I'm Trapped in the Block

’This is bad.’

Hearing Li Luo’s response, Mo Ling knew she must have also been unconsciously affected by the phenomenon.

’Or maybe... I’m the one who’s affected?’

He quickly pulled back the electronic screen to check it. He flipped to other interfaces and saw that he could still understand all the text. It seemed the distortion hadn’t affected him.

Meanwhile, after answering Mo Ling, Li Luo also opened her electronic screen, but her expression grew increasingly confused as she looked at it.

In the end, she had to rely on memory just to find the settings interface and try to change the language, but it had no effect.

She looked up again and spoke to the Block.

"I can’t understand it anymore."

’Mo Ling’s mind raced. The screen wasn’t affected, which means this distortion targets people.’

’It seems the Block has once again insulated me from the effects of this linguistic confusion.’

After double-checking, Mo Ling confirmed that he could, in fact, still understand the text on the screen.

Mo Ling also found some food wrappers and cans. He tried reading the text on them and could understand everything.

Li Luo, however, just looked at the text in confusion.

’The distortion seems severe.’

"Try this." Mo Ling had a sudden idea, remembering the red bandana inside the Block.

When he was looking for the wrappers, the red bandana inside the Block had been too conspicuous to ignore.

’The ability to recognize one’s true self... I wonder if it’ll have any effect on this linguistic confusion.’

After he tossed the red bandana out, Li Luo looked surprised, but she understood his intent without a word.

She quickly put on the red bandana. A moment later, two long donkey ears slowly sprouted from her head.

Li Luo was still wondering why Mo Ling wanted her to wear the bandana, but her gaze soon fell back upon the text on the wrappers.

"It seems to be working?" Mo Ling said, pleasantly surprised.

But as he recalled the bandana’s ability, Mo Ling realized a more frightening truth: this was a distortion of self-identity, and the linguistic confusion was only one part of it.

Sure enough, Li Luo picked up a wrapper and read the text carefully for a moment before speaking to the Block. "The bandana worked. I can understand the words again."

Communication was flowing smoothly again.

Mo Ling quickly warned Li Luo not to use the red bandana’s power, then told her his theory about the Black Tower’s distortion phenomenon.

"’So that’s what this bandana does.’ Li Luo mused, curiously touching her donkey ears."

She didn’t waste any time. Based on Mo Ling’s theory, she immediately began searching for information on the phenomenon.

After adding several search filters, the database precisely pinpointed a relic that matched the description—

—Hieroglyphics.

...

There are many buried ruins within the Chaotic Sand Dunes.

These ruins often yield all sorts of relics, which is why the 2nd Floor of the Abyss is known as the "Floor of Relics."

However, these ruins are filled with all kinds of dangers. These dangers generally follow certain rules and can be cleverly circumvented.

Trying to brute-force your way through is a death sentence.

Once, a Hunter Corps discovered a cluster of Pyramid-like ruins deep within the dunes.

Blinded by greed, they rushed into the Pyramids to find relics, only to be met with all sorts of cruel traps.

Solidified sand spikes, roaming swarms of snakes and insects, poison gas that was impossible to guard against, and sudden volleys of arrows—these traps caused the Hunter Corps to suffer heavy losses.

Even though they all possessed relics and were seasoned Hunters, they couldn’t handle the endless, ever-changing traps.

If they continued deeper, there would likely be even more lethal dangers.

After watching his comrades die one after another, the Hunter Corps leader finally realized his mistake. He calmed down and led the remaining members out of the Pyramid in disgrace.

This complex of Pyramid ruins was not as simple as he had first imagined.

After returning to the monitoring station, the leader couldn’t get the ruins out of his mind. He paid a hefty sum to hire an old Hunter from Egypt to act as their guide, upgraded their equipment, and planned another expedition.

This old Egyptian Hunter was named Namiel. He wasn’t particularly powerful, but he had been a tour guide in the Pyramids of Egypt in his youth and knew them inside and out.

He confidently assured the leader that he could definitely guide the Hunter Corps into the depths of the ruins.

"I could wander around the Pyramids with my eyes closed when I was five! Not even the so-called Pyramid experts know them better than I do."

"Those traps all follow a pattern. As long as you understand the Pyramid’s structure, you’ll know where the dangers lie."

He was a true professional. He even found a 3D model of a Pyramid and gave the corps members a lesson.

"See this raised section on the floor? That’s a trigger plate. The more you panic, the more likely you are to step on it. But if you step on it and don’t lift your foot, it won’t activate. A very crude trigger mechanism."

"And these obvious holes. The larger, deeper ones are for needle traps. The shallow, porous ones are for poison gas. The best way to deal with them is to either avoid them or seal them before they’re triggered."

"You all have relics. These are just simple physical traps, easy enough to deal with."

Namiel spoke with great confidence, passing his experience on to the members and reigniting their morale.

The leader’s confidence was fully restored. A few days later, the Hunter Corps set out once more for the Pyramid ruins.

Once inside the Pyramid, the traps that had previously seemed impossible to defend against were just as Namiel had described. Once you understood their principles and the structure, they were nothing.

"What were you all doing the first time you came? Didn’t you scan the structure with a robot first? This is a proper expedition, not some back-alley tomb raiding." Namiel couldn’t quite understand the Hunter Corps’ previous methods.

This time, Namiel had the leader purchase a host of consumable exploration devices. They only entered after mapping out the Pyramid’s entire structure and pathways with perfect clarity.

Furthermore, Namiel scouted continuously as they advanced, proceeding with extreme caution. Though he spoke of the traps with contempt, in practice, he was more careful than anyone.

"Who does traditional archaeology in this day and age!"

The leader readily agreed. He even completely handed over leadership to Namiel and just followed behind, taking the constant scolding like a pushover.

Knowledge really is power.

They encountered no danger along the way. Namiel was an excellent guide. Under his leadership, the corps members might as well have been on a sightseeing tour.

Namiel even began to lecture on the history of Pyramids, explaining the different classifications and sharing interesting anecdotes.

He determined that the Pyramid cluster on the 2nd Floor of the Abyss was a relatively early type and went on to explain the evolution of Pyramid construction.

"Ah, force of habit. There I go rambling again."

Namiel halted before a pitch-black tomb passage. He sniffed the air, then raised a hand to stop the corps members behind him.

"Prepare to defend. We might get a swarm attack. Don’t use any fire-based abilities. It’s a chain trap—it’ll cause a nearby flammable gas to explode. Just hold the line here at the entrance to the passage," Namiel informed them nonchalantly.

"Use high-speed physical attacks to knock them out of the air. You pick the right people for the job." Namiel patted the leader’s shoulder, then casually walked to the rear.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a rustling sound echoed from deep within the dark passage. It was a dull, muffled noise, like the beating of wings.

"Here they come," Namiel said calmly, standing by the side of the passage with his hands clasped behind his back.