Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 261: Chapter 231 The Fate of the Survivors Who Lost the Treehouse

It seems Ji Chaoyang, like him, immediately realized how important this ability is.

”That’s right, Ma Hongyu relied on the control panel to control the heavy crossbow, otherwise Qi Xuefei wouldn’t have been trapped in a dilemma around the man’s tree house.” Xu Xin nodded and said.

Ji Chaoyang pondered for a while, staring at the ground, then gradually smiled: ”The ability of Ma Hongwei, saying it’s the strongest ability at the current stage is not an exaggeration.”

In the second stage, the tree house protection ability enhanced, the tree house functional areas appeared, even the rewards obtained in the defense battle are plant hearts protecting the tree house safety. Obviously, this second stage is centered around the tree house.

Therefore, the attack power of external heavy weaponry is crucial in the current stage.

Like Xu Xin, Ji Chaoyang always felt that this external heavy crossbow was dispensable.

If not set automatically, only two can be controlled at most each time, and accuracy is still questionable.

If set automatically, the automatic function is stupidly ineffective, attacking any area unit, and when enemies attack, perhaps a few rabbits come in first, the heavy crossbow in automatic mode will immediately unleash a volley, at most serving as an early warning.

With this control panel, all external weapons are activated.

”Indeed, this ability truly allows our tree house to become an armed fortress, but honestly, I’m more interested in your ability.” Xu Xin looked at Ji Chaoyang, curious about what ability Ji Chaoyang possesses.

”Haha, you’ll know soon, let’s discuss with the four of us later, and I’m also interested in your ability,” Ji Chaoyang laughed, ”Your ability shouldn’t just be about alchemy, right?”

Xu Xin shrugged, noncommittal, his creator’s permissions are far more complex, and there might be new abilities coming.

”Ma Hongwei’s ability is indeed strong, but unfortunately, the control panel installed in the tree house can’t be taken down, it was destroyed along with that tree house, now there’s no way to truly experience it... wait!”

Xu Xin rubbed his chin, uncertainly speculating, ”Perhaps, the control panel, a fixed device connected to the tree house, might appear in transplanted parasitic tree houses?”

The two exchanged glances, considering it somewhat possible.

”Let’s go, find them!”

About a hundred meters from Qi Xuefei’s main tree house, there’s a tree house that’s almost fully grown.

The three women are under the tree house, watching the rapidly growing tree house while chatting idly. They’re feeling the rapid growth of parasitic tree houses for the first time.

This tree house belongs to the woman Ji Chaoyang brought, Ma Hongyu’s tree house seed hasn’t been planted yet.

Xu Xin let the Silver King rest under the tree house, and the two walked towards the parasitic tree house.

”Ying!” Keke, who was playing at the base of Qi Xuefei’s tree crown, quickly climbed down the trunk and jumped onto Xu Xin’s shoulder, then squealed at Xu Xin.

Understanding the little one’s intention, Xu Xin took it off his shoulder and took an apple from his backpack, handing it to Keke, who immediately started eating it happily.

”The distance they’ve planted is just right, leaving a hundred meters around the main tree house. In the future, all parasitic tree houses can be planted within a range, making it easier to manage.” Ji Chaoyang commented.

”I actually think a greater distance between parasitic tree houses would be better.” Xu Xin didn’t agree, ”After all, this is a post-apocalyptic world, fraught with danger, making the tree house clustered makes it easy to wipe out when danger comes. It’s better to spread out a bit, or form several clusters.”

”Hmm, what you say makes sense too. Those responsible for planting and production can be closer to the main tree house, while those defending against enemies can be planted on the outer positions.”

The two discussed the future layout of the parasitic tree houses.

Xu Xin suddenly laughed: ”We don’t even have many parasitic tree houses yet, and we’re already discussing this.”

”Better to plan early, parasitic tree houses aren’t workstations, once planted the position can’t be changed. They won’t give you the chance to rearrange like inside the tree house.” Ji Chaoyang explained.

Ji Chaoyang cares about this, if the initial planting is wrongly positioned, making later neat planning impossible, it might bother him continuously.

”Hey, why are you two coming over?” Li Wenxi was the first to see the two coming, waved at them, ”Want to see the parasitic tree house too?”

Li Wenxi walked up to Xu Xin and teased Keke, who was gnawing an apple.

Xu Xin directly handed Keke to her, she immediately hugged Keke and rubbed its small belly.

”Ying...” Keke, still gnawing on the apple, let out a mumbling sound.

The slightly petite woman stopped speaking once the two came, but the look in her eyes carried a hint of admiration.

She heard from Qi Xuefei and Li Wenxi about Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang’s deeds, knowing they are the first and second in all areas.

”Do you want to go inside and see this tree house?”

At this time, the tree house had matured, Qi Xuefei willed the tree house’s roots to hang down, then turned and asked the two.

”No, both of us are already familiar with the parasitic treehouse,” Xu Xin shook his head. ”We want to see the inside of Ma Hongyu’s parasitic treehouse. By the way.”

Xu Xin looked at the woman who hadn’t spoken since they arrived and asked, ”Can you control the treehouse now?”

”Me... me?” The woman glanced up at Xu Xin, then touched the trunk of the treehouse and shook her head, ”No, I can’t control this treehouse; it’s no longer mine.”

”Hmm...” Xu Xin pondered for a moment and asked, ”So what’s your current state, the state of having lost the treehouse?”

The mysterious voice kept reminding them that they absolutely couldn’t lose the treehouse, or they wouldn’t survive in this world. Since she had already lost hers, then...

”Yes.” The woman nodded, ”When I dug up the treehouse, the voice told me my treehouse was dead, and I must have another treehouse within twenty-four hours, otherwise I will...”

The woman’s voice paused.

”Will... leave this beautiful world?” the woman said in a puzzled tone, ”Isn’t that the same as dying?”

Once again, this phrase.

At the end of the first stage of elimination, that mysterious voice said the same thing.

[Leave this beautiful world].

Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang exchanged a glance, both knowing some secrets of this world, and both frowned slightly.

”Huh? Is it that serious? Does that mean being without a treehouse means direct elimination? Is this the elimination method of the second stage?” Li Wenxi was somewhat surprised, ”Then let’s quickly set this treehouse’s owner.”

”Yes, I also want to study the functions of the parasitic treehouse.” With that, Qi Xuefei handed a treehouse seed to Xu Xin, ”Didn’t you want to see Ma Hongyu’s treehouse? Help me plant it, just next to it, maybe twenty meters away?”

”Okay.” Xu Xin took the seed, and Qi Xuefei manipulated the roots to pull Li Wenxi and the woman, along with Keke who was still munching on an apple, into the treehouse.

Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang found a spot twenty meters away from the parasitic treehouse and planted Ma Hongyu’s parasitic treehouse seed.

The sapling immediately broke through the soil, growing into a small tree within seconds and continuing to grow.

Both of them had planted two parasitic treehouses before, so they showed no surprise at this.

”Xu Xin, do you think leaving this world means dying?” Ji Chaoyang stared at the continuously growing treehouse and asked sternly.

”Perhaps not.” Xu Xin thought of the underground city.

Based on their previous theories, the underground city was a temporary place to detain the eliminated survivors.

”Didn’t you say all the eliminated people are first held in the underground city? If they just wanted them dead, why bother with all that, why not just kill them outright?” Xu Xin speculated.

”...You have a point, but, where would they go then? Leaving this world, could it be... returning to the original world? Back to our Earth?” Ji Chaoyang mentioned one of his long-standing theories.

”...Impossible.” Xu Xin found it unrealistic, ”If that were true, wouldn’t we survivors striving so hard for higher rankings be foolish? Just sitting idle in the treehouse would mean going home?”

A dreadful thought suddenly popped into Xu Xin’s mind.

This matter might require some testing.

Next time, if they encounter someone like Ma Hongyu, don’t kill him and don’t give him a treehouse, but control him, wait 24 hours, and see what happens to him.

Will he suddenly drop dead, or simply vanish, or experience some other unusual occurrence?

Next time, it might indeed be worth trying.

The parasitic treehouse in front of them was now lush and full-grown.

Li Wenxi and Qi Xuefei also came down from the nearby treehouse and walked over to them. The woman, however, didn’t come down, likely getting familiar with her new treehouse.

”Looking at it this way, the holder of a parasitic treehouse seems more like a lodger in someone else’s home than a treehouse owner.” Li Wenxi subconsciously stroked Keke in her arms as she pondered.

”Don’t go around saying this stuff on the regional channel, or a lot of people might not want to cooperate with us,” Qi Xuefei reminded her.

”Don’t worry, Sister Xuefei, I’m not that dumb!”

Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang waited for them under the treehouse.

”The treehouse is fully grown now, and we can’t get in, so bring us up to take a look,” Xu Xin said to Qi Xuefei as she approached. Now only Qi Xuefei could control this treehouse.

”Sure.” With a thought, Qi Xuefei extended several roots, pulling the four of them into the treehouse.