Outside the window, the sky is clear, and trees stand tall, with birds flitting and chirping among the woods.
If you only look at this scene of thriving life, itâs impossible to imagine that just yesterday, this forest experienced several catastrophic natural disasters. Under thunderstorms, it was burned to ashes, downpours turned the land into a vast ocean, and countless tornadoes raged.
A little bird landed on a branch outside the treehouse window, chirping clearly.
Xu Xin was no longer surprised by these suddenly appearing birds. After surviving yesterdayâs thunderstorms, fires, rains, and forest regeneration, he could accept anything happening in this world.
However...
He checked his map. Currently, there were no red blips. Only two blue blips in the treehouse, representing Silver King and Mimi.
This means that, for now, there arenât any beasts around him.
While exploring yesterday, he didnât see many beast corpses. Even after the tornado stopped and all resources were flung out, there still werenât many.
Including a few that fell and smashed in the eye of the storm, he had seen only about twenty corpses, all non-aggressive herbivores like wild deer.
So where did the beasts in the forest go? Could it be like during the newbie protection period when they mysteriously disappeared?
Xu Xin walked from the bedroom to the living room. Silver King was still sleeping, and Mimi was awakened by his footsteps, only glancing at Xu Xin before ignoring him and going back to sleep.
...Since when did these two develop the habit of sleeping in?
Standing in front of the screen, Xu Xin clicked on the [Leaderboard Option].
A new sub-option appeared: [Rainy Season].
After opening it, a leaderboard appeared, with Xu Xinâs name prominently at the top, ranked first, labeled with [Forest Zone 188].
The entire board had only over fifty names, mostly ones Xu Xin had never seen, marked with different zones from his own.
Zones like [Forest Zone 154], [Forest Zone 1], [Forest Zone 56], etc., but all were forest zones without exception.
"This... is not a zone ranking!"
A leaderboard with other zones mixed in appeared!
Xu Xin immediately opened the previous event leaderboard.
The previous leaderboard hadnât changed; only this leaderboard included people from other zones.
Even with other zones included, only fifty-four people made it onto this special leaderboard.
In Forest Zone 188, only two people were on it. Besides Xu Xin ranked first, Ji Chaoyang was second. All others were from other zones.
...It seems Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang are truly strong. Among hundreds of zones, only fifty-four people made it onto the leaderboard, showing that many zones didnât have anyone make it. Not only did they have two spots, but they were first and second.
But what criteria does this leaderboard use to rank?
Perhaps the order of eliminating tornadoes? Very likely.
The appearance of a mixed leaderboard may indicate that communication and trade outside the zone might open up.
Itâs necessary to prepare in advance.
Currently, there werenât any rewards to claim, so Xu Xin opened the regional channel.
When the rain started, the region had over 3,800 people, about 2,000 with only single-story treehouses. Now, the number had dropped to 3,154. Over seven hundred didnât survive the rain and perished.
Itâs possible they drowned or were struck by lightning.
Single-story treehouses werenât tall enough, but with no other trees around at that time, even a tip sticking out of the water posed a risk of being struck.
Those who endured a day and night of rain would likely be seriously ill, with some facing dire consequences.
"Oh my God! I finally got back to my treehouse! After being drenched for a day and night, I feel like I canât take it anymore..."
"The water level has finally receded, but why is there so much water accumulated in the treehouse! What should I do, scoop it out?"
"Control the treehouse exit to drain water, idiot."
"...People usually crawl out, who would have thought."
"Ugh, stayed on the second floor of the treehouse for a day, couldnât do anything, so boring, finally can chat with everyone now."
"Indeed, the thunder outside was so loud, gave me a headache, couldnât sleep well."
"I feel weak all over, so cold..."
"Holy crap, did you see the leaderboard! This time the leaderboard includes other zones, but Boss Xu and Boss Ji are still ranked first and second! Meaning, theyâre not just first and second in our zone, but the entire server!"
"No way! The ultimate bosses are right beside us!"
"Seeing this, Boss Ji is really pitiful. He could have ranked first in any other district, but unfortunately, both Boss Xu and he are in our district, so tragic..."
"Why must there be a Xu when thereâs a Yang?"
"Everyone, does anyone have medicine to cure diseases? I really canât take it anymore, I feel like if I fall asleep, I wonât wake up..."
"Shout it with me, Jungle 188 Nambo Wan!"
"Jungle 188 Nambo Wan!"
"Xu Xin Nambo Wan!"
"Ji Chaoyang Nambo Rabbit!"
These people with two-level treehouses have basically stayed in their treehouses for a day and night doing nothing, feeling almost idle to the point of breakdown. As the water recedes, theyâve all come to the district channel to vent.
But those whoâve been lying on the roof of their treehouses getting drenched by the rain for a day and night are probably really on the brink.
Within the [Explorers], the discussion is lively. After all, both leading figures of the district rankings are part of the [Explorers] organization.
Zhao Xiaochuan: "Congratulations to Boss Xu and Boss Ji for claiming the top two rankings of the server! Thatâs too powerful!"
Wen Guixin: "Why am I not included? I also destroyed a tornado!"
Xu Xin: "Perhaps because you eliminated it at night, and after nighttime, the exploration difficulty greatly reduced, so maybe it didnât count for the ranking."
Wen Guixin: "...I, I, I feel terribly cheated. I had already dealt with that monster, but who knew we had to enter the underwater vortex... Would a normal person think of going inside such a terrifying dragonâs belly?"
Wang Lei: "How did you manage to kill that terrifying monster? I went out last night, and just hiding from that octopus took up a good half of my time, it was utterly disgusting!"
Wen Guixin: "Turns out you encountered an octopus, I just... killed it in a simple way."
Wang Lei: "I..."
Li Wenxi: "I was alright on my side. Xu Xin had already told me how strong this kind of monster is, so I spent the whole time avoiding it while picking up resources without disturbing it."
Wang Lei: "Boss Xu actually gives special treatment to the beauty! Iâm jealous... I also wish for Boss Xuâs special treatment!"
Qi Xuefei: "What new resources have you all picked up? I found lots of crystals and redwood here."
Seeing Qi Xuefei speaking, Xu Xin suddenly remembered that she has medicine that can cure diseases.
He just checked the trading platform but didnât see any such medicine, whereas someone in the district channel found a previous record and learned that [Suspending the Pot to Nourish All] has the right medicine, begging them to sell it.
Xu Xin directly asked: "Why arenât your medicines being sold now? Isnât this the perfect opportunity to test your product functions?"
Qi Xuefei: "I actually thought about it this way, stronger medicines have already been made, and I wanted to sell these low-level medicines at a low price because theyâre life-saving. But Zi Xuan disagrees. He says these peopleâs treehouses have been flooded, they have nothing and are broke, selling to them is like giving away for free, and the cost canât be recovered."
Classic capitalist thinking.
Xu Xin: "Making medicine is your ability, right?"
Qi Xuefei: "...Yeah, itâs my ability, but Zi Xuan is coordinating things over there now, itâs not really appropriate for me to make decisions on my own."
Xu Xin: "Actually, you can sell now. Youâve made advanced medicine, and these low-level medicines wonât have much market here, they can only be sold to them."
Ji Chaoyang: "Thatâs right, the most important thing is that selling at a low price now is like providing crucial help. You are saving lives amidst disaster, and even if you havenât helped someone, others will have a favorable impression of your organization. Now is the best time to establish your reputation."
Xu Xin: "Also, rankings are no longer confined to a single district. There might soon be a world channel and world trading platform, and then these people will be your free marketing materials."
The two echoed each other, speaking with sound logic. However, they also understood what the other was thinking.
Both had thought of what was discussed before.
They are likely participating in a selection process, and ultimately, only a few can stand out, so itâs necessary to form a unified organization.
The mysterious voice has repeatedly warned them not to abandon their small treehouse, so everyoneâs position is essentially fixed.
Estimating the distance between tornadoes in the stormy season, itâs visible that every ten kilometers or so, thereâs a massive tornado soaring to the sky, which means if each tornado falls within the treehouse range, the distance between treehouses is approximately ten kilometers.
If the protective range of the treehouses keeps expanding, some nearby ones will have overlapping and connected protective zones, allowing survivors to step directly from their protective zone onto others.
With such cases increasing, the entire world might become interconnected! This is probably the premise and key to meeting other people.
Everyoneâs base is fixed, so if they want to form a truly cohesive organization, those closer within the same district are more suitable than those from other districts.
The more people, the stronger the power and the greater the selection range.
Moreover, perhaps the initial partitioning wasnât simple. What if in the future, they encounter monsters that require the collective power of the entire district to defend against, or wars between districts?
They mustnât let them die, at least not before the truth is discerned, they must save as many as they can!