Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

"Oh?" The Silver King was too far away to hear anything, and could only tilt his wolf head to look at Xu Xin.

"Let's go."

Xu Xin flipped onto the wolf and began heading towards Li Wenxi's treehouse.

After returning today, he planned to carve more artworks to enhance the alchemy room, then create the coordinates to link the area around his and Li Wenxi's treehouses.

That way, tomorrow he could directly bring Lou Fei'Er over via the teleportation array.

By then, as long as he could enter Ma Hongwei's treehouse, everything would be easily handled, not even requiring him to act, as Lou Fei'Er alone could easily deal with it.

At that time, if Ma Hongwei was willing to surrender, they would spare his life; if he insisted on resisting, he'd have to be removed.

However, Xu Xin personally didn't actually want to kill him. Because in his conversation with Ma Hongwei, Xu Xin could sense that Ma Hongwei seemed to have some abilities that others didn't possess.

His implication seemed to be that as long as he was inside the treehouse, it couldn't be breached.

…Was this his confidence, or did he have some other abilities?

Although his attitude towards Li Wenxi made Xu Xin feel a bit uncomfortable, it wasn't a big deal; everyone has desires. In this world, wanting to capture an enemy's woman is fairly normal.

As long as he was still useful, Xu Xin wouldn't kill him over such matters.

However, he still needed to think about how to explain this to Li Wenxi, especially Lou Fei'Er...

Running back, Xu Xin sent a message to Ji Chaoyang: "How's everything on your end?"

Ji Chaoyang directly sent a voice message: "Maybe there's a place to enter Qi Xuefei's protected area from the east. Have you dealt with the threats in the south?"

"Not yet, only stabilized for now. The south has a three-story treehouse, ranked top ten in area 187."

"Do you need my help?"

"No need, we can handle it here. How's the small treehouse on your side?"

"It's just a single-story treehouse here, but there's no one inside. I've looked around and couldn't find this survivor, possibly went out."

"So, you didn't take action?"

"Yeah, waiting for them to come back, capturing them along with the treehouse brings the most benefit. It's only a single-story treehouse, without armor, this survivor poses no threat to Li Wenxi. Let's leave the treehouse for now; they'll definitely come back tonight, we'll deal with it then."

"Alright. Haha, we came all this way and didn't settle anyone." Xu Xin chuckled.

"We'll help her settle it eventually, no need to rush to resolve it immediately." Ji Chaoyang said with a helpless smile.

"Should we come find you? Or..."

"You all should check out the west; I might not find a way through here, best to check both sides."

"Okay."

Ending the call, Xu Xin had reached Li Wenxi's treehouse.

Li Wenxi had probably seen him riding wolf back from afar and was already waiting at the treehouse below.

"How's it? Is it a three-story treehouse?"

Seeing Xu Xin approaching on the wolf, Li Wenxi hurried over and quickly scooped Keke off the wolf's back, holding her in her arms.

"Ying~" Keke whimpered comfortably, being cuddled.

"That's right, one of the top ten in area 187." Xu Xin dismounted the wolf.

"Ah? Then... what should we do? Can it be settled..." Li Wenxi immediately became a bit worried, her hand stroking Keke stopped.

"Don't worry, it's fine, he won't bother you for the next two days. Let me prepare, we can handle it tomorrow."

"Ying!" Keke called out in agreement from Li Wenxi's arms, showing admiration. The little guy had witnessed Xu Xin's shrewdness from a VIP seat.

"Oh oh, then I'll rely on you!" Li Wenxi trusted Xu Xin and didn't ask how he'd handle it, "So now we..."

"Let's take a look at the west," Xu Xin gazed to the west. His treehouse was tall, and could see the lush greenery twenty kilometers away, "Maybe we can circle to Qi Xuefei's treehouse that way."

"The west?" Li Wenxi's eyes lit up, "Does that mean we can pass by your treehouse? Can you take me to see your treehouse?"

"Of course... uh..." Xu Xin was about to answer when he remembered Lou Fei'Er was still in his treehouse, making his eye twitch.

…Shouldn't have allowed Lou Fei'Er into the main treehouse.

Anyone would get suspicious seeing a woman hiding at home...

"…Ah well, it's fine if we can't go, finding Sister Xuefei to protect our healer is more important." Li Wenxi said nonchalantly, seeing Xu Xin's hesitation, although her eyes dimmed for a moment, she smiled and patted Xu Xin's shoulder.

"...Let's get on the wolf first; we can talk as we go."

"Oh, okay... This time I want to sit in front!"

"Alright, alright."

Xu Xin helped Li Wenxi onto the wolf's back, then mounted the wolf himself.

Li Wenxi held Keke, leaning against Xu Xin. To prevent her from falling off when Silver King ran, Xu Xin had to hold her waist slightly.

"...Actually, you can just hold me," Li Wenxi said without turning her head. The helmet of her steel armor covered her head, so Xu Xin couldn't see her expression.

Her words made Xu Xin's heart skip a beat.

He didn't overthink it and wrapped his arms around Li Wenxi's waist.

"Silver King, let's go to the place where I removed the treehouse on the west side first," Xu Xin instructed Silver King.

That treehouse was the first one he demolished, located between his and Li Wenxi's treehouses, with a protected area of only three kilometers.

He wanted to first go to the north side of that treehouse to check if the protected areas were connected. Although unlikely, it was still possible, as this treehouse's small protected area also reached Li Wenxi's area.

As long as the treehouses were close enough, they could still connect.

"Awooo—" Silver King let out a habitual howl and rushed toward the west.

Xu Xin held Li Wenxi, while Li Wenxi quietly stroked Keke in her arms. Neither spoke, except for Keke occasionally making a contented "yip" sound, enjoying being petted.

...Why is this little beauty so quiet now? Before, when she sat in the back, she was always chatty along the way. But now, sitting in the more thrilling front, she doesn't say a word?

Could it be because when he refused to let her visit his treehouse earlier, she got a bit upset...?

Xu Xin wasn't new to emotions; he had dated a girlfriend in high school and another in college, even though both relationships ended. But he understood women's little temperaments well.

As for Li Wenxi, Xu Xin's feelings were actually quite clear.

During the initial phase of frequent activities and constant danger, where survival was uncertain, they supported each other and often comforted each other through video calls. During that time, he felt very at ease with her, allowing him to find a sense of relaxation and joy amidst the tense survival situation.

Later, after many transactions between the two, they gradually began to genuinely trust each other, forming a true partnership. Li Wenxi provided resources without asking for anything in return, and he would make high-level weapons and equipment for her in return.

However, before meeting in person, they were essentially just online friends.

The downside of online friendships is that you're really engaging with the imagined version of her/him, which often doesn't match reality.

But after meeting, Xu Xin discovered that Li Wenxi's image aligned with the one in his mind. This little wealthy lady's real-life presence, in both appearance and personality, closely matched what he saw in the videos.

And on this point, Xu Xin was quite confident too. He wasn't the type who would 'die in the face of reality'; even on Earth, he could confidently meet online friends without much grooming—just a quick shower and shave, and he was ready to go out.

So after meeting Li Wenxi, he found himself quite fond of her, and Li Wenxi seemed to feel the same.

No, not seemed to; she made it very obvious, even sending Ji Chaoyang running for cover.

He had thought if he ever wanted someone to depend on in this world, he would choose Li Wenxi. Even if their relationship wouldn't end up that way, he didn't want certain events to estrange them.

Xu Xin decided to tell Li Wenxi everything about Lou Fei'Er.

"Wenxi."

"Hmm?" Li Wenxi responded while stroking Keke's soft belly.

Oh boy, she really is sulking a bit. Otherwise, with her personality, she wouldn't just say "Hmm?"

Come to think of it, she had dragged him around her treehouse, inside and out, yet he didn't let her into his. Anyone would feel uncomfortable with that.

"Uh... Let me tell you a story."

"A story? Sure," Li Wenxi leaned back slightly, as if nestling into his arms, subtly turning her head to offer her ear near his mouth.

However, since she was wearing steel armor and her ears were hidden in the helmet, Xu Xin didn't find the gesture particularly intimate.

He suddenly appreciated the merits of leather armor.

Steel armor indeed couldn't compare to leather!

Silver King continued racing through the forest, weaving between the barren trees, while Xu Xin slowly recounted yesterday's events to Li Wenxi in the third person.

When Silver King stopped at the location of the felled treehouse, the trunk still had a half-cut stump left behind, as Xu Xin had been too lazy to cut a green-level treehouse completely.

Xu Xin finished his story as well.

"So you're saying, the woman who tried to kill him is now contracted and staying in his treehouse?" Li Wenxi spoke in her usual tone, jumping off the wolf's back, turning to look at him with a slightly teasing smile on her face.