Chapter 8

Chapter 8 LET'S BE HONEST: PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA IS JUST NEIRD, EVEN IF IT PROVIDES A BALANCE BETWEEN SWEET AND SAVORY. Theo felt a terrible mix of emotions in his belly. He was angry at Morgan for the things he'd said. He was worried that all his friends might feel the same way Morgan did. Worst of all, he felt guilty. Because what if Morgan was right? What if Theo's mods had broken the game somehow? What if the Evoker King had been destroyed…and it was all his fault? After Theo stormed out of the butterfly sanctuary, he didn't stop moving until he'd made it across the street to Stonesword. He didn't even realize he was still holding the pizza box until Mr. Malory pointed it out to him. "Sorry, Theo," he said. "No food allowed."

说实话：披萨上放菠萝真是太怪了，尽管它能平衡甜味和咸味。 西奥感到肚子里的情绪非常复杂。 他对摩根说的话很生气。 他担心他所有的朋友可能都和摩根有同样的感受。 最糟糕的是，他感到内疚。 因为如果摩根是对的呢？ 如果西奥的mod破坏了游戏呢？ 如果唤醒王被摧毁了，而这一切都是他的错呢？ 西奥冲出蝴蝶保护区后，一直不停地跑，直到穿过马路来到石字镇。 直到马洛里先生指给他看，他才意识到自己手里还拿着那个披萨盒。 “对不起，西奥，”他说。“不准吃东西。”

"Oh," Theo said, looking at the box in his hands. "Do you want it, sir? I'm not really hungry anymore. It's pineapple…." Mr. Malory grimaced as he took the pizza box. "Not my favorite. But I'll put it in the break room. The volunteers from the high school will eat anything." He looked toward the door, as if expecting other students to file in behind Theo. "Where's the rest of the group? I thought you all traveled together." "Sometimes," Theo said, looking a little embarrassed. "But other times, they treat me like I'm not really part of the group. I don't get it. I try so hard to fit in…."

“哦，”西奥看着手里的盒子说。 “你想要吗，先生？”我真的不饿了。 这是菠萝……”马洛里先生接过披萨盒时做了个鬼脸。 “不是我最喜欢的。但我会把它放在休息室里。 高中的志愿者什么都吃。” 他朝门口望去，好像期待着其他学生在西奥身后鱼贯而入。 “团队的其他人呢？” 我以为你们都是一起旅行的呢。” “有时候，”西奥说，看起来有点尴尬。 “但其他时候，他们对待我就像我不是团队的一员一样。 我不明白。我很努力地融入....”

Mr. Malory nodded. "I've been there. We've all been there," he said. "But sometimes, trying to fit in is the wrong thing to do. Because if you try too hard, you're not being yourself. And your friends should like you for who you are." For a moment, Theo was silent, his jaw working like he was chewing a piece of sticky caramel. "Thanks, Mr. Malory," he said, a smile slowly returning to his face. "You've given me something to think about. Are the computers free?" "They are today," he said. "But eventually, other kids are going to find them. I might have to limit screen time…."

马洛里点点头。“我去过那里。 我们都经历过，”他说。 “但有时候，试图融入是错误的。 因为如果你太过努力，你就不是你自己。 你的朋友应该喜欢真实的你。” 西奥沉默了一会儿，他的下巴像在嚼一块黏糊糊的焦糖。 “谢谢，马洛里先生。”他说，脸上慢慢恢复了笑容。 “你给了我一些思考的东西。 电脑是免费的吗？”“现在是，”他说。 “但最终，其他孩子会找到他们。 我可能得限制看屏幕的时间...."

Theo's smile dropped again. "Really?" he said. Mr. Malory chuckled. "You go right ahead and enjoy yourself. Forget about your problems for a while." "Okay," said Theo. But he didn't intend to forget about his problems. He intended to fix them. Because Mr. Malory had told him to be himself. And who he was…was a problem-solver. Even when that meant breaking the rules. Theo had played Minecraft by himself plenty of times. But he still wasn't used to being alone in the strange VR goggle version of Minecraft. The silence made him feel nervous. Of course, he probably should be nervous, he thought. The Endermonster was out there somewhere. And Theo meant to find it. Theo raided one of the Shack's many storage chests. He selected a set of diamond armor, a diamond sword, and some healing potions. He felt a lot safer now…but he would have to be sure to put everything back, or Morgan would be even more annoyed with him.

西奥的笑容又消失了。 “真的吗？”他说。马洛里轻声笑了起来。 “你只管去享受吧。 暂时忘掉你的问题吧。” “好吧，”西奥说。但他不打算忘记自己的问题。 他打算把它们修好。因为马洛里先生让他做自己。 他是一个解决问题的人。 即使这意味着要打破规则。 Theo自己玩过很多次《我的世界》。 但他仍然不习惯独自一人在奇怪的VR眼镜版本的《我的世界》中。 沉默使他感到紧张。 当然，他也许应该感到紧张，他想。 末底怪就在某处。 西奥想要找到它。 西奥突袭了窝棚的一个储物箱。 他选了一套钻石盔甲，一把钻石剑和一些治疗药水。 他现在觉得安全多了……但他必须确保把所有东西都放回去，否则摩根会更生他的气。

He crept carefully through the forest, retracing their path from the day before. In the clearing where they'd battled, the footprints made a big, messy jumble of squares. But Theo picked up the Endermonster's tracks just outside the clearing. The mob's trail led him out of the forest, across a sunflower plain, and right to the foot of a low mountain. The footprints disappeared occasionally, and Theo was forced to wander around until he found where they picked up again. There was only one explanation for the gaps in the trail: the mob was teleporting as it traveled. It never teleported very far, but still, Theo was losing precious time. The sun had set, and darkness had fallen on the Overworld. Using a torch to see more clearly, Theo picked up the Endermonster's trail once more. Even in his diamond armor, Theo felt a shiver of fear.

他沿着前一天走过的路，小心翼翼地穿过森林。 在他们战斗过的空地上，脚印堆成了一个又大又乱的方块。 但西奥在空地外发现了末底怪的踪迹。 暴民的踪迹带着他走出森林，穿过一片向日葵平原，来到一座低矮的山脚下。 这些脚印偶尔会消失，西奥被迫四处游荡，直到他找到它们再次出现的地方。 对于小径上的裂缝，只有一种解释：这群暴徒在行进时进行了心灵传送。 虽然没有传送很远，但西奥还是失去了宝贵的时间。 太阳落山了，黑暗笼罩了上面世界。 西奥用手电筒看得更清楚，再次找到了末底怪的踪迹。 即使穿着钻石盔甲，西奥也感到一阵恐惧。

It was when the night felt its darkest that he found the Endermonster. He saw its eyes first. Those frightening red eyes seemed to glow in the dark. Then Theo realized his mistake. If he could see those eyes… …those eyes could see him, too! The Endermonster emitted a terrible scream. The sound chilled Theo to the core. He lifted his sword to defend himself— But it was teleported right out of his hands! Okay, thought Theo. That's fine. I didn't want to hurt him anyway. I just wanted to get a good look at him.

正是在黑夜最黑暗的时候，他发现了末底怪。 他先看到了它的眼睛。那双可怕的红眼睛似乎在黑暗中发光。 然后西奥意识到了自己的错误。 如果他能看到那双眼睛... ...那双眼睛也能看到他！末底怪发出一声可怕的尖叫。 这声音使西奥心寒。 他举起剑想自卫-但剑被瞬间传送了出去！好吧，西奥想。 这很好。反正我也不想伤害他。 我只是想好好看看他。