Chapter 308


Night had fallen over the “Puji Inn.”


With Bianca gone to tend to her mother, only Dylan remained, seated at the counter beneath the glow of a single oil lamp, leisurely flipping through the ledger.


On the surface, he was balancing accounts. In truth, he was reporting through the mycelial network to Lin Jun:


“Today I checked at the Guild. The bounty for the Strawman Abyss mission has risen to eight hundred gold coins, but there’s still no progress.


Apparently, unexpected incidents keep happening there. Adventurers are experimenting with new strategies but still can’t push deeper.


On the other hand, there’s news about the other two bounties.


The ‘Thunder Rats’ job has been accepted, and the ‘Earth Bear’ bounty is already complete. The bear’s corpse has been preserved and will arrive after some days of transport.”


“Oh? Not bad.” Lin Jun was satisfied.


The [Negative Energy Collection] task in the Abyss wasn’t moving forward yet, but that wasn’t urgent.

The Thunder Rats, naturally carrying lightning abilities, were carefully chosen by him from Aedin’s catalog—they held multiple electric skills, perfect for experimentation with Pujis.

As for the Earth Bear, its [Gravity Field] ability was something Lin Jun had coveted for a long time.


Sure, the elves had a bear cub already, but it had now recognized the scout Puji as its boss. Eating it would feel… awkward. Better to use a bounty instead.


In fact, he had his eyes on many more creatures, but listing too many at once would look suspicious. He had to take it slow.


“Boss, there’s also the matter of recent expenditures…” Dylan said, flipping his ledger.


But Lin Jun cut him off:


“Enough. Spare me the numbers.”


He had no interest in tedious finances. Money only needed to be sufficient; surplus flow wasn’t worth his attention.


And if he ever suspected embezzlement, why bother with reports? Watching daily behavior through the mycelial network was far simpler.


Dylan set the book down, looking a bit disappointed.


“But the funds are almost used up. Should we still post more bounties?”


Of course they should—but what Dylan meant was that they needed more money.


Relying on “donations” from adventurers was too slow. Maybe it was time to sell another A-rank magic crystal?


“Boss, have you thought about selling potions?” Dylan suddenly suggested.


Ordinary potions weren’t very profitable, thanks to competition. But he knew Boss possessed rare formulas never circulated locally.


With the right cover for the ingredients’ origins, this business could be extremely lucrative.


“Selling potions… hmm, that could work.”


Lin Jun had never seriously considered selling potions before. Brewing had always been for internal use. Even the two bottles of hair-growth potion he’d tossed to Dylan were meant for personal use.


And Dylan still hadn’t realized how his hairline was steadily receding.


But selling potions…


Hair-growth potions obviously couldn’t be mass-produced. Their key ingredients came from elven lands—too hard to explain.


Still, the old elf had plenty of strange recipes. If Lin Jun carefully chose ones with common ingredients but unknown locally, they could sell without trouble.


Given the elves’ closed borders and mastery of alchemy, such overlooked recipes shouldn’t be hard to find.


Later, he could even disguise the source by posting material buy-orders. Perfect.


Just then—


Dong, dong. Dong, dong.


Heavy knocks sounded on the inn’s locked wooden door, unnervingly loud in the silence of night.


Dylan instantly gripped the sword hidden under the counter and asked through the network:


“Boss?”


Lin Jun quickly replied:


“Nothing serious. Let him in.”


Dylan went to the door, opening it a crack.


Outside stood Rita’s rookie partner—pale-faced, breathing hard, glancing about nervously as if terrified of being followed.


Did this fool cause trouble and come running to me?!


Dylan’s first instinct was to slam the door shut.


But Lin Jun’s voice came again:


“It’s fine. Let him in.”


With that reassurance, Dylan stepped aside.


The rookie staggered in, ready to blurt something out—only to be silenced by Dylan’s sharp glare.


Even if business was slow, the inn wasn’t empty. Blurting secrets here was unthinkable.


Instead, Dylan simply pointed downward.


The rookie blinked, then caught on, swallowed his words, and nodded nervously.


Once inside the hidden basement, the boy’s panic overflowed.


“D-Dylan-senpai! Did you… did you see Rita-senpai today?”


Dylan shook his head.


“She’s… she’s gone!” The rookie’s expression collapsed in despair.


Sighing, Dylan said, “Calm down. Speak clearly.”


In the presence of someone Rita “trusted,” the rookie held nothing back:


“This morning, she said she’d check on the rumors about that new ‘Parasite.’ She told me to deliver our report to the old drop point. But when I came back, she never returned! I searched everywhere—nothing! I thought maybe she came to you, but…”


“Calm down!” Dylan barked. “Didn’t they teach you what to do in this situation?”


“I… I think so… It’s… assume she’s compromised, prioritize evacuation, secure myself, and wait for a chance to report…” The rookie recited like a textbook.


“And what are you doing now?”


He froze. Then shame spread over his face.


“S-sorry! I’ll… I’ll leave now!”


Dylan yanked him back, scolding:


“Now you remember? Too late! If you were exposed, running off like this just paints a target on your back. You newbies—”


“I-I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” The rookie nearly folded in on himself, trembling.


“Enough. Stay here. Lay low.”


“Th-thank you, senpai… It’s my first mission, and this happened… I was terrified…”


Dylan softened a little, patting his shoulder.


“I get it. Everyone starts somewhere. Just remember—think before you act.”


Once the shaken rookie was settled, Dylan reached out through the network again:


“Boss, do you know what really happened to Rita?”


With his Carpet covering Mushroom Town, Lin Jun surely knew.


The answer was blunt:


“She’s dead.”


Not surprised, Dylan pressed,


“Church? Or the Guild?”


“I killed her.”


“…Eh.”


Dylan rubbed his thinning hair, suddenly wishing he’d been a little kinder to the rookie.