Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

"Wow, each Blood Patterned Vine is worth 30 points! With just one shot, I killed two vines, and my points instantly jumped by 60!" Li Wenxi's eyes sparkled. "The points really come so easily!"

The Blood Patterned Vines used to have fewer points than the Blood Thorn Vines, only 10 points. Now it's 30 points; they've become much stronger.

"It's not easy though; only we can manage this. Others don't have explosive bolts." Xu Xin took out a long halberd and dragged the two fallen Blood Patterned Vines into the protected zone.

The long halberd, unlike survivors, won't attract the attention of underground creatures.

"They also seem capable of making flaming arrows, right?"

"Flaming arrows can indeed kill them, but..." Ji Chaoyang glanced at the fallen leaves and dry grass everywhere, as well as the bare trees, "but you'd have to bring the jungle down with them."

"True. Hmm... I've always been thinking about one question," Li Wenxi pointed at the jungle, "Do you think if a fire were really started, would it continue to spread? If it would, then if people from another zone come over and set a fire here, wouldn't that..."

"There might be protective measures?" Ji Chaoyang pondered, "Otherwise, if one person started a fire, it wouldn't just affect one zone; it might even spread to all zones."

"Many people use torches for lighting, maybe someone already started a fire earlier, and since it didn't spread, perhaps there really is some protective mechanism." Xu Xin said, picking up a vine.

"Yeah, anyway, let's use explosive bolts; even if a fire starts, it will be easier to extinguish!" Li Wenxi waved the crossbow in her hand.

Xu Xin cut a notch into the vine and continued collecting sap, smiling at Li Wenxi, "Speaking of which, we have you to thank; if you hadn't found the saltpeter, we wouldn't have been able to make explosive bolts."

"Is that so? Hehe..." Li Wenxi laughed sheepishly, "That time I really got lucky; I actually stumbled upon the saltpeter by accident next to the black gold mine, it had nothing to do with my ability."

This was the first time Li Wenxi mentioned her ability; before she would always brush it off and change the topic.

"Your ability has something to do with metals, right?"

"Yeah." Li Wenxi nodded, seeing Xu Xin wanted to ask more, she quickly waved her hand, "Let's not talk about that now, it's a bit complicated, explaining it is such a hassle. Once we meet with Sister Xuefei, we can talk about our abilities in detail together!"

"Qi Xuefei, huh..." Xu Xin glanced at that patch of green in the distance; going to find her would definitely be a hassle.

"Let's first help deal with the hidden threats in the surrounding areas, then go find her." Xu Xin said to Li Wenxi.

At this moment Ji Chaoyang suddenly spoke up, "Why don't you guys handle the threat to the south, and I'll handle the east; we can separate and act. I'll also check if the east connects somehow, see if there's a way to bypass."

Splitting up the action would indeed increase efficiency.

Moreover, Ji Chaoyang didn't really want to stick with those two right now; he felt a bit like a third wheel, somewhat awkward.

"Alright, that way it's more efficient, but..." Xu Xin glanced at Li Wenxi.

"Rest assured, if there are people involved, the people and the treehouse are hers." Ji Chaoyang immediately responded, understanding Xu Xin's meaning.

"Huh? No, no, there's no need for that. You guys came to help me handle the threats, how can I take all the benefits? Besides, I don't have the confidence to manage people from other zones here, I only plan on taking in voluntary people from our zone." Li Wenxi quickly waved her hand, "You guys handle the treehouses and people from the surrounding zones."

"If there really are survivors, that's a treehouse core, a purple-grade resource," Xu Xin couldn't help but remind her.

In reality, Li Wenxi's area needed people from other zones the most, to pull them in and force them to work. Mining and smelting work—for voluntary work—you can't expect much, especially since their age range is 18-30, voluntary ones would be even fewer.

"Hehe, I'm not like you; I use production tools for mining, even blue-grade can dig purple-grade resources." Li Wenxi tilted her head back with pride, patting her chest, her steel armor making a crisp sound, "I haven't even excavated purple-grade resources yet, so I don't need higher-grade tools at all. As for weapons and armor, what you gave me is already extremely strong!"

Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang exchanged a look; they really didn't expect Li Wenxi to be so selfless.

"Hmm... let's first see if there are any survivors nearby. By the way, I've already told Qi Xuefei in the [Explorer] group to come out and check herself which direction has treehouses and whether any protected zones connect." Ji Chaoyang pointed to his watch.

Xu Xin glanced at the Explorer; it was already bustling due to Ji Chaoyang's message.

Especially the other five people, after learning that the three of them had met, knew that survivors from the same zone could indeed meet now. They were discussing each other's locations and asking about landmark scenery, planning to meet in the next couple of days.

It seemed these few were worn out, not wanting to survive alone anymore. Especially Wen Guixin, who complained about those four men but shared more information than anyone.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuefei also mentioned that she could see green areas tens of kilometers away on both her east and west, so there must be treehouses present. North and south had none. She now planned to go west to see if the protected zones connect.

Both east and west have them?

"She doesn't have a mount; relying on her to check the surroundings... with her combat strength, will it be safe?" Xu Xin frowned.

He had considered letting Qi Xuefei check on her own, but without a mount and running around, not only slow, but if she encountered strong explorers from opposite zones...

Qi Xuefei's own combat capability was likely not strong. He didn't want anything to happen to the team's doctor. According to Lou Fei'Er, the top ten fighters in Area 187 had already received notice from their leader Zhang Daoguang and were likely to kill anyone they met, like Lou Fei'Er.

"You're underestimating the survivors who've lived this long, aren't you? Although her combat power may be much weaker than yours, compared to other survivors, she's still much stronger," Ji Chaoyang sighed helplessly with a smile. "She has survived on her own until now, and was ranked in the top twenty in previous hunting activities. At least our weapons and armor are top-notch."

Xu Xin thought for a moment, what Ji Chaoyang said made sense.

Looking at Lou Fei'Er's equipment, there should be no one in District 187 capable of making metal weapons and armor, or if there is someone, they don't sell or share it with others. Also, unlike Li Wenxi, who discovered a saltpeter mine and became a young rich lady, they naturally can't make explosive crossbow bolts. They're already behind in terms of equipment.

"Well... I used to be in the top ten..." Li Wenxi pointed to her nose somewhat embarrassedly, "But my combat power isn't strong now, right?"

Xu Xin pointed to the crossbow in Li Wenxi's hand and laughed: "Just with the crossbow in your hand and explosive bolts, you can handle most people."

If attacked by surprise with explosive bolts, even Xu Xin might not be able to dodge.

"Oh right! Then I'm still strong, wow, I was always lacking confidence before," Li Wenxi suddenly felt confident.

Thinking back now, wasn't the outcome of the previous hunting activity also due to differences in equipment?

In terms of personal strength, aside from top experts like Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang who could enhance their body once or twice each activity with random boosts, most people were actually similar.

Except for Wen Guixin, her combat power is ridiculously high, her ability must be related to combat power.

"Qi Xuefei said both sides of her place have living treehouses, once you solve the problem in the south, go check out the west, I'll head east, if we can enter, we'll split up and enter Qi Xuefei's protected area, perfect chance to solve the problems on both sides for her," Ji Chaoyang suggested.

"The west? Is it Xu Xin's treehouse over there?" Li Wenxi's eyes lit up as she turned to Xu Xin.

"The west, huh..."

Thinking about it, one could indeed try from his side, but hopes aren't high. His north and east happen to be those two that he's already transplanted, with only a three-kilometer protection zone radius, very likely not connected to the surroundings.

But, it's worth a look.

Seeing Li Wenxi clearly agreeing, even eager to go, Xu Xin nodded and raised his left hand with his watch: "Alright, let's do that for now, if anything happens, let's keep in touch through communication."

"Okay, you head south, I'll circle the protection zone to the east and check it out first," Ji Chaoyang mounted Bai Ma elegantly.

"Can you be sure of where the protection zone ends?" Xu Xin asked with some doubt.

In his own protection zone, there's a sound alert when about to step out, warning of danger, but here without it, wouldn't he accidentally run out?

"Relax, my brain is like a map. See you!" Ji Chaoyang smiled and tapped his temple with his forefinger, then turned to ride away on Bai Ma.

"Bye-bye!" Li Wenxi waved goodbye to him.

"Wow, that confident?" Xu Xin watched his silhouette fade into the forest, shaking his head, then turned to Li Wenxi behind him, "Let's go too, head south, see if there are any other treehouses over there."

"There should be in the south, and it's not small either. I think, it should be similar to mine, a three-story treehouse!" Li Wenxi recalled.

"Oh? You saw it? A three-story treehouse?" Xu Xin frowned.

A three-story treehouse, that's a blue-tier treehouse.

"Did you discover it this morning?"

"Yeah, after all the leaves fell off the trees in the jungle, from my treehouse, I got a clear view of the lush green foliage, just like... just like that one over there!" Li Wenxi pointed to Qi Xuefei's treehouse in the distance.

A blue-tier treehouse... another top ten in District 187? Even if not, it's surely one of the top regional experts.

Damn, shouldn't have returned Lou Fei'Er's watch, otherwise he'd be asking around in District 187's regional channel now, see if anyone noticed light during the rainy season to identify rankings and power!

He suddenly realized he still had a way to contact Lou Fei'Er outside. In District 188's regional channel, even though her name's already there for private chat, it links to Parasite Treehouse 01 while she's locked in the main treehouse, and can't be reached.

"What about the east where Ji Chaoyang headed?" Xu Xin asked Li Wenxi.

"There should be one too. I actually observed around this morning, east and south have green tree canopies, north doesn't have greenery," Li Wenxi explained, "But since you both mentioned checking north for potential connections, it was going to happen anyway, so I didn't mention this."

"Then, his treehouse is..."

"It's probably just an ordinary treehouse, very normal, quite short when I saw it, looked like just a single story," Li Wenxi chuckled mischievously, leaned in close, speaking as if sharing a secret, "Otherwise, I wouldn't be willing to let him take it. If I were to give it away, I'd rather give it all to you. The three-story treehouse in the south is yours! I'm not interested in conquering people's treehouses in other regions!"

"You..." Xu Xin shook his head helplessly.

Need to get her to shift this mindset, how can the head of miners be so merciful and lazy?