I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 103

Mo Ling wanted to join the fray, but remembering what the Ancient Mineral Tribe had said earlier, he decided to observe and see what the Ancient Mineral Tribe wanted to do.

The battle grew more intense.

“Is he teaching Shi Beng how to control materials?”

The more Mo Ling watched, the more it seemed the Ancient Mineral Tribe was instructing, and Shi Beng gradually began to adapt to the rhythm of the fight.

Slowly, the battle shifted from one-sided domination to a back-and-forth exchange, and Shi Beng became increasingly adept at using different materials.

Their fight was so loud that many villagers who had fled Neon Village were drawn to the area.

After understanding the situation, the villagers joined the battle, unleashing all their abilities against the Ancient Mineral Tribe.

In an instant, all kinds of minerals flew, and crystals and stone pillars of various shapes battered the Ancient Mineral Tribe.

But Mo Ling noticed someone different on the battlefield-Ci Xing.

Ci Xing’s expression was extremely complicated; his gaze at the Ancient Mineral Tribe was not just angry.

“There was also worry?”

Mo Ling checked several times and found that Ci Xing really kept his eyes on the Ancient Mineral Tribe.

Ci Xing didn’t join the fight like everyone else, but stood quietly at the back, as if deep in thought.

While Mo Ling was puzzled, the battle was nearing its end.

Though the villagers of Neon Village seemed gentle, in battle they were incredibly fierce.

The Vein Mutation Disease had given them great power. Though they didn’t have Shi Beng’s material control, they used their abilities to the fullest.

They could manipulate minerals over a wide area, and with great precision. These non-combatant Vein Mutation Disease patients now showed unmatched fighting power.

The besieged Ancient Mineral Tribe soon couldn’t hold out. Standing in the center, he looked around at the villagers, and satisfaction reappeared on his face.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed Ci Xing in the distance. When he saw Ci Xing’s complicated gaze, the satisfaction vanished instantly.

What followed was astonishment and confusion.

“What’s going on?” Mo Ling was completely baffled by their eye contact.

While the Ancient Mineral Tribe was in a daze, Shi Beng and the villagers swarmed him, and all kinds of attacks instantly overwhelmed the stunned Ancient Mineral Tribe.

When the dust settled, only half a body remained on the ground.

Gray fragments were scattered everywhere. Shi Beng walked up, standing before the Ancient Mineral Tribe, his clenched fists still not relaxing.

But the shattered body showed no sign of recovery; aside from a vaguely human shape, it was just a roadside stone.

Cracks covered it, and the mouth moved slightly.

“Fear? Not bad.”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe muttered these words, then fell silent.

With his death, the earthquake that had shaken the world suddenly stopped, as if someone had pressed pause.

Only the swaying pillars and collapsed buildings proved anything had happened.

Cracks covered the stone walls, and broken stones kept falling.

But the terrifying tremor from deep underground was gone.

The earthquake had vanished.

The villagers of Neon Village stood dazed for a moment, then quickly spread out to check the area.

But everyone stayed vigilant-the sudden stop of the earthquake was too abrupt.

However, as time passed, they found that the earthquake really had stopped, and the villagers quickly mobilized to reinforce the damaged pillars.

Various minerals spread across the cracked stone walls, filling the widening gaps.

Temporary mesh supports quickly covered the whole hollow under the villagers’ efforts, and the prisms were repositioned.

Then a beam of sunlight pierced the gloom of Neon Village, and multicolored mineral dust floated through the air like rain.

Dust rose from the ruins, making the prism’s refracted beams especially dazzling.

In an instant, Neon Village sparkled like a fairyland.

All the villagers, seeing this, showed smiles of survivors.

“Is it really over?”

“It all happened so fast, Mo Ling could hardly believe it. Was this the perfect ending the Ancient Mineral Tribe meant?”

Ci Xing, who had acted so strangely before, now joined the reinforcement work.

But after reinforcing the nearby rock walls, he quietly walked to the shattered body of the Ancient Mineral Tribe.

Mo Ling still couldn’t read his complicated expression.

He slowly crouched down, picked up the gray fragments, wrapped them in magnetite, and buried them deep underground.

Afterward, he hurried back into the black stone pillar.

Curious, Mo Ling followed him, wanting to know what he was doing.

Noticing the cube following, Ci Xing didn’t try to stop him; instead, he opened the stone pillar’s entrance and let the cube in.

Following Ci Xing, Mo Ling,saw him heading underground; the black stone pillar’s walls had all been reinforced with magnetite and hadn’t collapsed in the earthquake.

“Was he checking if the research institute was damaged?”

But to Mo Ling’s surprise, Ci Xing finally stopped in front of the ruins of Civilization Number One.

He stood before the ruins and said sadly, “I’ve come to see you all…”

Mo Ling was stunned.

But then, Ci Xing suddenly turned and said to the cube, “I don’t know if a relic  like you can understand, but it’s nice to have something to talk to.”

He leaned against the wall, as if drained of all strength, and said tiredly, “It’s finally over.”

Ci Xing slid down the wall to the ground, instantly forming a blade with his arm and stabbing himself.

He stabbed himself several times, then seemed to find it too slow; his arm’s ripples trembled, and he pressed his hand to his chest, as if trying to shatter himself from within.

It all happened so fast, but Mo Ling reacted in time, instantly cutting off Ci Xing’s four arms to stop his self-harm.

“Why stop me? My mission is done. I should go join my companions,” Ci Xing said, slumped on the ground, his arms gone.

He didn’t try to recover, but leaned against the wall in despair.

“What is going on?” Mo Ling was anxious but had no way to ask.

“Who were the “companions” he spoke of?”

While Mo Ling was still confused, Ci Xing, sitting on the ground, suddenly buried his head in collapse.

“I think I’ve held on long enough. It should be over.”

Ci Xing bitterly complained about all sorts of things, as if venting his grievances to his “companions.”

He had clearly held it in for a long time, and now he rambled on in front of the cube, as if he’d found an outlet.

These fragments slowly let Mo Ling understand why Ci Xing wanted to kill himself.

……

Ci Xing was a survivor of the previous civilization