Inspection

The lifeless skeleton stood silently within the Shelter, devoid of breath or life, yet possessing three core abilities: flight, melee combat, and self-healing. In the current survival environment, this was an irreplaceable trump card in terms of combat power.

The dramatic journey of risking everything to awaken his Talent, piecing together exotic bones, and creating the Bone Demon has finally come to an end. Now, his mind has settled down, leaving only a sense of peace and certainty.

Lu Heng withdrew his gaze, suppressed the lingering vibrations, and spoke in a low voice.

"Come out with me."

The skull turned slightly, its movements steady and mechanical, without the slightest agitation, following closely behind his steps as it walked out of the Shelter.

The outdoor scenery was open and spacious, and the cold mountain wind swept over us, dispelling the lingering warmth inside the cave.

Lu Heng deliberately allowed the Bone Demon to wait freely in the open space.

He observed carefully.

The skeletal creature's wings were gently folded, its eagle claws firmly gripped the ground, and its snake tail lay flat against the ground. It remained docile and dormant throughout, without losing control or making any random movements, and absolutely obeying commands.

From assembling the materials to taking shape, and now to its stable standby state, the controllability of this Bone Demon far exceeded his expectations.

With it, he no longer had to risk his life every time he went out, and the Shelter was no longer a defenseless vacuum.

After confirming the Bone Demon's status, Lu Heng turned and walked towards the outer fence.

Beneath the fence, layers of Bloodthirsty Vine climbed and spread.

The bluish-brown branches are tough and rough, with fine barbs hidden among the leaves. They appear to be quietly dormant, but their texture harbors a strong aggressiveness.

Lu Heng raised his Wristband, and the blue light from his bracelet swept across the vines.

Bloodthirsty Vine

Grade: Black Iron Tier

Description: An aggressive vine that feeds on flesh and blood. It can act as Shelter and guard, accurately sensing any approaching living creature and instantly launching its vines to entangle and bind it. However, it cannot intercept flying targets. Currently, it is growing well and has plenty of vitality.

The moment your fingertips touch the vines, you can clearly feel their taut elasticity and abundant vitality.

Lu Heng knew very well what was going on.

From now on, this patch of Bloodthirsty Vine will be the most secure ground defense line. Zombie that get close will be locked down, and low-level beasts that rashly intrude will be restrained and entangled. Silent, sleepless, and tireless, they guarded the first line of defense for his Shelter.

He turned his gaze away and walked back into the indoor planting area.

A pool of still, clear water, with several Purifying Water Lotus floating on the surface, their green leaves full and thick, exuding a rare, gentle vitality.

The Wristband lit up again.

[Purifying Water Lotus]

Grade: Bronze Tier

Description: A precious aquatic plant. It produces one Lotus Seed every seven days. The Lotus Seed can purify external pollution, and after consumption, it can suppress and dispel various toxins accumulated in the body. The plant itself can continuously suppress and dispel surrounding spiritual entities. Currently in good condition, with stable effects.

Watching the lotus leaves sway gently with the ripples on the water, Lu Heng felt a genuine sense of relief.

Pollution, toxins, and eerie atmospheres are the most insidious and deadly threats on the road to survival.

Ordinary survivors struggle to even maintain basic food and clothing, let alone resist these invisible forms of erosion.

He has a regularly produced Detoxifying Lotus Seed and a lotus field energy field that continuously exorcises evil spirits.

While others passively endure environmental erosion, he actively purifies the environment and avoids potential hazards.

This patch of Purifying Water Lotus alone has already set him apart from the vast majority of survivors in terms of survival level.

With a calm and relaxed mind, he bent down to carefully inspect the entire vegetable garden.

All kinds of vegetables grow evenly, with bright green leaves, no insect damage or rot, and strong and stable root systems.

Food, clean water, protection from poison, protection from ghosts, and defense—his Shelter has formed a complete closed-loop survival system.

After completing the patrol, Lu Heng led the Bone Demon back into the cave.

After settling the Bone Demon to stand guard, he finally calmed down and tried to explore the new [Temperature Control] Talent.

The overwhelming joy and shock when he first awakened his talent made him realize that its Talent was extremely high. However, upon closer examination, he couldn't find any way to unleash its power.

After several attempts to concentrate, the air in front of him remained unchanged.

Having top-tier Talent but having no way to use it is extremely frustrating.

Lu Heng pondered quietly, and suddenly realized the key point.

"Geothermal Talisman," yes, Geothermal Talisman definitely works.

Using external heat sources to draw upon one's own Talent.

Lu Heng sat upright, clearing his mind of all distractions.

In the instant of intense concentration, the dormant Mental Energy within the body begins to transform, flowing out along with the flow of consciousness.

Mental Energy, the warmth emanating from Geothermal energy, and the Talent for Temperature Control —these three elements resonate and merge.

A soft buzzing sound.

The air in front of us suddenly heated up.

It wasn't an illusion; it was a real, tangible sensation. My cheeks felt hot, my fingertips were burning, and the gentle warmth around me was instantly amplified several times over, with the burning sensation clearly tangible.

But the control was extremely clumsy.

The gathered power is extremely unstable; it dissipates instantly as soon as it takes shape, making it impossible to condense into an attack or cause damage to any target.

But Lu Heng was not impatient at all.

The ability to trigger, resonate, and alter environmental temperature signifies that Talent is fully activated and the pathways are completely unblocked.

Skill can be honed, and control can be practiced.

Once the path is clear, given time, this Talent will inevitably become another trump card for him.

After a brief practice session, Lu Heng relaxed and lay down on the bed.

He opened the survival channel, intending to see the true situation of ordinary survivors outside.

The channel was flooded with messages, chaotic, panicked, and real, filled with the fear and confusion of novice survivors.

[Wang Qiang]: I almost died! Who would have thought that the game would start with Zombie everywhere? I was just searching for supplies when I was chased by a bunch of Zombie. I've never been so panicked in my life!

[Li Lei]: I'm the only one left in my family. I wanted to try my best to survive, but I ended up in hell mode. Now I'm hiding in a corner, too scared to move. I feel so helpless.

[Zhang Tao]: Lucky me! I found a bag of unexpired cookies in an abandoned supermarket. The supermarket was basically emptied out, so this little thing was considered a top-tier item.

[Zhao Hao]: Hey, can we trade? I've gathered a bunch of edible wild vegetables and herbs, I'll trade them all for a few biscuits!

[Sun Ming]: There were constant strange noises outside at night, so I was too scared to sleep. I always felt like something was watching me from the shadows.

[Zhou Yu]: I only dared to wander around in front of my house. I didn't see anything except Zombie, but the more peaceful it was, the more scared I became. I always felt that there was something terrifying behind me.

Messages scrolled by rapidly.

Lu Heng observed coldly, but saw through everything.

Currently, all survivors have explored a very shallow area and have a very small radius of activity.

The only danger everyone encounters is the most basic Zombie.

No one has ever seen a strange beast, no one has ever encountered anything supernatural, and no one has ever come into contact with high-level danger.

So this group of people still clings to a sliver of hope, believing that all they need to do to survive is run fast, scavenge for supplies, and dodge Zombie.

But Lu Heng knew the truth.

Zombie are merely the most basic threat at the very bottom of this Survival World.

As the survivors continue to expand their exploration, deeper, more dangerous, and more bizarre areas will be revealed one by one.

Strange beasts, eerie creatures, supernatural rules, and deadly pollution will all appear one after another.

By then, the channel will be filled with cries of despair and overflowing with intelligence.

He doesn't need to venture out to explore the map or risk his life; he can simply sit in the channel and observe to collect information on the characteristics, patterns, and weaknesses of all unknown dangers for free.

The information gap is the biggest advantage.

Others risk their lives for intelligence, he gathers intelligence by observing.

Lu Heng turned off the spam channel, his eyes calm.

Be patient and steady, develop steadily, and wait for the right opportunity.

This is his way of survival.