Hearing Notch's cheeky remark, Rookie couldn't help rolling his eyes hard. He felt a bit speechless, but since Notch had already made his stance clear, there was no need for him to say anything more.
Just now, he had only been thinking from a friend's perspective, considering things for Notch.
After all, a game involves a lot of factors. But since Notch had already made his choice, Rookie naturally chose to fully respect and understand it.
At this moment, seeing the ease and relief on Notch's face, Xu Yuan felt genuinely happy for him.
After going through step by step of transformation and refinement, at this very moment, he had truly merged with this world, becoming a qualified Creator God who would no longer be criticized by anyone.
Thinking of this, Xu Yuan couldn't help looking at Notch and said with a smile, teasing him, "I suggest you drop the idea of crossing over here. Even if you really did it, I'd find a way to kick you back."
"You've enjoyed yourself comfortably for ten years. It's about time you suffered a bit, right?"
"Run this game properly for me, and send me more believers while you're at it. Consider it paying back what you owe me."
Hearing Xu Yuan's words, Steve and the others at the side couldn't help laughing out loud, then chimed in.
"Our Creator God says nothing, just keeps trying to dodge responsibility."
"Creator God, hang in there! If it really doesn't work, just open up a recharge system. We might not have much, but we can still spare a few bucks here and there. Don't look down on it, alright?"
"How did this turn into crowdfunding? You guys really don't understand the Creator God at all. He's on the Forbes list!"
"You think he cares about your pocket change? Just a bit of his allowance could keep this game running forever! This game isn't going down!"
"…"
The reason Steve and the others joked about Notch was because they knew very well that even if Xu Yuan and all the conscious beings entered the inner world, this game would never decline.
On the contrary, it might even usher in a new wave of popularity.
The attraction of the two worlds, inner and outer, would absolutely not be any less than the appeal of conscious beings.
Even if the outer world turned into just an ordinary game after losing Xu Yuan and the conscious beings, the players wouldn't lose their desire to explore because of that.
Because they knew that there was still a colorful inner world waiting for them to explore.
They would definitely try every possible way to find a method to enter the inner world, so there was no need to worry about player retention at all.
The reason Rookie had reminded Notch wasn't because he hadn't thought of this, but because he had considered things more comprehensively.
Steve and the others wanted to promote the inner world, clearly hoping that more players would enter it. That way, Xu Yuan would gain greater power.
But Rookie was the opposite. He actually didn't want to publicize the inner world at all. Ideally, it would be kept hidden.
In his view, the inner world was like a paradise away from the world. It was already good enough for Xu Yuan, Entity 303, and the other beings to live there peacefully.
It could completely be treated as a secret garden for players who truly loved the game. It didn't need too many people to know about it. As long as those who knew genuinely loved it, that was enough.
Clearly, neither Rookie nor Steve's group was wrong.
It was like different people discovering a hidden gem of a song that not many had heard yet.
Some people wouldn't want to share it, preferring to keep it as a treasure.
Others, however, would hope more people could hear it.
Although Rookie had his own considerations, after hearing that neither Notch nor Xu Yuan intended to hide the inner world, he no longer needed to worry about the game's development.
———
Hearing everyone's teasing, Notch was just about to lecture Steve and those brats when he suddenly caught sight of Xu Yuan looking at him with a sentimental expression and speaking.
"Actually, even without me, without those conscious beings, even without the inner world…"
"Minecraft would still be an excellent game."
"Even if it's just a sandbox game, to me, it's not ordinary."
"The same goes for you, the one who created it."
Xu Yuan's words came straight from the heart. In his previous life, the Minecraft he played didn't have HIM, nor did it have conscious beings.
But Minecraft had still accompanied him for a full eight years. It was the only game he had never been able to let go of.
No matter how others viewed the game, at least in Xu Yuan's heart, and in the hearts of countless blocky people, Minecraft was an outstanding game.
Hearing Xu Yuan's sudden praise, Notch froze on the spot.
His eyes widened like copper bells, his face full of disbelief as he stared straight at Xu Yuan, as if trying to find even the slightest hint of a joke in his expression.
Not only that, he even subconsciously reached up and dug at his ears, afraid he had misheard.
Just as he was about to tease Xu Yuan and ask if he had taken the wrong medicine, a strange feeling suddenly surged up in his heart.
He sensed that the surrounding air seemed to be trembling slightly, and an indescribable energy was rapidly gathering.
Looking closely, he saw countless white particles rushing in from all directions. They gathered together at an astonishing speed, forming streaks of dazzling white light.
These white lights were like lightning, tearing through the constraints of space and charging straight toward Notch's body.
Faced with this sudden change, Notch had no time to react. In the blink of an eye, those white lights struck him like raindrops.
However, instead of harming him as one might expect, the seemingly violent white lights were drawn to his body, quickly being absorbed into him.
For Xu Yuan, this white light was very familiar. He had seen it twice before. The first time was when the real HIM passed power to him. The second was when he himself passed power to D.
Clearly, these white lights were Notch's power.
After going through repeated trials and transformations, his power had finally returned to him once again.
At this moment, bathed in this dazzling white light, Notch looked like a god descending from the heavens, radiating an awe-inspiring presence.
After a full five minutes of being washed over by the white light, Notch finally slowly opened his tightly shut eyes…