"Up ahead is the Mystical Mushroom Forest," Draco explained. "We local Hunters don’t dare get too close. The most we do is wander the outskirts, gathering low-tier Mutated Fungi to sell. As for the depths... not even the Xenobeasts from the rainforest will venture in."

Su Ze gazed ahead, his eyes met with a sea of multicolored mushrooms of all sizes.

Most were vividly colored and came in all sorts of bizarre shapes—like umbrellas, spheres, ears, arrowheads, coral, and even flames...

The largest ones towered dozens of meters high, like great houses suspended in the air.

The smallest were no bigger than a fingernail, miniature yet exquisite.

The beautiful scenery made it look like something out of a fairy tale.

But this beauty concealed a deadly threat. The more vibrant the mushroom, the more dangerous it was—just like a woman.

Mutated Fungi were a unique class of life, belonging to neither the Xenobeasts nor the Spiritual Plants.

In popular perception, they were more plant-like. They had root-like structures, could absorb nutrients, and many varieties grew in soil.

In reality, however, they were closer to animals in their evolutionary relationship.

But in terms of their practical applications, Mutated Fungi were more akin to Spiritual Plants. Humans couldn’t absorb their extracts directly, but many could be used to create medicine, some of which were precious natural remedies.

Mr. Ya had grown up in Vita City and knew the Mystical Mushroom Forest well. He said to Su Ze, "Boss, there’s at least one Tier Four Mutated Fungus in here, maybe even a Tier Five. We’d better be careful."

Su Ze nodded, not letting his guard down.

The Mutated Fungi had bizarre and hard-to-defend-against methods of attack, including toxins, hallucinogenic mental assaults, and the ability to spray spores.

"First, take us to where you found the body all those years ago," Su Ze commanded Draco.

’He planned to have Draco show them the way, then have Mr. Ya escort him back.’

’Dragging such a dead weight along was just too much trouble.’

Draco took the lead, with Su Ze and Mr. Ya following him into the forest of fungi.

Mr. Ya said, "Boss, hold your breath so you don’t inhale any spores."

Draco shot Mr. Ya a surprised glance. He hadn’t expected the man to be so knowledgeable about the Mystical Mushroom Forest; he seemed very experienced.

While the Mystical Mushroom Forest was dangerous, its outskirts posed no threat to Overlords like Su Ze and Mr. Ya.

Along the way, some Mutated Fungi tried to use poison or hallucinogens, but Su Ze and Mr. Ya completely ignored them. It was rare for Mutated Fungi to use physical attacks.

Draco, protected by the pair, was completely unaffected. They soon arrived at the spot where he had found the body.

"This is it!" Draco said, pointing at a clearing.

The spot was still barely within the outskirts of the Mystical Mushroom Forest, surrounded mostly by Tier One and Tier Two Mutated Fungi.

Su Ze scanned the area. It looked no different from any other part of the forest. More than a decade had passed, and any traces on the ground were long gone.

The body, of course, was also long gone.

"Do you have any other information about the body? Approximate age, power level, gender...?" Su Ze asked.

Draco thought for a moment before answering, "Judging by the size of the skeleton, it was most likely a man. The body was heavily decomposed, so I couldn’t tell the age, and there was no way of knowing his power level. But based on the tier of the Evolution Items in his storage device, he had to have been at least a Butterfly Stage expert.

"Oh, right. He was black."

’Black... from the Flame Emperor Continent again?’ Su Ze mused.

Next, he questioned Draco about the details of his dealings with the Filth Earth Organization—time, place, contact methods, and so on. Draco answered everything.

Seeing he couldn’t get any more information, Su Ze took out the Charming Fox Tail and waved it gently at Draco to hypnotize him.

The Charming Fox Tail’s primary effect was to exert mental influence on a target, easily achieving a state of hypnosis. The effect wasn’t necessarily permanent, but for a non-psychic Cocoon Stage Evolver like Draco, it would last for several months at least.

’A few months is more than enough.’ Su Ze had no intention of keeping this pawn, Draco, for the long term. He just wanted to use him as bait to lure out a few of the Filth Earth Organization’s vermin.

Under hypnosis, Draco temporarily forgot everything that had just happened. His memory was now frozen at the moment he had turned on the TV to watch a cartoon.

Draco fell into a deep sleep. When he woke, he would find himself back on the comfortable bed in his villa.

Mr. Ya took on the task of sending Draco back, while Su Ze waited for him to return.

He didn’t remain idle. He sent out his Perception Tentacles to explore the surroundings, gradually blanketing the entire Mystical Mushroom Forest.

The Mystical Mushroom Forest covered a large area, but Su Ze’s Perception Tentacles could easily span it. According to Mr. Ya, the most powerful thing in the forest was a Tier Five Mutated Fungus, so Su Ze wasn’t worried about his tentacles being detected.

The Mystical Mushroom Forest as perceived by his Perception Tentacles was vastly different from what the naked eye could see. Deep within the forest, the air was thick with all kinds of spores.

Even where he stood, clouds of spores drifted toward him from time to time, but a slight application of his gravity powers kept them at bay.

There were almost no Xenobeasts in the fungal forest, not even ordinary animals. There were, however, many large trees, all of which were Spiritual Plants.

But here in the fungal forest, they were nothing more than culture mediums, hosts for the various parasitic Mutated Fungi.