I'm Trapped in the Block

Sipping his floral tea, Old Xu began to tell the story of the spring.

...

The spring had been there ever since the official survey team first arrived on the 2nd Floor of the Abyss and discovered the Oasis. In the beginning, though, it was just ordinary spring water.

Since it was freshwater, the survey team designated it as a source of drinking water after running some tests, filtering it before use.

The spring was a geyser of sorts, erupting only at certain times of the year. When it did, warm water would gush out. The rest of the time, it was just a simple, unremarkable pool.

You could say Oasis City was built right on top of that spring.

As a member of the original survey team, Old Xu had always drunk from that spring.

"It’s very sweet and not too hard—perfect for brewing tea," Old Xu said, reminiscing.

However, Oasis City wasn’t always as peaceful as it is today. Back then, it was called the Oasis Monitoring Station.

The Oasis was like a dazzling pearl in the middle of the Chaotic Sand Dunes, and many dangerous creatures called it home.

Human activity disrupted their way of life, so they harassed the station from time to time. Many people lost their lives, and the facilities that had been so painstakingly built were destroyed.

One of these was an intelligent species that looked remarkably similar to humans, but their bodies were covered in hard, mollusk-like shells. This thick, calcareous armor completely protected their soft spots.

Even their heads were encased in two sharp, hemispherical shells.

This bizarre-looking intelligent species had been secretly sabotaging the Oasis Monitoring Station all along, right up until the survey team discovered them.

They were eventually named the Shell People. The survey team discovered that their civilization wasn’t very advanced, and they lived in tribe-like communities.

But the Shell People had lived in the Oasis for a very long time and knew it intimately. They lived in a network of sprawling underground waterways, which made them incredibly difficult to guard against.

Their reasons for attacking the Oasis Monitoring Station were unclear, but the destruction they caused was very real and substantial.

Back when the Oasis Monitoring Station was still in its infancy and short-staffed, they came close to destroying it completely.

Once, the Shell People used their ability to control shell growth to secretly seal off all the supply warehouses at the Oasis Monitoring Station.

They had pulled stunts like this before. But this time, as people went to break open the shells, the Shell People snuck into the power plant and cut off the entire station’s electricity.

They’d actually figured out how human electrical systems worked!

It was nighttime. Without lights, the humans couldn’t see a thing, but the Shell People had no such problem. They seized the opportunity to wreak havoc on the station, sealing nearly every building with their calcareous shells.

Panic spread like wildfire. The survey team had no choice but to order everyone to the central plaza to mount a defense, intending to hold out until morning.

In the middle of the night, a grinding sound of shells echoed from all around. The Shell People who had been hiding in the waterways swarmed out. It was only then that the survey team realized tonight’s attack was a long-premeditated operation.

The Shell People didn’t approach. They remained hidden in the darkness as the grinding clash of their shells rose and fell in a cacophony. The survey team remained on high alert, but after a long while, the Shell People still hadn’t attacked.

Old Xu was also on guard, his relic in hand. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong with the sky. He looked up. The moon was gone.

A drop of water fell from the sky, landing right beside Old Xu’s mouth.

He licked it.

’So salty.’

Alarmed, Old Xu shouted, "They’re in the sky!"

The survey team quickly grabbed their lights and aimed them at the sky.

The beams of light didn’t shoot straight into the heavens; instead, they struck a dome above.

It was a dome made of shells!

’The Shell People are trying to seal us all in!’ The moment he saw the shell dome, Old Xu understood.

The Shell People must have known the survey team would try to stall until morning, so they’d chosen an incredibly time-consuming tactic: sealing everyone inside a shell dome.

Luckily, they’d discovered it early. The dome hadn’t fully closed yet, and the reinforcements hadn’t begun. The team members frantically used every skill at their disposal, trying to break through.

"Follow me! Charge this way!" The captain led everyone in a single-direction assault.

But when they reached the edge, they discovered the moving figures and sounds of the "Shell People" had all been an illusion.

The edge was nothing but a hard shell wall, with smaller shells on its surface constantly opening and closing.

"We’ve been tricked!"

The shell wall had already been reinforced layer by layer. The survey team tried every relic they had, but nothing could break through. They could only watch helplessly as the dome in the sky sealed shut.

"Find another spot!" the captain quickly commanded. "Fan out! Look for a weak point in the dome, or any other place we can break through!"

Old Xu ran straight back, originally intending to search a more distant area.

But when he got back to the spring, he saw it suddenly begin to gush, even though it was supposed to be in its dormant period.

Before he could react, a giant hand made of water shot out from the spring, grabbing him and pulling him into the current.

’Where is this?’ Old Xu was dizzy from being tossed about by the giant hand. When he came to his senses, he found himself surrounded by a golden current.

"My apologies. It’s my first time, so I’m a bit clumsy. Hello," a Little Elf said as it emerged from the current.

"What are you?" Old Xu asked warily.

"I’m the spring you’re always drinking from," the Little Elf explained.

’The spring?’

’I’m inside the spring?’ Old Xu glanced around and saw that he was indeed surrounded by surging currents of water. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Are you a relic? Why would you pull me in here now?" Old Xu was getting anxious. His comrades were in danger, and here he was in this weird place.

"Yes, I am a relic. I’m so sorry for pulling you in so suddenly." The Little Elf apologized. "I just wanted to ask you... what is it you desire most?"

"And no lying."

The elf’s sudden question left Old Xu stunned and confused for a long moment. He turned his head and saw that the golden currents around him were already displaying his innermost desires—

The survey team escaping the dome, repelling the Shell People, building Oasis City and turning it into the most powerful monitoring station on the 2nd Floor of the Abyss, a safe harbor for countless Hunters, eliminating all creatures that dared to invade...

"Don’t you already know what I want?" Old Xu asked, pointing at the illusions in the water.

...

The Little Elf looked embarrassed and scratched its head. "I just wanted to remind you not to lie."

"Why would I lie?" Old Xu retorted. He truly had no idea what this Spring Elf was trying to do.

He was extremely anxious; all he could think about was how to escape the dome and destroy the shell walls.

"Just send me back out! This isn’t the time for a chat!" Old Xu urged, though he tried to keep his tone careful. ’I can’t afford to anger a relic of unknown origin.’

"Okay! I’ll send you out right now. But first, I’ll grant your wish."

The Little Elf flew in front of him and tapped him on the chest, right over his heart.

Old Xu suddenly froze. He felt like a piece of his heart had just vanished.