Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 1402 - 699: The Extravagant Alien Invader Leader (Part 3)

"Hmm!" Xu Ying nodded.

The two continued to walk through the park.

Because the vine path wasn’t wide, whenever an alien invader approached, they had to retreat or take a detour.

Fortunately, there were many paths in this "park," and after about twenty minutes, they had finally crossed through it.

At the park’s end stood a massive door.

This door was five or six meters tall, very tall and grand.

The door resembled the ones they had seen inside the world tree, consisting of double doors opening left and right, crafted entirely from unknown metal, and its surface was overgrown with scarlet vines.

Thankfully, these scarlet vines weren’t squirming like the vegetation in the "park."

More like actual plants.

"Ying." Keke called out softly, indicating they had arrived.

Above the door, a dozen cold and metallic electronic eyes hidden behind the scarlet vines were slowly moving, surveying the area below the door.

Fortunately, Xu Xin and Xu Ying remained undiscovered.

"...How do we get inside?"

Xu Xin asked softly, looking around.

The door was tightly shut, with no visible switches.

"If it were the old me, maybe I could transport us directly past it, but now..."

Xu Ying looked troubled.

"I’m afraid something will go wrong. Now I only dare teleport to locations I’ve already reached; otherwise, one mistake and it’s over."

"Then let’s think of another way." Xu Xin glanced at Xu Ying, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

Her condition was becoming increasingly unstable.

"Ying." At this point, Keke tried to crawl halfway out of Xu Xin’s embrace.

Then Xu Xin pushed its little head back down.

"Get back, don’t come out." Xu Xin pinched the little creature’s ear.

"Ying!"

The little creature waved its paw and pointed to a location: "Ying Ying!"

Their eyes lit up.

This little creature always held key information at critical moments!

Following Keke’s direction, they approached the edge of the door.

They found, on the side of the door...

A button resembling a doorbell.

A red button was hidden among the red vines, which is why they hadn’t noticed it earlier.

"This..." Xu Xin looked at the creature in his arms, "You mean for us to press this?"

"Ying!" Keke nodded its small head.

The two exchanged glances.

"Are you sure we won’t be discovered, Keke?" Xu Ying asked softly, looking at the electronic eyes overhead.

"Ying Ying!" Keke was visibly confident.

"What do you say?" Xu Xin looked at Xu Ying.

"...Press it." Xu Ying bit her lip, holding Xu Xin’s arm, "If some mechanism activates and we encounter trouble, I’ll teleport us out immediately."

Xu Xin nodded, hesitated no longer, and reached out to uncover the scarlet vines covering the red button, pressing it immediately.

"Click."

The button sank inward after being pressed, without returning.

As Xu Xin pressed it, he quickly withdrew his hand and stepped back a few paces with Xu Ying.

He was still wary of any mechanism.

As expected, no dangerous mechanism appeared.

In fact...

There was no reaction whatsoever.

The two waited for a few seconds, yet the door remained closed.

"Ying...?" Keke tilted its little head.

It seemed unsure of the current situation as well.

"Is this really how it opens, Keke?" Xu Xin asked, looking down.

"Ying..." Keke continued to tilt its little head.

As if to say, "Yes, but why isn’t it open?"

"This door might have been unused for a long time, and it may have broken down."

Xu Ying pointed to the vines covering the door, along with the thick dust beneath them.

"How long has it been since this door opened?"

This...

Xu Xin pondered for a moment, moving forward and pressing the button harder.

The button sank another few centimeters.

"Clatter!"

This time, a mechanical sound echoed.

He was instantly pulled backward by Xu Ying.

The door, appearing untouched for years, slowly opened outward before them.

The vines covering the door were gradually stretched as it opened but still could not prevent the door from opening.

As the door opened wider, the vines were snapped one by one.

Meanwhile, the scene inside was revealed to Xu Xin and Xu Ying.

"Whoa..."

Though they had expected it, Xu Xin was still startled by the opulence of the interior’s decoration.

Inside was a corridor... constructed entirely of scarlet crystal!

The corridor’s sides, ceiling, even the floor were filled with various golden decorations.

...Gold?

Xu Xin immediately recognized what these items were made of.

The decorative items appeared so familiar... As if they were crafted by humans!

These things were either tributes from enslaved humans or spoils of war from a thousand years ago.

Now, they adorned this corridor made from scarlet crystal.

Of course, the decorations were not the point; the real focus was...

"This place actually has scarlet crystal...?" Xu Ying muttered, "And normal, non-concentrated scarlet crystal."

The crystals emitted a relatively gentle glow.

For easier movement, Xu Xin and Xu Ying had already removed their protective membranes.

The light from the non-concentrated scarlet crystal didn’t cause them discomfort.

Normal scarlet crystal existed on the aliens’ home planet, forming part of the surface material there, once abundant but now extremely rare.

Because of this scarcity, alien invaders spread across the universe to conquer planets.

Yet now, the leader used these scarlet crystals to construct a corridor...?

Just thinking about it felt extravagant...

Xu Xin looked back.

Behind them, five or six alien invaders had gathered.

[...Door...open...?]

[Why...?]

The aliens puzzled over why the door had opened.

But they weren’t surprised or shocked by the scarlet crystals inside.

The leader had constructed this corridor with scarlet crystal, and they apparently knew it.

...This indeed seemed profligate.

No wonder some alien invaders considered rebellion.

Although more alien invaders crowded around, they individually refrained from stepping closer.

Perhaps they weren’t usually allowed near this area, even though pressing a button could open the door.

"Let’s go inside quickly." Xu Ying pulled Xu Xin inside, "Considering there are scarlet crystals here, we came to the right place. We can’t leave these scarlet crystals—it’s all going down!"

Xu Xin glanced ahead.

The corridor needed no lighting, since the scarlet crystals themselves emitted scarlet light.

Approximately a hundred meters forward, the corridor led to a corner.

The entire corridor was constructed from scarlet crystal, continuing unbroken to the corner.

How many scarlet crystals must have been used to build this?

Inside here...

What might be waiting?

Xu Xin gently stroked Keke’s little head in his arms, whispering, "Keke, you’ve done brilliantly once again."