The person turned around.
He… no, it, stood with its back to the rising sun.
It was nearly two meters tall, with grayish-pale skin, hollow eye sockets, and a bare torso.
Its muscles were as perfectly formed as granite, yet they were covered in pustules, and bulging veins squirmed like maggots.
“Luke… Cage…”
Alan’s eyes were glazed as he murmured the name.
In the next second, the massive figure moved.
It charged toward Steve and Alan, each step making the ground tremble!
Pfft—
A Zombie blocking its path was sliced in half by a casual swipe of its palm, sending dark-red blood spraying like flowers!
Steve switched to his shield and moved to meet the threat.
As for Alan, he had lost the ability to think and stood frozen in place.
Whoosh—Bang!
Luke Cage’s fist struck Steve’s shield with a gust of wind.
The small shield actually deflected the fist, but Steve was sent flying backward at the same time!
Steve hadn’t expected this single blow to break his guard, and the shield’s durability dropped significantly!
Was this Zombie’s attack even more terrifying than Minecraft’s strongest monster—the Warden?
“Hohhhh!!!!!!”
The shield couldn’t be used for five seconds after a guard break, and Luke Cage didn’t stop.
It let out a sky-shaking roar and threw another punch at Steve!
Steve hurriedly sprint-jumped to the side!
Boom—!!!!
Steve narrowly dodged the strike.
Luke Cage’s fist slammed into the spot where he had just been standing, instantly shattering the concrete and sending debris flying over ten meters away!
One piece of debris the size of a basketball flew true and slammed hard into Alan’s temple.
Alan felt his head jerk uncontrollably, and his feet suddenly left the ground.
Bang!
His body flew out like a ragdoll, smashing heavily into a car.
His vision darkened rapidly, stained with a layer of crimson.
This really… hurts a bit.
Through that crimson haze, Alan saw his childhood hero and the Block Hero seemingly locked in combat.
The sounds of the struggle grew fainter and more muffled.
In a daze, he saw fire and thick smoke.
His face felt burning hot, and the smoke choked him until he couldn’t breathe.
He tried with all his might to push the car door open, but his hands were too small and lacked the strength.
He cried out in terror, only to be choked by the smoke again, his chest and throat searing with pain.
He saw a dark shadow block the firelight, standing like a wall.
The shadow reached out to him.
The hand was large and dark, even bigger than his father’s hand.
“Don’t be afraid, child. Close your eyes.”
Then came a terrifying sound of metal tearing, followed by a pair of arms lifting him up.
It wasn’t shaky at all; it was very steady.
A loud boom echoed behind him as a heatwave surged forward.
He hugged the person’s neck tightly in fear, burying his face against a rock-hard shoulder.
“You’re safe now, child.”
He was gently placed on the ground, and his mother rushed over like she was possessed, pulling him into an embrace.
He looked back and saw the giant had already turned to leave.
In the smoke, he could only see a solid back wearing a black short-sleeved shirt.
When he opened his eyes again, in the crimson light, that back that once brought him peace was now letting out a horrifying roar, throwing punch after punch at the blocky figure.
Alan’s hands trembled as he raised his rifle, aimed at that back, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The bullets hit the grayish-black skin and were instantly deflected, flying off to who knows where.
The figure didn’t react in the slightest, remaining focused on its target.
Clatter.
The rifle dropped to the ground.
In the final moments of his life, he heard that voice again.
“Don’t be afraid, child. Close your eyes.”
…
Steve heard the gunshots and only then noticed Alan had fallen to the ground.
But he couldn’t worry about that, because Luke Cage had grabbed his right hand—the one holding the Netherite Sword—and hoisted him into the air.
In desperation, Steve used his legs to attack for the first time in his life.
He kicked out as if he were running, his foot striking Luke Cage’s chest like it was hitting a wall.
“Grrrr…”
The facial features on that grayish-black face were almost indistinguishable, with only the hollow eye sockets staring directly at Steve.
Then it clenched its other hand into a fist and drove it into Steve’s chest.
Bang!!
Steve’s entire body flashed red for an instant, and his health bar lost five hearts.
The moment that punch landed on Steve’s chest, a series of crackling sounds erupted.
The seemingly indestructible skin actually split open, spraying bits of dark blood.
A spiderweb of cracks instantly bloomed beneath its feet, yet its body remained motionless.
[Thorns III].
Steve’s Chestplate had the [Thorns III] enchantment, which deals reflected damage to attackers and has a certain knockback effect.
But that was the extent of it.
This small amount of damage meant nothing to the zombified Luke Cage.
Its movements didn’t even pause as it retracted its right fist and swung out fiercely again.
Steve’s gaze remained fixed on Alan until the very end.
In the next second, a stone wall and a row of chests came into view.
He had respawned in his bed, back in the small house he had built at the camp.
Without a moment’s pause, he quickly used the iron ingots in the chest to craft a set of iron armor, an Iron Sword, and a shield, then burst through the wooden door.
By the farm, Taylor was observing the wheat the Block Hero had planted when he caught a glimpse of the blocky figure.
“WTF? How are you… Didn’t you leave for the Fresh Pond Hub??” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Steve ignored him, sprinting and jumping at full speed.
Items dropped in the Overworld only last for a short time, about five minutes.
If he couldn’t get that set of Netherite gear back, he was finished.
Now his only hope was that 1 tick in this world was different from the Overworld.
However, the growth rate of the wheat was consistent with the passage of time in the Overworld.
Steve grew more anxious the more he thought about it, but his walking speed was only so fast.
Captain America had just stepped out of Professor X’s tent when he saw the Block Hero in the camp from a distance.
He froze for half a second before immediately giving chase.
Hadn’t he left the camp with Alan Baker?
And why had his glowing black armor turned silver-white?
Captain America’s heart sank.
“Hey, Block Hero!!” Captain America caught up, grabbing Steve’s shoulder to turn him around.
“Where’s Alan?”
“Dead.”
The answer came without a hint of hesitation.
Captain America’s hand went limp.
He stood frozen, looking into those clear, square black-and-white eyes, searching for any sign of a joke or a lie, but there was nothing.
By the time he snapped out of it, Steve had already climbed the perimeter wall and jumped out.
“Block Hero!!”
Captain America sprinted after him, vaulting over the ten-meter-high wall in a few bounds to reach Steve’s side.
“Explain yourself! How did Alan die?! What happened to you two?! How did you get back?!”
Steve didn’t stop, explaining as he moved.
As Captain America listened, he felt his brain going into overload.
Resurrecting at his bed after death…
And Luke Cage, the invulnerable Luke Cage, had also…
And Alan—if he was left there, wouldn’t he soon be devoured and turned into a Zombie?!
There was too much information; his mind was a mess.
But Steve was running too slowly.
Captain America scooped him up in a bridal carry and began to sprint.
Even though he said Alan was dead, Captain America still couldn’t fully believe it.
Maybe… there was still hope.
He regretted it so much; he regretted not dropping everything to follow them immediately instead of letting Alan risk his life alone with Steve.
Captain America sprinted with everything he had.
The Zombies along the way couldn’t keep up at all.
He could only hear the wind rushing past his ears and his heart drumming in his chest.
In less than half an hour, when they were twenty meters from a crossroad, Steve suddenly spoke up: “We’re here.”
Captain America slowed down, set him down, and leaned on his knees, panting for breath.
This guy was heavy as hell, at least the weight of two adult men.
Carrying him at twenty miles per hour for so long had exhausted even him.
He straightened up, took a few deep breaths, and walked toward the intersection.