Differences

After reviewing the trading activity in the Island Region, Lu Heng pressed his finger on the Wristband screen and slowly switched channels. The stone cave was quiet and deserted, with a cold wind seeping in through the cracks in the stone walls, carrying an unyielding chill. He planned to take advantage of the first day of the Global Region trading system to browse through the various zones and understand the current living conditions of everyone, so as to avoid making misjudgments and suffering losses in subsequent transactions.

He had originally planned to take advantage of the newly opened trading platform to try and pick up some reasonably priced supplies, but as he flipped through the pages of posts, he felt increasingly hopeless. The listings on the page looked lively, but most of them were unimportant odds and ends, with very few truly valuable and scarce resources to trade. A sense of disappointment slowly crept over him.

He first stopped on the mountain channel, patiently scrolling through the locals' comments and booking records.

People living in the mountains generally lead a difficult life, with no room for relaxation whatsoever.

The entire area is composed of steep slopes and cliffs, crisscrossed by ravines, with extreme elevation differences, making it almost impossible to find a flat and stable place to stand. The only resource advantage here is the wide variety of wild herbs and edible root plants, which are essential resources that are relatively scarce in other areas, making it seem uniquely endowed.

But this resource can only be obtained by risking one's life.

To gather herbs and forage, one must climb steep, unprotected cliffs with bare hands. The soil is loose, the rocks are constantly shifting, and the rock faces are extremely slippery after being battered by wind and rain. The daily complaints in the channel are endless, mostly about injuries from falls, scrapes, sprains, and even minor bruises from falls while gathering herbs. In this extremely harsh environment, everyone's first priority is to ensure their own survival and healing.

The herbs that were painstakingly and riskyly collected simply didn't have enough stock to warrant trading.

Climbing and escaping dangers in the mountains, carrying heavy loads and surviving at extreme limits, these survivors' physical qualities are indeed far beyond those of ordinary people. Day after day of high-intensity labor and danger avoidance have honed their extraordinary endurance and explosive power, and their pain resistance and emergency response are also better than those of people in ordinary areas. However, the high-intensity risk-taking has only resulted in a barely surviving existence. They can protect themselves, treat their injuries, and barely make ends meet, but they cannot store up supplies at all. They have no room to stockpile and develop, and naturally, they have no surplus goods to participate in cross-regional trade.

After exiting the mountain channel, Lu Heng opened the Rainforest Region interface.

The situation in rainforests is the complete opposite of that in mountains.

This place is never short of resources. The warm and humid climate allows vegetation to grow wildly, and wild fruits, flowing water, and all kinds of native plants and animals are everywhere. On the surface, the resources are extremely abundant, and there are survival supplies everywhere.

But danger lurks everywhere.

The fatal flaw of rainforests is not the scarcity of resources, but rather the complexity and harshness of the environment, which constantly drains people's energy.

The air is hot and humid year-round, with moisture accumulating and lingering. Bacteria and insects thrive on the ground, vegetation, and puddles. Even a small scratch from a branch can become inflamed, swollen, and fester within half a day if it comes into contact with stagnant water and humus. Furthermore, predators from both land and water are ever-present: crocodiles and schools of piranhas lurk in deep pools, giant pythons lurk in the shadows of dense forests, and all sorts of poisonous insects hide in the puddles—it's impossible to avoid them all.

Even more deadly is the rainy season.

The torrential rains continued unabated, completely submerging the rainforest and turning the plains into vast expanses of water. Makeshift shelters collapsed, and all stockpiled dry food, furs, and timber became damp, rotted, and spoiled, rendering almost all stored goods unusable.

The survivors living here focus entirely on avoiding insects, wild animals, floods, diseases, and supplies every day.

Exhausted, they could barely keep themselves alive, with no extra energy to stockpile supplies or organize inventory, let alone place orders for trades or participate in cross-regional transactions. The rainforest, seemingly teeming with treasures, was actually the most exhausting and difficult place to accumulate wealth.

Next, Lu Heng went back and carefully scanned through all the updates and help requests on the Island Region channel again.

The survival disadvantages of Island Region are completely different from the perilous battles in mountains and rainforests; they are a kind of slow, unsolvable attrition.

Survivors on the beach don't have to worry about food at all. As long as they are willing to go to sea to gather seafood or dive to catch fish, shrimp, shellfish, and all kinds of seafood are readily available. The abundant animal protein is enough to support their daily energy consumption, so going hungry is the least likely thing to happen here.

However, a long-term diet consisting solely of seafood can lead to particularly serious and unavoidable problems.

The Island Region is surrounded by the sea, isolating it from all terrestrial ecosystems. There is no native terrestrial vegetation, no wild vegetables, wild grasses, or terrestrial fruits and vegetables. The entire area is completely lacking in the dietary fiber and vitamins that terrestrial plants naturally provide.

Consuming only seafood over a long period can lead to a buildup of health problems.

Many users on the channel have long reported recurring mouth ulcers, dry and peeling skin, digestive disorders, extremely slow recovery after strenuous activity, and a continuously declining immune system. These are not acute illnesses that can be instantly fatal, but they are fundamental problems that gradually wear down physical fitness and limit survival potential. For Island Region survivors, abundant seafood is no longer valuable; a bite of fresh leafy green vegetables is a priceless and scarce necessity, a unique survival gap they cannot solve on their own.

After seeing all the real conditions in the three areas, Lu Heng felt a clear emotion in his heart.

In comparison, the snowy mountain forests where I live present completely different survival challenges.

The temperature here is consistently low, and there are no poisonous insects or miasma like in the rainforest, so the dangers are very direct. The jackals, black bears, and tigers that roam here hunt with brute force and speed. They don't use poisonous attacks, but once they get close, it's still a matter of life and death.

The risks are obvious, but relatively controllable.

Unlike high mountains, where every foraging trip is a gamble with one's life, and one must constantly be wary of falling and getting injured; unlike rainforests, where one faces the constant threat of poisonous insects, wild beasts, floods, and diseases; and unlike Island Region, where one can barely survive on a single diet, and one's body suffers chronic damage with no way to improve it.

The snowy mountains and forests present both dangers and opportunities. It's fair to say that neither is easy.

Lu Heng patiently went through all the remaining pending orders in all areas, completely extinguishing his interest in trading at that moment.

Today is only the first day of the Global Region trading, and everyone is watching to see if prices will rise and hoarding goods.

High-quality and scarce goods are snapped up the moment they're listed, leaving him no chance to choose. The remaining items on the page are either extremely low in value and worthless, or the sellers are blindly inflating prices to an absurd degree, making negotiation pointless.

There's no need to jump on the bandwagon and buy at the peak of the market.

Lu Heng had made up his mind.

Observe the entire process and never rush. Wait until the last day when the trading channel closes. At that time, all survivors will clear out their stock in order not to waste the trading quota, and the prices of all kinds of materials will drop to the lowest point of the entire process. Then, come and pick up the bargains and exchange for what you need. That is the most rational and safest choice.

Having considered the pros and cons, Lu Heng turned off the Wristband's light screen.

The cave fell silent instantly.

He raised his eyes and slowly surveyed the Shelter he had lived for so long, his gaze slowly sweeping over the rough stone walls, the simple support structure that had been reinforced in the early stages, and the gaps between the walls.

Since moving in, he has only made simple repairs to minor cracks and reinforced loose structures, and has never carried out a thorough and systematic overall upgrade or renovation.

During this period, his combat strength, equipment quality, and resource reserves have been upgraded several times, and his overall survivability has doubled.

The only Shelter he had established himself in remained in its initial, rudimentary state of self-defense; its defensive strength, structural stability, and shock resistance were no longer up to par with his current combat capabilities and resources.

With the increasing frequency of sightings of large wild animals and the growing number of unknown risks, old Shelter are no longer sufficient to provide absolute safety.

It's time for a comprehensive defense upgrade to solidify our foundation.

He recalled the upgrade materials; a total of 250 sets of general-purpose Black Iron Tier building materials were needed.

Lu Heng summoned his Wristband again, opened his inventory, and checked the ores and building materials he had on hand one by one.

90% agate, but some should be reserved for other uses.

There weren't many animal bones and 50 iron ore, but that wasn't enough either. Moreover, Lu Heng wanted to use a variety of materials to make the house more functional.

The numbers flashing on the screen were clearly visible, indicating a significant shortfall from the total demand of 250 units.

To begin construction, you either need to go out and mine for raw materials, or take advantage of trading opportunities to exchange for the missing building materials from other survivors.

He stared at the resource figures on the panel for a moment in silence, making a mental note of it, preparing to slowly gather the materials before officially launching the Shelter reinforcement plan.