I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 309: Chapter 306: Relic: Paradise Island

”Its purpose is to suppress the effects of other relics. The price is that you have to define an ’identity’ and abide by it. At least, that’s my guess.”

”Moreover, I looked up the records of the first exploration team that came to this island, and there’s no mention of how the island got its name.”

”It seems like it’s been called Paradise Island from the very beginning.”

Lin Nian’s fingertips tapped on the table, lost in thought.

’But why call it Paradise Island? Could it be that the relic itself already had a name?’

Just as she was pondering this, the chubby chef brought out the dishes.

”Coming through...”

Lin Nian looked at the chef carrying the dishes and asked in confusion, ”Why are you serving the food yourself? Where’s the ’waitress’?”

”She took the day off.”

”Then why don’t you have a robot help?”

The chef gave a wry smile. ”Among those robots, there are no ’waiters’ either. They’re all ’chefs’.”

”Alright then. Thanks for your hard work.”

The two of them seemed to have tacitly accepted the identity rules on Paradise Island.

Li Luo listened to their conversation with curiosity.

After the chef left, she looked at the food on the table and spoke again.

”Is ’waitress’ an identity too?”

”Of course,” Lin Nian confirmed.

”Then isn’t the chef overstepping the waitress’s professional boundaries? Won’t he be punished for it?”

Hearing Li Luo’s question, Lin Nian paused for a long time, chopsticks in hand, then suddenly burst out laughing.

She tapped Li Luo on the head. ”What is that little head of yours thinking? The boundaries between identities aren’t that strict. Who ever said a chef can’t serve food?”

Li Luo was speechless and could only nod blankly.

”Go on, eat.”

”Okay.” Li Luo picked up her chopsticks as well.

However, as she looked at the spread on the table, she didn’t take a single bite.

The table was white, and the bowls and chopsticks were white. That was understandable.

But the noodles in the bowl, the dumplings on the plate, and even the neatly arranged steamed fish were all white, too.

The steamed fish, which should have been drizzled with sauce, was instead coated in a layer of white, greasy foam, making it look even more ghastly pale.

Even the originally black fish skin had been removed, and the flesh was cleaned immaculately. But this, paradoxically, did nothing to whet one’s appetite.

”What is this?” Li Luo asked, pointing at the unknown white foam with her chopsticks.

Lin Nian took a bite and answered, ”Cream.”

”Cream?”

”Yes, cream. It tastes pretty good.”

Li Luo silently lowered her raised chopsticks. She stared at the meal before her, feeling a little lost.

”Why aren’t you eating?” Lin Nian asked, finding it a bit strange.

”I ate too much on the ship. I’m still full,” Li Luo replied.

”Alright, well, have some soup then. This soup isn’t bad.”

Lin Nian pointed to the soup in a nearby bowl.

The soup was also completely white, extremely thick, and even had a slight sheen, like a bowl of white paint. It was impossible to tell what it was made of. It smelled decent, but Li Luo just swallowed hard and did nothing.

”Are there no vegetables here?”

”Of course there are. Aren’t these? Diced white radish, lotus root slices... and there’s winter melon in this soup. Don’t worry, the balance of meat and vegetables is definitely not a problem.”

Lin Nian didn’t seem to find the table of pure white food strange at all, eating without any hesitation as she explained things to Li Luo.

Li Luo’s hand twitched, then froze again. She didn’t force herself.

This strangely white food was genuinely unappetizing.

Fortunately, the portions weren’t large, and Lin Nian didn’t eat much either.

After she’d had enough, she wiped her mouth with a white napkin, packed the leftover dumplings into a white paper box, and pulled Li Luo out of the restaurant.

”Still having trouble adjusting?” she asked with concern as they walked.

”Yes,” Li Luo nodded.

”Don’t force it. Everyone has things they can and can’t get used to. Look over there.” She pointed to a strange man resting against a wall near a distant building.

The man was also dressed in clean white clothes, but he was emaciated, practically skin and bones, and his eyes were vacant.

Noticing Lin Nian pointing at him, he staggered over to them.

”Spare some change,” he said, holding out a hand and shaking it at Lin Nian, his eyes glued to the box of dumplings in her hand.

After Lin Nian gave him the dumplings, he immediately thanked her profusely. He then launched into a stream of flattering remarks, praising her and Li Luo as angels from Paradise, possessing incomparably pure kindness, and so on, laying it on as thick as he could.

Both of them felt quite embarrassed and waved their hands dismissively. The strange man took the hint and left, returning to the wall. He opened the box and started eating, giving them a thumbs-up as he ate.

Lin Nian quickly pulled Li Luo away. Only after they had rounded a few corners did she stop again and sigh.

”He’s a ’beggar’.”

”A beggar?”

”Yes. His identity is ’beggar’.”

”Why would anyone define themselves with an identity like that?” Li Luo asked in disbelief.

”I don’t know. But you should recognize him.”

Lin Nian took out her electronic screen and pulled up a news article.

”Dawn City’s Most ’Vicious’ Relic Criminal Captured—The Rise and Fall of ’Scam King’ Master Guo.”

The article began with a headshot—it was the beggar from just now.

”He’s a criminal? Master Guo?”

”Yes. It seems you don’t follow the news very often. After he got out of prison, he came to Paradise Island for some reason, gave himself the identity of a ’beggar’, and has been begging on the island ever since.”

”I even asked him why once. He said this life is very happy. He doesn’t have to live in fear, has no worries, and everyone else on the island is very nice. He feels it suits him well.”

At this point, Lin Nian shook her head, showing she didn’t quite understand it either.

”Did he also come to Paradise Island to suppress the price of a relic?” Li Luo pressed. ”To become a famous relic criminal, he must have a very powerful relic, right?”

”I don’t know. No one bothers to look into a beggar’s past. He hasn’t committed any crimes on Paradise Island. If something happened, the ’police’ would naturally deal with him.”

Lin Nian sighed. ”The ’beggar’ has his own purpose, too. He often goes to the restaurants to take care of leftover food. There are a lot of discarded items on this island that the cleaning robots can’t identify as ’trash’, so they get left behind. The beggar goes and collects them, then takes them to be exchanged for money. He never gets tired of earning that little bit of cash.”

”Every identity on this island has meaning. There are no completely useless identities. Even though robots can satisfy almost all of the island’s needs, everyone still has something to do. Their lives are very fulfilling.”

She looked at Li Luo and said very seriously, ”Admittedly, the rules on this island are strange, but they genuinely allow people to live more meaningful lives.”

”You’ll feel it too...”

As she spoke, a happy smile spread across Lin Nian’s lips once more.