I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 219

The shrimp-headed person probably knew his words were illogical, so he began explaining on his own.

“I’ve actually been a merman since childhood.”

The shrimp-headed person said that when he was young, he had always lived on Merman Island.

But once, when the young shrimp-headed person was playing by the seaside, he got swept away by a sudden storm while competing with his companions to see who could swim farther. When he woke up, he was already on another island in the Abyss Third Layer.

Exhausted, he was rescued by the island’s residents.

As soon as he woke up, he discovered that a collar had suddenly appeared around his neck.

At first, the shrimp-headed person was very confused, not knowing his situation. Only when the island’s residents began asking him about his circumstances did he realize what had happened.

The island’s residents were a group of strange creatures with shrimp heads. Their way of communicating was also strange, they didn’t make sounds, but used bubbles instead.

This was a unique language system.

Each bubble had a unique meaning, the sound of bubbles bursting also had specific meanings, and not only that, the shapes formed by bubbles also had patterns.

But he could accurately understand the meaning of those bubbles, and could even distinguish the “tone” when the islanders blew these bubbles, even able to tell whether they were speaking to him or talking to themselves.

It was then that he realized something was wrong, “How do I know the meaning of those bubbles?”

Just as he woke up, still in a dazed state, the nearby islanders began asking him, “How did you get washed ashore?”

“On Merman Island,” he answered subconsciously.

But what he got in return were strange looks from the islanders.

“Where is your home?” the islanders asked with concern.

The shrimp-headed person didn’t know what had happened and didn’t want to reject others’ kindness, so he let the islanders examine him.

The islanders came up to him and gave him a thorough examination, muttering to themselves, “His brain didn’t break, did it?”

“Seems pretty normal,” the islanders said while examining him and talking to themselves.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with his body.

“When did I learn this bubble language?” he was very surprised.

The islanders could only let him rest a bit more and sort out his thoughts properly.

At this moment, he also began to suspect something was wrong with his brain.

“Indeed seems like there’s something wrong with his brain.”

He got out of bed and walked outside tremblingly.

It had just rained outside, and there were puddles everywhere.

In the puddles, he saw an unfamiliar face.

That was a shrimp head just like the islanders’, with drooping antennae, listless, circles of foam around the mouth that even dripped onto his clothes, two shrimp eyes black and round, and somewhat dull.

Wait! How did I become like this?

After coming to his senses, he realized things weren’t as simple as he thought, he had become a shrimp person!

Between him and the islanders there were no words, just continuously blowing bubbles.

Yes, all those conversations just now were composed of bubbles.

Then the shrimp-headed person told his story once more.

But when he got the reply, the islanders said with care, “Don’t do such dangerous things next time. Where is your home?”

“How did I learn this kind of bubble language?” he was very astonished.

“Quite normal indeed.”

This moment, he also began to doubt whether something was wrong with his brain.

…

When he was on Shrimp Island, he told everyone he met that he was a merman, but the island’s residents simply didn’t believe him.

Gradually, he also discovered that the strange collar around his neck was the source of the mutation.

“This thing will turn me into a shrimp person and make me understand that strange language, so I was rescued by the shrimp people.”

After determining this situation, he found a sea route map and embarked on his “homecoming” journey by himself.

Then, he returned to Merman Island…

…

This was the shrimp-headed person’s story.

“Pretty complicated, right?” the shrimp-headed person looked at Li Luo and said seriously.

Li Luo nodded blankly, looking thoughtful, as if remembering something.

And Mo Ling, listening to this shrimp-headed person’s story, felt it seemed familiar.

“Isn’t this just another version of Bai Zhou?”

Except that diving helmet was replaced with this strange collar.

Thinking back, Bai Zhou’s diving helmet seemed to be made of the same material, just not so rust-covered.

“How do these two people even have the same background story?”

“Is this such shoddy work?”

Mo Ling felt a strange sensation rising in his heart. Bai Zhou’s and this shrimp-headed person’s Relics seemed to be from the same series.

On the side, Li Luo’s expression also became increasingly strange. She must have also thought of Bai Zhou’s situation.

Her awkward expression was quickly caught by the shrimp-headed person.

“You don’t believe me either?” he said like he had suddenly deflated, dejectedly. “After I returned to the mermen village, aside from Jeff, no one has ever believed me. Even my former companions are ostracizing me, even though we used to play together so well.”

“They all call me a pseudo-merman. I don’t want this…”

As he spoke, his shrimp antennae drooped again.

Seeing this, Li Luo quickly tensed her face, “I believe you.”

She directly applied the method she used to deal with Bai Zhou to this shrimp-headed person.

When facing people whose identity recognition was distorted, explanations were useless. The only thing one could do was “believe.”

Once you accepted this setting, communication wasn’t problematic.

If you kept being argumentative, it would instead cause conflict.

Jeff stepped forward and patted the shrimp-headed person’s shoulder, “Don’t be sad. The Great Chieftain is also trying to prevent conflict. This is actually to protect you.”

“Outsiders have a hard time integrating into groups. Wherever there are tribes, there will be ostracism and prejudice. The strong bully the weak, the rich despise the poor. Intraspecies killing is the nature of intelligent beings, let alone when you’re already different.”

“Blind tolerance isn’t a good thing. Once you return to the tribe, the attacks will be directed at you. At that time, you’ll instead become the source of unrest.”

“Sometimes, staying away is just another form of protection.”

Jeff spoke convincingly, leaving the shrimp-headed person stunned.

He looked firmly into the shrimp-headed person’s small eyes and said seriously, “I’ve always believed in you.”

Jeff didn’t seem to be lying.

Watching the firm eye contact between the two, Mo Ling was somewhat surprised. So there really were people who would believe these “background stories.”

“Jeff really is different from others.”

At this moment, Mo Ling’s mind echoed with what the captain had said to Jeff, “You’re different from other mermen.”

No wonder the captain had evaluated him that way before.

Jeff, with his unique insights, had quite the flavor of a philosopher.

“A merman philosopher, that’s really interesting.”

The shrimp-headed person had been dejected, but under Jeff’s words, he regained his spirit.

“Staying away is a form of protection?” he asked blankly.

“Yes,” Jeff nodded.

“This is for the tribe?”

“For the mermen race,” Jeff said with certainty, brooking no doubt.

Looking at each other, the shrimp-headed person’s black eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had found the meaning of shrimp life. He slowly straightened his body, and his two antennae instantly stood up.

He looked at Jeff and said firmly:

“Good, for the mermen race!