Chapter 27: Charm +5 (2nd Update)

Mushroom Soup took first place. The enthusiastic residents burst into warm applause, all eyes turned to Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye, in his mushroom form, was completely stunned, thinking, no way, I want a recount!

"Impossible!"

A booming voice rang out, but it wasn't the mushroom who said it.

A gentleman stepped forward, complaining, "How could this dish possibly have won first place? There's definitely something wrong here. I demand a recount!"

It was Boss Bi, the owner of the biggest general store in Sun Town.

Although Jiang Ye didn't particularly like this profiteer, it was the first time he'd ever wanted to nod along with him.

The mushroom thought, this really can't be right. The candied tomatoes were tasty, but not tasty enough to win first place. Take the tomato-beef rice bowl that the Smoked Fish King made—it should've tasted way better than the candied tomatoes.

Boss Bi said, "My Four Seasons Tomato Deluxe is packed with ingredients, all top-shelf and the freshest you can get. The flavor is way better than those candied tomatoes! And... and..."

Boss Bi's eyes darted around, and he pushed up his glasses, saying, "And this candied tomato dish stinks. I smelled it just now—it's nasty. I think it was made with bad honey and lemons. Everyone should watch out—you'll get the runs from eating that."

"Hey! You there!" The Man Who Would Be Smoked Fish King couldn't take it anymore, pointing at Boss Bi and shouting, "How dare you spout that garbage! Whose dish are you saying stinks?"

Jiang Ye hadn't planned on winning, but calling his dish rotten was way too far.

The mushroom stepped up: "My honey and lemons aren't bad."

"That's right." Someone nearby nodded. "Big bro's candied tomatoes are super tasty, and the honey smells wonderful. How could they stink?"

Jiang Ye turned to look—it was the little supermarket owner's daughter.

Kids are too young to lie, and she looked totally sincere.

"Exactly, I tried this candied tomato dish, and it was absolutely amazing."

"It's the best dessert I've ever had."

"I tried it too—nothing was wrong with it."

A lot of residents came forward on their own to defend Jiang Ye. Most of Sun Town's residents were still honest and decent, pointing at Boss Bi and whispering.

"Boss Bi."

The Mayor stepped forward, holding up the candied tomatoes.

Jiang Ye had only made one plate of these honey-lemon candied tomatoes, and many residents and players had already tasted it, yet there were still plenty of tomatoes left, drizzled with amber honey—it didn't look like a sad leftover at all.

The Mayor said, "Boss Bi, I gotta say—this dish from Mushroom Soup is definitely not spoiled. On the contrary, it's an absolute delicacy."

The mayor, in a wig and a clear raincoat, stared at the plate with an over-the-top emotional look: "So delicious, so delicious. The first bite took me right back to my youth. It's truly marvelous."

Jiang Ye: "..."

The mayor's expression was way too over-the-top—the mushroom almost thought the mayor was his shill.

Boss Bi was left speechless by the crowd's pushback, looking super bitter about it.

The Mayor said, "Aside from Boss Bi, does anyone else have a problem with the winner of this cooking contest?"

Me! Me!

The mushroom screamed internally. Something must've gone wrong somewhere. My purple shorts were about to slip right through my fingers!

Little Yellow Hair elbowed him, saying, "Congratulations, Mushroom! Your candied tomatoes are indeed super delicious. I've never had honey this fragrant. Is this what natural honey tastes like? Was everything I ate before just fake junk?"

Le Yili also nodded and said, "Tasty."

"Honey?" Jiang Ye blinked, realizing belatedly, "Did you say honey?"

The mycelium quickly pulled the honey jar out of the item slot—it was the second jar of honey from grandpa's cookie tin. There was a lot left—nowhere near used up in one go.

The second the honey jar came out, a sweet, dreamy smell filled the whole square.

No wonder the brown bears had fought tooth and nail over it, and the town's residents were just as hooked on it.

Jiang Ye looked closely.

"A Full Jar of Honey"

"A thick amber liquid, rich and sweet. Not only do people love it, animals go crazy for it too.

+66 Deliciousness Value"

The mushroom was surprised to see this second jar of honey was slightly different from the first—it had an extra little tag showing a Deliciousness Value of 66. Could it be...

No matter the dish, savory or sweet, adding this magic honey would boost its Deliciousness Value by 66P, making any dish tasty and irresistible!

Jiang Ye: "..."

The mushroom was stunned. So I beat everyone using this cheat-code honey.

By the time the awards ceremony officially started, the rain had stopped, the sun was back out, and the town was full of laughter and joy.

Jiang Ye kept a dry smile as he went up to accept the award, and received the giant portrait of the Chief Deity.

Up close, the portrait was way bigger than the mushroom, and you could see every single eyelash of the Chief Deity—he was overwhelmingly handsome.

The mushroom sighed again—what a waste to chop off such a handsome head. And my purple shorts...

Jiang Ye put the portrait into his item slot. The second the awards ceremony ended, the sky over town went completely dark.

Jiang Ye jumped, almost thinking it was going to rain again.

"It's dark?" The mushroom looked up at the sky—the moon was already overhead.

The Man Who Would Be Smoked Fish King said, "Once the celebration ends, it automatically switches to night mode. We need to hurry back to the farm, or we might pass out out here."

The mushroom nodded.

The players didn't live in town, and the farm wasn't close—they needed to hustle back.

Everyone left the square, chatting and laughing as they headed for the town gate. Jiang Ye hesitated a few times before finally working up the nerve to ask, "Um... Fish King."

"What's up, Mushroom?" Little Yellow Hair responded.

The mushroom's face screamed "totally casual," "just asking," "just making conversation," and so on, as he said, "What about your prize? How come I didn't see you get it?"

"You mean the purple shorts?" Little Yellow Hair slapped his thigh and said, "Don't even get me started! My 36-slot backpack! How the hell did it turn into purple shorts?!"

Le Yili griped, "You're lucky to get purple shorts for that chopped-up fish of yours. I didn't even get one myself."

Little Yellow Hair's tomato fish fillet won a participation prize—a pair of purple briefs that Mushroom had his heart set on.

As for the 36-slot backpack that Little Yellow Hair had been longing for, it was snagged by his archrival, Smoked Fish King.

Mushroom was screaming inside, Don't skip it—bring it up!

Little Yellow Hair came through, saying, "I threw the briefs away."

"Threw them away?!" Mushroom jumped, eyes wide with shock.

Le Yili was a bit surprised too, saying, "Why would you throw them away? It's still something, you know?"

Little Yellow Hair said, "The backpack's only got so much room. What am I gonna do with an ugly pair of underwear? No space for 'em, so I just chucked them in the trash can in the square."

Jiang Ye: "!!!"

Little Yellow Hair shrugged, continuing, "When I tossed mine, I saw there were already four other pairs in there. Nobody wanted 'em—they figured they took up too much room."

Jiang Ye: "!!!"

Mushroom stopped dead, his stalk stiff as a board, frozen in place.

Little Yellow Hair was taken aback and asked, "What's wrong, Mushroom?"

Jiang Ye said with a look of righteous determination, "I've decided to crash at the town inn tonight instead of heading back to the farm. You guys go on ahead."

"Huh?" Little Yellow Hair said. "You're not heading back?"

Mushroom nodded vigorously, saying, "Yeah, I gotta come to town tomorrow to sell diamonds and hit up the carpenter's shop. It's a hassle going back and forth."

"That makes sense," Little Yellow Hair said, nodding in understanding.

Nobody suspected a thing, and they said goodbye to Jiang Ye. Mushroom waved at them, and once they were out of sight, immediately spun around and scurried back toward the square.

The town was quiet at night, with just the occasional resident passing by. When Mushroom ran back to the square, it was back to normal—no red-carpet stage, no cooking stations, just a big, empty space.

"Trash can, trash can!"

Mushroom sprinted toward the silver trash can at the edge of the square. Luckily, the trash can was still there, though whether the purple briefs were still inside was another story.

The mycelium carefully reached out, hesitantly lifting the silver trash can lid.

The trash can was huge, like a black hole, probably big enough to fit a hundred mushrooms.

Mushroom peered inside—too dark to see anything, so he had to reach in with his "hands."

"It's pretty clean, really clean," Mushroom muttered to himself as he dug around.

"Oh my god!"

With a gasp, Mushroom's umbrella cap wobbled excitedly—found it!

The mycelium pulled out a boxed set of purple underwear, still sealed in its packaging.

"There's more!"

Another strand of mycelium fished out another set of purple underwear.

Mushroom got excited and kept digging through the trash can.

And another one!

"Charm +1"

"Charm +1"

"Charm +1"

"Charm +1"

"Charm +1"

Little Yellow Hair wasn't wrong—plenty of people had chucked their purple briefs into the trash can. Jiang Ye pulled out five in total, and with the original one, his charm stat was now at 6P!

"Oh my god, I can't believe my luck!"

Mushroom excitedly hugged the pile of purple briefs, ready to shove them into his item slot.

He spun around...

"Whoa!!!"

Mushroom gasped, his mycelium bristling.

A pair of eyes was watching him silently from behind...

They might have been watching for a while now.

Maybe since Mushroom had opened the trash can lid.

Jiang Ye thought, Oh no, I've been caught digging through the trash—this is so embarrassing.

In the darkness, those eyes glowed sapphire blue, their gaze deep and unreadable.

Jiang Ye looked closer, and his heart, which had jumped into his throat, sank back down. He said in surprise, "Your Majesty? Is that you?"

"Caw!"

Mushroom sighed in relief—it wasn't a person who'd caught him, but His Majesty the Crow.

The crow spread its wings and flew up to Mushroom, tilting its head, blue eyes darting from the trash can to the pile of briefs in Mushroom's arms.

His Majesty the Crow's blue eyes were full of confusion, but... he respected Mushroom's little hobby.

"Caw."

"Don't caw, don't caw," Mushroom said, looking guilty as hell, making a shushing gesture at the crow. "Shh, don't bring the residents over."

The crow tilted its head, and a second later: "Caw!"

Mushroom: "..."

Crow: "Caw!"

Mushroom: "!!!" Is Your Majesty doing this on purpose?!

Jiang Ye quickly stuffed the briefs into his item slot, pretending he hadn't done anything.

"His Majesty the Crow, why are you here?" Mushroom asked. "You're not causing trouble in town again, are you?"

The Crow King raised his head, a look of utter disdain on his face.

Mushroom looked up too, but he was staring at the sky.

It was too late to head back to the farm now; he'd definitely pass out in the wilderness. His only option was to crash at the town's inn for 1,000 rupees a night.

As Mushroom walked toward the inn, the crow landed on his... mushroom cap.

Jiang Ye grumbled, "Your Majesty, you're too heavy. You're gonna squish me into the sidewalk."

"Caw!"

The black crow flapped off, way faster than Mushroom, flying straight to the roof of the little inn.

The inn and the bar were right next to each other, probably the two liveliest places in Sun Town at night, with folks constantly coming and going.

Jiang Ye pushed the door open and stepped into the small inn.

"Welcome, guest!"

A pretty blonde woman stood behind the counter, smiling. "Need a room?"

"Yes," Jiang Ye nodded.

The blonde asked, "What kinda room you looking for?"

Jiang Ye said, "Just the cheapest one."

"Certainly, guest." The blonde quickly grabbed a key. "It's a thousand rupees a night."

Jiang Ye thought for a second before paying and asked, "Hey, if I stay a whole week, do I get a discount?"

"Sorry, no discount," the blonde said, shaking her head.

"Okay then," Jiang Ye said. "I'll just stay one night."

Jiang Ye paid the 1,000 rupees and took the key.

The blonde handed him another small key with a smile. "As a gift for our first meeting, please take this."

It was a key to the bedside drawer, where a gift was already waiting for Jiang Ye to find.

Mushroom was curious—this was getting mysterious.

"Thanks," Jiang Ye said.

The blonde led him to the stairs, pointed out his room, and told him about the dining area and the bar next door.

"The bar gets pretty lively at night; lots of guests stop by for a drink. Just don't get too wasted," the blonde said.

Mushroom hopped up the stairs, and the room was on the second floor. The inn was actually pretty small, with only a few rooms.

He unlocked the door, and as soon as he stepped in, a gust of wind hit him.

The window was open, letting in a strong night breeze.

Jiang Ye moved to close it, but before he could, he heard a "caw."

The window wasn't open for no reason—the crow had come in through it, getting there before him.

"Your Majesty, you're so fast," Mushroom said with a laugh.

The crow strutted around the room, flapping its wings in disgust.

The room was a bit bigger than the wooden hut, clean and neat, but nothing fancy.

Mushroom still had the small key, walked over to the bedside table, and casually opened the drawer.

Click— the drawer slid open.

There was a lot of stuff inside.

"Ultra-thin glow-in-the-dark condoms (x5)"

"Black fuzzy handcuffs (x1)"

"White cat ear headband (x1)"

"Mushroom-shaped massager (x1)"

Mushroom: "..."

The moment the drawer opened, Jiang Ye went completely silent.

The crow came over and tilted its head.

Jiang Ye thought, what a bunch of junk. Is this really a legit inn?

"Caw!"

The crow pointed its wing tip at the big mushroom wand in the drawer, then at Jiang Ye.

Technically, Jiang Ye shouldn't understand crow-speak, but it was hard not to, so he immediately shot back, "No way! I look nothing like that!"

"Caw," the crow nodded and pointed again.

That big mushroom was white with red spots on its cap.

Jiang Ye thought, *I don't have red spots! I'm a pure white mushroom!*

As he thought this, his mushroom cap had already turned pink.

"It's too hot in here!" Jiang Ye fumbled awkwardly. When embarrassed, he needed to do something to look busy. "Oh, right, the bar's right next door. There's still time before 2 AM, so I'll go check it out."

Jiang Ye closed the drawer, and Mushroom couldn't wait to leave the room.

The crow followed.

The small inn was right next to the bar, which was convenient for both businesses.

It was clear that the bar had a lot of customers at night.

Mushroom pushed the door open and walked into the bar.

The Barkeep smiled and greeted him, but the next moment, he jumped in shock, shouting, "Crow!"

The mushroom was startled too and quickly said, "Don't worry, it's not a bad bird, it's really well-behaved."

The barkeep didn't believe him and said warily, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Mushroom, but we don't allow crows in the bar."

"CAW!" The crow was displeased.

The mushroom was stumped. What was he supposed to do?

"CAW!"

The crow flew away.

"Your Majesty!" The mushroom tried to call the crow back, but it flew off way too fast and looked seriously mad—the kind of mad you can't just smooth over.

"I wonder where it went off to," Jiang Ye muttered to himself. "Maybe I'll grab it some treats on the way back." That oughta cheer it up.

The barkeep let the mushroom in, and Jiang Ye sat down at the bar.

"What can I get you to drink?" the barkeep asked.

Jiang Ye held the menu and said, "I'll just take a look first."

"Take your time," the barkeep said. "I'll fix a drink for the guest next to you first."

The bar was a little dimly lit, and there wasn't an empty seat in the place—every spot was taken by groups of customers.

Jiang Ye glanced around curiously while looking at the menu. Most of the people in the bar were adventurers, decked out in all kinds of gear, carrying weapons, and talking loudly.

Right by the bar, there were three adventurers with empty bottles all over their table—they'd clearly had a lot to drink already.

The adventurers noticed Jiang Ye walk in, huddled up to whisper to each other, then burst out laughing.

Jiang Ye figured they might be talking about him, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

Soon, one of them—a guy in a brown jacket—got up, walked over, and plopped down right next to Jiang Ye.

"Hey, you the new farmer in town? Want me to buy you a drink?"

Jiang Ye shook his head. "No thanks."

The guy didn't leave. Instead, he leaned in close and said in a mysterious tone, "You got diamonds on you?"

Jiang Ye was caught off guard and didn't say anything.

"You definitely do—I'm a treasure hunter, and my nose doesn't lie. I can smell diamonds on you!"

He dropped his voice: "How about this—sell me that diamond, and I'll give you twenty thousand rupees! That's a great price, way more than the jewelry store would give you!"

Jiang Ye: "..."

Good thing Le Yi Li had told Jiang Ye earlier that the diamond could sell for around sixty thousand rupees at a jewelry store.

This guy was clearly trying to take advantage of Jiang Ye, figuring he was a clueless newcomer.

"Not for sale, sir," Jiang Ye said flatly, not wasting any words.

Hearing that, the guy kept pushing: "Twenty thousand rupees! That's a lot of money! Farmer, think how much you'd have to grow to make that! You better think this through."

Jiang Ye shook his head again, no way.

The guy got annoyed and stood up to go sit somewhere else.

"Don't go," Jiang Ye stopped him. "Alright, alright, if you're not selling, you're not selling. Then let me show you something else good."

The guy pulled something out of his pocket—nothing special to look at.

The guy said, "Check this out! It's a bomb!"

That got Jiang Ye's attention.

The guy went on, all excited: "You ever been to a mine? It's all rocks. Chipping away with a pickaxe takes forever, and you might never find a way down. But with a bomb, it's a whole different story. One bomb packs a huge punch and can blast a tunnel straight down."

Jiang Ye thought, that sounds handy, almost like cheating.

But the guy's eyes kept darting around, and Jiang Ye got the feeling he was up to something.

The guy said, "A bomb goes for ten thousand rupees! This stuff is precious. I can tell you're new and you definitely need these. Tell you what—I'll give you five bombs, free. Take 'em."

Free?!

Lots of townsfolk gave new folks stuff, so that was totally normal.

But Jiang Ye still had a bad feeling about this.

The guy shoved the five bombs at him, trying to stuff them into Jiang Ye's bag.

Jiang Ye was quick—he grabbed the guy's hand to stop him.

The guy hadn't expected Jiang Ye to be that strong and froze. Seeing his plan fall apart, he let out a loud "Ow!" and dropped to the ground.

"How dare you hit me!" the guy started, putting on his act.

Jiang Ye was pissed. "I didn't hit you—you were trying to steal from me."

"What are you talking about? You're setting me up!" the guy yelled.

The guy's two buddies immediately came over and surrounded Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye tried to calm himself down. He'd heard Sun Town was a peaceful zone—surely they wouldn't allow fighting here.

"Gentlemen!" The barkeep heard the ruckus and came over. "Gentlemen, looks like you've had a bit too much to drink. Let's all calm down."

"Who you calling drunk?" the guys shot back, annoyed.

They clearly didn't give a damn about the barkeep, yelling that Jiang Ye had hit someone and the owner was covering for him.

"Medical bills!" the guy said. "You owe me for medical bills!"

Jiang Ye guarded his item slot and backed away a few steps.

Fwoosh—

Just then, a gust of wind blew through the bar's entrance. The door swung open, and someone stepped in.

Everyone automatically looked toward the door, and the little mushroom's eyes brightened instantly.

It was Delin!

Delin was in his usual black outfit, wearing a silver-gray steel helmet. Both his stature and that helmet made him the center of attention. As Delin walked in, he even had to duck his head slightly at the doorway.

Delin stood beside the little mushroom, his cold voice cutting through the silver helmet, saying, "Are they giving you a hard time?"

The adventurers seemed to know Delin, and their faces fell at the sight of him, looking a bit scared.

The little mushroom glanced over, and his mycelium tendrils immediately pointed at those people, saying, "They tried to steal from us and even wanted to frame me!"

That's right, the diamond belonged to Delin too!

Seeing Delin, the little mushroom inexplicably felt more confident, and the mycelium stood with hands on hips.

It was definitely one feisty little mushroom.