I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 78

The thug sighed after hearing Midas’s complaints. “It’s hard for everyone.”

Midas wiped the tear from his cheek, a little puzzled.

“It’s so cold lately, the wind makes my eyes water.”

He went home and sat in his empty house; the old bustle was gone.

His wife’s bookstore called, and Midas made an excuse, saying she was sick and refusing her coworkers’ visits.

He suddenly felt there was no point in going to the olive grove.

Endless emptiness swallowed him. Days passed until hunger drove him to eat something from the fridge, and the fear of death returned.

Then he fell back into emptiness.

Eventually, the strange state of the Midas household drew neighbors’ attention, and they called the police.

When the police arrived, they found Midas lying on the sofa, unkempt, with the gloves on the table.

“Mr. Midas, where’s your wife?” The officer was the same one who’d helped the family before.

He was very cautious, worried Midas had been traumatized.

But Midas didn’t answer. The officer searched the house and found no sign of Mrs. Midas, but did find piles of gold in the garage.

This finally made him alert; he called headquarters.

When police cars surrounded the house, Midas finally woke in fear, making excuses for himself.

But the police had already started investigating and found that Mrs. Midas was missing.

As they dug deeper, the truth of the Midas family’s fate came to light.

The thugs who fenced the gold and the gold itself were found.

The police also found the gloves, sealed them, and turned them over to the authorities, who had researchers examine the Relic.

Eventually, the researchers gave it an official name:

[Relic: Midas Touch)]

[Cost: All emotions except fear]

[Ability: When worn, can change the material of touched objects]

[Discovered at: Earth]

[Discoverer: Midas]

……

Through experiments, the researchers found that the Midas Touch could not only “turn things to gold.”

It could also change objects into other materials, but except for gold, the price for other materials was enormous.

By comparison, turning things to gold only cost a little emotion, which is why Midas could use it for so long.

To change things into other materials, the user needed an extremely strong will; any lapse, and the object would become a bizarre mix of gold and the intended material.

It was truly the Midas Touch.

Though the cost for gold was small, after so long, Midas had been drained of all emotion.

Except for fear, he was an empty shell.

Researchers debated its use-some argued the price was small and it could be used in emergencies with rotation.

But Midas’s case was unforgettable, so the Relic was finally sealed by the authorities.

That was the end of the Midas Touch’s record.

……

The more Mo Ling read, the more he felt this was the exact opposite of Vein Mutation Disease.

Those infected mineral tribes went from knowing only fear to being filled with all sorts of emotions-the opposite of the Midas Touch’s price.

But the material transformation was the same as the Midas Touch’s ability.

“No wonder Li Luo looked up this Relic specifically,” Mo Ling realized.

It seemed the Midas Touch was quite famous, or Li Luo wouldn’t have thought of it so quickly.

Thinking of the strange events in the Needle Stone Forest, Mo Ling couldn’t help but guess, “Could someone be using the Midas Touch?”

Maybe the Midas Touch had some hidden effect on the mineral tribes.

“That Quartz Tribe patient said he felt someone touch him when he got sick-could it have been the Midas Touch?”

Recalling the blue patch on the patient and the spreading lapis lazuli, Mo Ling became more and more convinced someone was using the Midas Touch to cause trouble.

He shared his guess with Li Luo, who agreed.

“The reason I looked up this Relic is because it fits the current situation too well,” Li Luo explained.

So, who could be sneaking past all the mineral tribes and spreading Vein Mutation Disease?

Mo Ling couldn’t figure it out.

The mine tunnels were complex and easy to hide in, but for someone to sneak into a vein surrounded by Quartz Tribe, touch someone, and get out unscathed…

It seemed impossible.

Unless that person was invisible.

Mo Ling and Li Luo discussed it for a while but couldn’t reach a reliable conclusion.

At that moment, Shi Beng poked his head in from outside the cave, looked around nervously, and, seeing the patient was gone, his face returned to blankness as he asked,

“Why did you go looking for that Vein Mutation Disease infected?”

“To check his symptoms. He said he felt someone touch him before he got sick. Have previous patients said the same?” Li Luo replied.

Shi Beng nodded. “Everyone says that, but no one believes them.”

Indeed, no one listened to the Vein Mutation Disease patients or cared about their explanations. When facing them, all mineral tribes felt was fear.

No one would be “curious,” and no one would “pity” them.

Without emotions, there was no way they’d care about others.

Mo Ling realized even more clearly the nature of the mineral tribes; in this light, Shi Beng was actually one of the more “normal” ones.

Maybe among mineral tribes, Shi Beng, who went out every day looking for things to do out of boredom, was an oddball.

“Have you ever seen anything like a glove in the Needle Stone Forest?” Li Luo asked after thinking for a moment.

Shi Beng shook his head-he clearly knew nothing.

Li Luo didn’t press further and instead showed Shi Beng the Midas Touch’s information.

Then she explained her theory about Vein Mutation Disease.

As he listened, a ripple appeared on Shi Beng’s usually blank face.

After hearing it all, he said fearfully, “If someone is deliberately spreading it, then Vein Mutation Disease is even scarier.”

“There’s an invisible person, always plotting behind the scenes, spreading the disease through the Needle Stone Forest, how terrifying is that?”

This idea left Shi Beng unable to calm down, his face full of fear for a long time.

“So that person is still nearby?” Shi Beng started trembling again, scaring himself.

He looked around nervously, as if someone was right next to him.

Pressing himself against the wall, Shi Beng became jumpy and paranoid.

Li Luo looked at Shi Beng speechlessly, probably regretting she’d shared her theory.