A dazzling light shone from the chest.
It was blinding!
Gu Yu never would have guessed that the so-called special reward would be an entire large chest full of Enchantment Books.
"Fantastic!"
From top to bottom, the Enchantment Books covered almost every buff.
Most of them offered Protection, Feather Falling, Fire Protection, Respiration...
Several buffs combined into a single book—multiple enchantments!
He'd only ever seen buffs like these when playing with mods!
Compared to choosing any resource he wanted, this chest of Enchantment Books was clearly more valuable.
After all, resources could be acquired anytime. Some rare ones might take a little more effort, but there was always a way.
Enchantment Books were much harder to come by.
Some enchantments were purely a matter of luck. Sometimes, even after grinding for half a month in-game, he still wouldn't find the one he wanted.
Things would surely be even harder in the Block World. Enchantment Books greatly reduced the risk by letting him obtain buffs directly.
And the chest had a permission lock, too. Destroying it by force wouldn't get anyone the items inside, so he didn't have to worry about someone stealing them.
All in all, he was very satisfied!
"Now that I have Enchantment Books, it's time to get some gear."
First, mine iron. Then find diamonds. Finally, complete the Alloy Set and defeat the Ender Dragon.
As long as he was playing Minecraft, that classic progression was foolproof.
"Let's get a full set of iron armor first!"
With the Iron Mine close by, Gu Yu raised his pickaxe and started mining.
Outside the floating islands.
Kyushu Nation, Free Nation, and Samurai Nation each had convenient routes to the resource area.
That was a perk they'd earned by placing near the top of the rankings.
The others weren't so lucky.
India Nation had killed more than thirty zombies, so the Piglins treated them fairly well.
Every other player had seen just how terrifying the guard could be.
"Big Brother Pig, you're here!"
After seeing Gu Yu get escorted away, Park Sam-chang knew that the Piglins handled reward teleportation.
When Zhu Wu approached, he put on an ingratiating smile.
"Fresh beef and milk! If you want some, I'll go prepare them right now!"
Eager to prove himself, Park Sam-chang was ready to kill the Mushroom Cow behind him for its meat as soon as Zhu Wu gave the word.
"Coward. Get lost!"
Zhu Wu greeted his smile with a slap.
The blow sent Park Sam-chang flying and left a deep handprint on his cheek.
The rankings were clear. Everyone else had killed at least a few zombies.
Park Sam-chang hadn't even made the rankings, which proved he'd spent the whole night hiding in the mushroom house, too afraid to go out and fight!
Zhu Wu hated cowards who feared battle more than anything!
Being a coward alone wouldn't have been enough to make him lash out, but what had this guy just said?
Too scared to fight, yet eager to bully helpless livestock and slaughter a cow for meat?
Zhu Wu was disgusted by scum like him.
"Big Brother Pig, I... You... What..."
Having no idea why he'd been slapped, Park Sam-chang was stunned.
On the floating island, Zhu Wu had seemed peaceful, kind, and friendly.
Why was he acting differently with Park Sam-chang?
"You've become a member of Block Civilization. You can now go to the resource area to collect blocks."
"You can stay for only one hour a day, and you get three chances to collect blocks. You must give one of them to us!"
After coldly explaining the rules, Zhu Wu turned to leave.
Park Sam-chang hurriedly grabbed him and asked,
"Big Brother Pig, did you forget something? Where's the teleportation lever?"
He hadn't expected to qualify for the resource area, and Park Sam-chang was overjoyed.
He'd have to hand over one block, but at least he now had a way to get resources. Given enough time,
With his formidable strength, he could surely overtake the others and make an incredible comeback!
"The lever? You think you deserve one?"
Instead, Zhu Wu mocked him.
"Now that I think about it, Gu Yu has to hand over a block every day, too. You can do his share of the work."
"The resource area is in that direction. And take this warning: you have to hand over two blocks every day!"
Zhu Wu let out a cold laugh, then walked away without another word.
"Huh?"
All he'd done was ask one extra question, and now he had to do Gu Yu's share too—hand over one more block?
The viewers in the Samurai Nation were all dumbfounded.
"Why?"
"Why are we always the ones getting hurt?"
"What does Gu Yu having to hand over blocks have to do with us?"
"Why does Gu Yu get all the benefits?"
"The gap is too big! I want to report this!"
"Better not. The Free Nation got punished because they reported things..."
"Those damn pig heads!"
They could grumble all they wanted, but after cursing Zhu Wu under his breath, Park Sam-chang still had to figure out how to reach the resource area.
It was their only way out of the starter village and their only chance to change their fate.
After a day, all the contestants received the news that the resource area had been unlocked.
Players who'd been unlucky enough to have no stepping blocks on their islands were kicking themselves. Why had they focused only on food when choosing their starting resources? Why hadn't they picked something else?
Those who'd been lucky, with nearby access and plenty of resources, had already reached the resource area.
They were all stunned by the abundance of blocks.
There was so much to mine—this place was practically paradise!
Despite all the restrictions, the players' enthusiasm wasn't dampened one bit.
A bigger area meant more opportunities. And if the same restrictions applied to everyone, then they might as well not exist. What if someone dug up an old master and became Lord of Civilization overnight?
It wasn't impossible!
Jinshan, Mark, and Jeter had been among the first to arrive.
They'd already made iron pickaxes and mined the conspicuous gold ore nearby.
They hid the less obvious deposits so they could come back and mine them tomorrow.
"Good heavens, Jeter! Look at all that glittering gold. Doesn't it make your mouth water?"
With just the two of them, they could mine thirty blocks a day.
After using some blocks to mine cobblestone, wood, and iron ore to make iron pickaxes, they spent the rest of their time mining gold.
They ended up with a full twenty blocks of Gold Ore!
Their island had coal, so they didn't have to waste any of their allotted chances. They tossed the blocks they owed into the hopper.
The two returned to Pumpkin Island, where the furnace was already running.
More than twenty gold ingots appeared in their hands, dazzlingly bright.
At the Crafting Table, they made a golden chestplate and leggings, then put them on.
With his resplendent golden armor, Mark's presence suddenly rose several levels.
"Mark! You look so cool!"
"That's a man from our Free Nation!"
"Wow! They've made the strongest gear already!"
"If the people from Kyushu see this, won't they be furious?"
"They deserve it for not mining gold!"
"But since everyone can go to the resource area, doesn't that mean we can go to Kyushu's blocks, too?"
"Let's take their territory!"
Now that they had gear, the viewers in the Free Nation immediately thought of Kyushu.
Plunder!
The rules only restricted time and blocks. They said nothing about attacking other people!
After admiring the armor for a moment, Mark had the same thought.
"Jeter, want to go do something big?"
They'd already been companions in the previous round of Civilization, so Jeter immediately understood what Mark had in mind.
"Resources belong to the strong. I'd be happy to punish those little punks for trying to be clever!"
With the strongest gear in hand, they could say they were already halfway to completing the Block Civilization!
They exchanged a look and let out a sinister cackle.
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