Technoblade Never Dies: A New Adventure

Chapter 8 - Stinky Zombies

While Operation Watch-Sapling-Despawn was in progress, Technoblade heard the familiar groans in the distance and smirked. The mob spawning mechanics were similar to those in Minecraft. It was a good thing they did not spawn in the vicinity of the player, or he might have trouble getting rid of the zombies that mysteriously appeared on his dirt platform.

The zombies that appeared looked a little different from the Minecraft zombies. If anything, they had terrifying skin textures and a scary animation that reminded him of horror games. These zombies appeared by climbing out of the dirt blocks. The animation was new, and Technoblade watched with fascination at the development.

"I don't mind the animation. It makes a little more sense how zombies came to this world, even if I never find their corpses while digging for dirt. However, must they really add the stench of rotting carcasses in Aftercraft?"

The zombies were more realistic, even if they were nowhere near as gruesome as the ones in Dying Light or 7 Days to Die. These undead monsters were splattered in blood, and their clothes were rightfully tattered, smeared with the grandest dirt where they were supposedly buried. In addition, the decaying factor was heavily randomised. Some zombies had skeletons exposed, while others had hollow eye sockets. Although they were still shaped like Technoblade's avatar in that strange block-like structure, the details gave them a touch of realism that he could have done without.

Gagging on reflex at the rancid odour, Technoblade observed their behaviours. These zombies stood motionless for the first few seconds after spawning and stared blankly at the night sky. They only started moving after the animation phase ended and started groaning while hobbling around in search of a nearby victim.

From observations, these zombies left animals and plants alone. They were also rather peaceful creatures if unprovoked. Unlike other horror survival games he played, zombies did not travel in hordes. They simply did their own things and patrolled in a fixed pattern.

Technoblade spent half the night confirming their travel route if unprovoked. It was a left turn, three blocks to the front, a right turn, two straight, another right turn, five straight, a left turn, and the pattern repeated itself, bringing the zombie further from their spawn point. If the zombie ran into any obstacles they could not jump over, they would spend a few seconds walking against the obstruction and suddenly pause in that animation of staring blankly into the sky before walking again in the same programmed pattern.

Eventually, some zombies came close enough to Technoblade, and some got close enough to his saplings. Technoblade panicked for a moment. If zombies picked up his dropped saplings, they would not despawn when morning came!

Fortunately, like everything else, the zombies bypassed his saplings on the ground below and continued their strange walk until they came close enough to seemingly sense him up on the dirt platform.

It had to be about five blocks in radius that the zombies' behaviours changed. The first zombie to appear within Technoblade's five-block radius gave off a terrifying growl instead of the usual listless groan. Its growl alerted other zombies around it, and the space beneath his dirt platform became swarmed by the angry zombie horde.

Each zombie that growled would entice other zombies within a fifteen-block radius of it to attack what they deemed a target. Technoblade automatically switched the tool in his hand to a sword. Even if he loved his pickaxe more, a sword would work better against undead mobs.

The overwhelming stench of rotting bodies made Technoblade dizzy. There were no unusual status effects, but his non-existent stomach disagreed with him. Even if these dumb zombies could not reach him from his high pedestal, that did not mean they were harmless. Technoblade was still fragile compared to these undead creatures. He could not risk fainting from their stench before the night was over.