Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse
Chapter 138 - 137: Has the Famine Arrived?

Chapter 138: Chapter 137: Has the Famine Arrived?

Xu Xin immediately asked in the explorer group, "Did you find a lot of food when you went out exploring?"

Li Wenxi: "I was about to ask, I’ve gotten tired of eating meat these past days, wanted some fruit, but couldn’t find a single fruit tree after searching for a long time. I can’t just eat blue-level fruit to satisfy my cravings..."

Qi Xuefei: "I haven’t gone out yet."

Wang Lei: "I don’t have any either... My food storage fridge got struck by lightning, and now there’s no food outside, this is too tough!"

Ji Chaoyang: "At least for now, it’s basically impossible for me to get food from the jungle, and I don’t know how long this situation will last."

Qin Yunlong: "The fish in the lake have become very scarce; there used to be schools of fish, now there are only a few scattered ones."

Wang Lei: "I’m so hungry... By the way, can ornamental fish be eaten?"

Zhao Xiaochuan: "I still have some food, call me daddy, and I’ll share some with you."

Wang Lei: "Screw you!"

Xu Xin was a bit amused, and directly traded him ten kilograms of green-level carp meat, the same kind from the big carp he let go earlier. He also traded a few apples to Li Wenxi that he just picked.

Wang Lei: "Whoa! Boss Xu actually gave me ten kilograms of fish meat! Thanks, boss! Love you, boss!"

Li Wenxi: "It’s apples! Love you, Xu Xin!"

"Wang Lei, shut up." Xu Xin said irritatedly, then asked, "I found this fish on the ground after the water receded, didn’t you guys find any?"

Wang Lei: "Why am I the only one being told to shut up..."

Wen Guixin: "Nope, I walked around outside but didn’t see any food, though a tree called acidwood did appear, which can produce rosewood, but it’s very rare. And the acidwood tree can only be chopped with an iron axe, a stone axe is ineffective."

Only an iron axe can chop it?

Xu Xin indeed used an iron axe just now. The description of the iron axe mentioned it could chop some special kinds of trees, and acidwood should be one of those.

No wonder its seeds are so special.

If this situation continues, there might really be a famine.

Fortunately, he doesn’t lack food. His treehouse’s top layer has a plantation, and the bottom layer has a slow-maturing ice cellar filled with mutant beast meat. Not only is he not lacking food, but he could feed the entire [Explorer].

But others might be in trouble.

Many inhabitants of treehouses lost a lot of their belongings due to the torrential rainy season, likely including stored food like Wang Lei. But even if not destroyed, the situation isn’t good.

Today is the third day after the dungeon, and the mutant beast meat they have is nearly spoiled. If they went out to hunt and gather the day before the storm, they could last until tomorrow. Otherwise, they might go hungry tonight.

Unless they eat possibly spoiled meat and fruit, which could cause diarrhea and vomiting, and those consequences are far worse than an empty stomach. Eating rotten meat is just courting death.

There is water available, and not eating can last a while. The key is how long this situation will persist. If prolonged, they might resort to eating bark and roots.

Xu Xin scanned the surroundings again.

He had completely scoured the nearby blue-level resources and now directed his gaze towards the hills.

Over there lies another resource zone, and surely there are new resources now, but...

He had two choices now: go back and continue carving, enhancing the decoration of his treehouse, or explore the hilly resource area again. That place is very unique, and just the beast statue altar alone is worth examining now.

Xu Xin looked complexly at the distant hills, equating those hills with the Blood Pattern Giant that appeared last time.

Xu Xin checked the map and confirmed there were no red dots over there.

Originally, the hilly resource zone had three tigers; one died from the polluted meat of a mutant wildcat Xu Xin summoned, leaving two remaining. Now those two are nowhere to be found.

Previously, he didn’t thoroughly explore the hilly resource zone, worried about being targeted by the tigers and the wolves, which were trouble for him at the time.

Now is the right time to explore.

Let’s go check it out.

Though there are no beasts to harvest for sacrifices now, he was curious if the altar might change, having personally seen changes in the statue on the altar.

Riding the Silver King, Xu Xin swiftly headed towards the hilly resource zone.

The closer he got, the more familiar it felt to him.

Arriving at the foot of the hills, Xu Xin saw the salt mine shaft he had excavated again.

The surrounding jungle had completely transformed, and even the inner resource zone of the hills had changed, yet nothing around the hills had changed.

At the foot of the hills, the tree which Xu Xin had previously used to escape a wild boar was still standing there, with the rooting pit it dug below still present, even the tree roots remained exposed as before, with everything unchanged.

Arriving at the entrance of the mine, Xu Xin immediately sensed something unusual.

The water had receded not long ago, and the soil outside the mine was soft and damp, but the ground inside the mine was completely dry!

Moreover, there were still some salt deposits left on the ground, clearly remnants from Xu Xin’s previous mining. If water had indeed flooded the mine, these salt residues couldn’t still be here, as salt dissolves in water.

Indeed, it’s confirmed. While there might be issues like illusions or obstructions from a distance, everything inside the mine pointed to the fact that no water had ever entered here.

Xu Xin frowned deeply.

This mysterious hill surrounded the area, and the altar, almost at the center of the Resource Zone, was equally enigmatic.

"Whimper!" Just as he was about to step into the salt mine cave, Keke suddenly cried out urgently. It jumped down from the Silver King’s back, ran in front of Xu Xin, and pushed against his foot, preventing him from entering.

There is indeed danger in this mine!

Xu Xin’s gaze tightened as he pulled out his spear. He was clad in purple-level scale armor, holding the best spear below purple level, cautiously watching the interior of the mine.

Seeing him draw his weapon, Keke stopped blocking him and instead climbed up to Xu Xin’s shoulder in a few moves, joining him in gazing into the cave.

Just by observing from the entrance, Xu Xin couldn’t discern any danger inside, but he trusted Keke’s instincts.

Mimi walked forward, glanced at Xu Xin, and then paced towards the interior of the cave.

"Be careful, there’s danger inside the cave!" Xu Xin advised.

He wasn’t worried about Mimi, for its explosive speed was too fast and exceptionally agile, making it hard for anything, even in a surprise attack, to harm it.

Just as Mimi completely stepped into the cave, a sense of crisis surged from Xu Xin’s heart, and then a red dot rapidly lit up on the map!

This is it! Those underground monsters!

"Be careful!"

But Mimi didn’t need Xu Xin’s warning; just before he spoke, it detected the crisis, pushed off its hind legs, and leapt forward at a swift pace.

As it landed, the ground where it originally stood suddenly cracked open, and a blood-red thorn-covered vine thrust out from the fissure, lashing toward Mimi!

Mimi wasn’t one to be trifled with, nearly at an intermediate level as a mutated beast. Facing the attack of the blood-thorn vine, it deftly twisted its body to dodge, then clawed at the vine!

Instantly, the front end of the vine was cut into pieces as if by several knives, falling to the ground within the mine.

Simultaneously, on the map, another three red dots lit up at Mimi’s position!

"There are many of these things; get out!" Xu Xin shouted while drawing out the crossbow and aimed at the vine emerging from the ground, releasing a bolt.

Following Xu Xin’s words, Mimi swiftly darted out of the cave, effortlessly landing on the ground, unfazed, even licking the paw that had shredded the blood-thorn vine.

When not in attack mode, Mimi’s mutated claws could retract halfway, looking not overly dramatic, even somewhat cute and fleshy.

The vine shot by Xu Xin’s crossbow bolt was densely patterned. Though it lacked thorns, it was as thick as an arm, with bright blood-red patterns all over it.

After being shot by Xu Xin, the vine writhed and struggled violently.

Under Xu Xin’s astonished gaze, the front end of the vine tangled around the bolt embedded in its stalk like an octopus tentacle, pulled it out, and flung it toward Xu Xin!

Fortunately, the vine couldn’t use the bolt; it spun like a dart as it flew over. Xu Xin swept it aside with a horizontal strike of his spear.

This was the treehouse protection zone. He watched the three vines emerging from the ground, waiting patiently for them to die.

But as time passed, Xu Xin’s expression turned increasingly grim.

What’s going on? Isn’t this within the treehouse protection zone? Why can these underground creatures’ blood patterns and blood-thorn vines survive here for so long!

Could it be that this area of hills is no longer protected by the treehouse?

No, even though these vines haven’t died, they don’t dare to emerge from the cave, only circling within while seemingly taunting him.

Xu Xin immediately fired another bolt, hitting one of the thinner vines. The bolt was powerful enough to penetrate through the vine, directly severing it, and the front half of it dropped to the ground, still wriggling!

"...This thing looks truly disturbing!" Xu Xin reloaded and aimed another bolt at the writhing half-vine on the ground.

The half-vine was pinned to the ground, gradually ceasing movement.

Meanwhile, the remaining portion of the half-vine slowly retracted into the ground seam, leaving only two robust vines waving about in the cave.

In this cave, it’s really not protected by the treehouse!

What’s hidden in the mine, allowing them to survive under the treehouse protection!