I'm Trapped in the Block

Mo Ling was immersed in the golden, shimmering surface of the sea, as if watching a very long movie.

He was in the middle of the great sea, drifting with the current, letting the waves carry him everywhere. The golden light wrapped him in its warmth as he floated up and down with the surf.

This illusory scene came to an abrupt end after he saw a burst of golden light flashing with a regular rhythm.

When Mo Ling came to his senses, all he saw were familiar metal walls. He was back inside the Block.

He was lying on Martin’s bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The bed, which had once been incredibly hard, was now exceptionally soft.

An empty soda can lay beside his hand.

The ceiling seemed to have gotten much higher. Mo Ling turned his head and saw that the space inside the Block had doubled again, becoming 4m x 4m x 4m.

A large section had been cleared, and the things that were originally in the corner were now in the center of the Block.

Mo Ling quickly stood up and extended his vision outward. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Sure enough, his field of vision had also doubled. But from the outside, the Block was still just as small, showing no change at all.

’Is it because I went to the 3rd Floor of the Abyss?’

Mo Ling hadn’t expected such a reward. Moreover, now that he was back on the 2nd Floor of the Abyss, the expanded space hadn’t disappeared at all.

’This change seems to be permanent.’

Looking up at the sky, the fissure connecting to the deep sea was gone.

’But something’s not quite right.’

Although the fissure had closed, the streams of water had yet to hit the ground.

Mo Ling saw streams of water floating in the air in the distance; some were even drifting up toward the sky.

The shapes of these streams were constantly twisting and changing, as if being blown by the wind.

Suddenly, Mo Ling understood why.

’The Block is falling too!’

Realizing this, he immediately stabilized the Block. The streams of water also returned to normal, flowing downward.

Phew~

Mo Ling let out a sigh of relief. Because he couldn’t see the changes in the distant scenery from inside the Block, he hadn’t even felt that he was falling.

If he’d been any later, the Block might have smashed violently into the ground.

’I wonder how far I am from the ground now.’

Shaken by the lingering fear, Mo Ling quickly flew downward, and it wasn’t long before he saw the ground.

It was the farmland outside the city, now completely submerged in seawater.

Spotting the farmland, Mo Ling quickly got his bearings and flew toward Oasis City.

All sorts of candies were still outside the high walls. Mo Ling flew past the gummy bears and headed into the city.

’My flight speed can be much faster now.’

Mo Ling’s flight speed was limited by his field of vision. He could actually fly very fast, but with a limited view, flying too quickly meant he wouldn’t have time to react to things appearing ahead. That’s why he had always been very careful.

Before long, Mo Ling steered the Block back to the spot where he had last seen Li Luo and the others.

But the crowd had dispersed, and only a few residents were voluntarily cleaning up the leftover candy fragments.

The giant lollipops suspended in the sky had become a safety hazard after the crisis.

Under the sun’s rays, shards of candy from the lollipops were constantly falling from the sky in increasingly large chunks.

Falling from such a height, they were undoubtedly a great danger.

Pockmarks could already be seen on the road surface where it had been struck by candy chunks.

The city guard had set up a cordon and covered the ground with a tough, nylon-like fabric. Candy chunks that hit it left only faint white marks.

As he flew up to some of the lower-hanging lollipops, Mo Ling saw guards using relics to clear away the candy orbs on top.

It was a relic that looked like a feather duster.

After a guard tickled a candy orb with the feather duster, the orb instantly softened, detached from its stick, and flew toward the sky like a balloon.

These candy-orb-turned-balloons drifted farther and farther, blown into the distance by the wind.

It seemed that feather duster had the ability to make objects lighter.

’What a strange relic.’

Musing to himself, Mo Ling followed the path from memory back to Old Xu’s sheet metal house.

He guessed Li Luo and the others were all here.

Sure enough, just as he passed through the alley, Mo Ling saw a glum Li Luo sitting in the yard.

As if by telepathy, Li Luo suddenly turned her head and looked at the Block.

Realizing it was indeed the Block, she shot to her feet, vaulted right over the low wooden fence, and rushed toward it.

"Where did you run off to?"

As soon as she reached the Block, she pulled all sorts of food from her backpack and piled it on top.

It seemed she was afraid the Block was hungry.

Too much had happened recently, so Mo Ling had to make a long story short, briefly explaining how he had gotten trapped in a historical illusion.

"Stick close to me next time. Don’t fly so high."

"It’s good you’re back."

Her glum expression finally vanished, replaced by one of relief.

With the Block in tow, Li Luo vaulted over the fence again and entered Old Xu’s yard.

Old Xu watched Li Luo’s antics speechlessly, then pointed to the gate at the side and reminded her, "The gate is over there."

"Oh." Li Luo glanced back and replied nonchalantly.

Old Xu shook his head helplessly. "As long as you found it. Come, have some tea."

Then, as if he’d just thought of something, he looked at the Block and asked, "Does your relic eat everything? Does it drink tea?"

His eyes were full of curiosity.

"I don’t know. Maybe?" Li Luo looked curious as well.

Old Xu quickly poured a cup of tea, stood up, and placed it on the Block.

Seeing this, Mo Ling paused for a moment before bringing the teacup inside.

...

Old Xu’s tea had a faint floral aroma, but within it was an exceptionally unique flavor. It was as sweet as honey, yet it also rushed straight to his head with an intense coolness, like mint.

Not only that, the flavor also had a lychee-like fragrance. But this unique taste didn’t overshadow the main profile at all; it blended perfectly with the floral notes, fully liberating their aroma.

For a moment, Mo Ling couldn’t tell if he was drinking tea or some other delicious beverage.

The flavor seemed to have a magical power that transformed the originally astringent tea into something incredibly smooth.

As the tea flowed down Mo Ling’s throat, he could feel a viscosity similar to that of loquat syrup, yet it wasn’t cloying. It flowed effortlessly into his stomach.

’This is delicious.’

It wasn’t just delicious; Mo Ling felt a sense of comfort spread throughout his entire body.

All his fatigue was washed away by this single cup of tea, and even his body felt lighter. He wasn’t sure if it was just a psychological effect.

Before he knew it, Mo Ling had drunk every last drop of the tea in his hand.

He reluctantly teleported the teacup back onto Old Xu’s table, then looked at Old Xu expectantly.

But Old Xu seemed to have no intention of pouring the Block another cup.

"See? I told you. Even a relic can’t resist this flavor. It definitely wants another cup right now," Old Xu said proudly. "How about it? Should I pour you two a cup? Want to try?"

But Li Luo and Li Xiangyi, who were sitting opposite him, both waved their hands frantically, seeming to vehemently reject Old Xu’s tea.

Mo Ling watched this scene, completely bewildered.

’What’s wrong?’

’Why won’t they drink it?’

’If you won’t drink it, I will!’ Mo Ling still couldn’t forget that special taste.

Old Xu also had a look of incomprehension and started lecturing again:

"You all care too much about appearances. That’s a huge disadvantage in the Abyss. Sometimes, you just have to be bold and try new things..."

As he spoke, he picked up a small bottle from the table and poured its contents into the teapot.

Mo Ling stared blankly at the bottle as a series of images began to replay in his mind.

He thought he was beginning to remember what was in that bottle.