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A wave of panic washed over Silver Wolf after hearing Elio's words. Her voice trembling, she asked him, "You really think this small body of mine can stop that behemoth from leaving the Simulated Universe? How about we get a substitute? I don't want to play this game anymore, I want to go home!"
Before Elio could reply, Fu Zhu's voice cut in from the side.
"Who are you talking to?"
Silver Wolf flinched and immediately shook her head in denial. "No one! I was just startled by that thing and was talking to myself…"
She pushed herself up from the ground, dusted off her pants, and gave Fu Zhu and the others a sheepish look. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."
Before Silver Wolf could even move, Fu Zhu cast a fishing rod in her direction. With a slight tug, she was hooked and pulled right in front of him, where he grabbed her by the wrist and held her up.
"You want to leave after coming here? Do you think the Simulated Universe that Herta worked so hard to create is a public toilet?"
A vein pulsed on the forehead of Herta, who had been standing by, ready to watch the show. Why did it feel like Silver Wolf didn't have that thought, but Fu Zhu was the one insulting her Simulated Universe?
"I'm not! I don't have it! Don't accuse me!"
Silver Wolf issued a string of denials. If she hadn't been caught, she might indeed have had such thoughts about trolling Herta. But now that she was captured, how could she dare say such a thing?
If she really said that, knowing Herta's personality, she'd probably be turned into some kind of test subject!
"How do you plan to deal with her?" Herta glanced at Silver Wolf, who was being held up by Fu Zhu like a child.
Although Fu Zhu's previous words had successfully made Herta feel a bit of animosity towards Silver Wolf, she couldn't think of a suitable punishment on the spot. At most, she could just ban all her gaming accounts—know what she loves, and take what she loves.
Seeing that she probably wasn't getting out of this, Silver Wolf sighed in resignation, silently awaiting Fu Zhu's punishment.
"Well now…"
Fu Zhu stroked his chin. So far, he had a pretty negative impression of the Stellaron Hunters behind Silver Wolf, especially Kafka. That woman was a professional riddler, always spouting Elio's prophecies and stirring up trouble.
If it weren't for the Stellaron Hunters, he might have been vacationing on Penacony, the Planet of Festivities, instead of dealing with one difficult foe after another on the Luofu.
Not that he regretted coming to the Luofu, of course.
After a moment, a punishment came to Fu Zhu's mind, and a wicked smile spread across his face.
"Silver Wolf, I remember you're a Stellaron Hunter, correct?"
Seeing Fu Zhu's malicious grin, Silver Wolf swallowed nervously but still stuck her neck out and nodded in acknowledgment.
"So what? You've known that for a while!"
"Then it's simple. Contact your associates and have them exchange one Stellaron for your personal safety. Until they deliver it, you'll stay here and cooperate with Herta and Screwllum's research. Weren't you here to play in the Simulated Universe, according to Elio?"
"Research…?"
Silver Wolf glanced at Herta and Screwllum. Just as she was about to refuse, Fu Zhu's rather dangerous gaze fell upon her.
"Of course, you can refuse. In that case, I'll have to treat you like a common criminal. For instance, by using some punishment tools?"
Silver Wolf's expression immediately turned serious as she declared righteously, "Since I am the one at fault, I am willing to accept all of your demands, Mr. Fu Zhu. I'll contact Kafka right now!"
With that, Silver Wolf reached up and tapped the custom-made brooch on her chest, transmitting the message.
Fu Zhu and the others noticed her small action and all leaned in for a closer look.
Herta and Screwllum only needed a glance to understand that the brooch was a miniature communication device. The technology wasn't particularly advanced, just very well-hidden.
The fact that they hadn't noticed such a common little gadget made the two of them feel a bit ashamed. It seemed they had been too focused on the Simulated Universe to notice this little thing.
"Tsk, I can't believe I didn't notice you were carrying this little thing."
Herta scoffed in annoyance, reaching out to roughly yank the brooch off Silver Wolf's chest. Just as she was about to tamper with it, a faint voice emanated from within.
"Silver Wolf, what is there to report?"
The voice was neither male nor female, clearly synthesized by a machine. Herta glanced back and forth between Fu Zhu and Screwllum. Seeing that neither of them seemed to react, she guessed that only the person holding the brooch could hear the voice.
So, she simply tossed the brooch to Fu Zhu. "This is their Stellaron Hunter communication tool. You talk. I have no interest in Stellarons."
Fu Zhu caught the brooch just in time to hear Elio ask again what was wrong.
"It's Elio, right?"
The sudden sound of Fu Zhu's voice caused the other end to fall silent.
---o---
After a long pause, Elio's calm voice finally came through. "It seems you've captured Silver Wolf. Tell me, what will it take for you to release her this time?"
"This time? It seems you've foreseen this same situation many times, haven't you?"
Fu Zhu keenly picked up on the key word in Elio's sentence. It was obvious that this slave to fate had seen the scene of him capturing Silver Wolf multiple times, otherwise he wouldn't have said that.
Elio didn't answer Fu Zhu's question, simply urging him to state his demands.
"State your demands. We will cooperate."
"How refreshing. Then bring a Stellaron over."
Fu Zhu wasn't sure what assets the Stellaron Hunters possessed, but he was certain they had Stellarons.
And Stellarons were quite useful to him. At the very least, he could convert them into any item or block from MC, which he could then use to trade with others.
On the other end, Elio seemed to let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that Fu Zhu wanted a Stellaron.
"Understood. I will have someone deliver the Stellaron immediately."
After saying this, Elio went completely silent, not even asking about Silver Wolf's current condition, as if completely certain that she was safe.
Seeing the deal was done, Fu Zhu didn't continue holding Silver Wolf. He released her wrist and let her back on the ground, though he kept the brooch.
Just in case Silver Wolf tried to pull any more tricks, it was better to be safe.
Now freed, Silver Wolf just rubbed her sore wrist and made no attempt to run.
Seeing how cooperative she was, Fu Zhu didn't press her further. He turned to Herta and Screwllum and asked, "So, what do you two plan to research next? Shall we continue with the Enderman or the zombie?"
Fu Zhu turned his gaze to the side where he had trapped the Enderman and zombie in wooden boats. The Enderman was still sitting there calmly, but the zombie was gone.
Evidently, it had burned to death from the sun after he had switched the weather from rainy to clear. At the time, everyone had been too focused on the Ender Dragon to notice.
Herta and Screwllum immediately raised their hands like students waiting for the teacher to call on them.
"Herta, you first."
"I want to research everything."
Fu Zhu rolled his eyes. Herta's answer was as good as no answer. It was so aimless he didn't even know how to help her.
"...Let's hear from Screwllum instead."
Compared to Herta, whose head was completely filled with curiosity, Screwllum was slightly more composed. He pointed a finger towards the sun, which was about to set.
"I wish to ask, is the flow of time in this world different? Based on my calculations and projections, a full day in this world seems to be only twenty minutes long in the outside world."
Fu Zhu nodded. "That's right, you're correct. A day here is indeed only twenty minutes long."
"Then I have one more question, Fu Zhu. Does civilization exist at this point in time in this world?"
"It does. If you'd like, we can go find some."
Herta immediately perked up, her eyes sparkling as she urged him on, "Let's go, let's go! Let's see what the civilization of this world is like!"
She was very curious. Since all of Fu Zhu's miraculous abilities came from this world, did that mean his "countrymen" also possessed these same miraculous abilities?
If so, what would the level of technology of this world's civilization be like?
By the same token, she was also curious why only Fu Zhu was roaming the cosmos. Before his appearance, there had been absolutely no records related to this civilization, not even a single sighting.
Logically speaking, the moment Fu Zhu demonstrated his miraculous abilities, someone should have noticed and recorded it. There shouldn't have been a complete absence of clues.
Unless, Fu Zhu was the only one who had left this civilization.
"Alright, I'll take you to a village. This is also a good opportunity to teach you some basic knowledge about this world."
Fu Zhu picked a random direction and started walking, leading the other three.
Although the three of them, aside from Silver Wolf, could certainly fly, running the map on foot was an essential, must-savor part of the MC experience.
The suffering he had endured, how could he not let Herta and Screwllum experience it as well?
As the group headed east, time ticked by second by second, and the sun completely set. The surroundings were plunged into darkness. Fu Zhu crafted some torches and distributed them to the others.
Silver Wolf took the torch and stared with fascination at the completely pixelated, blocky object in her hand that nonetheless emitted a steady, bright light.
"It's just like Elio said…"
This world was just like a game…
Herta gave the torch a cursory glance and more or less understood its principles.
There are all sorts of rules in the world, such as the rule that flammable materials will burn at a high enough temperature until they are completely consumed.
The torch Fu Zhu provided was similar, but upon closer inspection, it was completely different from what they knew.
The torch he gave showed no signs of material consumption; it simply emitted light and heat, as if someone had bestowed upon it the very concept that it should always glow.
Though its form was incredibly simple and crude, it was impossible to replicate.
"What simple and brutal 'technology'."
Screwllum, too, couldn't help but marvel at the torch in his hand, which provided a stable source of light without being hot to the touch.
"Rather than 'technology,' it's more like a concept. The civilization of this world has me even more intrigued."
After walking for a while longer, the growls of monsters began to echo in the surroundings. Suddenly, a whizzing sound cut through the air, heading straight for Screwllum.
---o---
Screwllum listened closely to the sound of the projectile, then immediately raised his right hand to catch it, but the arrow pierced straight through his palm.
"Hmm? I should have caught that."
Screwllum looked with some confusion at the arrow stuck in his hand, then looked up in the direction it came from. A white skeleton holding a bow was standing not far away, facing them.
Fu Zhu glanced over and casually explained, "You can't catch those arrows. You can only dodge or block with a shield. But don't worry, these skeleton archers are terrible shots most of the time."
But if you're on low health, it will become the most accurate sniper on the continent of MC!
Curious, Screwllum walked straight over to the skeleton archer to observe it up close.
"Hmm… This time it's an aura of the [Hunt] Path? Though it's very faint, it can indeed be considered a Pathstrider."
As the skeleton archer saw Screwllum approaching, it began backpedaling while drawing its bow, continuously firing arrows at him.
Screwllum tried several different methods to block the arrows, but besides summoning a nano-shield, all his other methods failed. So, he simply stopped blocking.
Based on his tests, the damage from the skeleton archer's arrows wasn't very high and was well within his tolerance range.
Unlike Screwllum, Herta's attention was drawn to the Endermen that had spawned nearby. However, the moment she looked at them, the Endermen shrieked and charged at her.
"Are all these Endermen so hot-tempered? I just glanced at them!"
Herta complained as she summoned her magic circle, sat on it, and began kiting the Endermen around in circles.
Fu Zhu watched her kiting the Endermen and offered an explanation. "These Endermen normally won't attack on their own. But if you look at their eyes, making eye contact with them, they'll get angry. You should be careful."
"You couldn't have said that sooner!"
Fu Zhu shrugged. He highly doubted that even if he had said it earlier, two geniuses like Herta and Screwllum would have been able to resist their curiosity and not test it out.
A short while later, the outline of a village appeared on the far side of a river. Fu Zhu immediately called out to Herta, who was busy kiting Endermen, and Screwllum, who was covered in arrows.
"We've reached the village."