I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 41

A soldier walked up to Captain Su and quietly asked, “Captain, these are all Theseus Cell creatures. Shouldn’t we kill them?”

Captain Su immediately slapped the soldier on the head and scolded, “If you’re so good at killing, why haven’t you wiped out all the creatures in the containment zone?”

“But the ones up there don’t have intelligence. If these intelligent ones develop for a few thousand years and discover the surface world, won’t there be a war?” The soldier rubbed his head, speaking seriously.

“They’re still at war now. Maybe their technology will explode and they’ll master a bunch of war tech,” the soldier added.

Captain Su looked at him strangely. “Have you been reading The Three-Body Problem lately?”

The soldier nodded.

“The Dark Forest theory, right?”

The soldier’s eyes lit up and he was about to ask more, but Captain Su kicked him far away.

The mood eased a little.

The bodies of the fallen soldiers were collected.

The Transparent Tribe members were also gathering their people’s clothing and weapons. At first, when they encountered the soldiers cleaning up, they kept their distance.

But seeing the soldiers didn’t care about them, they slowly stopped being afraid, and the two groups moved about the area, crossing paths.

However, Mo Ling was still lost in thought about the battle with the sheep-headed person.

He realized that the sheep-headed person’s behavior didn’t match either the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon or the Red Rope Worm.

It wasn’t crazily slaughtering Tree-Breaking Sheep, nor was it moving relentlessly toward a single destination.

“Why did it come here to kill Transparent Tribe people?” Mo Ling couldn’t understand.

Captain Su came to the cube and discussed the sheep-headed person’s behavior with Li Luo.

“It seems to be moving in one direction, killing randomly, sometimes even doubling back. There’s no logic to it,” Captain Su said, puzzled.

Li Luo thought for a moment, then said, “It’s not illogical. Its behavior matches the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon.”

Captain Su was confused. “How?”

Li Luo explained, “It’s realized its source species isn’t Tree-Breaking Sheep, but Theseus Cells.”

“Maybe it discovered this after returning to the underground world, so it’s no longer fixated on returning to the surface, but instead chooses to slaughter the Transparent Tribe everywhere.”

“And it’s getting smarter, knowing we’ll keep blocking it here, so it chooses to avoid fighting. It’s not that it doesn’t want to kill.”

“It probably understands that this underground world is full of Theseus Cell creatures, so there’s no shortage.”

Captain Su listened, stunned, and after thinking for a while, said, “So you mean we don’t need to worry about it? Just let it kill here?”

Li Luo fell silent, as if she had no solution either.

Inside the cube, Mo Ling also felt helpless after hearing this.

The Red Rope Worm’s undying host only gets stronger the more you fight it. The only way is to restrain it, but it’s already beyond restraint.

It’s getting smarter and even learning to avoid battle.

Such a lifeform simply can’t be contained.

Captain Su called his deputy over to evaluate the sheep-headed person’s threat, seeming to doubt his decision to keep pursuing it.

The deputy told Captain Su that the sheep-headed person was now extremely dangerous.

Although it didn’t currently threaten humans, no one could predict what a lifeform created by overlapping relic phenomena and Abyss creatures might do in the future.

“We said we’d take it step by step, but in just a short time, things have gotten this bad, and we’ve lost so many brothers for nothing.” Captain Su was deeply remorseful.

After much discussion, Captain Su decided they couldn’t just let it go.

“We’ll change plans, keep tracking it, but focus on observation. If there’s a chance, try to guide its behavior. No more head-on confrontation.”

He had his deputy relay the orders to all soldiers.

He sighed and said, “Even if we can’t destroy it, we should at least bring back some data on Theseus Cells and relic phenomena. We can’t go back empty-handed.”

In the Abyss, there are always trade-offs. The deputy nodded dejectedly and left.

Soon, the Transparent Tribe elder returned. When Captain Su asked which direction the sheep-headed person was headed, the elder suddenly looked terrified.

“What’s wrong?” Captain Su asked, puzzled by the elder’s reaction.

“That’s the direction of our village!” the elder replied, then hurried back to his people, anxiously explaining the situation.

The Transparent Tribe members no longer cared about gathering clothes and weapons, instead hastily packing their belongings.

Seeing this, Captain Su told everyone to keep up and went among the Transparent Tribe.

“If you don’t mind, you can travel with us. We’re not familiar with this place and need a guide,” Captain Su said sincerely.

The Transparent Tribe members looked at each other, argued fiercely, and finally agreed to Captain Su’s request.

On the way, the Transparent Tribe elder began explaining the history of the underground world:

“A long time ago, this place was inhabited only by the Transparent Tribe. There was no war, everything was peaceful, and we lived in harmony with the world.”

“But one day, strange caves began appearing everywhere, filled with white, oval, wriggling flesh nodules that would try to devour anything that came near.”

“That wasn’t the scariest thing. Our ancestors cut off a piece of that flesh and found it didn’t turn into transparent liquid!”

“Once separated from the cave, the flesh stopped moving but never disappeared. It would remain in this world forever.”

“At the time, one of our ancestors was a powerful prophet, and he declared that this was a terrifying ‘Undying Thing,’ which would bring disaster to the world. Some didn’t believe him.”

“As expected, just as the prophet said, disaster soon struck. All sorts of ‘Undying Things’ began pouring out of the ‘Undying Caves.’”

“At first, it was just branches and leaves, but later, creatures began to arrive, occupying this world and slaughtering the Transparent Tribe.”

“These undying creatures don’t turn transparent after death like the Transparent Tribe, but remain as flesh, permanently occupying space in this world!”

At this point, the elder grew agitated, his eyes red.

“Our ancestors were shocked. Flesh that doesn’t disappear! If there’s enough of it, the world will be completely filled, and there will be no space left to live.”

“They’ll occupy the land, the water, the air, until the whole world is filled with undying flesh!”

A soldier couldn’t help but laugh and asked, “How long have these undying things been here?”

The elder didn’t understand the laughter but answered politely, “A long time, many generations.”

“Have the undying things filled any place yet?” The soldier couldn’t help but keep laughing.

The elder finally got angry and shouted, “Not yet! Don’t doubt the great prophet. Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it never will!”