I'm Trapped in the Block

The Shrimp-headed Man’s fighting spirit seemed to ignite in an instant, and his voice became firm and resolute.

"I’ll go get them! Jeff, you wait here!" With that, the Shrimp-headed Man turned and ran up the mountain without looking back.

Only Jeff remained, standing his ground with a resolute expression.

Li Luo’s eyes widened as she watched the scene unfold.

Her gaze flickered between Jeff and the departing Shrimp-headed Man, her face a mask of disbelief.

"Do you really believe they’re Fishmen? Do you actually have missing kin on this island?"

"I do." Jeff nodded. "The waters around Fishman Island aren’t safe. We have many kin who have left and never returned."

"Do their names check out?" Li Luo asked suddenly, as if struck by a thought.

’If these Fake Fishmen really used to be Fishmen, then their names should match up.’

"They don’t. Their names have never been heard in Fishman Village. It’s like they appeared out of thin air."

"Never been heard of?" Li Luo was taken aback by his answer. "But doesn’t that prove they aren’t Fishmen?"

’She never imagined that even with such irrefutable proof, Jeff would still believe the Fake Fishmen.’

Jeff shook his head. "I’ve interacted with them. I trust my own judgment."

Jeff began to tell Li Luo about his first encounter with the Fake Fishmen.

These Fake Fishmen hadn’t always been here.

It was only after the fog began to thicken that these Fake Fishmen started to appear.

The first Fake Fishman to appear on the island was one of the Coral People.

He arrived on a self-made wooden boat, drifting to the island on the currents.

As soon as he reached Fishman Island, the Coral Person made his way back to Fishman Village with practiced ease, went straight to his "kin," and told them what he had been through.

At the time, no Fishman doubted him, because it was common for kin on Fishman Island to go missing by accident.

Changing one’s race was not an uncommon occurrence in the Abyss.

Besides, the Coral Person was far too familiar with Fishman Village. He could name every member of the tribe, knew the village layout intimately, and even recalled stories from the other Fishmen’s childhoods.

Not only that, but the Coral Person was fluent in the Fishman language and could use their abilities. Aside from his appearance, he was no different from any other Fishman.

The Fishmen were very accepting of new things, and they quickly welcomed the Coral Person into their village.

It was during this time that Jeff met the Coral Person.

Because of his changed appearance, the Coral Person drew many strange looks. Only Jeff treated him normally, which led to Jeff becoming his confidant.

The Coral Person often unburdened himself to Jeff, pouring out his troubles.

Beyond that, the Coral Person shared a wealth of knowledge with him. This was how Jeff began to learn about the world outside.

As a Fishman born and raised on the island, Jeff had no idea how vast the world was beyond Fishman Island. He had only a vague concept of it.

Without experience, his mind could not expand.

It’s like how someone who has never seen the ocean cannot possibly comprehend its magnificent expanse.

But through the Coral Person’s tales of adventure, Jeff vicariously experienced that magnificent ocean and journeyed through the endlessly surprising Abyss.

He was like the Little Fish from the ancient Fishman texts, swimming through the scenes of the Coral Person’s past.

Moreover, the Coral Person also taught Jeff the language of the Coral Race.

It was an art of "solidification."

A three-dimensional, graphical language formed from secreted calcium, it could convey the user’s intended meaning with incredible clarity.

Although Jeff lacked the ability to secrete calcium and thus could not speak this language, he learned how to read it—how to understand the marvelous expressions of the Coral Race.

As he immersed himself in that kaleidoscopic world, Jeff also came to appreciate the diversity of the Abyssal Races.

But the good times didn’t last. The Great Clan Leader suddenly ordered the Coral Person to be isolated, exiling him to the mountains far from the village.

The Coral Person tried to argue his case, but the Great Clan Leader asked him a single, devastating question—

"Does anyone in this village recognize you? Do they know your name?"

In disbelief, the Coral Person went through the whole village asking, but it was just as the Great Clan Leader had said: no one recognized him. Even his supposed "kin" were left speechless by his unfamiliar name.

And so, spiraling into self-doubt, the Coral Person left the village.

From then on, whenever Jeff had a spare moment, he would run up the mountain to talk with the Coral Person.

Jeff paid it no mind, even though the Great Clan Leader had issued an explicit order of isolation.

He continued to absorb knowledge of the outside world from the Coral Person with a ravenous hunger.

Soon, more and more Fake Fishmen began to appear on Fishman Island, each returning to Fishman Village in their own strange ways.

However, these Fake Fishmen, who came from a motley collection of races, all had one thing in common: they shared a similar "backstory," they were all intimately familiar with Fishman Village, and they all believed themselves to be Fishmen.

This eerie trait shared by the Fake Fishmen only intensified the prejudice and ostracism they faced from the other Fishmen.

The native Fishmen were deeply wary of these outsiders.

Who wouldn’t be afraid of a "stranger" who was intimately familiar with their home?

The Great Clan Leader’s "isolation plan" soon became the standard procedure, and all Fake Fishmen were driven into the mountains.

Jeff, on the other hand, was delighted.

He had learned all he could from the Coral Person, and these new Fake Fishmen brought entirely new knowledge with them.

Languages, cultures, experiences, technologies...

Every race was a book. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Every experience was a treasure.

Every Fake Fishman was a teacher.

As the only Fishman who visited the mountain, Jeff was very popular. The Fake Fishmen were friendly to him, not only teaching him what they knew and had seen, but also sharing the fascinating thoughts that filled their minds.

Jeff listened intently, using his own humble understanding to grasp these profound ideas and synthesize them.

Because most of these Fake Fishmen had lived for long periods as "outsiders" among other races, their perspectives and thoughts on various cultures were exceptionally "objective."

They didn’t offer blind praise, nor did they criticize without reason.

This "objective" and "rational" observer’s perspective was of great benefit to Jeff.

He was able to transcend the limitations of his own race and view these different cultures from a higher vantage point.

Jeff wasn’t particularly brilliant, but he was good at synthesizing information.

Gradually, as he learned about this diverse world, he also began to identify the common traits shared among sapient races.

As more and more Fake Fishmen arrived, Jeff began to understand the Great Clan Leader’s reasoning.

However, even when faced with the irrefutable proof that "no one remembered their names," Jeff still chose to believe them.

Because compared to anyone else in the village, Jeff had spent the most time with the Fake Fishmen. He trusted his own judgment.

And he trusted what he had seen with his own eyes.

Jeff looked at Li Luo and said earnestly,

"I can see it. You can’t fake the love they have for their people."

"The key to whether they are truly Fishmen isn’t their bodies, thoughts, experiences, language, or memories. It’s not even a so-called ’name’ that can prove their identity."

"The one thing that determines whether or not they are Fishmen..."

"...is ’Belonging.’"