Although the terror crocodile in the stream didn't do anything to him, he still respectfully put the silver chest into his backpack and moved away from the riverbank.
"That terror crocodile, like Keke, doesn't show up on the map and also doesn't attack me. Could it be that it's not displayed because it's not a hostile unit?"
Xu Xin patted Keke's furry head. Keke made a "yip" sound and rubbed against his palm.
"Perhaps the red dots on the map only show units that are hostile to me and will actively attack, while creatures like the terror crocodile and Keke are automatically considered friendly or neutral and not displayed, similar to the birds and insects in the jungle."
Understanding this, Xu Xin's impression of the big guy in the stream changed. This big creature allowed him to easily acquire a silver chest, although the fright was indeed significant.
It wasn't until he was three or four hundred meters away from the riverbank that Xu Xin took the silver chest out of his backpack.
The silver chest in front of him was a bit larger than the previous copper chest, with a bright silver color. Apart from the color, there wasn't much difference in appearance, except for an extra keyhole in the middle.
Xu Xin took out a silver key, aligned it with the keyhole, and gently twisted it. A mechanical sensation emanated from his hand holding the key, and a crisp "click" sounded from the chest, indicating the lock was opened.
Xu Xin cautiously moved around to the back of the chest before opening the lid.
Fortunately, what he feared didn't happen.
"Hmm? Why are there so few items?"
Inside the silver chest, there was only a thin sheet of paper, a golden compass, and a golden key.
Xu Xin picked up the paper.
[Treehouse Modification Contract (Blue): After using this contract, you unlock treehouse modification options, allowing for interior renovation and the addition of weapons and defense components on the exterior.]
"Whoa!" Xu Xin's eyes lit up.
He could add weapons and defense components to the treehouse! This is about turning the treehouse into a fortress! If he could fully arm the treehouse, maybe one day he could even kill the terrifying giant anaconda in the lake.
Moreover, he could finally renovate the interior. Sleeping every night in a 100-square-meter empty room with no functions was a bit uncomfortable. No matter how big the treehouse was, he still had to go down for bathing and physiological needs, which was quite inconvenient.
With this contract, he could renovate the bedroom and bathroom, truly turning the treehouse into a home.
Without hesitation, Xu Xin directly used the contract.
The contract disintegrated in his hand, merging into his palm. At that moment, he noticeably felt an uplift in his spirit, with a warm flow coursing through his body. Xu Xin even felt a slight increase in strength.
"Can this contract also enhance my own strength?" Xu Xin clenched his fist, picking up the silver chest on the ground. Indeed, the silver chest felt much lighter than before.
After enhancing his strength once again after the bear's paw, in this perilous world, personal strength is the most important thing. After all, that mysterious voice wouldn't allow their group of survivors to stay in the treehouse forever.
Picking up the golden compass and golden key from the chest, Xu Xin retrieved Keke, who had jumped into the chest out of curiosity and was scratching the inside walls, and put the empty silver chest back into his backpack. After all, as long as the technology in this world advanced enough, silver and the copper he had obtained before were essential materials for some devices and could be very useful in the future.
The silver chest was heavy; even after putting it into the backpack, the remaining 20% of its weight slightly affected Xu Xin's movements. It should be close to the seven o'clock in the evening he arranged with Li Wenxi. Hopefully, nothing happened to the little beauty.
The compass is best used at the treehouse location.
"Let's head back first, come on, Keke."
"Yip!" Keke jumped onto Xu Xin's shoulder.
Returning to the stream, the terror crocodile had already completely hidden in the water. With the fast-flowing stream, the water had long since returned to its original clarity, and the bottom of the stream was now back to normal.
Xu Xin looked into the water; the bottom was sporadically covered with some pebbles, and the skin of the terror crocodile was slightly exposed.
Of course, if Xu Xin hadn't seen the terror crocodile emerge from the water, he would never have thought that the rugged black bottom of the stream was a gigantic terror crocodile that was nearly twenty meters long.
"Brother Crocodile, thank you. Next time I pass by, I'll bring you some tasty treats!" Xu Xin clasped his fists towards the bottom of the stream. The flowing water created a slight whirlpool, as if answering his words.
Oh my, it actually responded!
Xu Xin's curiosity about the giant crocodile immediately outweighed his fear. He even found the big crocodile a bit cute.
But now wasn't the time to waste. After clasping his fists again towards the stream, Xu Xin turned and left. Keke on his shoulder waved a paw to bid farewell, yipping towards the path they had taken.
This little guy was just baring its teeth earlier.
Man and panda resumed their journey back to the treehouse.
Back at the treehouse, the first thing Xu Xin did was check his newly unlocked feature.
On the screen, another option appeared: [Treehouse Modification].
Clicking in, the construction list was so extensive that Xu Xin couldn't browse through it all.
Wooden partitions, wooden doors, wooden cabinets, wooden windows – all kinds of treehouse interior components were listed.
[Wooden Partition (Green): A partition for the treehouse interior, providing some sound insulation. Requires Log (Green) *5]
[Wooden Door (Green): A door for the treehouse interior, providing some sound insulation. Requires Log (Green) *2]
[Small Stone Stove (Green): A simple stove for cooking food, though it's not easy to control the temperature. Requires Stone (Green) *10]
And many other common interior facilities.
These newly appearing treehouse interiors required the new materials Xu Xin obtained from the copper chest!
And indeed, there was a stove for cooking food.
Once this activity is over, Xu Xin can plan a new layout for the treehouse interior.
He then looked at the weapons and defense components for the exterior. For now, there was only one type of weapon in the list.
[Automatic Crossbow (Green): An automatic crossbow for the treehouse exterior, capable of automatically attacking hostile units. Requires Fine Wood (Green) *10, Beast Tendon (Green) *2]
[Heavy Crossbow Arrow (Green): A heavy and sharp arrow, capable of piercing the body of beasts using its weight alone, but the range is not far due to its weight. Reusable, requires Fine Wood (Green) *2, Stone (Green) *1]
[Treehouse Wooden Armor (Green): Armor installed on the treehouse trunk, effectively reducing damage from beast attacks. Requires Log (Green) *2]
The weapons for the treehouse exterior also needed new materials, gained from chopping birches for fine wood and pines for logs.
Looks like I need to quickly plant these two types of seeds.
With weapons capable of automatic attack and stronger defense, next time a beast tide comes, the treehouse will offer a better chance of survival. It might even allow Xu Xin to kill beasts for materials from within the treehouse without risking his life, unlike the last time with the black bear.
However, even this automatic crossbow requires beast tendons.