Chapter 209: Merging Zones Unexpectedly【2‑in‑1】

Lin Yifan took out the sturdy, thick Crocodile Skin and examined it carefully.

Its surface glimmered with a cold, hard dark‑green sheen, the scales packed tightly, and it felt metallic to the touch.

He remembered that killing the mutated crocodile had taken a great deal of effort.

Had he not had the Wind‑Chasing Cloud‑Breaking Bow and the quest mechanic, the mutated crocodile could have retreated to the Water Pool, and he would never have had the chance to grind it down slowly.

He actually possessed many beast hides, but only this Crocodile Skin qualified as a high‑grade hide.

After measuring carefully, despite many tears, a proper cut of the Crocodile Skin should yield several pieces of Leather Armor.

Lin Yifan originally only wanted to craft a set for himself, but now that he has decided to Shelter Su Xiao xi, he naturally must protect her safety as well.

Not to mention he plans to take her on Instances later; even the earlier low‑level Instances were so dangerous, this scenario is likely even riskier.

So he still needs to prepare some defensive gear for her.

Unfortunately, when choosing talents, Su Xiao xi completely gave up on martial development, so even a good weapon would be useless for her.

Therefore he can only give her some defensive equipment to add a few more layers of safety.

Thinking this, Lin Yifan cut the Crocodile Skin roughly into two parts according to his own build and Su Xiao xi's approximate size.

The Blueprint he currently has is only for the chest piece; he has collected other parts before, but no one has released them yet.

Yet the Crocodile Skin is badly torn, so making two chest pieces would be barely enough, which actually simplifies things.

After cutting the Crocodile Skin, Lin Yifan rummaged from the material pile and pulled out sixteen Fire Spirit Crystals.

It was lucky, since crafting a chest piece requires at least eight Fire Spirit Crystals; if not for this "double luck" that gave him twelve at once, he couldn't have made two pieces of Leather Armor.

Crafting the chest piece needs a Workbench, and Lin Yifan's Workbench has now been upgraded to Intermediate, barely sufficient for production.

He took the materials to the Workbench and placed them all into the material inlet.

Instantly, the Workbench sucked the materials in, emitting a restless buzzing.

Through a slit in the Workbench, Lin Yifan could see restless flames erupting inside the Fire Spirit Crystal, while a wave of heat washed over him.

After about four or five minutes, the Workbench's noise ceased.

Two pieces of Leather Armor glowing red fell from the Workbench's output.

Though the two leather items were clearly made of hide, their appearance was completely different from the original Crocodile Skin.

The Crocodile Skin wasn't ugly, but it wasn't attractive either, certainly not matching a girl's aesthetic.

Yet the current Leather Armor was entirely different; the red glow had faded, the whole piece now showed a dark silver hue, etched with dense, intricate patterns.

At first glance the patterns resembled a chrysanthemum, but on closer inspection each line was composed of individual characters.

Lin Yifan had studied many formations, and those legal‑style characters matched the ones on this Leather Armor perfectly.

From this he concluded that the patterns on the leather should also be a formation.

Moreover, eight dark‑red crystals were inlaid at the chest.

These crystals, in shape, were identical to the Fire Spirit Crystals he had inserted earlier, but their aura differed.

The original Fire Spirit Crystals' aura wasn't overly frantic, yet still bore a fiery volatility.

Yet now the crystals' aura was extremely gentle.

In any case, appearance‑wise, this chest piece was truly top‑grade.

Now he checked the item information.

【Flame Guard Chestplate (Silver Grade)】

【Defense +15】

【Fire Resistance +20%】

【Passive Skill 1: When attacked, automatically triggers a flame shield lasting three minutes (cooldown 12 hours)】

【Passive Skill 2: Wearing the chestpiece keeps the body at a constant temperature, impervious to cold and heat.】

【Note: Crocodile tears are transmuted into flame, scorching all invading enemies】

Lin Yifan looked at the stats, his face full of delight.

Aside from everything else, just the constant‑temperature feature alone qualifies this chestpiece as a celestial item.

One must know that even without the Red Moon's corruption, natural calamities persist in this world, and temperatures swing unpredictably between cold and heat.

With this temperature‑stabilizing chestpiece, one gains considerably more survivability amid ever‑changing disasters.

Not to mention its other decent attributes and the two passive skills.

Especially the second passive; if faced with Maggot Human Bone, it becomes a lethal weapon.

He just didn't know how intense the emitted flame would be; if it could rival Mao Mao's Flame Breath, it would be a true treasure.

Lin Yifan donned the larger chestpiece, and as soon as it was on, the slightly loose armor automatically contracted to fit his form perfectly.

"It even auto‑fits the body; no wonder it's Silver Grade equipment."

This was Lin Yifan's first encounter with Silver Grade gear, and it certainly did not disappoint him.

After adjusting a bit and confirming the chestpiece didn't hinder his movement at all, he took the other chestpiece and went to find Su Xiao xi.

Upon arriving at Su Xiao xi's Shelter, he saw her crouching on the open ground in front, pulling weeds.

"Are you going to clear the field?" Lin Yifan asked curiously.

Su Xiao xi wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled, "Brother Yifan, why did you come over?"

"It's not that I'm clearing the field; since it's right outside our place, it needs a proper tidy‑up. As for actually planting…"

"I actually have that idea; you know my talents are all allocated to intellect, my combat value is almost zero, so hunting for supplies is quite hard for me. If farming to sustain myself is truly difficult, that would actually be a good thing."

Lin Yifan agreed, nodded and smiled:

"I've wanted to farm before too; look, I've already cleared a plot over there, but I've been busy and kept postponing planting."

"If you're truly interested, I'll later exchange for some crop seeds, and you can give planting a try."

Saying that, he handed the leather armor to Su Xiao xi, "Oh, by the way, this is for you."

"This is... Leather Armor?" Su Xiao xi's eyes lit up bit by bit, quickly wiped her hands on herself, and said with a face full of surprise:

"It's still a Silver Grade Leather Armor, where did this come from?"

"I made it myself," Lin Yifan said with a smile, "I previously obtained a chest armor Blueprint, and later I happened to kill a crocodile, so I just took some material and crafted two chest armors."

"I'll keep one for myself, and this one is yours; wearing it you'll be a bit safer."

"For me?" Su Xiao xi's face was shocked, eyes widened, and she said in disbelief:

"Brother Yifan, this is a Silver Grade Leather Armor, probably the first of its kind in the whole District, and you gave it to me?"

"If it's for you, it's for you; what does it matter whether it's the first one?" Lin Yifan gave her an irritated glance, waved his hand and said:

"You're a frail, weakling; without some protective gear, you might get injured and die someday."

"I've spent a lot of effort sheltering you, and you haven't given me enough return; if something happens to you, wouldn't that be a loss for me?"

"Alright, the sky will darken soon; hurry back to the Shelter, I'll trade you food after I finish cooking, and you must not step out of the Shelter before dawn, understand?"

Su Xiao xi was moved to the point of tears, but she said little, obediently put on the Leather Armor, and then obediently entered the house.

She dares to exchange all her combat power for intelligence, so naturally she cannot be foolish.

At a time like this, she knows exactly what she should do!

That is, not to cause Lin Yifan any trouble.

Lin Yifan saw her being obedient and wore a look of satisfaction.

Here is only a few dozen meters from his Shelter; if Su Xiao xi truly encounters any trouble, he can rush over immediately.

At this moment the sky was completely dark, and Lin Yifan, because he had a Pure Spirit Flower in his hand, could not hear those eerie whispers at all.

But after looking at the Red Moon hanging in the sky and hesitating for a moment, he took the Pure Spirit Flower off his wrist and placed it into the Ring Space.

The Red Moon's light was much dimmer than before, and Lin Yifan wanted to verify whether the Red Moon's power had also correspondingly weakened a lot.

Sure enough, as soon as the Pure Spirit Flower was removed, chaotic whispers rang in his ears.

However, clearly fewer than the whispers during previous night outings.

Thus it can be seen that the Red Moon's power has indeed been diminished.

Although it only treats the symptom and not the root, the Red Moon is far away in the sky; even if its power can be temporarily weakened, given time it will inevitably recover.

But at least it can ease things for a while, which let Lin Yifan let out a sigh of relief.

However, at that moment, Lin Yifan's private messages suddenly exploded.

All his friends were sending him private messages, almost simultaneously.

"What happened? How could everyone send me private messages..."

With a curious expression, Lin Yifan hurried back into his Shelter and opened Ruan Qingtan's private chat first.

Ruan Qingtan: "Captain, quickly check the chat channel, the announcement says the zones are merging!"

Lin Yifan saw those words, his pupils instantly contracted, and he hurriedly opened the chat channel.

Sure enough, at the top of the chat channel, a bold announcement appeared.

Dear Survivors, congratulations on surviving until now, but we regret to tell you that the real challenge is just beginning, because your Initial Domain ends today, you are about to enter the real survival path, and at the same time you will also welcome the First Round zone merge. Since the number of survivors in your District is higher than that of another District, your District will serve as the main District for the merge. Welcome your partners well!

After carefully reading the announcement, Lin Yifan's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"It was all just the Initial Domain?"

As for whether the zones merge, Lin Yifan didn't care, because he had already received the news; the merge was inevitable.

Moreover, in the Initial Domain, the merging zones are all of the Human race, so regardless of which District merges, the result is essentially the same.

But the words "Initial Domain" have a completely different meaning!

After the Initial Domain, what inevitably comes is an even more difficult crisis.

And during the previous Initial Domain, so many people died; even Lin Yifan himself faced countless life‑or‑death crises.

If it weren't for luck, he wouldn't know how many times he had died!

All this was just the Initial Domain!

Then, on the upcoming "Survival Path", how many can say they'll survive?

Can he survive?

Lin Yifan didn't know.

The first time, he felt panic and confusion.

Just then, Ruan Qingtan's message came again.

Ruan Qingtan: "Captain, what should we do next?"

"Right?"

"What should we do next?"

Lin Yifan frowned, for a moment he didn't know how to answer.

But the next second, his furrowed brows relaxed!

Because he suddenly realized a question: no matter how tangled or confused he is now, does it help?

It is completely useless!

What must be faced still has to be faced!

Since that's the case, what else is there for him to be tangled over?

He took out a piece of Wild Boar meat he had saved earlier, about a pound, smeared it with fat, spread it on the Mithril Cast Iron Pot, placed it over a fire to slowly grill, and then began to reply.

Lin Yifan: "Do whatever needs to be done; whether the zones merge or not, we still live the same way, right?"

Ruan Qingtan's message replied after a while, "Seems right! Then I'll go make dinner."

And the other few friends also asked the same question, and Lin Yifan's replies were identical.

But within the chat channel, it was a clamor.

Ma La Bo Bo Ji: "Good fellow, there's even a District merge in this survival? Sounds just like a game!"

Huang Jin Sheng Dou Shi: "Hey, look at what you said, just look at the mechanism of this world— isn't it a survival game? It's just that we players only have one life."

Ma Dashuai: "Never mind whether it's a game or not, let's talk about what to do now. We don't know what the people coming from the District merge are like, whether they'll affect us."

I am Ou Huang: "There shouldn't be any impact, right? After all, we can only chat here in this channel, we can't meet offline, and when there are more people, more supplies can be generated, and the variety of trades we can make will probably increase, so in that sense the channel is actually a good thing."

I am the real Ou Huang: "You upstairs, change your name immediately, because I am the real Ou Huang!"

I am Ou Huang: "To hell with you, you fake Ou Huang, the one who should change the name is you..."

Father of Ou Huang: "Alright, alright, you two are both my children, stop squabbling here, just consider yourselves twins..."

I am Ou Huang: "How dare you take advantage of me, go die!"

I guess I'm Ou Huang: "Alright, alright, you're definitely going to die..."

The chat channel gradually started to go off-topic, but most people's attitudes remained quite good.

Only Lin Yifan, at this moment, felt a bit uneasy!

Since this world has a District merge, will an offline free-for-all be far off?