I'm Trapped in the Block

The young man tripped on the stone that had suddenly appeared and tumbled toward the shell wall.

He slammed headfirst into it.

But it was that very impact that made him realize this section of the shell wall was different. He quickly began to examine it, his expression growing more and more delighted.

"Found it!"

Mo Ling watched this scene, a little surprised.

’So it’s really possible to influence history.’

And yet, it was as if history hadn’t been influenced at all.

The feeling was extremely strange. It was clearly a result of Mo Ling’s own actions, yet it felt as if it were fated. The sense of helpless predestination that Mo Ling had felt when rescuing people with Martin appeared in its heart once more.

This powerful sense of helplessness seemed to be stopping Mo Ling from interfering with history any further.

Watching the excited young man, Mo Ling sighed and hurried back to the fountain.

Li Luo saw the Block leave and return, but didn’t ask any questions. She seemed to have gotten used to the Block always flying around everywhere.

The group remained vigilant of their surroundings. Phantom-like figures flickered past, and the investigation team members all gathered at the spot where the young man had found the weak point.

Old Xu paid no mind to these scenes from the past. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the fountain, guarding against any surprises.

Before long, an iridescent light began to appear. The phantoms grew blurry and indistinct, and even the originally noisy chatter of the investigation team became difficult to hear.

"The mirage is receding. The people outside have opened the dome."

Oasis City, in its current state of development, had an increasing number of methods to deal with the shell people, and the relics they possessed were also growing more powerful. They wouldn’t be as helpless against the dome as the investigation team of the past had been.

A loud BOOM erupted from the direction where the investigation team had gathered. A sudden beam of light pierced through the phantoms, shining directly on the group’s position.

The surrounding scenery blurred and vanished rapidly as the mirage dissipated through the newly opened hole.

The location of the opening was, astonishingly, exactly the same as before.

"Is anyone in there?!"

A team of fully armed soldiers poured in through the opening. They stood guard vigilantly before the hole while simultaneously working to widen it.

A soldier, holding a relic that looked like an egg, smashed it against the edge of the opening.

The egg struck the rock-hard shell. The egg remained intact, but the shell suddenly shattered.

"That’s a Stone Egg," Old Xu explained. "It can shatter whatever it hits as if it were an eggshell."

The opening expanded quickly, and the mirage dissipated even faster. Once visibility improved, the soldiers began to advance inside step by step.

They had noticed Li Xiangyi’s ribbon of light early on and were heading toward the fountain.

"Abyss Investigation Team Three, First-Class Member, Xu Jian Country!" Old Xu shouted as the soldiers approached. "With me are Hunters Li Luo and Li Xiangyi!"

After shouting, he stood his ground and waited.

Hearing him, the soldiers slowly walked over. When they were close enough to see each other clearly, Old Xu repeated his previous words, identifying himself.

A soldier aimed a device on his arm at the three of them and scanned them.

"Get outside first!" the soldier shouted to the trio.

He then led the three of them toward the exit.

The exit was still being widened. As they approached, they saw several high-powered searchlights positioned at the opening. Outside, the sky was still filled with stars.

"All the shell people inside are dead. You can search without worry," Old Xu said to a Noncommissioned Officer outside the opening as soon as he got out.

He once again took out his investigation team credentials.

The Noncommissioned Officer waved a dismissive hand, indicating he didn’t want to see it, then asked wearily, "Old Xu, what have you gotten yourself into now?"

Hearing this, Old Xu was stunned. "You know me?"

"Who in Oasis City *doesn’t* know you?" The Noncommissioned Officer then looked at Li Luo and Li Xiangyi, admonishing them. "You two are causing trouble with him as well?"

"Causing trouble? We stopped the shell people’s invasion!" Old Xu was furious and yelled angrily at the Noncommissioned Officer.

"Alright, alright. We’ll conduct our own investigation." The Noncommissioned Officer’s attitude was extremely perfunctory.

He then sighed. "The earthquake isn’t even over, and now the shell people are invading again. What a mess."

"There’s still an earthquake?" Old Xu asked in surprise.

"Yes. The entire Oasis is experiencing small-scale earthquakes in various areas. Fissures have opened up in many places. We don’t know the cause. The geology department is still investigating," the Noncommissioned Officer explained.

He looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept all night.

"Oasis City is under total lockdown now. You should find a safe place to take shelter as soon as possible. Don’t run around. I’ll get the details about this incident from you later."

The Noncommissioned Officer was being very responsible. After telling them to find shelter, he went to personally direct his soldiers.

’So the earthquake of unknown origin is still ongoing?’ Mo Ling was puzzled.

This earthquake was indeed strange.

Judging from what the Noncommissioned Officer had just said, it was a series of small-scale earthquakes with a long duration.

"This doesn’t feel like an earthquake," Li Luo said doubtfully after a moment of thought, shaking her head.

But for now, there was no other explanation.

"It’s very similar to the ley line fluctuations in the underground waterway," Old Xu added.

The group discussed it for a long time as they walked away from the plaza, even looking up information, but they couldn’t find any records of similar events.

Many facilities in the core district were teetering from the earthquake. Some streetlights and benches had already vanished, possibly swallowed by fissures in the ground.

But the ground now showed no trace of them.

Just like when the three of them had fallen into the underground waterway, those strange fissures would vanish quickly, as if the earth had suddenly repaired itself.

As the group puzzled over this, a rumbling sound suddenly echoed from nearby. It seemed an earthquake was happening not far away.

The ground began to sway, but they could still keep their footing. The quake didn’t seem to be affecting their immediate area.

"The range really is limited."

Still, the expressions on their faces were grim. Although the earthquake’s range was small, having witnessed those bizarre fissures, no one would treat it lightly.

That rumbling sound continued. In the distance, buildings swayed like ships on a stormy sea, looking as if they might collapse at any moment.

However, the construction materials used in Oasis City seemed to be of high quality. The buildings weren’t actually affected, they just looked especially precarious.

Old Xu was still concentrating, sensing the changes.

"The danger level is still rising. Everything is changing violently. Places that had negative readings are now positive." He looked extremely worried. "It’s dangerous everywhere. Oasis City’s crisis may have only just begun."

At his words, Li Xiangyi’s face paled. "Is it a major crisis? Stay closer to me, don’t get separated."

"Don’t worry. Oasis City has deep foundations. It can withstand any crisis, no matter how great. Besides, for now, this just looks like a natural disaster," Old Xu said reassuringly.

"I’m more worried about the Wishing Spring." Old Xu glanced back toward the plaza, his face filled with anxiety.

The earthquakes continued, and it seemed that loud rumbling was coming from all directions.

"It seems to be getting more frequent."

"Yes."

Some fissures even spread to the group’s vicinity.

Old Xu observed them for a long time before saying, perplexed, "Something’s not right. Why aren’t these fissures disappearing?"

Dawn was about to break, but the sky was growing darker.

The rumbling of the fissures sounded like the roars of wild beasts, exceptionally jarring in the silence.

The earthquake near the plaza ended, but this fissure did not disappear.

Using the light from the dome, the group carefully observed the fissure.

The dark fissure was like a scar on the earth, forcibly splitting the once-whole road in two.

The branching cracks stretched from the distance, sprawling menacingly...

Soon, the first ray of morning sun shone down.

Some white specks, like motes of dust or smoke, became exceptionally clear under the dawn light.

Old Xu stared at the fine white specks rising from the fissure and suddenly shouted:

"That’s mirage!"