I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 37

Finding a single duck in a vast country is tough.

But this odd duck was bold.

It kept slaughtering at farms, only killing ducks and farmers.

At first, it would storm into any farm-if there were ducks, it killed them all, then killed any farmer who resisted.

If there weren’t, it left without a glance.

It grew more cunning, learning that attacking ducks brought the farmer out to interfere.

So it started making noise behind doors, ambushing the farmer, then killing the ducks at will.

It was learning.

Hunters found it ignored anyone who wasn’t a farmer, unless they tried to stop it.

In one case, a hunter dressed as a farmer fished in the house overnight. The next day, the ducks were dead, but the odd duck ignored the hunter.

It also ignored family members living with the farmer, or witnesses on the road.

Researchers found the duck had a kind of forced judgment ability-it could determine who was a “farmer” or “duck keeper.”

Only someone with both traits would be targeted.

After learning the duck’s attack pattern, hunters finally ambushed it at a suitable farm.

By then, the duck’s appearance had changed-an elegant white feather grew from its head, its wing feathers were hard and white as jewels, its down shimmered in the breeze, muscles rippling beneath its graceful lines.

Its black eyes shone, and it looked at the hunters with a noble, holy air-its features were striking.

When it found the ambush, it didn’t attack, but dodged and slipped away, leading the hunters into a swamp, then doubling back to wipe out the farm’s ducks.

The hunters, frustrated, requested advanced sniper rifles and traps, set up a new ambush.

Finally, the odd duck was killed, its body sent to the lab.

But the autopsy and DNA test baffled everyone.

The odd duck wasn’t an Abyss creature.

It was a swan…

If you’re going to document an Abyss creature, you need a name, but if you published this, the hunters and the farmers’ families wouldn’t accept it.

What? A swan that plots, uses magic attacks, and can judge people’s “traits”?

So the “Ugly Duckling Phenomenon” was born.

What relic? No one knows.

“Unknown,” “undefined”-there were plenty of phenomena like this during the Cataclysm.

The record didn’t end there.

Mo Ling kept reading.

A “mantis” that wiped out a locust village.

A “bald eagle” that slaughtered an island’s seagull population.

A “silverback gorilla” that wiped out an entire mountain’s monkey population.

……

All these events, sharing the same traits, were grouped under the “Ugly Duckling Phenomenon.”

“Born from the offspring of a species, with intense hostility to the source species, transforming into a similar creature, evolving all kinds of abilities, and slaughtering the source species.”

“The source species can mean the mother’s species, or what it perceives as its mother.”

This is how researchers defined the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon.

They decided the duck must have seen the farmer as its mother, which is why it targeted “farmer” and “duck keeper” identities.

But why it was so fixated on those traits-there weren’t enough examples to say.

This phenomenon still appears today, and research continues.

The record ended there.

After reading, Mo Ling thought it fit the lamb’s behavior perfectly.

Special attack abilities, especially going back and forth-clearly it was looking for other Tree-Breaking Sheep herds.

His eyes lit up, and he quickly had Li Luo tell Captain Su and the others.

Li Luo explained the “Ugly Duckling Phenomenon” to Captain Su, who was skeptical at first, but after checking the data, nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, yes, it fits.”

After reading, Captain Su asked Li Luo, “Which takes precedence-the Red Rope Worm’s compulsion, or the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon’s?”

Li Luo couldn’t answer-no one had ever seen such a case.

But it was clear: the lamb had both the Red Rope Worm’s immortal healing and the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon’s unreasonable evolution.

“It’s a real problem. There’s no precedent for such a mix of relic and biological phenomena-we’ll have to take it as it comes,” Captain Su said gravely.

“And these creatures are too dangerous. We have to find a way to deal with it quickly.” Captain Su sighed. “We’ll have to go down and take a look.”

Captain Su was very experienced, quickly organizing the scene.

Some stayed to guard and clean up, and the outpost was notified to send reinforcements.

With the riot over, movement in the containment zone was much easier. Soon, the tunnel was surrounded by soldiers.

Several probes were sent into the tunnel. Though the images always cut out at the end, a 3D map of the passage was made.

“Captain Su, the exit is about 1,500 meters down, still inside the containment zone.”

“Good. What about probe damage?” Captain Su asked.

“None, 100% intact.”

“Have you analyzed the tunnel’s composition? Any harmful substances?”

“Just ordinary fungi, like shiitake mushrooms, even edible.” A soldier cut a piece of the flesh nodule and handed it to the captain.

After smelling it, Captain Su announced loudly, “Anyone willing to go down, get ready. In ten minutes, if the probe is still fine, we’ll go.”

“I’ll lead myself,” he said, full of authority.

The soldiers who’d just seen their comrade cut in half didn’t speak, but quietly packed their gear.

Li Luo looked at the cube.

Mo Ling made the cube nod.

They already had an understanding.