I'm Trapped in the Block

The man held the ring in his hand and couldn’t help but laugh.

"HAHAHAHA~"

His laughter was so loud that everyone around turned to look.

Li Luo and Li Xiangyi happened to be standing nearby, and the uncontrollable laughter quickly caught their attention.

"What’s wrong with him?" Li Xiangyi asked.

"I don’t know." Watching the man, who seemed increasingly strange, Li Luo carefully backed away.

But the man quickly returned to normal. He seemed to be wondering why he had just lost his composure.

As if suddenly jolted awake, the man carefully placed the ring in his pocket, then took the little boy by the hand and started to leave the square.

Just then, a cloaked figure suddenly rushed out from the side and punched the man in the face.

The two of them instantly fell to the ground, scuffling, and the cloak was thrown back in the process.

Beneath the cloak was an elderly man with half-gray hair. Although he looked very thin, his movements were incredibly sharp. In just a moment, he had the man subdued, with his arms twisted behind his back.

"Speak up! What relic did you have your child wish for?"

"What’s its function and its price?"

The old man’s voice boomed with vigor as he held the man down, questioning him angrily.

The man pinned underneath had lost all of his initial refinement. He started shouting, "Someone’s causing trouble in Oasis City! Soldiers!"

The soldiers in the square had noticed the commotion early on. Several of them rushed over, pulled the old man off, and helped the other man to his feet.

The man’s refined demeanor was gone. Cursing and muttering, he was escorted away from the scene by the soldiers.

The old man, however, was still struggling. He was flanked by two soldiers who led him through the crowd toward an alley behind the square.

Li Luo and Li Xiangyi watched the scene with great interest. After exchanging a look, they quietly followed.

The soldiers seemed to know the old man and treated him well. As soon as they were out of the square, they let him go and started brushing the dust off his clothes.

They didn’t seem to mind being seen. After leading the old man to the mouth of the alley, they began to chat.

Li Luo and Li Xiangyi pretended to look at a map at the alley’s entrance, eavesdropping on the conversation between the soldiers and the old man.

"Old Xu, you can’t keep causing trouble like this. People are getting their relics just fine. Why do you have to interfere?" one of the soldiers pleaded earnestly.

"I’ve told you, there’s something wrong with that fountain! You’ve all spent so many years in the Abyss. Which of these wish-granting relics isn’t a huge trap? Why don’t you understand?" the old man said, extremely anxious as he complained to the soldiers.

"We know, but this was the decision from the higher-ups in Oasis City. What can we do? Old Xu, just leave it be. Wouldn’t it be better to enjoy your later years in peace?" The soldier patted the old man’s shoulder reassuringly.

"You need to use your heads! In the Abyss, how can you just follow orders blindly!" the old man persisted stubbornly. "Report it to your superiors again. This fountain can’t be kept open! It’s definitely going to cause some kind of harm!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He kept trying to persuade them, but the soldier beside him could only sigh helplessly and ask in return, "What harm?"

Hearing this, the old man finally stopped pressing them, standing speechless in the alley.

The soldier glanced at the time and said to the old man, "It’s almost over. We have to go back and maintain order. Old Xu, don’t cause any more trouble. Go home and get some rest. We’ll find you for tea another day."

The old man could only nod helplessly as he watched the soldiers leave the alley.

"You can stop skulking around. If you want to know something, just ask." After the soldiers were a good distance away, the old man slowly walked to the mouth of the alley and spoke to the two eavesdroppers.

Seeing the shock in their eyes, the old man glanced them over and continued, "You two are outsiders, aren’t you?"

Li Luo nodded.

"I remember everyone in Oasis City, and your relic is so conspicuous, it’s hard not to notice." The old man pointed to the Block floating behind Li Luo and explained, "I noticed you were following me from the very beginning."

’So he knew all along.’

"You can just call me Old Xu. Is there anything you want to ask?" Old Xu seemed completely unbothered by their eavesdropping.

"What’s the deal with that fountain?" Li Luo asked directly.

"It’s a relic with its own consciousness. It existed back when Oasis City was first founded," Old Xu explained while gazing out toward the square.

The crowd was gradually dispersing. The fountain’s spray slowly subsided, returning to an unremarkable pool of water. Officials were clearing the remaining people away, surrounding the fountain with barriers.

Old Xu’s gaze toward the square was tinged with disappointment. He murmured, "If they keep using it like this, I really don’t know what the consequences will be."

He turned and gestured with his hand. "Come to my place. It’s just behind this alley, not far. I’ll explain everything in detail."

With that, he walked deeper into the alley.

After a moment’s hesitation, Li Luo and Li Xiangyi followed Old Xu.

Sure enough, after passing through the alley, the view suddenly opened up.

An open space appeared before them.

The space was enclosed by a circle of towering buildings. A small, tin-roofed house stood neatly in the middle of it.

Outside the house were clean, tidy flowerbeds and a table. There wasn’t a speck of dust on the table; the owner was clearly very fond of cleanliness.

Although the area wasn’t large, a wooden fence enclosed the yard, and the path outside it was also swept clean.

Sunlight streamed down through the gaps between the tall buildings, making the small courtyard appear lush and full of life.

’Who would have thought a place like this existed in the core district of Oasis City, surrounded by skyscrapers.’

Old Xu pushed open the gate and invited Li Luo and Li Xiangyi into his yard.

Inside the yard, a profusion of flowers was in bloom. They were all well-cared-for, and the flowerbeds were arranged neatly.

"The sunlight isn’t great here, so I can only grow some shade-loving flowers," Old Xu explained, noticing Li Xiangyi staring intently at the flowers.

Li Xiangyi quickly waved her hands. "Oh, no, I think these flowers are beautiful. But why build the house here? Isn’t it oppressive with all these tall buildings around?"

"Because I was here from the beginning. The tall buildings outside were built later. They wanted me to move, but I wasn’t willing, so I stayed." Old Xu’s expression grew nostalgic.

"Have a seat. I’ll make you some flower tea." He led them to the table and had them sit down while he went to boil water and pick some flowers.

The careful, gentle way he picked the flowers was a completely different side of him from the man who had just attacked someone in the square.

Old Xu came back out of the house with tea leaves and cups and began to brew the tea.

"Where are you from?" he asked casually.

"The Black Tower," Li Luo replied.

"Oh, I’ve been to the Black Tower. That was before they built the monitoring station. I always thought something wasn’t right about that place. Too many areas were unexplored; they shouldn’t have stationed so many people there," he commented, reminiscing.

Li Luo was astonished to hear this and told him what had happened at the Black Tower.

After listening, Old Xu sighed.

"Sigh... I knew it. My intuition is never wrong."