"Proud and Unyielding" held the BOSS aggro while the others dealt damage normally, and Chu Fu planted the Golden Corn on the ground.
As a native product, the Golden Corn was an eye-opener for Chu Fu as well.
Because, without any mutation, this corn was already capable of increasing stats.
[Golden Corn (Gold Grade): Superb corn containing extraordinary power. Upon consumption, Constitution +1.]
Chu Fu plucked the kernels from the cob, placed them on the ground, and stimulated mutation.
The next moment, the golden corn kernels sprouted from the earth, becoming stalks of corn.
Each stalk bore a full five corn cobs, and after growing to maturity, every single one was as thick as a grown man's calf.
Whether it was the man-eating flowers or the Golden Corn, both seemed to have been affected by the Harvest Emblem, growing larger in size.
At that moment, the five Golden Corns let out a metallic clicking sound, their tips swiveling to aim at the BOSS before them.
Then, from where the corn silk should have been, bursts of mechanical gunfire erupted.
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!"
Thunderous explosions rang out.
One by one, the golden corn kernels turned into golden bullets, slamming into the Goblin BOSS.
"Whoa, Wheelchair, take it easy there! You firing a Gatling gun or what?"
Proud and Unyielding shouted, startled out of her wits.
Standing beside the mages, Shen Chi spread his arms with an innocent expression, a new golden-grade weapon in hand.
After all, his mech was way too big now, unsuitable for cramped, low-ceiling dungeons like the nest.
So his damage output had dropped drastically, and now he was just cruising along, picking up some free EXP.
"It ain't me, it's Plant Girl!"
Shen Chi shot a look at the speed of the Golden Corn's bullets—who was the real mechanist here, anyway?
Chu Fu's eyes sparkled as she made the final call.
"Wow! Not bad, not bad. This mutant plant—I'm naming it the Corn Gatling!"
[Corn Gatling (Gold Grade):
Effect 1: Golden Corn produces 5 corn cobs each time.
Effect 2: Each corn cob contains 5,000 golden corn bullets, firing 100 bullets per second.]
The real-world Gatling gun's maximum fire rate was about 100 rounds per second as well.
But Chu Fu had five Gatling guns here.
And this was just one Corn Gatling.
What about 55 of them?
Chu Fu was starting to believe even a dragon would be blown to smithereens!
This solved her recent issue of insufficient firepower.
Of course, when she said "insufficient firepower," no one else actually believed her.
But Chu Fu really did feel that Plague Spread was being countered lately.
First of all, the monsters were no longer as densely packed as during the beast tides, making infection rates lower. Players had also started using purification and antidote potions, and enemies with shields prevented her from penetrating deep.
Last time, when Lu An had entangled her, Plague Spread's effectiveness had been greatly diminished.
If that guy tried it again this time, Chu Fu would make him taste what real suppressive fire was.
27,599 bullets per second—aren't you scared now?
After that, Chu Fu steamrolled through the dungeon with overwhelming damage.
They didn't linger in Muqing Town but headed straight to Huishui Town in Sector 009.
They turned in their quests first, then ran the Hell-tier dungeon again.
At this point, their Hell-tier dungeon clear time had been compressed from one hour down to forty minutes.
It wasn't just because they killed monsters faster.
The Copper-Skin Rhino also helped—using it as a mount in the dungeon meant they could move quicker and save time.
Next up was Sector 017, Gushan Town—Wan Huanyu's home turf and the very last town on the list.
Chu Fu and her party went ahead to turn in their quests.
"Awakened ones, thank you for escorting our food supplies. With these provisions, Gushan Town is sure to survive the crisis!"
Chu Fu heard the system prompt:
[System Notice: "Famine Year" quest Phase 2 complete. Please return to Fengdu Town and report to Shi Dacang.]
"Alright, all quests are done. You haven't cleared the dungeon in Gushan Town yet, so I've arranged three new teammates for you. Wheelchair, send them to the dungeon first!"
The group left town and boarded the mech again, flying toward the entrance of the Goblin Nest.
From here, it was clear that both Gushan Town and the Goblin Nest were looking desolate.
The number of players had plummeted, and the Huan Yu workshop members had no motivation to log in at all anymore.
As Shen Chi's mech touched down, the few remaining players at the dungeon entrance stirred.
Some fled in panic, while others were overjoyed.
By the dungeon entrance, a young man jumped three feet in the air.
"Queen! Bitter Melon!"
He waved frantically.
The four-character ID floating above his head read: Dream King.
This was none other than He Huiqi, the psychokineticist who had escaped from the internet addiction school along with Chu Fu and Bitter Melon King.
He Huiqi had originally been a player on Server 016, but after being locked inside the internet addiction school and missing his leveling window, when he finally logged back in, his village was already wiped out.
He managed to escape, and afraid of provoking the Huan Yu workshop, he'd been leveling in remote backwaters ever since.
He'd actually entered the game half a month before Chu Fu, yet here he was at only level 11—truly a tale of woe.
When Chu Fu had previously gone on her killing spree in Gushan Town, she'd avoided revealing her connection with Dream King for fear that the Huan Yu workshop would target him after she left.
Now that the Huan Yu workshop had fallen apart, Chu Fu had invited Dream King to join them in the dungeon.
Not only that—there were two more familiar faces, and old enemies at that.
Lu An and Twelve-Winged Holy Healing Angel.
After Feng Huimin had unleashed her wave of public criticism, the two had quit the Huan Yu workshop and gotten successfully poached under Feng Huimin's wing.
"Plant Master, thank you for having us. Sorry about before!"
Lu An, being older and more mature, was candid in offering his apology.
To be honest, the apology wasn't strictly necessary—after all, they were the ones who got killed.
By comparison, Holy Healing Angel was both scared and too embarrassed to speak up.
"S-Sorry." The Holy Healing Angel mumbled softly, before she couldn't help stealing a glance at Chu Fu's equipment.
That sheen, that material.
Hang on, that looked like Dark Gold–grade gear!
At that thought, the Holy Healing Angel wept inside.
Her full set of gold equipment had been taken away, and when she met the Plant girl again half a day later, the girl had upgraded to a fresh little dress.
Waaaah, when was she ever going to get her gold set back?
Chu Fu, for her part, didn't mind the Holy Healing Angel's attitude at all. Instead, she spoke lightly, diffusing the awkwardness.
"We were on opposite sides, that's all. No need to apologize. I did kill both of you, after all!"
Who'd dwell on a couple of minor annoyances caused by people they'd already beaten?
Besides, talent like theirs—of course Chu Fu would want to recruit them.
"Perfect—the three of you make up the classic tank, DPS, healer trinity.
Every so often, we'll come to this server and take you along for Hell-tier dungeons.
In your spare time, you should do Nightmare-tier runs, and try not to clash with the Huan Yu workshop.
Once your gear is up and you've found some players you trust, you can form your own squad.
You three are now the designated managers for the Thorn Guild's branch in Sector 017!
But you need to get your levels up ASAP. Once you hit level 20, I'll save you fixed spots on the main team!"
