Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 49: Deploying Defense

"Don’t forget we’re on the same side! They’re the outsiders... not us!"

Panic twisted his face as realization dawned.

"You still remember we’re on the same side?"

The wounded middle-aged man’s voice trembled between pain and disbelief.

"When I was bullied by you in the Shelter... why didn’t you say we were on the same side?"

The young man’s expression twisted. His voice rose, almost hysterical.

"I’ve endured you for a long time. Today you’ve fallen into my hands — this is your own doing."

It turned out that this timid-looking youth had suffered humiliation from the middle-aged man for quite some time. The resentment had been festering deep inside him, and now fate had finally given him a chance to strike back.

Madness flickered in his eyes. His face was filled with fury, yet the corners of his lips curled into a chilling smile.

Then he raised his machete high.

"Die!"

"Pfft!"

A spray of blood burst into the air.

However, the outcome was completely beyond expectation — even for Vikram, who was secretly observing everything from afar.

The blade that was meant to slice cleanly through the middle-aged man’s neck was suddenly blocked by his desperate counter. He thrust out his arm to intercept the strike.

The force of the blow severed the arm entirely.

At the same time, with the last strength left in his body, the middle-aged man drove his own knife forward in a savage counterattack — plunging it straight into the young man’s chest.

The two froze for a brief moment.

Then the middle-aged man burst into manic laughter.

"Hahaha! So what if I bullied you? Trash like you should’ve just endured it obediently!"

"I could’ve beaten you with one hand and one leg tied — and you still wouldn’t win!"

"You wanted to kill me? Even if I die... I’ll drag you to hell with me!"

His laughter echoed hoarsely across the snow-covered wasteland.

The young man, stabbed through the heart, collapsed heavily into the blood-stained snow. His eyes remained wide open even as the last trace of life faded from them.

Victory... or perhaps only madness... shone on the middle-aged man’s face.

He knew he would not survive.

Turning his gaze toward the silent hunter standing nearby, he sneered weakly,

"Idiot... do you still think you can stay out of this now?"

"Don’t pity me... it’ll be your turn soon enough."

Moments later, his body finally went limp. Excessive blood loss claimed the last of his strength.

In the end, he truly did drag the young man down with him.

The hunter stood there for a long while, staring at the two corpses lying in the snow. Conflict flashed across his face — fear, calculation, survival instinct.

Finally, he lowered his head.

Without another word, he turned and followed the burly man into the distance.

After rejoining his group, the burly man gave a brief signal — and together they began moving toward the ruins.

---

Meanwhile, Vikram finally returned to his Home Territory. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The moment he stepped inside the familiar influence zone of the Treehouse, the tension in his shoulders eased slightly.

The subtle stamina-recovery effect from the territory buff began working almost instantly.

Without wasting even a second, he moved straight toward the entrance defense line.

First, he planted ten Thornvines, completing the outer barrier at the main approach.

The thick, dark-green defensive vines rapidly burrowed into the frozen soil, their thorn-covered tendrils intertwining to form a living wall.

Whenever Vikram walked near them, the Thornvines instinctively parted, forming a narrow passage before sealing shut again behind him.

Because of this responsive behavior, he didn’t even need to leave a permanent gap.

Just a few meters behind that layer, he began planting the upgraded defensive units — Bloodvines.

A faint blue system panel flickered before his eyes.

[Bloodvine Seed — Blue]

Growth Time: 12 Hours

Mature Form: Defensive Blood-Siphon Vine

Estimated Daily Essence Output: +25

These vines were thicker and darker in color, with faint crimson streaks running along their bark-like surface.

Even as seeds, they radiated a subtle ferocity, clearly a superior evolution of Thornvines.

Vikram planted twenty Bloodvines in a semicircular formation, strengthening the second defensive layer.

Then he completed his wall behind Thornvine, but he deliberately left an eight-meter open space in the front — a temporary gate zone that he planned to redesign later into a proper controlled entrance.

After completing the defensive wall framework, he moved on to offense and support development.

He planted two Purple-grade Mage Seeds and two Archer Sprout Seeds, spacing them carefully so their growth roots wouldn’t compete for nutrients.

[Magar Seed (Purple)]

Growth Time: 48 Hours

Mature Form: Major Plant Mage

Daily Essence Output: +30

[Archer Seed (Blue)]

Growth Time: 8 Hours

Mature Form: Minor Plant Guardian

Daily Essence Output: +12

Only after finishing all urgent defensive preparations did Vikram finally pause.

He lifted his head and looked at the dim gray sky.

Cold wind brushed against his face.

He murmured quietly,

"The temperature is still dropping... This extreme cold is only in its early stage."

"I wonder how many Survivors’ Shelters can survive what’s coming..."

"In this Wasteland... desperation will only grow."

A thoughtful shadow passed through his eyes.

He had already witnessed human cruelty outside the ruins.

From now on, if he ever allowed other Survivors into his territory, he would do so with absolute caution.

He will put kindness to one side, and only be allowed, when he trusts them.

After entering the decoy Shelter he had built beside the Treehouse, Vikram switched on the electric lights.

Warm yellow illumination flooded the room, instantly dispelling the suffocating darkness of the wasteland night.

Completely exhausted, he dropped onto the fabric sofa, stretching his aching body and letting out a long breath.

Then, without delay, he unloaded all the loot he had gathered during the day, weapons, monster materials, armor fragments, rare dungeon drops, piling them inside this Shelter.

To any outsider, this place would appear to be his real base.

Only Vikram knew that his true living core was the elevated Treehouse stronghold.

After organizing the storage, he moved toward his small agricultural zone.

To maintain defensive symmetry, he planted 5 Thornvines, 5 Spikevines, 5 Bloodvines

This brought the total balance of each defensive plant in the garden area to twenty-five units each, forming a layered ecological defense grid.

Finally, he turned his attention to the Universal Vehicle.

Thinking ahead about future expansion, possible additional vehicles, transport beasts, or mechanized units, he decided to construct a dedicated parking structure near the hidden hill entrance.

Using system authority and structural resources, he created a 20 × 10 meter reinforced vehicle shelter.

He named it: Ironroot Motor Bay

A semi-enclosed stone-and-root hybrid structure designed to protect vehicles from snowstorms, corrosion, and enemy detection.

Around the Motor Bay, he planted another defensive ring of 5 Spikevines, 5 Thornvines and 5 Bloodvines.

This ensured that even his mobility assets were protected by autonomous plant guardians.

Only after completing all these arrangements did Vikram truly feel the exhaustion hit him.

His muscles felt heavy. His mind was dull from constant combat and decision-making.

Slowly, he began walking back toward the towering Treehouse Core.

On the way, he noticed something that made him pause.

The Guardian Sprout, Warrior Sprout, and Healer Sprout were all faintly glowing again.

Soft green energy spiraled around their bodies.

They had entered another upgrade phase.

Vikram watched them for a moment, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

But the fatigue was stronger than his interest.

He exhaled softly.

"I’ll see what changes tomorrow..."

As Vikram approached the Treehouse Core, the living vines instinctively sensed their master’s presence.

A thick, flexible vine rose from the wooden platform and gently wrapped around his waist, supporting his exhausted body as he climbed upward.

At that very moment, Pinku, who had been quietly hiding inside the small chicken coop below, suddenly noticed him.

With an excited flutter of wings, the plump white bird dashed forward and leaped straight into his embrace.

Vikram was far too tired to even open his eyes.

Yet his hand still moved on instinct.

Slowly... gently... he stroked Pinku’s soft feathers one by one.

Without even realizing it, he collapsed onto his bed.

Pinku settled comfortably against his chest, releasing a satisfied little sound.

"Cluck... cluck~"

The peaceful moment lasted only a few seconds.

Then, a faint sound drifted through the quiet Treehouse.

"Chirp."

Pinku’s head snapped up.

"Cluck?"

Another sound followed.

"Chirp... chirp..."

Then came a thin, trembling bleat.

"Mayyy..."

Completely puzzled, Pinku wriggled out from under Vikram’s heavy palm and tilted its head.

Its round black eyes fixed on the cloth bag lying on the floor.

Curiosity won over comfort.

It hopped down from the sofa, its tiny claws tapping lightly against the wooden floor as it slowly circled the bag.

Inside, seven fluffy chicks and one small goat kid were stirring restlessly.

Sensing the presence of another bird, the chicks became excited at once.

Within moments, the Treehouse was filled with noisy, overlapping sounds.

"Chirp-chirp!"

"Cluck-cluck!"

"Mayyy!"

The sudden chorus shattered the fragile silence.

On the bed, Vikram groaned.

His eyelids twitched before he finally forced them open.

His eyes were bloodshot, his head spinning slightly from fatigue and lingering battle stress.

"Ugh..."

He pressed his temples and sat up slowly.

After a moment, realization dawned on him.

"Oh... right. I still haven’t settled these little guys."

He had obtained the chicks and the goat after defeating the Kobold Priest deep inside the dungeon.

Originally, he had intended to continue exploring further to search for more livestock or useful creatures.

But the sudden teleportation had cut his plan short.

Standing up, he instinctively tightened his cotton coat around himself.

Inside the Treehouse, the temperature remained stable due to the territory core’s environmental regulation effect.

If he had been resting in the decoy Shelter below,

his exposed fingers would already have turned numb and red from the cold. That structure provided almost no insulation compared to the Treehouse.

He knelt down and untied the noisy cloth bag.

The chicks immediately tumbled out in a flurry of soft feathers, cheeping loudly as they stumbled across the floor.

The tiny goat followed more cautiously, its thin legs trembling slightly as it tested the unfamiliar ground.

Vikram observed them for a moment and nodded faintly.

"Good thing I didn’t leave you outside..."

In this extreme cold, small livestock like these would not survive even a single night.

His mind, though exhausted, began working again.

He started planning their future living arrangements.

This time, he wouldn’t be careless.

They needed a safe, warm, and controlled environment.

After a brief moment of thought, he made a decision.

He would build their enclosure inside the Greenhouse Farmland Zone.

There, the chicks could naturally help control insects and pests, improving crop stability.

The goat, meanwhile, could provide long-term benefits — milk, breeding potential, and even emergency food security if survival became desperate.

Most importantly...

He would install a localized heat-generation system inside the greenhouse.

A controlled warm zone.

For the livestock and also for the future biological resource hub within his growing territory.

With that decision made, Vikram gently scooped Pinku back into his arms.

The Treehouse lights dimmed slightly as night deepened outside.

And while snow continued falling across the silent wasteland...