Ian's consciousness returned to the group chat just as the screen was bustling with activity.
Freezing Cold: "Is this real or fake? Everyone look, is this the Boss's world? It's so beautiful!"
Boiling Alive: "Holy crap! Bro, how many people live in a place that huge? I'm dying of envy over here."
Starving Platform: "...[Shocked.jpg]"
Chloe had just shared several photos—panoramic shots of the Skyblock from different angles. Sunlight shimmered off the metallic buildings, reflecting a cold brilliance. The botanical garden was lush and green, while an artificial waterfall cascaded down, forming a rainbow under the sunlight.
Super Block Man: "What are you guys talking about? So lively here?" Ian chimed in, he finally appeared.
Dead Legs Run: "Hehe, Boss, you're here! Look at my new renovation! Isn't it pretty!" A continuous barrage of images followed.
Super Block Man: "Not bad!" Ian genuinely praised. Although he had 'transported' all these buildings, with Chloe and Anna's arrangement, they truly felt like home.
Freezing Cold: "Wuwuwu, I want to live in such a beautiful place too. My underground storage is cold and dark. I feel like a hamster."
Boiling Alive: "Be content, Molly. At least you have some assets. I'm basically broke right now."
Starving Platform: "...[Envious]" Leo only sent an envious emoji as usual.
Ian chuckled as he scrolled up, curious about what they had been talking about—especially Freezing Cold's messages, since she and Chloe talked the most.
As expected, the Zero Ring's effects had caused quite a stir—far more than he'd anticipated.
Super Block Man: "How's your situation going, Molly?" Ian asked.
Freezing Cold: "On my end, it's a bit troublesome, but also a bit exciting." Molly replied with a nervous sweat emoji…
Freezing Cold: "The authorities found me through the apocalyptic warning post I published online. Then, they tracked me down via my consumption records and located my small warehouse. Someone already came to visit me yesterday morning."
Boiling Alive: "The authorities? What do they want? They won't catch you and slice you up for research, right?"
Freezing Cold: "It shouldn't come to that... Their attitude was quite polite. They said they wanted to know why I could predict the apocalypse and see if I could predict upcoming events."
Freezing Cold: "But after they came here, they seemed to have noticed the abnormality of the torches. They said someone else would come in a few days before leaving. I guess the next person will probably be a professional."
Super Block Man: "Stay alert," Ian reminded her.
Super Block Man: "But with your current abilities, you should be safe."
With the Zero Ring and her stockpile of supplies, she was one of the safest people in the Frozen Apocalypse.
Freezing Cold: "Mm-hmm, I know. I'll be careful. Thanks, Boss!"
Super Block Man: "When they show up, tag me. I'll come over to back you up."
Freezing Cold: "Wait, really?! You're coming to my world? Thank you! Thank you!"
Freezing Cold: "Oh, right—how about you, Felix? You said you were going to talk to your Mayor?"
Boiling Alive: "Speaking of that, I actually made some progress." Boiling Alive replied, sounding excited. "I went to see the Mayor yesterday and told him about the apocalypse, and I showed him my power."
Dead Legs Run: "Power? What kind of power? You can breathe fire now?" Chloe teased.
Boiling Alive: "Something like that. It's controlling fire. I was completely on fire, and the Mayor thought I was self-immolating in his office. He turned white as a ghost." Boiling Alive sent a mischievous smile emoji.
Freezing Cold: "Pfft..."
Starving Platform: "..."
Super Block Man: "So, did he believe you?" Ian asked, curious about what happened next.
Boiling Alive: "Of course not, not at first! He tried to put me out with a fire extinguisher, but when he realized I wasn't burning up, he stopped calling for security. I kept the flames going for a while, and eventually, he believed me. The weather's been weird lately too, so he thought about it for a long time—smoked a few cigarettes—and said he'd report it."
Freezing Cold: "Pfft... The process was a bit convoluted. Your move was seriously bold. Good thing your Mayor doesn't have heart disease."
Boiling Alive: "Huh? Why?"
Freezing Cold: "Never mind."
Then she tagged Starving Platform.
Freezing Cold: "@Starving Platform, Uncle Leo, how's life in the Order Maintenance Squad? Any danger yet?"
Starving Platform: "None so far,"
Starving Platform replied. "Ever since the big guy gave me the Soul Stones, no one on the platform can touch me."
Super Block Man: "That's good to hear," Ian said, satisfied. His group members were all surviving and even thriving in their own worlds. The sense of accomplishment warmed him unexpectedly.
Super Block Man: "By the way, I got something good for you guys. Take these—soon, we'll be able to build portals connecting our worlds. Then we can finally meet in person."
He sent them Energy Collectors MK3 via Red Packet.
To be safe, he only included two in each, except for Felix's packet, which had three. After accounting for losses, everyone could still assemble one full Energy Collector MK3. He also threw in a bunch of torches for good measure.
Each collector was slow but reliable.
Super Block Man: "Place the Energy Collector somewhere safe, and stick torches nearby," Ian explained. "It'll automatically absorb Interdimensional Energy. Once it's full, we can use it to open a portal to my world."
The Red Packets were quickly accepted.
Freezing Cold: "I got mine!" Freezing Cold said. "So the only requirement is safety? No heat or power source needed?"
Boiling Alive: "Same question,"
Starving Platform: "Up"
Super Block Man: "Just find any open space. It shouldn't be picky."
Time passed quietly. The chat went mostly silent as everyone got busy in their own worlds.
A day later—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Ian was flying in the sunlight when the Transmutation Tablet popped up a notification.
[Ding... Interdimensional Energy collection for all three worlds complete. Do you want to consume 3475813 EMC to generate all Interdimensional Portals?]
His eyes lit up. Checking the status, he saw that all three energy bars were full.
"Nice. Faster than expected," he murmured. He'd thought it would take at least three days, but the collectors had exceeded expectations.
"Time to open the portals."
Taking a deep breath, Ian summoned the Ultimate Transmutation Tablet and began consuming Interdimensional Energy and EMC to build the portals.
Three pulses of energy rippled out, and Ian immediately sensed the connection to all three worlds. With a single thought, he could now teleport there.
At that moment—
Freezing Cold: "@Super Block Man, big guy, are you free? The officials just contacted me—they're on their way,"
Super Block Man: "Perfect timing. Wait a moment, I'm coming."