Chapter 7: The Storm Comes Early, The Chat Window
At that moment, a mechanical voice echoed simultaneously in both their minds:
“Survivors, due to an anomaly in the planet’s rotation, the storm has arrived early. Heavy rain will persist for three days.”
“To enhance survival chances, the global chat channel, friends list, and trading platform will be activated in advance.”
“Beware of potential flooding at any time. Prepare accordingly!”
Chen Fan halted his movements and quickly summoned the control panel with a thought.
His attention was drawn to the “Global Chat Channel.”
A public communication area for all humans?
Nearby, there were also sections for friends and regional chats.
In the top right corner, it displayed: “Blue Star Humanity, current survivors: over 6.9 billion.”
This indicated that nearly 1.3 billion people had perished in just two days, mostly the elderly, the weak, women, and children, yet the surviving number was still staggering.
Switching to the regional channel, more than ten thousand people appeared, though the distances between survivors ranged from 50 to 100 kilometers.
In the Minecraft world, this distance was neither too vast nor too close, making encounters somewhat challenging.
Seizing the moment, Chen Fan sent a message in the regional chat:
“Jiang Dali, if you’re there, add me as a friend.”
After sending, he switched to the global chat, where lines of text rapidly refreshed.
With a mere thought, Chen Fan slowed the refresh rate. Regardless of language, all messages appeared in Chinese characters—a courtesy of the powerful Minecraft localization team.
“Is anyone there? I thought I was the only one who crossed over. It’s great to see you all.”
“Do you know how I’ve spent the last two days? Do you? Boohoo~”
“Who are you? Blue Star humans or aliens?”
“Brother above, chances are we’re all Blue Star humans.”
With 6.9 billion people, without this filtering function, the chat would be an indecipherable flood.
Chen Fan quietly observed without rushing to reply.
The “Global Chat Channel” limited each user to five messages per day.
To find Dali and the others, Chen Fan needed to choose his moments carefully.
“There wasn’t much time to gather supplies before the storm started. How are we supposed to survive? Is anyone trading supplies?”
---
“Is it raining where you are? It’s sunny here.”
“Damn, it’s below freezing here! And I’m still wearing short sleeves...”
“Does anyone know where this is? Why are there those exploding green monsters?”
The chat instantly fell silent after that message.
Chen Fan seized the opportunity to respond immediately, but his message was quickly drowned out by new incoming texts.
Meanwhile, in a cave, two young men huddled beside a campfire.
If Chen Fan were to see them, he would recognize his close friends, Lin Haojie and Jiang Dali.
They had played Minecraft together before and knew how to craft certain items.
Lin Haojie wore glasses and was slender, exuding a scholarly elegance.
Jiang Dali was burly and muscular, his bronze skin radiating masculine vigor.
Their faces were smudged with dirt, clothes torn and stained with mud, expressions weary and fearful.
Jiang Dali frowned at the messages scrolling on the global chat and said to Lin Haojie,
“Looks like everyone’s been thrown into this strange place. No idea what’s going on.”
“Let’s not worry about that now.”
Lin Haojie sighed helplessly. “We need to figure out how to survive this downpour. If there’s a flood, we’re in serious trouble.”
Jiang Dali rose. “I’ll chop some logs near the cave entrance to reinforce our shelter. You keep an eye on the chat for useful information.”
Lin Haojie nodded, eyes fixed on the chat window, tinged with sadness.
Suddenly, he spoke, “Dali, do you think Brother Fan is still alive?”
Jiang Dali paused at the cave mouth, body trembling slightly. “I don’t know. Let’s survive first, then find them.”
On the other side, Chen Fan, frustrated that his message had been buried, closed the interface.
Outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared; the storm continued its relentless assault, threatening to tear apart the wooden hut.
Rain tangled Chen Fan’s hair, strands plastered across his face.
He stripped off his soaked clothes and wiped his face roughly, eyes narrowing at the damp floor caused by leaks.
Turning his gaze, he saw Yang Keli’s dress completely drenched.
The wet fabric clung to her figure, faintly revealing the tone of her skin beneath.
---
Yang Keli shivered involuntarily, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her body trembling slightly, eyes reflecting unease.
Rem stood quietly in a corner, rainwater trickling down her maid’s uniform, pooling at her feet.
Her expression remained calm, but her gaze stayed fixed on Chen Fan’s every move, as if awaiting his next command.
Seeing this, Chen Fan approached the workbench, deciding to fashion a campfire to dry their clothes; otherwise, they risked catching a cold.
This cursed weather couldn’t afford any mishaps.
At the workbench, he deftly handled the materials.
He placed six logs in the bottom three slots, two per slot.
Then, in the second row, he put sticks in the left and right slots, coal in the center, and finally a stick at the top, completing the campfire.
With a thought, Chen Fan opened the interface and tossed one campfire from his inventory to Yang Keli.
“Keli, Rem, go upstairs and dry your clothes. Don’t catch a cold.”
“Yes, Master!” Rem respectfully bowed.
Yang Keli nodded slightly and went upstairs, closing the wooden door behind her. She set the campfire in the center of the room and reached behind to unzip her dress...
Downstairs,
Chen Fan stood wearing only his shorts, holding the wet clothes near the campfire to dry them.
The campfire flickered brightly, waves of warmth spreading, gradually dispelling the chill clinging to him.
Campfires in Minecraft serve to cook food and repel monsters.
They burn continuously without fuel.
But in this world, the crafted campfire required logs to keep burning; otherwise, it would quickly go out.
Fortunately, it had the advantage that once extinguished, adding logs reignited it immediately.
At that moment, Chen Fan faintly heard the two girls upstairs playfully bickering.
Curiosity stirred within him.
He tilted his head slightly, listening carefully as their voices rose and fell—sometimes struggling over something, other times teasing and laughing together.