I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 181

The young man was tripped by this suddenly appearing stone and rolled to the shell wall.

He crashed headfirst into the wall.

But this crash made him feel that this shell wall seemed somehow different. He immediately began examining it, his expression becoming increasingly delighted.

“Found it!”

Mo Ling watched this scene, somewhat surprised.

“I really can affect history.”

But it seemed like he hadn’t affected history either.

This feeling was very strange. It was clearly his subjective action, yet it felt predestined. That sense of fatalistic helplessness that had appeared when saving people with Martin emerged in Mo Ling’s heart again.

This strong sense of helplessness seemed to be preventing Mo Ling from interfering with history again.

Looking at the excited young man, Mo Ling sighed and quickly returned to the fountain.

The investigation team members all gathered at the location where the young man had found the weak point.

After the soldiers heard the sound, they slowly walked over. When they could see each other’s figures clearly, Old Xu repeated his previous words, stating his identity.

Before long, rainbow lights began appearing around them. The original virtual images became blurred and unclear, and even the originally noisy sounds of the investigation team became inaudible.

A loud noise came from where the investigation team had gathered. A sudden light penetrated the virtual image and shone directly on the group’s location.

“The mirage vapor is receding. The people outside have opened the dome.”

A team of fully armed soldiers poured in through the opening. They stood warily at the entrance while expanding the opening.

A soldier held a Relic that looked like an egg and smashed it against the edge of the opening.

The egg hit the shell that was as hard as rock. The egg remained intact, but the shell suddenly cracked.

The opening where they broke through was exactly the same as before.

“That’s a Stone Egg,” Old Xu explained. “It can smash whatever it hits into pieces like an eggshell.”

The surrounding scenery quickly blurred and disappeared. The mirage vapor overflowed through the opened hole.

Oasis City had developed many more methods to deal with Shell People by now. They possessed increasingly powerful Relics and wouldn’t be helpless against domes like the investigation team of the past.

The opening rapidly expanded, and the mirage vapor dissipated faster. After visibility improved, the soldiers began advancing step by step.

“Is anyone inside!”

“Abyss Investigation Team Three, Level 1 team member, Xu Jianguo!” Old Xu shouted loudly when he saw soldiers approaching. “Beside me are Hunters Li Luo and Li Xiangyi!”

After shouting, he stood in place waiting.

A soldier aimed the device on his arm at the three and scanned them.

“Get out first!” the soldier shouted at the three.

Then he led the three toward the exit.

The exit was still continuously expanding. When the group reached it, they discovered several high-powered searchlights placed at the opening. Outside, stars still dotted the sky.

“The Shell People inside are all dead. You can search safely,” Old Xu said to an officer outside the opening as soon as he came out.

He again took out his investigation team credentials.

The officer waved his hand, indicating he didn’t want to look, then asked helplessly, “Old Xu, what have you done now?”

Hearing this, Old Xu was stunned. “You know me?”

“Who in Oasis City doesn’t know you?” The officer looked at Li Luo and Li Xiangyi and advised, “Are you also making trouble with him?”

“What trouble? We prevented a Shell People attack!” Old Xu was very angry and scolded the officer.

“Alright, alright, we’ll investigate ourselves,” the officer’s attitude was very perfunctory.

Then he sighed, “The earthquake isn’t over yet, and Shell People are invading again. What a hassle.”

“Still earthquaking?” Old Xu asked in surprise.

“Yes, the entire oasis is experiencing small-scale earthquakes everywhere. Many places have ground fissures. We don’t know the cause. The geology department is still investigating,” the officer explained.

He looked very tired, apparently having not slept all night.

“Oasis City is now under martial law citywide. Find a safe place to take shelter quickly and stop wandering around. We’ll come to you later to understand what happened here.”

The officer was quite responsible at this time, telling the group to take shelter quickly before personally commanding the soldiers.

“That earthquake of unknown cause is still continuing?” Mo Ling was somewhat puzzled.

This earthquake was indeed strange.

From what the officer had just said, this was a type of small-scale earthquake that lasted a long time.

“This doesn’t seem like an earthquake,” Li Luo thought for a moment and shook her head doubtfully.

But there was no other explanation now.

“It’s very similar to those earth vein changes in the underground waterways,” Old Xu added.

The group discussed for a long time while moving away from the plaza, even looking up information, but found no similar records.

Many facilities in the core area were precarious due to the earthquake. Some streetlights and chairs had disappeared, possibly swallowed by ground fissures.

But the ground at this time showed no traces.

Same as when the three had fallen into the underground waterways earlier, those strange ground fissures would quickly disappear, as if the earth had suddenly been repaired.

The group was puzzled when rumbling sounds suddenly came from nearby, seeming to be an earthquake happening not far away.

The ground also began shaking, but people could still stand steady. This earthquake couldn’t affect this area.

“The range is indeed very limited.”

However, the group’s expressions were still grave. Although this earthquake had a small range, having witnessed those bizarre ground fissures, no one would take this earthquake lightly.

The rumbling sound continued. The distant houses were like ships in ocean waves, precarious.

However, the building materials used in Oasis City seemed to be very good. These houses weren’t significantly affected, just looked particularly dangerous.

Old Xu was still carefully sensing.

“The danger level is still rising. Everything is changing drastically. Places that were originally negative values have also become positive,” he looked very worried. “Everywhere is dangerous. Oasis City’s crisis may have just begun.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangyi’s expression paled. “Is it a major crisis? Stay close to me, don’t get lost.”

“Don’t worry. Oasis City has deep foundations. It can withstand even major crises. Besides, this currently seems to be just a natural disaster,” Old Xu comforted.

“I’m more worried about the Wishing Fountain,” Old Xu looked back toward the plaza, showing anxiety.

The earthquake continued. Rumbling sounds seemed to come from everywhere.

“It seems to be getting more frequent.”

“Yes.”

Some ground fissures even spread near the group.

After observing for a long time, Old Xu said puzzledly, “Something’s wrong. Why hasn’t this ground fissure disappeared?”

Dawn was about to arrive. The sky was becoming increasingly dim at this time.

The roaring of that ground fissure was like the angry roars of beasts, appearing very abrupt in the silence.

The earthquake near the plaza had ended, but this ground fissure hadn’t disappeared.

The group carefully observed the ground fissure using the light from the searchlights at the dome.

The pitch-black crack was like a scar on the earth, forcibly splitting the originally intact road surface in two.

Tree-branch-like cracks extended all the way from the distance, menacing…

Soon, the first ray of morning sunlight shone down.

Some white specks resembling dust were particularly obvious in the dawn light.

Old Xu looked at the wispy white specks rising from the ground fissure and suddenly shouted:

“This is mirage vapor!”