I'm Trapped in the Block

The sand ship sped past, and in the blink of an eye, the mummy jellyfish that had been lying in wait was gone.

Li Luo was still staring blankly at the electronic screen in her hand. It took her a moment to come to her senses and turn it off.

’What a strange and terrifying creature.’

The ocean is the cradle of life, full of unknowns—especially a sea within the Abyss.

The sand ship hadn’t traveled far before Mo Ling spotted all sorts of other creatures:

Giant sharks with mouths full of sharp teeth, hunting by sheer size and force.

Strange fish with both fins and four limbs, darting between the sand waves and the sea.

Blue, current-like seaweed that covered entire regions of the sea, its color blending in so perfectly that it was nearly invisible at a glance, its surface covered in soft, venomous stingers.

And striped Sea Serpents that lived among the venomous seaweed, covered in feathers despite being underwater, spiraling forward as they moved.

...

As the sand ship advanced, it was also attacked by a few creatures.

But after discovering they couldn’t damage the hull at all, these creatures would scurry away.

There were also some barnacle-like creatures that had latched onto the hull unnoticed, constantly trying to drill through it.

To deal with this, the sand ship activated the central hourglass again, and the entire vessel began to emit a low hum.

A repulsive force instantly covered the sand ship’s surface, clearing all the barnacles away.

The light grew brighter and the sand waves slowed, suggesting they weren’t far from their destination.

Many small Vortex Turtles followed alongside the sand ship. They seemed to have discovered that the ship could break through "roadblocks," making it relatively safer to stay nearby.

"Prepare to exit the sand waves." Over the intercom, Captain He’s tone was as calm and casual as ever.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the sand above began to thin.

The last of the sand waves pushed the sand ship onto a calm sea surface, then slowly receded in the direction it came from.

The small Vortex Turtles around the sand ship also dove into the sea and disappeared.

These lucky little ones had won the first race of their lives. Many more races awaited them in the future.

The sand ship drifted forward on its momentum. This went on for a long time.

After about half an hour, Captain He’s voice came over the intercom again:

"Congratulations on reaching the 3rd Floor of the Abyss—the Infinite Sea."

"The entry point is secure. You can all get some fresh air now."

As he spoke, the upper hull of the sand ship slowly opened.

Blinding sunlight poured down from above, leaving everyone momentarily dazed.

When they came to, sunlight had already flooded the cabin, and a fresh sea breeze was blowing in from afar.

Waves gently lapped against the hull. The sand ship floated steadily on the water, looking much more like a conventional "ship" now.

Just as Captain He had said, fresh air rushed into the cabin, blowing away the stuffy air.

The shimmering water swayed gently. The sea here seemed very calm. Some of the vanguards had already walked out onto the highest platform and begun to stretch.

Li Luo followed the crowd onto the platform.

Most of these vanguards had experience riding sand ships, so this voyage wasn’t anything new to them, but the platform was still abuzz with conversation:

"This trip went smoothly. We didn’t run into any terrifying creatures. Last time we encountered that Abyssal Whale... even thinking about it now is scary."

"Yeah, and the entry point was calm. This looks like an established route, too. It only took Captain He half an hour to pinpoint our location."

"Captain He is an old hand; of course he’s fast at getting a fix. But I remember this place, too. It’s a pretty calm stretch of sea."

"Really? Where is this?"

"Should be the route between Glass Island Base and Fishman Island, right? We’re right on it. We might even see a ship from the Glass Island Base soon."

"This maiden voyage was a success. The entry point from Oasis City’s port is so good, it’s definitely going to get busy in the future."

"I’m thinking of becoming a permanent crew member based in Oasis City..."

The vanguards all wore relaxed smiles, seemingly pleased with the smooth voyage.

The sea breeze swept over the sand ship. Li Luo moved through the crowd to the edge, leaned against the railing, and gazed into the distance.

Li Luo, carrying a giant Block, soon drew the attention of others.

As soon as she reached the edge of the platform, a middle-aged man in sunglasses struck up a conversation with her.

"First time on the 3rd Floor of the Abyss?" He seemed to have pegged her as a rookie at a glance.

"That’s right." Li Luo nodded. "How did you know?"

"Your nameplate hasn’t changed yet. Second-level Hunter." The man in sunglasses pointed to Li Luo’s nameplate.

"..."

Li Luo fell silent.

"What are you doing on the 3rd Floor of the Abyss?" the man in sunglasses asked curiously.

"Going to the 4th Floor."

"And what are you doing on the 4th Floor?"

"Going down to the 5th Floor."

"..."

This time, it was the man in sunglasses who was speechless.

"Alright, you’re trying to reach the Bottom of the Abyss, aren’t you?" The man in sunglasses finally understood. "Young people these days sure are driven."

To ease the awkwardness, the man in sunglasses pointed to the sea horizon and said to Li Luo, "If you’re heading to the 4th Floor, you might have to leave early."

"Why?" Li Luo was confused by his words.

"It’s because of the shipping routes," the man explained to Li Luo.

The 3rd Floor of the Abyss is vast. Humanity has yet to discover the boundaries of this Sea of Abyss.

Human exploration of the 3rd Floor is still in a very limited stage.

Humans explore the 3rd Floor using established routes. These routes are like the branches of a tree, with a main trunk and various forks.

Generally, island bases are established at the starting nodes of different route branches to facilitate connection and coordination between them.

However, the passages to the 4th Floor are mostly located at the ends of these different branches.

Heading to a node and heading to the end of a branch are two different directions.

"After entering the sea, a sand ship’s first priority is to head to an island base. If you want to go to the end of a route, you have to leave early. Otherwise, you’ll have to backtrack," the man in sunglasses explained patiently.

"So, in the direction of Fishman Island?" Li Luo understood now and asked for clarification.

The man in sunglasses nodded. "Yes. The sand ship has to report to Glass Island Base, but it will also contact another vessel first to take some people in the other direction. This temporary stop is probably for them to make contact."

Sure enough, before the man had even finished speaking, the intercom came on again: "The vessel bound for Fishman Island is approaching. All passengers heading to Fishman Island, please prepare to transfer."

The man in sunglasses pointed to a small dot in the distance. "That should be the transport ship that runs between Glass Island and Fishman Island. What a coincidence."

He smiled at Li Luo. "You should go pack your things."

Li Luo quickly thanked him and returned to her room to pack...

A short while later, the intercom announced that the ship had arrived.

When Li Luo arrived at the transfer passage, Captain He was already there, chatting with the transport ship’s captain.

"We just got here. What a coincidence that you were nearby."

The captain laughed and waved his hand. "It’s not a coincidence. The Fishmen have been trading for a lot of things from us lately. I’ve been running back and forth on this route. I came right over when I got the notice, and it was a short trip."

"Is something going on?" Captain He asked, puzzled.

"Their traditional festival is coming up. It seems like they’re planning to go all out, so their demand for supplies is pretty high."

"A traditional festival?"

"Yeah, it’s called... the Sea Moon Rite, I think?"