I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 310: Chapter 307: Dim White Light

”Let me take you to a hotel first. The ship you need to take happens to leave tomorrow morning. Get a good night’s rest, and I’ll take you to the port in the morning.”

The two of them reminisced as they walked, chatting about things on Paradise Island. After wandering around for a while, the sun slowly began to set.

On both sides of the pure white streets, a faint glow began to emanate from the surfaces of the buildings.

It was as if someone was shining a light from behind the buildings, a cold, white glow filtering through the curved stone surfaces.

The light wasn’t bright; it was actually somewhat dim, making the already snow-white streets look even more deathly pale.

As night fell, the white light made Paradise Island appear hazy, as if shrouded in a thin, white veil.

The temperature also dropped a few degrees. The stone walls were cool to the touch; the sun’s warmth hadn’t lingered long before quickly dissipating. Pedestrians hurried home, as if they were all trying to escape the coming of the night.

The darkness pressed in, and the white light seemed on the verge of being extinguished, struggling to hold on.

Lin Nian quickened her pace, leading Li Luo through the starkly black-and-white streets to a hotel.

This hotel, like the restaurant from before, was pure white. When the hotel owner saw the two guests arrive, she greeted them warmly.

The owner was a middle-aged woman. She had a formulaic smile on her face that looked somewhat cold under the white light.

”Are both of you staying?”

”Just one,” Lin Nian said, pointing at Li Luo.

”Please register your identity.” The owner took out an electronic screen, on which there was only a short line of text.

”Identity.”

It didn’t even ask for a name.

After Li Luo filled it out in confusion, the owner took the electronic screen back.

She didn’t check Li Luo’s nameplate, nor did she verify her identity.

A notification chimed.

Li Luo quickly took out her device to look and found a new name inside: ”Hotel Owner.”

”If you need anything, just contact me directly.”

The owner smiled and came out from behind the counter.

”Let me show you to your room. A lot of the robots have been malfunctioning lately, so you might not find it without a guide.”

Lin Nian patted Li Luo’s shoulder. ”Go on. I have to get back. See you in the morning.”

With that, she hurriedly left the hotel.

Li Luo didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye before the hotel owner’s urging voice sounded beside her.

”This way, guest. Quickly. The night is coming.”

Although the hotel owner was still smiling, her tone had quickened considerably.

Li Luo glanced at the entrance. Lin Nian was already gone. She had no choice but to follow the owner up the stairs.

Because the architecture on Paradise Island was so strange, all irregular curves, the hotel’s hallways were also bizarre and winding. After leading Li Luo through several turns, the hotel owner finally found the room.

”Here we are, Room 500. It’s quite complex, isn’t it? If you forget the way, just contact me. I’ll come help you again.”

The hotel owner placed her electronic screen against the door, and the lock opened with a BEEP.

”That’s how you open it. As long as the identity is correct, it opens right away.”

The owner pushed the door open, bowed slightly, and gestured with her hand.

”Please, come in.”

After Li Luo stepped into the room, the hotel owner pulled the door shut behind her.

”I hope you have a pleasant evening...”

The door closed softly, and the hotel owner’s voice vanished.

Silence.

Inside the guest room, various pieces of furniture were neatly arranged; it had all the amenities.

But the furniture was also pure white, devoid of any other color.

Like the buildings outside, this furniture had no sharp corners. Even the edges of the bed were covered by a soft quilt, and the cabinet blended into the wall, as if deliberately avoiding the presence of any hard lines.

A faint light illuminated every shadow in the room, leaving not a trace of darkness. But this neither-bright-nor-dim light made one feel drowsy.

The shadowless, pure white space was dizzying. Li Luo rubbed her eyes. She had been on the island for a whole afternoon and still hadn’t gotten used to the strange color scheme.

”Have you noticed anything strange?”

Li Luo asked, looking at the Block.

The Block was even more out of place on this island.

Its distinct metallic color and sharp, regular edges stood in stark contrast to everything else on the island.

”I think *everything* is strange,” Mo Ling wrote on the electronic screen.

He had been following Li Luo around the island all afternoon. It wasn’t just the strange rules about identity; the island’s architectural style also made Mo Ling feel extremely uncomfortable.

Mo Ling even found Lin Nian a bit strange. Whenever she talked about the island, a blissful expression would unconsciously appear on her face, as if the island truly gave her life meaning.

However, she never once mentioned how she herself came to Paradise Island.

When chatting with Li Luo, Lin Nian would always steer the conversation toward Li Luo, asking what she had experienced in the Abyss and if anything interesting had happened.

While it all seemed like the concern of an elder for a junior, Mo Ling couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

”It’s like she’s trying to casually rationalize everything on this island and is constantly trying to instill these ideas in Li Luo.”

Paradise Island is a Relic.

People come to this island to suppress the Relic’s price.

The identity definitions are the price of this Relic.

After Lin Nian logically explained all this to Li Luo, it seemed like it should all make sense.

But there were still many unanswered questions.

Why were the robots that were supposed to have been destroyed on Paradise Island?

How did Paradise Island achieve mechanical intelligence?

And how did all these residents on Paradise Island find their way here?

From the moment they met, Lin Nian had been deliberately guiding Li Luo to pay attention to the island’s ”rules,” leading Li Luo to understand the island according to her line of thinking, making her forget her original purpose for coming here.

That was why Mo Ling felt so uneasy now.

”I feel like it’s strange too, but I can’t put my finger on why,” Li Luo said doubtfully, sitting on the chaise lounge.

It was only after Mo Ling reminded her that she still needed to investigate the robots that she had a moment of realization.

”How could I forget about that... The white light on this island is making me so dizzy I forgot the most important thing,” Li Luo said regretfully, rubbing her eyes.

”I’ll ask again tomorrow. My eyes hurt so much...”

Li Luo yawned.

This drowsy light really did make one feel sleepy.

Li Luo searched all over but couldn’t find a light switch. It seemed the white glow had to remain on, keeping everything perpetually white.

She sent a message to the hotel owner, and the reply confirmed that the lights couldn’t be turned off manually; they would automatically go out at a set time.

’Another strange rule?’

With no other choice, Li Luo could only wash up and get ready for bed.

Although it was still early, Li Luo was already under the covers, succumbing to an irresistible drowsiness and falling asleep.

Mo Ling, however, remained awake, waiting for the time when the lights would go out.

He had a feeling that when darkness finally enveloped everything, something was going to happen.