Five minutes ago.
Gloomy light fell diagonally from outside the window; in the office, every desk, computer, and chair was covered in dust, as if forgotten by time for a long while.
Bang—
The wooden door suddenly shattered, aged splinters flying everywhere.
A draft instantly poured in through the broken window, filling the room with dust and creating a beautiful Tyndall effect.
“Clear.”
A low male voice reported the situation, and two figures stepped through the dust into the room.
The first to enter was a handsome man with a robust build, blond hair, and blue eyes; he wore navy tactical gear and carried an AR-10 rifle on his back.
The equipment had clearly seen countless battles, worn down to a faint gray with the colors mostly faded, but one could vaguely see red and white alternating stripes on the abdomen and a white five-pointed star decorating the chest.
And there was the curved circular shield in his hand, made of pitch-black metal, its surface incredibly smooth without any scratches or dents.
Behind him was a middle-aged man with a large nose, deep nasolabial folds, and a short mohawk, dressed in sharp black attire.
However, he seemed to be missing his right arm, replaced by a silver-white metallic prosthetic that looked highly advanced.
He carried a quiver and held something resembling a compound bow in his metallic right hand, yet it seemed he used it as a melee weapon.
His eagle-sharp eyes remained vigilant toward the doorway.
After entering the office, the two had a clear division of labor, starting to search through cabinets and drawers with almost no communication.
The man with the compound bow glanced out the window as he passed and suddenly stopped.
“What is it, Barton?” The man with the shield noticed his companion dazing and asked in fluent American English, puzzled.
“Cap,” the man named Barton beckoned, “come look at this.”
“What?” Cap came to the window, squinted outside, and frowned.
“What the hell is that… is it a person??” Cap hesitated.
“I don’t think so.” Barton gripped and pulled his bow, the limbs instantly extending.
“To prevent a repeat of last time, let’s just deal with it.”
“Alright.” Cap said, taking the AR-10 rifle from his back and propping it on the windowsill: “I’ll handle that zombie; you take care of that cube monster.”
Barton nodded silently, took a pitch-black metal arrow from his quiver, and notched it on the bowstring.
…
Although the explosion of that arrow wasn’t as powerful as a Creeper’s, it wasn’t small either.
Fortunately, Steve had raised his shield in advance, so he didn’t lose any health.
He only had three hearts left and hadn’t had time to place a bed to set a respawn point.
Getting blown up would be a bit troublesome.
Steve felt a bit of fear.
The last time he encountered such an attack from an unknown source was when a player took him to play Bed Wars.
Back then, he also took a few arrows for no apparent reason, and then he heard the player constantly saying things he didn’t understand, like whether the hacker should have their whole family die.
Could it be that the opponent is the hacker the player mentioned?!
Bang—Thud!
Another gunshot echoed through the street, and Steve felt a vibration in the shield in his hand.
Another attack!
This shield was made when the player went to the Nether before.
It didn’t have much durability left to begin with, and now it was almost empty.
Without a shield, he would become a sitting duck.
This set of Netherite armor couldn’t lose durability for nothing!!
In his desperation, Steve felt an inexplicably strong will break through his restraints!
He didn’t notice a small microphone icon appearing in the bottom-left corner of his vision!
“Don’t! Hit! Me!!”
For some inexplicable reason, those three words, a bit stiff like an AI reading aloud, landed with weight!!
The [simple voice chat] mod was working!!
Steve himself was stunned.
I just spoke?
I can speak???
The air fell back into silence, with only the whistling wind.
After a long while, Steve heard a loud response coming from a building in the distance:
“Are you a Mutant??”
But it was in English.
Switching to English was naturally easy for Steve: “I! AM!! Steve!!!”
He didn’t know what a Mutant was, so he just introduced himself first.
There was no response from the other side.
Steve waited for a long time, long enough that he began to consider whether to secretly place a bed nearby to set a respawn point, when suddenly a figure jumped out from a middle floor of a building in the distance!
…
“Cap, did that cube monster just say… ‘I am Steve’??” Barton said as he picked his ear, suspecting he had too much earwax and misheard.
“It did… hold your fire. You keep looking for the file the Professor mentioned; I’ll go meet him.” Cap put the AR-10 on his back, took a pistol from his thigh holster, and then lightly stepped onto the windowsill and leaped out.
In mid-air, Cap placed the circular shield beneath him.
He slammed onto the roof of a car with a thud, but the metal shield seemed to have elasticity.
Cap used the momentum to perform a somersault and landed on one knee, the movement fluid and seamless.
Then, holding the shield in front of him and propping the pistol above it, he walked forward steadily, staying alert to his surroundings.
Occasionally, zombies lunged at him along the way.
Cap remained calm, taking them out one by one with headshots, his pace barely faltering.
A few minutes later, the two shield-bearing figures met, less than ten meters apart.
Observing this cube monster up close, Cap became increasingly puzzled and vigilant.
This… thing looked somewhat like a person but didn’t seem like a living being at all.
Its dark gray armor emitted a strange faint glow, full of pressure.
And this pixel-styled square shield in its hand was simply…
Like a character that had walked out of an old-school video game.
Even though Cap considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, he had never seen such a strange creature.
“Are you a Mutant or not? Where do you come from?” Cap asked in a low voice.
The cube monster’s minimalist pixel-art features didn’t move an inch, but a small speaker icon popped up over its head, and then it spoke:
“I don’t know what a Mutant is. My name is Steve, and I come from the Overworld. What biome is this?”
Its voice was a bit strange, reminding Cap of the AI assistant Stark had tinkered with.
It said it came from the “Overworld”… what was the Overworld??
And what did “biome” mean… it probably… was asking what this place was?
“Here is New York, USA.” Cap didn’t dare lower his guard, his muzzle always aimed at the monster’s square head.
“What is your purpose for coming here?”
The cube monster fell silent for several seconds upon hearing this before answering: “…To survive, and return to the player.”
Cap didn’t understand: “‘Player’? Who is that? Your creator? Or…”
Steve didn’t know how to explain for a moment.
A player is just a player; they’re not some creator.
The man and Steve stood in a stalemate, both holding their shields.
After a long time, Cap finally relented: “Forget it. Everyone has their secrets. If you won’t say, then…”
Before he could finish, the cube monster in front of him suddenly shouted: “Watch your back!!”
Cap was startled but didn’t panic at all, quickly turning around to fire!
Bang—
The head of the zombie about to sneak up on him exploded into a dirty firework, and its body fell backward.
“Phew~ Thanks.” Cap turned back and gave the cube monster a slight smile.
This time, his gun was no longer pointed at the other party.
Much of his wariness toward this cube monster had dissipated; after all, the other party had just warned him, which at least indicated they probably weren’t a villain.
“You, are injured.” Steve suddenly said.
In the moment Cap turned around just now, Steve noticed a patch of deep red blood on his back.
“Ah, that.” Cap waved it off dismissively.
“Just a minor wound.”
Steve thought for a moment, selected the 59 loaves of bread from his inventory, and then…
Threw three out.
Finally, he put away his shield and began to crouch repeatedly, his blocky butt quickly bobbing up and down.
Cap was dumbfounded.
What does this mean?
Seeing the other person dazed, Steve was also a bit confused for a moment.
This is how players show goodwill to other players—throw out some useful items and then crouch like crazy.
Is something wrong?
“This is…” Cap stared in surprise at the three rotating…
Uh, cardboard pieces on the ground??
Is that bread drawn on them??
“Bread. Eat them. Eat your fill, and you can recover health.” Steve finally realized that the other person had never even seen bread before.
How pitiful.
Cap bent down somewhat hesitantly and picked up one of the cardboard pieces.
No, it wasn’t cardboard.
Despite the strange art style, the soft touch and the sweet aroma…
This damn thing really was bread!!
Although Cap no longer thought this cube monster was a villain, he wasn’t about to trust it enough to just eat the strange things it threw out…
Seeing Cap looking at the bread from all angles with a look of distrust, Steve “crunch-crunch-crunch” wolfed down several pieces in front of him, filling his hunger bar.
Cap’s mind was racing.
He fully believed that to this cube monster, this thing was bread, but he didn’t think his physiological structure was exactly the same as the other party’s.
Is it possible that you can eat it, but I can’t??
Seeing that the other party still didn’t dare to eat, Steve got a bit anxious.
If you don’t eat, how can you fill your hunger bar!
If you don’t fill your hunger bar, how can you recover health!
He suddenly remembered there was something else in his inventory that should come in handy.
Cap was staring at the bread in his hand in a daze when he suddenly heard a “whoosh.” He looked up and saw a red object flying toward him!
He reacted extremely fast, quickly raising his shield!
Clang—
Accompanied by the crisp sound of shattering glass, dense red particles exploded in front of Cap!
Cap’s hair stood on end.
He kicked off the ground with his legs and retreated with a somersault.
When he landed, his gun was once again aimed at the cube monster!
This guy actually launched a sneak attack!!
Damn it, so the previous actions were just to gain his trust…
Just as he thought this, Cap found that the cube monster didn’t seem to have any follow-up actions; it was just continuing to bob its butt in place.
…Wait.
Cap suddenly felt something on his back…
“Don’t be afraid,” Steve explained unhurriedly while quickly crouching, “that was a [Splash Potion of Healing]. It can restore health.”
Before he could finish, Cap had already noticed that the pain in his back had completely vanished.
He reached back to feel; the wound had actually healed?!
Cap was greatly shocked.
This cube monster could heal others so quickly?
This ability was incredibly useful…
Most importantly, it seemed… quite kind.
Looking at its somewhat unrefined bowing motion now, Cap suddenly found it a bit funny and even a little cute.
After a few seconds of dazing, Cap put away his gun again and asked with a smile: “…You said before that you are Steve? Is that your name?”
Steve bobbed his square head up and down twice, which looked like a nod.
“That’s quite a coincidence…” Cap reached out his hand to this blocky person of unknown origin but kind heart.
“My name is also Steve.”
Steve was a bit surprised.
He didn’t understand what the other party was doing by reaching out a hand, so he mimicked them and reached out his blocky right hand.
Cap was about to shake hands, but seeing the cube the other party extended, his brain momentarily stalled.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he still grabbed the cube and shook it twice.
This… counts as a handshake, right.
Cap smiled: “Steve Rogers. You can also call me… Captain America.”
Steve remained expressionless and shook his square head, as if nodding.
The two Steves, with completely different art styles, thus became officially acquainted.