As they crossed the street corner, the view suddenly opened up.
At the empty intersection, Zombies wandered aimlessly in the sunlight in small groups.
There was no sign of Luke Cage, but Captain America immediately spotted that familiar figure.
Only half of it remained.
Blood was splattered across the ground, dark red and already half-dried.
Some tissues, no longer bound by the body, lay haphazardly on the pavement; the camp-issued jacket had been torn to rags, covered in bite marks from being gnawed upon.
Captain America’s head buzzed.
“Damn, it really is the real Captain America!! Captain, I’m a loyal fan of Avengers!!”
“Captain, what did it actually feel like being in the ice?”
“Captain!! There’s danger at the north wall!!”
The kid’s voice still echoed in his ears.
Captain America stood frozen in place, not even noticing when Steve suddenly drew his iron sword and rushed out.
Attracted by the scent of the living, the Zombies howled and turned around, lumbering toward Steve with stiff steps.
Steve performed a jump-attack, slashing at the nearest Zombie, and black liquid sprayed everywhere.
But the iron sword lacked sufficient damage; it couldn’t shatter bone and only sliced through flesh.
Steve didn’t intend to get bogged down in a fight, charging straight toward the pile of dropped items floating on the ground by the roadside.
His dropped items were actually still there.
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop…
Having retrieved everything, Steve felt a bit more at ease and quickly opened his inventory to begin equipping his gear.
“Heeehhhh!!”
However, the equipment he had just recovered was in a completely scrambled order.
Steve couldn’t organize it in time, and the Zombie he hadn’t killed earlier seized the opportunity, sinking its teeth into his right arm.
Steve’s entire body flashed red for an instant as he automatically recoiled; even though the Zombie had taken a firm bite, its meal had escaped, and it stumbled to the ground.
Steve quickly switched to his Netherite Sword and slashed down at the Zombie on the ground, a pitch-black flower of ichor blooming instantly.
With the Netherite Sword, he finished off all the Zombies in a few strokes.
Turning back, he saw Captain America kneeling beside Alan.
Steve walked slowly toward him.
The early morning wind blew, kicking up dust and swaying the roadside weeds before brushing against Captain America’s face, clearing his head slightly.
He took a deep breath, stood up, and removed that pitch-black Vibranium circular shield from his back.
Although only Alan’s upper body remained, having been gnawed by Zombies, he would eventually mutate into one even though he was already dead.
Now was the only chance to give him a merciful end.
Captain America raised his shield high, gritting his teeth, preparing to bring it down—
“Why hasn’t he respawned yet?”
Steve suddenly asked with his head lowered, causing Captain America’s movement to freeze.
“…Respawn?” Captain America was shocked beyond measure.
“You… what are you talking about?”
Steve looked at him, his expression as usual…
◨▂◧
Crude.
Derpy.
Shifty.
Cute.
Hilarious.
Cold.
There wasn’t a single trace of emotion, cold as ice.
“Why hasn’t he respawned in his bed yet?”
Steve asked again.
Captain America felt a roar in his brain, as if a string had snapped.
He lunged forward, grabbing the collar of Steve’s chestplate and hoisting him up!
“He’s dead!!! You bastard, he’s dead!!! Do you understand?!!!! We are humans, we don’t Respawn in beds like you do—when we die, we’re gone for good!!!! Do you fucking understand?!!!!!”
He screamed until his throat almost bled.
Yet Steve’s expression remained as cold as ever.
The two remained in a deadlock for a long time until finally, Captain America released Steve and turned back to Alan.
This time he did not hesitate, bringing the shield down.
Thud-crack—
Watching a former comrade die before him once again, he felt only a sense of powerlessness welling up in his heart.
A profound sense of powerlessness.
The thing beside him was not human at all.
He had never realized this point so clearly before.
The kindness it had shown previously was merely because the results of those actions benefited itself or the camp, leading humans to mistake it for “goodwill.”
Nothing more.
Thinking of this, Captain America didn’t linger and turned to leave.
To him, whether Steve returned to the camp was no longer that important.
Steve watched Captain America’s back, not quite understanding why he had suddenly become so angry.
“We are humans, we don’t Respawn in beds like you do—when we die, we’re gone for good!!!!”
The words echoed in his ears, and he suddenly understood.
Right, Alan was a villager, just a friendly mob.
How could he possibly Respawn like himself and Alex?
He clearly knew this, so why did he think Alan would Respawn just now?
Steve didn’t rush to catch up with Captain America, continuing to organize his gear in the inventory, when he suddenly noticed several buffs had appeared on the right side of the screen.
[Infection], duration 15 minutes.
[Weakness I], duration 15 minutes.
[Mining Fatigue I], duration 15 minutes.
Seeing the pile of debuffs, Steve’s first reaction was to look for a milk bucket; drinking milk would clear the effects.
Though it was a pity the [Hero of the Village] buff would also be cleared, only the Enderman knows what would happen after 15 minutes.
Steve had heard someone mention before that if villagers here were bitten by Zombies, they would turn into Zombies after a while.
What if he turned into a Zombie then?
However, he didn’t have a milk bucket at all.
Just as Steve was starting to worry, he suddenly glimpsed a blue-and-white block in the top-right slot of his inventory.
That was a gift sent by Alan as a villager when the [Hero of the Village] buff took effect just before they set out.
[Fresh Milk].
After gaining Hero of the Village, nearby villagers would occasionally throw items to the player based on their profession.
It had nothing to do with the villager’s current stock; the items were created out of thin air.
Steve dragged the [Fresh Milk] into his hotbar and held it in his hand.
Milk is milk, so it should be about the same, right?
Steve used the [Fresh Milk].
Glug, glug, glug, glug…
After drinking the [Fresh Milk], all the buffs really did disappear, leaving behind a new item: [Empty Fresh Milk Carton].
Steve stood still for a long time.
Although the negative buffs were gone, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
He had actually liked Alan.
It wasn’t quite the same as liking a player; it was more like… the way one likes a player’s tamed dog?
When he first arrived at the village, Alan would watch him no matter what he was doing. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Though Steve didn’t know what he was looking at and couldn’t drive him away, Alan would chat with him from time to time.
A dog would also follow him constantly, rushing in to help if a monster attacked.
It had accompanied him through many journeys.
It seemed to be that kind of liking.
This uncomfortable feeling made Steve really want to…
Sit down and do nothing?
Or kill a few Zombies?
It seemed like neither.
But he just felt very restless, not knowing what he wanted to do.
Why was it like this?
Steve couldn’t quite explain it, but he didn’t want to keep dazing around; it was meaningless.
He took one last look at the corpse and broke into a run, chasing after the direction Captain America had gone.
He even forgot that he had originally intended to go to the Fresh Pond Hub to obtain Iron Ore.
…
Captain America walked step by step along the road, his gaze fixed blankly ahead.
If he hadn’t let Alan follow Steve alone back then, and had instead dropped everything to find Steve himself, everything would be different.
But it was too late now.
“Steve.”
The Block Hero’s voice came from behind him.
Captain America remained silent for a long time, finally sighing without turning around.
“What is it?”
He didn’t really want to deal with this non-human creature, but his personality wouldn’t allow him to be so cold.
“What was Alan’s profession?”
Hearing this, Captain America was stunned.
He turned his head in surprise toward that square head.
“…Profession?”
Steve crouched rapidly a few times as a sign of friendliness.
“Yes. Profession.”
“…Security Team, he was responsible for security. Why ask that?”
Steve seemed a bit puzzled.
“Does it have nothing to do with milk?”
Captain America only realized what Steve was asking when he heard ‘milk.’ “…No, it is related. He said before that before virus x broke out, he was a Milkman.”
“What is a ‘Milkman’?” Steve asked again.
“What is a Milkman?? It’s…” Captain America was a bit stuck for words.
“It’s someone who, if people have a long-term subscription for milk, is responsible for delivering the milk to their homes.”
“What is the point of doing that?”
Captain America grew a bit irritable at the questioning and frowned.
“Of course there’s a point, it was his job. You’re not human, how could you understand?”
“But I want to understand.”
Captain America was stunned again.
Seeing that he had suddenly stopped walking, Steve turned back and crouched rapidly in inquiry.
After a long while, Captain America shook his head and sighed helplessly.
“Sigh… maybe you just… lack education.”
As he spoke, Captain America continued forward, patiently explaining the significance of ‘delivering milk to people’s homes.’
Things like ‘calcium,’ ‘jobs,’ and ‘earning money’—Steve only half-understood, but after listening, he seemed to vaguely realize something.
It seemed that just now, he hadn’t just ‘thought’ Alan could Respawn, but rather ‘hoped’ Alan could Respawn.
On the desolate city street, one human and one blocky figure walked forward into the sunlight, step by step, in a rhythm of question and answer.