The In Steve's mind, two ethereal progress bars flickered against the backdrop of his consciousness:
[World 1: Searching for Planar Anchor... 0%]
[World 2: Searching for Planar Anchor... 0%]
"Done."
Steve clapped his hands, signaling a squad of Endermen and Iron Golems to establish a temporary perimeter around the gates. High-tensile obsidian fortifications began to rise, shielding the silent, swirling vortices from the desert sands and prairie winds.
Zeta World: Outpost Base.
When Steve returned, the base had been transformed into a massive, bustling logistical hub—or rather, a global dairy station.
Long files of Endermen were hauling massive wooden crates through the Teleportation Gate. The contents were Minecraft's most versatile miracle: Milk. According to the fundamental laws of Steve's home dimension, milk was a divine purifier capable of stripping away any status effect or "debuff." Since the zombie virus was categorized as a persistent negative status, Steve's theory was simple: if he drenched the world in milk, the virus would be purged from the very soil.
In the sky, Endermen were busy constructing high-altitude obsidian platforms. These were diversion systems designed to catch the "precipitation" and funnel it toward the major population centers and water tables, ensuring not a single drop was wasted.
Steve landed the Ender Dragon in the center of the base square. Randy stood nearby, flanked by Yor and several other high-level masters, watching the frantic activity with an air of disbelief.
"Randy," Steve said, dismounting and getting straight to the point. "Once the purification begins, the virus should be neutralized. Get your teams ready. We need to handle the immediate reconstruction of the environment and the medical care for recovered humans."
Steve paused, a faint smile of anticipation playing on his lips. "The gates to the new worlds are anchoring. The passages will open in twenty-four hours. We need to be ready to march the moment the void settles."
"One day?!" Randy was momentarily stunned, but his shock quickly turned into a hearty laugh. "Haha! Understood. I'll have the crews tidy up here and prep the vanguard. If our journey is the sea of stars, we can't afford to be slow."
Beside him, Yor felt a sense of vertigo. They had just unified one world, and before the bodies of the fallen were even cold, they were already preparing to invade the next two? Is this the true nature of their civilization?
"I chose the right path," Yor whispered to himself, watching Steve's back. Following a leader like this meant never being limited by the horizon again. This was the confidence of a civilization built for cross-dimensional warfare.
The Purification.
Everything was in position. On the command center's massive monitors, a strange formation took flight. Massive, pale Ghasts floated in mid-air like giant jellyfish. Atop their broad, white heads stood Endermen operating specialized high-altitude spraying devices.
"Commence the operation."
With the command, thousands of Ghast bomber formations took off, drifting toward their assigned sectors across the continent.
"Wooo..."
The Ghasts let out their characteristic, ethereal cries as they reached the cloud layer. The Endermen flipped the switches. A fine, white mist of milk descended from the sky like a gentle spring rain, falling upon the ruins, the blackened forests, and the contaminated rivers.
Beneath the clouds, the world turned a hazy, milky white.
"What is that?"
In a bunker deep beneath a ruined city, a survivor peered through a crack in a rusted steel door. After surviving the apocalypse for fifty years, any change in the weather was usually a harbinger of death.
Wooo.
Following the distant moan of a Ghast, the white rain began to fall. It didn't have the pungent, metallic sting of acid rain. Instead, it carried a faint, sweet fragrance that seemed to pierce through the stench of rot.
Outside a dilapidated air-raid shelter, a young girl watched the white threads drifting through the air. Curiosity overcame her fear, and she scampered out on her short legs.
"Anna! Come back!" Her mother, a gaunt, haggard woman, rushed out in a panic to pull her daughter back into the shadows.
But as the woman stepped into the rain, the expected agony of mutation didn't come. Instead, the cool droplets felt long-lost and refreshing on her skin. The heavy, suffocating smell of decay that had ruled the world for half a century was being washed away by a rich, creamy aroma.
"Mom..." The little girl held out a grimy hand to catch the rain, then tentatively licked it. Her eyes widened. "Mom, it's milk! It's sweet!"
"Milk?" The mother was stunned. She caught a few drops and tasted them. The rich, sweet flavor blossomed on her tongue, and tears instantly blurred her vision. In a world where a sip of clean water cost a life, it was raining milk.
As the news spread, survivors emerged from the dark corners of the world. They stood in the rain, tilting their heads back, letting the white water wash away fifty years of filth and exhaustion. The blackened, withered trees didn't sprout instantly, but the aura of death left them. The very soil was being baptized.
Outpost Base: Command Tower.
Sovereign Yor stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the white mist drift over the cheering crowds in the square. This old man, who had struggled for half a century in a hopeless gray world, felt hot tears streaming down his face.
"Fifty years..." His voice was choked, his hands gripping the window frame until his knuckles were white. "I thought I would die in that gray world, just another monster waiting to happen. I never dreamed I would see the day the world was cleansed."
Beside him, Gabriel was silent, his eyes red. This wasn't just a storm; it was the funeral of an era and the birth of a new one.
"Alright, Yor. Save the sentiment for the victory banquet," Randy said, walking over with a team of professional administrators in crisp, smart uniforms. "These are the urban planning experts and administrative teams sent from the rear base."
Randy gestured to the professionals behind him. "The world is purified. Reconstruction begins today. We have a planet to rebuild, and only twenty-four hours before we find out where we're going next."