I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 87

After carefully observing his surroundings, Shi Beng returned to Li Luo’s side and whispered, “No mistake, this is a Hollow Vein . Only those infected by the Vein Mutation Disease  would make such strange things.”

“Strange things?”

After thinking for a moment, Mo Ling realized what Shi Beng meant.

The “strange things” Shi Beng referred to were the decorations and carvings everywhere in the passage.

As emotionless beings, mineral tribes naturally didn’t understand art.

Maybe their knowledge included something similar, but they would never waste time on artistic creation.

No matter how bored, they couldn’t comprehend art, nor did they have any desire to decorate or carve.

Art simply had nothing to do with mineral tribes.

So, the only ones who could create art in the Needle Stone Forest were the ones infected by the Vein Mutation Disease patients had developed other emotions.

Shi Beng’s expression grew more and more complicated.

Li Luo also noticed how frightened he was, so she asked, “As long as we pass through here and go up, we’ll reach the exit?”

“Yes,” said Shi Beng, nodding.

“Then you can leave, we can go ourselves,” Li Luo said, waving at Shi Beng.

She thought Shi Beng would agree, but he surprised her.

“No, I want to go with you.”

Li Luo was stunned, hardly believing her ears.

Mo Ling also wondered if this was the same Shi Beng as before.

“Had he secretly put on the red headscarf and had his self-identity replaced?”

Mo Ling ran through countless possibilities in his mind, even checking to make sure the red cloth in the cube hadn’t been swapped.

“You don’t have to go if you’re afraid,” Li Luo said gently. “Don’t force yourself.”

Shi Beng shook his head, ripples quivering over his body, and that hoarse, rough voice sounded again:

“I’m very scared, extremely scared. Since I met you, I’ve always been afraid, but I’ve also been fighting the fear in my heart.”

“Just like the Vein Mutation Disease, after understanding the cause, it’s no longer as terrifying as it was at first. It’s all relics, faction struggles…”

“Fear comes from the unknown and from weakness, so I’ve reached a conclusion.”

“As long as I have enough knowledge and enough strength, I won’t be afraid!”

As Shi Beng spoke, the ripples on his body grew more violent, but his face became calmer.

The ripples shook violently on Shi Beng’s body, but their color faded, as if Shi Beng was absorbing them.

“Has he really suppressed his own fear?” Mo Ling was shocked.

But Shi Beng continued, “I realized something. Suppressing fear doesn’t let you escape its shadow, so I’m trying to turn fear into knowledge and strength, and use that knowledge and strength to defeat it.”

Mo Ling realized he’d been ignoring Shi Beng’s changes.

When they first met, Shi Beng was just a coward always running away.

But when facing the ghosts, he managed to overcome his fear and charge forward to strike sparks at them.

Shi Beng had been changing his attitude toward fear all along.

Or rather, he was adapting to the power of fear.

Just as Mo Ling was thinking this, the ripples on Shi Beng’s body began to surge.

The black basalt spikes slowly transformed into armor, covering Shi Beng’s body.

His already burly body became even bulkier, and kept growing, thin layers of stone armor constantly forming on the surface.

“I’ve made several completely isolated protective layers on my body surface, supported by micro-connection points. If a infected touches me, I’ll just shed my armor and run.”

“These stone armors also enhance my mobility. I’ve added some structures inside so I can escape quickly and avoid harm when facing the infected.”

“And I’ve observed that when infected touch ‘dead things’ like rock walls, it doesn’t change them. My armor is also made from ‘dead things’ separated from my body, so it should prevent the spread.”

Shi Beng calmed down, speaking smoothly, with no trace of his earlier fear.

But Mo Ling could still sense that vivid feeling in him.

It was like his two personalities had merged into one.

Mo Ling couldn’t tell what Shi Beng meant by “dead things”, to him, all these rocks were the same.

He just felt Shi Beng was now a completely different person, suddenly much smarter.

The idea of layered stone armor was amazing, making full use of mineral tribe traits and knowledge on how the Vein Mutation Disease spread.

“Did he just have an epiphany?”

Watching Shi Beng change, Mo Ling wondered if “turning fear into knowledge and strength” wasn’t just empty talk.

He really seemed able to do it.

It was a real ability!

Shi Beng was slowly mastering it, and using it more skillfully.

Heavy stone armor covered Shi Beng, constantly adjusting to fit his body’s curves and movements.

He raised his hand and clenched his fist, the crash of stone echoing through the passage.

His body kept growing, now over two meters tall, with more stone armor forming, expanding outward and then wrapping inward.

He was making the armor denser!

Mo Ling was amazed to see that inside the armor was a thin air layer, with evenly distributed sand-like contact points holding each layer together.

The armor kept changing-some became chainmail-like rings, interlocking.

Others became large or small scales, thick in the middle and thin at the edges, tightly overlapping.

The outermost layer was mostly solid plates, like shrimp shells, stacked in neat rows.

On Shi Beng’s head was even a cavalry helmet, looking like a rough, black frog-mouth helm, but inside was a mix of structures, wrapping Shi Beng’s head tightly.

Not only was the idea amazing, but Shi Beng’s execution was incredibly precise.

In Mo Ling’s vision, Shi Beng’s body was now full of ingenious structures, all interlocked.

As he changed, Shi Beng calmly said, “Let fear come even more.”

Now, no one could doubt Shi Beng’s resolve, it was clear he had to walk through this Hollow Vein.

All this time, Mo Ling had known Shi Beng was terrified of Vein Mutation Disease.

At first, Shi Beng suspected Mo Ling was infected and would run away in panic.

Let alone a Hollow Vein full of infected.

Even now, Mo Ling could sense Shi Beng’s awe toward the place.

But his way of facing fear had changed completely.

“Let’s go, friend.”

Shi Beng strode forward, no longer trembling, his steps steady and powerful, his dense body making firm, determined footsteps on the stone floor.

“To seek out fear.”