Every chunk location is different, and the distance from the resource area varies as well.
On a more distant sky island, Zane Wu activated the teleport lever for Galen Yu, while the Freedom Nation was situated much closer.
A long bridge extended from the distance, spiraling upwards, allowing one to reach the resource area quickly.
Once there, the long bridge automatically disappeared, though a button on the ground could be used to return to the chunk.
[SKY ISLAND, OUTSKIRTS]
"Sky Island... so that's the name of this place."
Jett murmured to himself as he saw the small words before him.
"It seems someone has already arrived ahead of us. Is it the player from the Nine Provinces?"
Looking up, Galen Yu's figure was clearly visible in the distance.
Beside him was a Piglin; from their conversation, they learned that his reward was an entire chunk of land.
"My god, an entire chunk! We're only allowed to obtain blocks fifteen times a day!"
"He must have used some improper method. First place and that land should have been ours!"
Jett was consumed with jealousy.
For one person to kill a thousand zombies in a single night—from the perspective of food supply alone, it would have been impossible!
"We're reporting this! The Nine Provinces player is cheating!"
Jett took the opportunity to report to the Piglin that had followed them.
"There's no way he could have killed a thousand zombies. There must be something wrong. The first-place reward should belong to us!"
Upon hearing this, the Piglin's expression darkened instantly.
The Piglin race valued two things above all else: warriors and gold.
Conversely, they utterly despised cowards.
To the Piglin, this display of 'cleverness' sounded like a coward trying to smear a strong warrior; its impression of Mark and Jett hit rock bottom.
"Are you questioning Sky Island?"
Sensing the shift in the Piglin's tone, Mark hurried to explain.
"No, respected lord, we have no intention of disparaging Sky Island!"
"But there must be an issue with the data. He couldn't possibly—"
Slap!
Before he could finish, the Piglin delivered a sharp slap.
A surge of pain and weightlessness followed. Mark was knocked to the ground, his vision blurring.
It took several seconds for him to recover.
Now, the Piglin's gaze toward them was even colder.
"Keep your baseless speculations to yourselves!"
"Second place was not originally required to pay a tribute, but now I have changed my mind."
"From this day forth, you will be like those cowards—handing over one type of block material to me every day!"
Mark sat there, his mind reeling.
He had only tried to report something; how did it end with them having to hand over materials?
They could only mine fifteen times a day at the resource area, and now they had to give some away?
"Do you intend to defy the rules of Sky Island?"
As the Piglin's eyes gradually turned red, in Mark's vision...
Blood-red text appeared before his eyes.
[PIGLIN GUARD OF SKY ISLAND]
First one, then two, three, four...
The surrounding area was covered in blood-red text, with a count numbering in the hundreds.
Furthermore, those names didn't belong to the pig-headed creatures like the one before them. Most of their faces were rotted and decayed, revealing grim white bone.
The golden longswords they held looked far more terrifying than any zombie!
"No, how could we? We will hand over the materials as required!"
Terrified and breaking into a cold sweat, Mark apologized frantically.
The Piglin finally calmed down, and the blood-red text vanished.
"Very well. Remember to drop the items into the hopper over there."
With a final warning glare, the Piglin disappeared into the distance.
"What bad luck, that damn pig—"
Jett started to curse, but Mark immediately covered his mouth.
With so many red names appearing just now, there was no telling how many Piglins were nearby.
If they were overheard, it would be bad if the punishment was increased.
Realizing Mark's intent, Jett snorted coldly and looked into the distance.
The Piglin had led Galen Yu to his chunk. While the iron mountain was taken, there was still a vast area left to excavate.
"Nothing but iron ore? We were actually defeated by such a fool?"
"The Nine Provinces player getting first place really was nothing but pure luck!"
Unable to curse the Piglin, Jett took out his frustration elsewhere.
There was a gold mountain not far away, yet he ignored such a precious resource in favor of iron?
Could an iron sword ever be as good as a golden one?
Now, it would all belong to them!
"He'll learn sooner or later how rare gold ore is to find. Quick, let's go mine the gold."
"Let Galen Yu regret his choices!"
Having adjusted their attitudes, Mark and Jett rushed toward the gold mining area.
Standing on high ground, Galen Yu witnessed the entire scene.
"It looks like Piglins aren't as friendly as they seem on the surface."
Favorability was another hidden benefit of coming in first place.
Compared to the kindly, smiling Zane Wu beside him, the Piglin near Mark was far more menacing.
Then again, Piglins in the original game weren't exactly benevolent.
As hostile mobs capable of using bows and weapons, they were much harder to deal with than zombies.
When he first started playing and explored the Nether, he had been killed by them more than a few times.
Watching the two head for the gold mountain, Galen Yu found it comical.
"Besides Piglins, is there really anyone who likes gold?"
It might look rare, luxurious, and powerful, but it was practically useless.
Equipment made from it had terrible durability, and its defense was only slightly better than the lowest-grade leather set.
Its only real use was for making Golden Apples.
Only during his first few months of playing, when he was a novice who didn't understand the game, would he have treated gold ore as a treasure.
Later on, even if someone offered it to him for free, he'd think it a waste of inventory space.
He ignored the two of them.
"From this moment on, this is your chunk!"
Led by the Piglin, he officially arrived at the iron mountain, and a prompt appeared.
[DISCOVERED RESOURCE AREA: IRON MOUNTAIN!]
[THE IRON MOUNTAIN HAS NOW BECOME YOUR CHUNK!]
[CURRENT CHUNK TOTAL SCORE: 20 (MICRO CHUNK)]
[PLAYER RANKING: 1]
A jump from eight points to twenty—a full twelve-point increase!
On the sky island, a cobblestone generator and a mob platform combined were only worth five points. A twelve-point spike proved how abundant the resources were here!
Most importantly, there was a massive amount of iron ore!
Unlike the decorative gold ore, iron provided him with truly practical items.
Buckets, shears, anvils, rails, flint and steel...
Especially for starting Redstone engineering and laying minecart tracks, even more iron would be required.
If he relied solely on killing zombies at night for iron, who knew how long it would take? The progress would be far too slow.
This made things much easier!
"I've placed your special reward in the chest. I look forward to our next meeting."
With his task finished, Zane Wu left to attend to his next duty.
Galen Yu opened the only small house on the iron mountain. Inside was a large chest with a locked latch.
The lock didn't require a combination; only Galen Yu had the authority to open it.
If it were forcibly broken, the items inside would be destroyed along with the chest.
The viewers from the Nine Provinces were brimming with curiosity.
"I've never seen such a strange chest before."
"It actually has a lock. What kind of treasures are hidden inside?"
"Wait, I just realized—everyone else got to choose their own resources, but Galen Yu didn't!"
"Does that mean the items in this chest are even better than choosing any resource?"
"Is that even possible? What could be better than a choice of resources?"
"I'm so curious!"
He opened the chest. Instantly—
Light pierced through as a mysterious power surged from within.
"An Enchanted Book!"