Taking a deep breath, the Black Mage's body suddenly tensed, golden patterns flowing across his gray skin.
Special script emerged as a mysterious power gathered.
His energy surged momentarily, but the price was a more withered face and a parched body.
He looked as if he had aged decades in an instant.
"Daylight zombies burn to death. This is my chance!"
Watching the sun on the horizon, the Black Mage focused his mind.
A few zombies wouldn't be much of a problem. If luck was on his side, he could break free with everything he had.
It might not even take the whole day; just a few hours and he'd be out!
Surrender?
How could he ever surrender to a Miniature Chunk!
Even if this chunk seemed powerful, it was still just a Miniature Chunk!
As a noble mage, how could he face anyone if word of this got out?
He tried again to break free from the wooden boat, immersing himself completely in the effort.
Ten minutes passed, a rare moment of peace.
"Ugh... ugh..."
The distinct growl of a zombie echoed once more.
Snapping his eyes open, the Black Mage's grayish-brown pupils flared with a blood-red tint.
"What? Zombies? In the daylight?"
Seeing the Crisis Zombies approaching one after another in the distance, his expression shifted drastically.
"They've evolved to ignore fire damage? They don't burn?"
This meant zombies could now survive during the day; they were no longer restricted to the night.
That alone wasn't the worst part. The key was that their tracking mechanics hadn't changed—they would still actively hunt the Black Mage.
The numbers were lower than at night, but they could still reach him. A few more or less made no difference.
Unless he broke free within ten minutes, he'd still be trapped for the next several hours.
He had used his magic and paid the price, yet nothing had actually changed.
The Black Mage's gray face turned even darker.
...
"God Yu has a mage on his side too, right?"
"Feels similar to that Wandering Mage—both seem like knowledgeable big shots from other chunks!"
"Actually, he might be weaker than the Black Mage. This guy was locked up by some unknown entity, while the Wandering Mage just got trapped by zombies!"
"He might be ugly, but the Black Mage's skills are seriously powerful!"
"Wiping out so many Crisis Zombies in an instant? The Wandering Mage couldn't pull that off!"
"He's so much stronger, yet the Alliance couldn't keep the Wandering Mage, while the Black Mage is just getting hammered in the sky!"
"Just when he finally tries to catch a break, zombies start spawning in the daytime!"
"Hahaha! If he knew it would end like this, why did he resort to such deception earlier?"
From a distance, it was hard to see clearly, and Soren Park had no idea a Black Mage was even there.
If Soren Park saw this, he'd undoubtedly have another breakdown.
Ignoring all that, Galen Yu stood on the Sky Island, holding an enchanted book.
He hadn't done any enchanting in a while. With so much sugar cane accumulated and no other use for it, he decided to use it all at once.
With a burst of luck, the enchantment attributes this time were excellent.
"Advanced Efficiency, Advanced Power, Advanced Protection..."
He was guaranteed at least one Advanced attribute, along with several Super versions and other brand-new enchantments.
Such as [EXPLOSION], [STRIKEBACK], and [FROST].
The effects were: a chance to cause an explosion upon killing an enemy, a chance for an extra melee strike, and reducing the movement speed of attacked creatures.
Applying these to his gear, his combat power surged once again.
While the zombies were evolving during the crisis, Galen Yu was growing powerful at an equally rapid pace.
"Twenty days left."
Based on the ten-day frequency, excluding the final day, the zombies would likely evolve at least one more time.
By then, if he remembered correctly, the zombies would reach their strongest form.
Learning to place blocks!
This was a terrifyingly broken ability.
The biggest difference between Steve—or rather, a player—and other creatures was the ability to use blocks.
In a player's hands, the world consisted of block after block, which could be destroyed, picked up, and placed whenever needed.
Without the ability to destroy blocks—like a Creeper's explosion or a Ghast's fireball—creatures would be stopped in their tracks.
Every mob would be stuck behind a block, unable to advance.
The use of blocks was the defining trait and the foundation for players surviving in the block world.
Now, this barrier was about to vanish from the zombies!
Just the thought of it was chilling.
Galen Yu had to start preparing early for this.
Rails and Nether Portals were sufficient for the current stage, and even zombies appearing during the day weren't a concern.
But whether he could defend against the next wave of zombies remained to be seen.
While his personal strength could be boosted via enchantments, the development of his chunk couldn't lag behind.
As for the implementation, Galen Yu had a very simple idea.
Redstone!
The first random chunk he refreshed seemed to be flat terrain where Slimes spawned randomly.
When he broke the rails there earlier, he left some space for the Slimes to live, taking the opportunity to farm quite a few Slimeballs.
Picking up the Redstone and Slimeballs, he looked toward the edge of the Sky Island, where the Black Mage was located.
A ring of Obsidian had randomly generated around the Sky Island, and now was the perfect time to use it!
Seeing Galen Yu enthusiastically grab the Redstone, the bullet chat flared up.
"Redstone plus Slimeballs? Could it be?!"
"Holy crap, God Yu is starting a new Redstone craft!"
"Who says you can't develop just because zombies are out during the day? Here we go again!"
"The Alliance hasn't even figured out the Observer yet, and God Yu already has a new device coming out!"
"Using it against zombies again? I'm curious what he'll build!"
"But currently, most Redstone crafts are for support. He hasn't made an actual offensive weapon, right?"
"True. The Infinite Rail Machine and Irrigation Farm aren't offensive—or at best, they're semi-automatic!"
"This time, God Yu is clearly heading toward the edge of the Sky Island!"
Watching the Redstone in Galen Yu's hand and the direction he was heading, the bullet chat was full of speculation.
Everyone was eager to see what new creation would appear!
At the Research Institute, Fries's eyes lit up.
"A rail machine has an insane effect, but it wouldn't be placed on the edge of the island."
Any idiot knows support tools belong in safe areas; putting a rail machine on the edge would be useless.
Since it wasn't a rail machine, it was likely exactly as guessed.
A Redstone craft device with offensive capabilities!
Warmth filled him as he took a sip of Hydra Chop porridge.
"Redstone can actually make weapons?"
Making them was one thing, but none of the previous inventions had been lackluster.
It proved Redstone devices were top-tier and powerful.
If support tools were this strong, how devastating would a weapon be?
Fries was filled with anticipation!
Beyond the Research Institute, anyone with a brain—not just experts—clicked into the stream the moment they saw Galen Yu take out the Redstone, watching with rapt attention.
While using it themselves in the block world might be unlikely for now, if they could grasp some of the principles...
The chances of being hired as an expert were quite high.
With national destiny at stake, the perks and treatment for being an 'expert' were better than 99% of people in the world.
That alone was worth observing and thinking about with their entire being!
As the news spread, the viewership numbers exploded unnoticed.
Hundreds of millions of eyes watched intently, not daring to look away for a second as they followed Galen Yu's every move!
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