Inside the tree hole, Lou FeiāEr touched the already petrified inner wall of the tree trunk beside her.
Then she gently kicked the core of the treehouse, which had also been petrified.
The light emitted by this treehouse core was very faint, only revealing a few strands of light through the cracks.
So, the tree hole was actually quite dark.
"Look, I told you itās fine, right?" Lou FeiāEr waved her hand towards Xu Xin above her and said.
"...Have you already passed the weak period?"
"Hey, thatās right, just got through it!" Lou FeiāEr said as she squatted down, wanting to dig out the petrified treehouse core.
Xu Xin shook his head helplessly.
No wonder she dared to jump straight in like this.
With her strength regained, and she can die once more now, naturally, this gave her confidence.
This was getting a bit inflated.
"Be careful, you might enter another weak period just after recovering."
"Donāt worry, my sense is accurate, thereās no danger in this tree hole."
As Lou FeiāEr spoke, she kept digging and clawing with her hands.
But she just couldnāt get this core out from the ground.
So she took out a shovel, inserted it into the edge of the core, and pried it up forcefully.
After expending enormous effort, she finally managed to dig the petrified treehouse core out from the soil bit by bit.
"Itās so heavy!" Lou FeiāEr exclaimed.
"Hurry out!" Xu Xin had already heard the alert sound next to his ear.
This treehouse was about to collapse!
Lou FeiāEr quickly put the treehouse core into her backpack, then scrambled to climb up.
The two of them jumped out of the treehouse window together, rolling on landing to lessen the impact, landing steadily.
Behind them, the treehouse began to collapse.
Lou FeiāEr took out the petrified treehouse core she had gotten, held it in her hand, and examined it closely.
Seeing Xu Xin walking over, she obediently handed the core out: "Thereās not even a description, I canāt tell what this thing is..."
Xu Xin took the petrified treehouse core, his hand immediately sinking downward.
So heavy!
Far exceeding the original weight of the treehouse core!
Holding it was like carrying a solid, compressed stone ball.
Could it be...
Has it become completely petrified inside?
Then where is the light coming from?
[Petrified Treehouse Core: The treehouse core is eroded by an unknown force. Erosion is irreversible and cannot be restored.]
Alright, even though his identification ability could see the description of this treehouse core, it was no help.
Just knowing that this core cannot be restored.
Behind them, the once lush and tall treehouse was completely toppled.
Lou FeiāEr immediately took out a shovel to dig for seeds.
Xu Xin thought for a moment, rotated his wristband, and released Qin Fu.
Qin Fu was in a sitting position, leaning against something, and when released, he directly lay back on the ground.
The back of his head hit the ground with a "bang".
"Ouch..." He held his head sitting up, "Whatās going on, I was resting against the wolf... problem solved? Weāve arrived at your explorersā base?"
He turned his head and saw Xu Xin standing next to him and Lou FeiāEr digging for seeds.
And he happened to see Lou FeiāEr uproot the remaining tree trunk and retrieve the seeds from the pit.
"Ah this..." He was stunned, "Seriously, Lou FeiāEr doesnāt want her main treehouse anymore?"
Lou FeiāEr walked over: "Of course, I havenāt lived in this treehouse for a long time, taking this opportunity to transplant it."
"Whoa... Are contracted people all this loyal? Not even leaving themselves a way out..." Qin Fu scratched his head, worried about his current situation, "Feels like youāre like those people whoāve been manipulated, am I going to..."
"I wasnāt used to it at the beginning either, but now it doesnāt matter anymore."
Lou FeiāEr put the treehouse seed into her backpack, sneaked a glance at Xu Xin, and only spoke when she saw his attention was on Qin Fu: "As long as Iām happy, I think itās great."
"Isnāt this just being manipulated..."
"...Iām still here, isnāt it inappropriate to say that?" Xu Xin shook his head, not minding, and asked, "Within three hundred meters, is there any danger?"
Qin Fu, hearing this, fell silent for a moment, seeming to be sensing something, then raised his eyebrows in surprise, saying, "No danger left. How did you manage that?"
"What was the danger beneath the ground you sensed before?" Xu Xin asked.
"...Hmm," Qin Fu thought for a moment and said, "At that time, a forest of spikes was buried in the soil. I felt that as long as I walked past, those spikes would directly emerge from the soil to attack me. Also..."
He looked puzzled: "It felt that those things were somewhat connected to the root system of the treehouse..."
Stony forest huh...
His words made Xu Xin nod.
He shouldnāt be lying.
What he said matched what Xu Xin had surmised.
It was because the treehouse had undergone petrification that its root system had also changed.
Similar to how Xu Xinās main treehouseās root system had also undergone changes.
The plant heart and the treehouse coexisting made the roots turn into vines emerging from underground, attacking the surroundings.
The treehouse root system was not unchangeable.
As for Lou FeiāErās treehouse, it had been eroded by petrifying forces, causing its root system to undergo another form of mutation.
Now the treehouse had perished, and naturally, there was no more danger around.
Still, spiky stone columns?
Though thereās barely any information in the description, this petrified core should have other uses.
Xu Xin retracted Qin Fu back into the bracelet, not even giving him a chance to react.
Then, he released the Silver King and Axue.
The Silver King hadnāt been active on the ground for a long time, and upon emerging, it instantly appeared somewhat excited.
"Letās go, letās head back," Xu Xin said to Lou FeiāEr, who had been standing by.
"Alright."
The two of them each mounted their wolves.
"Awooā" The Silver King let out a long howl and began charging towards the direction of the treehouse.
Lou FeiāEr and Axue followed closely behind.
On the ground, even the last thin layer of snow had disappeared, revealing the withered yellow leaves buried beneath the snow layer.
The forest had completely returned to its state after the leaves had fallen.
Half of the sun had already set below the horizon.
Soon, they arrived first at the edge of the giant pit of the Transmission Array.
Sure enough, within the giant pit, there were no longer any stone statues.
Instead, there were quite a few survivors near the central light pillar of the giant pit, likely attempting to use the Transmission Array.
"Itās getting dark, quickly return to your treehouse," Xu Xin said to the survivors in the pit.
More than a dozen people in the pit turned their heads to look over.
"Brother Xin! Itās Brother Xin!"
"Got it, Brother Xin, weāll head back right away!"
"Oh my! Is he riding a wolf? How can that wolf be so big!"
"Wow, thereās actually an option to ride a mutant creature? As expected of Brother Xin..."
"Whoās that woman riding the white wolf behind him? Sheās so beautiful!"
"Isnāt she Li Wenxi? Isnāt it said that those two are in that kind of relationship?"
"Huh? Iām Wenxiās subordinate, she doesnāt look like that."
"Then who is that? Sister Gui Xin and Sister Xuefei donāt look like that, Iāve seen them both."
"Why do you care so much?"
"Brother Xin wonāt have several women, right? Does that mean I have a chance too..."
"Forget it, with your face, you donāt deserve Brother Xin. You should just settle for someone like me."
"Huh? You? Ha ha!"
These people had a small discussion for a while, some teleported away while others walked towards the edge of the pit.
Xu Xin glanced at the iron gate in the pit that he and Ji Chaoyang had excavated, squinting his eyes.
Then, he nodded to the survivors and continued progressing towards the treehouse.
"These people still donāt recognize me..." Lou FeiāEr was a bit displeased, but then said, "I can now reveal my identity, watch me shock the world directly! Make them remember my name!"
Indeed.
Lou FeiāEr was originally the only person from Area 187 who made the rankings, and among the top ten, the only one not from Area 188, Area 1, or Area 23, which caused quite a stir back then.
If she suddenly became a person from Area 188, it would indeed be shocking.
A few minutes later, the two returned to the base of the treehouse.
"You..." Xu Xin turned to look at Lou FeiāEr.
"Iām going to find a good spot over there to plant the treehouse," Lou FeiāEr pointed to the trees a hundred meters away.
"Alright, you find a place yourself, donāt plant it too close," Xu Xin nodded, grabbed the treehouseās roots, and went inside.
Upon entering, he felt a peaceful atmosphere within the treehouse, and even yawned.
On the couch, Li Wenxi lay on her side, sleeping soundly.
Keke was also snuggled in her arms, fast asleep, its large tail gently swaying in its dreams.
Meanwhile, the egg lay motionless on the side of the couch like an ordinary giant egg.
Ji Chaoyang and Wen Guixin, who were originally watching over the treehouse for him, were no longer there.
Xu Xin walked over and gently poked Li Wenxiās cheek.
"Mmm..." Li Wenxiās eyelids fluttered, then she opened her eyes and looked at Xu Xin in a daze.
Her eyes widened suddenly, and she sat up straight from the couch: "Youāre back!"
"Eek?!" Keke was tossed onto the ground and bounced up.
After seeing Xu Xin, it called out "eek eek eek" repeatedly, climbed up his leg, and burrowed into his arms.
"Youāre back so quickly... Ah! Itās already night!" Li Wenxi exclaimed as she saw the darkening sky outside the window, "I canāt believe I slept for so long! Itās all your fault, Keke!"
She rubbed Kekeās little head in Xu Xinās arms.
Xu Xin released Mimi and Afu, who didnāt have a chance to appear this time, then sat on the couch and started to tell Li Wenxi about this experience.
"Huh? The pterosaur statue flew to your side?!" Li Wenxi was surprised to hear about the pterosaur statue, "Why didnāt you contact us? We could have come to help you!"
Xu Xin shook his head: "By then, most of the snow cover around had melted, and the snowboard could no longer be used. You guys without mounts couldnāt come over, so I didnāt bother telling you."
"I see..."
In the end, when the pterosaur statue flew away with Xiaohong and Lou FeiāErās treehouse core petrified, Li Wenxi sighed: "Itās so amazing, statue creatures, petrified core... Alas, those two people are still in your bracelet, right? Why donāt you let them out now, so I can chat with them!"
Xu Xin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
These two should no longer be a threat now.
Just as he was about to turn the bracelet, a mysterious voice suddenly rang out.
[Congratulations to Jungle Area 1 for becoming the region to activate the third Snow Mountain Transmission Array.]
[Array Activator: Shi Wanyun, belonging to Area 1.]
[As a reward for activating the third Snow Mountain Array, before the end of the winter season, survivors within Area 1 can move outside the safe zone, and the environmental temperature will increase by 5Ā°C, with no further snowfall.]
[27 Snow Mountain Transmission Arrays remain towards the final goal of activating the thirtieth Snow Mountain Transmission Array.]
[Another reminder, donāt let the winter drag on too long, or something truly terrifying will happen!]
The two exchanged glances.
Area 1 had activated a transmission array too!
They needed to quicken their actions as well!