Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 10: Others Crying For Difficulty, I Collect Stones

Chapter 10: Others Crying For Difficulty, I Collect Stones

Although he really wanted to sweep up all these rarely seen items, Vikram’s own supply of stone had mostly been spent in yesterday’s seed trade.

Fortunately, his Treehouse was built inside the hills, so he could acquire stone on the spot within the range of the Treehouse’s protection.

Vikram had a premonition that during these seven days, he would pull far ahead of other Survivors who were at a similar stage.

Picking up the bowl of meat soup, he added two grains of salt and gently stirred it, allowing the salt to dissolve quickly in the hot soup.

He picked up the wooden spoon, gently blew away the steam, and finished both the soup and meat in a few quick bites before eagerly starting his work for the day.

Before leaving, he walked over and patted the Guardian Sprout, which stood quietly by the entrance. The small plant guardian slightly straightened its posture, its vine arm tightening around its shield as if responding to his touch.

Vikram then crouched beside Pinku and poured the extra meat soup he had cooked for her into a small wooden bowl. Pinku immediately lowered her head and began pecking at it happily.

Only after settling them did he grab a hanging vine, hold it firmly, and slide down from the Treehouse.

Because his Treehouse was a banyan tree, wherever its vast canopy spread, not even a single drop of acid rain had fallen. The thick leaves and dense branches formed a natural umbrella, completely shielding the ground beneath.

The worries he had previously felt were unnecessary. Now he truly understood the benefits of the Treehouse—especially a Purple-grade Treehouse.

The scene looked majestic.

While others were still struggling to survive under the acid rain, he did not need to take any extra measures at all.

He quickly ate an apple he had saved earlier. After eating it, his vision temporarily became clearer.

He walked a short distance and looked toward the Thornvine, which should have been fighting alone against the acid rain.

But when he looked there, he was shocked.

There was no Thornvine.

For a moment, he thought it had been destroyed. He immediately opened the Plant Life System.

However, the system clearly showed that the Thornvine was still alive, and tonight’s Plant Essence generation preview remained unchanged.

Seeing this, he felt relieved—and also amazed. The Thornvine had found its own way to defend against the acid rain.

After calming down, he turned toward the hillside.

He noticed that the rain outside the Treehouse’s range was still falling heavily, and its hissing sound continued to corrode the ground.

After observing carefully, he found a narrow path where the rain was not falling due to the angle of the canopy’s spread.

Using that gap, he moved toward the hillside.

eyes, momentarily startling Vikram, who was just about to chisel into the mountain.

His gaze was suddenly drawn to a faint glimmer.

"Hmm?"

Upon closer inspection, he discovered some dark, shiny ore embedded within a crack in the rock.

The ore reflected a metallic luster, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding sand and stone.

He squatted down and gently brushed away the dust from the surface of the ore with his hand, revealing a clearer outline of iron ore.

Vikram’s heart skipped a beat, and a possibility flashed through his mind.

To confirm that he hadn’t misidentified it, Vikram summoned the system and aimed it at the ore, which was clearly different from ordinary stone.

[Iron Ore (Blue): Mining yields three iron blocks. An essential material for manufacturing various weapons and tools.]

"Good heavens, it really is iron ore!"

After confirming the ore’s identity, Vikram exclaimed in excitement.

Without hesitation, he immediately took out his iron pickaxe from his backpack and carefully aimed it at the iron ore.

With the Plant Life System’s iron pickaxe, it did not take much effort, and in a short while, three iron blocks entered Vikram’s backpack.

"There’s more inside!"

After clearly seeing the minerals that appeared deeper within the rock, Vikram’s eyes lit up.

The usefulness of iron was self-evident. No one would ever complain about having too much of it. Since there was more inside, there was no reason not to continue mining.

Stimulated by the discovery of iron ore, Vikram seemed almost energized, and throughout the entire day, he excavated an area roughly the same size as the stone houses of other Survivors’ Shelters.

By evening, the torrential rain that had fallen all day gradually turned into a light drizzle.

Exhausted, Vikram lay motionless on his bed, yet his heart overflowed with joy.

Besides the whopping 188 pieces of stone, today’s biggest gain was 20 iron blocks.

He recalled the Plant Life System’s functions. It seemed that, besides exchanging items in the mall, Plant Essence could also be used directly to upgrade items, right?

"System, upgrade my bed."

[Ding, item detected: Level 1 Bed.]

[Upgradeable Directions Available (Max Level: 4):]

• Spring Bed

• Palm Fiber Bed

• Latex Bed

• Polyester Bed

• Bamboo Bed

• Wooden Plank Reinforced Bed

• Water Bed

• Children’s Bed

• Crib

• Feather-Soft Bed

• Thermal Insulated Bed

• Medicinal Herb Bed

• Iron Frame Bed

[Current Level: 1]

[Upgrade to Level 2 requires: Minimum 50 Plant Essence or equivalent materials.]

Seeing a bunch of options pop up, Vikram truly wanted to cry at how foolish he had been the past two days.

"Then a latex bed it is."

[Ding, host lacks upgrade materials. Would you like to directly upgrade using 50 Plant Essence?]

"I won’t upgrade anything. Cancel it quickly."

[Upgrade cancelled.]

"The Plant Essence required for this upgrade is too much. Since the system can provide upgrade directions, couldn’t I simply gather the required myself?"

"While stone is scarce right now, I’ll dig more and sell it in exchange for materials."

"Otherwise, once others also dig up iron and craft iron pickaxes, the price of stone will definitely plummet."

Moreover, he only had a pitiful 7 Plant Essence left. How could he afford such a luxury upgrade?

He decisively closed the upgrade interface.

With a massive sum of 108 stones, Vikram clicked open the trade market to see what interesting things awaited his favor.

[Trade Item: Sewing Kit, Required Item: Wood]

[Trade Item: Small Medical Kit, Required Item: Stone]

[Trade Item: Sunny Leone Photo Album, Required Item: Stone]

[Trade Item: Simple Stove Blueprint, Required Item: Stone]

[Trade Item: Wooden Ladder Blueprint, Required Item: Stone]

[Trade Item: Hunting Bow Blueprint, Required Item: Stone]

"These are all good things," he muttered. "Hmm? It seems like something strange snuck in."

Vikram didn’t think much of it, slowly sifting through the pile of items.

He carefully weighed the value of each item, deciding which were most urgently needed and which could be considered later.

First, he turned his attention to the Sewing Kit and Small Medical Kit. These were basic survival supplies, crucial for daily maintenance and handling emergencies.

He quickly made the trades, exchanging 25 stones and 10 wood for these necessities.

Next, Vikram considered the Simple Stove Blueprint and Wooden Ladder Blueprint.

These blueprints would improve his quality of life and the functionality of his Treehouse; in the long run, they were absolutely worth it.

He didn’t hesitate to add them to his trade list.

As for the Hunting Bow Blueprint, Vikram felt it was very necessary. It could become an important tool for his early hunting and self-defense.

Although the iron sword provided by the system was quite powerful, it was, after all, a melee weapon, and there was still a risk of injury when encountering some fierce creatures.

The hunting bow, however, could perfectly compensate for these shortcomings.

He imagined himself being able to kill monsters from dozens of meters away, feeling much safer this way, at least until he got his hands on the primal evolution potion he was so set on.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the Sunny Leone Photo Album. This somewhat out-of-place item was decisively acquired by Vikram.

It wasn’t that Vikram wanted to look at it; rather, to prevent such impure things from affecting the survival will of the vast number of Survivors, he resolutely bought it, determined to personally destroy (peek at) it.

Vikram spent ten minutes staring intently at the photo album with a critical eye, then fiercely tossed it into his backpack.

"What milky-white snow, girl!" Vikram cursed.

All the trades together cost a total of 90 stones.

He could have haggled a bit more, but considering these might be life-saving funds for the traders, he let it go.

After all, saving a dozen or so stones wouldn’t bring him a huge advantage.

This wasn’t him having a burst of saintly compassion; Primarily, Vikram felt that those who could offer blueprints and other good items for trade would be his potential clients in the future, so it was good to build some goodwill.

After all, everyone was currently stuck in their Shelters and couldn’t go out; he had plenty of time to ’shear the sheep’ in the coming days.

It was still raining acid outside, and to upgrade their stone houses, most people were trading items for stones.

Even those who had stone houses had only just built them, and their bags were mostly empty of stones.

However, he could continuously acquire stones and take advantage of this time to gather all these good things into his possession.

Speaking of storage, the Survival Platform’s backpack was completely insufficient.

So, Vikram temporarily piled his stone axe, stone pickaxe, instant noodles, and map on the table.

To save backpack space, he immediately used the 3 blueprints he bought.

"More and more things will surely come in later, so I need to start considering building a warehouse."

Early the next morning, Vikram, who had just finished breakfast and was preparing to start work, found that the chat channel had suddenly exploded.

[What should I do? My solid wood house can’t hold up anymore. It’s starting to leak.]

[You only just found out? My solid wood house started leaking last night.]

[Now we can only rob Peter to pay Paul. If you want to live, use the wood you have to repair your house.]

[What’s the point of repairing it? It won’t last long at all.]

[Well, it’s better than just dying, isn’t it?]

[Do any of you still have spare wood? I’ve used all of mine. Can anyone lend me some wood to get through this? After the acid rain, I’ll bring my Territory Core and join you.]

[Lend? Kid, you’re dreaming too big. I don’t have any stones here, but I have plenty of wood. If you want some, bring out something good to trade.]

A burly-looking avatar appeared in the channel.

[Big brother, I still have half a piece of leftover bread. Do you think I could trade it for some wood?]

Taking out half a piece of bread, the Survivor was clearly being humble.

[No wood, no food. Someone like you would just be a waste of resources if you survived. Go cool off somewhere else.]

Seeing the clearly impoverished Survivor, the burly man ignored him afterward.

Vikram scrolled up and saw countless similar messages, which were eventually pushed out of sight by newer information, ending inconclusively.