Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse
Chapter 143 - 142: The Abundance of Ground Holes

Chapter 143: Chapter 142: The Abundance of Ground Holes

Li Wenxi said she discovered something strange in the mine, piquing Xu Xin’s interest.

"I went to mine saltpeter and black gold this time, but unexpectedly, there was a new cave in the black gold mine!"

Isn’t this similar to his experience?

"What does your cave look like? Is it very deep so that you can’t see the bottom, and the soil at the entrance is light red?" Xu Xin asked.

"Yes, yes, and deep inside the cave, there’s even white light!" Li Wenxi’s eyes lit up as she sat up on the cow’s back, "How did you know? Did you come across such a cave too?"

"Hmm, there’s one here too, and in my case..."

Xu Xin told Li Wenxi about the vines and the strange aroma inside the cave.

"Vines will grow out?" Li Wenxi was stunned, "Isn’t that something that happens only outside the protected area?"

It seems Li Wenxi’s side did not experience this. Indeed, that hilly area is special.

"I don’t know what’s going on either." Xu Xin sighed, why does he always encounter such strange things?

"Oh oh, then aren’t you unable to mine salt?" Li Wenxi said sympathetically, "That’s tough, but it’s okay. Others have found salt mines now. They can’t refine fine salt, so you can buy salt from them."

"I mined a lot before, enough for now." Xu Xin didn’t continue on this topic, but asked, "How big is your cave, and does it have any strange smell?"

"Hmm..." Li Wenxi thought for a moment, "About one or two meters in diameter, definitely very deep, like a well without a cover. As for the smell... I’m not quite sure, there probably isn’t? The mine already doesn’t smell good, the rust smell of black gold is too strong."

"Did you see anything like red gas?"

"Red gas? Hmm... no, probably not, but it’s strange, I started feeling dizzy after mining for a while, so I quickly finished mining and left." She frowned as she spoke, "But after I got out, the dizziness was gone."

The dizzy feeling is probably caused by inhaling that strange gas. Li Wenxi didn’t notice the smell, perhaps because it was masked by the metallic scent.

Xu Xin shared his speculation with Li Wenxi and warned her to be prepared if she plans to mine in the cave again to avoid potential problems.

"Oh okay! My head felt like it was going to burst, like something was trying to jump out, thinking back, it was really dangerous." Li Wenxi felt a bit scared in hindsight, "But fortunately, I mined a lot this time, enough to last us a while!"

She seemed to say something strange, Xu Xin pretended not to hear.

Since this isn’t something unique to his area, it seems these inexplicably deep caves are indeed related to the second phase.

"Xu Xin, now with Aniu, my mining efficiency has greatly increased. Should I open my mine resources to others?" Li Wenxi asked, looking a bit conflicted.

"If you can manage, open it up. You can collect some resources from them that you don’t have."

"Uh, but you basically give me everything I want, weapons, armor, and food. I don’t seem to lack anything."

"You can exchange for things from the points mall, those items are very useful." Xu Xin suggested. Even cheap green-grade fertilizers from the points mall are quite useful, promoting rapid growth of green-grade plants.

There are also those strange items that are quite appealing.

"...Makes sense, by the way, I’ve got plenty of iron resources now. If you want, you can sell ironware outside, but you’ll have to cut me in." Li Wenxi laid back on the cow’s back.

"If you can provide that much iron, I don’t mind."

After ending the video call, Xu Xin opened the regional channel.

On the regional channel, several people had also discovered deep caves. However, since there were only a few who discovered them, it hadn’t attracted much attention.

There was a discussion within [Explorer].

Zhao Xiaochuan: "What do you guys think is inside this cave? It’s so deep, and there’s light coming from below!"

Ji Chaoyang: "The soil around the cave is gray-grade polluted soil, some bad things might emerge, better find a way to block it up."

Wen Guixin: "I haven’t noticed the cave you’re talking about."

Li Wenxi: "I’ve found it too, in one of the mines I visited, it definitely wasn’t there before."

Qin Yunlong: "These suddenly appeared caves are likely related to mutated creatures."

Xu Xin asked: "Have any creatures from outside the protected area appeared inside the protected area?"

"No."

"No."

Xu Xin seemed thoughtful but did not continue to inquire.

Forget it, I’ll check it out after dark, for now, I’ll continue carving to improve the treehouse decor.

Picking up the carving knife, Xu Xin focused entirely on carving the red crystal (blue).

This time, let’s carve out Mimi.

Previously, whether in carving or drawing, he always immersed himself, making time feel like it passed quickly and a couple of hours would go by without him noticing.

But this time, it’s different.

After just a few minutes of carving, he frowned and stopped.

No good.

He still can’t carve on blue-grade materials or create a blue-grade sculpture.

The carving process was exceedingly difficult, as if he reverted to his pre-artist contract self, clueless about carving.

Proficiency.

That’s probably the reason.

His carving skill isn’t proficient enough yet, not able to handle blue-grade materials, whose hardness and texture differ completely from the feel of green-grade. He can’t manage it now.

He also has a piece of purple-grade crystal, can’t handle blue-grade, let alone purple-grade.

Putting away the blue-level crystal, Xu Xin took out a green-level crystal and began carving.

This time it went very smoothly, and he quickly became immersed in it.

With the full spiritual power granted by the Orange (Blue), this small carving was completed very smoothly.

[Detected in the treehouse: placement of Leopard Red Crystal Carving (Green), treehouse decoration +10, current treehouse decoration: 116.4]

He placed the small carving on the bookshelf, nodding in satisfaction.

Checking the time, it was already close to 6 p.m.

Although the carving could increase the decoration, it indeed consumed too much of his time.

Xu Xin sent Ji Chaoyang a private message: "Do you know the role of the decoration? Over here, I’ve exceeded 100 in decoration without any prompts."

Ji Chaoyang replied after a long while: "I just passed 100 as well without any prompts. Maybe we’ll only know in the second stage. Nonetheless, since there’s nothing urgent now, it’s better to enhance it a bit because our new abilities are related to it. It must be an important metric."

"Indeed. Have you been to the altar again?" Xu Xin asked.

"I’ve been there. Besides the statues atop the pillars being restored, there’s nothing unusual," Ji Chaoyang replied.

"By the way, I wanted to ask, is there any strange terrain around your altar?"

"No, it’s similar to the surroundings of my treehouse. However, the resources around the altar are quite abundant."

"There are many hills around here; they feel somewhat peculiar."

"... Hills? Are hills peculiar? I also have quite a few hills; the entrance to the dungeon is among them."

... It seems his situation is completely different from mine.

The sky gradually darkened now, and he planned to have a look over at the altar.

He ended the call and turned around to find Keke rubbing her eyes behind him.

Ah, it’s mealtime.

The Silver King and Mimi still didn’t want to eat anything, and ever since returning, they had been sleeping curled up. These two hadn’t been this obedient before. If Xu Xin weren’t constantly watching them, they could tear the house apart when they’re restless.

The radiation stone was placed on the long cabinet under the screen, continuously affecting the Silver King and Mimi.

It seems it won’t be long before the two beasts mutate.

Xu Xin prepared a lavish dinner and placed Keke at the dining table, handing her a pair of chopsticks. Keke tried hard to eat with one paw grasping a chopstick.

Xu Xin absent-mindedly gazed out the window, looking in the direction of the hills.

From the treehouse window, there was nothing special about the view of the hills.

He slowly ate his meal with chopsticks while waiting for nightfall.

Finally, the last streak of sunset disappeared, and a galaxy appeared in the night sky. Tonight, there was no moon.

Though it was nighttime, the forest was not too dark under the galaxy’s illumination.

"Let’s go to the altar," Xu Xin said to the three beasts.

He ate all the blue-level fruits he could, stacking all the buff effects on himself.

This nighttime journey might be very dangerous.

Upon hearing Xu Xin’s words, Keke swiftly climbed onto his shoulder, while the Silver King and Mimi rose from the corner.

Upon coming to the treehouse beneath, Xu Xin glanced up, finding the blood-patterned bat still hanging upside down below the treehouse.

It was nighttime now, and it could still fly; perhaps it could be helpful.

"Come down, let’s go together," Xu Xin called out to the bat.

The bat landed, settling onto Mimi’s back, and Mimi didn’t resist the bat resting on her.

It seemed unwilling to be confined in the bracelet, and Xu Xin didn’t force it.

He mounted onto the Silver King’s back, and Keke descended from his shoulder, clutching onto the fur on the Silver King’s neck.

"Set off! Let’s first check out the salt mine cave over there!"

"Awoo—" The Silver King let out a long howl and started running in that direction.

The Silver King’s speed had increased again. This afternoon’s rest had noticeably enhanced its speed compared to the morning.

Silver King’s upgrade to a mid-level mutated beast seemed imminent, probably in the next few days.

Soon, they approached the Hilly Resource Zone.

Xu Xin’s expression turned serious as he smelled a peculiar scent—the same one wafting from the chasm this morning.

"Stop! Don’t go any closer!" Xu Xin halted the Silver King a hundred meters from the mine cave.

Xu Xin solemnly stared at that hill—at that "giant’s head."

Indeed, night was different from day.

What greeted him was a scene of Red Mist.

The entire hill was shrouded in a faint red mist.

And the source of the mist was that salt mine cave that resembled a giant’s mouth.

The cave continuously spewed red mist outward, like a giant’s mouth breathing outwards, enveloping everything around in Red Mist.

Even the internal resource area was obscured by Red Mist, rendering it impossible to discern the sights inside, all hidden under a hazy blood-red veil.