I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 3

“Humans?”

Mo Ling perked up, carefully observing everything within his field of vision.

As the cart rolled forward, Mo Ling caught glimpses of chilling scenes along the way.

He was transported into the camp of the black little people.

Totem poles covered in patterns stood everywhere, draped with thorny vines and gleaming white bones.

Those were human bones!

Mo Ling couldn’t be mistaken.

Not only on the totem poles-white bones poked out from the gravel of the little people’s camp, some even still clad in human clothing.

He looked down.

Beneath the camp lay piles of bones stacked together. Who knew how many humans had met their end here.

“No wonder they said humans were about to break in” thought Mo Ling.

He needed to find a way to contact the humans here and get himself rescued.

The further the cart went, the more little people there were, and the heavier the stench of blood became.

The two little people pulling the cart casually tossed the metal block against the wall, then grabbed weapons and climbed up the wooden ramparts.

The ramparts were packed with little people wielding all sorts of ranged weapons.

A little person who looked like a shaman held a broom, constantly smearing mud-ash onto its handle.

As the mud-ash seeped in, the broom bristles stood on end and shot out toward the outside of the ramparts, quickly vanishing from Mo Ling’s sight.

“What kind of weapon is that?”

He didn’t have time to look closely before a large shield burst into view outside the ramparts.

All the broom bristles fired by the shaman were blocked by the shield.

Behind the shield, a burly man advanced steadily, bent over, covering his companions behind him.

This group all wore thick combat suits, tool pouches strapped to their backs, and wide belts at their waists hung with various tactical gear.

The little people atop the ramparts tried everything to get their attacks around the shield, but all were blocked.

The burly man reached the ramparts, rammed the shield hard, and actually smashed the sturdy wooden gate to pieces.

Everyone rushed in with weapons, clashing with the little people in fierce combat.

The burly man held the shield in his left hand and reached into his tool pouch with his right, pulling out a blood bag and slamming it onto the shield.

As the blood bag burst, the shield melted like wax and transformed into a long spear.

He gripped it and swept it sideways, knocking down a swath of little people.

His movements were so smooth that Mo Ling couldn’t help but marvel.

“Another strange weapon.”

Just then, a young woman led a group of little people to the metal block, using it to maneuver and fight.

Coincidentally, Mo Ling was fired up, eager to show his skills.

He targeted the little people surrounding the girl and focused his mind.

In an instant, a dozen little people around her were decapitated, collapsing to the ground.

Their heads had been casually tossed elsewhere by Mo Ling.

The few remaining little people quickly retreated, stumbling out of Mo Ling’s sight.

The girl stared wide-eyed, both shocked and frightened, at the metal block.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, she hurriedly took out everything she carried and placed it on the metal block.

Seeing this, Mo Ling suddenly remembered the little people from before. Connecting the two, he had an idea.

“Are they offering sacrifices to me?”

With a try-it-and-see mentality, Mo Ling selected a can of food the girl had put down and brought it into the space.

When the can disappeared, the girl visibly breathed a sigh of relief, her fear vanishing.

“Did I guess right?” Mo Ling was delighted.

The girl went to the cart’s handle and, with a burst of strength, pushed the cart-her petite body sending it flying into the battlefield.

“What arm strength!” Mo Ling praised inwardly, then turned his attention to the fighting little people.

Wherever the cart went, the black little people in battle fell like weeds.

Their heads vanished into thin air, leaving only mirror-smooth stumps spraying blood.

Not far away, heads with bewildered expressions would suddenly appear on the ground.

Such a bizarre scene shattered the little people’s morale; they lost all will to fight.

In the end, the little people even avoided the girl, abandoning their armor and fleeing at the cart’s approach.

The humans pressed their advantage and quickly took the camp.

Once the battle was decided, the girl sat down, panting, leaning against the metal block.

Crystal beads of sweat slid down her hair onto her slender, wheat-colored neck.

A brand-new silver nameplate necklace clung to her skin, gleaming in the dampness.

“Level 1 Hunter, Li Luo.”

Another set of strange characters, but Mo Ling still understood.

While he was observing, the burly man walked over, and Mo Ling noticed that he, too, wore a similar but more ornate necklace.

“Level 2 Hunter, Shifting Shield Du Kang.”

The nameplate had different information, plus a title.

The burly man stopped in front of the girl and scolded sternly, “You were too reckless.”

The girl didn’t answer, just lowered her head.

The man patted the metal block and carefully asked, “What’s the cost for this thing?”

The girl named Li Luo took out a can of food, and Mo Ling, understanding, took it in.

“Food?” The man was clearly surprised.

Li Luo nodded.

His tone softened, “You got lucky. I’ll arrange for someone to register it. Don’t leave the team on your own again.”

With that, he walked toward the crowd.

Listening to their conversation, Mo Ling had a guess.

“Cost… Is it something they have to pay to use these things?”

The broom that needed mud-ash, the shield that needed blood, and the sacrificial acts by the little people and the girl.

“They think the metal block is one of those strange weapons?” Mo Ling suddenly understood.

Luckily, by accident, they believed “food” was the cost to use the metal block, not something weirder.

“At least I won’t go hungry for a while.”

Soon, a recorder carrying all sorts of high-tech instruments came over, asked Li Luo routine questions, and rummaged through his bag.

He took out a device like a hairdryer and began scanning the metal block, then pulled out an electronic screen.

Mo Ling watched the scanner expectantly, hoping it would detect him trapped inside.

But the recorder didn’t notice anything unusual and started operating the screen.

After searching for a while, the recorder asked, “Li Luo, this relic is a first discovery. Do you want to name it?”

Li Luo shook her head, “I’m not good at naming things.”

“This is a rare chance. You earned it, so pick one,” the teammate encouraged with a smile.

After thinking a moment, Li Luo looked at the metal block and answered seriously, “Iron Cube.”

The recorder’s smile froze.

“Can’t you pick something cooler? Like Deadly Cube, Doom Cube, Interdimensional Killing Array, or…”

Li Luo stared at the recorder as he rattled off a string of flashy names.

Feeling her gaze, the recorder gave in, “Iron Cube it is.”

He continued operating, and text appeared on the electronic screen:

[Relic: Iron Cube]

[Cost: Food]

[Ability: Removes cube-shaped portions of flesh from enemies within range]

[Discovery Location: Abyss First Layer]

[Discoverer: Li Luo]

……