I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 93

The entrance opened, and Mo Ling floated out with Li Luo.

But his mind was still reeling from the shock the giant mineral tribe on the battlefield had given him.

Even though the environment felt shoddy and off, the surge of power and wild fighting spirit had been incredibly real.

Thinking back, Mo Ling realized the mineral tribes fighting inside had also felt real, their combat moves weren’t stiff, but lively.

The final giant mineral tribe was the same; its expressions and movements were vivid, and even when it fired the rainbow beam to instantly defeat him, it was perfectly smooth.

After thinking for a while, Mo Ling finally found a way to describe the feeling:

“It was like a simulation training ground designed to ignite fighting spirit.”

“But it was obviously a fake simulation, so how could things from inside be teleported into the cube?”

“Why?”

Mo Ling was lost in thought.

As he floated down the stairs, he heard Li Luo and Ci Xing talking, and saw the electronic screen  in Li Luo’s hand.

“Why didn’t Li Luo sense anything inside the stone sphere?”

It seemed she hadn’t entered the battle at all, just stayed inside briefly and came out, which left her confused.

“If it worked, what would you feel inside?” Li Luo asked, puzzled.

Ci Xing fell into thought, seeming unsure how to explain, then finally said, “You’d be stimulated.”

“Stimulated?”

“Yes, you’d suddenly feel dazed, then your whole body would be filled with fighting spirit. After a while, it would fade, with no lasting effect,” Ci Xing said with a shrug.

“But this incentive signal has no effect on humans.”

Seeing Li Luo’s confusion, Ci Xing guessed her doubts and continued, “We’ve tested this signal many times. Every time, the result is the same: the experimenter comes out full of fighting spirit, and after a while it fades, the duration varies.”

Then Ci Xing began explaining the signal’s origin.

The incentive signal was discovered by researchers studying the cause of war.

They found that in certain places in the Needle Stone Forest, where many minerals mixed, a unique environment would form.

In this environment, mineral tribe wars became more intense, and deserters nearly vanished,sometimes there were none at all, and the fighting would be to the death.

The researchers had all been ordinary mineral tribes and knew that kind of fear; such no-retreat battles were hard to understand.

So they guessed this environment might be connected to the origin of war and began to study it.

At first, they thought it was just geography, but as they investigated, a shocking discovery surfaced.

It was a pervasive signal, filling the entire Needle Stone Forest, usually so faint it was impossible to sense.

It took a long time of experimentation before researchers confirmed its existence.

They found that the mixed mineral environment wasn’t the source of the signal, but an amplifier.

The more minerals, the stronger the signal, and the more affected the mineral tribes inside.

So, the researchers created an artificial amplifier with the same effect, much better than the natural mixed-mineral environment.

After continuous improvements, they ended up with a practical device like the stone sphere.

Through the stone sphere, their research into the incentive signal deepened.

Many of the infected by Vein Mutation Disease willingly volunteered as subjects, knowing this might relate to the origin of war-they entered the stone sphere without hesitation.

They did feel the incentive signal; after a daze, a wave of fighting spirit hit.

But soon after, the fighting spirit faded completely, as if it had never been there.

Then, the researchers brought in animals from the Needle Stone Forest and outside, but these animals showed no reaction to the incentive signal.

Some humans who wandered into the Needle Stone Forest were invited to test it, but they felt nothing either.

The research hit a dead end.

Coincidentally, that was when Li Luo arrived at Neon Village , so Ci Xing invited her to test the device, hoping to rule out experimental error.

After explaining why he invited Li Luo, Ci Xing continued describing their research into the incentive signal.

Although all the tests failed to reveal the signal’s effect, the researchers did notice something.

As Vein Mutation Disease spread and war stalled, the signal began to strengthen, as if it existed just to provoke war.

Whenever war slowed, the incentive signal grew stronger; when war was fierce, the signal weakened, as if it was self-regulating.

“We suspect this signal may be amplified at certain points in history, like during the new birth period after a great extinction, and after triggering war, it falls back,” Ci Xing said gravely.

“Something is using this signal to interfere with the mineral tribes, trapping them in a cycle of war and destruction. It’s a shocking conspiracy!”

Ci Xing grew more agitated, his face full of worry.

The deeper their research into the incentive signal, the more it seemed to be the source of war-but that answer only filled them with fear.

A signal that could self-regulate based on the Needle Stone Forest’s state?

They couldn’t find the source. Researchers even moved the stone sphere all over the Needle Stone Forest, but the signal detected was always exactly the same, with no difference anywhere.

After learning about the incentive signal, Neon Village grew even more hopeless about the cycle of history.

Just a single incentive signal already drove them crazy, not to mention the earthquakes that could wipe out a civilization.

Was something really controlling the rise and fall of the entire mineral tribe?

At this point, Ci Xing’s face was full of sorrow; the joy from the experiment was gone.

For these Vein Mutation Disease infected, knowing the source of war but being powerless to change it was even more painful than ignorance.

“In the past, there were many friends who researched this with me, but after realizing nothing could be changed, they gradually left.”

“At first, I didn’t like that they turned my house into a research institute, but as more people came, it got lively, and I was actually happy.”

“This place is so tall, with so many levels and such a big underground space, all built for them-but now, most of it is empty.”

“Some went to play music, some to sculpt, some to build. There aren’t many left here.”

Ci Xing stared blankly at the stone sphere, his eyes full of longing.

“This thing took us a long time to make. They even had me mix in magnetite, and made me haul it all over the Needle Stone Forest.”

At this, Ci Xing gave a faint, bitter smile.