"Grab my hand! I'll send you back first!" Ian reached out, gesturing for Chloe to take hold.
Once Chloe grasped his hand, Ian focused his thoughts and activated the portal leading to Minecraft.
Chloe's vision blurred for a moment as her surroundings changed instantly. The abandoned, bloodstained train station vanished, replaced by a scene bursting with green life.
Warm sunlight spilled over her, and the fresh scent of soil and grass filled the air. She couldn't help but take a deep breath—her tension and exhaustion melted away.
"Wow! This is your world, Super Block Man? It's amazing!" Chloe's eyes sparkled with wonder as she looked around curiously.
She stood on a bright green field, a lush forest stretched nearby, and the sky was a clear blue with puffy white clouds.
Wait—something was off. The clouds were square. The trees were square. Even the sun was square.
"This is Minecraft," Ian said with a grin.
Chloe nodded in partial understanding. She was curious about why everything was shaped like a cube, but decided not to ask.
Aside from the strange blocky shapes, she could feel it—this world was completely different from the zombie-infested one she'd come from. It was vibrant and alive, filled with peace and energy that lifted her spirits.
"Right, let me introduce you to a new friend," Ian said, waving toward a small wooden hut nearby. "Hey, Miss Witch! Come on out—I brought a guest!"
The door creaked open, and Miss Witch cautiously peeked out. When she saw the girl beside Ian, curiosity lit up her face.
"H-hello..." Miss Witch greeted softly, her voice trembling slightly.
Chloe was startled for a moment, then quickly reacted, responding enthusiastically. "Hello, hello! I'm Chloe. You're a witch? That's so cool! Can you use magic?"
Miss Witch flinched at Chloe's enthusiasm, shrinking back a little, but gathered her courage to reply, "H-hello, Miss Chloe. I'm a witch, but I only know how to... brew potions. I don't know any magic. My name's Anna."
"No need to be so formal, just call me Chloe!" Chloe said warmly, grabbing Anna's hand with a bright grin. "We're friends now!"
Anna's face flushed pink as she whispered, "O-okay... Chloe."
Watching the two very different girls get along so quickly made Ian chuckle.
He had worried Chloe might not adjust to Minecraft, or that she and Miss Witch wouldn't get along—but it seemed he'd worried for nothing.
"Alright, now that you've met, it's time I set you up with a new home," Ian announced, clapping his hands to get their attention.
"A new home? Where?" Chloe asked eagerly, her eyes shining.
"The best one, of course!" Ian smiled mysteriously, walked to a vacant spot, and with a wave of his hand.
In an instant, a massive structure appeared—hundreds of blocks wide, over ten blocks tall, with three full stories.
A luxurious giant matchbox house.
"How is it? Do you like it? This is the mansion I personally built for you!" Ian said proudly, hands on his hips, gesturing at the perfectly square, sharply angled building before them. His face glowed with satisfaction.
Chloe and Anna exchanged glances. Their smiles froze.
"This... is the new house?" Chloe asked hesitantly, pointing at the enormous box.
"Of course! A deluxe three-story villa! Impressive, right?" Ian raised an eyebrow, waiting for praise.
Miss Witch crept closer, ran her hand along the rough cobblestone wall, peeked inside through the glass, then turned around cautiously.
"Um... Mr. Ian, can we... please not live here?"
Chloe nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah! I mean, thank you for building it, really, but... isn't it a bit too... simple?"
She tried to sound polite, not wanting to crush his enthusiasm—but this matchbox house had nothing to do with the words deluxe or villa.
Ian's smile stiffened. Scratching his head, he muttered awkwardly, "Simple? No way! I designed this myself—three floors, great lighting, solid materials. It's perfectly safe!"
He did his best to defend his "masterpiece."
"But..." Chloe began.
Anna shook her head gently, signaling her to stop. She understood—safety was all that mattered in this world. It didn't look great, but it was sturdy, and that was enough.
Seeing Anna accept it, Chloe forced a grin. "Yeah, yeah! I love it! You're amazing, Super Block Man—you built a whole house so fast!"
Ian could see through their strained smiles, and disappointment sank in.
Did they really not like it? Couldn't they appreciate the beauty of classic block architecture? He'd poured his heart into this masterpiece of cubic aesthetics!
'Hmph! You people just don't understand art!' he grumbled inwardly, but aloud he only said, "Alright, alright. You can stay here for now. Once I'm done with some things, I'll bring you two a real villa."
With that, Ian opened the portal again—this time back to the zombie universe.
——
Zombie Universe, near Busan Station.
Ian returned once more to this world of blood and rot. By now, he was used to it—and even a little excited. After all, this was the perfect place to farm Interdimensional Energy.
He glanced around, confirming no survivors nearby, then activated [Hundredfold Time Acceleration].
Everything around him slowed to a crawl. The sluggish zombies moved like snails in his perception.
"Let's get to work!" Ian smirked, drawing his crimson blade. In a flash, his body vanished into the horde like a phantom.
Blade light flared—flesh and blood burst apart.
Under the hundredfold time flow, Ian's attacks and movements reached impossible speeds.
He was like a reaper dancing through the horde, each swing cutting down dozens of zombies.
Flames, lightning, and whirlwinds surged along his blade, burning, electrocuting, and shredding everything in his path.
From Busan Station, he swept forward along the tracks, heading deeper into the city.
Every zombie he encountered fell instantly, leaving behind a trail that looked like a meteor had plowed through the ground.
After an unknown length of time, he reached the outskirts of Busan. Here, the gunfire had drawn in massive numbers of zombies—the streets were packed, a sea of corpses swaying like waves.
Ian took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with excitement. His Interdimensional Energy was almost full.
He quickened his pace, increasing his kill rate to the limit.
His blade rained down like a storm, ripping through the endless tide of undead. He moved like a relentless meat grinder, harvesting zombie after zombie.
Finally, as he killed the last zombie in front of him, a crisp notification sound suddenly rang in his mind.
[Ding... Interdimensional Energy value collection complete. Mod unlock progress 100%]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked a brand new mod: Zombie Awareness]
"Zombie Awareness?" Ian paused mid-swing, blinking in surprise.
He opened the mod panel and examined the new mod's description carefully.
The Zombie Awareness mod allowed zombies in Minecraft to have real consciousness—drawn to blood scent, sound, and light sources.
At night, even more zombies would spawn. And with this mod... they'd start to look a lot more like real undead.