Gripping the cold weapon in his hand, Galen Yu's expression remained calm.
It wasn't exactly a surprise.
He had suspected as much after seeing the skeletal remains, and the reality did not disappoint.
Besides, this was the Block World, also known as Minecraft!
It was hailed as the most open-ended game in history; here, you could do anything you put your mind to.
Let alone modern firearms—if you really wanted to...
Star Destroyers, Gundams, and mechs were all within the realm of possibility.
With a massive library of mods that would take a lifetime to exhaust, who knew what strange things might exist?
[SYSTEM: Obtained M1911A1, Automatic Pistol.]
[SYSTEM: You have unlocked access to Timeless and Classics Guns!]
Pairing the Crisis mod with a gun mod was considered a classic way to play.
It only provided a single automatic pistol and unlocked the access permissions; the crafting recipes remained locked.
After a moment's thought, Galen Yu pulled out a crafting table and placed three logs, one iron block, and four iron ingots inside.
Sure enough, a Workout Bench was crafted and entered his inventory.
This was the workstation required to craft every firearm, ammunition type, and attachment within the mod.
With this, practically everything related to firearms in the mod could be manufactured.
Classics like the AK47, M4A1, and Vector SMG could all be produced through this bench.
Its importance surpassed even that of the vanilla crafting table.
"I didn't expect to find such a bonus while looking for obsidian!"
Stowing his items and mining the rest of the obsidian, Galen Yu prepared to return to Sky Island.
While the emergence of a firearm mod would certainly boost player strength, such a windfall appearing out of nowhere felt suspicious.
He didn't believe the large civilizations would be so simple to deal with; he still needed to set up the new layer of defenses for Sky Island to prevent any accidents.
When facing zombies, fortifications were the top priority!
Meanwhile, on Mushroom Island.
Soren Park huddled in his small room, trembling.
"I almost died. Damn the Freedom Nation!"
Recalling the events of the previous night, he cursed in a rage.
There were four players who hadn't made it into the stone house in time, and he happened to be one of them.
Two were killed by zombies, and one was blown up by a Charged Creeper.
Facing such danger, Soren Park knew staying put meant certain death, so he used an Eye of Ender.
Fortunately, for some reason, there were few zombies nearby, allowing him to survive the night.
He only dared to step outside once the sun rose.
"Wait, why are there so many more rails?"
Soren Park looked at the nearby rails with surprise.
They weren't laid on Mushroom Island itself, but they surrounded Sky Island in layers of protection, turning the area into a world of rails.
'Is it the same principle as torches?'
Once he understood the reasoning, he maintained a calm exterior, though he was deeply shocked.
There was only one other player nearby—who else but Galen Yu could have done this?
How did Sky Island have so many rails?
Was it because they required fewer resources to craft, or was there another reason?
He didn't know the details, but he knew that being surrounded by so many blocks made Sky Island's zombie defenses infinitely better than Mark's.
"If I had known, I would have allied with the Nine Provinces. I wouldn't have ended up in this state!"
Thinking about it, he and Galen Yu were actually quite connected by fate.
Their chunks were close to each other, and he had even sent the hidden boss, the Architect, over there.
If he had swallowed his pride and begged Galen Yu, perhaps the man would have shown mercy and let him stay on Sky Island.
Unfortunately, there are no 'ifs' in this world.
"The moment I blew up the Sky Island buildings, there was no turning back."
He let out a heavy sigh.
It was only a matter of time before Mushroom Island was swarming with mobs; even if the Freedom Nation abandoned him, he still had to go back.
He wasn't Galen Yu; it was nearly impossible for him to survive on his own.
Just as he was about to use an Eye of Ender to return—Bang!
A sudden noise rang out, and a bullet grazed Soren Park's cheek.
Recognizing what it was, Soren Park broke into a cold sweat.
"The sound of a gun... looking in this direction... No way?"
He hurriedly dove behind a nearby block, his entire body going stiff.
In the distance, a zombie that had avoided the sunlight by hiding under the leaves revealed itself.
Unlike a normal zombie, it wore tattered modern equipment and held a rifle, seemingly searching for Soren Park's trail.
He wasn't seeing things—it really was a zombie with a gun!
"Zombies are using guns these days?"
"Holy crap! It's one thing for Skeletons to have ranged attacks, but now Zombies too?!"
"This thing is way more effective than a Skeleton's bow. Who could survive a full mag?"
"Skeletons are just annoying, but guns can actually one-tap you!"
"Not necessarily. The Block World has its own quirks; maybe guns aren't actually stronger than bows?"
"But Zombies being able to use guns is a total game-changer for the players!"
"Well, to be fair, God Yu was just in the obsidian area and ran into a pack of armed zombies, and he wiped them out without taking a scratch..."
The appearance of this new type of zombie shocked many viewers.
They were already buffed, and now they had guns? How were people supposed to play?
Only the Nine Provinces viewers remained calm after a brief moment of surprise.
Armed zombies were formidable, that was undeniable, but they weren't that hard to deal with.
Galen Yu had already given them a vivid demonstration; the zombies were dead before they even had a chance to aim at him.
Of course, the terrain of Mushroom Island couldn't compare to the obsidian structure.
In a different environment, even Galen Yu might not have had such an easy time. Soren Park, being far inferior to Galen Yu, could only hide.
He only dared to come out after watching the sun burn the zombie to death.
"It's only been twenty-some days and the zombies already have guns!"
This only solidified his resolve that he couldn't handle this and had to go back to the Freedom Nation.
While absorbing the XP from the zombie's death, Soren Park's eyes lit up when he saw the extra weapon in his inventory.
It actually dropped a weapon!
A Double-Barreled Shotgun, along with over twenty rounds of ammunition.
He had some basic knowledge of firearms and knew this weapon used a break-action mechanism, meaning it could only hold two shells at a time.
It also seemed incapable of taking attachments and was only effective at close range, with very little power at a distance.
It had many drawbacks, but that didn't change the fact that it was a genuine firearm!
"Such good luck, a gun dropped directly?!"
"The tides are turning! Is our Stick Nation finally going to catch a break?"
"When we go back to the alliance, who will dare to look down on us now!"
"Galen Yu only has a small pistol, but we have a shotgun!"
"We win!"
After being at the bottom for so long, finally getting a gun made the Stick Nation viewers want to cry tears of joy.
A single shotgun with twenty-some shells still wasn't enough to survive alone.
But it was enough to elevate their status within the alliance so they wouldn't be so pathetic.
Amidst his joy, Soren Park felt a bit of doubt.
"Guns need bullets. So where do I make them?"
Clearly, this was a crucial question.
Without bullets, a gun was no better than a fire poker—in fact, it was less useful.
He had also received the notification about the mod being unlocked, but Soren Park couldn't figure out a solution.
"Whatever. Twenty-some bullets is twenty-some bullets. It's enough for now!"
If all else failed, he'd let the alliance help him figure it out; that was better than trying to do it alone.
Before leaving, Soren Park looked out toward Sky Island, feeling immensely gratified.
"Finally, I've overtaken them on the curve. A total reversal."
"My progress has surpassed the Nine Provinces! I've surpassed Galen Yu!"
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