Chapter 232 - 213: Is Xu Xin the Big Boss?

However, if Li Wenxi’s treehouse is really ranked among the top ten in region 187 to the south, then we need to be careful.

At this moment, Li Wenxi’s expression suddenly became hesitant, as if wanting to speak but hesitating.

"What’s wrong?" Xu Xin asked.

"Um... Xu Xin, can your watch trade? Well... I want to trade my steel armor set to Sister Xuefei first. It’s not safe for her to explore alone... With you by my side, there’s no real danger, and a set of blue-level leather armor is actually sufficient." Li Wenxi spoke cautiously.

After all, this suit was made for her by Xu Xin, and giving it to someone else was indeed not great, but she was really worried about Qi Xuefei. These days, besides Xu Xin, Qi Xuefei was the one she had private chats with the most, a thoughtful elder sister with a healer’s heart.

Xu Xin didn’t think there was anything wrong with it; he felt Li Wenxi made a valid point.

Indeed, Qi Xuefei should be provided with some equipment. He was also worried something might happen to Qi Xuefei; the team’s medic couldn’t be captured by people from the neighboring region.

"No need to trade your set. You should have many steel blocks in your treehouse now, right?" Xu Xin asked. He didn’t intend for Li Wenxi to wear the leather armor set. Survivors to the south might be very dangerous, and leather armor couldn’t block a sneak attack.

"Yes, I used all the steel fire you gave me last time, made a lot of steel blocks." Li Wenxi nodded.

"Great, let’s go to your treehouse and borrow your weapon and armor manufacturing table. I’ll make a set for her. Just in time, we’re heading south and passing by your treehouse."

There’s no success rate limit for blue-level equipment; it won’t fail to manufacture. It’s the same where you make it, so even if Li Wenxi’s manufacturing room has no augmentation, it doesn’t matter.

"Right, you can make another set!" Li Wenxi’s eyes lit up, clapping her hands, "Alright, let’s head back to the treehouse. I’ll contact Sister Xuefei now!"

She immediately asked in [Explorer]: "Sister Xuefei, have you gone out?"

Qi Xuefei: "Haven’t gone far yet, what’s up?"

Li Wenxi: "You should return and wait for a moment, I’ll trade you a set of equipment later! Steel armor set!"

Qi Xuefei: "...Okay, I’ll head back now!"

Their conversation made the others envious.

Qin Yunlong: "Steel armor set, sounds so strong..."

Wang Lei: "Beauty Wenxi, I want one too! I want a steel armor set!"

Zhao Xiaochuan: "Shut up, the guy upstairs! You already have an iron armor set! I’m the one who really needs a steel armor set!"

Wen Guixin: "Wenxi, you... having nothing going on with Xu Xin, I don’t believe it. By the way, I also want a steel armor set!"

Qi Xuefei: "I’ve said it before, the relationship between those two isn’t ordinary."

Li Wenxi saw the chat and blushed slightly, sneaking a glance at Xu Xin, quickly speaking to the watch: "What are you saying! I’m just helping to refine steel blocks, he’s just making one for Sister Xuefei because he’s here now!"

Xu Xin chuckled and spoke in [Explorer]: "No rush, once we have enough materials, everyone will get one. Have you discussed meeting up yet?"

Qin Yunlong: "My brother and I, along with Wen Guixin, can probably confirm our locations are close. There’s a hill here, and we can all see the crooked tree on the hill."

Wang Lei: "I can’t see it, but I can follow the creek to find you guys. Maybe the creek ends at your lake; typically, isn’t a lake downstream of a creek?"

Zhao Xiaochuan: "I’m near a creek too, maybe the two of us are closer."

Are they really close?

Xu Xin rubbed his chin; it seems his and Ji Chaoyang’s guesses are correct. These two places might have something special.

But if that’s the case, coordinating with each other becomes much more convenient, not needing to find locations one by one.

"Let’s go, to your treehouse first."

"Okay!"

The two mounted the wolf, and Keke also climbed onto the wolf’s back. Silver King let out a long howl and began to run back.

Where Silver King ran through, numerous fallen leaves flew up.

"Xu Xin, what do you think this world brought us here to do? Can we go back?" Li Wenxi embraced Xu Xin’s waist from behind, pressing her face against his scale armor, watching the scenery of trees swiftly retreating.

They’ve been in this world for a while now, constantly walking the edge of life and death. Now, without urgent activities and having met other people for real, the longing for their original world is gradually rising in their hearts.

"Who knows? We can only truly uncover the secrets of this world if we are among the last survivors." Xu Xin said calmly, sitting steadily on the wolf’s back and stroking Keke in his arms.

Although Silver King’s speed was fast, he was bound by a mount contract signed with Silver King, which was different from the mutated beast contracts signed by Li Wenxi and Aniu. It was a specific mount contract, so he was very stable and could easily tease Keke while riding.

Li Wenxi quickly reached out and caught a leaf blown up by Silver King’s gallop, fiddling with it in her hand, "You and Ji Chaoyang surely know some secrets we don’t, right?"

Xu Xin raised an eyebrow, "Indeed, somewhat, but..."

"You can’t tell us, right?" Li Wenxi discarded the leaf in her hand which was now just veins, and continued to hug Xu Xin’s waist.

Actually, Xu Xin didn’t know much.

He had only seen those shocking underground gigantic mutated creatures, and knew this world was once similar to Earth; what they were witnessing now was the post-apocalyptic world.

Other than that, he basically knew nothing. He didn’t know what that mysterious voice was, didn’t know the purpose of this survival selection, and didn’t know what the future held. If they truly survived to the end, could they return to Earth?

What he knew was merely the tip of the iceberg of this world.

"Actually, people of the [Explorer] can sense that you know something. You frequently give us information, but never say how you found out, yet it’s always correct. Everyone is very curious, even Sister Xuefei mentioned it to me more than once, and suggested I ask you. She’s even starting to suspect you have some connection with this world."

"What a bizarre thought." Xu Xin said, slightly amused.

"She said you’re always the first, even first in the entire region, possibly an original inhabitant of this world, maybe guiding us through the early stages and then disappearing after the first phase." Li Wenxi held Xu Xin’s waist tightly as if afraid he would suddenly vanish.

Actually, Qi Xuefei had an even more outrageous hypothesis that Li Wenxi didn’t share; it was genuinely absurd.

Before she got closer to Qi Xuefei, she couldn’t imagine the complex and juvenile thoughts in the mind of that twenty-six-year-old medical doctorate sister, who spoke so logically that all sorts of conspiracy theories made her fearful.

Thanks to her, Li Wenxi increased the frequency of video calls with Xu Xin, so their relationship improved due to Qi Xuefei’s influence.

Qi Xuefei once mentioned she watched an animation where the creator of the world transformed into an ordinary person, forming a strategy team to guide everyone through challenges. As success was near, the trusted leader suddenly became the final formidable boss, plunging everyone into despair and rage.

"Doesn’t it remind you a bit of Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang?" Qi Xuefei casually remarked during a chat, shaking Li Wenxi’s innocent mind.

Although Qi Xuefei was joking, saying it was a jest and wouldn’t it be great if it were true, at least being with Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang meant they could survive till the end.

Yet the comment still frightened her, causing a sleepless night with thoughts of Xu Xin being the big boss. The next morning, her eyes were dark circles, relying on a blue-grade orange to revive her spirits.

"I’m an inhabitant of this world, a beginner guide... your imaginations are truly wild." Xu Xin said, utterly speechless at Qi Xuefei’s extravagant imagination.

"Eh?" Keke, who was lying in Xu Xin’s arms and eavesdropping, tilted its head, completely unable to understand what Li Wenxi was talking about.

However, Qi Xuefei’s speculation about the guide seemed somewhat possible. The guides were not solely him but also those who obtained abilities.

The purpose of those who endowed them with special abilities seemed to intend for them to lead the other survivors to the very end.

But he always felt that the voice which bestowed him abilities, unlocking survivor permissions, differed from the mysterious voice that brought him to this world and forced survival.

Because the differences between the two voices were indeed too stark.

It seems like beneath this world, there are undercurrents flowing silently.

From the confrontation between the Lake Giant Python and the Creek Giant Crocodile, one can discern some clues.

The two beasts originally knew each other, and the map also showed that they belonged to different factions. The giant python was hostile towards him, while the giant crocodile helped him, even giving him scales bitten off from the python for him to craft his purple grade Scale Armor, allowing him to withstand the torrential rains of the next day perfectly.

This even made him wonder if the giant crocodile was aware of the upcoming rainy season and assisted him by bitting off some scales from the python, helping him make the Scale Armor.

After their struggle, both beasts vanished, and the giant crocodile’s whereabouts became unknown, thus Xu Xin never had a chance to ask the crocodile that question. Yet, he was continuously pondering the enigmatic force that kept aiding him.

"Ah? Hmm... it is a bit wild, all because of Sister Xuefei scaring me with all these stories day and night, so I couldn’t wait to meet you today! Now that I’ve seen you, I’m relieved; you don’t really have the big boss aura, haha." Li Wenxi said bashfully, burying her head in embarrassment.

"Haha, don’t worry, I won’t bail, and I’m certainly not some big boss. I’m just like you, a survivor with special abilities." Xu Xin couldn’t help but laugh, surprised anyone would believe such things.

"Hey, don’t laugh! I’ve seriously contemplated this! I wouldn’t have said anything if I knew!" Li Wenxi said, slightly annoyed, punching Xu Xin on the back.

By now, they had arrived beneath Li Wenxi’s treehouse, and Silver King came to a halt, allowing them to dismount from the wolf.

"Let’s not discuss these unsettling topics anymore!" Li Wenxi clapped her cheeks with both hands, then manipulated the roots to dangle down, grabbing them firmly, "Let’s head into the treehouse first!"