Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 157: Chapter 156 Painkillers and Hemostatics

Xu Xin immediately walked to the two beasts, carefully observing their changes.

Not only were the blood patterns on the two beasts glowing, but even the radiation stone placed on the long cabinet was leaking a few strands of red light through the blemishes on the stone.

Afu, who had somehow ended up by the radiation stone, also had the blood patterns on its body emitting a faint glow.

Seeing Xu Xin approaching, Afu let out a soft cry, flapped its wings twice, and Xu Xin noticed that its size had somehow increased again!

It seemed that this time the upgrade of the Silver King and Mimi had caused some changes in the radiation stone, bringing considerable benefits to Afu.

The Silver King, lying against the wall, stirred and was the first to wake up. It slowly opened its eyes, its blood-red pupils filled with a violent emotion, and its pair of long and sharp wolf teeth appeared even more exaggerated than before it had slumbered.

With the awakening of the Silver King, the radiation stone on the long cabinet suddenly emitted a faint but crisp cracking sound, and then a glaring red glow burst forth, striking Xu Xin in an instant.

At that moment, Xu Xin’s head felt swollen, and his skin itched slightly. He seemed to feel something trying to emerge from his skin, from his head!

”Ying!” Keke tugged at his clothes, then hid behind the sofa to avoid being exposed to that red light.

Xu Xin quickly followed suit, ate an orange and a strawberry, which finally eliminated the feeling of his head swelling. He rubbed his arm, which was covered in goosebumps.

”Ying.” Keke tugged at Xu Xin’s clothes again, its eyes fixed on his mouth. It did get one blue-level fruit a day as ”pay.”

Was it craving again, this little one, still thinking about food at a time like this. Xu Xin handed it a blue-level apple, and Keke immediately leaned against the back of the sofa, gnawing on the apple, its face showing a small blissful expression.

The red light shone past the side of the sofa, casting the sofa’s shadow onto the wooden wall in front of Xu Xin.

This red light reminded him of the story Chang Yin had told him.

No, it wasn’t a story, it was a fact that happened on this planet fifty years ago.

An unknown red light bathed this planet, turning the entire half of the planet’s flora and fauna into mutated creatures; even humans were not spared, all becoming monsters that lost their self-will.

Could this red light be the same that caused the mutation fifty years ago!

The full name of the radiation stone is [Polluted Radiation Stone], and perhaps this stone had experienced something in the great catastrophe fifty years ago, which is why it contained the energy that could cause biological mutations.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t affect ordinary organisms, but it had just shown slight cracks, thus releasing the energy stored within in the form of red light.

Fortunately, it’s not something like nuclear radiation; otherwise, hiding or not wouldn’t make much difference.

Xu Xin slightly peered over, only to see the Silver King baring its teeth, its wolf-like body trembling as if enduring unbearable pain, then it let out a piercing howl towards the sky: ”Awoo—”

The blood patterns on the Silver King exploded with glaring red light, just like when a statue on an altar shatters, and Xu Xin felt his head swelling again, quickly ducking back behind the sofa.

A lazy meow came from behind him. Mimi had been awakened by the Silver King’s howl. Judging by its voice, it didn’t seem to be in as much pain as the Silver King, sounding instead like it had just woken up.

Xu Xin couldn’t help but peek out again and relaxed when he saw that the blood patterns on Mimi also showed noticeable changes.

He was a little worried that Mimi had failed to evolve.

Having finished the apple, Keke let out a small burp, climbed into Xu Xin’s arms, and waited with him for the other two to finish evolving.

”Awoo—” Another howl from the Silver King triggered noises outside the treehouse.

What was happening outside?

Holding Keke, he quickly ran to the study, where the red light couldn’t reach.

At the window, Xu Xin was surprised to find the bloodthorn vines bending downwards as if intimidated by the Silver King’s howl, and even the red glow emanating from their roots dimmed a bit.

Was this... was the Silver King intimidating them?

Xu Xin looked at the base of the vines; the fluctuating red glow had already climbed nearly thirty centimeters up from the roots.

... It didn’t seem to gain ground very fast.

The vines were about ten meters long, and in only a few minutes, they had gained just a little over thirty centimeters. By this speed, all the blood thorns on these vines would fully glow in six to seven hours.

It was just past midday, meaning if he didn’t want these vines to be fully empowered, Xu Xin needed to find the heart-like thing and destroy it before nightfall!

Outside the study, the red light hadn’t stopped.

Keke climbed onto the bookshelf, playing happily by nudging the small crystal statues with its paws.

Xu Xin wasn’t in a hurry to go outside. He planned to wait for the two beasts to finish evolving and go out together. With their evolved forms, breaking through the vine group shouldn’t be difficult, especially since the Silver King’s howl alone could make the vine group below hesitate.

Before that, he decided to share this hypothesis with the other explorers.

He hadn’t even opened his mouth when Wen Guixin suddenly spoke in the group: ”Another batch of vines has grown outside my treehouse!”

Xu Xin’s eyes trembled slightly, confirming that unless the underground ”heart” was destroyed, these vines could not be eradicated. The energy source powering them must be destroyed!

Li Wenxi: ”Did you notice that the thorns at the base of these vines are all glowing red?”

Xu Xin directly shared his hypothesis with them and told them that if anyone had the ability to break through the vine barricade, they should seek out that ”heart.” It might be the key to this defensive battle.

Wen Guixin supported Xu Xin’s hypothesis: ”I was just about to set out when, after preparing my supplies, those vines grew again under the treehouse. I can confirm that these aren’t the ones I killed resurrected; they’re new growth! Xu Xin’s theory makes a lot of sense; unless we destroy the ’heart’ underground, these vines might be endless!”

Li Wenxi: ”Oh my god, but how are we going to break through these vines outside...”

Qin Yunlong: ”I don’t think I can make it through.”

Xu Xin: ”If you don’t have the ability to break out of the protective circle, then don’t go out. Stay in the treehouse and wait for news from me, Ji Chaoyang, and Wen Guixin. There should be other solutions, otherwise, there might not be many people left after this event.”

Xu Xin sent several messages to Ji Chaoyang, but there was no response. This slightly dampened Xu Xin’s spirits.

What danger was near the ”heart,” preventing him from even sending a reply?

Especially given Ji Chaoyang’s character, if there was information that could help them, he would share it immediately. Yet this time, he only sent Xu Xin a video and disappeared halfway through.

It seems the level of risk in this operation is definitely high.

”Hold on a moment,” Qi Xuefei suddenly spoke in the group. ”I’ve made new pills using these vines, I’ll send them to you.”

Xu Xin immediately received a trade request.

[The other party has initiated a trade: Pain Relief Pills (Green) *2 for nothing]

Pain relief pills?

Xu Xin quickly clicked to agree, and two dark green pills appeared in his hand.

[Pain Relief Pills (Green): A pill that can numb the nerves of pain, allowing the survivor to feel no pain at all, takes effect immediately, lasting for 5 minutes.]

The effect is immediate, and it’s not just reducing pain, but feeling no pain at all. These are remarkably strong pain relief pills!

Qi Xuefei: ”These pills can let you feel no pain at all for a certain period, but can’t heal injuries. Healing requires coagulant herbs. Coagulant herbs need to be ground on site and applied to the wound, which is too cumbersome for combat or escape. This pain relief pill perfectly compensates for that.”

Wen Guixin: ”This medicine is just perfect for me!”

Li Wenxi: ”Feels like this medicine could greatly improve my fighting prowess. I’m always afraid of pain and don’t dare to go all out.”

Wang Lei: ”For a short time, how short is that?”

Qi Xuefei: ”I’m not sure, it’s just been made.”

They didn’t have Xu Xin’s ability to identify it and didn’t know the effects last for five minutes.

Xu Xin: ”I know, it lasts for five minutes.”

The group was silent for a moment, then returned to normal.

Zhao Xiaochuan: ”Five minutes... feels a bit short.”

Wen Guixin: ”It’s enough; it only needs to stop pain from hindering action. Just apply the coagulant herb within five minutes. Too long isn’t good either; pain is an essential sense.”

No one questioned how Xu Xin knew, as everyone had their unique abilities. There was no need to dig into others’ abilities.

Only Qi Xuefei sent him a private message: ”Can you really see the duration of the drug’s effects? I’ll send you another one to check.”

With that, she initiated a trade, and Xu Xin received it, another green pill appeared in his hand.

[Coagulant Pill (Blue): Upon consumption, it can quickly recover from external and internal injuries within two hours, one pill every twenty-four hours.]

This pill’s effect made Xu Xin’s eyes widen. Is this made from blue coagulant herb?

”How is it?” Qi Xuefei asked.

”Recovers all injuries within two hours of taking, only one pill per day.” Xu Xin explained the detailed effects.

”You really can tell!” Xu Xin could feel Qi Xuefei’s words filled with joy, ”Xu Xin, help me test the medicines I create from now on. Without clinical trials, I can’t ascertain the effects myself.”

”No problem, it’s a small favor.” Xu Xin agreed to Qi Xuefei’s request readily.

”Then this pill is yours. But unless it’s urgent, use the coagulant herb. This pill is much costlier than a single coagulant herb, and I’ve only made three.”

”Okay, I understand, thanks.” Xu Xin seemed reluctant to return the pill, hearing her words, he accepted it directly.

As he put away the pill, the red glow outside the study gradually dimmed. Xu Xin walked out of the study, and Keke leapt down from the shelf, following him out the door.

The radiation stone on the long cabinet had split into two halves, turning into a dull ordinary stone.

Just as Xu Xin appeared in the living room, the two beasts crouched on the ground immediately turned, their four blood-red eyes all fixed on him.