The Swamp

Once the level-one Shelter had fully taken shape, the interior shed every trace of the original cave's crude, dilapidated appearance.

Stone bricks interlocked tightly, and a timber frame firmly supported the entire cliff wall. The space was open and orderly, laid out like a modern two-bedroom apartment with a living room, dry and sealed, complete with ventilation ducts and a separate toilet area. The only drawback was that the standardized upgrade had established only the living quarters' framework, without leaving a hearth for cooking. The entire Shelter was clean, bare, and empty.

After reading the scattered messages about falling temperatures on his bracelet's World Channel, Lu Heng kept his fingertips hovering over the screen for a long time.

That inexplicable unease still weighed heavily on his heart.

The outer woods still felt mild, but survivors across the entire continent were reporting abnormal weather. This was no coincidence. Yet no crisis had broken out for now, so he could only keep this unseen, intangible change in mind.

Night slowly soaked through the mountain forest. The wind among the trees weakened, and the world fell quiet.

The strain of days of intense fighting, quarrying, and construction still lingered in his muscles and bones. The aching in his shoulders, back, waist, and legs refused to fade. Lu Heng stopped dwelling on the changes outside, left the Shelter, and selected several thin, solid slabs of stone from the level clearing by the entrance.

The evening breeze was slightly chilly, noticeably colder than the nights of the past few days.

He bent down and stacked the stones, gradually building a simple ring-shaped firepit flush with the ground. He deliberately left ventilation gaps to supply the firewood with oxygen and keep smoke from building up. His movements were slow and steady, each one tugging at sore muscles. His physical exhaustion had already reached its limit.

He gathered dry branches, laid them at the bottom of the pit, and gently pressed the lighter.

Orange flames sprang up with a click, their warm glow instantly pushing back the darkness.

Watching the open flames dance steadily, Lu Heng felt a trace of reassurance. Compared with his limited supply of matches, which were easily ruined by damp, the lighter's convenience and reliability were incredibly precious in this unpredictable wilderness. He went back into the depths of the Shelter, carefully bundled all his matches, and tucked them safely into a concealed gap between the stone bricks as a backup.

Heat slowly rose from the fire, drying out the damp chill of the surrounding night dew. He set some stored beast meat over it to roast slowly over a low flame. Fat dripped onto the coals, the sizzling especially clear in the silent night, and a faint aroma of meat spread.

With a hot meal in his stomach, his stiff muscles finally relaxed a little. The warmth drove away the chill on his skin, but could not dispel the fatigue deep in his muscles and bones.

Drowsiness crashed over him like a tide.

Lu Heng gathered up the remaining embers and turned to enter the dimly lit Shelter. He spread the several animal hides he had accumulated in layers across the flat stone-brick floor, their soft, thick fur forming a warm, cushioned resting area.

The moment he lay down, his body, tense for days, relaxed completely.

There were no gaps letting in drafts, no small falling stones to disturb him. The sturdy stone-and-timber Shelter shut out all the wind outside and any hidden, prying eyes. A sense of security enveloped him, and heavy drowsiness instantly swallowed every thought. Soon after closing his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep.

He slept soundly through the night.

At dawn the next day, the woods were silent.

Lu Heng slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he felt was still the lingering soreness and strain throughout his body; the exhaustion deep in his muscles and bones had not fully faded. He braced himself against the stone wall and sat up. Only after resting for a long while did he barely suppress his weakness enough to stand and head toward the cave entrance.

The instant he raised his hand and pushed open the wooden door, a bone-piercing chill rushed inside.

It was not the slight coolness of an ordinary morning, but a dry, biting cold that penetrated skin and bone.

The wind swept through the trees without a trace of the gentle moisture of vegetation. The air was absurdly dry. Though the greenery around him had yet to fade, the temperature everywhere had plummeted compared with yesterday.

Lu Heng stood in the doorway, his pupils tightening slightly as the unease in his heart instantly magnified.

Yesterday, these had only been scattered reports on the World Channel. Today, feeling the drop in temperature himself made him absolutely certain-the environment of this world really was changing across its entire expanse.

The cold wave was no empty rumor from somewhere far away, but a real crisis drawing closer, step by step.

If the weather continued to deteriorate, the bitter cold, injuries and illness, and shortages of supplies that followed could each spell certain death.

He immediately decided to suspend construction chores such as logging and quarrying. His most urgent priority was to stockpile medicinal herbs that could heal the strain in his muscles and bones and deal with sudden injuries or illness. Frost Forest had vast stretches of vegetation. With the bracelet's plant guide, he might be able to find suitable medicinal herbs.

After getting his wooden spear ready, Lu Heng cautiously left the Shelter and slowly explored along the gentle slope outside Frost Forest.

Most of Frost Forest lay on higher ground. Beneath his feet were dry soil, loose stones, and thick layers of fallen leaves. The trees were dense and dry, forming typical mountain woodland terrain, with hard, firm soil and not a trace of standing water or mud.

He slowly worked his way around the woodland's edge, exploring as the terrain gradually descended.

The farther outward he went, the sparser the trees became. Tall trees gradually gave way to low-growing, moisture-loving weeds. The dry earth beneath his feet slowly disappeared, and the soil became damp and soft.

In just a few dozen meters, the terrain changed completely.

The forest's dry mountain terrain ended abruptly, and before him stretched a separate, low-lying marsh transition zone along its outer edge.

This place and the main forest were two entirely different environments.

Water collected in the low terrain, leaving the soil soaked and rotting year-round, forming thick, dark-brown humus sludge. Dense, fine grasses intertwined across the surface, making it look flat and solid. In truth, they were only a thin disguise over unsupported, yielding mud. It was silent and deathly still, without a hint of life.

There was no wind in the swamp. The air was humid, stifling, and chilly, distinctly at odds with the fresh dryness of the woods, with a clear boundary between them.

Lu Heng stopped, instinctively wanting to turn and retreat. This unfamiliar marsh held an inexplicable menace and was not worth venturing into rashly.

But just as the thought arose, his foot inadvertently shifted half a step forward.

Squelch-

The instant his foot landed, the support beneath it vanished.

Without firm soil to support it, his entire foot plunged straight into the mud. Cold, sticky sludge instantly engulfed his shoe and calf, gripping his limb tightly.

Lu Heng's mind suddenly went blank, and he froze in shock.

His foot could not reach the bottom at all.

The mud dragged him downward as though alive. He instinctively lifted his foot to pull free, but that panicked struggle instead made him sink twice as fast. His thigh vanished into the sludge in an instant. Heavy, sticky resistance clung tightly to his body, and his center of gravity kept dropping.

Panic exploded within him. The more agitated he grew, the more wildly his limbs moved, and the faster he sank.

The shadow of death suddenly loomed over his heart. In this deserted swamp, once he sank completely, not even a trace of him would remain.

Amid his extreme panic, Lu Heng forced himself to calm down.

He immediately cast aside all distracting thoughts and held firmly to the principles of saving himself in water. He stopped struggling at once, slowly leveled his waist and abdomen, gently leaned his upper body backward, and spread his limbs as far as possible.

He lay flat across the mud's surface, tilted slightly onto his back, maximizing the area over which his weight was distributed and forcibly halting his continued descent.

The mud remained cold, sticky, and heavy. Every inch of muscle was stretched taut; the slightest mistake would mean doom.

Holding one hand clear, he rapidly opened the bracelet's storage interface. With a thought, a standard log instantly dropped horizontally onto the swamp's surface in front of him.

The thick timber rested steadily on the soft mud without sinking at all.

Lu Heng's heart hammered, his knuckles white as both hands gripped the log tightly. He kept his body flat and tilted back, not daring to let his center of gravity shift in the slightest. Supported by the log's buoyancy, he slowly moved his body inch by inch, forcibly breaking free of the mud's suction.

Every inch of his body he pulled out took tremendous strength. The mud's pull felt like countless hands gripping him and refusing to let go.

Gritting his teeth, he repeatedly leveraged himself sideways. After several difficult struggles, his upper body finally came free of the mud, followed by his hips and then each leg.

Covered in wet black sludge, Lu Heng stepped onto the log and steadily made his way back to the dry, firm ground behind him.

The moment both feet touched solid ground, his legs suddenly went weak. His back was already soaked in cold sweat, and his chest still heaved violently.

He looked back at the seemingly tranquil marsh with its hidden, deadly dangers, and a chill pierced him to the bone.

Silent and soundless, with no beasts or visible hazards, it was more frightening than any fight against a strange beast.

Lu Heng silently laid down an ironclad rule in his heart-this low-lying swamp on the forest's outer edge would be permanently designated an absolute forbidden zone. He would never set foot in it again for the rest of his life.

Only after a long time calming himself did his terror ease a little.

Just as he was about to turn and leave this dangerous area, his gaze happened to sweep over a dry, rocky slope at the swamp's edge.

Among the weeds and scattered rocks, a small plant abruptly caught his eye.

It was entirely different from the tangled wild grasses around it. Its stems and leaves were firm and dark, its shape distinctive, with a compact solidity unlike ordinary grass. Even growing among the rocks, it stood out, its uniqueness apparent at a glance.

Lu Heng's gaze sharpened, and an inexplicable intuition arose in his heart.

This plant was anything but ordinary.

He raised his hand, opened the bracelet's appraisal function, and gave the plant a light scan, waiting for the system to provide an accurate answer.