“Anna, here are the apples.
You can distribute them.” Ivan dropped this sentence, then turned and led Zima and Rosa towards an empty classroom deeper down the corridor.
The students left behind looked at each other, watching his back, their hearts filled with incredulous doubt.
He just casually handed over food that could trigger a small war to someone else to deal with?
…”Let’s discuss how we’ll retreat tomorrow.” Ivan’s voice broke the brief silence, but the content of his words was like a boulder thrown into calm water.
“Tomorrow?” Zima and Rosa looked up at Ivan almost simultaneously, their faces filled with disbelief and surprise.
This timing was much earlier than they had anticipated.
Rosa frowned slightly, rationally raising an objection.
“Mr.
Ivan, won’t starting the operation tomorrow be too rushed?
We still need time to organize essential supplies and plan a detailed route…” Her words were clear and coherent, but her voice still carried a hint of imperceptible panic.
“Calamities won’t give you time to prepare.” Ivan’s reply was concise and cold, like a sharp, icy dagger, cutting off all excuses for delay.
The immense pressure weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts.
Zima’s sharp eyes fixed on Ivan, asking the crucial question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time.
“Why…
why are you helping us?” In this land, unprovoked kindness was often more suspicious than malice.
Ivan seemed to have anticipated this question; he spread his hands.
“I am Ivan, an Operator from Rhodes Island.
You should know Rhodes Island, right?
It’s a rather unconventional pharmaceutical company.
Anyway, you don’t have many other options right now, so how about coming back to Rhodes Island with me?
At least there, you can find relative safety and stable supplies.” Rosa and Zima exchanged a glance, a silent communication completed in an instant.
Weighing the pros and cons, suspicion and hope intertwined, and ultimately, the harsh reality of their predicament overshadowed everything.
They nodded slightly.
“Alright, we understand.” Rosa responded on behalf of both of them, her voice soft but resolute.
“That’s settled then.” Seeing this, Ivan neatly patted his backside and stood up, as if what they had just discussed was an ordinary outing rather than a life-or-death evacuation.
“So now I’m your leader.
I’m telling you upfront: You two should go rest and get enough sleep.
We’ll prepare to depart as soon as it’s light tomorrow.” Zima still had something to say, but she didn’t voice it.
Just as Zima and Rosa were still immersed in the sudden and information-heavy plan of “retreating tomorrow,” trying to digest its implications and risks, Ivan’s figure paused slightly, his eyes momentarily losing focus and appearing dazed.
The next moment.
Ivan’s consciousness had already traversed invisible boundaries, arriving in Minecraft.
“Are you there?
Him?” he called out in his mind.
“Tsk,” a thought responded, carrying a hint of impatience yet also a trace of familiarity.
” Why are you here again, kid?” “Hehe, nothing big,” Ivan transmitted the message with inquisitive curiosity.
” I was just curious and wanted to ask you something.
After you finished fighting Talulah, why haven’t any subsequent Calamities occurred?
It’s a bit too abnormal.” Him was silent for a moment before saying, “Go look out the window.” This abrupt statement made Ivan stunned, but a strong intuition instantly put him on alert.
Consciousness returned to reality.
Under the slightly puzzled gazes of Zima and Rosa, who seemed to have noticed his momentary distraction, Ivan suddenly snapped back to attention without explanation.
Instead, he quickly walked to the window of the makeshift classroom.
The windowpane was covered with thick grime and dried rain streaks, making it almost impossible to see outside.
He reached out and vigorously wiped a small area with his sleeve.
His gaze eagerly swept towards the distance, towards the horizon that he remembered being covered and torn by massive, grotesque Orirock crystals.
In an instant, Ivan’s breath caught in his throat.
Ivan’s pupils suddenly contracted, as if he had seen something even more incredible than the Calamity itself.
The jagged, protruding Orirock crystals that glowed with ominous light in his memory…
had all disappeared.
As if wiped away from thin air by an invisible hand, leaving no trace.
In their place were countless straight, towering columns that pierced the grey, hazy sky.
They were entirely black, appearing to absorb all surrounding light even in the dimness.
They were arranged without any discernible pattern, yet possessed a chilling sense of order.
They densely covered the distant fields, stretching as far as the eye could see.
That was…
“obsidian…?” “No, this is too exaggerated, isn’t it?”