I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 102

“In the battlefield, the participating tribes completely match the real tribes,” said the Ancient Mineral Tribe.

“Then why was I an Olivine Tribe  member?” Mo Ling asked in confusion.

“Because the incentive signal couldn’t detect your tribe, so it assigned you randomly.”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe pointed at the map and began to explain.

The distribution of mineral veins in this battlefield was just something he divided up for convenience-rare minerals on the outer edges, common minerals clustered in the center.

So at first, these mineral tribes fought only their own kind, then those in the same faction nearby, and finally enemies from the other faction.

At first, the pressure of battle wasn’t high, so the resulting fear was less. As the fighting reached later stages, the fear gradually increased.

The farther from their original vein, the stronger the fear became.

This difference in fear kept affecting the descendants subconsciously, resulting in the strange faction distribution seen in reality.

That method of destroying mineral veins also stayed in their subconscious, creating the so-called “extermination tactics .”

“They don’t know the source of their fear, but from the first attack, war becomes inevitable.”

The more intense the war, the deeper the impact of fear, eventually leading to the current situation in the Needle Stone Forest .

After learning the cause of the war, Mo Ling was still puzzled and asked, “Why does the incentive signal get stronger as the war fades?”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe explained, “Because when I sense, in my muddled state, that the descendants have lost their vitality, I slowly strengthen the signal. I can’t control it myself.”

Hearing this, Mo Ling finally connected some of the things that had happened in the Needle Stone Forest.

But Mo Ling found there were still many things that didn’t make sense.

“Why was he also affected by the incentive signal, and why didn’t he forget what happened in the battlefield?”

“Where did the fifth batch of descendants go?”

And how did the red cloth  suddenly appear among the Natural Gas Tribe ?

……

Mo Ling wanted to keep asking, but the Ancient Mineral Tribe had already stood up.

“There’s one last thing to do, to give all this a perfect ending.”

He suddenly glanced at Mo Ling and said, “Don’t make trouble in a moment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, everything around collapsed again, darkness flashed, and Mo Ling was back inside the stone sphere .

“He didn’t even finish talking.” Mo Ling was a little frustrated.

At this moment, Shi Beng was standing beside him, as if sensing something.

“Did his battlefield memories disappear?” Mo Ling glanced at Shi Beng a few times but couldn’t see any difference.

While pondering the meaning of the Ancient Mineral Tribe’s last words, Mo Ling noticed the entire Needle Stone Forest begin to shake.

The violent tremors even started collapsing the passages inside the stone sphere.

Seeing the entrance open, Mo Ling and Shi Beng quickly escaped the stone sphere.

Ci Xing  was anxiously waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

When he saw Shi Beng come out of the stone, Ci Xing immediately shouted, “Brother Shi Beng, what exactly did you experience inside the stone sphere?”

Mo Ling also looked at Shi Beng expectantly, waiting for his answer.

“The incentive signal pulled me into a virtual battlefield. I fought a battle,” Shi Beng answered seriously.

“He didn’t forget!” Mo Ling was a bit surprised.

“What exactly does the Ancient Mineral Tribe want to do?”

The tremors grew more and more intense, the ground shaking, stones falling from above, and Ci Xing’s expression grew heavier. He crouched down and felt the ground with his hand.

After a while, he said in shock, “This is an earthquake!”

An earthquake?

Does the Ancient Mineral Tribe want to destroy this batch of descendants again? Is this the “perfect ending” he spoke of?

Everyone hurriedly left the black stone pillar. By now, most of Neon Village’s  buildings had collapsed, and the supporting pillars were badly damaged.

The prisms that once refracted sunlight had also fallen to the ground, making the entire Neon Village extremely dim.

Then, from one side of Neon Village, a gray creature suddenly burst out from a stone pillar.

It was the Ancient Mineral Tribe from the virtual battlefield!

“Why is he here again?”

As soon as the Ancient Mineral Tribe appeared, he charged at the group, forcing everyone to scatter, then chased after Shi Beng.

Light swirled in his eyes, and a familiar rainbow-colored beam shot toward Shi Beng.

His target was only Shi Beng!

Swept by the intense, high-temperature light, Shi Beng instantly transformed into his molten form and charged at the Ancient Mineral Tribe.

Looks like Shi Beng really remembers what happened in the battlefield.

His combat experience had stayed with him.

Shi Beng dashed at the Ancient Mineral Tribe, suddenly raising his arm and spraying magma, enveloping the Ancient Mineral Tribe.

But the Ancient Mineral Tribe simply stepped forward, abandoning his magma,covered body and instantly regenerating ahead.

Such fast recovery!

“Molten rock isn’t enough!” the Ancient Mineral Tribe’s heavy voice rang out. “You need more!”

A fist, carrying a powerful gust, swung out and smashed down at Shi Beng. Shi Beng had to cross all four arms to block the heavy punch.

Fortunately, the Ancient Mineral Tribe’s strength wasn’t overwhelming and didn’t harm Shi Beng.

But then something terrifying happened, a golden color spread from the spot where Shi Beng was hit, crawling rapidly over his whole body. Realizing something was wrong, Shi Beng quickly pushed the Ancient Mineral Tribe away.

But the golden spread was unavoidable, quickly covering Shi Beng’s entire body.

“This is gold! Feel it, it’s soft, but very tough,” the Ancient Mineral Tribe shouted.

After a moment, the Ancient Mineral Tribe charged at Shi Beng again. Before Shi Beng could fully adapt, a punch landed on his jaw.

A crystalline material instantly spread over Shi Beng’s jaw, then changed his entire body to the same material.

“This is diamond! Extremely hard, able to withstand most attacks,” the Ancient Mineral Tribe shouted again.

This time, Shi Beng adapted much faster. Once he got used to the diamond body, he charged at the Ancient Mineral Tribe again.

However, a thin rainbow beam shot out, instantly hitting Shi Beng’s abdomen.

After being hit, Shi Beng’s diamond body was instantly covered in mottled colors, and he was frozen in place, unable to move.

“Very hard, but poor thermal stability, easily destabilized by uneven heating,” the Ancient Mineral Tribe explained, shaking his head.

He slowly walked up to the immobilized Shi Beng, tapped his shoulder, and changed his body to another material.

The Ancient Mineral Tribe seemed to be toying with Shi Beng, constantly changing his body’s material and narrating the properties of each mineral.

……

“Natural gas, flammable.”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe turned Shi Beng into natural gas, then, with rainbow light swirling in his eyes, fired another thin, high-temperature beam.

But this time, when the rainbow beam hit Shi Beng, there was no expected explosion.

A solid black rock flake appeared at the spot where Shi Beng was hit, blocking the high-temperature beam.

Seeing this, the Ancient Mineral Tribe’s eyes suddenly filled with satisfaction, and then countless rainbow beams shot toward Shi Beng.

Then, he raised both fists, turning them into diamond, and lunged at Shi Beng.

But those hard fists were blocked by a huge golden shield, and the fists became stuck in the shield, unable to move.

Then a small opening appeared in the center of the shield, and a stream of gas sprayed out, reforming into Shi Beng’s figure in the air.

A sweeping kick lashed out, sending the Ancient Mineral Tribe flying.

But in the blink of an eye, the two were fighting again, their bodies constantly changing materials.

The Ancient Mineral Tribe’s strong, ringing explanations echoed across the battlefield.