"Soren, to be honest, I've met Galen Yu once before, back in the Twilight Forest."
"He had just entered the Twilight Forest and was nothing more than a newcomer. I didn't take him seriously at all and even planned to ambush him while he was fighting a boss."
"Fortunately, I didn't make a move back then. Guess what I saw? Two hits! Galen Yu killed the boss in just two hits!"
"To kill that thing, I spent a whole day and night grinding, trying to get the first clear, but in the end..."
"I really am a pathetic failure."
Clenching his fists, Kira Oakmoor no longer looked like the high-spirited man who had set out at the start.
His head hung low, his spirit broken, and his confidence shattered.
This wasn't the first time he had been crushed by Galen Yu in SlashBlade, but it was undoubtedly the most severe.
He looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant, his entire being shrouded in an aura of terminal decline.
"No, Oakmoor, you learned something!"
"The Blade Stand, the Dimensional Slash, even the ideas for future development—those are all valuable experiences!"
Soren Park voiced these thoughts to comfort him, not feeling like they had failed at all.
They hadn't managed to ambush Galen Yu this time, it was true.
But knowing Galen Yu was on guard, Soren Park hadn't expected to kill him in one go anyway.
The most important part of sneaking into the chunk was gathering intelligence.
Everything happening on the Sky Island was visible from their high vantage point.
He hadn't mentioned it earlier, but reflecting on it now, Soren Park was truly impressed.
SlashBlade was just one part of it. There were irrigation farms, automatic sugar cane farms, and even a rail system he didn't quite understand.
The things covering those machines were clearly Redstone!
Those ores, usually overlooked and dismissed as worthless, were now playing such a massive role!
Just what Soren Park could see was enough to be called formidable.
"In those special devices, food actually grows infinitely!"
Normally, crops took several days to mature. Soren Park had counted carefully.
At its fastest, a carrot could reach its next growth stage in about an hour, with four stages in total.
That meant it could be harvested in less than six hours!
All it took was a simple pull of a lever to get massive amounts of food!
Food was also one of the relatively scarce resources for the Alliance.
Three pieces of cooked meat were needed to satisfy a normal player for a day; even being frugal, they needed at least two.
With so many people combined, it was still a significant daily expense.
His decision to return to Mushroom Island was largely motivated by this concern.
In a crisis, cattle and sheep were hard to find, and farming took too long to develop; immediate needs couldn't be met by distant prospects.
Besides, the chunk was only so large. It was barely enough for the Alliance to survive and defend against zombies, so there was no space for farming.
For various reasons, food had become very scarce.
They couldn't just eat rotten flesh for every meal, could they?
It could serve as an emergency supply when there was absolutely no food, but rotten flesh wasn't like other items.
Not to mention the strange texture and foul smell, the negative effects were hard to stomach.
The more you ate, the hungrier you got. The saturation from one piece of rotten flesh didn't even cover what you lost, and it left a slight feeling of poisoning—nauseous and uncomfortable.
Once was enough to never want it again. It was always better to have normal food if possible.
After arriving at Mushroom Island, he found quite a few things from his previous operations: over three stacks of food from farming and raising cattle.
It looked like a lot, enough to last a while.
But Soren Park did a rough calculation: his nearly month-long efforts in farming and development didn't yield as much as Galen Yu pulling a lever twice.
After a brief moment of dejection, Soren Park's mind became active again.
They were all players in this block world. If Galen Yu could do it, it meant he could too—as long as he stole the designs.
"Wouldn't the Alliance have a steady stream of food then?"
And there weren't just a few food devices in Galen Yu's chunk. There was that tall tower, and a partially built but clearly luxurious palace...
That massive house, the mysterious tools surrounded by bookshelves...
A bold guess formed in his mind!
"If I build it to scale, could I also get a Giant Guardian?"
Hearing Soren Park say these things, the bullet chat was shocked.
"I was wondering why this kid had been so quiet. So his mind was on this the whole time!"
"Good! As expected of Soren, his thinking is truly meticulous!"
"We really didn't see the Giant Guardian before. Could it really be that building a big house triggers a rule to spawn it?"
"Soren is right. Oakmoor, don't be discouraged. We're still counting on you to get revenge for us when the lava comes!"
"We've learned something from this! The Alliance will definitely rise in a short time!"
"Lord, are you protecting our hero Mark? This is definitely the one time I've actually been impressed by the Stick Nation's antics!"
Many foreign viewers were excited, thinking they had gained a lot.
No one died; at most, they wasted a few worthless Ender Pearls in exchange for development intelligence.
If that wasn't a profit, what was?
Developing SlashBlade might be impossible for now, but the same logic applied.
They were all players; if Galen Yu could use it, they could too!
Watching the bullet chat comforting themselves, Fries couldn't help but laugh.
"The logic is sound. Once you understand the mechanics, anyone can master them."
But could they really build those structures just by looking at the exterior?
If only it were that simple!
Redstone devices weren't simple at all. Even after watching them many times, some people still don't understand how to build a sugar cane farm!
Watching is one thing, but actually building it is another. The Observers and Slime Blocks are also significant barriers.
Only when the corresponding terrain was generated would Slimes appear on the Sky Island and drop Slimeballs.
Without those, it was hard to create them out of thin air.
Rather than worrying about Sky Island's technology being stolen, Fries felt they should be more concerned about themselves.
"Why don't you take a look behind you?"
Looking at that mass of dark figures, Fries began to enjoy himself.
Comforted by Soren Park, Kira Oakmoor's expression recovered slightly.
Although he still looked bewildered by the blow, he had regained some fighting spirit; he was no longer acting like his life was over.
"You're right. A warrior cannot be easily defeated."
Saying this, he looked up at the sky.
The sun was high; the fortieth day had arrived.
"Thirty-five points? If I survive until the end, just the survival bonus alone will exceed a hundred, right?"
"I wonder what new enhancements the zombies will get this time."
The crisis was still very terrifying.
Thinking this, Kira Oakmoor didn't care too much.
New changes wouldn't be visible until night anyway. Since there was still time during the day, he was about to suggest finding some more resources to bring back.
Then he saw Soren Park's expression turn grim.
"Oakmoor, it's daytime, right?"
Not understanding the sudden question, Kira Oakmoor nodded and pointed at the sky.
"Yeah, the sun is right there. How could it be night?"
Midway through his sentence, Kira Oakmoor froze.
He had been so immersed in his failure that he hadn't noticed. Listening carefully, the roars of zombies were clearly echoing in his ears.
Getting closer, getting louder.
"It's broad daylight... no way, right?"
He desperately hoped it was fake, a hallucination.
Until he turned his head and all hope vanished, replaced by reality.
They were a pack of thoroughbred, genuine Crisis Zombies!
"How are there zombies in the daytime!"
Recalling the special traits mentioned in the crisis description, Kira Oakmoor's face turned pale.
His newly gathered fighting spirit vanished, replaced by helpless panic.
They were still far from the Alliance.
Was he really going to die here today?
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