I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 11

Silence.

Outside the mountain of metal, the giant Oscillation Beasts stood motionless, the flesh in their heads no longer pulsing.

The tangled balls of limbs had also stopped trembling, even loosening and scattering on the ground.

It was as if time itself had frozen.

The vehicle drove all the way to the edge of the great pit.

Everywhere they passed, not a single Oscillation Beast was moving; the never-ending vibrations had ceased.

Those Oscillation Beasts that had been desperately fighting to reach the center of the pit had now lost all purpose.

A few that had just been fighting froze in their grappling poses.

A bird-shaped Oscillation Beast that had been in the air fell to the ground, becoming a statue.

The vehicle stopped outside the pit.

Li Luo pointed her instrument at the unmoving Oscillation Beasts, opened her electronic screen, and began recording what she saw in the pit.

Mo Ling tried separating some flesh from an Oscillation Beast; the wound still healed.

He threw the cut flesh in a conspicuous spot, and Li Luo quickly noticed.

She found the Oscillation Beast with the separated flesh and pointed her instrument at it.

Nothing changed, except the Oscillation Beast had stopped.

“Did they lose their target?”

Why weren’t they attacking the cube?

Mo Ling had already considered this outcome before teleporting the Black Horn.

Teleportation required bringing it into the cube first, so logically, he should have been swarmed.

But clearly, Li Luo didn’t know how his teleportation worked.

Mo Ling guessed Li Luo had planned for him to teleport the Black Horn to her and then escape by car.

But by accident, it had turned out like this.

“It’s like I hid the Black Horn.”

Mo Ling looked at the black horn on the ground, curiously picking it up.

The instant he touched it, he saw the pure black surface suddenly ripple.

It was like a black hole, endlessly falling inward.

It seemed to lead somewhere.

“What was this?”

Mo Ling was puzzled.

“I don’t get it.”

He put the Black Horn down, and the falling sensation vanished; the horn returned to its pure black appearance.

Mo Ling decided to teleport the Black Horn to Li Luo, let her see it, and if anything went wrong, he’d just take it back.

If it was something he couldn’t understand, it was best to use the database.

Li Luo’s face was also full of confusion.

She was probably wondering where the Black Horn had gone and why the valley was so silent.

Clatter!

A can clattered, drawing Li Luo’s attention.

Following it was the Black Horn, stuck in the can. Mo Ling watched closely, ready to retrieve it at any moment.

Li Luo looked at the Black Horn, her confusion slowly turning to delight.

Boom!

As soon as the Black Horn appeared, the whole valley began to vibrate again, even more violently!

Li Luo quickly grabbed the Black Horn.

The moment she touched it, Mo Ling saw her freeze, just as he had when he touched it.

Her eyes widened, staring straight into the depths of the black hole.

Clearly looking at the thing in front of her, but her gaze seemed to reach far beyond.

The vibrations grew more intense.

Oscillation Beasts were attacking!

A crimson creature entered Mo Ling’s field of view.

It was a torrent of flesh slimes! They converged into a mass, surging toward them at incredible speed.

Mo Ling frantically tried to teleport and separate them, but he was too slow-it was a drop in the bucket.

Luckily, the height difference at the pit’s edge slowed the wave a bit.

But more and more waves of flesh slimes surged up, threatening to spill out of the pit.

Giant Oscillation Beasts, swept along by the tide, crashed forward, swinging their limbs as they climbed.

Sharp limbs hooked onto the edge of the cliff-any second, they’d climb up.

Mo Ling was panicking.

He wanted to retrieve the Black Horn immediately, but Li Luo was still holding it.

She clutched the Black Horn and started her recorder, but then fainted as Mo Ling watched in agony.

Mo Ling hurriedly teleported the fallen Black Horn back-he hadn’t expected this at all.

The vibrations stopped again.

The overwhelming crimson tide suddenly lost all momentum, ebbing away like a receding tide.

The metal giants no longer thrashed, letting the current carry them, drifting farther and farther.

Silence returned.

Phew-

Mo Ling let out a long breath.

He looked at the girl, now lying on the ground, unconscious.

“What happened?”

“Where did the Black Horn lead?”

After waiting a while without Li Luo waking, Mo Ling picked up the Black Horn to examine it again.

The sense of being drawn in hit him again, pulling his thoughts inward.

This time, Mo Ling didn’t resist. He glanced at the unconscious Li Luo and made up his mind, letting himself slide into the black surface.

……

“Where was this?”

When Mo Ling came to, he was standing on a bustling nighttime street.

“I’m standing?”

Mo Ling felt something odd about his perspective, but his mind seemed sluggish, as if he’d forgotten something.

A thought popped into Mo Ling’s head:

He thought he shouldn’t be standing-he should either be sitting or lying down.

And not only that, he didn’t recognize this place.

Everything felt off.

Looking up, he saw skyscrapers with no visible tops, covered in colorful lights and ever-changing patterns.

Between the buildings, various aerial tracks intertwined, with flashy flying cars speeding through.

Storefront signs outside the buildings dazzled the eye, flickering projections casting 3D ads, with lifelike women waving at him.

A futuristic car stopped by the curb, and a robot stepped out, helping a lavishly dressed lady into the car.

Pedestrians on the roadside wore bold, strange clothing, chatting enthusiastically under the bright streetlights.

Looking around, the sense of wrongness grew.

“Who am I? Where am I?”

Mo Ling froze.

Just then, a robot approached, bowed, and asked in a magnetic voice, “Hello, do you need help?”

Mo Ling wanted to speak, but found he couldn’t.

He could only wave at the robot.

“Why can’t I talk?”

Mo Ling walked down the street, finding his steps awkward.

“This is so strange.”

He stopped in front of a cake shop window and looked inside.

The glass reflected light from the streetlamp, and Mo Ling suddenly saw his own appearance.

“A blocky person?”

?

Dressed in messy pajamas, with a metal cube on his head, the cube’s edge cutting neatly across his neck with no visible connection.

The cube reflected the lights, and he just stood there, dumbly.

The moment he saw the cube, the sense of wrongness in Mo Ling’s mind broke through, and his memories flooded back.

“Is this where the Black Horn brought me?”

Mo Ling’s memory was fully restored, but he was still full of doubts.

An unknown city, and his bizarre form.

He hadn’t walked in so long-no wonder he felt clumsy.

And his vision.

Mo Ling’s vision was no longer confined to the cube, but he could truly see with his eyes.

Mo Ling looked around curiously, savoring this newfound freedom.

In the distance, a sign atop a grand building caught his eye.