Chapter 79: Chapter 79

The little mushrooms bounced over to greet them, completely unafraid. One hand tugged at people’s pant legs, while the other held up glowing leaves high above their heads.

“...What’s this? Is this for me?”

Li Wei stared stiffly at the little guy, who barely reached higher than his own foot, not daring to move for fear of breaking it.

Liu Luoluo was screaming internally—too cute!

She carefully crouched down and reached out her hand. “Is this for me?”

The little mushroom trembled, its cap bobbing, and quickly tossed the glowing leaf into her hand before dashing away.

Mu Ying couldn’t help but laugh. It must be tough for these universally socially anxious little guys to “do business” in a territory full of “giants.”

The others followed suit, accepting the leaves.

“Myconid Theater Recruitment Notice:

To enrich the entertainment life of the Myconids, the Myconid Theater is now recruiting people with vivid imaginations, storytelling ability, and a passion for performance. Experience in scriptwriting, directing, acting, or novel writing is a plus. Weekly salary starts at 1 silver coin. All are welcome to apply!”

Mu Ying couldn’t help but laugh to herself—the Myconid elder really knew how to take inspiration and run with it.

They’d completely copied the recruitment template she’d suggested before, only changing it from making money to recruiting people to entertain themselves.

The Myconids were really loaded. When she’d first mentioned the concept of a movie theater to the elder, it was to help them generate income.

Their telepathic spores were perfect for this—no need for a screen; just the spores could establish a mental link and project images directly into people’s minds, far surpassing pre-apocalypse movies.

But in the end, it turned out the Myconids themselves were more interested in watching human “movies.”

Living in constant telepathic contact with their kin, with no secrets at all, the Myconids’ lives were actually quite boring.

They’d tried making their own mental movies, but they just didn’t have as many fresh ideas as humans.

This was all incredibly novel for them.

If the big mushroom building the theater had been finished sooner, they probably would’ve already asked humans to help them “shoot” movies.

When they reached the seed shop, a mushroom-marked burrow stood quietly nearby, with people coming and going, clutching leaves.

“Hey, buddy, where are you all going?” Lu You grabbed someone heading into the burrow and asked.

The man recognized them as one of the top teams in the territory and answered honestly, pointing at the leaf in Lu You’s hand. “I used to be an online novelist. My stats aren’t great, so leveling up is hard. I’m planning to apply at the Myconid Theater and get back to my old trade.”

“When did this burrow appear?”

“This morning, just a little while ago.”

“Oh, thanks, man. Good luck with your interview!”

“Captain, should we go take a look too?” Lu You looked at Huo Shaobai.

Huo Shaobai nodded.

The others were eager as well—what Deep Blue didn’t have a few stories in their head that would be novel to the Myconids?

Mu Ying joined the crowd heading down.

She’d actually come down last night to check things out in preparation for today’s opening of the Myconid dungeon.

Entering the burrow, they descended a spiral stone staircase, with flowerbeds on either side, planted with all kinds of colorful, glowing mushrooms by the industrious Myconids.

“These mushrooms are beautiful!”

“I wonder if they’re edible?”

“With colors that bright, they’re definitely poisonous.”

“Hey? We’re here!”

“!!!”

“Isn’t this... the dungeon gate?”

The people who’d just returned from the ghoul dungeon were stunned.

Remembering the darkness and the monsters’ roars after passing through the ghoul dungeon, they all shuddered.

“No way, a new dungeon opened up right in our territory?”

“...”

Huo Shaobai and the others exchanged glances, nodded, and took the lead inside.

Sure enough, on the other side was the familiar glowing grassland.

But between the little path and the glowing forest, a giant mushroom house now blocked the way into the Myconid colony.

On the mushroom house, the words “Myconid Theater” were painted in glowing powder, reminiscent of the neon signs from before the apocalypse.

On the lawn outside the theater, an adult Myconid was releasing telepathic spores into the bustling crowd.

Compared to the Myconid children, these adults were much more composed.

This was also because, now that the dungeon had merged with the territory, it was considered part of the territory.

Her territory’s area was slowly expanding as the dungeon fused with it.

The Myconids within were also subject to the territory’s rules and protections.

“These are telepathic spores. Through them, we can temporarily establish a mental link and communicate. Any ideas or stories you want to share can be transmitted this way. Please, follow me inside.”

A clear voice echoed in everyone’s minds.

The crowd instantly quieted down.

When they focused, they could feel the difference.

“The Star Net! This is the Star Net!”

The web novelist cried out excitedly.

Mu Ying thought this was a fitting description. This kind of mental connection was like a virtual world—everyone inside could influence it with their thoughts and share their ideas with others.

Compared to the Myconids’ internal telepathy, this was more limited—only clear, intentional thoughts with a desire to share would be “seen” by others.

Inside the Myconid Theater’s mushroom house was a large circular hall.