Chapter 179 - 171: The Defense Battle Ends, Treehouse Upgraded!

Not bothering with the three noisy little guys, Xu Xin glanced out the window. After confirming nothing unusual, he relaxed fully and sank into the sofa.

Inside the [Explorer].

Li Wenxi: "I lit a ring of fire! It’s so strong, any ant that rushes into it gets burned to death!"

.

Zhao Xiaochuan: "It feels like these bloodthorn vines can burn for a long time. They’ve been burning for a while, and the vines below have barely been consumed."

Qi Xuefei: "Phew, finally cleared all the ants from the treehouse. They actually gnaw on the windows; closing them doesn’t stop them from coming in. Thankfully, they don’t eat herbs."

Qin Yunlong: "Handling the third level is really hard. All my third-level windows got chewed up. Fortunately, Xu Xin’s method worked."

Wang Lei: "The plant heart is strong, but some ants still got in and we have to deal with them. Should I light a circle of fire too? Anyway, I’ve killed quite a few bloodthorn vines."

Ji Chaoyang: "No need. Occasionally, an ant slips through, but we can handle them. No need to waste materials on [Mutant Vine Sap], which can be used to make arrow explosives."

Lying comfortably on the sofa, Xu Xin lazily let Keke, tired from rolling around, climb onto his body, yawn, and start dozing off.

He shared his method with them: "You can have the vines destroy the surrounding jungle, making them more versatile and easily stopping the ant swarms. Just give the command at the tree roots."

Wang Lei: "Destroy the surrounding jungle?! Isn’t that a bit excessive..."

Ji Chaoyang: "The vines controlled by the plant heart can actually be manipulated?"

Xu Xin briefly explained his situation.

Wang Lei: "Got it. We need to use this area sooner or later, might as well let the plant heart absorb it directly!"

Ji Chaoyang: "I’ll go try controlling the vines precisely."

\(n)ovel(.)co(m)

Li Wenxi: "Wow, they’re talking about things I don’t understand..."

Qi Xuefei: "That’s a perk for those daring to venture out—it doesn’t concern us."

Li Wenxi: "I can venture out too!"

Wang Lei: "Don’t. If Beauty Wenxi wears full blue iron armor and goes out, she’ll get stuck in the bloodthorn vine swarm and won’t escape. I’m strong, but barely broke free before exhausted."

Wen Guixin: "Haha, I finally cleared all the ants! Earned over 2,300 points in total. Not bad, I’m exhausted, off to bed."

Qin Yunhu: "?"

Wang Lei: "Huh?"

Zhao Xiaochuan: "Boss Wen, guide me through!"

Xu Xin was somewhat speechless too. He got up and looked out the window again. The vines continued to swing and pierce, Silver King Mimi and his consort were still joyfully slaughtering, but outside the range, the ant swarms remained dense.

His points had barely increased by a bit over a thousand.

Clearing out such a massive ant swarm is not just about combat power. The Silver King Mimi’s combat ability is strong, but its kill speed can’t match Wen Guixin.

She had mentioned before, while killing vine swarms, that larger quantities benefit her.

What exactly is her ability?

To say there’s no envy would be a lie; combat abilities are truly strong. His ability to identify items and read maps are just auxiliary functions—he has no idea when he’ll unlock the next ability.

Since everyone’s issues are resolved, Xu Xin let go of his worries.

After opening the regional channel, Xu Xin found the total number remained unchanged, still over three thousand people, indicating that ants indeed don’t harm survivors. As long as the treehouse isn’t gnawed apart, they’ll get through this defense battle.

At this moment, there were few voices in the regional channel. Everyone seemed busy dealing with the ants entering their treehouses, with just a few sporadic people reporting battle results.

"Finally exterminated... Ah, more sneaked in!"

"Running back and forth between upper and lower levels is really tiring!"

"Haha, I have only one level. I just sit with a bow and arrow, and shoot any ants that come in—easy."

Ants only attack when they crawl inside the treehouse, making it easiest to handle for those with a single-level treehouse.

Their treehouses are less than thirty square meters, eliminating the need to go upstairs and downstairs to deal with ants on different levels. Sitting down with a bow or crossbow is truly convenient; once arrows are used up, they can be collected and reused.

But for survivors with two-level treehouses, or like Xu Xin with three or four levels, relying solely on one’s attack becomes overly hectic. Like Xu Xin, if ants got in, he would be too exhausted going up and down four levels. If he were alone, it’d be unbearable.

In summary, the lower the level of the treehouse, the easier it is to handle the ant swarm.

Nothing should be necessary for him to do next, just wait for this activity to end.

Xu Xin gently moved the asleep Keke from his belly onto the sofa.

This little guy barely slept since last night due to concerns about the underground mutant plant heart. Now it’s safe, it sleeps deeply, and when Xu Xin moved it, it only whimpered lightly and smacked its tiny lips.

Xu Xin went to the study, picked up a carving knife, and began carving.

Thanks to the bonus from deep-water pearls and the frequent carving practice, the process went smoothly, increasingly becoming second nature.