I'm Trapped in the Block

Mo Ling once again began to doubt if his experiences were real.

’Why did I land right next to Li Luo again the moment I returned?’

’Did the Tree Transformation Tribe I saved and the peripheral Theseus Cell World even exist?’

He couldn’t tell.

Mo Ling felt like his brain was about to fry.

The deeper he delved into thought, the more faint he felt.

"I think I might have low blood sugar."

...

After eating the snacks Li Luo brought, Mo Ling finally recovered.

He felt much better once he stopped thinking about those things.

Watching the food on the Block disappear piece by piece, Li Luo looked on with envy.

"I have to say, you Relics have incredible appetites. Ever since I came to the Abyss, I’ve lost my appetite for a lot of foods I used to love."

Mo Ling had heard about this back at the monitoring station.

Each level of the Abyss imposes a different toll, typically manifesting as various physiological symptoms, much like how humans feel water pressure when diving deep into the ocean.

But Mo Ling hadn’t felt a thing.

Aside from the full-body aches he would sometimes get from being confined to the Block, he felt no other discomfort.

’Maybe a loss of appetite was one of Li Luo’s symptoms.’

Once Mo Ling had his fill, Li Luo was faced with another problem.

"I still don’t know how to get you up there. It’s so high."

Mo Ling then realized he hadn’t shown Li Luo his ability to fly yet.

So he quickly controlled the Block, lifting it out of the pool and slowly floating into the air.

His flying ability wasn’t affected.

Li Luo’s eyes widened as she stared at the Block. "You can fly on your own?"

To stop Li Luo from getting the wrong idea, Mo Ling quickly explained on his electronic screen: "Just learned."

He then had Li Luo sit on the Block and carried her toward the top of the Big Tree Cave, testing his flight capability.

Soon, the Block ascended to the edge of the cavern’s ceiling.

"So smooth," Li Luo praised, curiously experiencing the ride on the Block-elevator. "This is much smoother than that busted old vehicle."

Mo Ling had been a little worried they would be attacked by creatures on the way up, but he found that all the creatures along the path were much calmer now.

’It seems the biological mutation has really ended.’

The Block flew toward the Tree Transformation Tribe. Even carrying Li Luo, Mo Ling felt no difficulty controlling it.

The Young Lady, on the other hand, was unusually excited, constantly praising the Block.

Returning to the Tree Transformation Tribe, the familiar sight once again gave Mo Ling a sense of disorientation.

He even felt as if this group of Tree Transformations was about to rush over and "Praise the holy relic!"

But without an ambitious leader like the one he knew, the Tree Transformations here were clearly much simpler.

They also seemed to have noticed that the mutation had stopped. They were currently preparing a group of their kin to fulfill their goal of becoming trees.

Mo Ling was surprised to discover that the planting ground the Tree Transformations had chosen corresponded exactly to the forest where they had been born.

’And the number of Tree Transformations coming through the Big Tree Cave should increase now, too.’

Mo Ling was quite glad that he had saved the Tree Transformation Tribe.

While Mo Ling was still drifting around the Tree Transformation Tribe, a small squad hurried into the area.

It was Captain Su and his people.

Most of the soldiers in the squad looked confused.

Upon entering the Tree Transformation Tribe and seeing Li Luo standing idly by the Block, Captain Su rushed forward.

Captain Su’s bandaged face hid his expression, but his tone was extremely agitated. "What happened? The biological rampage throughout the entire lockdown zone has stopped."

He then realized he was being too hasty. After taking a few breaths, he asked, "Is the Tree Transformation Tribe responsible?"

Li Luo was unhurried and transmitted the past few days of data to Captain Su.

Captain Su didn’t stand on ceremony and quickly began scrolling through it.

"A rampage caused by chaotic mutations in the Theseus Cells, triggered by the voice of a god?"

Li Luo nodded.

After Captain Su finished reading carefully, he said with sudden realization, "No wonder. The creatures in every beast tide are a combination of various monstrosities."

"How did the voice of the god disappear? Do you know?" he pressed.

"It suddenly disappeared that night. I don’t know the specific time. I just discovered the rampage had subsided, and when I re-entered the range of the voice, I couldn’t hear it anymore."

Captain Su pondered for a long time and sighed.

"When the voice of the god first appeared, it was just as unpredictable. Fortunately, the damage caused this time was not great."

Captain Su then explained to Li Luo the results of their investigation of the outpost over the past few days.

After he returned to the station, the first thing he did was check the communications personnel and the station’s lines, and found there were no problems.

After seeing the rampage had subsided, he guessed something must have happened on Li Luo’s end and rushed over.

Li Luo asked, confused, "Didn’t you try any other communication methods?"

Captain Su shook his head. "No good. This is the only line. The Abyss interferes with signals severely. There’s no other way."

Li Luo then told Captain Su about the chimeric creatures inside the Big Tree Cave.

Captain Su rubbed his temples and said, troubled, "Looks like we’ll have to find time to clean it out. If something terrible appears, we’re done for."

He then walked to the rear and explained the situation to the soldiers behind him.

Although the soldiers still looked confused, they were visibly much more relaxed.

The rampage was confirmed to be over. At least they could take a breather now.

"Our other team members have reported a possible channel for a Theseus Cell leak. Shall we go take a look together?" Captain Su asked.

It seemed the outpost had already made significant gains now that the rampage had just subsided.

Li Luo nodded at the captain, habitually pressed her wristband, and then froze on the spot.

Mo Ling also paused for a moment, then realized something was wrong.

’Why isn’t she moving?’

’Oh, right. The vehicle is gone.’

’That expensive all-terrain vehicle is probably just a pile of parts at the bottom of the Big Tree Cave’s pool by now.’

She moved closer to the Block, squatted down, and asked in a low voice, "Do you mind exposing your abilities?"

Mo Ling controlled the Block, making it swivel as if shaking its head.

Captain Su looked over for a moment and also noticed that Li Luo’s little vehicle was gone.

"We have a flatbed cart for supplies over there, need it?" Captain Su said, pointing behind him.

Li Luo waved her hand at Captain Su.

The scene that followed left all the soldiers dumbfounded.

Li Luo simply stood up and said to Captain Su, "Let’s go."

The Block behind her moved in tandem, lifting off the ground and floating toward a spot above her head.

The heavy metal block followed behind Li Luo, resembling some kind of autonomous tracking weapon.

The geometric, cubical shape of the Block formed a stark contrast with the Young Lady’s slender figure.

Even Captain Su looked up at the Block, speechless.

Li Luo had to remind him several times before Captain Su came back to his senses and ordered the soldiers to start leading the way.

The soldier leading the way kept looking back every two steps, constantly glancing at the Block out of the corner of his eye.

Finally, the soldier couldn’t hold back and asked curiously, "This relic of yours, how does it have so many abilities?"

Li Luo thought for a moment, then borrowed Mo Ling’s line and explained:

"Just learned."