Something happened!
Jiang Lin quickly realized this.
Three thick trees were wrapped by Little Axe’s tentacles, and the extensibility of the tentacles was astonishing.
If it were Jiang Lin, just picking up one would already be very strenuous for him.
However, Little Axe, possessing such strength, still left one of his tentacles in the fog.
What exactly happened?
With no time to ponder, Jiang Lin touched the wood, and the system backpack instantly recovered it.
Wood + 29
He let Little Axe into the house and closed the door.
After confirming there was nothing unusual outside from the window, Jiang Lin breathed a sigh of relief.
Little Axe had a certain combat capability; the system evaluation clearly stated this.
Moreover, as a first-tier ‘creature’—hmm… Jiang Lin thought Little Axe should be considered a creature, not an item.
As a first-tier Little Axe, he was at least stronger than Jiang Lin, who hadn’t even entered a tier.
It was evident from Little Axe’s ability to easily lift wood that Jiang Lin couldn’t, that at least in terms of physique, Jiang Lin was no match for him.
“If it were me, wouldn’t I have already kicked the bucket?”
Jiang Lin mumbled, checking Little Axe’s ‘injuries’.
On the surface, Little Axe showed no abnormalities; his tentacles still swayed erratically in the air.
Only the green viscous liquid seeping from the broken end indicated that another tentacle had once been there.
“Can it grow back?”
Jiang Lin thought of an octopus and subconsciously asked.
To his surprise, Little Axe actually nodded his tentacle, indicating affirmation.
He can even regenerate severed limbs?
That’s amazing.
Jiang Lin couldn’t help but marvel at Little Axe’s powerful functions.
If Little Axe were smarter, he might be more suited to survive in the survival world than Jiang Lin.
Just as Jiang Lin was lost in thought, he felt something tugging at his pant leg.
He looked up to see Little Axe extending a tentacle and tugging at his pant leg twice.
Then he pointed towards a direction in the wooden house.
“You want me to go that way?”
Little Axe ‘nodded’.
After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Lin decided to trust Little Axe.
He couldn't think of a reason for Little Axe to harm him.
He looked around the wooden house, and there was nothing he could use for self-defense.
The red tendril cup was already half-filled with water.
System time was 4:15 PM.
There were still 45 minutes until dark.
The round trip should be enough time; Little Axe wouldn't have gone far to chop trees.
Let’s go!
Little Axe pattered ahead, and Jiang Lin followed closely, ready to run back at any moment.
In this perilous world, being cautious was the right approach.
Entering the fog, the small house was no longer visible when he looked back.
Visibility continued to decrease.
Jiang Lin estimated he could only see about 6 meters.
This made him even more vigilant, scanning his surroundings every two steps.
Unlike him, Little Axe’s two tentacles walked swaggeringly, showing no sign of worry.
Seeing this, Jiang Lin subconsciously relaxed a little.
Little Axe being able to return to the wooden house from this direction proved that he had already scouted the path, and any dangers should have been dealt with.
They walked for about 20 meters.
Little Axe stopped and pointed ‘his hand’ forward.
Jiang Lin immediately saw a wooden treasure chest lying on the muddy ground.
On either side, a red tentacle and a… mantis arm were scattered.
The scythe-like, serrated mantis arm, larger than a human arm, made Jiang Lin’s scalp tingle.
If that were to swing at him, he’d be headless in a minute!
He looked at Little Axe, who stood there in a daze.
So, Little Axe exchanged an arm with this ‘thing’ that had a mantis arm, and they both retreated?
A clash of experts!
Jiang Lin could already imagine the scene of the two ‘experts’ separating at the first touch, leaving their arms behind, and retreating with mutual admiration.
He glanced around.
Jiang Lin then looked at Little Axe: “Is it safe?”
Little Axe nodded.
Only then did Jiang Lin relax and approach the wooden treasure chest.
He opened the system’s probe.
【Wooden Treasure Chest: Contains random items, 1st-tier probability 95%, 2nd-tier probability 5%】
He picked up the treasure chest; it was heavy.
He also checked the mantis arm and tentacle.
【Scythe Blade of an Abyssal Mantis: 1st-tier organ of an abyssal beast, can be used as a forging material, or directly as a weapon. Note: If you encounter its owner now, you will be reduced to a pile of excrement.】
【Unknown Creature Tentacle: Function unknown, perhaps it can be used as emergency food?】
Originally, Jiang Lin felt a bit of lingering fear looking at the Abyssal Mantis Scythe Blade.
But after seeing the description of the tentacle… Jiang Lin subconsciously glanced at Little Axe.
He showed no abnormalities, but Jiang Lin always felt like he had taken a step back?
Was it a hallucination?
Without delving deeper, he picked up the mantis scythe blade with his other hand, then picked up the tentacle and tucked it at his waist.
The tentacle was slimy.
“Let’s go back,” Jiang Lin said to Little Axe.
Along the way, Jiang Lin felt Little Axe keeping a bit more distance from him.
It was as if he was a bit… disgusted?
Looking at the slimy tentacle at his waist, Jiang Lin thought it was understandable.
It really didn’t look very appealing.
But Jiang Lin was a pragmatist.
He could only mutter to himself: “He’s disgusted by something that grew on himself; he’s truly hopeless!”
...Back at the wooden house, there were no surprises along the way.
He glanced at the system time; it was 10 minutes until dark.
He closed the door and tossed the tentacle and mantis scythe blade aside.
Looking at the treasure chest in front of him, Jiang Lin rubbed his hands.
“Sacrifice twenty years of bad luck, open!”
A flash of white light appeared.
He focused his gaze and saw three items inside the treasure chest.
【Thornwood Club: 1st-tier, can be used as a weapon, and also has indescribable uses, depending on whether you dare to try.】
【Crude Iron Pickaxe: 1st-tier, can collect mineral resources, no frills, what you dig is what you get, essential for survival.】
【Tomato Seeds: May yield a pile of tomatoes, or a handful of shriveled seeds, depending on how you use them.】
Very good!
All were quite practical; except for the tomato seeds which Jiang Lin didn’t know how to plant, the pickaxe and club could both solve his predicament.
The materials needed to upgrade the shelter were increasing, and the pickaxe could be used for collecting both stone and crystals.
Although he didn't yet know where to collect crystals, Jiang Lin believed the system wouldn't choose a non-existent resource as an upgrade material.
As long as he could find it, the pickaxe could collect it.
What you dig is what you get!
The club could also make up for his current lack of a self-defense weapon.
This trip was a big win, all thanks to Little Axe!
Where was Little Axe?
Jiang Lin turned around and found him leaning in the corner of the wooden house.
He seemed to be… dozing off?
His tentacles dangled on the ground, and his axe head nodded up and down.
Jiang Lin was a bit strange: ‘Can an axe get tired too?’
Perhaps Little Axe had truly become an alternative form of life.
With nothing else to do, Jiang Lin opened the regional chat.
【10068 Chat Channel (9828 / 10000)】
The number of people had decreased by nearly two hundred; it seemed some hotheads had gone into the fog and, unfortunately, didn’t return.
“Caution is king!”
If it weren't for Little Axe, Jiang Lin would never have explored the fog on the first day.
Firstly, there were enough resources around the wooden house, and secondly, he was new and didn’t understand enough.
Exploration without preparation was blind.
After browsing for a while, most of the content was uninformative.
People looking for others, asking for help, showing off… Jiang Lin had no family or friends, didn’t need help, and disdained showing off.
He silently lurked.
Some speculated that when the Blue Star apocalypse happened, most people were probably transferred, not including the elderly and children.
Humans were divided into many regions, regardless of race or language; the system had a translation function, and they were currently in region 10068.
The fog was very dangerous; some people were sending messages about going to explore one moment, and then they were gone.
A very small number of talented people had already upgraded their shelters and also shared the danger of the night.
This was inferred from the system’s reward of a strange oil lamp after upgrading the wooden house.
However, those who could upgrade on the first day were always a minority; most people only obtained dozens of units of wood and a small amount of stone.
Therefore, this news did not receive much attention.
Most people only cared about what they could get and would ignore hidden dangers.
Soon, night fell!