"Kill more! Kill as many as you can! We've got to surpass HIM, ha!"
"Come on, zombie boss, don't hold back! See this head of mine? Smash it right here!"
"See? If you'd just given in sooner, wouldn't life be so much more comfortable? Fresh meat delivered right to your door!"
…
Not far away, Peng Peng, who was busy feeding the pigs, couldn't help but tremble as he held a carrot in his hand.
The entire plan was progressing flawlessly.
Now, all that remained was to wait for good news from HIM's side.
———
Xu Yuan had never stopped searching for 007. Even though he had noticed over the past few days that 007's health bar was no longer depleting as rapidly, he didn't let his guard down.
No matter what state 007 was in, Xu Yuan was determined to uncover the truth.
007 had not only awakened advanced consciousness but was also consistently providing him with kill points. Day after day.
By now, after his breakthrough to advanced consciousness, 007 had already amassed over 40,000 player kills in a short span!
That number was… off. Way off.
Xu Yuan had done his homework on the Eternal Guild over the past few days. As a level-2 guild, their membership was just over 20,000.
Even if 007 had broken free and slaughtered them all, the maximum possible kill count would barely exceed 20,000.
Yet somehow, 007 had accumulated so many kills without even taking damage. Something was clearly not right.
"Could he have been turned against us…?"
As this thought crossed Xu Yuan's mind, the image of a familiar figure—the Drowned King—flashed through his mind.
But then he dismissed it as unlikely.
Even though 007 had always felt eerily familiar, he was sure it wasn't the Drowned King. Their personalities were too different.
007 was calm and loyal. It was precisely this loyalty that fueled Xu Yuan's curiosity. What exactly had 007 been through?
Whatever it was, it must've been quite the adventure.
With renewed determination, Xu Yuan intensified his search.
———
On a vast, sprawling grassland, a few players were gossiping about the latest forum threads.
"Looks like HIM has been picking fights with the Eternal Guild lately."
"Yeah, rumor has it that the Eternal Guild managed to recruit one of HIM's underlings!"
"What?! Which one? That diamond-armored zombie?"
"Yup. I heard they're training him. Supposedly, he's crazy strong."
"What's the point of turning him? HIM could wipe out 20,000 people in a minute…"
As the players chatted away, one of them suddenly noticed a figure hovering in the sky in the distance.
"Wait… isn't that HIM?!"
Recognizing him, the players quickly stripped off their gear, dug a deep hole, and stashed their loot boxes.
Then, they hollered at the top of their lungs.
"Hey!!! HIM!!! Can you hear us?!"
"HIM!!! The Eternal Guild's base is at 2417, 35, 1140!"
"We heard your underling got captured! Go save him already!!!"
"By the way… since we're risking our necks giving you this info, maybe consider taking us in as your little brothers?!"
---
These players were solo wanderers, always ready for a good show and chaos.
Seeing HIM in person, they were thrilled.
The buzz on the forums was all about HIM's ongoing feud with the Eternal Guild.
Every thread seemed to have some anonymous post revealing a set of coordinates.
But nobody knew if any of the coordinates were legit.
Still, they figured it was worth a shot and passed the info along to HIM.
HIM turned, casting a long, intense gaze at the players.
They braced themselves for the worst, prepared to die… only for HIM to vanish the next moment.
"W-What? He's gone?!"
"You think he's planning a sneak attack?!"
"Wake up, man! With your level, you think HIM needs to sneak up on you?"
"He's probably headed to those coordinates. Looks like things are about to heat up!"
"Not that we'll get to watch, right? Eternal Guild's not about to stream that showdown."
"Quick, post on the forums! We're the only ones who met HIM and lived to tell the tale!"
———
Tian Heng had spent countless days training 007.
Though 007 hadn't undergone a qualitative transformation, his overall strength had significantly increased.
Most of his improvements were physical.
He was visibly bulkier and much tougher. His health had skyrocketed.
Where even wolf cubs once managed to injure him, their attacks now barely tickled.
Tian Heng even had players test him with attacks. Against an iron sword, 007 only took a few points of damage.
No longer clad in diamond armor, 007's flesh alone had become as tough as diamonds.
His control over monsters had also improved.
Now, he could command over a thousand beasts and even tame them.
While Tian Heng was pleased with the progress, he remained puzzled.
"Why hasn't he developed any skills yet…?"
HIM had plenty of skills: explosions, teleportation, stealth, potion-throwing, and more.
But 007, despite his enhanced strength and physique, had developed no skills.
This concerned Tian Heng deeply.
No matter how strong a body, without special abilities, he feared 007 would be at HIM's mercy.
Determined, he increased the training pace, hoping 007 would awaken skills soon.
His thoughts were interrupted by a player bursting into the room, breathless.
"B-Boss!!!"
"Something's wrong!!"
"The forums… people are saying HIM is hunting for our guild's location!!"
Tian Heng shot to his feet.
"What?!"
He paused, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Initially worried that HIM and 007 might have some connection, the news brought him some comfort.
If HIM was asking around, it meant he didn't know where 007 was.
Calming down, Tian Heng waved the player off.
"Relax. Let him search! No one knows where our base is."
But before he could sit back down, the player dropped a bombshell.
"An anonymous user posted our coordinates…"
"What?!!!"
Tian Heng jumped up, heart pounding.
He frantically opened the forums.
He didn't even need to search—every thread was filled with posts about HIM tracking the Eternal Guild's base.
In each, a pinned anonymous comment listed the coordinates.
The more Tian Heng read, the more panic set in.
HIM couldn't infiltrate networks, but he could extract information from players.
For lone wolves, revealing the guild's location was a no-brainer if it meant survival.
With trembling hands, Tian Heng messaged Yong Hui.
"Boss!!!"
"HIM is hunting down our guild's location!!"
At that moment, Yong Hui was at the Glorious Guild base.
After Dragon Egg's acquisition, Yong Hui had raced to the Glorious Guild, leading a contingent.
Though both the Eternal and Glorious Guilds had powerful weapons, Yong Hui clearly prioritized the Ender Dragon.
In his time there, he'd been of great help to Cang Long.
The egg's hatching had stumped Cang Long for days until Yong Hui suggested placing it on lava.
Only then did the Ender Dragon egg finally begin to hatch.
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