On the first day when all resources were scarce, how could someone actually surpass them?
"The Nine Provinces? Aren't they the most resource-depleted sky island!"
As he continued reading, Mark became even more incredulous.
When he chose the starting point, he had seen Area 66—a sky island composed of grass blocks.
Its only real advantage was a single, complete tree.
A chunk score of 1 was barely achievable, yet in such a short time, they had actually surpassed them?
"We've already accumulated five pumpkin pies. What resources does the Nine Provinces have that can compare to us?"
Five whole pumpkin pies!
If eaten sparingly, they could sustain someone for ten days; their foundation was quite substantial.
On what grounds were they being surpassed?
Soon, another announcement rang out.
[CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NINE PROVINCES PLAYER, GALEN YU, FOR BUILDING AN INNOVATIVE TOOL!]
[CHUNK SCORE INCREASED BY AN ADDITIONAL 3!]
[AS THE FIRST CREATOR, A SPECIAL REWARD HAS BEEN TRIGGERED: HAND OF STEVE!]
[NATIONAL FORTUNE REWARD: THE PRODUCTION SPEED OF ANY PRODUCT IN THE NINE PROVINCES HAS INCREASED BY 20%!]
The moment the voice rang out.
Every worker engaged in production within the Nine Provinces suddenly felt their movements become incredibly light and swift.
Tasks that previously took ten minutes to finish could now be completed in eight.
Production efficiency had greatly improved!
Even mechanized production seemed as if an acceleration button had been pressed, with actions becoming rapid and precise.
"National Fortune Reward? Galen Yu triggered a National Fortune Reward!"
"I thought it could only be triggered during settlement? This is simply divine!"
"A new tool? He built a new tool so quickly?!"
"And it's a new tool recognized by the game. How powerful must its effect be?"
"It's directly at eight points!"
If one person's efficiency increases by two minutes, a hundred people save two hundred minutes.
The population of the Nine Provinces was far more than a hundred million!
After obtaining the extra points, Galen Yu's score reached 8, making him the undisputed leader.
The gap was more than double that of the second-place Freedom Nation!
Headmaster Quill's smile grew wider and more joyous.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Three civilizations had passed since the last time a National Fortune Reward was triggered.
Watching others grow stronger while they only suffered various punishments, Headmaster Quill had felt extremely stifled.
Now, the National Fortune Reward had finally arrived!
"The cobblestone generator is indeed a tool that has never appeared before, but..."
After the initial joy, Fries looked up with worry.
He had obtained civilization rewards by clearing stages, and others had done the same.
If the principle of this cobblestone generator was passed along, their advantage would no longer exist.
On the contrary, it might allow certain islands lacking stone to benefit!
After all, sky island resources were too scarce. If others also made cobblestone generators, they would forever have one more resource than Galen Yu!
The Samurai Nation.
"Yoshi! These people from the Nine Provinces think they've mastered the truth, but in fact, they're just paving the way for us!"
"Quickly contact Mountwell. His island is short of stone. Tell him the principle of the cobblestone generator!"
Ronan Mountwell was on Radish Mountain. There were many water sources for carrots, but the ground was entirely grass blocks, and there were no materials to build defensive measures.
As long as there was stone, it could be expected that the chunk would see a massive improvement!
Takeshi Sable pulled out a square plaque and hurriedly wrote down the method for crafting a cobblestone generator.
Signs could record text messages and transmit them to the Block Civilization.
Witnessing the entire process of Galen Yu building the cobblestone generator, he quickly wrote down the design and principles and sent them over.
Ronan Mountwell, who was still dazed by the voice on Radish Mountain, saw a Sign appear in the blink of an eye.
[MOUNTWELL, THE NEW TOOL IS CALLED A COBBLESTONE GENERATOR. IT CAN INFINITELY PRODUCE COBBLESTONE BY COMBINING LAVA AND WATER...]
Lava, wooden buckets, water sources—these were exactly what Ronan Mountwell's island possessed!
"Mountwell was the fourth choice; his resources are also quite abundant!"
"We also have lava and water buckets. We can completely replicate the cobblestone generator!"
"If we build another stone house, who else could possibly harm Mountwell?"
"We'll also be able to craft stone pickaxes and stone swords!"
It would improve resources and increase the chunk score—it was like killing two birds with one stone!
The audience of the Nine Provinces reacted immediately.
"Damn it, they're going to steal this too?"
"So disgusting, I'm going to puke!"
"Hahaha, who says we can't build it? We're just here to spite you people from the Nine Provinces!"
"The first one to pull out a stone sword—Mountwell, you are the hero of salvation!"
"Laughable Nine Provinces people. So what if you were lucky enough to make a cobblestone generator?"
"Fuck, if I ever enter the Block Civilization, I'll go after you first!"
Even through the screen, one could imagine the nauseating faces of those from the Samurai Nation.
Countless viewers clenched their fists, yet they were helpless.
There was no rule saying others couldn't build it, and Ronan Mountwell happened to have both the resources and a Sign.
Just as people were sighing and preparing to watch the Samurai Nation's score soar.
Whoosh!
Following the same steps as Galen Yu, Ronan Mountwell had just placed the water, but what he got wasn't an infinite cobblestone generator.
Instead, it was a pitch-black stone with a mysterious texture that was incredibly hard.
Smashing it with his hand didn't break the stone; instead, it caused Ronan Mountwell immense pain.
"Where's the cobblestone? What is this?"
[AS THE FIRST CREATOR, THE NINE PROVINCES WILL ENJOY EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGES FOR THE NEW TOOL!]
[WITHIN THIS CIVILIZATION, PLAYERS FROM OTHER NATIONS CANNOT USE THE COBBLESTONE GENERATOR FOR TEN DAYS!]
[IN OTHER CIVILIZATIONS, THE NINE PROVINCES WILL HAVE THREE DAYS OF EARLY ACCESS TO THE COBBLESTONE GENERATOR. PLAYERS FROM OTHER NATIONS WILL BE ALLOWED TO USE IT AFTER THREE DAYS!]
The arena notification rang out once more.
This time, it clearly stated that only Galen Yu could use the new tool!
"The cobblestone generator is useless?!"
Takeshi Sable's eyes widened, his voice trembling.
The Sign was a hard-won civilization reward; he only had one.
He had used it in a hurry just so Ronan Mountwell could gain an advantage, and now he was told it was useless?
Such a crucial item, wasted just like that?!
"Pfft, how hilarious!"
"Smiles never truly disappear; they've just transferred to my face now."
"I heard there was a hero who pulled out a stone sword. Is that true?"
"Is that black stone a stone sword? Why can't it even be smashed?"
"Don't say that. If he can actually smash that black stone, he'll definitely become a hero!"
"You're truly wicked. That's the sturdiest obsidian. Breaking it with bare hands would be a miracle!"
"Fine, I'll say it straight: Ronan, hurry up and break your hand."
"Hahahaha!"
A single announcement made the Nine Provinces audience burst into laughter once again.
No one knew that creating a new tool for the first time would grant such protection.
With the Samurai Nation as a cautionary tale, others who had similar ideas immediately abandoned them, feeling relieved in the process.
"Luckily there was Ronan Mountwell, otherwise we would have been the ones wasting our items!"
It was just stone. It was only scarce on some islands, and even without it, it wouldn't be a massive hindrance.
Once it was confirmed that the cobblestone generator was unusable, the other nations stopped trying.
On Radish Mountain, Ronan Mountwell's face was filled with pain and anger.
"This damned notification! Why didn't it appear sooner?!"
He had just hit the obsidian, and even now, his hand was throbbing with sharp pain.
The durability of this stone was simply too high!
"How unlucky!"
Spitting on the ground, Ronan Mountwell was about to curse a few more times.
Suddenly, a line of small text that only he could see appeared before his eyes.
[*** DOOR, UNDER MYSTERIOUS ** POWERFUL *, **** FORTRESS *** KEY.]