Arknights: I'm Pretty Strong With Minecraft — Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Command Blocks

The group walked in heavy silence through the desolate, ruined streets of Chernobog. Shattered concrete, twisted rebar, and crumbling facades loomed on all sides, casting long, jagged shadows over the ash-covered asphalt.

The suffocating atmosphere choked the air, reminding everyone of the oppressive, claustrophobic heat of the Nether. The children of the Bear Squad instinctively tightened their grips on their newly acquired enchanted weapons. The cold, thrumming magic radiating from the hilts offered a fragile sliver of security in the dead city.

“By the way… which way should we go now?” a hushed voice asked, the sound echoing far too loudly in the eerie silence of the street.

Ivan paused, running through his mental map. According to his memory and the fragmented data HIM occasionally leaked into his mind, a Rhodes Island rescue detachment was actively operating in this exact sector.

He stopped and opened his inventory, retrieving an Ender Pearl. It hummed with latent spatial energy, shedding a faint, swirling trail of purple particles. He turned and pressed it solemnly into Zima’s palm.

“Natalia. Sonya.” He addressed Rosa and Zima by their true names, grounding them in the reality of the moment. “You all stay here and hold the line. Keep your eyes peeled. I’m going to find a vantage point and scout the perimeter. Remember, if you run into anything you can’t handle, do not try to be heroes—”

Ivan tapped the shimmering orb in Zima’s hands. “Smash that against the ground. No matter where I am, I will instantly teleport back to your side.”

“Mhm, got it,” Zima muttered, nodding vigorously as her knuckles turned white clutching the pearl.

“Be careful,” Rosa added, her voice soft but laced with genuine concern as she looked up at him.

Ivan gave a curt nod. The next moment, he bent his knees, channeling his newly enhanced physical stats, and pushed off with explosive force.

Bang!

The fractured asphalt beneath his boots completely caved in, spiderwebbing into a deep crater! He launched forward like a fired artillery shell. The sheer velocity blurred the ruined cityscape into streaks of gray and black, and he vanished down the street in the blink of an eye, leaving only a gust of wind in his wake.

Ivan moved at a breakneck pace through the ruins. This level of speed and raw kinetic strength far exceeded anything he had been capable of before, astonishing even him.

‘So fast…’he thought, marveling at the wind tearing past his face.’My base physical stats are off the charts now!’

Approaching a relatively intact intersection ahead, he dug his heels in, bleeding off his momentum to land silently behind a collapsed wall. Peeking over the rubble, he spotted a lone figure in a tattered Ursus police uniform, scanning the debris with exhausted, bloodshot eyes.

The officer caught the movement instantly. His weary gaze sharpened into deadly focus, and his hand snapped to the sidearm at his waist.

Ivan exhaled, stepping out from the cover with his hands raised in a placating gesture. “Easy, officer. Are you heading toward Peterheim Middle School? I know your colleague, Valery.” He delivered the fabricated cover story without missing a beat. “And… I’ve already evacuated the survivors from the campus.”

The name ‘Valery’ acted like a magic word. The officer’s rigid posture slumped slightly, and though suspicion still clouded his gaze, his grip on his weapon loosened.

“Come on,” Ivan gestured down the road. “I’ll take you to them. They’re just a few blocks back.”

However, before they could even close the distance to the rendezvous point, the unmistakable clash of metal and frantic shouting echoed down the corridor of ruins!

Ivan’s blood ran cold. He abandoned the officer and broke into a dead sprint, accelerating instantly toward the noise.

Zima and the others had been ambushed by a roving patrol of Reunion Movement soldiers!

Zima was at the vanguard, her enchanted diamond axe swinging in wide, brutal arcs. The heavy blade tore through the air with a vicious whistle, cleaving through the rioters who dared to step into her zone of control. She was a juggernaut, shielding the younger students behind her. With the fully enchanted weapon in her hands, she was practically unstoppable.

But the Reunion soldiers were desperate and cunning. A few slipped past her heavy, sweeping strikes, lunging straight for the vulnerable girls in the rear!

“No! Natalia, they broke through! Stop them!” Zima roared in panic, unable to disengage from the enemies pinning her down.

A masked rioter raised a rusted weapon, bringing it down mercilessly toward the unarmed students—

Clang!

A three-pronged blade perfectly intercepted the fatal strike! Rosa stood her ground, gripping the enchanted trident with both hands. The kinetic force sent violent tremors up her arms, but her eyes burned with a fierce, unyielding light. Her clear voice rang out across the chaotic battlefield: “I won’t… run away again!”

Truth stepped into the fray alongside her, heavy tome raised and ready. Gummy charged forward with a fierce battle cry, slamming her enchanted shield directly into an incoming soldier’s chest and sending him flying into the rubble! Leto let out a wild roar, diving headfirst into the melee!

“Beautiful!” Ivan cheered from the edge of the street, genuinely impressed.

But his gamer instincts caught the danger immediately—three more Reunion grunts were flanking Rosa’s blind spot.

“Pearl!” Ivan bellowed.

Zima heard his command and didn’t even blink. Almost without hesitation, she hurled the Ender Pearl straight at the asphalt just inches in front of Rosa!

Crack!

The second the crisp sound of shattering glass echoed out, a dense cloud of violet particles erupted from the impact zone. With a sharp tearing sound, Ivan materialized directly out of the purple mist!

The Blade of Slaughter was unsheathed in a single, fluid motion. A dark, violent arc of purple light slashed through the air. No one even registered the shadow of the blade before the flanking Reunion soldiers froze mid-step, their weapons dropping from their hands as they collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

The skirmish ended as quickly as it began. Zima jogged over, wiping sweat from her brow. “We pulled an Ursus girl out of the ruins nearby just before the attack. She said she was looking for her father. Is it okay if she tags along with us?”

Just then, the rescued girl peeked out from behind the group, locking eyes with the haggard police officer Ivan had brought back.

Her eyes widened, her breath hitching in her throat as she trembled violently. “…Dad?!”

The moment Absinthe realized it was truly him, the walls holding back her terror and exhaustion shattered. She sprinted forward, throwing herself into the officer’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably. “I… I thought you were like Mom too…”

The officer’s body seized. The implication of her words hit him like a physical blow, and he instantly understood what had happened to his wife. Immense, suffocating grief washed over him, but in that moment, he swallowed the pain, wrapping his arms around his daughter and holding her as tightly as he could.

“We have incoming,” Rosa warned, her sharp eyes catching movement through the dust. She tugged urgently at Ivan’s sleeve.

“Over here! We found survivors! Medics, move up!” A clear shout rang out from down the street.

Several figures wearing the distinct tactical gear of Rhodes Island rounded the corner. One of the operators squinted through the haze, his face lighting up as he recognized the figure standing among the girls.

“Ivan! It’s Mr. Ivan!” the operator shouted, waving frantically. “I knew it! Someone as ridiculously strong as Mr. Ivan wouldn’t die in a place like this!”

Ivan’s expression instantly deadpanned. “Hey, I heard that! Isn’t it a bit bad to go around cursing me to die?”

“Sorry, sorry!” The operator rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly, his face beaming with relief. “I’m just too excited to see you in one piece! Are these folks behind you… all survivors?”

“Yes, they are,” Ivan nodded, gesturing to the exhausted group. “Please get them back to the landship safely.”

“Understood, Mr. Ivan! Leave it to us!”

“We’re saved…”

“Finally… we’re actually saved…”

Whispers of deep relief rippled through the crowd. Zima and her crew gathered their things, preparing to follow the Rhodes Island operators out of the hellzone.

Rosa, however, paused. She looked back at Ivan, who remained rooted to the spot, staring out at the burning skyline of Chernobog with no intention of moving. “Aren’t you coming with us?”

Ivan shook his head, his gaze fixed on the ruins. “I’m going to keep watch here for a bit. You guys go on ahead.”

Rosa and Zima exchanged a long, knowing look. They nudged the girls standing next to them. Without a single word of protest or questioning, the entire group turned around and faced him.

Led by Zima, the members of the Ursus Student Self-Governing Group—Rosa, Truth, Gummy, Leto—stood tall and shouted in unison:

“Then you better catch up quickly!”

“After all, you’re our—Boss!”

The word ‘Boss’ echoed loudly down the empty street, carrying all their stubborn, unspoken gratitude.

Ivan stared at them. He looked at these girls who had been dragged through absolute hell, battered and traumatized, yet still stood resilient and defiant. A sudden, unfamiliar warmth pricked at the corners of his eyes.

He quickly turned his head away, waving his hand dismissively to hide his expression. “Alright, alright, stop chattering! Get out of here before I change my mind!”

As they faded into the distance, fragments of their past conversations drifted through his mind like ghosts.

‘I truly can’t do it, to hate everything because of a tragedy, just as loving everything because of a comedy is one-sided.”Truth and the others, I picked them up on the road, but there weren’t just a few of them at first.”Gummy isn’t scared.”This is a good place; everyone follows order and does their work. It’s almost like an ideal isolated island, cut off from reality. They seem to have adapted to their current lives, but I know that’s not actually the case. Even I sometimes recall those times.”Home? Are you talking about our hometown? There’s nothing left there, is there?’

Ivan looked back at the smoldering corpse of Chernobog.

“It’s not enough…” he murmured to the empty street.

It wasn’t enough to just survive. Now, he had the power. He possessed the absolute, game-breaking authority of a world entirely his own, and he could actually do something about it.

This land shouldn’t be like this, he thought, his grip tightening. I am going to rewrite this world.

Ivan took one final look at the fallen city before turning to follow the trail left by his friends.

High above, completely unnoticed by Ivan, a translucent blue interface flickered into existence in the corner of his vision.

[Command Block]

[Unlock Progress 1%]