Players, upon discovering a wooden house, would basically always come in to scavenge.
There were items in the chest, regardless of whether these items were useful or not, at the very least, they would satisfy some of the players' expectations.
At such times, most players would then wave their sleeves and leave.
Perhaps some players would dig away some wood or stone blocks inside the house, but generally, they wouldn't dig downward beneath the house.
So the base location that Mustard chose was, relatively speaking, still quite safe.
Though including Mustard himself, the number of people here was pitifully small, just three.
But with Mustard's intelligence and resourcefulness, it was believed that it wouldn't take long before a powerful faction would form.
Aside from these factions that had already taken territory and were preparing for long-term development, the rest were just some scattered players and the Iron Golems.
The players, other than the Iron Golems, were either teaming up and preparing to join other factions, or already on their way to do so.
As for the Iron Golems, they had already begun their tasks. Either searching for player bases to set up ambushes, or attempting to ally with monsters to gain their trust.
————
After all factions had been determined, the Trial Grounds also entered a short period of calm.
After gathering, the players, although aware of the difficulties in their own regions, would not so quickly start eyeing the materials of other regions.
They would certainly search around within their own areas first, and only after building a foundation would they move forward.
Though on the surface, the Trial Grounds now looked peaceful and harmonious, the thoughts of the leaders of each region were turbulent beneath the surface.
As the ones leading, they had already begun calculating how to fight over the resources of the other regions.
This calm wouldn't last long, friction between regions would soon erupt.
———
After parting ways with Barbecue Sauce, Xu Yuan headed toward the forest in the southeast.
Since Xu Yuan's spawn point was not far from the border of the grassland and the forest, he reached the forest area in about twenty minutes.
The vegetation on the outer edge of the forest was much sparser than inside.
Sunlight could still shine through, and occasionally a few monsters would spawn in the shade, but these monsters didn't pose any real threat to Xu Yuan.
Even so, Xu Yuan remained cautious and didn't go deep into the forest right away.
He was very aware that this environment was the kind that consciousness-bearing monsters liked most. Naturally, he wouldn't expose himself so easily.
After walking around the outskirts of the forest, Xu Yuan quickly discovered one of the forest's advantages.
'The forest is a natural meat farm?'
Xu Yuan also observed that the animals here could reproduce on their own without needing to be fed. And their reproduction speed wasn't slow.
Upon thinking of this, Xu Yuan pondered for a moment. 'Maybe I can try setting up a hidden meat farm first…'
Xu Yuan was traveling through all regions because he wanted to understand how the Trial Grounds worked.
During this journey, he would of course try to gain as many resources as possible. Food, naturally, was also a type of resource.
Clearly, the forest area should be the most abundant place for meat-based resources. If he could establish a meat farm early on, then Xu Yuan would hold part of the food supply in his hands.
That would undoubtedly increase his influence. 'I wonder if animals will be affected underground…'
To build a meat farm, the most important issue was the location.
Xu Yuan naturally wouldn't place the meat farm on the surface, after all, there were definitely conscious monsters lingering around here.
The underground would be relatively safer. Xu Yuan was a little worried that the forest's reproduction system might not work underground.
Thinking this, Xu Yuan immediately began testing.
After digging a platform about 7–8 blocks deep underground, Xu Yuan dragged two pigs down.
Once the two pigs entered the underground and touched each other, hearts immediately appeared above their heads.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan was a bit excited. 'Looks like it's working! Next, I need to think about concealment…'
Actually, Xu Yuan didn't have much hope that this meat farm could be sustained long-term.
Although the Trial Grounds weren't as big as the overworld, the resources here were extremely scarce, so even if the meat farm was built underground, it couldn't be absolutely safe.
Xu Yuan was fully aware of this, so building a meat farm here was entirely a gamble. He wasn't expecting this place to really develop into a full meat warehouse.
So Xu Yuan approached the project with a "Since I'm already here" mindset.
Still, since he was going to do it, Xu Yuan would take it seriously. He definitely needed to build it in a place as hidden as possible.
'Since it's going underground, then I estimate around layer 7–10 is probably the best…'
In the game world, iron blocks were generally found around depth layer 16.
Any player with a bit of experience would basically mine directly toward iron. So the meat farm should be built above iron level, it would be a bit safer.
Also, Xu Yuan had to consider the issue of sound insulation.
If there were too many animals, the noise would be loud, and once it got loud, it would easily attract attention.
So underground around layers 7–10 should be the best option for now.
With a plan in mind, Xu Yuan dug down seven or eight blocks and started working.
He didn't intend to put too much effort into the meat farm, just dig out a wide area with two-block height.
———
After working for about half an hour, by the time his fourth stone axe's durability was exhausted, Xu Yuan finally finished.
"This should be about right…"
This area was enough for the animals to grow.
Not long after he finished digging the meat farm, monsters had already begun to spawn in the area, after all, the visibility was very low here.
However, Xu Yuan didn't plan to place any torches.
First, torches in the Trial Grounds were consumable items, Xu Yuan couldn't keep coming back to relight them, so it wasn't worth it.
Second, having monsters spawn here was actually a way to ensure the meat farm's safety.
Monsters wouldn't attack animals, but they would attack players. So the spawning monsters basically served as bodyguards.
After killing a few zombies that got too close, Xu Yuan dragged in the two pigs he had found earlier.
"A few hundred square meters all prepared for you, and I even set the mood, do your best~"
With the meat farm complete, Xu Yuan was in a great mood. Or rather, ever since he arrived in the Trial Grounds, he'd been feeling quite good.
Before, he had always lived in this world as HIM. Though powerful, leading a whole group of people meant there were too many things to worry about.
It was hard for Xu Yuan to truly relax.
But after coming to the Trial Grounds, Xu Yuan's identity was that of a player. It was precisely because he was a player that he once again felt the joy he had when first playing Minecraft.
Mining, exploring, building, things that were ordinary to regular players felt very meaningful to Xu Yuan.
Although he still had a mission in the Trial Grounds, Xu Yuan felt a lot more relaxed.
Mainly, Xu Yuan's mindset had become more relaxed, not because he thought the other two HIMs or the other players were too weak.
Actually, after meeting the real HIM and understanding his true thoughts, Xu Yuan's own thinking had changed a lot after entering the Trial Grounds.
Initially, his desire to win the trial wasn't because of vanity.
At its core, Xu Yuan just wanted to solve the Void problem. The real HIM had created this trial to select someone and grant them the power to face the Void.
After all, the content of the trial was "peace," and the general direction of the Trial Grounds was about conflicts between factions.
That meant the real HIM still had the ability to defeat the Void.
After all, the Trial Grounds were essentially a projection of the overworld's factions, not a military training ground or anything like that.
So for him, the important thing wasn't the Void, but the wars between the factions of this world.
In other words, the problem Xu Yuan had been most worried about… was no longer a real problem.
The real HIM loved this world so much, there's no way he wouldn't know the biggest threat to the overworld was the Void, especially since he had fought it before.
If his trial had nothing to do with the Void, that meant the Void wasn't even something he feared.
No matter who wins in the end, the real HIM would likely grant them the power to fight the Void.
In that case, Xu Yuan didn't have to be overly concerned with whether he personally won. Because whoever wins will have given the answer to the "peace" problem that satisfies the real HIM.
Although Xu Yuan already had his own answer, that definitely wasn't the only correct one. Maybe someone else would come up with a better solution. If so, the overworld's crisis would be resolved as well.
And if that happened, everything Xu Yuan hoped for would come true.
Even if he was no longer HIM, and just became a regular player, Xu Yuan thought that was perfectly fine.
The only thing he still worried about was his people. After all, Xu Yuan had already considered them his family.
At this moment, after Xu Yuan's mindset shifted, he also felt much more relaxed as a person.
But he hadn't noticed that his heart was already doing the same thing as the real HIM. Not caring about power, not caring about authority, his only goal was to make the world better.
Although Xu Yuan didn't care whether he would win or not, he also wouldn't slack off.
He would certainly give it his all and do his best, so that no matter the outcome, he would have no regrets.
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