"Oh~ Boss, why don't you tell us first?" Bella seemed not to notice the close proximity between them as half of her body leaned on John.
"Sit down properly." John suppressed the stirring in his heart, pushed Bella back onto her chair, and replied, "You'll find out in due time. It's no use telling you now."
"Besides, just because something's mysterious doesn't mean it's valuable. Is the color of my underwear mysterious?"
"Boss, you're being inappropriate!"
"Ahem, well, I don't care if you want to participate." After thinking for a moment, John continued, "Tell you what, if you manage to win the championship, I'll give you an extra reward."
A little benefit for his team wouldn't hurt.
"Really?!"
"Of course, you have a month, so give it your all."
After a quick explanation, John left the room. He figured if he stayed any longer, he might not be able to keep his composure, especially with how playful his employees could be. Their previous boss must have been overwhelmed by their teasing.
Back in his room, John once again threw himself into the intricate task of constructing the second virtual world, which was nearing completion.
Meanwhile, the online popularity of Minecraft was skyrocketing.
[Shock! The new Level Nine virtual game designer, John, the creator of Pokémon, is back!]
[After Happy Farm, John is offering more perks! Huge rewards await!]
[You decide how to play! Customization in gaming redefined!]
With special gameplay features and the game modding contest, Minecraft was beginning to display its potential in this world.
Promotion was in full swing, but more than that, the game's quality was speaking for itself.
However, players' first reaction upon opening Minecraft was confusion—Why is this a pixel game?
Virtual reality technology and virtual networks had developed significantly, and live streaming had become a major industry. On the Dragon live-streaming platform, in a broadcast ranked among the top ten, the screen showed the start interface of Minecraft.
"Is this a pixel game?"
"Oh my god, John really must be low on funds if he's making a pixel game!"
"Waaaaah! Nostalgia! This looks like my grandpa's old gaming console—the one he never let me touch!"
"There's a Little Overlord console upstairs? Big spender!"
"The Little Overlord console could do everything—except teach you anything."
"Ahem, hold on, everyone. Don't judge it so quickly."
The streamer, a yellow-haired girl named Emma Johnson, was a loyal fan of John. She had contributed to his Pokémon and Happy Farm titles and downloaded Minecraft as soon as it launched, immediately starting a live stream to promote it.
"Maybe it's just the intro. Let's dive in and see."
"Single player, multiplayer, official servers… Let's start with single player mode."
Emma took her audience's comments into account, selected single-player mode, and entered a world name.
"The world name? Let's call it House of Vine."
Following the game's tutorial, the world loaded, and Emma found herself in a grassy field, dotted with pixelated yellow and white flowers. A few square-shaped pixel chickens roamed nearby.
"Oh wow, it really is a pixel game!"
"Is that supposed to be a chicken?"
"Don't diss the chickens, they're trying their best!"
"So… how do we play this?"
Emma lowered her gaze and saw that her in-game avatar was a blocky figure with a square head, but she could still recognize her outfit and hairstyle.
"This feels a bit strange."
Taking a few steps, she felt slightly bewildered.
How am I supposed to play this? she wondered. The game had no immediate quests, no beginner guides—just an open grassy plain and a few pixelated chickens.
"Emma, I looked it up. You need to make a wooden axe and pickaxe first," someone helpfully suggested in the chat.
Many viewers, while skeptical about the pixel graphics, were more intrigued than dismissive, curious to see how the game played out as they watched Emma's cautious movements.
"Cut wood? Isn't that like The Stone Age?"
"I spent days in that game trying to make a stone axe and eventually gave up! It was so frustrating!"
"Hahaha, same! That game starved me out."
"Apparently, Minecraft is also a survival game, but it has a creative mode, which I haven't figured out yet."
"How do I cut wood?" Emma asked, unsure. "Do I just punch the trees?"
"Yeah, you punch them."
Skeptical, Emma approached a tree with a green trunk, stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then raised her hand, giving the tree a punch. Thunk.
"Keep hitting it."
"Okay…"
After several punches, part of the tree trunk disappeared, and a block appeared in her inventory.
[Oak x 4]
"What? I just got wood like that?"
"No way! It took me ages to get wood in The Stone Age!"
"Wait, did the tree just break in the middle?"
"It's a pixel game. It's normal."
"Now use the crafting slot to turn the wood into planks, then the planks into sticks. Combine the sticks and planks to make a wooden axe."
With guidance from the chat, Emma eventually found the crafting menu and, after fumbling for ten minutes, finally crafted some planks and sticks.
During this time, her live stream's popularity surged as more players tuned in, captivated by this quirky new game.
"It's not bad, actually."
"Honestly, I kinda want to play now."
"Yeah, this feels way easier than The Stone Age."
A/N: Thanks for reading and keep the stones coming! ✌️.