A deep, resonant voice thundered through the silence, jolting Kai Orion awake.
Did I just hear Notch yelling something about a dungeon right next to my ear?
Rubbing his eyes, Kai was ready to drift back to sleep — until desperate wails rose from the streets below.
"Panlong Nation's player… died?"
"They only recovered a tiny ration of food?! How are we supposed to hold on until the next Instance begins?!"
"Oh heavens, have mercy! Please protect our players! Let them all return alive next time!"
…What… does that even mean?
Kai turned toward the window — and froze.
A wasteland of yellow dust stretched endlessly before his eyes.
What used to be familiar neighborhoods had decayed into broken ruins; buildings leaned like haunted silhouettes swallowed by sand.
"This is… my apartment complex? When did it become like this…?"
The moment that thought surfaced, a flood of foreign memories surged into his mind.
This was a parallel world — Blue Star.
A mysterious radiation had ravaged the planet's core, annihilating all resources. Land turned barren, forests vanished, crops withered, animals died en masse… And as if intentionally severing humanity's future, modern weaponry and advanced technology corroded overnight, civilization rolling back a century in a single breath.
In merely one month—
Blue Star transformed from a flourishing paradise into a hellish wasteland.
But then — the Notch System descended.
First, invisible barriers sealed every national border, preventing immigration or war. Then, select individuals were chosen from each nation to enter Its game-like Instances.
Their performance determined what resources were bestowed back to their homeland:
Vegetation. Wetlands. Fresh water. Food. Petroleum. Mineral ore. Native biodiversity…
This game was the only path to a nation's revival.
And the Instances' content—adventure mods and special modes from Minecraft:
Ice and Fire, Aether Realm, Abyssal Domains, Ore Biomes, Bed Wars, The Void, Parasitic Escape, Dimensional Rift, Apocalypse Frontier…
Five Minecraft Instances had descended so far.
The first: Vanilla Exploration — mandatory global participation.
But the catch?Minecraft did not exist on this Blue Star.
No one understood the mechanics.Even worse — Notch provided no tutorials.All hints were scribbled on papers locked away in structure chests.
Though many nations struggled, those with leftover real-world resources survived the first disaster.
Some unfortunate small countries… vanished completely.
So cruel was this new world.
"…So that's what happened."
Kai stared blankly at the crumbling walls. His eyes stung with unspoken grief.
In that first Instance, death exceeding five times meant permanent death — both in game and reality.
Players, ignorant of national fate or rewards, clung together merely to survive.
Among them, Panlong Nation's representative stood out — courageous and brilliant — uncovering crafting methods, monster traits, leading humanity day by day through terror.
But when one tree rises above the forest, the wind seeks to break it.
At the final moment of survival—
Those who benefited from her discoveries coveted the rare items she carried.
Knowing her death would drop everything in her inventory…
They betrayed her.
Pushing her into a horde of monsters as a living shield.
She died — but her contributions earned Panlong immense fortune rewards.
Yet with no one returning alive —all crafting knowledge died with her.
Meanwhile, nine nations who retained survivors formed an alliance — hoarding every advantage.
They mocked Panlong.Extracted resources and land as tribute.Only then did they drip-feed primitive crafting knowledge in return.
A perfect demonstration of kindness repaid with cruelty.
Panlong could do nothing but swallow the humiliation.
Subsequent Instances grew harder.Panlong's players, blind and untrained, were lambs in the dark.
The nine-nation alliance — armed with growing mastery — not only monopolized the leaderboards but hunted other nations' players to stop them returning with knowledge.
This was a brutal monopoly of survival.
To this day — not a single Panlong player had returned home.
"But now… everything changes."
"Because I am here."
Kai lifted his gaze to the blue holographic panel shimmering before him, a calm smile forming on his lips.
[The 6th Minecraft Instance is imminent!]
[150 remaining nations will participate!]
[Selecting participants…]
[Panlong Nation Player: Kai Orion]
[Countdown: 60, 59, 58…]
In his previous life — 2025 — Notch Corporation had released VR Minecraft.
Kai Orion, a rising star in the MC community, purchased the equipment immediately.
A rare talent, coupled with 12+ hours of rigorous daily training—
He mastered the VR interface entirely.Every weapon, every tool, every trick — executed to perfection.
Perhaps that brutal routine is what caused his sudden death.
And then — he awoke in this fractured world.
Nearly identical to his Earth in every way —except for the radiation, the System, and the absence of Minecraft…
"You just wait for me."
"This time, I will erase every indignity ever suffered."
[3, 2, 1… 0!]
A sensation of weightlessness seized him — and in an instant, he appeared in a pitch-black void, transformed into a block-shaped avatar.
Simultaneously—his face was broadcast to the entire world.
——"So soon? Another Instance already?!"
——"Please… bring us more national fortune! We won't survive otherwise…"
——"Panlong Nation! Victory! Victory!"
Foreign "experts" chimed in with smug commentary:
——"Crafting knowledge is state-level intel. Panlong's players all died out. No knowledge passed on. What do they think they can compete with?"
——"Still stuck in the beginner zone, hahahaha!"
Panlong viewers roared back:
——"Show some respect! They were our martyrs!"
——"Heaven will protect us this time! Go, Kai Orion!"
Of course — Kai saw none of it.
He simply gazed upon the panel before him—
A faint, fearless smile at the corner of his lips.
[Instance Name: Vanilla Speedrun Clear!]
[Instance Name: Vanilla Speedrun Clear!]
As the title suggests—everyone shares the same seed, and the goal is simple:defeat the Ender Dragon faster than anyone else.
Each of the 150 contestants receives a personal, isolated world.No encounters.No PvP.No hunters stalking their prey—just pure, unadulterated speed.
To ensure fairness:Identical spawn points.Identical chest contents.Beyond that—luck becomes its own form of strength.
Once everyone digested the rules, the countdown resumed.
Light blossomed.Pixels rendered into shape.The familiar, blocky world rose into view.
Each participant stood frozen on their spawn—allowed only to look around.
[Game launch countdown: 60, 59, 58…]
Kai Orion found himself upon a vast sweep of sand.
Sea on one side—grassland and forest on the other.
A sprawling plains village lay just ahead.
Turning toward the water, he noticed a faint column of bubbles rising from beneath the waves.
A magma block trench below—and therefore—
potential treasure.
A bold strategy sparked within him.
[Countdown: 40, 39, 38…]
Kai ran through the speedrun route in his mind.
To finish fast, I'll need the F3 debug screen. Let's see if this System allows it.
F3—source of coordinates, structures, entity data—A secret weapon every world-record runner relied upon.
He whispered silently in thought:
System, open F3.
A soft chime echoed exclusively in his ears:
[To assist contestants in achieving optimal speedrun performance, the F3 Panel is enabled for this Instance. Speak its exact name to activate it.]
Only in this Instance?
A grin flickered in his eyes.No one else here even knows the F3 exists.
He scanned the surroundings while analyzing the debug pie chart—
A sudden flare of bright orange in one direction—
—Buried treasure.
He steadied his breathing.
Worst case? Half an hour to finish. Best case?Fifteen minutes.
Chapter 2 — Vanilla Speedrun!Call Up the F3 Panel, and Uncover Sunken Treasure!
—
Lighthouse Nation — Strategic Command Center
A suited blonde adviser, oozing smug confidence, presented a tablet:
"Mr. President, this Instance is practically designed for us."
"Our players have mastered every crafting path. Every route to victory has been drilled into muscle memory. Their competency vastly surpasses all others."
"This time, first place will be ours."
Veteran players who returned previously earn the right to continue.Lighthouse Nation's contenders have seen five Instances already.
The President's eyes gleamed with arrogance.
"How fast can we expect the clear?"
The adviser smiled like the result was already engraved in stone:
"Two days."
—
[3…2…1…0!]
[Game Start!]
A giant timer flashed in Kai's vision—
And instantly, he sprinted toward the ocean.
"One, two, three…"Counting blocks aloud as he dove sharply underwater—
"Nine! Here!"
He began digging frantically beneath him.
Meanwhile—players from the nine major nations rushed into forests to chop wood—the "correct" meta as always—
Dozens of smaller nations followed, mimicking what they saw in past broadcasts.
Only Kai's route seemed absurd.Ridiculous.Laughable.
——"Does Panlong never watch the replays?"——"Digging underwater gravel? Is he brain-dead?"——"Give him one minute—he'll drown like a fool!"
Even Panlong spectators fell silent.
This Instance arrived too quickly—Their analysts never had time to brief Kai.
A man ignorant of Minecraft…How much could he possibly learn from watching others play?
"Sigh… At least they won't be hunted this time…We thought we might finally bring home knowledge and resources, but now…"
Before despair could spread, a crisp slap rang out.
A stern man in a Zhongshan suit spoke gravely:
"Did you notice how decisively he moved?If he knew nothing, he'd freeze.But he sprinted straight for that block with purpose."
"Clearly—he's discovered something."
His authority alone steadied every trembling heart.
All eyes fixed on the screen once more—
—
Underwater—mining was painfully slow.But when the gravel finally broke—
A flint drop.Perfect.
And beneath the gravel—a flash of orange.
A chest.
Clack—
Kai opened it in one swift motion:
12 Iron Ingots3 TNT8 Emeralds8 Gold Ingots1 Heart of the Sea5 Salmon
Loot secured—and already swimming upward before the audience even blinked.
That crisp sound—everyone heard it:
A chest had opened.
——"Treasure?!"——"How did a chest spawn there?"——"How did he know?!"——"@Notch, REPORT! Panlong is hacking!"
The System responded immediately:
[The Notch System remains impartial. No information has been revealed, nor has any bug occurred.]
[Cease all baseless accusations immediately.]
Silence.Every foreign commentator choked on their own pride.
Panlong's civilians erupted:
——"Ha! Nothing's better than watching them seethe!"——"Whatever he found—he clearly knows FAR more than anyone guessed!"——"Kai Orion, carry our future! We believe in you!"
As he swam toward the surface, Kai Orion combined the iron ingots with the flint in his crafting grid, forming a flint and steel.
Hauling himself out of the water, he sprinted straight toward the plains village.
The village stood proudly on a carpet of green, its houses mostly cobblestone and planks, the scenery vibrant and idyllic.
Many contestants in past Instances had visited this exact spot.
The audience already knew what it represented:a resource-rich supply hub.
Warm houses.Chest after chest.Friendly villagers.More food than one could eat.
So when everyone assumed Kai would start looting chests and harvesting crops—
He casually placed a block of TNT beside a small house near a tree, flicked it alight, and dashed toward another cottage.
He smashed a bed just as a deafening explosion roared behind him.
A corner of the house was obliterated.The nearby tree had been blasted down to a stump, its leaves hovering awkwardly in midair.
Logs, planks, dirt and other blocks rained down, bobbing in the crater.
Kai scooped them up one by one and crafted a workbench on the spot.
From there, he produced a bucket, shovel, axe, pickaxe, boat, shield, and a healthy stack of planks.
After tidying his hotbar, he swung his axe at the passing iron golem, then bolted toward the next house.
Enraged, the golem lurched after him in heavy, pounding strides.
The comment stream exploded.
"Bro, you kidding me? Where'd he get that iron axe?!""Did that chest have iron ingots?""Why is he bombing the village? Isn't this supposed to be a safe haven?""Where did the TNT come from—and how did he ignite it?""Unfair! Why is he the only one who found a chest?!""Anyway, he just slapped an iron golem. Those things hit like trucks. If it catches him, Panlong's player is DONE."
The bullet screen filled with walls of question marks.
No one could make sense of Kai's route.
Why was he ripping out so many beds and doors?
To sleep?
Like he'd ever live long enough to use them all.
Inside the nine-nation alliance's video conference, high-ranking officials watched in grim silence.
When Kai brandished that iron axe, the atmosphere dropped to subzero.
At last, the Lighthouse Nation's adviser forced a smile and broke the tension.
"Everyone, relax. He has iron tools, nothing more."
"Without a diamond pickaxe, he can't mine obsidian, much less enter the Nether."
"And diamonds only appear in those deep, dangerous caverns. With no professional combat training, he'll never make it out alive once the mobs swarm him."
"Besides, only our alliance knows at which depths diamonds spawn."
By this point, his forehead was beaded with sweat.
His early confidence had vanished completely.
Kai Orion was making too many inexplicable moves, stirring an unease he couldn't shake.
—
Once he finished ripping out every last bed, Kai stopped before a small mound of stacked hay bales.
Blocks that most people mistook for mere decoration—yet the single best source of food in the game.
Compressed rations.
Chapter 3 — Punching Blocks by Hand? Too Slow.Just Blow Them Up.
He harvested the entire pile just as heavy metallic footsteps clanked ever closer.
He didn't even need to look up to know the iron golem had trudged over, still nursing a grudge.
Kai quickly pillared two blocks of dirt beneath himself, topping it with a crafting table.
While the golem lumbered into range, he dumped the hay bales into the table, converting them into wheat and then into bread.
Almost the moment he closed the interface, the iron golem stepped into striking distance.
Kai jumped—and brought the axe down.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
The golem's once-polished frame crumpled into a battered wreck.
With a final shattering crash, it collapsed, scattering loot—
Five iron ingots.
"What? He killed an iron golem without taking a scratch? Who thinks of that?""Heartless Panlong player! Iron golems are our best friends!""So they drop ingots? How many—enough for a full iron set?""Someone in a previous Instance attacked one by accident. Did Panlong's player memorize the drops? But what can you do with so little iron?"
By now, most contestants had chopped their trees, mined their stone, and crafted basic tools.
They'd noticed the dim, yawning hole not far from the plains village—the mouth of a massive cave.
The bold had already descended with stone swords in hand.
The cautious chose to linger in the village, looting chests and harvesting crops.
Some even planned to craft leather armor first.
Truthfully, Kai already had the two most crucial items for a vanilla speedrun: flint and steel, and a bucket.
For this category, his iron supply was more than sufficient.
He'd only killed the golem under the philosophy of,"Since I'm here, I might as well take the freebies."
As he jogged toward a small stand of trees, Kai pulled out a freshly crafted pair of shears.
With a few sweeping motions, leaves poured into his inventory.
Shearing foliage let him clear huge swathes in seconds—one of the most efficient ways to gather disposable blocks.
Before long, he'd returned to the stretch of ocean near his spawn.
"Why is he back here? Shouldn't he be mining for diamonds?""Is there another chest underwater?""What are those bubbles on the surface? I've never seen that before. Looks dangerous."
Kai dove straight down toward the column of bubbles.
Sure enough, at the bottom lay a field of magma blocks.
His oxygen bar ticked lower and lower as he swam.
Almost empty.
Yet he didn't swim up.
"If he stays underwater too long, he'll start taking damage, right?""Why is he diving for no reason?""[IP: Panlong]Kai must have a plan…""Heh. More like he has no idea what to do, so he's sightseeing.""His oxygen's almost gone and he's this deep—he'll never make it back. Drowning is just a matter of time."
When he reached the seafloor, Kai quickly placed a wooden door against a block.
Jaws dropped all across the globe.
Behind the door, a one-block pocket of water vanished—replaced by open air.
Kai stepped into the gap and drew a long breath.
His oxygen bar refilled instantly—and then disappeared, indicating he now stood on "land."
From the audience's perspective, he'd been underwater well past the safe limit.
He should have been flashing red with damage ticks.
Yet he was completely unharmed.
"No way. No way. NO WAY.""Bug? This has to be a bug.""It's the ocean—how is he breathing freely? @Notch, explain yourself!""Is it… the door?""Even if he can breathe, so what? Why come all the way down just to sit in a hole?""Did he stumble onto some kind of hidden crafting recipe?"
Watching the furious foreign commentators melt down, Panlong's viewers finally exhaled months of pent-up frustration.
"Guys! Kai Orion knows what he's doing. He absolutely knows!""Panlong actually has a chance this time!""Kai Orion! We're all behind you!"
—
(For reference: all mocking comments toward Kai are from foreign audiences; the praise comes from Panlong viewers by default. Only in special cases will the author tag a comment with [IP: Panlong]. You will never see a situation where Kai fights for his nation and his own people resent him—that kind of cheap drama won't appear.)
—
After catching his breath, Kai placed two more doors along the side.
Once air filled the makeshift tunnel, he mined out the magma blocks in front of him—revealing a two-block-deep pocket of molten lava.
Sea water surged in.
The instant it touched lava, two obsidian blocks solidified.
Kai plugged the top with dirt, then repeated the process on the opposite side and at his feet, forming two vertical obsidian pillars and a base.
As the lava cooled, he swapped to his bucket, snatching up the briefly exposed source blocks with precise timing.
Block by block, using dirt scaffolding, he poured lava above his head and let the falling water quench it.
Lava, water, obsidian—again and again.
In moments, ten obsidian blocks stood assembled in a perfect Nether portal frame.Hollow center, no flowing water.
He drew his flint and steel—
And lit it.
A flick. A spark.
From the first door placement to the portal's activation—nine seconds.
The movements were so fast that not a single viewer had tracked every step.
Purple ether blossomed within the frame.
Reality warped—and Kai stepped into the blazing Nether.
The comment feed erupted into full-screen question marks.
"A minute and a half in—are you kidding me? He already opened a Nether portal?""Even Lighthouse's top player is still in the cave hunting for iron, and Kai's already gone Nether?""Building a portal underwater… that's insane.""Impossible. There's no way a Panlong newbie figured this out on his own.""We have seen water hitting lava in the broadcasts—sometimes it makes cobblestone, sometimes obsidian…""He remembered something that specific? Was he watching the VODs frame by frame?""[Panlong]Kai Orion, you're my GOD!"
Accusations of hacking and demands for investigation flew in from every direction—but one fact was undeniable:
Kai Orion was the first contestant to enter the Nether.
The scoreboards updated instantly, his ranking leaping straight to Number One.
It was the highest position Panlong had ever held.
"Unbelievable. A so-called 'complete beginner'.""Even the nine-nation think tank couldn't come up with that."
Some could only cling to hollow self-comfort:
"Panlong's previous players left nothing useful behind. Of course he combed every detail of our VODs.""Soon enough he'll realize the gap between himself and top players—in movement and crafting knowledge.""He doesn't even have armor. Entering the Nether, practically unarmed? That's a suicide run."
Unpleasant as those comments were—
They echoed the fear gnawing at Panlong's own people.
From past broadcasts, everyone knew:
The Nether was lethal.
Seas of lava.Razor-tusked hoglins.Short-tempered piglins who attacked without warning.Distant ghasts spitting fireballs from beyond bow range.Wither skeletons inflicting withering curses…
Last time, the nine-nation alliance sent in players clad in full iron gear—and still lost two lives.
Could Kai possibly survive?
—
A mournful, wailing sound washed over him as the world resolved.Heat slammed into his face, thick with danger.
While the loading haze cleared, Kai silently summoned the F3 panel again.
Among the myriad numbers, the "E" value represented entities.
A sudden spike usually meant a bastion remnant nearby.
He slowly turned in place, watching the display—
E: 64/150.
Got you.
Kai broke into a run in that direction.
Soon, a towering silhouette emerged from the crimson-stained horizon.
A bastion, looming over a broken landscape of netherrack and lava.
Between him and his target—a jagged, fractured river of molten rock.
Kai never slowed.
He vaulted from ledge to ledge across the treacherous netherstone, dancing as if on knife edges.
Every landing made the world collectively hold its breath.
Whenever it looked certain he would plunge into lava, he'd slap down a block at the last second and springboard off it to safety.
In no time, he reached the opposite bank.
"[Panlong]What the actual hell is that movement?""Impossible. Absolutely impossible. How is he doing this?""[Panlong]Nine out of ten—because he went way beyond 'six'."
Kai climbed the bastion's outer walls, towering above a sunken courtyard where a single golden chest waited.
Without a flicker of hesitation, he placed a boat beneath his feet, hopped in, and shoved off.
"Huh?!""You can… row a boat on land?""From that height? He's going to break every bone in his body!""What is this tech? I can't even parse it!"
Mid-air, he alternated between sitting and standing—board, dismount, board, dismount—
Bleeding off momentum in a controlled descent until he landed without so much as a half-heart of damage, right in front of the central chest.
He swung his iron axe, breaking the chest block cleanly.
Every item inside flew straight into his inventory.
Around him, piglins whipped their heads around, snarling in fury.
Their eyes burned crimson as they surged forward, weapons raised, a howling tide of gold-clad beasts.
"That's it. Look at all that gear—he's dead.""I heard those things hit like a truck.""There's even a brute nearby!""Kai Orion is completely surrounded!"
Several members of the nine-nation think tank actually smiled.
Looting gold or opening chests in full view of piglins guaranteed their rage.
They assumed Kai simply didn't know.
In truth—he'd provoked them on purpose.
Using the jagged terrain to his advantage, Kai stacked blocks and danced among them, leaping lightly over piglin heads as they lunged and swung beneath him.
The sheer intensity of his movement made every viewer's pulse race.
Once he slipped inside the bastion proper, he walled off their path with dirt, cutting off their advance.
The hatred didn't disappear, of course.Piglins poured around from the far side of the structure in an encircling rush.
Meanwhile, Kai was already carving through the blackstone bricks, opening gaps in the walls and weaving through them with effortless footwork.
He moved so quickly that, in the dim, lava-lit footage, the audience could hardly track his silhouette—
Let alone where he'd gone.
They could only hear the angry grunts of piglins and brutes converging from every direction.
From the sound of it…
They were now stomping arounddirectly above his head.
Chapter 4 — Lava-Walking Immortal!A Teleportation Blaze That Shook the World
As Kai Orion continued carving his tunnel, a glimmer of gold flashed into view.
A gilded block.
"How did he know there was gold there?""Did anyone track the path he just took? I'm already dizzy.""He moves like someone who knows every inch of this place—like he could navigate it blindfolded!"
Listening closely to the steps and gravelly snorts above him, Kai waited until every sound clustered in a single square directly overhead—
Then, swift as lightning, he mined the block beside him.
A piglin's fleshy hoof dropped into view—
Followed by a whole cascade of furious piglins tumbling through the ceiling into the two-block-high space.
With the blackstone beneath them removed, they fell neatly into a perfect trading pit.
Kai tossed every gold ingot he carried into the chamber.
At once, the piglins fell silent, scooping up the treasure with greedy fascination.
While they inspected and bartered, Kai disassembled the gold blocks into more ingots and fed them to the pit, one handful after another.
Some piglins eagerly spat out their own spoils—scattering loot at Kai's feet like tribute.
All the while, he kept mining through nearby blackstone, unearthing more hidden gold as he worked.
Mine. Smelt. Toss. Collect.Over and over—a seamless, high-speed exchange.
Soon his inventory was stocked with:
• 18 Obsidian• 1 Potion of Fire Resistance• 17 Ender Pearls• Iron nuggets• Mountains of string and other junk• A pair of iron boots enchanted with Soul Speed
Perfect. This Instance really does boost pearl drop rates… My luck couldn't be better.
Kai organized his packs.
Along the way he'd looted multiple chests—netting golden carrots, a crossbow, heaps of arrows, and a gold breastplate.
Not glamorous—but enough to improve his survival odds.
With pearls secured, it was time to locate the Nether Fortress.
On his way out of the bastion, he toggled open the F3 screen again—
And discovered the render distance control.
A slow grin curved his lips.
Adjusting render distance and reading the debug pie chart—he pinpointed a fortress not far from the bastion.
Only a vast ocean of lava separated them—depth unknown, shore invisible.
No clear block path.No land bridges in sight.
"His leaves and dirt must be nearly gone—not enough to bridge that lava sea!""He'd have to mine netherrack as he goes!"
Foreign viewers hoped—prayed—Kai would stall long enough for their nations to catch up.
They did not expect what came next.
Kai calmly uncorked the fire resistance potion and drank—
Then hurled an Ender Pearl straight toward the blazing horizon.
Crack.
He blinked—directly into lava.
The entire screen went molten red.
Yet he remained untouched—health bar as steady as iron.
Without hesitation, he threw a second pearl.
Perfect angle. Perfect strength.
Another flash—
He stood safely on the fortress edge.
"??? What!?""How is he teleporting like an Enderman?!""He's SWIMMING in LAVA and not dying?!""Nine-nation alliance—EXPLAIN THIS. RIGHT NOW.""His understanding of this game exceeds the rest of humanity combined!"
Panlong's audience numbers spiked as viewers poured in from every region.
Compared to Kai's daring chaos, others were pathetic:
Some cowering in the village, too scared to move.Others in caves screaming as they walled themselves in.
No spectacle. No thrill.Nothing worth watching.
But Kai Orion—He turned survival into an art form.
A high-octane, heart-pounding performance.Three minutes in—and already a legend.
Adrenaline soared through every Panlong citizen watching—chests swelling, eyes burning.
While they celebrated—
Kai had already scaled the fortress and located the blaze spawner.
He still had two TNT blocks from the first chest.
The moment a blaze materialized—
He dropped one TNT.Flicked his flint.Jumped clear.
BOOM
The shockwave shredded the enemy instantly.Strays caught in the blast burned low on health—easy prey for his axe.
Drops fell fast. RNG favored him.
Blaze rods rained like blessings.
Fireballs sputtered toward him, but he didn't flinch.
He still had fire resistance—and a movement technique so sharp the blazes barely clipped him.
Block, strike, reposition.Portal frame built.Rods secured.
"Wait—WHAT? Sakura's elite fighters got slaughtered here!""He's practically naked—how is he still alive?!""He barely flashes red—he's hardly taking damage!""What kind of insane combat reflexes does this man have? Was he a martial arts master IRL?"
Before stepping into the portal, Kai crushed blaze rods into powder—Fusing them with pearls:
Eyes of Ender.
Halfway done.
Now came the hardest part—finding the Stronghold.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Chapter 6 — A Human CalculatorPinpoints the End Portal by Sheer Mathematics
Kai flung his first Ender Eye skyward.
He studied its path—recorded the coordinates where it fell—then began running in its direction.
A second throw.Snap.It broke on landing.
No panic—he had plenty.
Two points form a line.Two lines intersect at one point.
The Stronghold.
A quick mental approximation—
Between 1000 and 2000 blocks, give or take.
He could keep throwing eyes…
But speedrunning demanded better.
Closing his eyes, Kai visualized a coordinate plane—plotted all four points he'd just logged—calculated two linear equations—and solved for their intersection.
There.
He checked the math twice—
Then stepped straight back through the Nether portal.
"What is he doing now?""Back to the Nether? Too hot for him out there?""When will he fight the dragon already?"
Nether rule:1 block traveled here = 8 blocks in the overworld.Fastest transport method known.
He checked his buff—fire resistance still active.Confidence renewed.
He threw an Ender Pearl.
Heat. Liquid fire.A burning sea.
Every viewer gasped as his avatar lit aflame—
But again—
No damage. No panic.Another pearl.Another teleport.
The audience screamed in confusion—
"Twice now! Immune to lava?!""Is this a cheat—burn immunity?!""WHAT IS HIS ENDGAME?!""Nine-nation 'MC experts,' cat got your tongue?!"
Teleport after teleport—Kai finally reached his destination.
Double-checking coordinates—
Perfect match.
Still submerged beneath lava.No solid blocks in sight.Fire resistance timer nearly expired.
But he had blackstone.Lots of it.
He placed obsidian directly on the seabed—built a Nether portal—sealed the sides—and drained the lava inside with expert bucket work.
One spark—
Crack.
Fuchsia light filled his vision.Transition began.
Stone.
Cold. Ancient.Stronghold Brick.
He grinned.Luck—still shining upon him.
He lit a fire on the floor for visibility—instantly recognizing the layout.
This way.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Across the globe, leaders stared hollow-eyed at the live feed.
"How did he leave the Nether without a diamond pick?""Did he… build a portal inside lava? Like before?""Record EVERYTHING. We're analyzing every frame from this moment forward.""Wait—is that… the Stronghold?"
No one had a reliable Stronghold-locating method—until now.
And Kai—just casually solved it.
"This structure is random… isn't it?!""Teleporting directly into it violates everything we know!""No soldier of ours found a Stronghold that fast, not even in simulations!""How… HOW is this possible?!"
Even the most arrogant nations fell silent.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Kai would later reflect on this moment as a stroke of genius—misleading his enemies into chasing a false strategy.
But that was for another day.
Right now—he stood before the portal room.
Silverfish hissed in the walls.Lava glinted beneath cracked stone.
Found it.
Three steps up—one smooth spin—
Clink. Clink. Clink.Ender Eyes snapped perfectly into place.
Voom—
The End Portal flared to life—a shimmering cosmic abyss contained in a 3×3 ring.
With arms wide open—Kai Orion fell backward into the void.
Just before he vanished—zombies growled—creepers stalked—silverfish writhed—
Then froze—their prey already gone.
Now… the real shock begins.
Chapter 5--World Score Shaken, A Nation Rebor
Ever Heard of Zero-Cycle Dragon Slaying?
Kai Orion materialized upon an obsidian platform suspended in the End.
Ahead lay the sandy, pale-yellow island — the End's desolate throne — where tall, ink-black silhouettes prowled with drifting violet particles flickering at their heels: Endermen.
Above them, slicing through the starless dark, a colossal shadow wheeled — and a long bar of violet-pink health dominated the sky.
The Ender Dragon.
Kai took a bite of salmon — hunger restored, health climbing steadily.
Still a handful of leaf blocks remained.
Without a moment wasted, he turned and demonstrated true speed-builder mastery — a soaring staircase of leaves rising beneath his feet in mere seconds.
A perfect sky-bridge.Land secured.
At the island's heart lay a depression of bedrock — the dormant Return Portal.Unlit.Useless until the dragon fell.
Ten titan obsidian pillars encircled the altar, each crowned by a crystal, its white beams constantly mending the dragon's wounds.
As Kai sprinted, his eyes traced the dragon's flight — its looping arc — the towering heights of those columns.
A spark ignited in his mind.
Zero Cycle.
Instant kill technique.
He pulled an Ender Pearl…and hurled it toward the tallest pillar — northeast.
He tracked its flight intensely —not even blinking.
The moment it struck the obsidian wall—
Snap!
He was ready.
Even while being teleported midair, he spam-placed blocks beneath his feet — catching himself, preventing a lethal plummet.
A scrape of damage — nothing more.
He climbed swiftly to the summit.
The End Crystal within its glass casing pulsed — white tether stretching toward the circling dragon.
Kai checked his Y-axis on the F3 panel—Perfect height.
He extended a branching platform — like the letter Y — one limb rising taller, built from obsidian.
Below that highest block, he placed two more obsidian to form a 1×2 pad—
Then laid down a bed.
Thank you, villagers.Thank you, beds.
The wind screamed.Dragon wings rumbled nearer.
The instant it dove toward the perch—
Kai ignited the bed.
BOOM—!
A thunderous detonation.The earth shuddered.Obsidian held firm — but part of the perch blasted away.
The dragon screeched — its health bar chunked violently downward.
No hesitation.
He leapt — slapped down another bed —
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! — BOOM!
His hands moved in a blur — a phantom rhythm of swapping, placing, detonating.
The dragon's pattern was predictable:hovering above Y>100 for a brief window.
Just long enough.
Six consecutive Bed Bursts cracked its armor — tore shadow-flesh apart — amethyst light bleeding from the wounds.
Purple energy beamed out like stars shattering — a celestial collapse.
The behemoth dissolved midair into particles —and then—
Light.Everywhere.
A fountain of XP orbs rained from heaven.A spectacle beyond words.
When the world caught up—
The Ender Dragon's health bar had already vanished.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Congratulations to Panlong Nation's player "Kai Orion" for clearing the 6th National Destiny Instance — Vanilla Speedrun!]
[Completion Time: 08:27]
[Real-Time Ranking: NO.1]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
"Huh??? Didn't the game just start?""Bro I switched streams for ONE MINUTE — he already won?!""I went to the bathroom — HE BEAT THE GAME?!""Kai Orion — HOLY ****!!! This is insane!""Somebody slap me — is Panlong actually FIRST?? By THIS MUCH???""We're taking ALL the resources. ALL OF THEM. This round is OURS alone!""RIGGED! WHAT THE **** IS THIS?!"
Around the world — chaos.
The Nine-Nation Alliance went blank — rigid — like statues coated in frost.Their supremacy shattered in under nine minutes.
And the future was now obvious:
Panlong Nation — lifted into unprecedented prosperity.Resources. Territory. Revival.All guaranteed.
The monopoly the alliance once gloated over?
Reduced to ashes.
Some officials fell to their knees — unable to accept reality —hands trembling, lips pale.
For years they hoarded information as "classified secrets,"sharing scraps only to mock and exploit others.
Kai Orion proved something monumental:
Your so-called 'secrets'?Are worth less than nothing.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━END of Volume One: Vanilla Speedrun
[Scoring based on completion time, execution difficulty, and enemy eliminations…Updating the Global Leaderboard in real time:]
NO.1 — [Panlong Nation] Kai Orion — 9,794 ptsNO.2 — None…
[Total points: 10,000 — divided among all nations.Distribution of resources will occur once the game officially ends.]
[Remaining instance time: 6 days 23 hours 50 minutes 29 seconds (Blue Star time)]
"What the hell?! The whole world only gets 10,000 points… and Panlong took 9,800?!""So every other country combined… gets barely 200?""ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE ON CRUMBS?!""[Panlong] Hey foreign friends… don't forget: points can also go negative if your player dies :)""[Panlong] Bro your mouth's coated in poison… remember not to lick your lips later, you might drop dead.""YOU— I— @$#%&*!!!"
Billions of messages flooded Panlong's live broadcast.A chaotic, colorful storm—ushering in their own "End Poem."
The rest of the End was sealed by Notch—no further exploration allowed.
Kai Orion had been planning to grab an Elytra…but before he could move—
Teleportation triggered.
[Congratulations — you are now a Minecraft Returning Player!]
[Returning Players will continue representing their nation in all future Minecraft Trials (unless timeline conflicts occur).]
[Notch Rule: No nation or individual may harm a Returning Player by any means.If a Returning Player dies due to non-Minecraft causes, all perpetrators — and their country — will suffer severe punishment.]
Kai collapsed onto his bed, rubbing at his aching temples.A deep breath.The tension finally unwound.
Eight minutes, twenty-seven seconds of pure precision —mind and body stretched to the limit.
Now the curtains had fallen.Victory celebrated.And in its wake — a strange, hollow quiet.
Yesterday, he was just a no-name VR streamer.Today—the savior of a starving nation.
Scrolling his phone, every trending page was his name.Messages— overflowing.Acquaintances who never spoke, strangers who barely existed—everyone wanted confirmation.
Was that really you?The one who broke the world?
He responded only to those who once helped him.Then fell asleep like a stone.
Until the doorbell rang.
He already knew.
He opened the door—
An entire entourage in immaculate uniforms stood ready.Spines straight.Eyes blazing with resolve.
At their head—a dignified elder in a Zhongshan suit.Gray at the roots, yet vitality thundered in every word as he grasped Kai's hand:
"Kai Orion!On behalf of the people, the leadership, and the National Minecraft Strategic Division—thank you."
"Your battle was a miracle."
"You have given this nation hope—a future we dared not imagine."
"May you join us in the Dragon Gate Hall?A hero like you deserves the highest honor."
Kai nodded.How could he refuse?
And… he needed insight.The truth beneath the old world's power lines.The Alliance's secret grip.
While the instance's countdown continued, Kai toured the country—speeches to reignite belief,closed-room consultations revealing the Alliance's shadowy schemes.
When it ended, he returned—to a special estate built solely for him.
Luxurious, serene, but brimming with purpose.
Here, he trained—refined muscle memory—reviewed every possible Minecraft scenario—preparing.
Seven days passed in a blink.
The trial concluded.All players— alive or not— were returned home.
Leaderboard final:
NO.1 — [Panlong] Kai Orion — 9,794NO.2 — [Lighthouse] Glenn Miller — 176NO.3 — [Northern Bear] Ludovico Stuart — 20NO.4 — [Sakura] Momozawa Sumire — 1NO.5 — [Rod Nation] Park Seokhyun — 1NO.6 — [Eagle & Vulture] Narita Seiko — 1…
Only those who cleared the trial received points—but Kai's flawless victory monopolized nearly everything.
Notch's verdict descended—
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Panlong Nation Resource Rewards]
① 4 billion cubic meters of clean fresh water② 10 million acres of arable farmland③ 10 million acres of restored forests, wetlands, and grasslands
Immediately deployed to national infrastructure.
Dry reservoirs surged with crystal waves.Dead farmland softened into fertile earth.Withered forests erupted with green.
People wept.Cheering.Filming miracles reborn.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Yet there was more—
④ Every citizen of Panlong Nation now possessed a personal storage dimension containing:• Fresh vegetables — 40 jin• Fresh meat — 20 jin• Rice & flour — 90 jin• Vitamins — 1 bottle• Cooking oil — 1 barrel• Mineral water — 200 bottles(Food stored inside never spoils.)
Even the poorest kitchens—now blessed with flame.
The nation erupted—
"Enough food for months!""I haven't eaten meat in forever… I'm going to cry…""Thank you, Kai Orion.Thank you."
"Our time has come."
The world reeled.Denial.Jealousy.Terror.
Because they all understood—
This was only the beginning.
And then—
A familiar, cold voice struck the sky:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[The 7th Minecraft National Destiny Trial will soon descend.][Instance Name: One Hundred Days of Outbreak]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Meditating in silence, Kai Orion slowly opened his eyes.
"So soon?
Very well…I'm ready."
Chapter 6--Countdown to the Hundred-Day Outbreak
[Trial Start Countdown — 47:59:59]
"One Hundred Days of Outbreak…"
"Not sure if it's pure vanilla… or mixed with a whole integration pack."
"Cities… trains… abandoned towns… perhaps?"
Kai Orion scanned the floating interface for more details.
No gimmick maps.This Trial was built on core Survival Mode.
Simple enough.
In his previous life, streamers like him had already played countless variants of this theme.
But he didn't relax—he read every rule with precision.
[Objective — Survive 100 days in this apocalyptic world.Final scoring will be based on:① Survival duration② Shelter quality & defense index③ Monster kills (stronger foes grant more points)④ Gear, tools, weapons & mod rarity acquired]
[Survival Rules]
Most overworld mobs are removed.Other-dimension mobs will fade over time.A new hostile species — Zombies — replaces them.
Base zombie stats:8 attack damage bare-handed | 30 HP | sunlight-immune | spawn in darkness only
Every 10 days, zombies mutate, randomly gaining abilities from:
① Higher ATK/HP/Reach/Speed② Using tools & weapons③ Placing/breaking blocks like players④ Random potion effects⑤ Combat intelligence: stealth, flanking, kiting⑥ Abilities of other hostile mobs⑦ Size variation / monstruous evolution4. Extreme weather may appear: Blood Moon, Heavy Fog, Cold Snap…Soil degradation → animals & crops struggle to live.5. New weapons, minerals, buildings, enchantments, brews & items added.Crafting knowledge must be found in chest pages.
"A conventional survival apocalypse…"
"But…"
"The extent of mutation is undefined."
"How strong?How smart?What blocks can they manipulate?Abilities of the Dragon… or the Wither…?"
His brow creased.
In a game, mobs were just numbers.But here? Backed by Notch's system?
What if they evolved like real AI?
"Still—""It's a national trial.""And most players are amateurs.""Notch won't start at impossible difficulty."
His lifestyle never faltered.He listened to Dragon Gate's briefings,mapped strategy into clean mental layers…
Two days passed.
[Countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…]
Light flashed—Kai opened his eyes inside the blocky world once more.Heart rhythm accelerating—The Hundred-Day Outbreak began.
[Reminder:All 150 contenders are scattered across the Overworld.Distance varies.Prepare swiftly—Corpse tides and Blood Moons will come soon.]
F3 UI — still accessible.
A small edge… but edge nonetheless.
No starter chest this time.
"In the first ten… no—thirty days, zombies are weak."
"Best window to hoard resources."
Perfect execution required.
He quickly collected:
• Logs, flowers, dirt, stone• Sugarcane, sand, gravel• One flint (lucky)• Stone tools forged• Every animal spotted = hunted
Soon—
A cavern entrance yawning before him.
Twisting paths. Coal glimmering in the dark.
He placed four furnaces as stepping blocksand fuelled them with broken tools and sticks—meat sizzling inside.
Torchlight flickered.Darkness crept.
A sudden chorus of footsteps.
"So soon?"
Eyes in the black—four pale pupils burning like frostfire.
Zombies.
He set torches to off-hand, stone sword ready.
The undead emerged—rotting pixel flesh rendered… almost disturbingly real.
"Holy hell that's terrifying!""Minecraft was supposed to be cute?!""He's frozen— is he scared stiff?"
They screeched and lunged—but he had already calculated their slow neural lag.
Three blocks high.One man alive.
He finished them cleanly.
Unexpected drops—Rotten flesh… and gunpowder, bones, string, spider eyes.
"So they inherit all mob drops…"
Promising.
Pack loaded with ore and smelted goods—iron gear complete (minus armor), TNT armed.
64+14 iron ingots.Stacks of coal & redstone.Gold. Diamonds. Emeralds.
Armor?Not worth crafting.
Dungeon loot is always free.
The lava lake rippled ahead.
Water poured.Obsidian hardened.
Gate ignited.
He stepped through.
**Chapter — Twin Thunder God Flash:
Defeating You Doesn't Even Require a Weapon**
Kai Orion refused to waste the advantage he'd seized.
While Ludovico was still clumsily turning around, Kai Orion leapt—axe raised—every swing calculated to crit,every strike powered by momentum and precision.
In his panic, Ludovico couldn't even lift his shield in time.
He roared like an enraged brown bear, hacking wildly with his diamond sword—
But!
Kai Orion was a master of spacing.
He danced at the perfect angle,always on Ludovico's blindside—dodging every strike,landing every hit.
"Bro… how are you missing point-blank melee?""Close-quarters sword fight and you're air-cutting— body-outline painter IRL!""Cool gear means nothing if every swing whiffs!"
Most spectators didn't understand:
Same distance—why could Kai hit, but Ludovico couldn't?
Because:
✔ Attack range: ~3 blocks✔ Attack cooldown timing✔ Lateral footwork advantage✔ Jump crits during enemy downtime
Every time Ludovico started a swing—Kai Orion was already outside his hitbox.
Every time Kai Orion attacked—Ludovico was inside his.
Dominance created by pure mechanics.
"Newbies shouldn't try to PVP a former world-record speedrunner."
Kai thought quietly.
At last, Ludovico understood brute force wouldn't work.
He staggered back—searching inventory—finally equipping a shield.
A deep thud rang when Kai's axe slammed the shield.
Spectators from Ludovico's nation began celebrating:
"He's safe now!""Long fight favors Ludovico!""He already countered lava too!"
They were wrong.
Kai changed tactics instantly—because PVP was unpredictability incarnate.
He took out something he had crafted only to save inventory—
TNT.
He placed it.Lit it.
Sparks hissed— TNT turned white—Ludovico froze with confusion.
Why place an explosion right between them?
Kai just smiled.
A flick—fishing line hooked the TNT.
A crack—a green flash of teleportation.
The first Ender Pearl shattered—Kai teleported behind Ludovico—
⚡ Fishing rod pulls TNT toward the target⚡ Detonation right at his back
BOOM!
A violent shockwave launched Ludovico forward.
Before it even fully detonated—
Second Ender PearlTeleported Kai—
to where Ludovico would land.
A bucket flipped—molten lava cascaded from above!
The world chat exploded:
"WHAT THE —""Dynamite as a remote-guided grenade?!""This isn't Minecraft— it's a highlight montage!!""Twin teleport into double-trap!!!""THIS is real PVP!!!"
Ludovico barely saved himself—water splashing everywhere, solidifying the molten rock.
He laughed—breathless, desperate—yet arrogant:
"You've lost your only weapon."
"Now it's my battlefield."
Spectators cheered—too早—
Because—
Step.
Kai Orion walked over the cooled cobblestone.
Another low hiss…
TNT.
A soft laugh:
"Are you sure about that?"
Ludovico's blood froze.
He squatted, shield raised—
He remembered:A shield can block TNT.
Yes… yes!He was safe!
…Until chat realized what Kai had been doing:
"Look—WHERE they're standing.""He pushed Ludovico to the cliff edge…""TNT isn't for damage…""It's to control movement."
Time slowed in Ludovico's widening pupils.
Kai's voice echoed like a whisper inside his mind:
"This TNT isn't to zero your health."
"Every creature has instinct.""When a bomb explodes at your feet—you always back away."
"So look—""Really look—"
"What's behind you?"
Understood — here is your translated and fully polished English version with elevated wording and refined narrative flow, exactly as requested:
"Is there still any ground beneath your feet?"
Boom!
The TNT ignited, obliterating the block beneath Ludovico's boots.
Teetering at the very edge, he lost all support — plummeting helplessly into the vast chasm hundreds of meters below.
"You—!"
His mind went blank. In his fading vision, the silhouette of Kai Orion descended gracefully after him, like a hunter choosing when to strike.
In that split second of the explosion, Kai Orion had endured only the faintest scrape of damage — distance had saved him — yet the blast still propelled him downward in the same arc as Ludovico.
They fell together — one above, one below — but only one of them remained composed.
Kai Orion's voice was calm, almost cold:
"This was merely a game where none should have interfered with the other."
"If your so-called 'Alliance' insists on provoking me…"
"Then every last one of you will meet the same fate."
Agony surged through Ludovico's spine before he could even gasp—
—then everything went dark.
YOU DIED[Ludovico Stewart] fell from a great heightRevive? ◉ Yes / ◯ NoRemaining revivals: 4Note: Fallen players will be resurrected in a relatively safe region near the spawn point.
Kai Orion simply sighed in mild disappointment:
"So… the great Alliance still hasn't trained their players to react properly in a fall — water bucket, boat… anything to break the landing?"
Landing a second after Ludovico, he executed a flawless water-bucket clutch, scooping the water back up before it could wash away the spoils left behind.
He crouched casually beside the scattered loot, selecting what he liked:
"I told you to walk away."
"Oh well…"
"I'll kindly relieve you of these items."
"Holy—! That was INSANE!"
"God-tier PvP!"
"I'm still in shock — how did he win? That felt like a hallucination!"
"He used every item to its absolute limit!"
"Meanwhile the other guy fought like a turn-based NPC!"
"Out-skilled AND out-thought — a perfect counterattack with worse gear!"
"Mess with the Dragon Nation — and THIS is what you get!"
"Bro is officially terrifying."
"Do 👏 not 👏 provoke 👏 Kai Orion."
The Alliance high-council fell into suffocating silence inside their VR war room.
Ludovico — one of their strongest PvP fighters.
Decked in elite gear.
Killed — by a player wearing only enchanted gold boots and wielding — of all things — Ender Pearls.
And Kai Orion? Untouched.
A flawless solo kill.
If this was him under-equipped...What happens when his stats catch up to his skill?
He already dominated non-combat gameplay in the previous instance.
Once he acquires optimal weapons and gear—
How does anyone stop him?
Even the game's balance itself trembled.
A timid voice finally rose:
"Sir… should we still proceed with the plan?"
The leader's expression darkened:
"The players inside cannot receive our orders. Unless they cross paths with Ludovico post-revival, they won't know what transpired here."
"The plan proceeds."
Their faces paled at the truth:
—Cross Kai Orion, and there is only death.
Another member laughed weakly, trying to mask the dread:
"Yes… yes, we agreed to this strategy. We can only watch it unfold now."
"And after all… this was just a coincidence."
"A one-on-one."
"But if he must face — the entire Alliance?"
Laughter could not lighten the tension tightening every face.
Their leader spoke again:
"The plan will continue. This situation — one man claiming all the points… must never happen again."
"In this game of national survival — we cannot afford to walk away empty-handed."
The End
Under the thunderous chain of bed explosions, the Ender Dragon dissolved into streaks of violet light. A fountain of experience orbs spiraled toward Kai Orion.
He gathered dragon's breath — and through the gateway, soared to the Outer Islands.
The livestream erupted:
"He's already back in the End???"
"He's exploring MORE?!"
"How does he even know where everything is?!"
Using the F3 interface, he located a vast End City shimmering under the eternal twilight — and fortune smiled: a bridge, and beyond it, the hull of an End Ship.
"Nailed it."
Loot poured into his hands. Enchanted armor. Weapons. Tools.
A full enchanted diamond set — obtained before other countries had even crafted a diamond pickaxe.
And then — the wings.
The Elytra.
With crafted rockets at his back, Kai Orion stepped onto the bow…
…and took flight.
"We can FLY in this game!?"
"Bro just unlocked aviation while everyone else is eating dirt!"
He circled the obsidian pillars, eyes gleaming:
"These… will make a sturdy fortress."
Efficiency IV and diamond in hand, he mined the End's strongest stone in bulk.
By the time he returned to the overworld…
It was only Day 4.
No mutations yet. Zombies merely swarmed thicker.
He already had gear and materials most players wouldn't earn in weeks.
A perfect speedrun survival.
Kai Orion smiled:
"Why crawl through progression…"
"When the End itself is mine for the taking?"
Chapter 7--Constructing a Max-Level Enchanting Table — Upgrading Gear — Ten Days Passed, Zombies Evolve!
Lost in thought, Kai Orion found himself on a small open plain.
A forest bordered one side—an ideal spot for a temporary refuge.
"Zombies cannot yet climb, place blocks, or fly. So for now, a ceiling is unnecessary."
After measuring the space, he fenced off a seven-by-seven area.
Because he had spent the previous days entirely in the End, his inventory lacked wooden planks. He chopped trees, crafted, and built simultaneously, working through dusk.
By the time he finished placing the crafting table, furnace, and chest neatly at the shelter's center—torches illuminating every square inch to prevent monster spawns—the sun had long since fallen.
Still, a worry lingered:
"Half-slabs or buttons across the floor would be best—then nothing could spawn.But it's too dangerous to gather wood at night…"
He could only wait for dawn.
The square sun slipped beyond the horizon. Outside the fence, one grid of brightness after another disappeared—until the world drowned in a thick, inky silence.
Trees. Hills. Streams. Hollows. Low ridges—all swallowed into a breeding ground of monsters.
Soon, pale glimmers—pairs of eyes—lit up in the dark.Then more. And more.
The horde, lost and wandering, soon detected Kai Orion's presence.They shoved and stumbled toward him.
"Their aggro range is much higher than ordinary mobs."
He plucked a perfectly roasted mutton chop from the furnace, chewing leisurely while surveying the encroaching dead.
Some had spawned at the very edge of vision—yet still navigated mountains and water as if guided by a beacon.
They slammed into the fence, snarling, arms outreached, fanatic hunger gleaming in their eyes.
Kai Orion—standing calm at the center—ate his dinner as if inside a museum enclosure, on display for the creatures outside.
Warmth filled his stomach; his mood lifted; his health bar recovered…and his plans resumed.
He dug a small irrigation trench.Sugar cane on one side.Tilled soil and wheat seeds on the other—souvenirs from his first day in the valley.
Then he drew his diamond sword—Sharpness V, Sweeping Edge III—and walked slowly to the fence.
Violet enchantment shimmered across the blade as it carved the moonlight.
Slash.
Slash, slash, slash—
Wind roared. Bone cracked.Screams gurgled into silence.
Ghastly limbs and butchered torsos piled into a grotesque mound—then quickly dissolved back into the earth.
Plink.Plink-plink-plink—
Experience orbs swirled around him like fireflies.
"Ugh… what a waste."
Having just slain the Ender Dragon, his level was already high. The same EXP now barely nudged the bar upward.Efficiency demanded remaining around level thirty—anything beyond should immediately be spent on enchantments.
But he lacked sugar cane and thus lacked bookshelves.High-tier enchantments were out of reach.
"Never mind. There will be countless zombies later."
Then—sharp pain struck his skull.
He looked up.
Deep blue creatures—batlike shadows—circled overhead.
"Phantoms!"
Exactly what he awaited.
Three sleepless nights summoned flocks of them.
With his diamond sword, he cut them down easily—two Phantom Membranes dropped.
"Perfect for repairing the Elytra."
But more zombies pressed in.He slaughtered, collected bones, ground them into bone meal—sprinkled onto the sugar cane.They shot skyward instantly.Harvest. Paper. Leather. Books.
"Zombies drop too much. I can't even collect it all…"
He calculated silently:
"Max-level enchanting requires fifteen bookshelves.That means 90 planks, 45 leather, 135 paper.Three sugar cane per three paper…At this rate, I'll have enough soon."
The night slipped away.Rotten flesh, bones everywhere—plus rare iron ingots and potatoes.
He widened farmland, planted and bone-mealed potatoes—food reserves rising fast.
"When soil acidifies later, farming will be hard.Best to accumulate now."
Finally, daylight weakened the spawn waves.
"Notch decreed zombies will not spawn during early daytime.Clean up nearby mobs and the days will be peaceful."
Days passed.
Three mines fully looted.Bone-meal-boosted sugar cane produced stacks of paper.
Fifteen bookshelves—completed.The enchanting table—max level.
Books enchanted. Lapis spent:
• Feather Falling II• Protection II ×2• Unbreaking II• Unbreaking I• Fortune II• Silk Touch I• Sharpness II
Evening again.
Zombies circled—an ocean of walking EXP.Whenever EXP waned during Anvil reforging, he stepped out to harvest fresh souls.
By dawn, all his equipment had risen:
• Sword → Sharpness V + Sweeping Edge III + Unbreaking II• Pickaxe → Efficiency IV + Unbreaking II + Fortune II• Boots → Unbreaking III + Feather Falling II + Protection II• Helmet → Protection III + Unbreaking II• Iron Pickaxe → Silk Touch I• Diamond Axe → Sharpness II + Unbreaking I
Axe crits struck 15 damage—1.5 higher than a Sharpness V sword.A dueling weapon, through and through.
His anvil shattered from overuse.
"There goes thirty-one ingots…"
But he forged another.Resources? Plenty.
Then—
[Current Survival Day: 10]
[Zombie Evolution Triggered]
[Variant Detected: Crawler —A prone zombie capable of navigating 1-block spaces]
[① Movement speed comparable to Baby Zombies][② Devours nearby zombie corpses, adding segments to its body — damage increases accordingly][③ Grabs targets within 1 block and drags them 5 blocks — escape impossible unless the Crawler dies][④ Immune to knockback unless struck by Knockback/Punch-enchanted gear]
Kai Orion's pupils tightened.
"Already… evolving to this level?"
Chapter 8--Can't Even Build a Redstone Trap, Yet Dare to Ambush Me?
Can't Even Build a Redstone Trap, Yet Dare Call It an Ambush?
From a godlike overhead view, the spectators already understood the underhanded scheme of those four lurking below.
— "It's over, it's over! Kai Orion is heading straight toward them!"— "Not sure whether I'm worried for the four of them… or for Kai Orion."— "Burying their shelter beneath the village is clever—develop quietly and ambush passing players!"— "They're absolute rats. Three kills already!"— "But this time, their opponent is Kai Orion!"— "I feel like that trap is unsolvable… Even Kai Orion might—"— "[Munching melon emoji] Just sit back and watch the tigers fight! Do it! Fight!"
...
Yes.
Just as Kai Orion suspected.
There were people lying in ambush below.
Not specifically targeting him—only because their base was directly under the village, so they set up a simple trap.
If they heard or saw someone approaching, they'd wait until the target relaxed, then strike from below.
Except… Kai Orion flew here.
From high altitude, and far enough that even his name tag didn't render—
They had no idea who was coming.
If they knew?Their intestines would turn green with regret.
...
The moment Kai Orion neared the roof of the blacksmith's house—
A subtle flick of his elytra sent him flipping gracefully in mid-air, riding the lift of the wind. He avoided nearly all fall damage and landed lightly on the low eaves, instantly shifting into stealth.
His [Efficiency IV] diamond pickaxe was already drawn—and before his feet even touched the roof—
Crack!
A block at the top shattered.
He slipped through the opening smoothly.
He broke the block before actually landing—dropping inside gracefully like a shadow.
During the extremely brief descent—
Kai Orion scanned the room. Nothing unusual.
Before landing—another crack—he dug out the floor tile in front of the chest.
Tap—
Kai Orion's understanding of the average players' Minecraft IQ was simply too accurate.
The moment he stepped into the blacksmith—
He already predicted their childish little trap.
A glance down—
Two blocky butts sticking out from beneath the floor.
They hadn't even realized what happened—just sensed light above and looked up—
Eyes vacant.Clueless.
Next to them—a deep abyss.
"So wait for someone to open the chest, break the block under their feet, and drop them into the pit…"
"Finishing them with fall damage while securing the loot?"
"How primitive…"
"I even thought there would be a trapped chest… a pressure plate… tripwire hooks…"
"Well—"
"With their level, they probably don't even know the crafting recipes."
These thoughts passed in half a second.
Next moment—
He whipped out TNT.
Lit it—Dropped it.
Whoosh—
They never expected his mining speed—nor his item-swapping speed.
They snapped their heads up—
Didn't even see his name—
Only a bright white cube falling directly onto their faces.
SSSSSS—
"F*CK! TNT?!""Where the hell did TNT come from?!"
Who wouldn't be stunned when TNT kisses your nose?
BOOM—!!
Before the smoke faded—
Kai Orion had already smashed through the side wall, diving into the trench.
The two iron-armored players survived the blast—but barely.
He landed—Charged axe crit!
The one closest to the blast collapsed instantly.
Sigh…
Primitive traps are one thing.
But just standing there after TNT explodes?
Not even trying to run?
Truly pathetic.
A quick step into the blind spot—
Another charged hit—The second player fell.
— "Holy crap, Kai Orion is insane!"— "X-ray? How did he know someone was down there?!"— "They were sneaking! No name tags!"— "Did I miss something?"— "I blinked once and they died?!"— "Thought they'd ambush Kai Orion—but HE ambushed THEM! Opened with TNT!!"— "666…"
...
Kai Orion frowned:
"They can't be dumb enough to only camp below."
"If I were them, one inside, one guarding the entrance."
"What if the target doesn't fall?"
"You need inside-outside collaboration…"
"So why just two?"
"Unless… there are more."
Just then—
An arrow whistled toward him.
Clang!
His shield was already raised after catching distant footsteps.
The arrow deflected and clattered aside.
"So they do have backup…"
He narrowed his eyes, reading their name tags.
"Just as I thought."
He recalled previous National Destiny Game replays—
They always grouped up.Just never favored because they were from a small nation.
"Four-person team loyalty…"
"Respectable, in a sense."
"Probably what Notch hopes to see…"
"But unfortunately—"
"You chose to oppose me."
...
Kai Orion now stood in a hollow chamber beneath the blacksmith.
The TNT explosion above had blown open a small gap in the floor.
Through it, he stared up at the two players above.
One still held his bow—string fully drawn.
Losing teammates and their perfect trap—their desperation was obvious.
He prepared to loose the arrow—
But the "Captain" stepped forward suddenly, stopping him.
Gulp—He forced a timid smile:
"S-sir… that explosion earlier… was that you?"
Kai Orion narrowed his eyes silently.He recognized me.
Seeing no response, the Captain continued awkwardly:
"We thought you were a zombie—terribly frightened—we attacked by mistake… You know how many monsters there are… Please don't blame us…"
Kai Orion watched him coldly.
This "Captain" was a veteran—once the second-in-command of a major gang before joining the game trials.
Not only strong—but cunning and ruthless.
"You know you can't win—so you start pretending to be weak?"
Kai Orion remained silent.
Sweat trickled down the Captain's blocky forehead.
"Haha… who knew there was such a big hole under the blacksmith?"
"Are you stuck down there?"
"I—I have extra blocks… I can build a ladder for you."
He swapped his sword for dirt—a false show of goodwill.
Kai Orion didn't move.
Anyone who played Bed Wars knew—this angle was ideal for a shove kill.
One mistimed jump—straight into the deadly pit below.
He wasn't worried about climbing up—but instead…
A bold theory formed in his mind.
"What if they plan to counter-kill me?"
If their shelter really was beneath this village—then the two he just killed…
Would respawn nearby.
Did they really think…4v1 could beat him?
The Captain's babbling finally ended.Silence.
Then—
Sssss…
"…Lava?"
"How could lava be here?"
"Unless… part of their trap?"
His gaze flicked toward the earlier arrow—still burning faint ember sparks at the tip.
"[Flame I] enchantment."
Which meant—
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲.
Just then—
The Captain sidestepped—The bowman shot again—
Not at Kai Orion.
At the TNT stash beside him.
Hidden by angle—but not anymore.
SSSSSSS—
Kai Orion's eyes sharpened.
One leap—placing a block beneath his feet—
He fired his fishing rod—hooking the bowman and yanking him downward.
Instantly—He drew his Netherite Sword.
[Knockback II]!
The unlucky player tumbled straight into the newly ignited TNT.
Kai Orion didn't even bother with an ender pearl—A quick stair-build and he was already inside the blacksmith again.
The Captain still hadn't processed what happened—
Kai Orion's sword swept across—
He stumbled, nearly falling into the abyss—barely catching balance in stealth.
Below—
BOOM!!!Followed by—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain reaction.
Screams.Then silence.
The lava welcomed another victim.
— "How did Kai Orion predict all that?!"— "666! Said don't mess with him!"— "They pretended to surrender to bait him—then tried to blow him up! Old snakes!"— "Act dead to lure the tiger—textbook trap!"— "If Notch didn't say no hacks allowed—I'd swear he can see through walls!"— "A true detective gamer…"— "Only someone mastered in Minecraft's mechanics could fight like this…"
...
Lava crackled below.
Kai Orion smiled:
"Impressive. You thought of remote TNT ignition."
The Captain's expression flickered wildly.
He chuckled nervously while backing away:
"H-he's… young and impulsive… Don't mind him…"
Kai Orion replied calmly:
"That boy only joined the trials twice."
"Without your instruction, how would he know enchanting?"
"And how would he know that [Flame I] ignites TNT?"
The Captain's smile froze.
Even blocky pixels couldn't hide his fear.
"Don't pretend to be innocent."
"You chose the dirty path—own it."
He gripped his iron sword tighter, scanning Kai Orion—
But…
The Netherite armor alonetold him everything:
He had no chance.
Just then—
Kai Orion's gaze shifted toward the doorway.
Screeeeeeech—!
A sound sharper and more horrific than a zombie's cry sliced the air.
A distorted shadow stretched inside—
Dozens of centipede-like limbs scraping unnaturally.
Then—
It entered the light.
A long, grayish-brown monstrosity—mutated from devouring too many zombie corpses.
Its front half reared upright—nearly touching the ceiling—
The rest of its enormous body—still outside the window.
Kai Orion counted the curled length—judging by the building's size—
𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝟰𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.