I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 423: Chapter 420: The God on the Other Side of the Mirror

The young man couldn’t seem to relax. He kept fiddling around, poking here and there with a branch before walking over to the window to gaze curiously at the scene outside.

In contrast to the young man, the ocean creatures were quite still, though they continuously emitted strange sounds.

At that moment, Mo Ling could no longer suppress his shock.

’Why would a Mirage appear here?’

Mo Ling forced himself to calm down and began to ponder the situation.

’That capable-looking young man outside must be Shen Ping, the one who discovered the Mirage.’

’And these strange, humanoid ocean creatures must be the Immortals mentioned in the records.’

Mo Ling never imagined he would be here to witness a scene from the ancient records with his own eyes.

’Is this some kind of projection, or is this actually happening on the surface of this mirror?’

Mo Ling noticed the perspective from the mirror was a bit strange.

’It’s like I’m floating in the air, looking down...’

Mo Ling’s perspective seemed to be right in the center of the Mirage, a fair distance from the ground.

A disorienting fear muddled Mo Ling’s thoughts.

Just as Mo Ling’s mind was reeling with questions, a sound like the music of a zither began to emanate from the pavilion. It was hoarse and deep.

Following that, all the Immortals looked in unison toward the center of the Mirage.

In an instant, countless gazes seemed to pierce right through to Mo Ling.

It was as if the Immortals had suddenly discovered him, their gazes penetrating the glass and landing squarely on him.

Startled by their collective stare, Mo Ling quickly backed away.

’Wait, I don’t think they’re looking at me.’

Once he realized this, he slowly flew back to the glass.

Just then, Mo Ling noticed the glass was changing.

A current of water suddenly swirled across the surface of the once-blurry glass, as if washing it clean. A moment later, the water spread out and instantly transformed into a—

Giant blue Olive.

The Olive was pressed tightly against the mirror’s surface. Through this Olive, Mo Ling could look around the Mirage like through a fisheye lens, his field of view much wider.

’So this Olive is a convex lens?’

The cleaned surface was now crystal clear; Mo Ling could even make out the fine scales on the Immortals’ bodies.

’But what’s this for?’

While Mo Ling was still pondering this, an Immortal suddenly walked toward the Olive.

It was an Immortal with the head of a lobster. It approached the Olive respectfully, stopped beneath it, and raised its hands. It brought its index fingers and thumbs together to form a perfect oval.

Mo Ling was stunned.

’Is it making a wish to me?’

And just as he thought, the wish of the lobster-headed Immortal began to appear upon the Olive...

...

The abyss was growing more and more chaotic. There were always races who refused to play by the rules.

The Lobster Race had recently been suffering greatly.

A species of straw-like creatures had taken to hunting near their coral reef home. They left devastation in their wake, turning the beautiful reef into a complete mess.

Xia Buluo, the current chieftain of the Lobster Race, was deeply troubled. His people had repeatedly pleaded with him to drive out the straw-like creatures, and the clan elders were pressing him for a swift resolution.

But Xia Buluo had his own troubles. The Lobster Race was in decline, with few of their kind left. Most were old, weak, sick, or crippled; very few were capable of fighting.

’Fight and survive at the same time? It’s not that simple.’

The reef was being destroyed daily, yet he still hadn’t managed to form a party to drive them away. Xia Buluo was so worried he’d lost his appetite for even his favorite seaweed.

’If no one will help me, I’ll go myself!’

As the only warrior in the clan who had ever traveled abroad, Xia Buluo was also a formidable fighter. He decided to go and scout the strength of the straw-like creatures on his own.

Having made up his mind, he acted immediately, grabbing his weapon and swimming toward the outskirts of the reef.

Xia Buluo’s luck was good. As soon as he reached the edge of the reef, he spotted the straw-like creatures wantonly destroying the coral.

Seeing the reef they depended on for survival being torn to shreds by these creatures, he flew into a rage.

”What are you doing!”

He raised his weapon and charged straight at them.

To his surprise, however, the straw-like creatures simply huddled together, trembling in fear.

Seeing this, Xia Buluo slowly calmed down.

”You can understand me?” he asked, suddenly realizing that it seemed possible to communicate with these creatures.

”Yes...” a straw-like creature answered weakly.

”How do you know the language of our Lobster Race?” Xia Buluo asked suspiciously.

’Could they have been plotting to attack the Lobster Race all along?’

”I learned it from you,” the creature said, trembling.

”Nonsense! When did I ever teach you?” Xia Buluo cursed angrily.

Terrified by the furious Xia Buluo, the straw-like creatures huddled closer and hastily explained, ”Just now! I learned it just now! I sucked in your voice, and then I knew.”

”What do you mean?”

”I used my straw to suck in your voice, and then I knew how to speak it,” the creature explained.

And so, under Xia Buluo’s intense questioning, the straw-like creature revealed its race’s abilities:

Their straws could absorb all knowledge. As long as one of them absorbed it, the entire group could learn it.

”We feed on knowledge, and language is a form of knowledge.”

”Then why are you destroying the coral reef?” Xia Buluo pressed.

”We’re learning the knowledge of the coral reef. Even the lowliest of organisms possess knowledge. We can learn how to create calcium, how to change color, and...”

The straw-like creature listed all the knowledge they had learned from the coral.

Xia Buluo listened to the creature’s explanation, half-convinced.

”We’re about to starve to death. We had nowhere else to go, so we came here,” the creature explained pitifully.

”Not here! Go somewhere else! You’re destroying the coral reef, which affects our survival! Do you hear me!”

Xia Buluo shouted angrily, driving the straw-like creatures away.

He didn’t kill them, choosing to spare their lives.

However, his kindness brought disaster...

Upon returning from a hunt one day, he found the coral reef utterly destroyed.

His entire home was gone. The carapaces of his kin were scattered everywhere, their severed limbs hanging lifelessly from the rocks.

”Why?”

Xia Buluo charged back to his clan like a madman, only to find a single elder lobster, its limbs shattered and on the verge of death.

”’They are the Ever-Thirsty Ones... They never stop,’ the elder said, his voice barely a whisper.”

”’Their thirst for knowledge is insatiable. They chase after greater wisdom, using what they’ve devoured to destroy more advanced civilizations. Then they devour and destroy again, in an endless cycle...’”

”’How can a straw ever be full? What goes in one end comes out the other. It never stops. And when does knowledge ever have an end? The world’s knowledge is infinite, and so is their desire.’”

”’It is an eternal thirst... an eternal thirst...’”

The elder’s consciousness was fading, but he kept repeating those things about the ”Ever-Thirsty Ones” to Xia Buluo.

As he listened, Xia Buluo’s claws clenched tighter and tighter.

He never imagined that the straw-like creatures’ display of weakness had all been an act.

’They were after us from the start, and I... I let them go...’ Xia Buluo was consumed by endless regret.

At the same time, a blazing inferno of rage ignited in Xia Buluo’s heart.

’Ever-Thirsty? One day, I will be the one to end their thirst!’