I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 94

“But this is just the beginning. Even if I’m the only one left, I have to solve this thing.”

Ci Xing clenched his fist, his fighting spirit returning.

He looked at Li Luo, a little embarrassed, and said, “Sorry to let you see that. I often talk to myself when I’m researching.”

“It’s fine,” Li Luo replied earnestly.

Ci Xing quickly waved his hand, “Still, thank you very much for your help. Do you want to keep touring Neon Village ? I can show you around, or do you want to head to the exit now?”

“Let’s wait a bit. I’m waiting for our companion.”

“Companion?” Even Ci Xing, with his mind-reading, hadn’t guessed this and asked, “A human too? Neon Village is pretty winding-they won’t get lost, will they?”

Li Luo thought for a moment and answered, “He’s a mineral tribe member, should be familiar with the area. He’s a guest in the village right now.”

Li Luo’s words left Ci Xing stunned.

He seemed to realize something, muttering, “An ordinary mineral tribe member? No, how could an ordinary mineral tribe member dare come here?”

He looked at Li Luo, his expression shifting from surprise to excitement, as if he’d figured it out.

“Really?”

Ci Xing rushed up to Li Luo, asking excitedly, “Where is he? When is he coming? Did you tell him you’re here? Is he alone in the village?”

After a barrage of questions, Ci Xing’s expression suddenly turned grave. “He can’t be left alone in the village! He’ll be scared! Where is he? I’ll go fetch him!”

Ci Xing’s reaction was more intense than ever.

But just as Ci Xing was about to dash out of the tower to look for Shi Beng, Shi Beng had already arrived at the tower’s entrance.

Seeing the ordinary mineral tribe member, he’d been thinking about, Ci Xing immediately opened a big hole in the black stone pillar and rushed out to greet him.

Perhaps too excited, the previously eloquent Ci Xing was now a bit awkward, glancing back and forth between Li Luo and Shi Beng, constantly testing his distance from Shi Beng, as if worried about scaring him.

“How did you get here so fast?” Li Luo asked, puzzled.

“I’ve already conquered my fear,” Shi Beng said firmly.

Li Luo responded with a meaningful look.

“How did you conquer it?”

“By experiencing it, I conquered it.”

“……”

Shi Beng’s words always made Mo Ling think of something else, almost interrupting his thoughts about the incentive signal.

Since entering the stone sphere, Mo Ling had been listening to Ci Xing’s explanations and connecting them to his own experiences.

He summed it up: after entering the stone sphere, there seemed to be three different outcomes.

The first was like Li Luo and the animals the researchers brought in-they felt nothing after entering the sphere, just walked around and left.

The second was the Vein Mutation Disease infected. After the sphere activated, they’d space out for a moment, then be filled with fighting spirit, which would fade after a while.

The third was himself,he directly entered the simulated battlefield, though he couldn’t be sure he was the only case.

Too strange. Mo Ling didn’t know if the Vein Mutation Disease infected also entered the simulated battlefield and then forgot about it.

Maybe that intense fighting spirit was because they’d experienced the battlefield, and after leaving, the feeling lingered for a while before fading.

That was Mo Ling’s guess about the difference between himself and the Vein Mutation Disease infected. As for Li Luo, he could only assume she wasn’t a target for the signal.

“But Ci Xing never mentioned what happens when an ordinary mineral tribe enters the sphere. Maybe he’s so eager to find Shi Beng because he wants to test his reaction?”

Mo Ling looked at Ci Xing, who was now completely unlike his chatty self, stammering in front of Shi Beng.

“Friend, you’re from the Basalt Tribe, right? What’s your name?”

“Shi Beng.”

Ci Xing introduced himself again, very cautiously, all the while eyeing Shi Beng’s armor.

“You’re not afraid? How did you dare wander the village alone?” Ci Xing seemed genuinely baffled by Shi Beng’s behavior.

His question was exactly the same as the petite mineral tribe member’s earlier; clearly, Shi Beng’s actions were incomprehensible to mineral tribes.

“The more fear there is, the more you have to face. But the more you face, the less fear you have,” Shi Beng said calmly, answering Ci Xing’s question.

Though Shi Beng no longer switched between two personalities, this new state made him say even deeper things.

He seemed to have gained a unique understanding of fear.

Ci Xing looked like he’d never met such an unusual mineral tribe member, stunned by Shi Beng’s roundabout reasoning.

After a while, he seemed to understand a little and sighed, “If only all ordinary mineral tribes were like you.”

Then he carefully asked Shi Beng, “Brother Shi Beng, would you help with an experiment? Try to receive a certain signal.”

Probably worried about scaring Shi Beng, Ci Xing explained the incentive signal in detail, speaking very gently, glossing over things like earthquakes and war cycles.

But after learning everything, Shi Beng didn’t react much, still looking determined.

“The cycle of destruction is a great fear,” Shi Beng said quietly.

Hearing this, Ci Xing panicked a bit, quickly trying to clarify that it was just his speculation.

“It’s just an experiment, not that dangerous…”

But as he spoke, his voice grew softer, as if he didn’t believe it himself.

Then Ci Xing fell silent, looking dejected.

After a moment, he said helplessly, “Because of the Vein Mutation Disease, no ordinary mineral tribe member would dare come to our village, let alone do an experiment.”

“But we suspect the incentive signal is aimed at ordinary mineral tribes. This experiment might have a big impact on them. If you’re really worried, just forget it.”

Ci Xing lowered his head, staring at the ground in disappointment.

But suddenly, Shi Beng replied,

“Don’t worry, I’ll cooperate with the experiment.”

Ci Xing almost thought he’d misheard, looking up at Shi Beng in disbelief.

“I don’t want to harm any fellow tribesmen. This experiment is truly unknown,there’s no precedent. Are you sure you want to do it?”

Ci Xing looked at Shi Beng with concern, but there was also a hint of hope in his eyes.

Shi Beng just stood there silently, his thick armor blocking everyone’s gaze, hiding his emotions.

Ci Xing’s hopeful look slowly turned to disappointment. “Friend, I can sense your incomparable fear inside. Your magnetic field can’t fool anyone.”

At that moment, after a long silence, Shi Beng finally spoke slowly.

“So what?”