Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

"Okay, okay."

Ou Yun thought to himself, "This forbidden area is great! Now I don't have to do anything myself."

The live stream chat in China was flooded with comments:

"What an amazing life!!"

"Awesome! We've gained another powerful ally!"

"I can attest to it! The giant rainbow fish are really delicious! We've already started eating the ones that were released during the day, hahaha!"

"What, isn't anyone concerned about Captain Leng? She's already eaten five pancakes!"

"Let her eat! Let her eat!"

"So the Forbidden Zone is actually a slow-paced lifestyle variety show, right? Right?"

"Hilarious, our CEO Ou has finally gotten to play the hacked version of Forbidden Zone."

After breakfast, everyone went their separate ways to attend to their own tasks.

Hassan and Farhan went to the experimental field to check on the growth of the mutated plant.

Alexander took Ivan and Maxim to the back mountain to chop wood, in preparation for making a few more pieces of furniture.

Chen Hao stayed with the furnace, continuing to work on his new invention.

Leng Ruolan then took Nanbei to patrol the mountain, saying that she wanted to check several newly added warning points in the surrounding area.

Ou Yun thought that as the village chief, he should find something to do. He remembered that Leng Dui had mentioned the giant tortoise, so he wandered alone to the river bend at the foot of the mountain.

Sure enough, the giant turtle was soaking in the pool.

The pool was much wider than when I had seen it before, which was obviously because this guy had expanded it himself.

A layer of pebbles was laid on the muddy beach by the pool, neatly arranged, with a few flat, large stones placed in the middle, somewhat resembling stools.

"You little rascal, are you planning to settle down here?"

Ou Yun squatted by the pool and called out to the giant turtle.

The giant turtle slowly poked its head out of the water, saw that it was Ou Yun, and made a gurgling sound as if to greet him.

Ou Yun narrowed his eyes. "I do need to collect rent."

The giant tortoise spread its claws and made a few gurgling sounds—it understood that this must mean "whatever".

"Alright, if you can help me resolve these lords' issues, you can stay as long as you want."

As Ou Yun spoke, he subconsciously glanced to the side. Was it just his imagination? It seemed like the scenery on his side of the mountain was much better. He clearly remembered that when he first came to this mountain, the scenery was dilapidated, with withered yellow leaves, cracked ground, and intermittent water.

Later, a pool of water inexplicably formed in this place—and now this guy has his eye on it, causing the pool to swell up as well.

Ou Yun certainly wouldn't mind allying with these guys; it would be entirely beneficial for them!

The giant tortoise nodded, then pointed with its paw to the hillside opposite the pool, where a dense bamboo forest grew.

Ou Yun glanced at it, thought for a moment, and said, "You want me to help you plant bamboo?"

The giant tortoise nodded again, a hint of anticipation appearing in its tiny, beady eyes.

Planting bamboo is not difficult; that bamboo grove was originally wild, so we just need to transplant a few trees.

Moreover, bamboo grows quickly, and planting it by the pond can provide shade and create a beautiful landscape, making it a good living environment for the giant tortoise.

"Okay, I'll have someone move a few over for you this afternoon."

The giant tortoise let out a satisfied gurgling sound, and without saying another word to Ou Yun, it sank back into the water.

Ou Yun sat by the pool, watching the giant tortoise leisurely swimming in the water.

A few sounds would occasionally ring in my ears:

[Congratulations to Ou Yun, Leng Ruolan, and Chen Hao from the Dragon Kingdom for defeating the mutated wolf using contracted creatures!]

[Triggered 10,000x Drop: Mutant Wolves!]

【…】

[Congratulations to Chinese players Ou Yun, Leng Ruolan, and Chen Hao for defeating the mutated wild boar using contracted creatures!]

[Triggered 10,000x Deployment: Mutant Wild Boars!]

【…】

He didn't even know which of his subordinates had killed him.

Oh, no wonder he's been eating wild boar meat every day lately; he's almost tired of it...sigh.

Because I hear it so much every day, I've gotten used to it.

In the pool, the giant turtle was leisurely pupaing, which Ou Yun found interesting—he had never seen such a big turtle before, and it almost reminded him of the final tribulation in "Journey to the West".

The allied affinity granted by this forbidden area was perfectly timed, increasing the initial favorability of all non-hostile creatures towards the host.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this that the forest lords and various giant beasts are so easy to talk to?

Sui Cheng thought to herself, just a few months ago they were being chased all over the mountain by mutated beasts. Now, a giant tortoise with a diameter of ten meters has made its home at the foot of their mountain and is even paying rent on its own initiative.

This forbidden area is getting more and more outrageous.

however.

Just as the European team was preparing to leisurely head to the camp, a cold, impersonal announcement rang out:

[The 100-day challenge for the "National Fate Wilderness" has been achieved, marking the end of Phase Two.]

[The number of deceased players has reached 1500, meeting the criteria for starting Phase Three.]

Meanwhile, multiple teams have been detected active in the forbidden area. To further enhance the challenge of the forbidden area, the area interaction function is now enabled.

[Function Description: Teams within the same area can sense each other's approximate location.]

Defeating other teams grants double all their resources, guaranteeing a 10,000x resource drop.

[Note: This feature will be officially launched in three days. Please prepare accordingly.]

Best of luck to everyone.

Upon hearing this, Ou Yun remained calm. Wasn't this similar to the last reckoning?

However, the last cleanup focused on killing wild beasts, but this time it advocates for battles between players.

But then again, it's been a long time since he's encountered players from other countries...

Ou Yun immediately returned to camp.

"So... the Forbidden Zone is going to start PvP?"

"PVP?"

"Player vs. Player"

"Oh...that's about it."

Everyone happened to be there.

Chen Hao caught his breath and put his glasses back on. "The notification mentions multiple teams. Does that mean there are competitors from other countries besides us in the forest area?"

"There definitely are, and there's at least more than one team."

Leng Ruolan sat to Ou Yun's left, and Chen Hao sat to his right.

The three from Pakistan and the three from Xiong were on opposite sides.

The nine people present looked at each other in bewilderment.

"So, in three days we'll be facing off against competitors from other countries?"

Alexander stroked his chin. "Interesting. It's been a long time since I've seen any living people from other countries—"

He thought they were all dead.

"Me too."

Hassan nodded. "After the cleanup, we basically only stayed with the eldest brother and the others. We knew nothing about the other contestants."

"The problem is, to what extent is the 'perceptible approximate location' mentioned in this announcement?"

Leng Ruolan tapped the table lightly with the tip of her dagger, speaking as she pondered.

"If we only know which direction other teams are in, that's fine. But if we can pinpoint their exact location, then the coordinates of our camp are practically public knowledge."