Chapter 4: A Narrow Escape for Enemies

Late at night on the sixth day.

The sound of wind and rain outside persisted without pause.

If he rigged up a wind turbine, Han Ning reckoned he could never worry about electricity again.

Having just finished resting, his spiritual energy was currently at its peak.

[Spiritual Energy: 10/10]

He fixed his gaze on a makeshift target standing three meters away—an empty water bottle assembled as a temporary dummy.

“Vine Technique!” he thought, no longer needing to vocalize the skill’s name deliberately.

Ssssh, ssssh, ssssh!

Eight deep green vines, each about the thickness of a finger, surged forth from thin air.

Han Ning’s fingers twitched slightly.

These vines in his hands were like invisible strings controlled by a master puppeteer.

Two of them wrapped around the bottle in lightning-fast strikes, securing it firmly. Four twisted in a crisscross pattern tightening the neck, while the last two whipped flexibly against the bottom.

“Snap!”

The fragile plastic bottle couldn’t withstand the concentrated strangling force; it instantly deformed and then, with a loud pop, was shredded to pieces.

Fragments of plastic and the cap scattered everywhere.

After repeatedly thrashing the water bottle several times:

[Vine Technique proficiency +7, current 95/100]

[Druid growth progress +2, current 88/100]

“Not bad at all,” Han Ning murmured with a slight upward curl of his lips, a satisfying sense of accomplishment swelling within him.

If he were to face that small juvenile crocodile-lizard again now, he was confident he could ensnare it tightly with vines on sight, even snapping its bones.

Of course, against an adult one, he still wasn’t confident.

With his spiritual energy depleted, he went to the kitchen as usual to check the food supplies and prepare an energy-replenishing dinner.

After nearly ten days of eating, drinking, and other bodily needs, the water dispenser was completely empty, and only seven bottles of mineral water remained from those opened.

The noodles were gone, and only a third of the rice was left.

The compressed biscuits barely moved.

There was still half a can of beans.

Unfortunately, these were fried orchid beans—not something he could grow.

The potatoes were growing well but still far from harvest.

Distant water sources couldn’t quench his immediate thirst.

“At most, I can last another three or four days.”

“Looks like I have no choice but to go out once more.”

Although the dry food stock was sufficient, water was critically scarce.

Water is the source of life. Han Ning believed that if he went even a day without water, he probably wouldn’t be able to replenish his spiritual energy at all.

The recovery of spiritual energy was closely tied to physical condition.

Dragging his slightly weary body, Han Ning prepared a meal to maintain his vital signs.

Fortunately, on a whim earlier, he had bought a portable stove and six gas canisters for hiking.

He had barely reached the foot of the mountain before exhaustion forced him to give up, leaving the equipment unused.

Unexpectedly, they now proved invaluable.

He cooked about 300 grams of half-raw rice, added a bit of soy sauce, a mixture of cooking oil, and some chili to supply necessary fats and enrich the bland flavor.

A few roasted orchid beans with barbecue seasoning adorned the white rice.

He needed to consume 600 to 700 grams of rice daily and had to avoid getting too hungry or his spiritual energy recovery would suffer.

Mechanically, Han Ning shoveled rice into his mouth bite by bite.

Occasionally, he picked up a brown orchid bean, greedily licking the barbecue seasoning like savoring a supreme delicacy.

“This isn’t just rice; it’s like eating roast beef, twice-cooked pork, braised pork knuckle, spicy crayfish...” Closing his eyes, he slipped into a world of fantasy.

After dinner, Han Ning lay on his bed, staring blankly ahead, quietly waiting for sleep to overtake him.

Nearly ten days had passed since his arrival here.

The apartment had long lost its electricity, and the bedroom was pitch black.

What else was there to do but zone out?

Time passed unknowingly.

Sleepiness slowly crept over Han Ning.

Suddenly—

“Aaargh~”

A chilling, horrifying sound exploded right beside his ear.

It wasn’t thunder but the violent impact of some immense force striking metal.

Immediately followed by a sharp, grating, ear-piercing metallic twisting and tearing.

“Crack… snap!!!”

“What?!”

Han Ning sprang up, straining his ears.

The source of the noise was unmistakably from the small balcony outside the living room!

Without hesitation, he dashed toward the living room, his right hand splayed open as deep green spiritual light slowly gathered in his palm.

The balcony door was tightly shut.

Using the faint green glow emitted while charging his Vine Technique, Han Ning caught a vague glimpse of the scene outside.

The metal security grille on the balcony railing, once intact, now bore a basin-sized hole.

A grotesque head squeezed through, its yellow vertical pupils, about the size of ping-pong balls, gleaming with feral malice in the darkness.

It locked its gaze firmly on Han Ning inside.

Opening its protruding jaws filled with countless tiny, sharp teeth, it ferociously bit at the edge of the grille.

The sharp metallic scraping continued without pause.

“Damn it, this guy remembers grudges,” Han Ning thought grimly.

The juvenile crocodile-lizard before him seemed about the same size as the one he had driven off days ago—likely the very same.

“Hissss!!”

Sensing the threat in Han Ning’s palm, the juvenile let out a short, sharp hiss and became even more frenzied in its attacks.

Its powerful hind legs stomped against the exterior wall as its upper body suddenly lunged inward.

“Crack!”

Another support bar was completely severed.

“Damn you, die!” Han Ning’s eyes flashed with fierce determination, and the right palm he had been charging shot forward.

Ssssh, ssssh, ssssh.

The deep green spiritual light erupted from his palm as if tangible.

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