I'm Trapped in the Block

And so it went. The phantasms continuously overlapped, and the history of the Shell People repeated in an endless cycle...

When the graveyard neared the surface due to earthquakes, newborn Shell People would emerge from the scattered shells. They grew fast, quickly reaching adulthood.

It was then that mirages would rise from the sunlit shells, beginning to replay everything that had happened here before.

A hazy, indistinct god; the first generation, their forms obscured...

Due to the constant superimposition of phantasms, the more ancient events became blurrier, with only the most recent ones appearing clearly.

Each generation of Shell People would hear the god’s faint words, along with the experiences left to them by their predecessors.

They weren’t engaged in a pointless endeavor. Failed predecessors would return to the graveyard to pass on their experience to the next generation of Shell People.

"The outsiders will capture us. If you fail, return as quickly as possible."

"The outsiders are studying us. If captured, self-destruct."

"The easiest routes into the outsiders’ fortress are as follows..."

These Shell People didn’t just teach their descendants how to attack humans; they also told them the functions of various facilities, encouraging the next generation to target these specific installations.

Although some images were blurred by the overlapping phantasms, most of the experiences were preserved.

While these experiences came in fragments, the sheer number of Shell People meant that some useful bits always got through.

After watching these phantasms, each Shell Person would learn a great deal, laying the groundwork for the coming assault on the humans.

At the same time, a leader would emerge from this new generation of Shell People, responsible for organizing the others.

Because the constant superimposition made the later scenes exceptionally long, the mirages seemed to accelerate, allowing the new generation to absorb more information in a limited time.

The new generation of Shell People also seemed capable of processing this accelerated information.

The phantasms continued to play, the Shell People’s history cycling on. They were already teaching the next generation how to use human facilities to infiltrate, how to effectively destroy Oasis City, and their techniques were growing more and more sophisticated.

Old Xu’s eyes widened as he watched these scenes.

"So this is how they learn. No wonder they’re getting smarter."

He crouched down and began to sift through the shell fragments covering the ground.

Casually picking up a piece of shell, Old Xu held it in the light, letting the beams cover it completely.

A faint wisp of mist drifted from the shell’s fractured edge, mixing with the surrounding vapor.

"They’re creating the mirages. Or rather, the mirages are a part of their ability!" Old Xu said in shock.

Their broken shells create mirages. The people of Oasis City had studied the Shell People for so long, yet they never imagined they possessed such an ability even after death.

Nearby, the figures of the Shell People continued to sharpen, gradually becoming more realistic. This must be the history of the very recent past.

These Shell People were already teaching their descendants how to seize human transport vehicles. With a little more accumulated experience, they would likely master the method completely.

Old Xu clenched his fists as he watched, but he was helpless against these phantasms.

There was no way to clear away all the shells covering the ground. As long as these fragments existed, there would always be Shell People to attack Oasis City.

Who would have thought these creatures would lock horns with humanity, even at the cost of sacrificing so many generations of Shell People?

"Why are they doing this? Is their god being trapped related to them attacking humans?" Li Xiangyi asked in confusion.

This was a question everyone wanted answered. Unfortunately, that phantasm was from too long ago. Underneath the constant overlapping and replaying, it had become far too blurry. Even the god’s appearance was impossible to make out.

The conversation between the Shell People and their god was also unintelligible.

Could it be that humans had trapped their god?

"Has Oasis City ever imprisoned any creatures?" Li Luo asked Old Xu.

Hearing Li Luo’s question, Old Xu thought for a moment, then replied with resignation, "Tons." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

In its development, Oasis City had certainly captured many surrounding creatures, whether from within the Oasis itself or the surrounding desert. Most were for research purposes.

But Old Xu shook his head again. "However, the Shell People’s attacks started a very long time ago. Back then, Oasis City was just a small monitoring station. We didn’t have the resources to imprison any creatures."

Looking at the phantasms still replaying around them, Old Xu sighed. "These descendants probably don’t even know why they’re attacking humans anymore. They’re just following the words of their ancestors."

In every generation of Shell People, a "leader" would eventually emerge to lead their companions in an attack on the outsiders.

Wave after wave of them surged toward Oasis City. Generation after generation was born in the graveyard only to die in the graveyard, all for the sake of a single objective after so many years—to rescue their god.

But it was unknown if their actions had any meaning at all.

How truly tragic.

The surrounding phantasms grew more and more real, becoming indistinguishable from reality. Mo Ling could even make out the dust on the Shell People’s bodies.

The mirage’s reenactment effect was incredibly strong. When one’s vision passed through the bodies of these Shell People, their various internal organs could be seen with perfect clarity.

Not only could they be seen, but the Shell People’s voices and the rank odor they carried were also reproduced.

It was an all-encompassing reenactment, identical to reality in every way except that it couldn’t be touched.

’These must be the most recent generations of Shell People,’ Mo Ling thought.

Sure enough, after a few more replays of the phantasms, the surroundings fell silent.

Before long, the area began to collapse. The iridescent light reappeared, then started to fade and dissipate.

"It’s ending," the others noted, observing the changes around them.

The collapse was swift, and the iridescent light vanished just as quickly.

Old Xu picked up a shell fragment. The mirage rising from it was faint and intermittent, almost gone.

But the sound of clicking shells in the surrounding area hadn’t disappeared. A few clicks could still be heard from time to time, just beyond the edge of the band of light.

Old Xu looked into the distance, puzzled. Suddenly realizing something, he turned to the two beside him and asked, "Do you two have some way to escape an encirclement?"

The two of them looked utterly confused.

Old Xu had no choice but to explain, "The light doesn’t just trigger the mirages; it also causes the new generation of Shell People to be born. There are a lot of newborn Shell People around us right now. They were probably mixed in with the phantoms just now."

"Although they’re born in the light, the Shell People are creatures that shun it. They must have hidden in the darkness before the phantoms ended, and they’re probably watching us from somewhere right now."

Old Xu’s words left the two of them stunned, but he quickly tried to reassure them. "The danger level here is still very low, which means nothing truly dangerous is going to happen. I’m guessing it’s because you two have some means of escape, right?"

He looked over Li Luo and Li Xiangyi with confidence.

Mo Ling was also stunned by Old Xu’s words, but on second thought, wasn’t the Block a "means of escape"?

’Is he talking about me?’