I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 106

Tie Yu followed along, standing behind Ci Xing, watching him dig around in the dirt.

“Are you looking for something? Want me to help?” Tie Yu asked, eager to join in.

Ci Xing, long accustomed to solitude, only then realized there was someone else beside him, and was momentarily stunned.

“Help me find a piece of red cloth. It should be somewhere in this dirt nearby.”

“Okay!” Tie Yu immediately joined the treasure hunt.

But after the two of them turned over the whole area, they still couldn’t find that red headscarf. Ci Xing checked the box again-it was intact, with no sign it had ever been opened.

Yet the red headscarf had vanished into thin air.

Could be someone have stolen it?

Ci Xing tried to recall any traces around the tombstone, but he hadn’t paid attention before and couldn’t remember anything now.

He stood there in a daze, at a loss, guessing that maybe someone had taken the red headscarf to cause trouble.

This is bad. Even I only ever wore the red headscarf, never used its ability, so I don’t even know what might happen.

Tie Yu was still happily digging around. Seeing Ci Xing stop, he asked, “Why aren’t you digging anymore?”

Ci Xing stared blankly at the box for a long time, then shook his head.

“It’s fine. If we can’t find it, it’s not important.”

After restoring the area around the tombstone, Ci Xing took Tie Yu back home.

Tie Yu was still very curious about everything around him, and Ci Xing felt like he was seeing the newborns of his old civilization again.

All brats.

Tie Yu accidentally punched a hole in Ci Xing’s wall. Realizing his mistake, he secretly patched the gap with red crystal, then glanced back at Ci Xing.

Of course, Ci Xing saw it all, but he didn’t say anything.

Seeing that Ci Xing didn’t react, Tie Yu resumed exploring his home.

“I want to build a house too. Can you teach me?”

Hearing this, Ci Xing felt like he was hearing the voices of those little tagalongs from the past.

For a moment, the shadows of his old tribesmen and Tie Yu overlapped.

“Come on, I’ll teach you…”

Before long, more and more Vein Mutation Disease infected arrived here, spontaneously starting to build a village.

Most of these patients were newborns from various mineral veins, but there were also some older ones who had been transformed later in life.

Though their ages and backgrounds differed, they had all just gained emotions and new abilities, and everything around them was fresh and fascinating.

Ci Xing also realized he was different from them, his body didn’t have that sense of having been changed in material.

So, he used his magnetite ability to mix some metal into his surface layer, which could confuse the mineral tribes’ senses.

As he interacted with more and more Vein Mutation Disease infected, he slowly began to acquire the ability to sense body magnetic fields.

By now, the village was full of the infected, and since they all knew Ci Xing, they pushed him into the role of village chief.

He muddled into being chief, not caring much, just balancing his mission to investigate the source of disasters with his village duties.

Being busy made him feel alive.

“Are you looking for something? Want me to help?” Tie Yu followed Ci Xing again, still as lively as ever.

But this time, there were many curious villagers trailing behind Tie Yu.

Ci Xing didn’t know how to explain the earthquake, so he led them around the Needle Stone Forest to research things.

He had the villagers help collect information, and in the process, helped them rediscover the world.

Soon, these villagers could explore on their own.

Then came the start of the archaeological movement, the discovery of the previous civilization’s ruins, and even the incentive signal  was found by these villagers.

Ci Xing slowly regained the feeling of home.

“Ci Xing! Put some magnetite in this stone sphere, carry it around the Needle Stone Forest, and let’s see where the signal is strongest!”

Tie Yu rushed into Ci Xing’s now-unrecognizable home, shouting excitedly.

“Oh, okay.”

……

At this point, Ci Xing slumped to the ground, a smile on his face.

But cracks began to appear in his body, as if he was about to burst apart from within.

Mo Ling also noticed Ci Xing’s movements, but was powerless to help.

At that critical moment, a red figure rushed down the passage, interrupting Ci Xing’s suicide attempt.

“Ci Xing! What are you doing here, are you hurt?”

Noticing something was wrong, the red figure rushed over, anxiously looking at him.

“Why aren’t you recovering, what’s going on?”

The red figure reached out, wanting to help Ci Xing up, but didn’t know how, so his hand just trembled in the air.

Ci Xing’s expression changed several times, as if struggling inside.

“Tie Yu, do you want to be village chief?”

Tie Yu, anxiously trying to help, complained, “What are you talking about? I don’t want to be chief, you’re the only one who can do it.”

“It’s just a greeter. Anyone can do it,” Ci Xing said seriously, not joking.

Tie Yu was stunned for a moment, then angrily retorted, “It’s not just a greeter, it’s the most important position in the village!”

He started counting off on his fingers.

“The chief has to guide lost companions in, comfort people, explain the details of Vein Mutation Disease, and introduce the village.”

“You have to take newcomers all over Neon Village tell them what they can and can’t do.”

“You have to tell new companions where they can build houses, how to reinforce them, and how not to affect the surrounding buildings.”

“You have to lead everyone in building public facilities, fix broken lighting, reopen damaged roads, and this earthquake’s reconstruction will take a long time.”

“And you have to keep researching the Needle Stone Forest-there’s so much we don’t understand, and even when we do, you have to lead everyone out of the Stone Forest to explore the whole Abyss !”

“……”

Tie Yu went on and on about the chief’s duties, down to every detail, even listing many unrealistic ideas, making Ci Xing laugh.

He shook his head and said to Tie Yu, “Anyone can do what you said.”

“No, it has to be you!” Tie Yu insisted. “Who else can carry the stone sphere all over the Needle Stone Forest?”

Ci Xing was stumped by the question, laughing and shaking his head, not knowing how to answer.

Maybe knowing he couldn’t win the argument; Ci Xing’s gaze grew distant.

His eyes passed over Tie Yu’s body, looking at the ancient carving of the giant mineral tribe behind him. After a moment of silence, he asked,

“Tie Yu, do you believe in gods?”

Tie Yu thought seriously for a long time, turned to look at the old carving, then turned back, looking firmly at Ci Xing.

“I believe in you.”