ALL NOVEL Chapter 39
Based on Mai Dongzi’s previous experience, she believed that a treehouse high up in the forest is safer than a cave. After all, few animals can climb trees, and with some defensive measures around the treehouse, she could live there with peace of mind.
Caves, on the other hand, are not as secure. Unless it’s a cave on a cliff, caves at the foot of a mountain are accessible to any kind of animal. Unless she could install a stone door to lock it, she would have to remain vigilant at all times.
In the forest, while many things might be lacking, there will never be a shortage of large trees suitable for building a treehouse. Mai Dongzi quickly chose a tree with a trunk diameter of over three meters.
This tree had many branches, and the branches about ten to twenty meters above the ground had diameters of around one meter. The branches were also close together, making it ideal for constructing a treehouse.
When she first entered the forest, she had considered the possibility of building a treehouse. Therefore, when she was clearing the path with her dagger and saw the sturdy climbing plants, she deliberately collected many of them, which now proved useful.
Next, she only needed to cut branches of suitable lengths and sizes and use these vines to bind them together.
The materials in the forest were much more abundant than in the desert oasis, and with her previous experience of building a treehouse, Mai Dongzi managed to complete the treehouse before dark.
With ample space and materials, this treehouse was larger and more aesthetically pleasing than the one she built in the desert oasis.
With the recent incident of Adventurer No. 014 being bitten by mutant ants and dying from poison in her sleep, Mai Dongzi made sure her new treehouse was very secure. Even the windows, which were meant for ventilation, had wooden grilles with gaps of less than half a centimeter. This prevented mutant ants or mutant mosquitoes from getting inside.
Moreover, she sprayed a mixture of Sichuan pepper water around the outer layer of the treehouse. The pungent smell of the pepper water was enough to deter all mutant animals and mask her scent, keeping her hidden from passing mutant beasts.
Mai Dongzi also planned to build a smaller treehouse below the main one in the next couple of days to use as a shower room.
Since she was unsure of any lurking dangers in the area, she didn’t want to rely solely on her psychic abilities to detect her surroundings and cook food over a fire directly under the tree. Prioritizing safety, she decided to make do with the food she had already prepared until she could better understand the situation.
The night was pitch dark without lighting equipment, and she didn’t dare light a campfire.
However, Mai Dongzi could “see” in the darkness using her psychic abilities, which were not significantly affected by the lack of light. Instead of practicing, she lay in the treehouse and used her psychic power to “observe” the surroundings, helping her get a clearer understanding of the area.
After two hours of observation, she confirmed that despite the mutations and evolution, the basic behaviors of the animals on Water Blue Star remained the same. Consequently, there were still many mutant animals active in the forest at night.
The treehouse was over twenty meters high, and Mai Dongzi had encouraged the growth of many branches and leaves on the tree, which covered most of the treehouse. Additionally, the Sichuan pepper water she sprayed around helped conceal any scent.
As a result, mutant animals that passed by or flew around the tree did not detect her presence.
After such a long observation, Mai Dongzi felt confident that the treehouse was relatively safe and decided to rest. She had barely slept the previous night and was truly exhausted.
On her first night in the forest, Mai Dongzi, though still wary of deep sleep, managed to rest soundly until dawn without any incidents.
In the perilous forest, Mai Dongzi didn’t dare start her day with a run as she did in the desert oasis, which would have used up most of her energy.
She sat on the porch in front of her treehouse and had breakfast in the morning sunlight rising from the east.
Afterward, she climbed down the tree, used her psychic abilities to determine her direction, and swiftly navigated through the forest.
From her observation the previous night, Mai Dongzi had identified several Level 3 mutant beasts and their lairs. Her goal now was to raid these lairs.
Hunting more Level 3 and above edible mutant beasts was one of her main objectives in the forest.
Mai Dongzi’s primary target was a Level 3 mutant male leopard.
While leopards can climb trees, she wasn’t sure if mutant leopards could. However, since the leopard’s lair was only two to three kilometers from her treehouse, she needed to eliminate potential dangers that could directly affect her safety. It would be too risky if a mutant leopard climbed to the edge of her treehouse while she was sleeping.
Last night, she had only seen one Level 3 mutant leopard, and because the lair was far away and had a psychic shield, she only realized that there was a Level 2 mutant female leopard inside when she was nearly at the entrance.
The presence of both a male and female mutant leopard clearly indicated they were a pair.
After carefully observing and confirming that the female leopard showed no signs of pregnancy, Mai Dongzi decided to make them both her reserve food supply.
Although she had been reborn into a new, possibly even imaginary world, Mai Dongzi was not going to change her past principles of not killing pregnant animals or their partners.
This was not due to any excessive compassion on her part, but because both humans and animals must continue their lineage to perpetuate life.
Mai Dongzi was still contemplating how to lure the mutant leopard out of its lair when the Level 3 mutant leopard, having already detected her scent, charged straight at her as it emerged from the cave.
The mutant leopard’s size hadn’t increased much, but its movements had become much more agile. If Mai Dongzi had been any less skilled, she would have been tackled and had her throat torn out.
Mai Dongzi noticed that even though both were Level 3 mutant beasts, the combat capabilities of those in the forest were entirely different from those in the desert.
Perhaps because there were many mutant beasts in the forest and they hunted and killed each other, those that survived to adulthood were far superior to their desert counterparts. For example, a Level 3 mutant wolf from the desert might not be able to defeat a Level 2 mutant wolf from the forest. No wonder the first adventurer to die in this survival game was devoured by a beast within just a minute.
As always, the tougher the opponent, the more Mai Dongzi felt her dagger was inadequate. If she had used the large blade she was more accustomed to, she would have been able to slice off a substantial chunk of the mutant leopard’s flesh during a counterattack, rather than just inflicting a light wound as she did now.
The Level 3 mutant leopard was quite clever. Despite Mai Dongzi’s successful evasion and counterattacks that had wounded it, it managed to call out the Level 2 mutant leopard in the lair, and now they were attacking her together from the front and back.
Surrounded by two mutant leopards and armed with only a short dagger, Mai Dongzi appeared to be in a tight spot, and the viewers in the live broadcast room were anxious for her.