"Oh?" The Silver King was too far away to hear anything, and could only tilt his wolf head to look at Xu Xin.
"Letâs go."
Xu Xin flipped onto the wolf and began heading towards Li Wenxiâs treehouse.
After returning today, he planned to carve more artworks to enhance the alchemy room, then create the coordinates to link the area around his and Li Wenxiâs treehouses.
That way, tomorrow he could directly bring Lou FeiâEr over via the teleportation array.
By then, as long as he could enter Ma Hongweiâs treehouse, everything would be easily handled, not even requiring him to act, as Lou FeiâEr alone could easily deal with it.
At that time, if Ma Hongwei was willing to surrender, they would spare his life; if he insisted on resisting, heâd have to be removed.
However, Xu Xin personally didnât actually want to kill him. Because in his conversation with Ma Hongwei, Xu Xin could sense that Ma Hongwei seemed to have some abilities that others didnât possess.
His implication seemed to be that as long as he was inside the treehouse, it couldnât be breached.
...Was this his confidence, or did he have some other abilities?
Although his attitude towards Li Wenxi made Xu Xin feel a bit uncomfortable, it wasnât a big deal; everyone has desires. In this world, wanting to capture an enemyâs woman is fairly normal.
As long as he was still useful, Xu Xin wouldnât kill him over such matters.
However, he still needed to think about how to explain this to Li Wenxi, especially Lou FeiâEr...
Running back, Xu Xin sent a message to Ji Chaoyang: "Howâs everything on your end?"
Ji Chaoyang directly sent a voice message: "Maybe thereâs a place to enter Qi Xuefeiâs protected area from the east. Have you dealt with the threats in the south?"
"Not yet, only stabilized for now. The south has a three-story treehouse, ranked top ten in area 187."
"Do you need my help?"
"No need, we can handle it here. Howâs the small treehouse on your side?"
"Itâs just a single-story treehouse here, but thereâs no one inside. Iâve looked around and couldnât find this survivor, possibly went out."
"So, you didnât take action?"
"Yeah, waiting for them to come back, capturing them along with the treehouse brings the most benefit. Itâs only a single-story treehouse, without armor, this survivor poses no threat to Li Wenxi. Letâs leave the treehouse for now; theyâll definitely come back tonight, weâll deal with it then."
"Alright. Haha, we came all this way and didnât settle anyone." Xu Xin chuckled.
"Weâll help her settle it eventually, no need to rush to resolve it immediately." Ji Chaoyang said with a helpless smile.
"Should we come find you? Or..."
"You all should check out the west; I might not find a way through here, best to check both sides."
"Okay."
Ending the call, Xu Xin had reached Li Wenxiâs treehouse.
Li Wenxi had probably seen him riding wolf back from afar and was already waiting at the treehouse below.
"Howâs it? Is it a three-story treehouse?"
Seeing Xu Xin approaching on the wolf, Li Wenxi hurried over and quickly scooped Keke off the wolfâs back, holding her in her arms.
"Ying~" Keke whimpered comfortably, being cuddled.
"Thatâs right, one of the top ten in area 187." Xu Xin dismounted the wolf.
"Ah? Then... what should we do? Can it be settled..." Li Wenxi immediately became a bit worried, her hand stroking Keke stopped.
"Donât worry, itâs fine, he wonât bother you for the next two days. Let me prepare, we can handle it tomorrow."
"Ying!" Keke called out in agreement from Li Wenxiâs arms, showing admiration. The little guy had witnessed Xu Xinâs shrewdness from a VIP seat.
"Oh oh, then Iâll rely on you!" Li Wenxi trusted Xu Xin and didnât ask how heâd handle it, "So now we..."
"Letâs take a look at the west," Xu Xin gazed to the west. His treehouse was tall, and could see the lush greenery twenty kilometers away, "Maybe we can circle to Qi Xuefeiâs treehouse that way."
"The west?" Li Wenxiâs eyes lit up, "Does that mean we can pass by your treehouse? Can you take me to see your treehouse?"
"Of course... uh..." Xu Xin was about to answer when he remembered Lou FeiâEr was still in his treehouse, making his eye twitch.
...Shouldnât have allowed Lou FeiâEr into the main treehouse.
Anyone would get suspicious seeing a woman hiding at home...
"...Ah well, itâs fine if we canât go, finding Sister Xuefei to protect our healer is more important." Li Wenxi said nonchalantly, seeing Xu Xinâs hesitation, although her eyes dimmed for a moment, she smiled and patted Xu Xinâs shoulder.
"...Letâs get on the wolf first; we can talk as we go."
"Oh, okay... This time I want to sit in front!"
"Alright, alright."
Xu Xin helped Li Wenxi onto the wolfâs back, then mounted the wolf himself.
Li Wenxi held Keke, leaning against Xu Xin. To prevent her from falling off when Silver King ran, Xu Xin had to hold her waist slightly.
"...Actually, you can just hold me," Li Wenxi said without turning her head. The helmet of her steel armor covered her head, so Xu Xin couldnât see her expression.
Her words made Xu Xinâs heart skip a beat.
He didnât overthink it and wrapped his arms around Li Wenxiâs waist.
"Silver King, letâs go to the place where I removed the treehouse on the west side first," Xu Xin instructed Silver King.
That treehouse was the first one he demolished, located between his and Li Wenxiâs treehouses, with a protected area of only three kilometers.
He wanted to first go to the north side of that treehouse to check if the protected areas were connected. Although unlikely, it was still possible, as this treehouseâs small protected area also reached Li Wenxiâs area.
As long as the treehouses were close enough, they could still connect.
"Awoooâ" Silver King let out a habitual howl and rushed toward the west.
Xu Xin held Li Wenxi, while Li Wenxi quietly stroked Keke in her arms. Neither spoke, except for Keke occasionally making a contented "yip" sound, enjoying being petted.
...Why is this little beauty so quiet now? Before, when she sat in the back, she was always chatty along the way. But now, sitting in the more thrilling front, she doesnât say a word?
Could it be because when he refused to let her visit his treehouse earlier, she got a bit upset...?
Xu Xin wasnât new to emotions; he had dated a girlfriend in high school and another in college, even though both relationships ended. But he understood womenâs little temperaments well.
As for Li Wenxi, Xu Xinâs feelings were actually quite clear.
During the initial phase of frequent activities and constant danger, where survival was uncertain, they supported each other and often comforted each other through video calls. During that time, he felt very at ease with her, allowing him to find a sense of relaxation and joy amidst the tense survival situation.
Later, after many transactions between the two, they gradually began to genuinely trust each other, forming a true partnership. Li Wenxi provided resources without asking for anything in return, and he would make high-level weapons and equipment for her in return.
However, before meeting in person, they were essentially just online friends.
The downside of online friendships is that youâre really engaging with the imagined version of her/him, which often doesnât match reality.
But after meeting, Xu Xin discovered that Li Wenxiâs image aligned with the one in his mind. This little wealthy ladyâs real-life presence, in both appearance and personality, closely matched what he saw in the videos.
And on this point, Xu Xin was quite confident too. He wasnât the type who would âdie in the face of realityâ; even on Earth, he could confidently meet online friends without much groomingâjust a quick shower and shave, and he was ready to go out.
So after meeting Li Wenxi, he found himself quite fond of her, and Li Wenxi seemed to feel the same.
No, not seemed to; she made it very obvious, even sending Ji Chaoyang running for cover.
He had thought if he ever wanted someone to depend on in this world, he would choose Li Wenxi. Even if their relationship wouldnât end up that way, he didnât want certain events to estrange them.
Xu Xin decided to tell Li Wenxi everything about Lou FeiâEr.
"Wenxi."
"Hmm?" Li Wenxi responded while stroking Kekeâs soft belly.
Oh boy, she really is sulking a bit. Otherwise, with her personality, she wouldnât just say "Hmm?"
Come to think of it, she had dragged him around her treehouse, inside and out, yet he didnât let her into his. Anyone would feel uncomfortable with that.
"Uh... Let me tell you a story."
"A story? Sure," Li Wenxi leaned back slightly, as if nestling into his arms, subtly turning her head to offer her ear near his mouth.
However, since she was wearing steel armor and her ears were hidden in the helmet, Xu Xin didnât find the gesture particularly intimate.
He suddenly appreciated the merits of leather armor.
Steel armor indeed couldnât compare to leather!
Silver King continued racing through the forest, weaving between the barren trees, while Xu Xin slowly recounted yesterdayâs events to Li Wenxi in the third person.
When Silver King stopped at the location of the felled treehouse, the trunk still had a half-cut stump left behind, as Xu Xin had been too lazy to cut a green-level treehouse completely.
Xu Xin finished his story as well.
"So youâre saying, the woman who tried to kill him is now contracted and staying in his treehouse?" Li Wenxi spoke in her usual tone, jumping off the wolfâs back, turning to look at him with a slightly teasing smile on her face.