Chapter 358 - 348: Planting Mushrooms

I have to say, Shane Rhodes has good taste. At the very least, the spot he picked for Moira Lynch was excellent.

The next day, Moira Lynch woke up to a commotion outside.

Moira looked out the window and saw four burly men standing in front of the Elf Tree House. A stretcher was on the ground before them.

Lying on the stretcher was a man—the very same middle-aged man from yesterday.

He was a stark contrast to the man from yesterday, whose ruddy complexion had suggested a life free of worry. Now, his face was pale, his lips were blue, and he was clearly no longer breathing.

The four young men were now causing a scene in front of the Elf Tree House, loudly accusing Moira Lynch and the others of murdering their father and demanding they pay with their lives.

Moira Lynch didn’t believe a single word they said. She had been measured yesterday, only squeezing his heart a few times. At most, it would have just caused him some pain for a while.

Besides, before she’d done it, Moira Lynch had confirmed that the man’s heart was perfectly healthy.

Kai York also had self-control; he would never have beaten someone to death.

Moira Lynch scanned the man’s body with her spiritual power. There were no wounds anywhere—with one exception. The hyoid bone was broken.

’Case closed. He was strangled.’

Moira Lynch went downstairs, intending to go out and see what was happening. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Shane Rhodes and the other two were already there.

Seeing Moira Lynch, Shane Rhodes said, "I’ve already notified Captain Chase Shepard. He told us not to go out, and especially not to argue with those people. It’ll only make things worse. He said to just leave it to him."

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the crying and shouting outside came to an abrupt halt.

’Looks like they’re taking action.’

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the main door. When it was opened, a person in full gear, wrapped head to toe, appeared at the entrance.

His voice was muffled by the thick clothing. "We’ve taken those people away. We’ll issue a public notice after we’ve investigated the full story. Don’t worry."

Shane Rhodes nodded and said with a smile, "Then please thank Captain Shepard for me."

The person nodded and turned to leave.

But because his clothes were so thick, his movements were somewhat sluggish.

As he turned, he saw the lush green vegetable patch. A flash of longing appeared in his eyes, hidden behind his goggles, and he couldn’t help but swallow.

Anyone passing by could see Moira Lynch’s vegetable patch.

In this kind of weather, forget vegetables—you couldn’t even find a single blade of green grass.

Without vegetables, people got constipated easily. With only input and no output, everyone’s complexion was awful, and many suffered from the affliction.

The price of vegetable essence tablets was getting more and more expensive, at one point even surpassing that of Extremely Hot Mushroom tablets.

The good news was that the prices at SoySauceDrunkard’s "Don’t Miss It" shop had remained stable.

The bad news was that even with stable prices, ordinary people couldn’t afford a full pack of vegetable essence tablets, and even if they could, they couldn’t get their hands on them.

But even with vegetable essence tablets, they were no match for fresh vegetables.

Unfortunately, Elf Tree Houses with yards were extremely rare; so far, this was the only one that had been discovered.

Many people had offered to buy the vegetables in Moira Lynch’s yard at high prices, but she had refused them all, using the excuse that her own group didn’t have enough to eat.

Moira Lynch wasn’t lying; there really weren’t enough vegetables.

Although on the surface it was just the four of them with four mouths to feed, in reality, Shane Rhodes and the other two would occasionally take vegetables back to their families.

Of course, they didn’t take them for free. Every time they went back, they would bring back plenty of things—sometimes home-cooked meals, other times snacks and pastries.

It was a give-and-take relationship, and both sides were very satisfied with the current arrangement.

After the person left, Moira Lynch stared at the yard, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Hugh Finch asked.

"I’m thinking the yard still seems a bit empty. I’m wondering if I should plant something else. We could plant some mushrooms or something in the nooks and crannies. They grow even faster than bok choy."

Hearing Moira Lynch’s words, Hugh Finch nodded. "We could, but where would we get mycelium?"

Moira Lynch turned her head and raised an eyebrow. "Would I suggest it if I wasn’t sure? I already checked. The discounted item in the System Mall today is a mycelium pack. Alien mushrooms. They might taste even better."

"I heard that mushrooms grow faster, bigger, and better when it thunders. When you go to plant them, remember to ask the boss for help."

Hearing this, Moira Lynch made an OK sign. "Don’t worry, I won’t let him off the hook."

"...Hey, can’t you two talk about me behind my back? It’s like you think I’m not even here," Shane Rhodes, who had been standing nearby, said, unable to take it anymore.

"We’re not plotting anything bad, so why should we hide it from you, boss?" Hugh Finch said with an innocent look.

"So what you’re saying is you’re not willing to help me?" Moira Lynch stared at Shane Rhodes with wide, accusatory eyes, making him feel uncomfortable all over. "No, I didn’t say I wasn’t willing! I mean, when are you planning to start planting? So I can prepare in advance."

"We’re starting right now. Everyone, come and help."

Moira Lynch had always been a woman of action. Having said she would plant mushrooms, she had already bought the mycelium in advance.

A full hundred packs of it, which had cost her one Gold Coin.

The price was a full half off the original.

Moira Lynch hadn’t paid much attention to the System Mall in a long time.

In fact, ever since Moira Lynch opened her own shop, most players no longer chose to use the System Mall. Setting aside the quality, the prices were much more expensive than the items in Moira’s shop.

Some items even cost tens of thousands, or even millions, of Gold Coins, making them completely unaffordable.

This time, it was Patience who had reminded her to check the System Mall.

And the only reason Patience knew was not because he was constantly monitoring the System Mall, but because he had received an email from the system the day before, saying there would be a special sale in the System Mall the next day that absolutely could not be missed.

Originally, Moira Lynch had thought a hundred packs would be enough to last a long time, but the price of the mycelium packs was just too cheap, and there was a huge variety of mushrooms—a full hundred types.

Moira Lynch couldn’t resist and bought up every single mycelium pack available.

There was no way she could use all one hundred packs of mycelium at once, so Moira Lynch only took out a portion. Following the instructions, she scattered the mycelium in various corners, letting it fill the gaps between the vegetables.

After sprinkling it all over the yard, Moira Lynch still had some left in her hands. She looked at the Elf Tree House behind her and was suddenly struck by a whimsical idea: would mushrooms grow if she scattered the mycelium on the Elf Tree House itself?

An Elf Tree House was a treehouse, but at its core, it was still an Elf Tree. ’It should be fine, right?’