Duke Eleanor waved her hand, granting management rights to nearly half of the Blood Beast Factory to Thirteen.

What she didn’t know was that even if she hadn’t sought out Thirteen, in a while he would have taken the initiative to propose this project to her.

After all, this was a task entrusted to him by the Mushroom Lord!

However, if Thirteen had proposed it himself, it might not have seemed as natural as it does now.

With the obtained authority, Thirteen wasted no time beginning the parasitic process, while not forgetting the true mission given by the Mushroom Lord—spreading the Puki faith!

...

The term "Blood Beast" does not solely refer to the captured humans.

Deep inside the factory, the imprisoned figures come from every corner of the Continent.

Humans curl up within narrow compartments, the hunched bodies of Dwarves are fixed by chains to stone platforms, the thick limbs of Beastmen hang powerlessly.

There are even a few Lizards with dull scales and glazed vertical pupils; the Demon Race here is no different from other Alien Races.

Further into the tanks, there are even Mermaids and Fishmen.

They are fixed in place, unable to lie down or stand straight, fed one meal a day forced into their throats by the factory managers.

It’s a gray paste mixed with basic life-sustaining nutrients, along with dozens of potions: blood stimulants, weakness potions, sedatives...

These potions aren’t the kind that you can sell in a potion shop; each has significant side effects, and mixed together they greatly overexert the users’ physical potential.

And all of this is to enable them to produce fresh blood continuously.

The average lifespan of a Blood Beast here is five to seven years.

Elves live slightly longer, but not beyond ten years.

For those long-lived species who can live for over a thousand years, ten years is but a moment in their long life.

But here, ten years is the end.

Eleanor never worries about this.

The wars on the Continent never truly stop, and every year new captives stream into the slave market, at suitable prices and with ample supply.

Use one batch, then supplement it with another batch.

And for those prisoners labeled as "Blood Beasts," the nightmare begins as soon as they’re dragged into the factory.

Their bodies tightly restrained, chains, shackles, or magical manacles embedded directly into their flesh.

Blindfolded to shut out all light.

They can no longer see each other’s faces, only hear groans and whimpers echoing in the darkness.

The daily "food" is timely forced down their throats, carrying a weakness potion that makes limbs weak, preventing them from having strength to do anything, not even to seek death.

They can only live on like this, continuing to produce blood in endless pain until drained of their last drop, then buried like trash near the Mourning Lily Plantation by the factory.

But on this day, a subtle change appeared within their despairing lives.

Something fell upon them, burrowed into their skin, and began to grow within their flesh.

Because of their poor state, there was no need to control their blood volume specifically to execute the parasitic process.

At first, the Blood Beasts thought it was just another new type of torment, some feared it, others were numb.

But after being parasitized, a voice appeared within all the Blood Beasts’ minds.

"My name is Mushroom Lord."

"Praise me in your hearts, have faith in me, and I will grant true believers a new life, a way out of this sea of suffering. But remember, do not call upon my name aloud!"

The Blood Beasts were all drowning souls, and when a saving straw appeared before them, even if it was deliberate, the vast majority would grab it without hesitation.

They recited praises for the Mushroom Lord within the Fungal Network, praying for their deliverance from this hell, including the followers of the God of Light.

And miraculously, after they prayed in their hearts this way, although they did not immediately receive redemption, the pain that they had become almost habitual suddenly lessened significantly.

A feeling of ease surged in their hearts, and many Blood Beasts even managed to enjoy a rare restful sleep.

After that, they prayed more fervently to the Mushroom Lord, clinging to this sole hope.

What Lin Jun did was simple, adding the Paralyzing Poison Level 2 without applying resistance, causing them to be affected by their body’s secreted toxin, weakening all kinds of pain, offering them brief relief from torment.

Speaking of it, this method of use was inspired by Norris’s skill experiment back in the day.

It’s not that Lin Jun didn’t want to directly bundle them all up as Puki and take them away, however, faith is not something that happens suddenly; it needs time to accumulate devoutness.

In fact, Lin Jun discovered that the sticky nature of the soul is trust.

Theoretically, even if Norris died accidentally, although he does not have faith in Lin Jun, as long as enough trust exists, Lin Jun could still pack his soul into Puki’s.

Hmm... I’ve been his boss for so long, the trust should be sufficient...

Of course, Lin Jun cannot expect everyone, especially those who don’t know him well, to trust him unconditionally.

Thus, this blind-following kind of trust inherent in faith suits well for this type of existence.

Lin Jun eased the pain of these Blood Beasts to repeatedly reinforce the idea "faith in the Mushroom Lord can ultimately bring redemption" in their minds, eventually turning it into genuine belief.

In truth, the always honest Lin Jun indeed did not deceive these unlucky souls.

Faith in him indeed has the potential to leave this Blood Beast Factory.

Once everyone’s faith is solidified, whether it’s finding a chance to let them escape or simply transforming them into Puki and sending them to the Mushroom Garden becomes an option.

Lin Jun only promised to help them leave the sea of suffering, without specifying the manner of departure; presumably those focused solely on salvation wouldn’t mind these minor details.

Of course, not all Blood Beasts chose to pray.

Some clever individuals found another "method of escape"—inform!

They tried to tell the breeders who fed them about the strange voice in their minds, hoping to trade tattling on the Blood Race for their freedom.

Whether Eleanor would grant freedom to these informers, Lin Jun didn’t know, but he certainly wouldn’t leave such obvious loopholes for them.

These informers, without exception, before they could speak the first word, mushrooms growing internally blocked their throats, finally turning them into complete mushroom puppets, then willingly discarded by Lin Jun, becoming mere corpses.

Externally, Thirteen classified them as failed samples of "Symbiosis Mutation" experiments, and Eleanor, obsessed with delicious blood, didn’t care about these anticipated losses.

Thus, Puki faith rapidly took root in these Blood Beast factories without external detection, waiting for the right moment to break ground.

And Thirteen was eager to admire Duke Eleanor’s regretful expression when she learned of everything!