However, this was only an absolute last resort. If possible, he would, of course, prefer to raise some livestock directly in the Shelter to help with fertilization.
But with Crimson Creatures running rampant and ordinary animals being almost extinct, Vikram was powerless to do much about it…
Just as he finished setting up the farmland, Divya sent him a message.
For the past few days, Divya had come to trade with Vikram every day, always exchanging one ton of fertile soil.
These daily trades naturally meant being teased by Vikram, and Divya herself was almost used to it by now.
Today, in addition to their usual trade, she also sent Vikram a group chat invitation.
[Vikram: ?]
[Vikram: What group is this?] Vikram asked, puzzled.
[Divya: A small group. Most of the Survivors in it are from our area.]
[Divya: There are many big shots in there who trade or share information. Most people can't just join; membership is by internal referral only.] Divya's tone carried a hint of pride.
[Divya: I've seen that you've been in the Wasteland for so long and are still all alone, which is quite pitiful. Maybe you can find a companion if you join the group?]
Seeing Divya's somewhat sarcastic tone, Vikram naturally couldn't let it slide.
[Vikram: Yeah, I'm so miserable, always alone. It would be great if a pretty girl came to my Shelter to keep me company.]
[Divya: There are plenty of pretty girls in the group you want. Whether you can win them over is up to your own ability.]
[Vikram: Then what if I want you, this pretty girl?]
[Divya: Get lost. You're disgusting.]
After two days of continuous mental pollution from Vikram, Divya thought she had already become immune to his attacks.
She hadn't expected Vikram to be so shameless, saying whatever came to mind. She could only blush and close the chat.
By this point, Vikram had already joined the group chat.
The group name was quite unique: "Wasteland World's Savior."
As soon as he entered the group chat, several messages popped up consecutively.
[Director Aditya: Welcome our new member to the group chat!]
[Shalini: Welcome, welcome!]
[Sunny Dalal: Welcome! Are you a handsome guy or a beautiful girl? Post a picture first.]
[Radhika: Definitely a handsome guy. Don't you dare fight me for him!]
[Geetanjali: Where's the handsome guy? Where is he?]
[Bobby: New members need to send red envelopes first!]
[Anjali: Right, right! You can't leave until you've sent enough red envelopes.]
[Director Aditya: Alright, everyone, no more joking. Let our new member introduce himself first.]
[Vikram: Hello, everyone. I'm the new Survivor, Vikram. I'm still a lone wolf for now, and I hope everyone can take care of me.]
Anjali, of course, knew who this ID belonged to, but she asked uncertainly:
[Anjali: You weren't invited by Divya, were you? @Vikram]
[Vikram: Yes. Why?]
[Sunny Dalal: Damn it, he actually knows our group's beauty! Tell me, how far have you two progressed?]
[Vikram: You mean Divya? She's my girlfriend.]
[Sunny Dalal: Impossible! My goddess doesn't have a boyfriend.] Sunny gritted his teeth in front of the screen.
[Anjali: You believe him just because he said so? Didn't he just say he's a lone-wolf Survivor? Where would he get a girlfriend?]
[Sunny Dalal: Hehe, I knew my goddess wouldn't fall for anyone else. Kid, if you want to pursue our group's beauty, you'll have to get in line behind me.]
Vikram saw the message and was genuinely amused.
Divya hadn't said a word from beginning to end, yet this Sunny Dalal couldn't stop talking about her in every other sentence. He was clearly a bit of a simp.
However, his tone didn't seem malicious; he just seemed a little slow-witted.
Vikram felt like he had found a new electronic pet.
He quietly added Sunny Dalal as a friend and sent him a message:
[Vikram: Look what this is: (picture)]
[Sunny Dalal: What? How do you have a picture of my goddess?!]
[Vikram: Of course, your goddess sent it to me.]
[Sunny Dalal: I don't believe it. Did you use some dirty trick to get the picture?]
[Sunny Dalal: Tell me now!]
[Sunny Dalal: Don't play dead. I know you're looking.]
[Sunny Dalal: You bastard!]
Unfortunately, Vikram had no intention of replying. Letting Sunny imagine things and get angry on his own was the most interesting part.
Seeing Vikram ignore him, Sunny Dalal could only rage in the group chat:
[Sunny Dalal: Vikram! From now on, you are my enemy, Sunny Dalal. I will never be at peace with you!]
Vikram shivered when he saw the message, goosebumps erupting all over his body. He wondered how someone could say something so foolish in public.
However, the other group members showed no reaction. It seemed this wasn't the first time Sunny had said something like this, and everyone was already used to it.
The deputy group leader, unaware of the truth, stepped in to comfort him:
[Director Aditya: @Vikram, don't mind him. He's just like that. There's no real malice behind it.]
[Vikram: It's fine. I don't take it to heart. This young man is quite interesting.]
Back in the Shelter, Vikram closed the group chat with a chuckle.
"Although I don't know what the point of joining this group is, there's no harm in it. No loss, anyway."
"At least the group members are quite easygoing."
He picked up a skewer of grilled meat and put it into his mouth. The taste was like chewing wax. Even after all this time, Vikram still hadn't gotten used to it.
The small can of salt he had bought early on had long since been used up. After eating more than a dozen meals without salt or any other flavoring, even though the meat was a Rare-grade item, it still tasted bland. It felt like such a waste.
During these three days, while waiting for the greenhouse to generate Plant Essence, Vikram hadn't gone out hunting. Instead, he spent his time building all the blueprints he had collected inside the Shelter.
The simple stove in the kitchen had already been built, and the iron pot and other utensils were already in place.
But he had never actually used them, mainly because of the lack of seasoning.
He had also searched the trading market, but so far, he hadn't seen anyone selling such items.
Since everything tasted the same without seasoning, what was the point of heating oil in a pan? In the end, he could only leave the stove unused.
---
"Unknowingly, I've accumulated eight Crimson Shards…"
Vikram, who had spent the past four days resting in either the Treehouse or his Shelter, finally decided to go out and try his luck.
While trying to collect the remaining Crimson Shard, he also wanted to see if he could find some seasonings.
"My mouth has been so bland these past two days. It's like I'm eating bird feed."
In a situation where most Survivors couldn't even eat their fill, if they heard Vikram complaining about bland food, they might drown him in accusations.
It's good enough to have food to eat. How dare he complain that it's tasteless?
On a snow-covered plain, Vikram's clothes fluttered in the cold wind. Behind him lay the corpse of a Rare-grade Crimson Creature, its eyes wide open in death.
Drops:
Crimson Shard ×1
Cotton (Green) ×2
Soil ×2
"It finally dropped. Only one more piece to go. But there are far fewer creatures around here."
"Have I been hunting too frequently lately?"
Vikram, who was now only one shard away from synthesizing a Crimson Orb, looked at the blank creature detection screen and felt a little helpless.
"It's still early. I'll make two more rounds and search again."
In the extreme cold of −20°C, with light snow falling around him, Vikram wandered through the surrounding area without finding anything.
Finally, he decided to check the area near the ruins…
---
Inside the ruins, a massive Wolf Spirit was meditating with its eyes closed.
Suddenly, as if it had heard something, it abruptly opened its fierce golden eyes.
Looking out through the ruins' gate, it spotted a figure moving along a distant grassy slope.
A fierce battle was unfolding between the figure and a creature whose species was difficult to identify.
The figure was Vikram. But his opponent was no longer a Wolf Spirit Guard.
It was an Exquisite-grade Crimson Creature.
At that moment, the Crimson Giant Rhino charged toward Vikram, its massive horns pointing skyward. With every step, its heavy hooves struck the ground with a deep, rumbling sound.
The Wolf Spirit Lord was also awakened by the commotion. Facing such a ferocious charge, Vikram simply reached out and grabbed one of the giant horns with one hand.
Planting his feet firmly, he twisted his waist and abdomen and effortlessly deflected the Rhino's fierce attack.
Immediately afterward, an Iron sword appeared in his hand as if out of thin air. He thrust it directly into the Giant Rhino's large right eye.
With a twist of the sword in his right hand, he completely destroyed the creature's brain.
The massive beast finally collapsed to the ground, unwilling to accept its fate, leaving behind its enormous corpse and a blue treasure chest.
"Roar!"
Before Vikram could even check the drops, a ferocious roar erupted from the ruins behind him, making his ears ache.
He turned his head and saw that his old "friend" had come to greet him, having traveled all the way to his territory.
Vikram wasn't stingy with his hospitality. He waved enthusiastically, a smile spreading across his face, and loudly responded to the Wolf Spirit Lord's roar:
"Just wait to die!"
He collected the Exquisite-grade treasure chest, and its contents did not disappoint. The final Crimson Shard needed to synthesize the Crimson Orb was finally obtained that afternoon.
Without hesitation, he selected the accumulated Crimson Shards and synthesized them.
[Crimson Orb: Synthesized from Crimson Shards dropped by Crimson Creatures. After use, grants a permanent 5-point bonus to all four dimensional attributes, with no side effects.]
The Crimson Orb in his hand was about the size of an egg. It was entirely crimson and emanated a faint, bloody aura.
Holding it in his hand, Vikram could feel a bone-chilling cold radiating from it.
If not for the system's description, even knowing that it could increase his physical attributes, Vikram wouldn't have dared to eat it. No matter how he looked at it, the aura seemed downright sinister.
Bringing it closer to his nose, he detected a strong smell of blood, even more intense than that of the Crimson Shards. There was also a faint metallic scent, almost like rust.
After a brief mental struggle, Vikram swallowed the orb in one go.
Unlike its hard texture in his hand, the orb melted instantly in his mouth.
But that wasn't what disgusted Vikram the most. Its taste was far worse.
A rust-like flavor, ten times stronger than the smell he had detected earlier, spread across his tongue and assaulted his taste buds.
Almost instantly, his stomach began to churn.
As stomach acid rose into his esophagus, Vikram, on the verge of vomiting, was forced to bend over and desperately cover his mouth, refusing to let even a drop escape.
Amid the dizzying sensation, he gradually returned to normal.
Once the discomfort disappeared, it was replaced by a sudden surge of power.
The 20-point attribute increase elevated his physical abilities to an entirely new level.
Host: Vikram
Strength: 31 + 5 = 36
Speed: 27 + 5 = 32
Stamina: 29 + 5 = 34
Reaction: 32 + 5 = 37
Unknown: Unknown
"Hoo~"
For once, a chilling cry escaped Vikram's mouth.