Chapter 697 - 686: A Changed World
Chapter 697: Chapter 686: A Changed World
Puki’s House.
In the afternoon, finally there were fewer guests.
The young shop assistant Bianca leaned on the counter with her arm, her foot tapping the floor behind her.
"Boss, boss! After closing the shop today, do you want to come to my house for dinner? Mom went out early to buy ingredients to celebrate moving to a new home, she’s definitely prepared lots of delicious food, you should come too!"
Bianca bought a home in Mushroom City with the salary she earned from Dylan, so she and her mom no longer have to squeeze into a small shack in the resettlement area.
The new house is not big, but it’s close to Puki’s House, and before leaving today, Bianca’s mother specifically blessed her to invite Dylan over to properly thank him.
"Of course, sounds great." Dylan answered with a smile.
"That’s wonderful!" Bianca cheered, grabbed a brush and slipped to the backyard to start washing the Pukis in advance for the day.
After Bianca left, the Empire spy, Shapeshifter Keroro, who had been drinking alone in the corner, finally approached Dylan and revealed the latest information he had obtained: the Hero, long missing, finally had news again!
Upon hearing the word "Hero," Dylan, who wasn’t very concerned before, suddenly became excited.
The boss had mentioned that Bella was likely on the suspected Hero’s ship.
Initially, Dylan was relatively at ease since the Hero hadn’t participated in the human-demon war, which meant Bella was also safe.
However, as time passed after the end of the war, with no news, Dylan’s worry deepened.
Suddenly hearing news about the Hero, it was naturally hard to contain the excitement in his heart.
"Really?"
Keroro nodded: "It’s true, the information came from above, the Hero contacted the Kingdom in advance, but it seems she isn’t coming in person this time."
Since the Fungal Mat spread everywhere, spy activities within the United Kingdom by the Empire have become increasingly difficult.
Some spies vanished mysteriously, and others, like Keroro, became double agents.
Besides spies, traitors are also a crucial source of intelligence for the Empire.
Without the relatively obscure communication channel of the Archbishop, the Hero’s contact this time directly used a Communication Crystal connected to the Capital, Oath City, and unsurprisingly, traitors hiding there got the news.
Thinking of this, Dylan’s heart sank again.
He immediately passed this information to the boss, but as expected, the boss already knew.
"Empire causing chaos? Rest assured, this time it’s not the Hero herself coming, the Empire probably doesn’t have time for such matters," Lin Jun analyzed.
After all, the Empire was so busy it was about to abandon its northern territories, a few of the Hero’s subordinates were unlikely to catch the Emperor’s attention.
Even if the Empire wanted to cause trouble, wouldn’t it have to ask Lin Jun’s permission first?
With the boss’s reassurance, Dylan finally eased his mind.
Yet his thoughts still couldn’t stop focusing on Bella, only realizing Bianca was calling him for the fifth time when he finally responded, somewhat absent-mindedly, to celebrate the new home with Bianca.
...
United Kingdom, West Coast.
Since the Demon Race withdrew from this area, the Kingdom gradually reclaimed the land.
At this moment, this recently repaired port was densely packed with people.
Soldiers clad in armor lined up orderly on both sides of the pier, their armor gleaming coldly in the afternoon sun.
Beyond that, a defense line formed by thousands of Puki Masters and tens of thousands of Battle Pukis prepared for any emergencies.
Everyone awaited the arrival of the Heroic Messenger.
"It’s here!"
A ship with distinct Archipelago style appeared on the horizon, breaking through the waves, and finally docked at the pier.
Rehearsed cheers erupted from below, and several reception officials straightened their attire.
The gangway was lowered, and a figure appeared at the ship’s edge.
It was a young woman in Adventurer gear, her dark long hair tousled by the sea breeze.
The cheers grew louder.
But Bella’s face didn’t look too good.
She stood at the top of the gangway, her fingers clutching the railing so tightly they left marks on the wood.
Bella’s gaze fell on the dock, observing the ubiquitous mycelium below.
Further away, a large number of Pukis surrounded the dock.
This reminded her of the last time she saw the Pukis, now uncertain if they were still the same.
Even up close, those soldiers... and even among the few officials approaching, one had traces of mycelium on his face.
Not just Bella, even other crew members felt astonished seeing someone clearly parasitized by foreign matter, yet everyone else acted as if it was normal, bizarrely uncanny.
Bella didn’t understand what happened on this Continent, why things turned out this way after a war.
Wasn’t anyone trying to stop this thing from spreading?
The welcoming officials noticed Bella’s poor complexion but mistook it for seasickness.
Though curious, why would the Hero send a seasick subordinate, mature officials wouldn’t show such doubts on their faces.
They smiled and approached her, and one among them was in symbiosis with mycelium.
Bella looked at the mycelium symbiotic approaching her, eyes landing on his smiling face.
Cheeks, forehead, chin, white mycelium intertwined between flesh and blood!
Though neatly trimmed, it still nearly stopped Bella’s breath.
The man smiled and extended his hand towards her.
Bella knew she should take that hand, it’s basic courtesy.
Yet the doubts in her heart grew stronger.
Could it be that Chaos?
Not only the Pukis, those fungal mats below, these mycelium on people’s faces, could they be those twisted Chaos patches?
She didn’t dare to activate the Realm of Truth, afraid of losing composure right there.
Thinking she represented Lady Sofia, Bella steeled her heart and tightly grasped that hand.
And at the moment of contact, like triggering some instinct, silver light appeared in Bella’s eyes.
Her silver glowing eyes seemed able to see through everything, astonishing the three officials before her, looking at those beautiful and holy eyes in a daze.
And Bella, saw a world as chaotic as the Abyss.
Looking around, not a single pure land!
Before her, amidst vast chaos, were traces of normal human pale yellow mixed within.
What has happened to this world...?
"Ugh—!"
The next moment, Bella bent over and vomited directly onto their still clasped hands.
The three seasoned officials had never seen such a scene, with the mycelium symbiotic staring blankly at the vomit on his palm, his mind stalling.
The ship’s members also couldn’t figure out what went wrong with Bella, usually quite reliable.
Chaos ensued on the dock.
...
Lin Jun, through the Fungal Mat’s sight, openly watched Old Dylan’s daughter, genuinely curious—was it really that disgusting?