Chapter 472: Chapter 333: Negotiation in the Treehouse
It was already around four in the afternoon. The thick fog from the morning had completely dissipated. From afar, Xu Xin could see Li Wenxi and Keke peeking and waving at him from the treehouse window.
As soon as he slid down to the treehouse, its roots extended down to pull him inside.
"Xu Xin!" Li Wenxi immediately snuggled up to him, grabbing his arm with a happy smile on her face, "You’re finally back!"
"Ying!" Keke also jumped directly from the windowsill into his arms.
"I was only gone for a few hours." Xu Xin patted Keke’s small head in his arms and pinched Li Wenxi’s cheek.
"Hehe, it really wasn’t that long." Li Wenxi continued to smile brightly, holding onto his arm.
"Ying..." Keke buried its little head in Xu Xin’s chest.
It had only been seven or eight hours, but since meeting Xu Xin, the little guy had been with him almost constantly and had never been apart for so long.
This time, it was really frustrated.
"Wenxi was lying by the window all day long, looking at the snowy mountains, so it naturally felt like a long time," joked Qi Xuefei from behind Li Wenxi.
"No way!" Li Wenxi blushed and argued, "I only looked a few times!"
"For a few hours each time?"
"Um..." Li Wenxi blushed and held onto Xu Xin’s arm without speaking.
Xu Xin couldn’t help but pinch her cheek again before turning his head and saying, "Sister Xuefei is here too. This climb really owed a lot to your pills."
Saying that, he sat down by the sofa with a sigh of relief, relaxing his entire body.
Coming home after a busy day, with a lovely girl and a little cutie waiting at home, felt really nice.
"Did you have to use the medicine?" Qi Xuefei hesitated before asking, "Can you tell us what you experienced while climbing the snow mountain?"
"Of course." Xu Xin nodded.
He fiddled with his wristband, first releasing the three beasts inside, as the environment inside wasn’t very pleasant.
When the three beasts came out, they seemed in poor condition, sprawling on the ground.
It wasn’t because of the darkness inside; unlike Lou Fei’Er, they weren’t afraid.
They were so weak because Xu Xin had just passed through the portal, and even within the wristband, they were still affected by it.
But upon seeing they had returned to the treehouse, the beasts relaxed. Afu wobbled over to the window and lay down, while Mimi and the Silver King went to the fireplace to toast themselves.
Although they could resist the cold, they still preferred a comfortable temperature.
As for the giant egg and the treasure chest monster, they remained in the wristband, to be dealt with after everyone had gone their separate ways.
Xu Xin then glanced towards the kitchen: "Is that Lou Fei’Er in the kitchen?"
"It’s her. Fei’Er just got back and even brought the fourth person of the day. She had quite the haul today," Li Wenxi said, reaching into her backpack and taking out five large seeds. "Look, five treehouse seeds!"
She’s certainly capable. Not bad.
"Come on out, there’s something we need to discuss." Xu Xin called towards the kitchen door. His enhanced hearing picked up that Lou Fei’Er wasn’t actually cooking but hiding behind the kitchen door, eavesdropping on their conversation.
The kitchen door opened, and Lou Fei’Er sheepishly walked out, laughing awkwardly, "Um, Master, can I take a break from finding people today? I’m so tired..."
Afraid Xu Xin would ask her to continue searching, she had slipped into the kitchen to cook before he arrived.
"Alright, come over here, I won’t make you continue today."
"That’s great!" Lou Fei’Er immediately jogged over, found a chair, and sat down with the demeanor of a good student.
"However, there’s something else I need you to do."
"... Huh?"
Sitting on the sofa, Xu Xin stroked Keke in his arms and calmly recounted the events of his day to the others present.
Hearing the various disasters Xu Xin encountered during his climb, Li Wenxi held his arm, feeling both distressed and fearful.
Qi Xuefei also gently covered her mouth.
She had thought that climbing a snowy mountain of a few thousand meters alone was challenging enough, but there were so many disasters, even extreme environments.
How could an ordinary survivor climb this!
Only Lou Fei’Er listened with growing excitement, her expression seemingly telling Xu Xin that she thought the mountain sounded fascinating!
In the end, after describing the statue atop the entire snow mountain and the function of the Snow Mountain Array, everyone fell silent for a long time.
"So, we have the opportunity to reunite with the people on the other side," Qi Xuefei concluded, "but another person needs to climb to the summit of the snow mountain, and with you and Ji Chaoyang, trigger the Teleportation Array Pattern, while three people over there also need to reach the Xue Feng to activate the pattern, is that right?"
"That’s the issue," Xu Xin nodded, "so..."
"I’ll go!" Lou Fei’Er suddenly raised a hand, looking at Xu Xin with some excitement, "Let me go! The other thing you mentioned must be this, right?"
"Mm, I considered you as the third person. With your physical fitness and this equipment, reaching the peak shouldn’t be a problem."
Xu Xin explained the advantages he had previously analyzed about Lou Fei’Er.
"Wow, it seems like, apart from not having enhanced arm strength, Fei’Er is even more suited to climbing the snow mountain than you!" Li Wenxi said with a hint of envy, "I wish I had such strong abilities... Would taking Fei’Er’s pills grant me that power?"
She had always longed for the mutation pills.
"No, no, no, Wenxi, you mustn’t eat it. The side effects are huge!" Lou Fei’Er immediately shook her head to stop Li Wenxi.
Only after experiencing it can one understand how passive mutation can make you, with unexpected situations cropping up everywhere.
If it weren’t for the mutated heart Xu Xin gave her, which suppressed most of the side effects, she might have mentally collapsed by now, afraid to leave the treehouse.
"But, if we could really succeed in connecting over there, that would be great," Qi Xuefei smiled, "At that time, with those people on the other side helping, some problems would be easily solved."
She had actually been considering the number of people the treehouse could host.
Yesterday’s beast tide showed that the more people hosted, the larger the beast tide and the higher the danger level.
But for her pharmaceuticals to scale, she needed to absorb more people, because only the treehouses parasitized on her main treehouse have the ability to cultivate and accelerate the growth of medicinal materials.
She couldn’t only want the treehouse and not the people. Plus, she couldn’t manage on her own.
However, if it were connected over there, these problems would be resolved.
The more people, the greater the strength, especially with Wen Guixin around; as long as she’s willing to help, there’s no fear of any beast tide attacks.
She shared her thoughts with everyone.
"Yeah," Li Wenxi agreed, "If everyone could connect, we’d definitely be much more confident facing danger."
Xu Xin also nodded: "That’s what I think too, so since this problem can be solved, it’s better to plant these people’s treehouses on your side, for convenience. Right now, they’re..."
"In my treehouse," Lou Fei’Er spoke up, "Two are from this district, and two are from District 187, all are ordinary survivors."
"Alright, when you head back today, bring them with you," Xu Xin nodded.
Everyone seemed fine with this.
"Ah! I thought of a good way to solve the Snow Mountain problem!" Li Wenxi’s eyes suddenly lit up as she looked towards Mimi and Silver King lying by the fireplace, then tugged on Xu Xin’s arm.
"What method?"
"Think about it, you can bring Mimi and Silver King through the portal, right? Isn’t Fei’Er also a mutated creature? You could put Fei’Er into the bracelet, then teleport her up there!"
"Huh?" Lou Fei’Er shuddered at the word "bracelet," her face instantly turning pale.
She blinked: "This... Shouldn’t be possible, right? Can you really exploit a loophole like this? I am not only a mutated creature but also a survivor..."
Actually, Xu Xin had thought about this point too, but he thought the likelihood was small.
It’s known that the portal can affect creatures within the bracelet.
Judging from Mimi’s situation last time and the current behavior of these beasts, even in the bracelet, they still suffer side effects when passing through the portal.
That is to say, whether inside or outside the bracelet, for the portal, there should be no difference.
Since Lou Fei’Er is a survivor, Xu Xin probably can’t bring her through the portal.
However, it’s still worth trying, just in case it works?
If it succeeds, a lot of time could be saved, and Lou Fei’Er wouldn’t have to take risks.
If Lou Fei’Er learned what Xu Xin was thinking, she’d definitely tell him: I’d much rather take risks than get stuck in a bracelet!
"Your method is not bad!" Xu Xin smiled and nodded, "It’s worth a try."
"Right? Haha! If it succeeds, Fei’Er won’t have to face those disasters!"
Lou Fei’Er was feeling tearful; she feared the bracelet more than those disasters...
She finally struggled and asked: "Do you really have to try this? I feel the odds aren’t high..."
She truly didn’t expect that although she hadn’t done anything wrong today, after busying herself and making significant contributions, she’d still have to be put inside a bracelet!
This is too sad!
But she also understood that if this conjecture held up, it could indeed save a lot of trouble.
Though the chances might be slim...
"Let’s try it. Whether it works or not, it’s just a matter of seconds," Xu Xin stood up, "Come on, let’s try it now."
"I’m coming too, I’m coming too!" Li Wenxi stood up as well.
"Then I’ll join too," Qi Xuefei also said, "I’ve never been close to that Snow Mountain, it’s a good chance to have a look."
"Eek!" Keke, who had been obediently lying in Xu Xin’s arms, also raised its little paw, indicating its desire to join.
"Not you, little guy, it’s cold outside," Xu Xin pressed its little paw down.
It was already past four in the afternoon, and due to the long winter night, it was already dark outside, with temperatures below minus twenty degrees, making it impossible for Keke to go out.
"Eek..." Keke’s ears drooped.
"Alright, let’s go together then."
"Ooh..." Lou Fei’Er knew she couldn’t escape, so she stood up with a heavy heart.
It felt like going to the execution ground.
She wished she had gone out to find more people instead!