I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 74

“This was also a battlefield during the last great war,” Shi Beng said, pointing casually at an open area.

The ground was littered with shattered stones of all kinds, the remains of mineral tribes who’d fought here.

Even the cave walls were studded with strange, colorful crystal spikes, some faintly glowing like decorative lamps along the passage.

“In the eyes of the mineral tribes, this must be just common body parts lying around,” Mo Ling thought, glancing at Shi Beng.

Shi Beng showed no expression, seemingly unconcerned about the war’s remains.

“He has no fear?”

If it were humans, they’d avoid a place full of their own kind’s remains, but the mineral tribes seemed to have no such concept.

Moving on, Shi Beng said, “We’re almost there. Up ahead is a Quartz Tribe mineral vein stronghold. There are a lot of them in the Needle Stone Forest, and you can’t avoid this one.”

“Are they hostile to humans?” Li Luo asked, a little worried.

“No. Very few mineral tribes in the Needle Stone Forest are hostile to humans, regardless of faction,” Shi Beng replied.

But he pointed at the cube and added, “But they might also think this friend has the Vein Mutation Disease, just like I did.”

That could be troublesome, Mo Ling thought.

“I can’t go rubbing everyone like before, can I?”

Fortunately, Shi Beng said he’d help explain, so they didn’t need to worry, and led the way.

Soon, they entered a huge cavern, now free of war debris, the ground very clean.

Like a giant tree, a massive quartz vein hung upside down from the sky, growing down from the tall stone pillar.

Countless thick branches pierced the ground, anchoring deep below.

Dissolution caverns crisscrossed the vein’s edge, leaving supporting, web-like stone pillars extending from the inner walls to the vein.

The upper support pillars also served as bridges, connecting everywhere, ingeniously crafted.

An ant nest-that was the only analogy Mo Ling could think of when he saw the stronghold.

It was completely natural, but also showed the handiwork and cleverness of intelligent beings.

Where there were intelligent creatures, there was civilization. Who’d have thought such wonders lay hidden beneath the desolate Needle Stone Forest?

Truly marvelous.

Mo Ling and Li Luo were both stunned by the sight.

Shi Beng stood silently, looking up at the vein, his blank face betraying no thoughts.

Soon, Quartz Tribe guards approached. To Mo Ling’s surprise, the stronghold wasn’t heavily guarded.

The quartz guard just exchanged a few words with Shi Beng and left, looking very laid-back.

There was little activity below the vein; Mo Ling saw many Quartz Tribe members on the stone bridges, all motionless.

They looked dazed, like stone statues, staring blankly ahead.

Some were even lying down, four arms spread, lifeless, like discarded toys.

It was deathly still.

Without comparison, you wouldn’t notice, but now Mo Ling felt that Shi Beng’s coldness was almost human.

He’d expected the stronghold to be like a military base, heavily guarded, hard to pass, maybe even hostile.

But it was nothing like that.

Shi Beng didn’t linger. After talking to the guard, he prepared to move on.

But then, a booming sound of metal and stone echoed through the stronghold.

Weng weng weng weng weng…

The huge sound reverberated in the empty stronghold, echoing so much it felt like your organs were shaking, your whole skeleton numb, your brain about to rattle out.

Fortunately, the dizzying sound lasted only a moment before fading.

“What happened?”

Mo Ling quickly looked at Shi Beng, seeing he was afraid again.

“Was something terrible happening?” It had triggered Shi Beng’s fear.

Mo Ling quickly immersed himself in his senses, watching the surroundings warily.

Soon, a group of Quartz Tribe surrounded them.

These were the same ones lying around on the vein’s bridges; now, they all looked terrified, ripples surging on their bodies.

They’d been like statues, lifeless, but now they trembled all over, faint sounds coming from their bodies.

Was that resonance just now their doing? Mo Ling wondered.

Sure enough, when they saw the cube, the Quartz Tribe started making that sound again, passing it among themselves.

“Are they misunderstanding me again?” Mo Ling thought helplessly.

As expected, the Quartz Tribe pointed at the cube in fear, saying, “There! It’s the Vein Mutation Disease!”

They looked like they wanted to approach, but were full of worry.

Mo Ling piloted the cube to fly a little, and the ring of Quartz Tribe shifted along with him.

Their reaction was exactly like Shi Beng’s before.

“It seems like the Vein Mutation Disease really is terrifying to them.” Mo Ling stopped experimenting, worried they might do something drastic.

Shi Beng was calm, slowly explaining to the Quartz Tribe and waving at the cube.

When Mo Ling brought the cube closer, Shi Beng put his hand on it in front of the shocked Quartz Tribe.

After a while, he raised his hand to show them.

To be sure, he repeated the demonstration, even rubbing other body parts on the cube.

He then went up to the Quartz Tribe and showed them the places he’d touched.

At first, the Quartz Tribe kept their distance, but when they saw Shi Beng hadn’t changed, they began to relax.

When Shi Beng waved at Mo Ling, Mo Ling understood his intent.

The way to prove to the Quartz Tribe that he wasn’t Vein Mutation Disease was to demonstrate in person.

After all this, the Quartz Tribe finally stopped being wary, though the resonance still hummed faintly.

Eventually, a brave Quartz Tribe member came up and gently tapped the cube, then returned to the group.

The sound began to pass among them.

“It’s not here! This isn’t the infected with the Vein Mutation Disease. It’s somewhere else, let’s go find it!”

Hearing their conversation, Mo Ling was surprised.

“Somewhere else?”

Maybe it wasn’t just a misunderstanding.