When everyone in the square heard the words broadcast over the radio, they were all thrown into a state of confusion.
"Isn't this a novice village?" someone wondered aloud.
Suddenly, a prompt flashed across their screens—random teleportation all over the map. The atmosphere was chaotic; no one wanted to be separated from their companions.
"No," a player muttered, "my husband and I aren't going to be apart."
"It's a fun game," another replied, "and the start is different from any other game I've played before."
Everyone around was bewildered by the situation. After Xu Yuan heard the broadcast, he quickly began to piece together what was happening.
At first, he thought there might be a novice village—after all, this square resembled one. But if Minecraft truly had a fixed pattern for newbie villages, it wouldn't be called Minecraft.
This square was just a temporary safe zone, a buffer to prevent new players from spawning directly into dangerous terrain. There was no guiding tutorial, no structured experience—only chaos and uncertainty.
As Xu Yuan listened to the murmurs around him, he realized that most players knew nothing about this game. In fact, in this parallel world, only he seemed to understand how to play.
A thrill ran through him at the thought. If his assumptions were correct, and he truly was the only one aware of the game's mechanics, then he held a unique advantage.
This could become his world—an empire built on strategy and knowledge that others couldn't comprehend.
It was time to plan his development route.
Just as Xu Yuan was contemplating his next move, the countdown timer on the large screen in the center of the square hit zero.
Suddenly, darkness enveloped him. When his vision cleared, he found himself standing in a vast grassland.
It was noon—the sun shone brightly, a gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and the surface of a nearby river sparkled under the sunlight. The fragrant scent of flowers wafted through the air.
Xu Yuan could perceive all of this through his senses—sight, hearing, even smell. The game's realism was impressive; he had heard that if attacked by monsters, players would actually feel pain.
"Better not think about getting blown up by creepers…" he muttered, wary of the dangers ahead.
Looking around, he saw several other players scattered dozens of yards apart, teleporting in and surveying their surroundings with curiosity.
"Is there a mission for teleportation?" one asked.
"I don't see any houses nearby, not a single NPC in sight," another replied.
"Look, I can even touch these trees with my bare hands!" someone exclaimed.
"Are all these blocks just mined by hand?" another questioned.
They were curious about this unfamiliar world—a stark contrast to the typical game where progression is driven by main quests, battles, and tasks.
In this high-freedom environment, there were no guiding objectives, no tutorials. Players were at a loss. They didn't know crafting formulas or survival strategies.
Meanwhile, Xu Yuan instinctively chose to avoid the others, knowing that as the only one who understood the game's mechanics, this was the perfect moment to establish his advantage.
He moved northward, walking for about ten minutes until he was sure no one was nearby. Then, he paused to take in his surroundings.
It resembled the familiar terrain of Minecraft—grasslands merging into oak forests, with a small pond nearby.
He smiled, feeling an old, familiar sense of excitement rise within him.
"I'm back," Xu Yuan whispered to himself.
But just as he reveled in the scenery, he noticed his hunger meter had dropped two points.
This game, like Minecraft, used simple indicators: chicken legs for satiety and hearts for health. Both capped at 10 points.
Actions like chopping trees or mining consumed satiety. When it reached zero, health would start to drain; if full, health would regenerate slowly.
Seeing his satiety decreasing, Xu Yuan knew he had to find food quickly.
His first priority was to gather resources—starting with a tree.
As the saying goes, "To get rich, first stroke the tree."
He located an oak tree at the junction of the grassland and forest, near the pond.
He knew that chopping oak could yield apples and saplings, and nearby grasslands might contain animals. Water meant opportunities for farming wheat—ensuring he wouldn't run out of food.
He began by carefully removing the tree's trunk, recalling his previous Minecraft skills.
"All the trunk must be stripped," he muttered.
He swung his hand at the leaves, which had a chance to drop saplings or apples. Instead of wasting time hitting individual leaves, he chose to cut the trunk entirely—letting the leaves fall naturally, saving effort.
Once finished, he collected the fallen oak logs, crafting a crafting table with four planks.
Using the crafting table, he crafted two wooden sticks and then assembled a wooden pickaxe.
Unlike other players, who might craft a full set of tools immediately, Xu Yuan knew better. As a veteran, he understood that only a wooden pickaxe was necessary—soon, he could mine stones to upgrade to better tools.
He quickly began digging into the ground with his wooden pickaxe, peering at the soil and stone beneath.
Within moments, he uncovered some stones. He collected them and crafted a full set of stone tools: pickaxe, axe, shovel, hoe, and sword.
Looking at his satiety, he saw it was quickly dropping from work. He still had five points left, but he knew he had to eat soon.
"Better find something to eat," he thought.
He returned to the fallen leaves, where a freshly cut tree had left behind an apple, a sapling, and some sticks. He picked up the apple and took a bite.
The taste was surprisingly vivid—crisp and sweet, much better than real apples.
One apple restored only 2 points of fullness, but it was enough to keep him going—for now.
He observed that satiety drained faster here, and realized he needed to gather more food sources.
Meanwhile, night was approaching—a new challenge in this game, as darkness brought monsters and danger.
The first night was imminent, and Xu Yuan knew he had to act quickly to prepare his survival strategy.