want to..."
Before he could finish his words, a group of Puji passed by, dragging a wailing human. "Why?! Why did the 8,000 contribution point penalty increase to 12,000 after the appeal? I don't want it! I don't want it!"
After the unlucky guy was dragged away, Norris turned around and asked, "What did you want? I didn't hear it clearly because it was too noisy just now."
Thorin and Glenn shook their heads together, indicating that they had no further questions.
Afterwards, they were handed over to a thinly clothed human covered in mycelium. The most conspicuous thing was the "B" logo made of mycelium on his chest.
The other party seemed very enthusiastic: "Oh? Two dwarves? That's really unusual! My name is Jeff, and I'm responsible for showing you around the working environment. What are your names?"
"Thorin."
"Glum. Were you... also captured by them?"
"Caught?" Jeff looked at the two of them in surprise. "No, I was traded."
Without further explanation, Jeff took them through what they would be doing in the future.
This fortress city in the far north is less than half completed now, so there is naturally no need to have excess labor, and two dwarves were also assigned to it.
Being captured by the demons and used as a laborer is a relatively less severe situation among a host of worse possibilities.
As for the so-called exchange for freedom, the two of them were reserved about it - they hoped it was true, but they didn't dare to believe it was true.
What is more strange is that the demons here seem to have mycelium on their bodies, and when they work, they work together with groups of Pujis and cooperate quite well.
This scene was quite new to them.
Moreover, they soon discovered that there were differences between the demons.
Those demon descendants with a magic core in their chest usually play roles like supervisors and task allocators.
Most of the half-demons and lizardmen were laborers like the humans present. So it seemed that the lizardman who announced the verdict to them was an exception.
Of course, they don’t care too much about how the demons are divided into classes. What they care about now is another thing.
"Jeff, I have a question...why...why are you all wearing so little? Aren't you afraid of the cold?"
The cold wind blew, and Thorin and Glenn tightened the animal skin clothes given to them and sneezed violently several times!
Jeff turned around, grabbed Glenn's clothes, and said, "You haven't completed your symbiosis with the mycelium yet!"
A cold wind blew in, and Grumm howled, pulling his clothes back. "Mycelial symbiosis? You mean like this on your body? What does this have to do with being cold?"
Jeff stroked the mycelium on his chest and said, "This mycelium has a strong ability to withstand cold. As long as we live in symbiosis, we won't feel cold anymore. Not only that, but after living in symbiosis, we can gain the ability to command Puji, which can greatly improve work efficiency."
The two dwarves then suddenly realized what they had seen before, the scene of them working together.
Thorin was still puzzled. "Isn't it cold-resistant if I live in symbiosis with mycelium? How does that work?"
Jeff shrugged. How would he know?
Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, and looked at the two dwarves with some sympathy.
"What happened again?" Glenn asked uneasily.
Jeff explained: "I know why you didn't get symbiotically. You didn't catch up with the good times..."
Afterwards, he brought the two confused dwarves to the central bulletin board, where many cowhide scrolls were posted.
These leather scrolls were written in both the demonic language and the common language.
Some of them indicate the tasks and corresponding contribution points, some of them display the names and penalties of several people who violated the rules, and some of them are simple announcements.
Jeff pointed to one of the announcements:
[Due to the deliberate illegal entry of some members of surrounding tribes seeking to enjoy the full suite of symbiotic services for free, starting today, newly joined captives will no longer enjoy free symbiotic services. However, considering work needs, new captives can still apply for the "Enjoy Now, Pay Later" program, and the 1,000 contribution points required for symbiotic services will be directly credited to their service accounts.]
"This is……"
"That's right, you missed the good time. When I came here, these were provided free of charge to all workers. If you want to blame someone, blame those tribesmen who are always trying to find loopholes to get something for free." As he spoke, Jeff stroked the mycelium on his arm with a slight sense of superiority.
Thorin opened his mouth, but didn't know where to start complaining.
Glenn looked at Jeff like an idiot, thinking that this guy, like everyone else here, had some serious mental problems.
So what if it can resist the cold?
The mere thought of having this foreign object penetrate their flesh and blood filled them with chills.
I’m afraid his brain has been frozen!
…
A few days later.
"Why? Three days! I worked so hard for three days! How come I only got 5 contribution points? And you got more than 30 points in one day?" Glenn roared angrily.
Fortunately, Jeff across from him didn't care about the dwarf's temper and patiently explained, "Contribution points are calculated based on how much work you do. I control over forty or so Pooji, so the more work I do, the more contribution points I get. You're relying solely on yourself, so earning 6 points in three days is already quite impressive."
"6 o'clock? It's clearly 5 o'clock!"
"That's for the heating costs. The mushroom farm only provides food and accommodation for us captive laborers."
Finally, Jeff kindly advised, "I think it's best for you to complete the symbiosis as soon as possible. Although it costs 1,000 contribution points now, you'll be able to earn it back quickly once you can control Puji. After that, all the benefits will be real."
Looking at the earnest "senior" in front of them, the two dwarves shivering in the cold wind were a little shaken.
(End of this chapter)
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