Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Go Find the Giant Crocodile

”Ying ying!” Keke, witnessing all of this, wasn’t scared at all. Instead, it clapped its little paws in a human-like manner, indicating that Silver King was very impressive.

The leopard next to it didn’t react much. Seeing everything come to a halt, it took the opportunity to lay down and rest.

Xu Xin dismounted from the wolf, disassembled the deer, and tossed all the venison to the drooling Silver King: ”You must be really hungry right after the mutation, here you go.”

Silver King immediately started to feast heartily.

It seemed really hungry, devouring at an incredible speed with its strong teeth. In just a few minutes, it had eaten all the venison of the entire deer.

Silver King appeared to still have a hint of wanting more.

Even though he had only ridden Silver King for about two minutes, Xu Xin was already very close to that salt mine cave. He couldn’t help but marvel at how mobile he had become.

The current protective range of the treehouse is only six kilometers in radius. Even from one edge of the protected area to the other, it’s only about twelve kilometers, which Silver King can cross in less than ten minutes at full speed!

A ten-minute run is nothing for Silver King, who at most will just pant a little.

Having a wolf feels great!

Xu Xin rode Silver King to the salt mine cave. The previously mined salt wasn’t much, and the demand from the entire area was quite high, so it was time to restock. After mining dozens of kilograms of salt, Xu Xin returned to the treehouse with the three beasts.

Newly mutated, Silver King was very energetic. No longer lying in the corner all the time, it constantly harassed the leopard wanting to rest outside, eager for another showdown which annoyed the leopard, who kept pushing Silver King away with its paws.

Meanwhile, Xu Xin cuddled Keke as he settled into the couch.

”So comfortable!” Xu Xin exclaimed as he nestled into the couch. Holding a fluffy ball in his arms felt comfortable, and having finished dealing with most things, his mind relaxed, putting him in a state of comfort and ease.

Thinking about being able to take a day off tomorrow made Xu Xin even more comfortable.

However, there were still things to do tomorrow, like asking the giant crocodile for help with those bothersome piranhas in his lake.

The couch on-screen seemed a bit far, with no remote, and Xu Xin didn’t want to get up. He simply stayed nestled in the couch, swiped open his watch, and turned to the regional channel. The regional channel was still bustling with activity.

”What are you all doing with that extra layer?”

”What else, a bedroom of course; working downstairs and sleeping upstairs, it’s much more comfortable.”

”Aaaah, don’t say that! Why didn’t I enter the underground city? I so want a two-story small villa!”

There are still nearly four thousand people in the regional channel, and only about eighteen hundred people, less than half, received the +1 treehouse layer reward. However, for the low-level small treehouses, adding a layer only makes them less cramped. Its practical function pales compared to his top-floor plantation.

The [Explorers] group was also quite lively. With ample logs and wood, everyone was considering selling treehouse crossbows or interior facilities.

Ji Chaoyang: ”Everyone, there are currently a lot of logs and wood circulating on the trading platform. You can gather some. With sufficient raw materials, we can sell weapons externally.”

Zhao Xiaochuan: ”Yay! I’m going to earn a lot! Let’s set high prices, everyone!”

Wang Lei: ”What are you talking about? If the prices are too high, won’t fewer people buy? Don’t you know about small profits but quick returns?”

Wen Guixin: ”Exactly, sell more crossbows first. What’s important is the after-sales service. Although crossbow arrows can be recycled, they can’t be reused many times and are easy to lose, still a consumable. By then, we can just raise the crossbow arrow prices a bit and sit back to collect money.”

Zhao Xiaochuan: ”I’m still too young, you guys are such cunning merchants, but I like it!”

Qi Xuefei: ”Do any of you have any medicinal materials? You can trade with me, and I can make new medicines in the next two days and distribute them to everyone.”

Li Wenxi: ”Haven’t you all been gathering medicinal herbs all along? Still not enough?”

Qi Xuefei: ”The ones gathered from others are all low-grade medicinal materials, which are very limited in effect.”

Li Wenxi’s use of ”you all” made Xu Xin blink. He scrolled up through the records and discovered that Qi Xuefei had admitted she had formed [Suspension of Herbs and Relief] to collect resources from [Explorers] members more conveniently.

It turns out, Qi Xuefei and her brother Qi Zixuan both ended up in this world together, and coincidentally in the same area. The two are descendants of a family of traditional Chinese medicine, well-versed in medicinal materials and aware of the need for doctors in this world, so they co-founded the [Suspension of Herbs and Relief] organization, continuously selling hemostatic herbs throughout the area and collecting a large number of medicinal materials for processing.

Xu Xin didn’t think this statement was false; it was probably the truth. As for ending up in the same area with her brother, it might not just be a coincidence. Qin Yunlong and Qin Yunhu are also brothers. However, this woman definitely hid some things, like where she got so much hemostatic grass and whether she had the ability to accelerate the cultivation of medicinal herbs.

He’s almost certain now that this world isn’t just him having special abilities. This Qi Xuefei likely has a skill related to medicine or medical arts.

Everyone in [Explorers] didn’t mind, even warmly welcomed it. Having a doctor who can make medicine in their organization is a strong guarantee of life.

After discussing weapon sales in the group, the black gold ingots from Li Wenxi were finally smelted. She traded ten black gold ingots to Xu Xin, who immediately went to the workbench to craft.

[Lightning Rod (Blue): A metal rod that can avoid lightning damage, absorbing electricity from it to power the treehouse.]

The lightning rod that was crafted is a metal rod several meters long, tapering upwards, and can be installed at the top of the treehouse.

Xu Xin was a bit worried that this thing might attract lightning to the treehouse and set its wooden structure on fire. However, according to the description, this lightning rod seems to have the ability to store electricity. Since it is meant to ward off harm, it should not cause any danger.

He traded one of the rods to Li Wenxi, and chose to place his own lightning rod.

[Please select the placement location.]

The screen showed the top of the treehouse. Since Xu Xin had a fourth-level treehouse, whose top happened to be pointed, he placed the lightning rod on the peak of the top level.

Upon reaching the fourth floor, through the glass of the ceiling, he could see the lightning rod installed at the top of the treehouse, resembling an antenna.

”Hopefully, this thing will be useful for tomorrow’s activities.”

After setting up the lightning rod, Xu Xin washed up, went to the bedroom, and lay down on his cotton mattress.

...To be honest, it’s a bit hot.

Even though it’s nighttime now, the temperature is nearly thirty degrees, making the cotton mattress somewhat warm. With no other choice, Xu Xin temporarily removed the mattress and continued lying on the wooden bed, which, although not very comfortable, was much cooler.

He patted Keke, who was sprawled on the bed, and gradually fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was already past six in the morning, with sunlight streaming in through the bedroom window.

Xu Xin sat up in bed, washed up, cooked, fed, and ate all in one go. By seven o’clock, everything was ready, and he prepared to go to the entrance of the Black Bear Cave, where the creek-bottom crocodile was located, to check on the crocodile.

”I need to give you a name.” Below the treehouse, gazing at the pacing mutated cheetah, Xu Xin stroked his chin, ”After all, you’re just a big cat, and so aloof, let’s just call you Mimi.” Mimi is what most people call all wild cats; generally, when he encounters unknown wild cats on the road that he wants to pet, he calls them Mimi.

The cheetah glanced at Xu Xin, then ignored him and continued elegantly pacing with its feline grace.

”Not speaking means you agree. From now on, you’ll be called Mimi.” Xu Xin firmly established the cheetah’s name.

The cheetah Mimi still ignored him, continuing to circle around at a distance of about two meters from him.

Just as he was about to climb onto Silver King’s back, Xu Xin was amazed to notice that Silver King seemed taller compared to its state right after mutation yesterday. Raising his foot to the previous height, he found he couldn’t climb up.

”Has it grown bigger?” Xu Xin stepped back a couple of paces to observe Silver King’s body. Indeed, Silver King was a whole circle larger. If it used to weigh over two hundred kilograms, now the Silver King weighs over three hundred kilograms.

”Great! The stronger Silver King becomes, the happier Xu Xin is.” He mounted Silver King’s back, ”Let’s go to the giant crocodile’s place!”

Silver King let out a howl and accelerated forward in a mad charge. Xu Xin was now dressed in leather armor four-piece set; the fierce wind in front had him quickly putting on his iron helmet.

Keke lay on Silver King, while the cheetah Mimi kept a close pace on the side. The team of one man and three beasts moved swiftly in perfect sync.

”Mimi, kill that wild pig!” Not far away, a wild pig was rooting at the ground. Xu Xin immediately commanded Mimi.

Mimi instantly unleashed incredible speed, completely outpacing Silver King, and locked the wild pig’s throat with one swift bite before it could react.

The wild pig let out a miserable cry before Mimi swiped it on the head with a paw, instantly splitting its skull and killing it.

[Wild pig killed, Points earned: 8 points.]

The familiar voice sounded again. Yesterday, he was too excited when Silver King killed the sika deer to notice, but now he knew his contract beasts could also earn him points by slaying monsters.

The wound on the wild pig’s throat wasn’t as exaggerated as yesterday’s sika deer. After all, Silver King enhanced its canine teeth, whereas Mimi strengthened its claws. The power of that swipe made Xu Xin feel a bit uneasy.

”Hey hey, no eating! Didn’t you have breakfast already?” Seeing Mimi about to feast, Xu Xin immediately stopped it.

He had killed this wild pig intending to give it as a gift to the giant crocodile. He hadn’t even thought of breaking it down; giving a whole pig looked much better than offering some slices of pork.

Mimi protested with a dissatisfied sound, but obediently did not take a bite.

It seems that the mutated beasts have a much larger appetite than normal beasts. Yesterday, Silver King ate an entire deer, perhaps to store energy for its post-mutation growth, but with twice the speed comes higher energy consumption, naturally increasing their appetite.

He needs to hunt more and also consider ways to preserve food for longer periods. In the current weather, hunted beast meat lasts at most three days before it’s completely inedible, making it difficult to keep a supply of meat, which left him feeling slightly uncertain.

He packed the whole wild pig into his backpack, and the one man and three beasts continued onward.

Even though breakfast was already behind them, Silver King and Mimi seemed not to have filled their stomachs. Xu Xin allowed them to hunt directly along the way. These two guys were now exceptionally powerful, with a hunting success rate of up to 100% against ordinary small animals.

Finally, Xu Xin reached the streamside where the giant crocodile resided.