[Central Plaza]
In the central plaza, Mustard, Barbecue Sauce, Blue Demon, and the others seemed to be discussing something.
When they saw Black Blade leading people into the rainforest, everyone felt a bit curious. Just as they were about to gather around to take a closer look, Black Blade raised his voice and loudly introduced, "This is Notch, and the one next to him is Stephen."
"They want to join us…"
As soon as they heard Black Blade's words, everyone turned their eyes toward Notch in unison.
Before anyone could speak, Black Blade scanned the crowd with his eyes.
Seeing his look, everyone roughly understood what he meant.
Mustard quickly grabbed Barbecue Sauce and skillfully pinched its little chicken mouth shut.
After Mustard manually muted Barbecue Sauce, everyone finally sighed in relief, then forced a few awkward smiles and said perfunctorily, "Welcome…"
"Hello…"
"Why don't you two look around first, get familiar with the rainforest environment…"
After Stephen looked around at everyone, his eyes were immediately drawn to Blue Demon and Barbecue Sauce.
"Blue Demon!! Barbecue Sauce!!!"
"How are you two here?!!!"
Stephen was also a member of the Biological Association. Before, he had come into contact with Blue Demon, Barbecue Sauce, and Pufferfish Jio, and had even traveled with them for a while.
Stephen never expected that he would run into these old friends deep within the rainforest.
He was overjoyed and about to rush over to Blue Demon and Barbecue Sauce, but Notch stopped him.
"I just saw that they seemed to be discussing something important. We'd better not interrupt them…"
"There'll be plenty of time to catch up later. How about we walk around the rainforest for now?…"
Stephen had always been straightforward and carefree.
Ever since entering the rainforest, he had been in an extremely excited state, so he hadn't noticed the subtle changes in the others' expressions.
Notch, however, was always observant. From the moment Black Blade introduced the two of them, he had already sensed something was off.
Although everyone welcomed Notch and Stephen's arrival, their expressions were a bit strange.
Their eyes carried complicated emotions, but Notch could tell there was no hostility in them.
Notch didn't know why the atmosphere was so delicate, but he knew very well that right now, they needed to be left some space.
Stephen, still overly excited, didn't catch Notch's hidden meaning. Just as he was about to argue, Notch wrapped an arm around his neck and dragged him away.
"Come on, come on, walk with me!"
———
Not long after Notch and Stephen left, everyone gathered together.
"Notch?!! That's the same Notch we mentioned before?!!"
"How did he find us? And he's with Stephen…"
"Cluck cluck cluck!! (Let go of my mouth!!!)"
Mustard and Blue Demon both had indescribable expressions on their faces.
Their looks were almost identical to Black Blade's expression when he had first realized who Notch was.
Although they'd read the subtle signal Black Blade gave when introducing Notch, they still found it hard to believe.
Seeing everyone's faces, Black Blade sighed helplessly and nodded.
"He really is the legendary Notch, the genuine one."
Hearing that, Mustard and Blue Demon exchanged glances, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
They seemed to want to say something but didn't know how to start, their faces twisted like they were constipated.
In the end, they just sighed deeply, looking helpless.
"This… sigh… tch…" Mustard frowned, visibly conflicted.
"This really is a tricky situation…" Blue Demon shook his head lightly in agreement.
The two were silent for a while, then looked to Black Blade, hoping he had some solution.
But Black Blade didn't say anything, he just stood there quietly, face full of "don't ask me, I don't know."
Mustard and Blue Demon both knew they couldn't easily interfere with Notch's affairs.
Although they had always been decisive, this time, faced with such a major matter, they felt completely powerless.
After all, Notch was far too special. Every decision he made, even every word he said, could alter the course of the entire world.
So, any contact with Notch had to be handled carefully to avoid unpredictable consequences.
That was why Mustard and Blue Demon had spoken as little as possible just now, avoiding too much interaction with him.
Thankfully, Notch was sensible enough, seeing the atmosphere was off, he took Stephen and left instead of forcing a conversation.
The air immediately grew heavy. Even Barbecue Sauce, usually so noisy, now realized how serious things were and kept completely silent.
People say three cobblers together make one band, but faced with a problem like Notch, even three cobblers and a little chicken couldn't make a sound.
When everyone stayed quiet for too long, Black Blade finally sighed and broke the silence.
"I talked with him a bit just now…"
"He said he agrees with the rainforest's rules."
"And from the way Stephen described how they met, and from Notch's attitude toward Bread Sheep, he seems to care about the living beings of this world…"
Hearing that, Mustard and Blue Demon's faces still didn't relax.
"That's only because he doesn't know about the Void yet," Mustard said. "He doesn't understand what's really going on."
"He agrees with the rules now only because his current identity is the game's creator."
"But if one day he becomes a friend of the Void, will these living beings still matter to him more than his friends?"
Blue Demon nodded, agreeing with Mustard's point, and added, "There's too much mystery around him, too many uncertain factors…"
"We can't be sure whether his presence here is a good thing or a bad thing…"
"For now, let's report this to our king…"
"Before the king returns, we should avoid too much contact with him."
Then Blue Demon looked toward Black Blade.
"When the time comes, we'll leave first. If he comes looking for you again, try to separate him from Stephen."
"I'll talk to Stephen alone then…"
Hearing that, Black Blade nodded. "Yeah… that's all we can do for now…"
———
"Seriously, you wouldn't even let me catch up with my old friends, you just had to drag me around!"
"You wanted to learn the rainforest rules, didn't you? I could've just asked them directly!"
Though Stephen grumbled, he still patiently followed Notch around aimlessly.
Hearing Stephen's complaints, Notch smiled, thought for a moment, and changed the topic.
"You and Blue Demon and Barbecue Sauce, are you close?"
"Tell me about you guys?"
Seeing that Notch was interested, Stephen immediately perked up, stopped complaining, and began talking excitedly.
"Of course we're close! We used to fight side by side!"
"The two of them, plus Pufferfish Jio, started an organization called the Biological Association. I'm a member too! Though my rank's a bit low…"
"The Biological Association is dedicated to helping all living beings in distress."
Then Stephen turned to Notch and asked, "Do you know what the Biological Association's ultimate goal is?!"
Notch shook his head, and before he could speak, Stephen answered his own question.
"Our goal is, to dissolve the Biological Association! To disband all its members!"
Stephen looked at Notch excitedly.
"Pretty cool, right?!"
"The goal of the organization is to disband itself! When I first heard it, I couldn't even process it!"
Notch froze for a moment.
Of course he understood what Stephen meant, and precisely because he understood, he felt a heavy, suffocating feeling in his chest.
Like someone had punched him hard right in the heart.
Stephen's words were like a sharp dagger, stabbing straight into Notch's chest, filling him with shame and guilt.
As the creator of this game, Notch had always proudly claimed that he loved this world deeply. But now, when he truly examined his heart, he realized that wasn't true.
From the moment the game launched, Notch had been running away.
He hadn't dared to face the game, nor to stay connected with it in any way.
He had abandoned the world he created with his own hands, as if it were some forgotten corner of his past. Even when he finally overcame his mental barriers and decided to manage it again, he still avoided getting too close to its living beings, because he knew, every time he did, the guilt inside him grew heavier.
Even when he later tried to solve the world's problems, it was only to ease that guilt.
The truth was, deep down, Notch was selfish and self-centered.
He had never truly cared about any creature in this world. There was no emotional bond or connection between him and them, no real affection at all.
Even after living with Stephen for so long, Notch had never asked much about his past.
The reason was simple, he could already guess what Stephen had gone through, since it was the same kind of story that countless other lives in this world had faced.
He didn't want those things to stir his heart again, didn't want to dig into such small, painful details.
He only wanted to solve the current problems quickly, to free himself from the haunting guilt.
He treated these beings kindly only because, as the ruler of this world, he felt responsible for them.
In his subconscious, he always saw himself as the one above all, a manager fulfilling his duty.
In other words, Notch viewed his role as "world creator" as nothing more than a job.
He tried to make the world peaceful and beautiful simply because that's what the position required.
If he weren't the creator, he wouldn't feel so guilty.
And without that identity, Notch probably wouldn't do anything at all.
Realizing this was what made him feel so ashamed.
Whether it was the Biological Association Stephen spoke of, or HIM who created the rainforest's rules, or others Notch had yet to know, they were all just beings living in this world.
They had no "great" identity.
They bore no duty or obligation to manage this world or take responsibility for it.