Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Xu Xin took out a bone knife and a wooden bucket, intending to collect the sap of the thick Blood Thorn Vine.

"Let me help you!" Li Wenxi lifted the vine to assist him. Although the Blood Thorn Vine had many thorns, the spacing was considerable, making it manageable to handle with care.

Xu Xin sliced the vine open with one stroke, causing a milky, viscous liquid to flow from the cut, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

He was worried that the vine, after being attacked by the purple-grade steel halberd, would have absorbed a lot of life force, making the materials as unusable as wood, which would be troublesome.

Thankfully, while the halberd wasn't suitable for cutting trees, it didn't affect the collection of materials from slain monsters.

The amount of sap from this one Blood Thorn Vine was equivalent to that of four or five previous vines.

"This sap is one of the raw materials I use to make steel fire and universal alchemical materials. When you have time, please help me collect some." Xu Xin threw the drained and lightened Blood Thorn Vine to the ground and said to the two.

Ji Chaoyang said, "I still have many in my treehouse. In my hands, I can only make explosives; I have enough of those. When we get back to the treehouse, I'll trade them with you."

"Eh? I don't have any... and I feel like I can't beat it..." Li Wenxi lowered her head in embarrassment.

She had no combat knowledge to speak of; while she could use her excellent physical fitness to kill common beasts or avoid attacks from mutated creatures, facing them directly with the intent to kill was beyond her confidence.

"You don't have to engage in close combat; you can use explosive crossbow bolts, just blow up its base." Xu Xin made a trigger-pulling gesture towards Li Wenxi.

"Explosive crossbow bolts? Right! But can this vine be blown off, given how thick it is?" Li Wenxi asked, looking at the vine on the ground.

"Then let's try it again."

With that said, Xu Xin once again stepped out of the protective zone boundary with his foot and quickly retracted it.

Instantly, cracks on the ground expanded once more, and this time, three sharp, thick Blood Patterned Vines burst out and swiftly struck at Xu Xin!

"Ying!" Keke, frightened, sprang behind Xu Xin's leg, showing its teeth and claws at the three vines.

Under Xu Xin's gaze, these three vines surprisingly broke through the protective zone's boundary and launched an attack on them!

He was taken aback and quickly pulled Li Wenxi aside to dodge.

However, the vines did not penetrate further, only entering a short distance before their blood patterns turned even more vivid, and they quickly retracted, stopping right outside the protective zone boundary, with their three sharp tips pointed directly at Xu Xin's group, spinning continuously.

"Did you all... see that just now?" Xu Xin frowned, "Did they enter the protective zone?"

The Blood Patterned Vines, five to six centimeters thick, originally thin like Blood Thorn Vines, had become just as thick as those during the defense battle, with dense bright red blood patterns coiling around their bodies, their tips still incredibly sharp, like freshly honed stiletto daggers.

"Although only a little, they indeed entered..." Ji Chaoyang's expression was solemn, "This is not a good sign."

"I saw it too!" Li Wenxi exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked at the vines outside, now not daring to enter. "The moment they entered, the blood patterns seemed... more vivid? Glowing? Just like... just like the vines during the defense battle!"

...Strengthened by something?

"You mentioned earlier that you hadn't encountered such thick vines yesterday?" Xu Xin recalled Ji Chaoyang's earlier words and asked.

"Yes, I circled around my protective zone yesterday, exploring all directions. There are only four relatively cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—where the protective zones are connected. The other directions are danger zones." Ji Chaoyang explained in a low voice, "I attempted what you did, and the vines emerging from the ground were no different from before. This kind of thick vine, it's the first time I've seen it."

So these vines this time...

"There are two possibilities." Xu Xin raised his hand, indicating two. "The first possibility is that this area is special, and there's something underground that can strengthen the vines, making the underground creatures more powerful."

"The second possibility," Ji Chaoyang followed up, "is that after the jungle transitioned to autumn this morning, all the underground vines became stronger as a result."

"Why not just test several more locations?" Li Wenxi had already taken out her steel crossbow, loading an explosive bolt.

Ji Chaoyang immediately communicated this information to the other explorers and asked them to also keep an eye on whether the underground creatures outside the protective zones were becoming stronger.

"I feel like there's nothing special on my side; maybe these mutated vines just prefer cooler temperatures, so stronger ones emerge in autumn and winter. They can survive for a while in the protective zone without dying. Didn't the ones we encountered during our jungle exploration only die after attacking us in the protective zone? By the way, can I shoot them now?"

Li Wenxi, holding the crossbow, was eager to blast those three Blood Patterned Vines.

Xu Xin thought of the giant Cannibal Flower at the entrance of the golden chest.

That Cannibal Flower lasted quite a long time within the protective zone before dying. In hindsight, it seemed stronger than mid-level mutated creatures and could even control a person's mind, creating hallucinations.

If it hadn't turned dry and brittle at the last moment and died, Xu Xin might have met his end there.

Looking at it this way, perhaps stronger underground creatures can indeed persist longer within the protective zones.

Seeing Li Wenxi's crossbow already aimed at the base of the Blood Patterned Vines, Xu Xin immediately stopped her.

"Get farther away; the explosion's range is large." Xu Xin pulled the two of them ten meters back.

At this moment, the three Blood Patterned Vines had lost their targets and were preparing to retract underground.

"Hurry, do it!"

"Oh, okay!" Li Wenxi immediately pulled the trigger, aiming at the base of the vines.

"Whoosh—"

The speed of the blue-grade steel crossbow bolt was incredibly fast; even before the three disoriented vines could react, the explosive bolt had already hit their base.

"Boom!"

As the explosion's smoke gradually dissipated, the three of them looked towards where the vines had been, finding two Blood Patterned Vines severed, with only one vanishing entirely below the surface.

It seemed they weren't that strong after all, at least they could be dealt with using their weapons.