Treasure chests in the fortress

Yang Bo picked up the experience orbs and Blaze Rod dropped by the Blaze, then headed toward the exposed fortress section in the distance.

Even from far away, he could see several Wither Skeletons holding Stone Swords, standing like gate guardians on either side of the Lava Well Room's entrance to ward off intruders like him.

The Lava Well Room had a lava well at its center. Each Nether Fortress had only one Lava Well Room. It was a landmark room, as it was the only room connecting the enclosed fortress section to the open-air section.

Yang Bo quickly built a platform two blocks high, then stood beneath it and pulled out his Crossbow. He aimed at a Wither Skeleton and fired a bolt, which traced a perfect arc and struck its target.

The Wither Skeleton immediately locked onto Yang Bo's position and charged toward him on its long black legs, its bones clattering.

Standing beneath the platform, Yang Bo felt perfectly safe. At two and a half blocks tall, the Wither Skeleton couldn't reach him under there. They were even easier to handle than Endermen, since they had less health and couldn't pick up blocks. With a swift swing of his axe, he ended the Wither Skeleton's life, though it didn't drop a Wither Skeleton skull this time.

He picked up the coal from the ground and casually tossed a Stone Sword off the bridge into the lava lake below.

"Let's open some chests first!"

With nothing left blocking his path, Yang Bo jogged toward the fortress section.

He entered a spacious room containing nothing but a lava well in the center. The lava inside glowed brightly and bubbled away.

He took out a block of nether rock and plugged the well, just in case his feet got any stupid ideas about jumping into it.

The room, built from nether bricks, instantly grew dim. He pulled out a Torch and headed deeper into the fortress, hearing the sounds of Blazes and Zombie Piglins.

"Looks like there are plenty of monsters in here, too!"

Yang Bo sharpened his focus, watching the corner ahead warily and placing a Torch on the wall every so often. Soon, a crossroads appeared before him.

He carefully blocked it off with nether rock at the third-block height. That way, he wouldn't have to worry even if Wither Skeletons came from the other passages.

He cautiously raised his shield. Bang! A fireball slammed into it.

"Holy shit!"

The sudden attack startled Yang Bo. A Blaze stood off to one side of the crossroads, like a sneaky camper waiting to ambush him.

After dealing with the Blaze, Yang Bo looked around. Aside from Zombie Piglins, there were no other monsters.

His sharp eyes spotted a staircase leading down at the far end of the passage, and he headed toward it without hesitation.

"A chest!"

He descended the stairs to the fortress's lower level. As soon as he turned the corner, he spotted a yellowish-brown chest in the distance and excitedly ran over.

With a creak, Yang Bo lifted the lid. There wasn't much inside-only four kinds of items.

"Obsidian! This is Diamond Horse Armor, and there are Gold Ingots and nether wart."

Although there were no diamonds, Yang Bo still felt that without access to the Overworld, opening chests was the best way to get rich.

He stuffed everything into his inventory, then took out his axe and chopped up the chest as well. He was practically penniless now, so even a chest was valuable to him.

He continued exploring and soon found another chest. When he opened it, the sight of the blue diamonds inside filled him with delight.

"Looks like I really did sneak into Europe!"

Although the chest contained only two diamonds, combined with the obsidian he had looted, he now had enough to craft an Enchanting Table.

The Marvel Universe.

In the Archive Room beneath the Vampire Bar, Blade stared at Bor, who sat slumped on the floor, and felt a headache coming on.

"Hey, how the hell did you get this fat?"

Bor was greedily sucking blood from a blood bag. At Blade's mildly reproachful question, his tiny eyes took on an innocent look.

"I used to be a sumo wrestler..."

"After I became a vampire, they dumped me here, and I just kept getting fatter..."

Blade's head hurt. Yang Bo had really handed him a tough problem. He could carry Bor out if he used all his strength, but the problem was that Bor wouldn't fit through the door upstairs!

Never mind the elevator.

His only option was to blow up the wall beside them. According to his investigation, the subway was on the other side.

He took his phone from his pocket and dialed Yang Bo's number, but an automated message sounded. Helplessly, he hung up.

"Why is there still no signal? Where did Yang Bo go?"

Just then, Bor finished the blood in his bag and suddenly said to Blade, "Hey, Daywalker, after you guys killed Frost, another vampire family came to New York!"

"You'd better be careful!"

A flicker of surprise crossed Blade's impassive face. He hadn't expected Bor to volunteer information. He chuckled, revealing his white teeth, and said:

"Don't worry. Since they're here, we'll make them feel at home!"

With that, he turned toward the wall, occasionally tapping it with the hilt of his sword. There was no other choice-he intended to blast his way out and take Bor with him.

Half an hour later, Yang Bo stood on a bridge in the Nether Fortress, gazing at the fiery-red sea of lava below. He took off his equipment and drew a deep breath.

Everything is permitted; everything is empty!

Then he closed his eyes and leaped from the towering Nether Fortress bridge. With the wind roaring past him, he truly experienced the thrill of bungee jumping-just without the cord.

He spun two and a half times in midair and landed perfectly in the lava without raising so much as a ripple.

Ten out of ten.

In an instant, Yang Bo's health drained like water through an open floodgate. He didn't last even five seconds before disappearing from the Nether in a puff of smoke at the bottom of the lava lake.

At his home in Central Park, Yang Bo calmly opened his eyes in bed.

"Sure enough, dying is still the best way to get home!"

He quickly sat up and began sorting through the spoils of his Nether trip. He had obtained five diamonds in total-an incredible stroke of luck, considering they had all come from a single fortress.

He put some cobblestone into the Furnace to smelt into stone, which would let him craft a Brewing Stand. Since the stone would take some time to smelt, Yang Bo walked over to the sofa and sprawled out.

"Whew, things are finally getting on track. I'll go to a bookstore later and buy some books, then get some sugar cane to grow myself. I'll need it for farming Enchanted Books in the future!"

He took his phone out of his inventory, and it immediately began chiming nonstop, as though it were having a seizure.

"Holy shit, what's going on?"

There were heaps of missed calls and text messages. Yang Bo began checking them carefully.

"Blade and Coulson-what's going on with those two? Did something happen?"