Minecraft: Is this still the Minecraft I used to play?

The three parties traded with each other to obtain necessities and lived in peace and harmony.

They learned about the world through ordinary people and also learned what the world on the other side was like.

They both held a certain reverence for each other's territories, since they could not survive in each other's areas.

Ordinary people explore this world, share information about it with each other, and together they create a world map.

Because the Etching People cannot communicate with the Dark Moon underground, and the Starless Ones cannot stay in the darkness for long.

Therefore, the mission of exploring the underground was entrusted to ordinary people.

They brought out various resources from underground and traded them with the Etchers and the Starless.

But one day, the ordinary people went underground and never appeared again.

No one knows what happened; it seems that in an instant, all the ordinary people disappeared.

Although only a portion of ordinary people went underground, those who were responsible for transactions on the surface also disappeared one after another.

This doesn't have much of an impact on the Etching People, since they have enough basic resources.

But it's different for those who lack stars; they rely on these supplies to survive.

They began to slowly approach the border, where things were relatively better, and they were able to make use of the resources there.

However, there are too many people here who lack stars.

The supplies at the border area are insufficient for their survival, possibly due to their physical characteristics.

Every time they tried to replant, the plants died...

This means that even if they reach the border area, they cannot survive for long.

But...the eternal night is difficult for them to enter.

Once inside, the body's instinctive reaction will drive it to leave quickly, only stopping when it returns to eternal daylight and feels the sun.

But the pressure to survive compels them to push forward as much as possible.

The Etchers initially had some goodwill towards them, but after they entered the Eternal Night, some of their own people were injured by the light emanating from them, and they began to drive them away.

Neither side showed any inclination to attack at this time; they were merely trying to protect themselves.

The etchers did not want the other side's people to die, so they began to leave some food near the handover area every day.

Those who lack stars, seeing that the other party was willing to trade, then went through the old process.

The Etching People provided food, and the Starless Ones provided minerals.

They just lacked a reliable and stable intermediary.

After the Starless Ones harmed their own people, the Etchers became wary of them and traded less food than when the ordinary people were still around.

At first, the starless ones didn't complain, after all, having food to survive was already a blessing.

The transactions continued in this way, but gradually, simply being full was no longer enough for those who lacked stars.

Their motivation to mine has diminished, and they've begun to reduce trading volume, trying to get the etched people to increase their food supply due to the reduced mineral resources.

But in fact, people are not short of minerals for etching, since the places where they can be used are very limited.

When they saw that the Starless Ones were giving them less minerals, they assumed that their needs might not be as great, so they also reduced the amount of food they were given.

However, the proportion of transactions has not actually changed; they have maintained this proportion ever since ordinary people disappeared underground.

However, the Starless Ones saw that food was becoming scarce and concluded that this method was not working. But in order to survive, they had no choice but to give more minerals to the Etching People.

Although there is no shortage of minerals, people are still afraid to go underground. They are not willing to take the risk, after all, there are precedents of disappearances.

The transactions have remained relatively stable.

Those who lack stars have also been researching how to grow their own crops.

After a transaction ended one day, a starless person had a sudden idea and dug up two pieces of soil from the Eternal Night District to take back with him.

Because the Etched Ones are harmed by the light emanating from the Starless Ones, the two parties never meet in person during their transactions.

They all estimated the time, and when it was almost time, they would put their own supplies at the designated location and leave, waiting for the other side to pick up the supplies from the boxes.

Since the Etching Creatures cannot see sunlight, the trading area is located near the boundary of the Eternal Night District.

The two clods of soil that were taken away were placed next to a stream in the border area.

Due to long-term geographical differences, the two clods of soil did not change into ordinary soil, but remained as they were when they were in the Eternal Night Zone.

The overall color is darker and more muted compared to the ordinary soil in the boundary area.

Those who lacked stars tried planting here and succeeded.

The barley seeds planted this time did not dry out immediately; instead, they sprouted green shoots not long afterward.

Those who had been watching this place closely were overjoyed and wept tears of joy upon seeing the tiny green sprouts.

They have a way to survive!

The starless ones shared this good news with the etchers through a notice board, requesting to exchange more minerals for some of the etchers' soil, and apologizing for taking two pieces of soil without their consent.

The etchers didn't mind the two pieces of soil; they generously dug up some of the surface soil near the boundary and sent it to the trading point.

They were genuinely happy for their friends who were struggling to survive, because it meant they no longer had to worry about their own existence.

only...

Good times are not long.

Those lacking stars are born with physical structures that prove they are incapable of planting...

The two pieces of soil used in the initial experiment turned into ordinary soil after only two harvests.

Those lacking stars cannot grow crops in ordinary soil.

This means that those lacking stars still cannot achieve self-sufficiency.

However, having already tasted the benefits of their own cultivation, how could those lacking stars be willing to trade food using the original mineral ratios?

The starless found an excuse to get the etchers to agree to a reduction in the proportion of mineral transactions.

After all, the etchers at this point thought that the other party would no longer be short of food, and the trade of soil gradually decreased.

This is, after all, the territory of my own homeland.

The reduction in transaction amounts gave the star-deficient individuals a taste of success, and they even dared to find a riverbank near the border area, a place usually untouched by etchers, to cultivate their own crops.

However, even when planted in the Eternal Night District, the soil cultivated by the Starless Ones only lasted for three crops before turning into ordinary soil.

Because the actions of the Starless Ones went undetected during this period, they became bolder and expanded their farmland further.

This situation was eventually discovered by the Etching People, who endured the discomfort caused by the Starless Ones' bodies and expelled them.

At first, the people who were missing stars felt embarrassed and left in a dejected manner.

But they will soon return here to continue planting.