I'm Trapped in the Block

The dents and scratches were familiar. Mo Ling knew the marks on the coke can well. It was the very can he had used countless times to practice his abilities.

It was also the one he had instructed the Little Elf to bring to him in the future.

But right now, the coke can didn’t feel old at all, as if time had no effect on it.

’An aluminum can takes 200 years to decompose, but the coke inside must have dried up long ago, right?’

As he was thinking this, the Little Elf shook the can, and the sound of sloshing liquid came from within.

"I treated your request as a wish and it was successfully granted, so I was able to lock the coke can’s state in time," the Little Elf explained, seeing Mo Ling’s confusion.

So that’s how it was. It dawned on Mo Ling.

However, the Little Elf’s next words gave Mo Ling a fright.

"I helped you fulfill your wish. Now, it’s time for you to pay the price," the Little Elf said seriously.

Mo Ling froze.

’So that was the catch.’

Seeing Mo Ling standing there in a daze, the Little Elf finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. "Just kidding," it said cheerfully. "There’s no price. I just wanted to ask you for a small favor."

Hearing this, Mo Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Just tell me. It’s the least I can do."

Seeing that Mo Ling had agreed, the Little Elf pointed to the rift, which had not yet disappeared. "I’m going to enter this coke can in a moment. Can you help me take it over there?"

Mo Ling followed its finger to the rift and asked doubtfully, "The sea?"

"Yes, into the sea. That place is the 3rd Floor of the Abyss," the Little Elf confirmed with a nod.

By now, the Vortex Turtle was nowhere to be seen; it seemed to have plunged into the sea long ago. The rift was still pouring out seawater, watering the desert.

Mo Ling nodded.

He didn’t know how long he could maintain his current state and knew he had to complete the Little Elf’s request as quickly as possible.

"Go on in. I’ll take you there."

"Okay."

The Little Elf handed the coke can back to Mo Ling.

It wasn’t heavy at all, but it felt weighty in Mo Ling’s hands.

Though it looked like an ordinary can of coke, Mo Ling knew it probably had the most eventful life of any coke can in history.

The Little Elf floated in the air, gathering all the surrounding golden light into its body.

It looked back one last time at where the fountain had been, a reluctant fondness in its gaze, before diving straight into the coke can.

"Let’s go," the Little Elf’s tiny voice came from Mo Ling’s hand.

Clutching the can tightly, Mo Ling found a deserted spot and flew toward the rift in the sky.

Perhaps because the rift was so enormous, it looked close, but Mo Ling flew for a long time without reaching it.

As he flew, Mo Ling couldn’t help but ask the Little Elf in the can, "Why are you going to the 3rd Floor of the Abyss?"

The Little Elf was silent for a long while before answering Mo Ling’s question.

"Because I’m no longer in Oasis City’s future."

’The future?’

"What do you mean?" Mo Ling pressed, confused.

"Although I can’t see my own future, I know there is no Wishing Spring in the Oasis’s future. The disappearance of this ’character’ means I either died or went somewhere else."

The Little Elf sounded deeply dejected.

"Oasis City never really needed me. To them, I’m now just a relic that will cause endless trouble."

Hearing this, Mo Ling instantly understood.

To Oasis City, the Little Elf was little more than an uncontrollable relic. During this crisis, it had also "punished" many people.

Although it had its reasons, the acts were indeed committed by the Little Elf itself.

No one would know why the Little Elf did what it did. No one would understand the Little Elf’s "final wish" plan.

Except for Mo Ling.

Once he understood, Mo Ling was at a loss for words.

The Little Elf was the relic that had silently saved Oasis City, but it would likely be vilified for its actions.

The people of Oasis City would never be able to understand what the Little Elf did, and the Wishing Spring would never be opened again.

If the Little Elf stayed in Oasis City, the best it could hope for was to be sealed away, never to see the light of day.

The Vortex Turtle had fled, but the crisis in Oasis City needed a conclusion.

The little boy was the hero who saved Oasis City.

So what about the Demon King? 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"People sing the praises of heroes and condemn Demon Kings. This is the fate of all stories," the Little Elf explained. "The simpler the story, the more memorable it is."

"And the easier it is for the public to accept."

"It’s not some convoluted tale about a ’final wish’ or ’everyone’s sacrifice.’ Things like that don’t resonate with people."

"Compared to a hero who saved the world, a non-human who saved the world is unacceptable."

"I know humans."

Hearing these familiar-sounding words, Mo Ling thought of something and couldn’t help but ask, ’The world is a novel? And the protagonist can only be human?’

But Mo Ling’s question seemed to stun the Little Elf.

After a long time, the Little Elf asked, sounding speechless:

"Are you from the Dream Realm Sect?"

"..."

This conversation felt oddly familiar.

"Ahem, I’m not," Mo Ling denied quickly. "It’s just that what you said sounds a lot like something someone I know once said."

"But aren’t you being a bit too absolute? Are humans really that shallow?" Mo Ling still couldn’t bring himself to agree.

"This isn’t shallowness, it’s a racial trait of humans, just as the Shell People have their own racial traits. It’s an unchangeable fact."

The Little Elf changed the subject. "Only humans would believe the world is a novel, because from a human perspective, the world is a narrative. It follows the flow of time and space, with a beginning, a development, a turn, and a conclusion."

"Then what about from a non-human perspective?" Mo Ling asked curiously.

"Just think about Li Xiangyi’s perspective. That is a non-human perspective. The world is composed of a series of abstract images, without time or space. The fact that she can still act like a normal person is already quite amazing," the Little Elf remarked.

Hearing this, Mo Ling recalled Li Xiangyi’s behavior. He could only say that it was a bit peculiar compared to a normal person, but not outside the bounds of normalcy.

"Will she really continue to live a normal life in Oasis City?" Mo Ling still found it hard to believe.

"I don’t know. I can’t see that far ahead," the Little Elf answered bluntly.

As they talked, they were already getting closer and closer to the rift.

From a distance, it looked like just a "crack," but up close, he realized the gash—large enough for the Vortex Turtle to pass through—was more like a "chasm" tearing the sky apart.

An endless torrent of seawater poured out from it, cascading down into the desert.

"Get close to the upper edge of the rift. You should be able to put me in there," the Little Elf reminded him.

Mo Ling nodded and flew toward the upper part of the rift.

The edge of the rift was smooth like a shard of broken glass, with fine cracks even spreading into the surrounding sky.

Only when he was near did he realize how powerful the force of the water was.

Under the immense pressure, seawater jetted out from the rift like water from a burst pipe.

Not only that, but the fine cracks were also slowly widening.