I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 55

Where did humanity’s ancestors come from?

How did cells come to be?

This question had troubled humans in both worlds for a long time, and had always tormented Liang Zhi.

Especially after he realized he might be the only one who knew that two types of cells existed.

A sense of mission arose in his heart.

Or perhaps it was just a curiosity that came from the core of life itself.

He began searching for the type of organism he hypothesized-the Primordial Cell

The common ancestor of both types of cells, and also the common ancestor of humanity in both worlds.

Liang Zhi believed this cell was most likely to appear in the border zone between the two forms of life-near the Great Hollow Tree.

So he began to explore the Great Hollow Tree repeatedly, gradually establishing himself in this world.

He even made a group of friends here.

Through his interactions with the people of this world, Liang Zhi increasingly felt that there was no real difference between the two forms of life.

Finally, during a routine exploration, he discovered a strange egg full of transparent liquid underground near the Great Hollow Tree.

He felt that the liquid inside this egg matched his expectations for the Primordial Cell.

But near these eggs, there was always a domain that could accelerate the evolution of Theseus Cells, making it impossible for him to approach.

He also discovered that, due to the fixed nature of normal cells, these eggs had no effect on organisms with normal cells.

In other words, as long as he found a human with normal cells, they could retrieve the liquid from inside the egg.

But Liang Zhi chose not to do this. After living in both worlds for so long, he knew exactly what would happen if humanity learned of the existence of another type of cell.

Prejudice and arrogance would stall research, and might even put his own safety at risk.

So he chose to do it himself.

As long as he could find a relic that could change his own cellular structure, he could enter the accelerated evolution domain directly.

Druid’s Spine , this incredibly useful relic caught Liang Zhi’s eye.

He went to great lengths to find one, and then paid the price.

The spine burrowed into his body, granting him the ability to transform into other creatures, including normal cell life.

He joyfully returned to the place where he had first found the egg, but something strange had happened.

The egg was gone.

Along with the entire accelerated evolution domain, the egg had vanished as if it had evaporated, leaving no trace.

Liang Zhi anxiously searched the area, but still found nothing.

So he began searching for the egg again and again.

A long time passed without success, and then something even more unfortunate happened.

Theseus Cells were discovered.

Just as Liang Zhi had guessed, everyone’s attitude toward these cells was fear and anxiety, even outright hostility.

Prejudice could not be changed; walls went up quickly, and hunter squads were rapidly deployed to the outposts.

Areas that had once been open soon became tightly guarded “containment zones,” and even he could not come and go as he pleased.

Even as the head of the Seventh Monitoring Station, he could not change everyone’s views.

So he went with the flow, hiding his true thoughts, pretending to be worried about these cells like everyone else.

Later, during a major inspection at the monitoring station, he used the Druid’s Spine to transform into a human, passing the inspection and living in disguise ever since.

But the desire to seek the truth cannot be hidden by a disguise.

He began frequently using research on Theseus Cells as an excuse to visit the containment zone.

But every time he entered, he was followed by large teams of hunters and researchers.

The outpost’s checks on entry and exit were especially strict; even research equipment and materials needed to be registered.

Not even the station head was exempt.

So his plan to find the egg was stalled again.

He began to try a different approach, experimenting with creatures from both worlds.

The Red Rope Worm was one such experiment.

He tried to use the Red Rope Worm’s homing ability to locate the egg, but the experiment failed, and even caused the Oscillation Beast riot.

Through his research on relics, he also discovered the Ugly Duckling, an unknown phenomenon that could track the source species.

But how could one create a creature that would trigger the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon?

The answer was mutation.

In the other world, the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon was called the “Mutant Offspring Massacre Phenomenon .”

A very straightforward name-this phenomenon only appeared among offspring with strange appearances, who would first slaughter their parents, then kill every creature they encountered.

The more mutant offspring appeared, the more frequent the phenomenon.

After coming to this world, Liang Zhi realized that these mutant offspring simply identified the source species as Theseus Cell life, so they slaughtered indiscriminately.

This led to completely different manifestations of the phenomenon in the two worlds, and it took him a long time to connect these two differently named relic phenomena.

So he began to find ways to create large-scale mutations.

Thinking of his Druid’s Spine, Liang Zhi devised a plan.

He first modified a Transforming Tree ranting it intelligence, and then implanted in its mind the obsession to use the Druid’s Spine to save its tribe.

Then he threw it into the Great Hollow Tree, letting it return to the other side.

And then he used God’s Voice .

At this point, Captain Su interrupted, asking, “God’s Voice can be used?”

Liang Zhi smiled and said, “That’s not really God’s Voice at all.”

In their world, this relic phenomenon was called “Mind Broadcast,” and they had even discovered the cost to use it.

Mind Broadcast could take a creature’s thoughts, distort and amplify them, and then broadcast them to other creatures in the area.

It would force other creatures to act on those thoughts, and kill any that disobeyed.

This was knowledge from the other world, and Liang Zhi cleverly exploited the information gap between the two.

“Do you know what creature’s thought was first amplified when God’s Voice appeared on the West Bank of the Jordan River?” he asked.

No one answered, so Liang Zhi explained:

“It was a cicada.”

Cicada nymphs usually live underground for two to three years; some for five or six.

After their long underground life, they finally dig out, leaving round holes in the ground, and begin their seven-day adult life.

From the day they prepare to emerge, a thought appears in the nymph’s mind-let there be light.

When the cicada emerges, it struggles up grass or trees, sheds its pale yellow skin, and becomes a winged cicada.

After molting, it enjoys the fresh air, and another thought appears-must breathe.

It wants to drink, so “must have water” appears in its mind.

Once ready, it sets out to find a mate, so it thinks-must move.

Along the way, predators everywhere make it think-must hide.

Frequent human activity leads to-must beware of humans.

Finally, when it completes its mission of reproduction, it feels it can find a place to die quietly.

So “must die” is born, and becomes the root of despair.

Mind Broadcast twists the cicada’s insect instincts into something humans can understand and broadcasts it.

The adult cicada’s life lasts only seven days, but in that brief span, Mind Broadcast created “God’s Voice,” bringing catastrophic disaster to humanity.

No one would ever guess-

God was a cicada.