The trade

Blood Seed fall to the earth, vines protect the crumbling wall.

The entire mountain forest was completely shrouded in thick, dark clouds.

As darkness completely fell, the forest was still and quiet, the air heavy and damp against the skin. It seemed that a heavy rain was about to fall in the mountains, and the whole place was filled with a sense of impending doom.

Lu Heng stood inside the Shelter, his fingertips hovering over the trading interface on his Wristband. Without any further action, he directly listed the unused Black Iron-Tier Air Conditioner from his backpack in the trading window and sent it separately to the seller in the rainforest area who sold Bloodthirsty Vine.

After doing all this, he waited quietly for the other party's reply.

Not long after, the Wristband vibrated twice, and a message popped up. The message was simple and concise, containing only three words: Not enough, add more.

Lu Heng stared at the screen for two seconds, and suddenly everything became clear to him.

The other party has completely fallen for this air conditioner; they are genuinely interested.

If the other party didn't want it, they wouldn't mention raising the price; they would either reject the order directly or slowly negotiate the price. This price increase clearly indicates their intention: to take advantage of my desire to buy Bloodthirsty Vine to get more extra supplies.

Lu Heng looked down at his storage compartment, his fingertips slowly sliding across the screen.

He looked through all the materials he had accumulated along the way. They were all hard-earned items, collected bit by bit from each time he ventured into the mountains to fight and scavenge resources. None of them were obtained easily. These high-level materials, beast remains, and infrastructure materials were all necessities. Every time he took some away, his reserves would decrease, and he was extremely reluctant to part with them.

He looked at it over and over, but there wasn't a single thing he was willing to give up easily.

Lu Heng remained silent for a few seconds, then sighed inwardly.

never mind.

It's rare to find suitable defensive supplies, so there's no need to be stingy and give the enemy a free ride.

He stopped hesitating, selected a large, fully ripe Pumpkin from his Storage Slot, added it to the trade list, and resubmitted the trade application along with the air conditioner.

The moment the message was sent, the other side's interface refreshed immediately, displaying a string of question marks.

The chat box was filled with a dense array of question marks, clearly conveying the other person's astonishment and confusion, creating a sense of utter absurdity.

Lu Heng looked at the screen full of question marks, his face remained calm, a faint smile appeared on his lips, and he typed out a simple message and sent it.

"A seven-day fast food can be used for seed production."

It consists of just six words, with no further explanation.

The chat interface fell silent instantly, completely still for a moment.

After only a few seconds of pause, the other party's reply popped up quickly, their tone urgent and decisive.

"Change it, change it, no problem, you can change it."

Seeing the other party's attitude change 180 degrees, Lu Heng understood.

This is an instinct ingrained in the Greater China.

Outsiders only look at the immediate value of resources and care about the profit or loss of a single transaction. Tools, equipment, and materials are all consumables, and each use reduces their availability. But the Chinese are different. They have an innate obsession with farming, preservation, reproduction, and self-sufficiency in their genes. They always understand that recyclable and renewable resources are the safest and most precious way to survive in the apocalypse.

Without further ado, both parties confirmed the deal, and it was finalized instantly.

A tiny, grayish-brown seed appeared steadily in Lu Heng's Storage Space.

Seeds of the Bloodthirsty Vine.

He opened the seed's details page and carefully read through the description word by word.

This is a special seed that can naturally grow into a Bronze Tier plant, without a fixed rating. The description is very clear: mature Bloodthirsty Vine are extremely dangerous and highly aggressive, actively attacking any living creatures that come near them. In addition, the page ends by noting its unique growth habits: for Bloodthirsty Vine to take root, develop, and survive quickly, they must be fed with flesh and blood; flesh and blood nutrients are their best nourishment.

Having memorized all the information, Lu Heng turned off the Wristband, clutched the tiny seed, and walked out of the Shelter.

The sky outside was even darker than before, with low-hanging dark clouds, making the oppressive atmosphere in the mountains and forests even stronger. The fishy smell of rain in the air was becoming more and more obvious, and a heavy rain could pour down at any moment.

He walked to the outside of the fence, stopped, and looked down to carefully examine the ground beneath his feet.

The land around the fence is exposed to the elements year-round, subjected to wind, sun, and the crushing of rocks, resulting in exceptionally hard and compacted soil. The soil layer is thin and hard, completely unsuitable for planting crops.

Lu Heng hesitated slightly.

I wonder if the seeds of the Bloodthirsty Vine can successfully take root and survive on such hard ground.

Hesitation was only momentary; there was no reason not to try out the defensive resources he had acquired. He turned back to the Cellar and retrieved several Red Cliff Jackal carcasses that he had previously hunted and carefully preserved from the low-temperature refrigerated storage area. The carcasses had been kept at a low temperature, and the meat was in excellent condition, making them excellent nutrient for cultivating flesh and blood.

Carrying the jackal carcass back to the outer perimeter of the fence, Lu Heng drew the Bronze Hunting Blade from his waist.

He bent down, gripping the sharp blade, and painstakingly chiseled away at the hard, compacted ground. The soil was too hard, and each stroke required force. He dug shallow holes of uniform size along the edge of the fence, arranging them neatly along the entire section of the fence.

After all the burrows were dug, he tore open the carcass of the Red Cliff Jackal, shredded the fresh, warm flesh and blood, and laid it out at the bottom of each burrow. Then he gently placed the Bloodthirsty Vine seeds in the center, and finally covered them with the loose soil he had chiseled off, gently pressing it down.

The moment a seed is planted, subtle changes are visible to the naked eye.

The smooth soil rippled and surged slightly, as if the seeds buried in the soil were instantly awakened, sprouting a faint vitality, instinctively and frantically sucking up the large amount of flesh and blood nutrients laid beneath them, silently taking root and rapidly absorbing energy.

Lu Heng squatted beside a row of earthen pits, quietly watching the subtle movements on the ground.

My heart is filled with genuine anticipation.

He hoped that these Bloodthirsty Vine seeds would take root, break through the soil, and spread, growing into a dense and aggressive vine barrier as soon as possible. Inside his house, the Purifying Water Lotus guarded the environment, stabilizing the indoor life force; once the Bloodthirsty Vine outside the wall had taken shape, they would be able to guard the perimeter and intercept any approaching living creatures that posed a threat.

One inside and one outside, the two special plants each perform their own function, completely making up for the shortcomings in the defense of this Black Iron Shelter, turning the originally rigid fence into a living, dangerous defensive line.

The mountain breeze finally blew slowly through the forest, carrying the heavy scent of rain as it swept across the fence.

Dark clouds surged overhead, and the entire mountain forest fell silent, the atmosphere of an impending downpour pressing down on the surroundings.

Lu Heng slowly stood up, brushed the dirt off his palms, and glanced at the entire area of vines he had planted himself.

I'm staying home today.

This deal was both safe and worthwhile.

From then on, this Shelter on the edge of the cliff finally had two layers of solid security.