Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 9: First Disaster - Acidic Rain

"The accumulation of Plant Essence in the early stage is still too slow," he muttered.

"So far, I only used 5 Plant Essence to craft the temporary Leaf Resin Coating. Including yesterday’s remaining 22 and today’s net gain of 25, I only have 47 Plant Essence in total."

"The road to survival is long and arduous."

Vikram tossed a slightly overcooked strip of roasted rabbit to Pinku before eating his own roasted meat alongside boiled spring water.

With one bite, the aroma spread instantly. The wild rabbit’s firm leg meat was tender yet chewy, and each bite carried a rich, natural flavor that made him close his eyes in satisfaction.

It was indeed a good item with a grade, but it was a pity that the meat only had aroma and no saltiness.

He opened the trading platform and quickly found someone selling salt. He purchased it for six pieces of wood.

Vikram preferred trading wood or stone for rare items.

After all, it would take them at least half an hour to collect one of these items with a stone pickaxe and stone axe, while it only took Vikram 7-8 minutes, which was completely worth it.

On the contrary, if he were to exchange for food and water, Vikram would have to bargain carefully.

He lightly sprinkled a few grains of salt onto the roasted rabbit. This simple seasoning instantly enhanced the flavor. The salt blended with the richness of the meat, creating a simple yet unforgettable meal.

Vikram finished the roasted rabbit in his hand and glanced at the supplies in his backpack, chuckling softly to himself.

After eating, he cleaned up the mess.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the natural disaster. He decided he would stay awake until midnight, waiting for the acid rain to officially begin.

Before that, he brought Pinku and the Guardian Sprout fully inside the Treehouse.

The corrosive rain would not be ordinary rain. Even though the Treehouse was Purple-grade, leaving them outside unnecessarily would be foolish.

The Guardian Sprout quietly stationed itself near the entrance platform inside the canopy, while Pinku nestled beside his bed.

Vikram lay back on his bed and continued browsing the chat channel.

Before understanding the exact situation of the acid rain, he didn’t dare fall asleep.

Watching the Survivors chatting idly, he suddenly felt as if he were scrolling through one of Earth’s old group chats.

Only the topics had changed—from jokes and complaints to survival strategies and fear.

Though the conversations were heavy, they strangely comforted him.

In this unfamiliar world, communication has become the only form of spiritual support.

Time passed minute by minute.

[Daily Territory Settlement Complete]

Treehouse: +50

Thornvine: +10

Guardian Sprout: +12

Spikevine: +3

Maintenance: -50

Net Gain: +25

[Plant Essence +25]

His total Plant Essence rose to 72.

Without hesitation, Vikram opened the Plant System store.

He selected:

Moisture Barrier Moss (Blue)

Cost: 60 Plant Essence

Description: A special membrane moss that forms a thin protective layer over surfaces. Reduces acid rain damage by 30% within the covered area.

After purchase, a faint blue-green cluster of moss appeared in his palm.

Immediately, the Treehouse Core interface activated.

[Detected Defensive Enhancement Item]

Apply to:

• Treehouse Structure

• Thornvine

• Guardian Sprout

• Spikevine

Vikram chose Thornvine.

The moss dissolved into light and merged into the Thornvine’s outer surface. A thin, almost invisible membrane shimmered faintly across its vines before disappearing.

[Thornvine – Acid Resistance Increased by 30%]

He then crafted another Temporary Leaf Resin Coating for the Spikevine.

Cost: 5 Plant Essence

Duration: 24 hours

Effect: 15% Acid Resistance

The transparent resin layer quickly spread over the Spikevine’s spikes and tendrils before hardening.

After spending 65 Plant Essence in one go, he was left with a pitiful 7 remaining.

Looking at the nearly empty balance, Vikram couldn’t help but sigh.

All that hard-earned accumulation from the past few days had vanished in an instant.

Now, everything that could be prepared had been prepared.

At exactly 12:00, the air outside grew heavier.

A faint sizzling sound echoed in the darkness.

Then, the first drop fell.

[First Natural Disaster: Acid Rain Officially Begins]

The mysterious voice that had once welcomed all Survivors echoed once more from the totem on his wrist.

Outside the Treehouse, the world began to hiss.

Ignoring the voice from his wrist, Vikram opened his window to check the situation outside.

The sky gradually enveloped by an ominous haze, and the previously pitch-black sky was stained with a sickly yellow-green hue.

As if foreshadowing the arrival of acid rain, a pungent smell permeated the air, making people instinctively cover their noses.

Before Vikram could close the window, lightning-like fissures of light tore across the sky, and acid rain began to fall like fine needles, first a few scattered drops, then becoming denser and denser, until it formed a torrential downpour.

Raindrops fell on the ground, emitting hissing corrosive sounds, and the soil and vegetation began to visibly corrode under the acidic liquid.

Many puddles gradually appeared on the ground and were quickly stained a strange green.

Looking at the chat channel, the group members inside immediately erupted.

Because the scale of the acid rain was nothing like what some Survivors had previously described; it was clearly a violent spectacle that seemed determined to wash everything away.

Suddenly, anxiety quickly spread among the Survivors.

The few people who had confidently said that solid wood houses would be fine began to grow little, speaking up one after another:

[Brothers, this acid rain seems a bit fierce. What’s the situation on your end?]

[No problems so far, it should hold up. It won’t keep raining this heavily, will it?]

[Who knows if this rain will stop. If the disaster lasts for 7 days with such heavy rain, a solid wood house definitely won’t hold up.]

[Never mind if it can hold up for now, my Shelter is built in a low-lying area, and the accumulated water outside is already leaking in, what should I do??]

Looking at the chat messages, Vikram’s brows furrowed, and he began to check his Treehouse for any signs of leakage.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he found not a single drop of rainwater seeping in. Moreover, when raindrops struck the Treehouse, they bounced off without causing any damage.

At the same time, he was immensely grateful that he had a Treehouse and he built directly into the mountain.

With his treehouse surrounded by mountains on three sides, he only needed to worry about surface runoff from one open direction.

In fact, although Vikram’s Treehouse was built at the foot of the mountain, it was not in a low-lying area.

There was a gentle slope from the road to the Treehouse, so the acid rain would flow down the slope without lingering much at the Shelter.

The remaining acid rain was also completely drained away by the simple drainage ditch he had built along with the small terrain adjustments he had made earlier.

"Exchanging for that drainage ditch blueprint was truly a wise decision."

Vikram secretly congratulated himself on his foresight; the construction of this drainage ditch seemed particularly important at this moment.

The intensity of the acid rain exceeded many people’s expectations, yet his Treehouse remained safe and sound thanks to these thorough preparations.

After ensuring that the acid rain posed no threat to his Treehouse, Vikram lay on his pure cotton coat, resting his arms under his head, and fell into a deep sleep...

The heavy rain gently tapped the ground, a subtle and continuous sound that gradually became clear. Vikram, half-asleep and half-awake, was slowly roused by the gradually intensifying sound of the rain.

He slowly opened his eyes in the darkness, his consciousness detaching from the dream and returning to reality.

At 7 AM on December 5th, Vikram reluctantly climbed out of bed.

True to its name as a natural disaster, the acid rain showed no signs of stopping after falling all night.

Not only was it impossible to go out, but the acid rain also caused the temperature to drop significantly overnight.

Vikram, who had used his only cotton coat as a cushion while sleeping last night, felt a bit chilled when he woke up in the morning.

He quickly lit a bonfire, put on his coat, and sat by it to warm himself.

As the bonfire gradually grew stronger, the temperature inside the Treehouse began to rise, slowly dispelling the chill from Vikram’s body.

He took out some meat, put it into a stone bowl, and added a little mountain spring water to simmer it slowly; going out in this situation was unlikely.

Early in the morning, Vikram leisurely cooked a bowl of meat soup to warm himself up.

While keeping an eye on the meat simmering in the stone bowl, he opened the chat channel again.

In the chat channel, other Survivors were sharing their situations, discussing the impact of the acid rain and their countermeasures.

Vikram concluded from the chat that stone houses could completely withstand acid rain, while solid wood houses already showed signs of corrosion after a night of acid rain beating down them.

Moreover, for some shelters located in lower terrain, the foundations of solid wood houses had been submerged in acid rain, and after a night, they had suffered severe corrosion.

Many survivors with solid wood houses began to look for ways to trade wood and stone, and the trading market was suddenly filled with many rare items.

"Good heavens, so many good things."

Vikram’s gaze carefully swept over the newly listed blueprints in the trading market, and he couldn’t help but sigh at how shrewd these Survivors were, each one more cunning than the last.

Good things that were usually hidden without a trace were now being densely listed in times of crisis.