I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 280

They tried to subtly ask Bai Zhou who those humans were.

Bai Zhou told them, those were his people who had already become immortals.

The boulder on the mountain carved with the character “immortal (仙)” was proof of their becoming immortals.

Once you became immortal, you would not die in the Abyss, nor die from the mermen’s invasion, you could live forever.

The Chali Tribe couldn’t figure out the principle behind this, but all those humans acted completely normal, so they simply let them live in the village, and their numbers grew.

This was Bai Zhou’s world to begin with, and the Chali Tribe only treated it as a transit station, a place to regain consciousness and communicate with each other. They had no particular opinion about those humans.

However, Bai Zhou’s condition became increasingly abnormal.

He would often run up the mountain, wanting to carve characters into that utterly blank boulder.

But everything in this world came from his memory. If the boulder in his memory had no writing, then the boulder in this world would also have none.

So Bai Zhou’s attempts at carving were all in vain.

Was it really worth it for them to go this far?

“Teacher isn’t an outsider…”

He gradually came to believe that the things in this village were the only reality, and that everything outside didn’t exist. The Chali Tribe could do nothing but watch him slowly become the way he was now.

Even the records he kept for himself became blurred and unreadable with the erosion of time, even he could barely understand them.

They not only used the strength of the whole tribe to help Bai Zhou put on this play, making the entire tribe exist in a state of separation between body and soul, but also kept carrying out Bai Zhou’s will, struggling against the fish swarm for two thousand two hundred years.

Gradually, Bai Zhou no longer cared about the fish swarm outside, nor was he interested in the Chali Tribe’s underground activities. Every day he just taught class, wandered the village, or suddenly got the urge to go up the mountain and carve characters.

He watched Bai Zhou, who was still pounding away at the boulder, and spoke with determination.

And so, it went on for two thousand two hundred years.

For humans with limited lifespans, immortality could only bring confusion and disorientation. No matter how much the Chali Tribe worried about Bai Zhou, they were powerless.

“Before Teacher came to the island, the thing we did most was sit on the cliffs by the sea and watch the fish in the sea.”

Hearing the disciple’s retort, Mo Ling couldn’t help but feel a trace of hesitation.

“If not for Teacher, the Chali Tribe would still be living in ignorance like the mermen.”

“If it were humans, they would surely do the same. If we suffered calamity, Teacher would surely avenge us, wouldn’t he?”

After so many cycles of reversal, Bai Zhou’s memories and thoughts had become utterly confused.

“Why did the Chali Tribe go this far? To you, isn’t Bai Zhou just an outsider?” Mo Ling asked in confusion.

The disciple gradually took Bai Zhou’s place, using his voice, doing the things he had always done.

“Back then, we used to compete to see who could cross paths with the fish the most times. The one with the most crossings would win, year after year, day after day.”

“Until I saw Teacher by the sea…”

This world became their safe haven. They pretended to know nothing, kept attending Bai Zhou’s classes, and mingled with the humans.

They could only keep carrying out Bai Zhou’s will and continue the struggle against the fish swarm.

“Teacher brought us civilization. Helping someone who brought civilization to the Chali Tribe get revenge, it’s not so hard to understand, is it? Repaying kindness is also something Teacher taught us.”

At this, the disciple was clearly a bit dejected.

“If it were humans, would they really do the same?”

Mo Ling lowered his head.

He didn’t know.

After weighing the pros and cons, would humans really choose to bear such a sacrifice?

On this matter, more advanced civilization and more complex thought did not necessarily mean humans would do better than the Chali Tribe.

“I want to ask you for a favor,” the disciple said to Mo Ling.

“What favor?”

“You obtained the fish swarm’s authorities, right? Is there any way to carve a character on this stone, a character for ‘immortal (仙)’?”

He looked at Bai Zhou, who was still struggling, and said with pain in his voice, “I don’t want to see Teacher like this anymore.”

Mo Ling was stunned by his words.

“Just that?”

“Yes.” He nodded weakly.

Mo Ling really wanted to agree, but he had no way to control the authorities. Before, he had only used the fish swarm system to control them. Now, without the armor, he didn’t even know where the authorities were.

However, Mo Ling had another way.

“I’ll try,” he said to the disciple, then walked over to Bai Zhou.

By now, Bai Zhou’s hand was soaked in bright red blood, and the boulder was streaked with bloodstains.

Mo Ling looked at where Bai Zhou was striking and activated teleportation.

Even though he couldn’t use the authorities, Mo Ling’s own teleportation ability remained.

This time, after Bai Zhou lifted his hand, he found a small square hollow had appeared on the boulder. He looked at the indentation in surprise and continued pounding.

Mo Ling kept a close eye on where Bai Zhou struck. Each time Bai Zhou pounded, Mo Ling teleported, peeling a small indentation from the boulder. Though these indentations were all crooked, at least they worked.

The boulder did not heal as before, as if the indentations would remain forever.

Gradually, Mo Ling followed Bai Zhou’s strikes, carving out the outline of a character.

It was a small seal script “immortal (仙)”.

Bai Zhou pounded out the final stroke with all his might, letting the sharp stone scrape wound after wound into his palm. Blood splattered from his hand, but he didn’t care at all.

He sprawled over the boulder, using up the last of his strength to extend that final stroke.

Mo Ling also carefully peeled away at the boulder, helping Bai Zhou finish the last stroke bit by bit.

“Is it over now?”

Mo Ling looked at Bai Zhou, collapsed on the ground, covered in blood, staring blankly at the boulder, and couldn’t help but feel regret.

“Why did it have to be like this?”

Yet Bai Zhou didn’t stop. He suddenly staggered to his feet, raised the stone, and once more brought it down on the boulder.

“Immortal!”

Mo Ling thought there was still a stroke left to carve, but on closer look, he realized Bai Zhou was randomly smashing the previous marks.

With this strike, the boulder suddenly trembled.

Then, as he kept pounding rhythmically, the vibration spread from the boulder to the ground, extending off into the distance.

“Immortal!”

Bai Zhou’s shouts echoed along with the vibrations.

Mo Ling seemed to hear countless people around him shouting the same word.

“Immortal! Immortal! Immortal!”

The whole world was shouting, roaring, calling out the immortal in Bai Zhou’s heart.

This was Bai Zhou’s world, a reflection of his inner self.

A wave of shaking swept through, and everything Mo Ling could see was violently breaking apart. But these fixed things from memory had no “damage” property.

Everything simply broke away from its original form, becoming independent objects, flung into the sky with each tremor.

“What on earth is happening!”

Standing on the shaking ground, Mo Ling shouted at Bai Zhou in front of him.

Now, only the master of this world could answer his question.

Hearing Mo Ling’s call, Bai Zhou paused with the stone in his hand, and the shaking stopped as well.

But soon, the hand holding the stone came down again.

A tear, mixed with blood, fell to the ground…