Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 31: Going Back To Ruin Again

After a simple dinner, Vikram quietly lay on his bed, waiting for the natural disaster to arrive.

He casually opened the chat channel.

Having learned from the last disaster, no one dared to underestimate what was coming this time.

The channel was filled with anxious predictions, fearful speculation, and frantic recruitment messages.

"Silver Fox Shelter is recruiting! Join us and have a warm home during the extreme cold!"

"Still recruiting at a time like this? The disaster is about to start. Do you want to recruit corpses into your Shelter?"

"Mind your own business. Capable people will naturally find a way to enter my Shelter. As for useless complainers like you, just wait for the disaster to eliminate you."

"I feel like a lot of people are going to die in this one."

"Isn’t that obvious? Did fewer people die during the acid rain?"

"Didn’t you notice? There are only six billion Survivors left now."

"I haven’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep since coming to this hellhole. I miss home so much..."

"A disaster lasting two whole months... If we can’t go out, how are we supposed to survive?"

"Going out should still be possible. Brothers, don’t panic too much about supplies."

"Oh really? Who told you that? Did the Survival Platform personally come and whisper it in your ear?"

"I’m just giving a reminder. Believe it or not, that’s up to you."

Vikram had often lurked in the chat channel late at night and had noticed this particular ID before.

The man had posted several predictive comments in the past. They weren’t always accurate, but they usually contained a trace of logic.

Seeing Lakshay Verma being mocked for no reason, Vikram casually sent him a friend request.

[Friend request successful]

[Lakshay Verma: What’s up, bro? Something wrong?]

[Vikram: Nothing serious. I’ve been observing your messages for a while and got curious about where your information comes from.]

[Vikram: Don’t tell me the Survival Platform personally gives you hints.]

[Lakshay Verma: Haha, not like that. Actually, I know a bit about astrology. Since childhood my family has been interested in fortune telling, kundli reading, planetary movements and such things. I just use that knowledge and intuition to make rough predictions.]

A faint smile appeared on Vikram’s lips.

He immediately understood that the man was only half-serious, half-boastful.

Still, he decided to play along.

[Vikram: Oh... so you are quite knowledgeable then, Master Lakshay.]

[Lakshay Verma: Nothing like that, bro. Just a bit of instinct and experience. Understanding time patterns helps.]

A mischievous glint flashed in Vikram’s eyes.

[Vikram: Then do one more calculation for me. Tell me when I will finally escape singlehood. When will my love life start?]

There was silence for a while on the other side.

[Lakshay Verma: This... requires proper calculation. Astrology cannot give instant answers. Let me take some time tonight and check planetary alignment. I will tell you later.]

[Vikram: Alright, Master. I will wait.]

He certainly didn’t believe the other person was truly some mystical astrologer; making predictions without even asking for a birth chart was clearly made-up nonsense.

This guy was obviously using fragments of information from somewhere else just to show off, only to end up being mocked by others instead.

"Although I didn’t get any truly useful information, this Lakshay Verma must belong to some sort of group. And the people in that group probably possess a certain level of knowledge," Vikram thought quietly.

Lakshay hadn’t told him the truth, and Vikram had no intention of pressing further.

After all, lacking information might at worst cost him some supplies. With the Survival Platform acting as a safety net, he could still endure most setbacks.

Outside, the night had turned pitch black.

A fierce wind howled through the mountains, producing a sharp, eerie whistling sound.

"11:58..."

"11:59..."

"12:00."

"Time’s up."

As Vikram silently counted down, the raging wind suddenly ceased, replaced by the familiar notification sound coming from his left wrist — the Survival Platform.

[Second Natural Disaster: Extreme Cold officially begins.]

[Wasteland Survival has entered its second phase.]

[From now on, you can see your own coordinates; others cannot.]

[Survival Chest drops have been adjusted. A wider variety of supplies will gradually appear.]

[Continue to enjoy your journey of survival.]

"Still as concise as ever," Vikram muttered.

He quickly got out of bed and pushed open the Shelter door.

The violent winds that had been raging just moments ago were now replaced by heavy snowfall blanketing the world.

He inhaled deeply, gazed into the distance, and slowly exhaled. A cloud of white mist drifted before his eyes, briefly blurring his vision. For a moment, he simply stood there in the snow, his expression slightly dazed.

Extending his hand, he caught a softly falling snowflake and watched as it melted rapidly against his palm.

Only then did the bone-piercing cold truly register, sending a chill surging through his body.

He immediately retreated back inside the Shelter and lit another bonfire. With two bonfires burning together, the warmth gradually returned to his stiffened limbs.

December 19th

Temperature: −20 °C

"The extreme cold... has finally arrived," Vikram murmured.

But because he had already purchased and planted the Warmth Ember Vine, Vikram still felt relatively comfortable. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

This natural disaster seemed much gentler than the previous one. It was clearly not severe enough to make stepping outside completely impossible.

At −20 degrees Celsius, only daily activities would be affected. In his previous life, such weather was quite common in certain northern regions of India during winter.

However, this was only the first day. Vikram did not believe that this cursed Wasteland would show mercy to outsiders like them. Perhaps by tomorrow, the temperature might plunge to −60 degrees.

After cautiously confirming that there were no additional abnormal changes, he checked the chat channel. As expected, it was still flooded with panic, complaints, and desperate speculation.

Pulling his spring goose-down comforter tightly around himself, Vikram soon drifted into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, he stretched vigorously after waking from the rare comfort of a full night’s rest.

During the night, Pinku had been unable to withstand the freezing cold and had hurriedly squeezed into his latex bed.

This led to an amusing misunderstanding when Vikram woke up. Seeing the quilt strangely swollen, he momentarily suspected that something had gone wrong with the genetic enhancement fruit, or worse — that his family heirloom had somehow mutated.

Only after lifting the quilt and discovering Pinku nestled inside did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He gently stroked the chicken’s vibrant feathers and said with genuine emotion, "I really envy you. You don’t have to do anything, and someone still feeds you until you’re plump and healthy."

"Coo... coo..." Pinku responded with her innocent, glass-like eyes.

After getting out of bed, Vikram opened the system interface and checked his Plant Essence balance. To his surprise, it had already accumulated to 250 points.

Without hesitation, he made a decision.

Today, he would explore the ancient ruin once again.

The ruin would only exist for one month. It would have been one thing if he had never discovered it, but now that he had, he would never allow such a valuable opportunity to slip away.

The Wolf Spirit Guards were indeed troublesome opponents, but his physical attributes had nearly doubled compared to before. Moreover, both the Warrior Sprout and Guardian Sprout had recently leveled up.

Wearing his wolf-skin inner armor and gripping his silver iron sword, Vikram set out into the snow.

Although the exquisite-grade sword was gradually becoming insufficient for his growing strength, the bleeding enchantment embedded within it still made the weapon useful for the time being.

Half an hour later, braving the biting wind and trudging through thick layers of snow, Vikram covered in dust and frost, finally arrived once more before the silent, ancient ruin.

Unlike his last visit, when the grass had still been lush and green, every corner of the Wasteland World was now buried beneath a thick blanket of white snow.

The Wolf Spirit Guard he had slain at the entrance previously had already been replaced by two new Wolf Spirits. Their tall, fur-covered bodies stood like statues amid the drifting snow, golden eyes fixed coldly on any intruder.

Sliding down the snow-covered slope, Vikram did not waste even a second on hesitation. With his Iron sword clenched firmly in his hand, he sprinted forward.

The moment the two Wolf Spirits noticed his approach, they launched their attacks without the slightest courtesy.

Four razor-sharp claws tore through the air simultaneously, targeting his chest, throat, abdomen, and shoulder.

However, Vikram did not even slow down.

Before the claws could reach him, Guardian Sprout suddenly dashed forward with astonishing speed for its small body.

"Thud!"

The tiny shield it carried slammed upward with perfect timing, forcefully deflecting two of the incoming claws.

At the same moment, its vine-arm wrapped tightly around one of the Wolf Spirit’s legs, disrupting its balance.

Seizing that opening, Warrior Sprout leapt from Vikram’s shoulder like a green flash. Its miniature blade gleamed coldly as it slashed across the Wolf Spirit’s wrist.

"Pfft!"

Under the combined force of Vikram’s forward momentum and Warrior Sprout’s precise strike, the Wolf Spirit’s claws were shattered, bone fragments scattering across the snow.

"Howl—!"

Before it could even complete its cry, Vikram’s fist, carrying a violent gust of wind, smashed brutally into its lower jaw.

The impact was devastating.

Its skull burst open like a rotten fruit, spraying blood and fragments onto the frozen ground.

The second Wolf Spirit tried to take advantage of the chaos and lunged from behind, aiming straight for Vikram’s neck.

But this time, Guardian Sprout reacted first.

It rolled sideways and slammed its shield into the creature’s knee joint, causing the attack to falter mid-air.

In that same instant, Warrior Sprout spun through the air and drove its blade directly into the Wolf Spirit’s eye socket.

"Bang!"

Vikram followed up with a casual, almost effortless side kick. The force of his strike sent the already crippled Wolf Spirit flying several meters away, its spine snapping upon impact with a buried rock beneath the snow.

The battlefield fell silent. Snowflakes drifted down slowly, settling over the two lifeless corpses.

Vikram exhaled softly. Watching his Sprout team hop excitedly around him, almost as if celebrating victory, he couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of satisfaction.

With their coordination growing sharper by the day, battles that once felt dangerous were now ending with shocking ease.