Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

"Oh?"

The Silver King, leaping forward, was naturally no match for the speed of the crossbow. It looked at the mutant vine already dead in front of it and used its wolf claws to poke at it twice.

The blood patterns on its body were still bright red, showing no signs of fading.

"Yay! The points for this vine are mine!" Li Wenxi held the crossbow and made a victory gesture at Ji Chaoyang. "I'm faster than you, so I got the head—no wait, the vine head!"

Ji Chaoyang smiled and shook his head, didn't say anything. He reloaded the explosive crossbow bolt and then put it back in his backpack.

Xu Xin also put away his spear.

He had been paying close attention to the vine and understood the situation just now. Seeing Li Wenxi boast, he laughed, "Ji Chaoyang was faster in making the first move. Your explosive bolt was the one that caused the explosion sound later, but he was the one who initially weakened the vine to near death, and then you finished it off."

"Ah? Is that so?" Li Wenxi was stunned for a moment, then scratched her head somewhat sheepishly. "So I was snatching the head, huh. But the points can't be transferred to you now..."

"Both of you are snatching my kills, alright." Xu Xin said, annoyed.

"Hehe..." Li Wenxi chuckled and hugged his arm. "I don't feel guilty snatching your kill."

"You..." Xu Xin lightly flicked her forehead. "But you did well this time, reacting quite swiftly."

"Right! My first thought was to pull out the crossbow and blast it!" Li Wenxi felt she did great, likening herself to a master of hidden weapons, striking swiftly.

"Wait wait wait! What's going on here with you guys? Care to explain?" Qi Xuefei was still confused, with a helpless expression, looking at Xu Xin and the others. "How come you two are flirting again!"

"We're not flirting!" Li Wenxi hurriedly let go of Xu Xin's arm.

After the vine was killed by the explosive bolt, Qi Xuefei had been staring at the bloodthorn vine on the ground, visibly thicker than the ones she'd seen before, in a daze.

Realizing what's going on now, she immediately asked the three, "Never mind that. Why can this vine attack inside the protection zone?"

"Well, Sister Xuefei, we encountered this last time too..."

Li Wenxi pulled Qi Xuefei aside to explain, while Xu Xin looked at the severed vine.

This mutant bloodthorn vine seemed even thicker than the last time. Moreover, in terms of speed and force, it was stronger than before.

When it swished overhead earlier, the fierce whistling of the wind made Xu Xin feel its strong force and speed.

Truly powerful!

Even when it failed to hit them, the residual power snapped a tree that wasn't even slender.

"This attack power is comparable to a mid-level mutant beast," Ji Chaoyang said, frowning at the tree that had been snapped.

"Wenxi, how many points is this vine worth this time?" Xu Xin asked while Li Wenxi was explaining their previous encounter to Qi Xuefei.

"Hmm... 75 points this time, stronger than last time; last time was about 50 points, right?" Li Wenxi replied, puzzled, adding, "How did it become stronger?"

75 points?!

The mutant vines in this area have grown stronger?

No, it's not the same location as last time, so we can't say they've grown stronger.

Perhaps because it's closer to what Xu Xin is looking for, that thing that can enhance the powers of mutant beasts.

What exactly is this thing?

Are the nearby vines all affected?

Xu Xin took a step forward, wanting to test the vine's strength further, but Ji Chaoyang pulled him back.

Xu Xin looked at him, and he shook his head at Xu Xin.

"These vines can attack inside the protection zone, best not to provoke them. If many vines are drawn out at once, we'd struggle, and if dragged in by the vines, we'd likely be devoured instantly." Ji Chaoyang advised calmly.

Xu Xin pondered for a bit, then retracted his foot.

Ji Chaoyang was right.

75-point vines are already very strong, if they were numerous, it could spell trouble.

Thinking about being dragged in, Xu Xin remembered the giant Cannibal Flower that guarded the golden chest.

It had extended its branch to drag Xu Xin into its "gaping maw," and without Keke's help, he might have met his end there.

Better not provoke these vines whose attack is almost on par with mid-level mutant creatures.

"Hmm! Hmm!" Keke climbed onto Xu Xin's shoulder, pointing its little paw into the depths of the danger zone before gesturing to Xu Xin.

"...You mean, you can now sense that the thing that enhances the Silver King and others is right there," Xu Xin pointed towards the depths of the danger zone, asking Keke, "right in this unprotected area?"

"Hmm!" Keke nodded its little head.

"Hoo..." Xu Xin exhaled deeply.

It seems this area can only be explored later when the protection zone covers it, or when he's strong enough to enter the danger zone.

His current strength is okay for dealing with individual threats, but completely insufficient against a swarm of vines. Besides, the closer he gets, the stronger these underground creatures become, rendering exploration too dangerous now.

Stepping into the danger zone now would be courting death.

"What do you think this thing that's enhancing the mutant beasts really is?" Xu Xin asked Ji Chaoyang, who was also gazing toward the deep of the danger zone.

"There are three possibilities," Ji Chaoyang pondered for a few seconds before analyzing, "First, it's just something peculiar about this area, no special resource, merely it radiating influence on mutants."

"The second possibility: there's a fixed resource capable of this, like a special stone or something." Ji Chaoyang continued.

Xu Xin nodded slowly, "And the third is the one I least want to encounter."

"Exactly," Ji Chaoyang glanced toward the depth of the protection zone, "the third is a living entity, one that enhances the capabilities of nearby mutant creatures, like the previous mutant plant heart."

"The mutant plant heart isn't that bad; at least it doesn't move." Xu Xin mentally called up the map, seeing the potential spots. "If it's a high-level mutant creature that can move, that could be troublesome, might even attack us."

The map shows no red dots in this dangerous area, indicating no monsters on the surface.

Underground monsters, restricted by the protection zone, cannot attack within it.

However, we can't drop our guard; the protection zone is no longer absolutely safe.

Those enhanced vines can't drill into the protection zone but can attack its interior now; previously, their attacks would stop at the edge of the protection zone.

But for now, we don't need to worry about the treehouse's protection center being invaded by underground creatures truly.

The higher-level mutant creatures, Xu Xin has encountered them, like the giant Cannibal Flower protecting the golden chest. Although uncertain, its red dot was brighter than a mid-level mutant beast, likely a higher-level mutant creature, perhaps even stronger.

Even at that strength, the Cannibal Flower lasted only several seconds within the protection zone before dying.

So long as we're not near the zone's edge, the survivalists' treehouse protection zone remains trustworthy.

"...Let's go then; nothing more to explore here." Xu Xin took a deep look into the depths of the danger zone and turned to the group.

Someday, he'll uncover the mystery within this perilous zone.