Terra Tinkers Construct is fine.

"Is it some kind of mending and patching up of sheet metal? Or something more sophisticated?"

Kannot's voice carried just the right amount of curiosity, or rather, compared to feigned curiosity, this curiosity was at least completely genuine—just as described before, this merchant walking in the wilderness had his entire head covered by a strange barrel-shaped helmet, and his face was no exception.

From the outside, you can't see his expression or eyes at all, but Milan can still clearly and subtly sense the way he's looking at her.

Milan smirked inwardly.

What does he know about Terran craftsmanship? He's very familiar with the crafting methods in Minecraft, whether it's CRT or KJS, he knows them all, but how can he use that to talk nonsense with Kannot?

However, he wasn't guilty at all.

After all, the situation now is completely different from what it was a minute ago: Milan is a pragmatist. No matter how dazzling and dizzying the sudden events are, his first priority is to ensure survival. His previous panic was real because he really needed to show his value to Cannot. Otherwise, he would never see the sun rise tomorrow in this desolate wasteland where the wind and snow are already howling.

But things are different now. Even if Kannot really kicks him out of the car door—I've never heard of any Minecraft player dying from survival issues.

It was only now, after calming down, that he realized: even though the wind and snow outside the car window were howling eerily, the inside of the car wasn't necessarily warm. Despite his thin clothes, he still didn't feel how severe the cold was—at most, he only felt a surreal chill on his neck when he looked at the snow covering the earth.

So he wasn't flustered at all.

"Let me think... I know a little about carpentry, mining, metallurgy and refining, and I don't know much about materials processing, but I do have some understanding of mechanical structures."

Milan rubbed her temples, as if sorting through her memories, and said in a steady tone, "Well, I'm still a bit dizzy, and there are still many details that need time to sort out... I guess it really is some aftereffects of the natural disaster."

"Oh, really? That's amazing."

Cannot drawled out his words, his tone suggesting a lack of genuine understanding, but Milan's words held no unease; this composure itself was the best testament to confidence. So he nodded noncommittally and said, "I hope your self-introduction is genuine, after all, we're about to..."

"Well……"

A faint voice came from the side.

Before they could finish speaking, Cannot and Milan turned their heads at the same time: the child who had been curled up from the beginning trembled slightly, his gray furry animal ears twitched, and he frowned as if struggling in a dream, finally managing to open a crack with difficulty.

Her eyes darted around, then back to Milan—he hadn't yet figured out what to say at this moment, and the light in the child's eyes visibly dimmed.

Her body unconsciously curled up even tighter, like a small animal trying to escape reality.

"..."

Milan opened his mouth and looked at Cannot; Cannot, who was now driving with his tentacles, shook his head and made a shushing gesture through his helmet with his black gloves.

"Let her have some peace and quiet. She had already been crying for a while before we picked you up and put you in the car."

Unlike his previous ambiguous and subtle probing of Milan, when facing the child, the shrewd businessman's voice carried a rare, almost gentle tone: "When I saw her... never mind, this child has had a hard life too, so don't ask anything now, understand?"

"..."

The carriage fell silent once again. This time, Kannot seemed to have lost his appetite for conversation. He didn't continue what he was saying halfway through, but turned back to drive seriously. Milan's gaze lingered for a moment on the girl's trembling figure and the Originium crystals on her skin, before finally looking away.

—Minecraft…don’t let me down.

He closed his eyes, not to rest, but to focus all his attention on self-examination within his consciousness—the previously inconspicuous MC interface now became clear as he focused on it.

Heart-shaped health icon.

It was glossy and flawless, but Milan had no intention of testing whether his game mode was "Survival" or "Extreme".

The chicken leg-shaped satiety icon, without the familiar gold outline, looks a bit unfamiliar to Milan, who has played many modded environments.

Then there's the experience bar, and nine quick inventory slots—the first one of which holds the half-pack of toilet paper he just put in.

The art style looks a little strange.

But that didn't stop him from focusing his mind and trying to conduct further tests using various silent recitations or visualizations.

— Inventory.

The inventory is fine—the (3+1) 9-slot inventory page unfolds in the virtual field of vision as I think about it, along with the helmet, chest armor, leg guards, boots, and off-hand, a total of five empty equipment slots.

And unsurprisingly, the 22-piece, 4-slot portable crafting slot.

He felt somewhat relieved: putting aside the distant future, what he already had was enough for him to survive in most parts of this land.

—And what about going further?

Milan opened his eyes slightly, looking at the howling wind and snow outside the window, his gaze somewhat unfocused.

Material.

No matter what you're going to do, materials are always essential within the framework of Minecraft, anything...

"Ok?"

At that moment, he squinted: in the wind and snow, he seemed to see a faint light.

Time passed quickly and became blurred in the silence. It seemed like only a short time had passed before Milan felt the car slow down noticeably—he was also certain that the flames he had seen earlier were not an illusion.

Despite the increasingly obstructed visibility caused by the snowstorm, Cannot's car did not lose its way. He seemed to be extremely familiar with the area, and after several turns, he managed to bypass several wilderness areas and enter a natural leeward barrier terrain.

His car slowed down noticeably, while the flames became more and more visible.

In this unknown corner of the wilderness, several large tents formed a campsite. The tents looked old, but the campsite was planned in a very orderly manner.

The snow in the camp was deliberately cleared to create passages, and fire pits were dug at the junctions to set up campfires. Kannot's car drove into the camp through these passages. Seemingly hearing the approaching car, figures began to appear in the tents and gathered around. Milan raised an eyebrow as she saw these figures through the snow-covered car windows.

The almost uniform, thick white uniforms, with hooded capes and shawls trimmed with thick fur, looked quite warm, yet their color blended perfectly with the snow, giving a cold impression—a style he was familiar with, or rather, at least when these people were just pixelated figures on a phone screen.

"Come out, friend, we've arrived."

Kannot's voice carried a sense of ease, as if he were returning to an old haunt. He opened the car door, got out, patted the roof, and greeted the Yeti team members who came to meet him familiarly: "Same as always, the cargo is in the back. Be careful with your load; there are a few things that are a bit difficult to load."

"Hey! Goodenough, what good stuff did you bring this time?"

"Hurry up and stop talking nonsense, this awful weather... Get the cargo unloaded quickly."

"One more person!"

The Yetis were clearly familiar with Kannot, and without any further formalities, they immediately began to call out to people to unload the truck efficiently.

At Kannot's signal, Milan also opened the car door. The cold wind was not biting but still brought a chill. He couldn't help but shrink his neck, and then turned around to carefully help the silent girl in the back seat. The girl seemed to understand the situation. She remained silent, but tried her best to cooperate with Milan's actions to get out of the car. The Originium crystals on her body were still dazzling and frightening, but Milan did not care about them.

"your people?"

The Yeti member who had been exchanging pleasantries with Kannot turned around and looked the two of them up and down. His expression was subtle, and he didn't say much, just stared at Kannot. When he saw the Originium crystals protruding from the girl's body, his expression became even more subtle.

"Infected person?"

"A survivor of a natural disaster, I found him on the road."

Kannot said, "This kid's got some skills. I want her to meet your boss, after all... you know."

"As for this."

After sizing up the little girl, their gazes turned to Milan. The expression under the Yeti's hood seemed somewhat puzzled. Kannot shrugged and spoke in a businessman's tone: "Well, Mr. Milan, I picked him up on the train too. His head may have been touched by Originium Dust or something else... but he claims to be a craftsman. I think you wouldn't refuse such a talent, would you?"

"artisan?"

The Yeti, clearly possessing bear-like features and of Ursus descent from this land, eyed Milan suspiciously: "Him? Can someone that big even swing a hammer?"

Milan gave an awkward but polite smile.

Just as the two were chatting, Milan suddenly felt a weight on one side of his body: he didn't know if it was because of the jokes about Super Terran circulating online or because of Oripathy, but he felt that the little girl he was supporting was heavier than he had imagined... or perhaps it was because his "Steve's Power" hadn't been fully awakened.

He didn't know, but the girl's legs suddenly went weak and she fell to the ground. He was caught off guard and stumbled as well. Just as he was about to get up, he suddenly felt that the surroundings had become quiet.

A chill, colder than the snowstorm, quietly appeared beside him.

He saw a figure

"..."

It was a tall figure, dressed in a white outfit similar to that of the Yeti team members, with hair hanging down that was even whiter than fresh snow, and a pair of white rabbit ears standing up on top of her head.

No one spoke. Kannot's boisterousness subsided somewhat, and the Yetis seemed to quiet down as well. Even the people unloading the truck were the same; their gazes, filled with respect and concern, silently focused on her.

Even the wind and snow seemed to become tamed around her.

The Cartesian woman didn't say much. She nodded to Canno, then glanced at Milan, who had fallen, and the infected girl—the infected girl also looked up and met her gaze, seemingly lost in thought—and then she paused…

"Are you alright? What's your name, um..."

The woman from Kats, who seemed not to interact with strangers often, thought for a moment, then calmly reached into her pocket and pulled out... a simply wrapped piece of candy, which she handed over.

Would you like a piece of candy?

Almost visibly, Milan saw a light appear in the girl's dim eyes.

Milan certainly wouldn't fail to recognize her—"After Frostnova left, each year became harder than the last," he could practically recite the entire passage by heart—it would be a lie to say he had no inner thoughts when faced with a character he knew so well.

But this was clearly not the time to get close to her—Frostnova quickly went over to Kannot to discuss the goods, and Milan followed her with his eyes until two Yeti members came over and he came back to his senses.

"Leave the little girl to me first. Don't worry, we have extensive experience in dealing with infected people."

"?"

Before Milan could even ask questions, the Yeti member who spoke first received a flick on the head from his companion, who took off his hood, revealing a model that perfectly matched the "anime aesthetics" material, and complained irritably, "What do you mean by dealing with infected people? If you can't speak properly, then don't speak."

"Well, this child seems to have some frostbite and acute infection symptoms. Don't worry, our Yeti Squad is also infected. Leave it to us to take care of."

The larger yeti innocently scratched its head.

The girl with limited mobility quickly left with the Yeti. She looked back at Milan, opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing. Milan smiled in return and followed the other Yeti member, soon arriving at another tent.

Lifting the heavy blankets, a stench of leather grease, metallic rust, and stale sweat hit you, mixed with the faint warmth of the campfire, which only made the smell more pungent.

"..."

Oh well, I knew I couldn't rely on living conditions or anything like that...

Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that such living conditions could be considered a blessing for those infected in Ursus.

--call.

The tent was spacious, but it felt a bit cramped with all sorts of odds and ends: several beds cobbled together from rough planks and boxes were arranged along the sides, and in the middle were two makeshift fire pits enclosed by tin barrels, the dim flames emitting a dark red light that barely dispelled the chill from the tent.

The Yeti members were either sitting around the fire pit or nestled on their beds; the sound of the curtain being lifted drew everyone's attention, and several curious and scrutinizing gazes focused on them. One of them, after assessing the situation, asked in a gruff voice:

"Petrova?"

"What's going on here? Cannot's guys?"

Chapter 3: An Attempt

"What's going on here? Who's this guy? One of Kannot's guys?"

A burly man with red frostbite on his face, who was not very old despite his stubble, asked in a gruff voice. He looked at Milan with suspicion. He wasn't dressed so warmly indoors, revealing messy hair and tangled bear ears.

Petrova retorted irritably, "Big Bear, watch your mouth, don't embarrass your older sister."

She stepped aside to let Milan in, saying, "This is Milan, the one Goodinnauf dug out of the disaster ruins, it's said..."

She paused, her tone now carrying that "not quite sure" quality of Kannot's: "He's a craftsman."

"artisan!?"

The word seemed to instantly trigger a chemical reaction among the Yetis—the Yeti members gathered around the fire pit all raised their heads, and those who were asleep or awake in bed also pricked up their bear ears and peeked out. Their eyes still held doubt, but were replaced more by surprise and a kind of eager anticipation.

"A cultured person indeed!"

"real or fake?"

The Yeti team members, who had been exchanging hushed conversations, suddenly began to murmur. A slightly thin young man with cracked glasses perched on his nose abruptly stood up, took a few steps closer, and looked at Milan's face. His eyes behind his glasses gleamed: "You can fix things? You can build things? Can you read blueprints? Do you know how to..."

"My crossbow keeps getting stuck on the trigger. I can only fire a few shots before it's all down to fate. Can that thing be fixed?"

"And the heater! The Originium stove we stole from Black Dog keeps going out of commission and doesn't heat up enough, so we can't even boil water properly! Do you know how to use Originium appliances?"

These were mostly Yeti members of the Ursus tribe, who asked questions eagerly, speaking rapidly with the distinctive 'r' sounds of Russian. Milan didn't know how he had solved the language problem, but the sheer number of people attacking him was still quite overwhelming.

But that's not all that's frustrating.

"And my nail guards, this nick keeps snagling my clothes..."

"Stop thinking about that armor plate. You can just take it off and sand it down yourself. I was saying the water tank fittings at the camp are leaking and they freeze when it gets cold..."

"And what about Big Daddy's side? The Shield Guards' equipment too..."

More questions came rushing in and surrounded Milan, and it was clear that there was a lot of chatter. People who have been struggling in harsh environments and with scarce resources for a long time have an almost instinctive thirst for "technology". The original coldness and alienation in the tent were dispelled by this sudden enthusiasm, replaced by a kind of eagerness mixed with anxiety.

Milan felt completely numb.

His feelings went far beyond being "caught off guard"—he could sense the hope in those eyes, which were essentially the eyes of those who had seen a lifeline, yet he couldn't help but feel as if he had been cornered by a group of Ursus people who looked like bears (literally), and as if he were being forced into a corner by a group of strongmen, with the feeling of being surrounded by a bunch of burly men.

He instinctively took a half step back.

"Alright, alright! Shut up, all of you!"

Surrounded by a pack of bears, Petrova let out a furious roar, and the mother bear's unquestionable authority instantly silenced the noise in the tent. She stood in front of Milan, her dark eyes sweeping sternly over the crowd as she hissed, "Are you done yet?!"