Malphegor
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MCIM Ch. 26
🕑 Added 2025-09-19 23:35:40 +0000 UTCThe next day.
Bright sunlight warmed Mario's skin as he lounged by the lake in Central Park. Even after a full night of vampire hunting, he didn't feel tired at all. The gentle heat made him drowsy in the best possible way.
He sat on a beat-up couch he'd dragged to the lakeside, holding the most pathetic fishing rod imaginable. The thing was barely three feet long with a single line tied to it. You couldn't catch fish with this piece of crap, hell, even a goldfish in a bathtub would laugh at it.
But he didn't give a shit. He looked completely relaxed as he watched fish swimming in the clear water. A fist-sized bobber floated on the surface, and underneath it, an equally massive hook had no bait whatsoever. Any fish with an IQ above room temperature would swim right past the obvious trap.
"Lapis lazuli costs twenty bucks a gram. Christ knows how much I'd need to craft a single block."
He was browsing online shopping sites on his phone, wincing at the prices. Not that he couldn't afford it, he had plenty of gold stashed away by now.
"Worst case scenario, I'll just live off fishing."
Fishing could drop enchanted books too. Sure, it took time, but eventually he'd reel in the ones he wanted.
As if on cue, ripples spread across the calm lake surface. Something underwater was racing toward his bobber.
His eyes lit up. "Here we go!"
The bobber sank. He yanked hard on the line. Instead of a fish, another fishing rod identical to his flew out of the water and disappeared into his inventory.
"Another rod?"
He quickly opened his inventory to check. His jaw dropped.
"Holy shit!"
"Lure III, Luck of the Sea III, Mending. This fishing rod is an artifact!"
He couldn't help but stand up, staring at the rod. He'd gotten these countless times in the game, but this was real life.
The only thing missing was Unbreaking III to make it the strongest possible fishing rod from the base game.
Without a second thought, he tossed his old rod aside and settled back down with his new three-enchantment treasure.
The new rod was insanely powerful. Within seconds, more ripples appeared on the surface. He pulled hard, and a pair of leather boots flew out of the water...
THUMP.
A dull impact knocked his body uncontrollably into the lake.
"Shit!"
Mario immediately dove deeper, swimming straight for the bottom. From his inventory, he pulled out a wooden door and placed it on the lakebed. The game's rules forced all surrounding water out from within the door's boundary, creating an air pocket.
"Who the hell was that?"
He glanced at his health bar and couldn't help clicking his tongue. Even wearing full iron armor, he'd lost half his health in one hit.
"Had to be a heavy sniper rifle. Who wants me dead this badly? The vampires?"
If it really were vampires, then only their so-called "believers" could operate during daylight hours. But he didn't think it was them. If vampires truly wanted to use human followers, the simplest approach would be sending police to his door, no need for this kind of ambush.
This sniper shot was clearly meant to kill him outright.
He sat on the muddy lakebed, not caring about the dark silt. While chewing on bread to restore his health, he tried to figure out who he could have pissed off recently.
Underwater, everything was perfectly quiet except for the faint sound of flowing water. From where he sat, he could barely make out three or four vague figures on the shore through the water. He narrowed his eyes.
"Today I'm going to find out exactly who these assholes are. If it's vampires, fine, we're already mortal enemies anyway. But if it's someone else..."
He'd already made up his mind, whoever it was, they'd pay the price.
Looking at his health, which had recovered to full, he pulled his phone from his inventory and switched it to camera mode. When in his hands, the phone became part of the game system, so water damage wasn't a concern.
Using his axe, he broke down the wooden door, then swam toward the surface. Before he even surfaced, the people on shore had spotted him.
No questions, and no attempts at communication. Every single one of them turned their guns and aimed at his position.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
A hail of bullets rained down into the water. Mario could clearly see the bullet trails as they pierced the surface.
Within moments, he'd taken seven or eight hits. His health bar was dropping fast.
Looks like their orders are to kill me on sight.
Instead of panicking, he calmed down. He pulled out a shield while simultaneously drinking a healing potion, watching his health climb back up.
The moment his head broke the surface, before he could get a proper look, another storm of bullets poured down. His shield lasted barely two seconds under the concentrated fire before shattering completely.
But those two seconds were enough. He'd already recorded their faces on his phone.
Then darkness swallowed his vision. Mario had experienced this before, he'd died again. A few seconds later, his figure reappeared on the bed in his underground base.
"Shit."
He let out a long breath. Without hesitation, he stood up and grabbed his pickaxe, then started digging straight down.
Standard combat uniforms. Identical automatic rifles.
America might be the land of the free, but it wasn't so free that private military teams could operate openly in public parks with heavy sniper rifles during broad daylight.
His mind was already forming conclusions. Only government forces could pull off something like this. But first, he needed to dig another safe house, one a hundred meters underground, a place only he would know about.
As the sound of digging echoed through his base, the temperature around him rose steadily. He glanced at the depth reading on his interface.
"This is deep enough."
He began expanding horizontally, carving out a fifty-square-meter chamber which he reinforced with stone bricks on all sides.
"I'll need to hit the Nether to find diamonds. At minimum, I need a diamond pickaxe so I can mine obsidian for better defenses."
He placed a bed on the floor and set his respawn point, then laid out a chest with basic supplies, enough to ensure he could always restart if something went wrong.
Mario quickly built a Nether portal. Stepping through, he arrived in the familiar hellscape of red stone and lava. Seeing the landscape, a faint smile appeared on his face. Then, he stepped back into the portal. After the familiar disorienting transition, he found himself in his original underground base.
He immediately jumped down the tunnel he'd dug earlier, using water to break his fall safely in the secret chamber below. From his inventory, he pulled out all the stone blocks he'd mined and filled the tunnel completely. This way, even if a nuclear strike hit above, he wouldn't have to worry about his safe house being compromised.
"Those bastards should still be up there waiting..."
----
Mario sprinted through the passage leading to the lake, pulling out his phone and dialing Blade's number.
Ring... ring...
After two rings, the call connected. The weight in Mario's chest lifted slightly, confirming what he'd suspected.
"Mario, don't you ever sleep? I just dozed off..."
You're right. I really don't need sleep. Hell, I don't even get phantom spawns at night.
"I was attacked."
The moment those words left his mouth, Blade, who'd still sounded groggy, immediately snapped alert. He jumped out of bed, grabbed his weapons, and prepared to leave.
"Where are you? I'm coming right now!"
Karen, who'd been analyzing vampire blood samples, saw Blade's sudden movement and couldn't help asking, "Where are you going?"
"Mario was attacked. I'm heading over!"
With that, Blade jumped into his repaired black car and sped out of the abandoned warehouse.
Karen opened his mouth to respond, but the car had already vanished from the warehouse entrance.
Meanwhile, Mario was still racing through the tunnel. He had only one thought, get up there and kill at least one of these fuckers. Hearing Blade's concerned voice, he smiled slightly.
"You don't need to come. I called to ask if you were attacked too. Seems like these people are only targeting me."
"Don't worry, I'm not in any real danger."
If vampires had really sent these attackers, Blade would have been targeted as well. After all, his reputation among the bloodsuckers was far greater than Mario's.
"Where are you?"
Blade ignored Mario's explanation and pressed for his location.
Mario didn't want Blade taking unnecessary risks. The enemy had heavy sniper rifles. Even with Blade's enhanced physique, a direct hit would turn him into paste, enhanced healing or not.
"I'm on my way to Washington. You won't make it in time. If I need backup, I'll call you myself."
Mario lied smoothly. He knew that if he admitted he was still at home, Blade would definitely rush over. Without waiting for a response, he hung up.
He shoved the phone into his inventory and pulled out the submachine gun he'd taken from vampires. As for what loot these enemies might drop, he only wanted one thing right now, to kill them.
Soon he reached the end of the tunnel. In front of him was the wooden door he'd placed earlier, holding back the lake water through Minecraft's impossible physics.
With a splash, he jumped into the water. He didn't swim directly to shore, his current position was some distance from where he'd been fishing. Peeking above the surface, he spotted the figures in combat gear. They hadn't left yet, clearly thinking he was hiding underwater somewhere.
But they quickly noticed his new position and turned their attention toward him.
"There are definitely spotters in the trees, more than one."
Mario scrambled for shore. If he got pinned down in open water, he'd be nothing but a target practice dummy.
Hiding behind a large oak tree, he finally caught his breath. The enemy observers in the forest had lost their advantage here. If he got the chance, he was determined to take down at least one or two, even if it cost him another life.
He pulled out his newly crafted shield and listened to the approaching footsteps. His Hunter profession had greatly enhanced his hearing.
What Mario didn't know was that the special forces operatives were equipped with thermal imaging gear. They marched straight toward his hiding spot without hesitation.
Suddenly, the metallic clatter of something hitting the ground made him look down. His pupils contracted as he saw a small, green object that had rolled up beside him.
Grenade!
He barely had time to raise his shield before a massive explosion tore through the air.
Before he could recover, concentrated gunfire erupted from behind the tree. Realizing his position was blown, he braced his shield and returned fire with his SMG, spraying bullets wildly without really aiming.
Maybe luck was on his side that day. By pure chance, after emptying one magazine, he managed to hit two unlucky bastards.
His counterattack forced them to take cover behind trees, but they worked together, taking turns to provide covering fire while others advanced.
Tougher than vampires. Better finish off those two on the ground first.
The two wounded men lying in the dirt had no idea they'd just signed their own death warrants. Mario reloaded and aimed at the motionless bodies, pulling the trigger. Under concentrated fire, their body armor offered little protection, the impacts sent them straight to hell.
Seeing their health bars empty completely, he charged forward with his shield as gunfire intensified around him. Some of the sneaky fuckers even threw more grenades, but from the front, those explosions couldn't penetrate his shield's protection.
He reached the two corpses, grabbed their gear, and shoved everything into his inventory.
Got them. Bodies definitely fit in here.
He'd tried before to store Blade and other living people, but the game system wouldn't allow it. Corpses, however, were no problem at all.
BANG.
A familiar, muffled rifle shot rang out behind him. Mario was flung forward again by the high-caliber impact.
"Sniper again..."
He twisted around and spotted a prone figure in the distance. Too far to make out details, but definitely the same shooter who'd hit him by the lake.
He had achieved his objective. He raised his hand toward the distant sniper and extended his middle finger.
"FUCK YOU!"
He mouthed the words clearly, knowing the scope would pick it up. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk.
BANG.
Another muzzle flash, another bullet.
He quickly raised his shield just as the high-caliber round flew toward him. The bullet struck the shield.
The impact launched him backward like he'd been hit by a truck. He flew through the air and slammed into the ground hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop. His shield had completely shattered on impact.
But he was alive.
He scrambled to his feet. The sniper would be lining up another shot any second. He dove behind the nearest tree just as another bullet whizzed past his ear, splintering bark.
Time to get the hell out of here.
Staying low, he sprinted from tree to tree, keeping the sniper from getting a clear shot. Gunfire erupted from multiple positions as the remaining operatives tried to pin him down, but he had the advantage now, he knew exactly where he was going.
He reached the lakeshore and dove without hesitation, swimming for the underwater entrance to his tunnel. The wooden door was exactly where he'd left it, still holding back the lake water.
He slipped through the door and sealed it behind him, finally safe in his hidden passage.
---
One hundred meters below ground, in his secret bunker.
Mario pulled the enemy corpses from his inventory, tossing them onto the stone floor. Seeing the metal eagle insignia on their uniforms, his expression showed no surprise.
Knew it.
He photographed the bodies, then stored them back in his inventory for later use.
He ran upstairs and called Blade again, telling him the situation was handled, didn't want his friend worrying unnecessarily. Then he turned and stepped into the Nether portal.
He planned to gather mushrooms and craft a Fermented Spider Eye. Now that he knew who his enemies were, there was no point going up there and throwing his life away.
"Hydra... perfect. I haven't had an excuse to borrow a few things from you assholes yet."
Mario suddenly felt his urge to redistribute wealth bubble up again. Time to rob from the rich and give to himself.
