Looking at the mysterious portal, glowing with a faint purple light, Aelita felt a shiver of fear deep down.
"Su Lin, are you sure the second layer of the Dungeon isn't actually the Nether?"
...
Su Lin nodded helplessly. Now, he somewhat regretted scaring Aelita and the others earlier.
On the way here, these guys were making arrangements and giving instructions, looking as if their end was near.
Honestly... if they were afraid of the Nether, how could Su Lin hide in the back and survive covertly?
When he used to play games, Su Lin never won a single badminton match against Ghasts in the Nether. This time, going to the Nether, he was relying entirely on them to fight.
He, Su Lin, was truly not good at combat.
"It's just a nickname. The second layer is called the Nether, and the third layer is called The End..."
"You can even open the third layer now?"
Aelita quickly changed her focus. The End, she had never heard of it before, and it didn't sound very peaceful either.
"Actually, I always could."
Su Lin spread his hands.
"The first three layers of the MC Dungeon aren't difficult to open. The Ender Pearl you got before, after processing it, is the key to opening the third layer."
"I didn't tell you before because the Nether and The End are both very dangerous. If just the two of us went, we'd probably end up as a pair of doomed lovers..."
"Now that we have some muscle, of course, we need to explore quickly."
To get the mods and build the fourth layer of the MC Dungeon, he had to defeat the Ender Dragon.
Su Lin was tired of the monotony of the mod-less MC Dungeon. Taking advantage of the arrival of several high-level fighters, he intended to develop the mods within a week.
But Aelita's focus was not on Su Lin's explanation at all; she immediately bristled.
"You bastard, who wants to be ill-fated lovers with you?!"
"Exactly!"
Hilulele hugged Aelita tightly, glaring at Su Lin with a menacing look.
"I knew it, you slave trader had your eyes on my Ailili for a long time! Dream on! Ailili's purity will be protected by her big sister!"
...
Su Lin remained silent, ignoring their glances at the Elven Elders behind them.
"This portal is crucial for our return to the first layer; nothing must go wrong. Assign someone to guard it well."
Even if it were destroyed, he could find other portals in the Nether, and he brought plenty of Obsidian, but it would still be a hassle.
Who knew where he'd end up if he came out of another portal?
"Mr. Su Lin, rest assured, we will personally guard this place."
Only after receiving the Elven Elders' promise did Su Lin relax a little.
Besides him and Aelita, the ones going to the Nether this time were Hilulele and Lop.
These two were the strongest brought this time, with their combat talents maxed out. With the two of them, Su Lin could honestly and covertly develop his strength.
However... standing at the entrance, Aelita still couldn't hold back, turning around timidly to look at Su Lin.
"Are you sure the second layer really isn't the Nether?"
Su Lin said nothing, pushing Aelita in, then looked at Hilulele and Lop.
"Need help?"
"Hmph! I'll walk myself! You slave trader, you have no idea how to cherish women!"
After the three disappeared, Su Lin followed them through the portal... As the dizzying sensation faded, Su Lin finally felt the security of solid ground.
But this feeling didn't last long, as it was obliterated by the pervasive red glow filling the entire world.
Everything was a dark crimson, countless Ghasts floated in the sky, accompanied by their unique, mournful screams.
Especially the omnipresent lava seas; if one accidentally fell in, they wouldn't even need money for an urn. Luckily, he brought plenty of Golden Apples.
He felt nothing when playing the game, but standing here for real, he could truly understand the chilling fear.
Honestly, if Su Lin had come alone, he would have run home immediately.
Saying this wasn't the Nether felt truly disingenuous... Coincidentally, Aelita thought the same.
"Su Lin!!!"
Before Su Lin could recover, a suffocating sensation arose.
Aelita frantically jumped onto his back, performing an invincible rear naked choke.
"You idiot! You bastard, you still said this wasn't the Nether!"
"I'm not playing anymore!!!"
...Aelita's rear naked choke was truly invincible; even with Su Lin's strength, it took a long time to break free.
Perhaps it was also due to her figure; if it were Hilulele, with her 'encumbrances,' Su Lin would probably enjoy it very much... No, it would be very easy to break free.
But after much persuasion, Aelita finally calmed down.
Of course, Su Lin felt the core reason was that Aelita heard that Nether materials could be used to mass-produce alchemy potions.
And... the place where this guy landed was a gold mine.
There's a lot of gold in the Nether. Although the Elven Kingdom is wealthy, who would ever complain about having too much money?
In short, their first visit to the Nether was a lesson for Su Lin, Aelita, and Lop.
Only Hilulele... this guy was actually looking at the distant Ghasts with sparkling eyes?
Su Lin didn't quite understand the Elven Queen's thought process.
After briefly explaining the Nether's characteristics and making a few gold helmets to wear to prevent sneak attacks from the extremely rich-loving Piglins, Su Lin immediately led the group to search for a Nether Fortress. There was no time to lose!
Most importantly... he really didn't feel safe staying in the Nether; this place was too barbaric.
"So, as long as we find the Nether Fortress, we can go back, right?"
Aelita timidly clutched Su Lin's sleeve, carefully following the team forward.
"More or less. Once we find the Nether Fortress and trade with the Piglins to gather the resources to open The End Portal, we can go back. Subsequent development here, like Blaze resource points, can be handled by the army, and also..."
Su Lin irritably pulled his arm away.
"Can't you be brave like your sister? My clothes are ruined because of you!"
If Hilulele were hugging his arm, he wouldn't say a word, but this was Aelita!
Su Lin only felt uncomfortable.
"What right do you have to despise me!"
Aelita snapped back, bristling.
"Aren't you also hiding behind Grandpa Lop?"
"What do you know? It's a warrior's duty to protect the backline!"
"Grandpa Lop isn't a warrior!"
"But he's a ridiculously powerful magic old man."
"Damn it! You violent man who could give the Aetherium Continent a middle part, how dare you call yourself a backline? This diamond armor with four enchantments is truly being wronged by following you!"
"Say one more word, and I'll take back the enchanted diamond set I gave you!"
"Thug!!!"
The two bickered endlessly like overgrown children, making the magic old man, Lop, feel a headache.
Especially since his Queen was running wild, darting off if he didn't pay attention for a moment.
Lop always felt that the most dangerous part of this Nether journey was these three mischievous children.
Suddenly, Hilulele excitedly ran over, holding her staff.
"Slave trader!"
"Call me by my name properly, you bastard!"
"Alright..."
Hilulele pouted.
"Ahead, there are those monsters you mentioned, with pig heads and human bodies. Can we trade with them now?"
"...Let me see."
Su Lin shook off Aelita and strode forward.
But not long after turning the corner, he rushed back even faster.
"Are you an idiot? Those are Zombie Piglins! They're not Piglins at all!"
Hiding behind Lop, Su Lin cursed loudly.
Who knew how collapse he was the moment he turned the corner and 'met love'—dozens of Zombie Piglins!
Especially after he flinched in fear and instinctively shot an arrow.
Those Zombie Piglins charged at them like muscle-bound brothers in spring!
"Honestly, I don't know anything!"
Hilulele chuckled carelessly. Her demeanor made it hard to believe she hadn't done it on purpose.
Su Lin gritted his teeth.
"The Zombie Piglins are chasing us! Go, you ridiculously powerful magic old man!"
...
Looking at the dozens of Zombie Piglins charging at them, brandishing golden swords, Lop's heart pounded.
"For what it's worth, Mr. Su Lin, I believe we should make a strategic retreat..."
There were too many of them, and the monsters in the MC Dungeon had incredibly high magic resistance and absurd strength.
Lop felt that even if he could deal with them, he would get injured.
There was absolutely no need to fight them head-on.
"Let's retreat, Su Lin."
Aelita also tugged at Su Lin's arm, but Su Lin casually said:
"Killing Zombie Piglins drops gold."
...
"See the golden swords in their hands? After melting them down, it's about four tons of gold. Killing them also gives a chance for them to drop."
!!!
The three exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other's thoughts.
"Treasures belong to the virtuous!"
Hilulele hoisted her staff and strode forward.
"Coincidentally, our Elven Kingdom is the most virtuous!"
Su Lin chuckled secretly but also focused on Hilulele.
After knowing her for so long, he had never heard about Hilulele's strength, only that Lop and the others called her a truly absurd existence.
At the same age as Aelita, she had already grown into a powerful individual, on par with Lop.
Such talent was unprecedented and unparalleled on the Aetherium Continent.
Just seeing that Lop and Aelita weren't worried about Hilulele recklessly taking on dozens of Zombie Piglins alone was enough to know.
Hilulele was reliable!
"So, your sister is a powerful magic user, level 80 or above, right?"
Su Lin looked at Aelita with interest.
The latter remained silent.
Even Lop unconsciously turned his head away.
Something's not right!
Before Su Lin could figure it out, Hilulele had already raised her hand and cast several Nature Protection spells on herself.
Then... "Unleash! Shadow of the World Tree!"
A gentle, milky-white orb of light bloomed on Hilulele's staff.
When the light dissipated, Su Lin froze.
It was a spiked club...