Chapter 159: The Mushroom Squad Can’t Be Without You

“This is beyond just ‘bad luck.'”

“This is downright awful.”

‘Why is this happening? My luck has always been so good before.’

‘Is the law of conservation of luck actually a thing?’

A few minutes later, Lu Wei stood before a huge pile of scrap metal, a grim expression on his face as he sank into deep thought.

Clearly, this pile of junk was the sum total of tonight’s haul.

In terms of weapons, after tossing aside the pure junk like Stone Spears, there were about forty swords and blades left that could barely be considered “loot.”

But most of them were rusted over, the kind of stuff you probably couldn’t even sell for scrap.

Only a dozen or so were actually sellable.

And even those were in poor condition, the kind where you couldn’t haggle over the price.

Fixed price: 50 Copper Coins each. Take it or leave it.

All together, that was less than 1 Gold Coin.

Besides the weapons, the cash they found was pathetic.

Just as Furen had said, among the more than 200 goblins and Kobolds—creatures known for collecting coins—they had only found six pouches.

The fullest one contained about 2 gold and 3 silver.

The most barren one held a single Silver Coin and a dozen-odd Copper Coins.

In total, it was just a little over seven Gold Coins.

Even after adding in the classic “exquisite, fashionable junk” like brooches and rings, the total Value couldn’t surpass 10 gold coins.

As for High Level Equipment, Skill Books, Inlaid Gemstones, or anything of the sort, there wasn’t even a whisper of them.

So, the final profit was somewhere between 9 and 11 gold coins.

…

‘Are you fucking kidding me? This is way too little!’

‘Over two hundred monsters!’

‘And a bear goblin, and two Elite Goblins!’

‘The payout is almost less than what we got from those dozen Kobolds a month ago!’

‘Something has to be wrong!’

His gaze swept over Furen, Bai Ya, Anna, and Zovir. Lu Wei’s brow furrowed. He was certain one of the four had to be a jinx, ruining his luck.

There was no other explanation for their current predicament.

‘Who could it be…’

His gaze sharp as a hawk’s, Lu Wei scanned each of them, his expression serious and grim.

‘First off, Furen and Bai Ya can probably be ruled out.’

‘After all, the three of us have been acting together since the Mushroom Squad was founded, and something like this has never happened.’

‘As for Anna and Zovir… could one of these two little slaves be a legendary walking disaster, a bad luck charm?’

‘Maybe I should just get rid of them both.’

‘Can’t have them affecting business at the grocery store.’

‘Come to think of it, the store’s terrible reputation might also be because of…’

Hm?

Wait!

Suddenly, Lu Wei’s expression froze. He thought of someone else.

Mirana!

She wasn’t here today!

…

…

“Here, this is for you guys. We’ll divvy up the rest after we get back to town and sell everything.”

About fifteen minutes later, Lu Wei split 3 gold and 6 silver evenly between Furen and Bai Ya, and the division of the loot was hastily concluded.

Although the haul was far below expectations, he had figured one thing out—

It wasn’t that their luck had been bad this time.

It was that his luck before had been *too good*.

He’d been ambushed by Kobolds and gotten an Inlaid Gemstone.

He’d cleared a Goblin Nest and found the [Imitation] Skill Book.

He’d turned the tables on a Bandit Group and obtained [Petrifying Lizard Hide Armor] and a [Fire Burning Magic] Scroll.

He’d explored the War Lizardman Lair and walked away with a [Divine Blessing].

In almost every battle, he had managed to get one or two pieces of exceptionally high-Value loot.

He’d even picked up eight or nine pieces of just Ordinary High Level Equipment.

It had gotten to the point where Lu Wei was starting to look down on High Level Equipment that only had one or two special properties.

But thinking about it now, that was clearly not normal.

While the more recent battles might have been difficult, fighting a dozen Kobolds or clearing out a Goblin Nest wasn’t particularly hard for most Adventurers.

Marcus’s team, for instance, could handle it with ease.

And yet, the reality was that 90% of the Adventurers in Heitai Town were dirt poor.

They were overjoyed if they made even 1 Gold Coin from an adventure, acting like they’d won the lottery.

This showed that getting 10 gold coins in loot from 200 Low Level Monsters was actually about average.

The Mushroom Squad had just been so lucky before that Lu Wei and the others mistook this average haul for a terrible one.

‘Oh, wait, that’s not quite right. That’s not a precise way to put it.’

‘After all, if you compare the variables, *they* weren’t the ones with the good luck.’

‘It was Mirana.’

‘So…’

‘I have to get her on the team.’

‘Even if she does nothing and just acts as a good luck charm, it’ll be worth it.’

‘In my past life, businesses had to make offerings to a God of Wealth…’

The night had grown late, and the silhouette of the Dome Tree grew increasingly blurry.

A night breeze swept by, carrying the still-thick stench of blood. One by one, the goblins and Kobolds were losing their ears.

‘A loyal companion, a powerful fighter, and a lucky aura to boot.’

‘That’s the perfect teammate. I have to keep her around.’

‘I could even afford to take a small hit, make a reluctant sacrifice…’

Watching Furen and the other three diligently cutting off ears in the distance, Lu Wei sat calmly on a rock, contemplating like a brilliant entrepreneur.

It wasn’t that he was slacking off. Compared to such manual labor, planning the future of Golden Sword Hu Grocery Store and the Mushroom Squad was clearly far more important.

And after a period of deep contemplation, one thing had become crystal clear—

The Mushroom Squad could do without Furen. It could do without Bai Ya. It could even do without mushrooms.

But it absolutely had to have Mirana!

And considering that Mirana had already promised to join the team after Kairos’s legs were healed…

‘Earl of Lancaster!’

‘I am now giving you Official notice! Send a Great Priest to Heitai Town immediately to cast Regeneration Magic on Kairos!’

‘Or I will unleash my swift and terrible vengeance upon you!’

…

…

「Another half hour later.」

The 200-plus corpses had been piled together by Furen and the others. It looked like a small mountain, a truly spectacular sight.

The matter of Regeneration Magic was a distant concern; they would have to wait until the Count actually arrived to think about it.

But for now, these corpses had to be dealt with.

Otherwise, when Theodore and his people returned tomorrow and saw this, the news would spread throughout Heitai Town in less than three days.

While showing off felt great, Lu Wei had no desire to be in the spotlight.

It was a necessary awareness for a Transmigrator with a cheat ability.

“Go on! Eat them all!”

Hoisting up the terrified Hess, Lu Wei tossed it directly onto the pile of corpses and gave a truly unreasonable command.

“BLBLBLBL!!”

As expected, the next second, Hess scrambled down the pile and leaped onto Bai Ya, burying itself in her arms.

“It says it can’t.”

Bai Ya translated, “It also said that if you try to force it again, you might as well just eat it instead.”

“Useless! You can’t even eat a few corpses!”

Lu Wei shot Hess a glare, his face a mask of disappointment at its uselessness.

But with no other options, he had Anna and Zovir go get some oil.

While this world didn’t have petroleum, things like kerosene, Flaxseed Oil, and olive oil were already available. They were commonly used for lighting and cooking, and the grocery store had some in stock.

‘I can feel my heart bleeding…’

Watching Furen dump an entire barrel of Flaxseed Oil over the pile of corpses, Lu Wei felt a sharp pang of regret. He mentally added the cost to Hess’s tab.

A moment later, after Furen had poured the oil and stuffed firewood into the gaps, he tossed his torch onto the pile.

With a WHOOSH, a massive Flame erupted, instantly engulfing the mountain of corpses.

A searing wave of heat washed over them, forcing everyone to take a few steps back. Tongues of fire licked madly at the night sky, painting the branches of the Dome Tree a bloody red.

Amidst the crackling of the blaze, thick, acrid smoke rose like the physical form of a vengeful spirit—twisting, struggling, and wailing.

“It smells so bad…”

Bai Ya backed far away, covering her nose and mouth with her hand, but it did nothing to block the terrible stench of burning flesh.

Anna and Zovir went even further, covering their eyes, unable to bear the sight.

Even Furen was shaken by the infernal scene. His expression grew complex as he found himself pondering grand questions like, ‘Why must men and monsters slaughter one another?’

Compared to the other four, Lu Wei was far calmer.

He just watched silently as the goblins and Kobolds were gradually carbonized in the inferno, muttering with some concern:

“Um, this won’t start a forest fire… right?”