Disaster

Lu Heng opened his eyes.

Beside my pillow, the photo of [Companionship] is still the same as it was last night, with the corners slightly curled up.

He glanced at it, folded the photo, and placed it aside.

That's the end of yesterday's story.

Zhou Cheng, Afu, refugees, betrayal—no reminiscing, no reviewing, no internal strife.

The moment my foot touched the ground, the metal ring on my wrist vibrated.

It wasn't the short, sharp vibration of a message notification; it was a continuous, tense buzzing sound, creeping up my bones. The ring light came on, a cold blue light seeping out from the gaps, and a forced pop-up appeared directly in front of my retina—no confirmation button, no skip option, just a few lines of pitch-black text pressing down on the center of my field of vision:

[Global Region Alert: The Survival World is about to be simultaneously hit by two natural disasters— Insect Plague and Vegetation Withering]

[Duration of the disaster: 15 days]

[Countdown: 14:58:12]

The last line of numbers jumped to 11.

Lu Heng stared at those lines of text without saying a word.

Insect Plague. Vegetation Withering. Fifteen days.

His first reaction wasn't to panic, but to calculate.

Is this catastrophe that has swept across the world only affecting the Survival World, or is it also affecting the Exploration World —specifically, the Lakeside Base Plane?

If it's the former, then this isn't a dead end at all. He can retreat to the Lakeside Shelter at any time, hide in the Exploration World, and directly avoid the Insect Plague and withering for half a month. The Portal is right at the bottom of the base, just a step away.

But as soon as the thought arose, he suppressed it.

no.

Lu Heng sat on the edge of the bed, his feet on the cold stone floor, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the metal edge of the Wristband. There was a small burr on the edge, which wasn't there last night; he didn't know when it had appeared. He rubbed his fingertips back and forth on the burr a couple of times, pushing the worst possible scenario to the extreme.

What if he completely abandons the Survival World, leaving the Shelter system here to utterly collapse and fall into ruin?

Two conjectures surfaced almost simultaneously, and he pressed them down one by one:

1. If a player's personal Shelter the Survival World is completely destroyed, will they permanently lose their survivor status?

Second, if he then retreats back to the Exploration World, will he no longer belong to the "Survival Players" category? Will he ultimately be forced to become a homeless native of the Exploration World —losing all system privileges, rule benefits, and base status?

The Wristband had no instructions, no rules, and no one gave him an answer.

The cost of unknown rules is more deadly than natural disasters themselves.

He dared not gamble.

Lu Heng suppressed these two conjectures and continued his deduction from a different angle. His gaze swept across the room—a half-full glass of water left overnight on the stone table, a spare knife sheath leaning against the wall, a coat draped over the back of the chair, its cuffs worn white. These things had been there for months, none of them moved.

Insect Plague are not indiscriminate, all-encompassing disasters.

Island Region, with their abundant waters and windy surroundings, are less susceptible to Insect Plague infestations, which at most provide food for fish. The real disaster areas are densely vegetated woodlands, rainforests, and urban green spaces. Desert areas, with their sparse vegetation, have an extremely low probability of Insect Plague infestations.

Having figured this out, he felt a slight sense of relief.

I have enough savings to last for a full two weeks without any problem.

But this "relaxation" only lasted for half a second.

Lu Heng's gaze passed over the windowsill and landed on the cliff outside the house—there, he had planted a patch of Blood-Devouring Vine.

Vegetation Withering disasters can wither vegetation and reduce its vitality, while Insect Plague can devour all organic matter. He had heard of the terrifying scale of Insect Plague in his previous life, and even if the intensity of the apocalypse is different, he must not gamble.

The Blood-Devouring Vine left in place will most likely be completely devoured by the Insect Swarm.

They must be moved in advance. Dig them up by the roots, keeping the original soil intact, protect the main root, and move them indoors or deep into a rock crevice in a cliff, making sure no Insect Swarm touch them.

At this point, the thought process is completely clear.

There is a way out, but you can't just run away blindly. The cost of escaping a natural disaster is unknown; you might lose your identity and your foundation. Rather than gambling on unknown risks, it's better to take proactive measures and weather the half-month disaster safely.

Lu Heng stood up, took his coat off the back of the chair, and put it on. He then checked the scabbard at his waist—it was fastened securely. He also wrapped the spare strap around twice to make sure it wouldn't come loose.

Push open the door and go out.

The immediate priority is to urgently relocate the outdoor Blood-Devouring Vine to avoid the double blow of withering and Insect Tide.

In the corridor, the Bone Demon had already woken up and was lying at the top of the stairs. When it saw him come out, it gently tapped the ground with the tip of its tail.

Lu Heng walked past it without stopping.

"Let's go."

With a single word, the Bone Demon stood up and followed.

The countdown to two natural disasters has begun.

The disaster that seems escapable actually hides unknown rules and constraints.

Lu Heng must hold his ground and weather this catastrophe sweeping through the Survival World.

Lu Heng led the Bone Demon to the door.

He stopped.

The fence was completely covered with Blood-Devouring Vine.

Dark brown old vines twined around newly sprouted shoots, layer upon layer, completely covering the iron railing, with only a few rusty tips peeking out. The vines were covered with tiny barbs, and when the wind blew, the entire vine wall undulated slightly, like something breathing. The thickest trunks had already driven into the soil at the base of the fence, spreading outwards close to the ground, and the edges were still expanding inch by inch.

The quantity is too large.

Lu Heng stood still, his gaze sweeping from one end of the fence to the other and back again.

He made an estimate.

The entire vine cover stretched for at least thirty meters along the fence, with three or four layers in the thickest parts, making it difficult to cut through with a knife. New shoots sprouted every day, and since he hadn't had time to prune them recently, they had grown wildly.

Lu Heng didn't turn around. He stared at the vine-covered wall for a while, his brows slowly furrowing.

It's impossible to move the whole thing. The root system has already spread out; digging it up would be like tearing it apart. If the main root is damaged, the plant is ruined.

That leaves only one option.

After observing for a while, Lu Heng had a plan in mind.

cut.

Cut it all off above the root.

Cut off everything that's swaying on the ground—vines, branches, new shoots, aerial roots—leaving nothing behind. Only the main root buried in the soil and the section of old vine close to the root collar remain.

As long as it's transplanted and fed prey, it can grow back.

As for those that were cut down...

He glanced at the Bone Demon.

"I'll be busy later," he said.

Lu Heng turned around and took two steps back, then stopped and looked back at the vine-covered wall.

The wind rushed up from under the cliff, the vines rustled, and a few new branches drooped softly, swayed, and then clung back to the fence.

Lu Heng took out a knife.

Lu Heng weighed it in his hand, gripped it tightly, and walked back to the fence.

He knew exactly which section to cut first—starting from the end closest to the gate, he pushed the vines inwards section by section, clearing away the broken vines as he cut them, so they wouldn't get in the way.

He raised his hand and tapped the thickest old vine at the top of the fence with the tip of his knife.

"Let's start with you."