I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 107

“I believe in you.”

Hearing Tie Yu’s words, Ci Xing’s body began to slowly recover, and he looked completely at ease.

“Aren’t you able to recover? I thought you’d been hit by some kind of incurable attack,” Tie Yu said, relieved as he watched the cracks on Ci Xing’s body gradually heal.

“There’s no such attack, right?” Ci Xing was led off topic and casually asked.

“Then why didn’t you recover? Maybe there is. That gray mineral tribe member was weird, maybe he can use some strange tricks, who knows. I’ve never seen that kind of colorful light before.”

Ci Xing smiled helplessly and started chatting with Tie Yu…

Mo Ling watched this scene and didn’t linger, silently drifting upward.

“Is this the perfect ending the Ancient Mineral Tribe  spoke of?”

On a whim, Mo Ling floated to the stone sphere  and entered.

The stone sphere was already crooked, the stairs and internal passages collapsed from the earthquake.

But the entrance was still open, and inside was pitch black.

“You’re here.”

When Mo Ling came to his senses, he was sitting again on that familiar stone, with the Ancient Mineral Tribe sitting leisurely, looking at the sky.

“I knew you weren’t dead,” Mo Ling’s bracelet  spoke again.

“There’s still a little time.”

Mo Ling didn’t know how long “a little” meant. Even after learning so much, the Ancient Mineral Tribe before him was still shrouded in mystery.

“What do you mean by a perfect ending?”

“It’s when the hero defeats the demon king, resolves the threat of world destruction, and lives happily ever after with their companions.”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe explained with a smile.

Only then did Mo Ling realize-as an outsider, he’d always been watching the events of the Needle Stone Forest  from a god’s perspective, always feeling there were still many mysteries.

But for those mineral tribes, it was simply defeating the “demon king,” and then happiness begins.

“In fairy tales, it’s always like this. It’s just a pity the hero didn’t marry the princess, so it’s a bit imperfect here,” the Ancient Mineral Tribe scratched his head. “The hero’s brain is a bit off, probably not interested in that sort of thing.”

“The demon king’s treasure also needs to be thrown somewhere for them to ‘accidentally’ discover.”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe mused about the “plot” to come, clearly deeply influenced by human adventure stories.

Mo Ling always felt like he’d been dragged along to watch a play, and his doubts only deepened.

“Why are you telling me all this? Isn’t the memory of the battlefield supposed to be erased? Why didn’t Shi Beng and I lose our memories?”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe’s daydream was interrupted by Mo Ling’s question. He turned and explained, “Of course the hero is special. Even though I’ve lost control of the incentive signal, I can still make sure he doesn’t lose his battlefield memories.”

“What about me?” Mo Ling pressed.

The Ancient Mineral Tribe gave him a strange look. “You? I can’t control you. I only brought you in so you wouldn’t mess things up, otherwise, you’d ruin the plot. Not losing your memory is your own doing.”

When Mo Ling pressed further, the Ancient Mineral Tribe just tapped Mo Ling’s cube head and refused to say more.

Unable to ask further, Mo Ling changed the topic.

“Was the red headscarf  also given to the Natural Gas Tribe by you? Creating the Vein Mutation Disease crisis fits your idea of a plot, doesn’t it?”

At this, the Ancient Mineral Tribe actually looked embarrassed, clearly not wanting to answer.

But in the end, he explained.

“I was having an episode at the time. Suddenly I felt a group of people die, I thought it was my first batch of descendants making sacrifices to me, thought they’d run into trouble again, so I just randomly threw a relic into the Needle Stone Forest.”

As he spoke, a nostalgic expression appeared on the Ancient Mineral Tribe’s face.

“They always used to make sacrifices like that,” he murmured, seeming lost in old memories.

Mo Ling watched the Ancient Mineral Tribe, sometimes lucid, sometimes muddled, his face constantly changing, and didn’t know what to say.

So, the whole Vein Mutation Disease in the Needle Stone Forest was just caused by the Ancient Mineral Tribe’s momentary confusion.

But this also happened to become part of the Ancient Mineral Tribe’s “plot,” cleverly creating a crisis.

Truly, unintended consequences.

The history of the Needle Stone Forest was finally a bit clearer. The Ancient Mineral Tribe himself surely never imagined that his batch of “defective” descendants would become his last hope.

“Are you satisfied with this batch of descendants?” Mo Ling asked tentatively.

The Ancient Mineral Tribe nodded. “Of course I’m satisfied. Whether it’s their use of materials or their understanding of emotions, they’re amazing. But there will still be many difficulties ahead.”

At this, he grew worried again.

“If the fifth batch of descendants had developed to this point, would they be even better?”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe still couldn’t let go of that batch.

Coincidentally, Mo Ling had always wondered why the fifth batch disappeared, so he asked again, “That earthquake, was it your doing?”

“Yes,” the Ancient Mineral Tribe lowered his head.

But as they talked, the Ancient Mineral Tribe started to get muddled again. Suddenly his eyes went blank, and he began muttering to himself:

“The first batch of descendants, too dependent, destroyed.”

“The second batch, too weak, destroyed.”

“The third batch, too arrogant, destroyed.”

“The fourth batch, too complacent, destroyed.”

“The fifth batch, the fifth batch, destroyed, destroyed…”

The Ancient Mineral Tribe muttered softly about what had happened, as if stuck in some kind of system crash, staring blankly at his hand.

He clenched his fist and repeatedly knocked on his own head, but still couldn’t remember, his face growing more and more pained. That memory seemed to be a forbidden zone for him.

At this moment, the old man looked like a helpless child, lost in the world around him.

Just as the Ancient Mineral Tribe was about to break down, a hand rested on his shoulder, interrupting his memories.

“Don’t think about it-it’s all in the past…”

Mo Ling gently patted his shoulder.

“Those things aren’t important. Tell me about those stone pillars and mineral veins,i’m interested in that,” Mo Ling said seriously, looking at the Ancient Mineral Tribe.

“Let’s talk about something else.”

Hearing this, the confusion and struggle in the Ancient Mineral Tribe’s eyes gradually faded.

He met Mo Ling’s gaze, slowly freeing himself from helplessness.

“Alright.”

The topic slowly shifted, and Mo Ling and he chatted about the Needle Stone Forest.

Talking about these things, the Ancient Mineral Tribe gradually emerged from his painful memories, his tone much lighter.

They even talked about Ci Xing , and the Ancient Mineral Tribe said he’d never noticed him before.

It wasn’t until the last battle, during a lull, that the Ancient Mineral Tribe saw Ci Xing in the crowd.

At that moment, he felt a sense of time out of joint.

“I can’t believe he actually held on until now.” The Ancient Mineral Tribe was clearly very happy talking about Ci Xing.

“The hero needs a wise companion by his side. I think he’s perfect! This ending is just too perfect.”

“Speaking of wise men, I think I count as one too.” The Ancient Mineral Tribe patted his chest, talking about his past adventures.

He seemed especially proud of his adventures in the Abyss , even more excited than when talking about his descendants, and chatted with Mo Ling at length.

Mo Ling nodded frequently, immersed in those bizarre adventure stories.

But just as he got excited, the Ancient Mineral Tribe got muddled again.

He suddenly grabbed Mo Ling’s hand, which was resting on his shoulder, wrapped it around his own neck, and then put his hand on Mo Ling’s shoulder, saying excitedly,

“Next time, let’s deal with that creature the same way!”

“What do you think, Fire Thief?”