Heavy rain fell in torrents.
Drop by drop, the rain merged into an ink-wash painting, adding a touch of artistic flair to this world.
Patter! Patter!
Soren Park sat at the edge of the island, letting the rain soak his clothes.
His heart was completely dead.
It had been nearly a day since he officially gained the status of a Chunk Civilization, yet he still hadn't figured out how to reach the Resource Zone.
He even began to wonder if choosing Mushroom Island had been a good choice after all.
Aside from food, why was there nothing else?
Furthermore, aside from the first night's trial, no monsters would even spawn on his chunk.
His prospects for development were completely cut off!
It would be fine to just idle away the time peacefully, but the large civilizations gave him no chance to just scrape by.
Unable to enter the Resource Zone, his blocks would be forcibly collected once every day until the very last one vanished.
The end result would be falling into the void and total annihilation!
When that time came, along with the Stick Nation, they would likely all be crushed by the wheels of history...
Gazing into the distance, he opened the chunk rankings.
[CURRENT CHUNK TOTAL SCORE: 1 (MICRO CHUNK)]
[PLAYER RANKING: NOT RANKED]
One point. He didn't even have the qualifications to compete with others and join the rankings!
How were the others doing now?
For the first-place Nine Provinces, had they already broken into double digits, or perhaps even higher?
To Soren Park, it was unimaginably distant!
Crash!
The rain grew heavier, and thunder echoed.
The hearts of the Stick Nation viewers sank to rock bottom.
"Galen Yu already has a chunk in the Resource Zone, and we're still stuck in the same place?"
"How was there such a huge gap at the start, only to be overtaken now!"
"Many people have already gone to the Resource Zone. If we're too late, won't even the crafting tables be snatched up?"
"Wait, there's a monster!"
Amidst his dejection, a howl drew Soren Park's attention.
At some unknown point, a creature three meters tall and pitch black had appeared behind him!
It seemed to be under attack by something; with every hit, it would randomly teleport a distance away.
By the time Soren Park reacted and tried to hide in his room, it died right there on the island.
Unsure why the spawned monster had died, Soren Park only stepped out once he was certain there was no danger.
"What is this?"
He picked up the dropped item; it was a bead that looked like an eye.
[EYE OF ENDER]
"An Eye of Ender? What does it do?"
Lifting his hand slightly, the eye drifted out of Soren Park's palm and flew into the distance.
After waiting a few seconds, he felt his vision plunge into darkness, and a sensation of weightlessness washed over him.
Snap!
[SKY ISLAND, OUTSKIRTS]
When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the Resource Zone!
"I see, the function of this eye is teleportation!"
He had been teleported to the Resource Zone by the Eye of Ender!
Hope was rekindled in the eyes of the Stick Nation viewers.
"This can actually break the deadlock?"
"Soren Park, you are the chosen one!"
"Who said our Stick Nation was finished? This is a total comeback!"
"This heavy rain fell just for us; even the heavens are helping us!"
"Soren, you're the strongest!"
When he wanted to sleep, someone gave him a pillow; when he wanted to come to the Resource Zone, a monster gave him teleportation.
If this wasn't destiny, then what was!
More importantly, after arriving in the Resource Zone, he discovered that Eyes of Ender were everywhere; many Endermen had died here just now!
If he collected these Eyes of Ender, he could come back whenever he wanted!
His dead heart was reignited, and Soren Park laughed loudly.
"Luck is also a part of strength. Rankings never depend on just one moment!"
"The one who stands until the end is the winner. I will eventually stand at the peak!"
Since he could survive such a predicament, what else could he not overcome?
At the Nine Provinces Research Institute, Headmaster Quill watched this scene.
"The Stick Nation player is indeed lucky. He has this rain to thank."
Monsters do not spawn on Mushroom Islands.
However, monsters that spawn outside can still enter the Mushroom Island.
Endermen possess the ability to teleport; any player who has encountered them should know this.
They teleport when damaged. Headmaster Quill speculated that the rain might have been hurting it, leading to this result.
After a cursory glance, he switched his gaze back to their own screen.
The Resource Zone was too chaotic after all, and accidents could easily happen, so Galen Yu had moved his bed to the Sky Island.
After building a simple small house, he went to sleep inside, entering [SWEET DREAMS].
His actions were sound, but the scene shifted to the Freedom Nation.
Taking advantage of the late night, the two players from the Freedom Nation chose to sneak-attack Galen Yu's chunk!
'I hope he can hold out.'
Headmaster Quill prayed silently in his heart.
The darkening sky meant that monsters would appear soon.
Normal players had begun preparing to resist monsters or were getting ready to sleep.
However, Mark had a flash of inspiration and re-entered the Resource Zone with Jett, carrying golden swords.
"On a rainy night, Galen Yu is definitely resting and sleeping. No one would want to risk being attacked by monsters by coming out!"
"And this is precisely our opportunity!"
Possessing armor to resist the cold, they pushed forward through the rain.
With a shield in one hand and a sword in the other, they bypassed the monsters.
The two of them quickly reached the location.
"Ahead is Galen Yu's chunk!"
Back during the day, Jett had already scouted the location and found the position of Galen Yu's chunk.
The Nine Provinces viewers were all shouting in anger.
"They didn't come during the day, but they come for a sneak attack on a rainy night?"
"If you've got the guts, face him head-on! What kind of skill is stealing while someone's sleeping?"
"Haha, the Nine Provinces monkeys are getting anxious!"
"Good job, Jett! That's the way to disgust them!"
"This place was supposed to be ours. Since when do you Nine Provinces people get a say in when we come?"
"Damn, how disgusting!"
"There should have been more defenses set up, but unfortunately, there are no items to provide warnings!"
"Can the guard Galen Yu set up block them?"
Unaware that someone would sneak attack at night, Galen Yu had not set up many defensive lines.
There was only one Iron Golem guarding it.
Two against one, and the opponents were fully armed; this made the viewers very worried.
"Mark, did you notice?"
Upon arriving, Jett keenly sensed something was off.
"Yeah, there seem to be very few, or rather, no monsters at all?"
Regardless of the island or outside the Resource Zone, many monsters had already appeared, yet Galen Yu's chunk was the sole exception.
Soon, they knew the reason.
A large white figure forged from iron came into view.
Its body was massive, and it was unafraid of wind and rain, only patrolling and guarding within the chunk. Any monster that approached would be killed by it.
Sensing Mark's gaze, the Iron Golem's red eyes stared at the two of them.
"We've been spotted?"
He hadn't expected this big fellow to be here; Mark stepped out.
Because they hadn't actively trespassed into the chunk, the Iron Golem didn't initiate an attack for the time being, giving them a chance to observe.
"Galen Yu is lucky. He actually has this big guy guarding his area."
Facing the Iron Golem's gaze directly, Jett showed no fear.
The Iron Golem was forged from iron, but what about them?
They were wearing golden armor, which was more precious than iron!
It could only be mined with an iron pickaxe; although it was heavier, that also meant it was stronger!
With numbers and equipment, every advantage is on my side!
"Kill it!"
With a divine shield in hand as well, Mark simply didn't see how he could lose.
He went in with a sword strike, using all his strength for a jumping critical hit.
CRITICAL HIT!
A critical hit on the very first attack; joy flashed across Mark's face.
But before his happiness could last even two seconds, the Iron Golem looked confused, as if it had been bitten by a mosquito.
Only after a moment did it realize it had been hit, and it launched a counterattack against the intruder!