Previously, Notch didn't really understand Xu Yuan, so he thought Xu Yuan was talking to him only because of his status as the creator of the game.
But as they slowly interacted more, Notch gradually began to understand Xu Yuan.
He knew very clearly that the reason Xu Yuan could talk with him for so long, help him sort through his worries, and gradually guide him onto the right path was definitely because he was important to the current state of the world.
Although Notch didn't think he had the ability to influence the overall situation of this world, nor did he know where his importance lay, he could vaguely sense that there must be some kind of connection between himself and the Void.
When Notch first met Xu Yuan, Xu Yuan had asked him several questions, one of which was about the predicament facing this game world.
At the time, Notch naïvely thought that the biggest problem in this world was the hatred and wars between living beings.
Only later did he realize how naïve that idea was.
The greatest predicament of this world was clearly the existence of the Void.
The Void of this game world was obviously not as simple as Notch had imagined.
Moreover, when Notch was creating Minecraft back then, he himself seemed to be obsessed with the Void and nearly lost his life because of it.
That was precisely why Notch felt there had to be some kind of connection between himself and the Void.
And Notch vaguely felt that the two friends he could never fully remember also seemed to have some connection to the Void.
Notch was certain that Xu Yuan knew quite a lot, yet during their conversations, Xu Yuan had not revealed any information about the Void at all.
It was obvious that Xu Yuan was deliberately hiding something.
Notch didn't blame Xu Yuan for this, because he could sense that what Xu Yuan was hiding was related to the memories he had lost of those two friends.
Notch understood that Xu Yuan was doing this for his own good. After all, the few times Notch had tried to recall information about those two friends before, he had been struck with splitting headaches.
It was obvious that he simply wasn't ready yet to receive that information.
After sorting through all these thoughts, Notch had more or less finished building himself up mentally.
He knew that matters concerning the Void and those two friends were definitely not simple. Perhaps the truth was extremely shocking, beyond anything he could imagine.
If he learned those truths without any preparation, Notch probably wouldn't be able to withstand that kind of impact.
Although he still couldn't guess the truth right now, at least he was prepared.
He knew that he had once been one of the three gods of a world similar to this game world.
He knew that the beings of that world wanted to overthrow their rule because of that prank-loving friend.
He knew that he himself was connected to the Void, and that the two friends he couldn't remember also seemed to be connected to the Void.
These clues weren't many, nor were they complete, but they were enough for him to gradually adapt to the truth, accept it, and then make the correct judgment.
So he wouldn't continue pressing Xu Yuan with more questions. What he needed to do next was to witness the end of the Land of Trials, and after leaving it, start seriously studying information about the Void.
Then, at the right moment, make a correct choice that wouldn't go against his own heart.
Hearing Notch's words, the heavy weight in Xu Yuan's heart finally lifted.
This conversation with Notch had actually been somewhat risky. If he failed to control the pace and intensity even a little, things could easily spiral out of control.
Fortunately, everything went relatively smoothly, and Notch was perceptive enough to understand that Xu Yuan was hinting at something.
Ending their conversation here was the best possible outcome.
Xu Yuan had achieved his goal of giving Notch a sort of preventive warning, and Notch had also done some mental preparation regarding his two friends.
Just as everything in the Land of Trials was progressing unusually smoothly, the Overworld faced its first wave of crisis.
———
[Inside the Nether Fortress]
Everyone was gathered together, and no one spoke. The atmosphere was extremely tense.
Half an hour earlier, Entity 303 had received a message from Rookie, saying that the Void would materialize within an hour.
Although Rookie had compiled data, he could only roughly estimate a time range for the Void's materialization. He had no way to pinpoint it down to the exact minute or second.
After receiving this message, Entity 303 gathered everyone and told those who could enter the Item Dimension to go in first and take shelter.
He himself stayed behind with the Execution Dragon. After the Void materialized and arrived in the Overworld, he would take the Execution Dragon into the Void to search for the Nameless Land.
But everyone seemed unwilling to leave first. They were all worried about the safety of Entity 303 and the Execution Dragon.
Although Entity 303 had already come up with a way to protect the Execution Dragon, and although Entity 303 himself was invincible, no one present could predict how powerful the Void would be after it materialized.
Naturally, they were afraid, afraid that they had underestimated the Void, afraid that something might happen to Entity 303 and the Execution Dragon.
Even though they were afraid, there was nothing they could do. The only thing they could do was stay with them a little longer.
Entity 303 tried persuading them many times, but they still insisted on waiting until the Void was detected arriving in the Overworld before entering the Item Dimension.
Seeing that he truly couldn't persuade them, Entity 303 could only give up.
At this moment, Steve and Pengpeng, who were present, felt their hearts tightly clenched by the atmosphere.
Steve had his eyes tightly shut. After forming a mental connection with the Blade of the War God, he kept asking it the same question over and over.
"Is the Item Dimension really absolutely safe? Will it really not be discovered by the Void?"
It wasn't that he didn't trust the Blade of the War God. He was just afraid.
Although he had only joined this big family not long ago, he could already feel the warmth of it.
He didn't want to lose anyone in this family.
Beside him, Pengpeng was just like Steve, constantly asking Steve the same question.
The two of them really did have great chemistry. The question Pengpeng asked Steve was exactly the same as the one Steve asked the Blade of the War God, even the wording was identical.
Steve and Pengpeng were both very rational people. From their current behavior, it was clear that they were extremely nervous, and that they were afraid of losing something.
When everyone had gathered together before, there had also been moments when the atmosphere was rather oppressive.
But usually, at times like that, the Dread Lord would step out to lighten the mood.
This time, however, the Dread Lord didn't seem to be in the mood either.
At this moment, everyone's gaze was focused on Null and the Execution Dragon.
Among everyone present, Null and the Execution Dragon had the strongest perception abilities. After the Void materialized and arrived in the Overworld, the two of them should be able to sense it immediately.
Time passed second by second. After about ten minutes or so, Null and the Execution Dragon spoke almost at the same time.
"They've appeared…"