I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 313: Chapter 310: The Person Who Bends Over

”It’s about identities again.”

Mo Ling was a bit exasperated. There were so many strange things on this island, yet every single one had a ”reasonable” explanation.

Identities, strange light... The entire Paradise Island seemed to operate in a peculiar way. The various rules were perfectly interwoven, and the people on the island all followed them without protest.

’Doesn’t anyone question these rules?’

Mo Ling felt more and more that these defined identities were just a kind of restriction, a limit on people’s freedom.

What kind of place makes people work only during the day and sleep at night, or vice versa?

’This is too absurd.’

However, as soon as Mo Ling considered that this might be the effect of the relic ”Paradise Island,” it all started to seem logical again.

’The people on the island are just bearing the cost of using the relic. It might be awkward sometimes, but it’s not entirely unacceptable.’

Mo Ling didn’t know the consequences of violating one’s defined identity. He hadn’t seen anyone cross that line, except for that fitness instructor on the Paradise.

Thinking of this, Mo Ling had a new question: ’Why would Paradise Island assign identities to robots too?’

Explaining it with the relic made no sense at all.

So, the key had to be the robots.

Just as he was thinking, the innkeeper had already brought Lin Nian to the door of the room.

The innkeeper excused himself first, while Lin Nian walked into the room without hesitation.

”Looks like you slept well.” She walked over to Li Luo and pinched her cheek.

”How did you know?”

”Of course I know. You had dark circles under your eyes when you first arrived on the island, a clear sign you’d been exhausted for a long time. They’re gone now. It seems the sleep on this island is quite effective.”

Li Luo nodded. ”Yes, I slept very soundly. A little too soundly.”

”Everyone who’s new to the island feels that way. Some even think the island has been afflicted by some kind of distortion and that they’ve been hypnotized. It’s perfectly normal,” Lin Nian said with a smile.

”There are many places in the Abyss where you must follow the rules, or you’ll face great danger. The deeper you go, the more pronounced this phenomenon becomes. Have you heard a certain story?”

Lin Nian suddenly asked Li Luo.

”What story?”

Lin Nian thought for a moment and said, ”It goes something like this...”

A Hunter arrived at a very remote monitoring station. There weren’t many people inside, and the station chief even came out to greet him warmly.

But he discovered that everyone at the station walked hunched over, which looked quite ridiculous. The station chief also warned him very seriously that this was a rule of the monitoring station—everyone had to stay hunched over.

But this Hunter was a non-believer. He thought the people at the station had been distorted by some kind of relic. He didn’t investigate the reason for the rule; instead, not long after entering the station, he stood up straight.

The moment he straightened up, his head was sliced off as if by a steel wire and fell to the ground.

Before the station chief could even explain the reason, all that was left of the Hunter was a headless corpse...

”That’s more or less the story.”

”So why did his head get cut off for standing up?” Li Luo asked, confused.

Hearing this, Lin Nian smiled and tapped Li Luo on the head. ”The beheaded Hunter had the exact same thought right before he died.”

”Before you know the answer, please just follow the rules. When you see everyone else hunched over, you should probably hunch over too. Other people aren’t idiots; they wouldn’t be bending over for no reason.”

”The prerequisite for getting to the bottom of things is to first understand the situation. Otherwise, any action is just reckless.”

Listening to Lin Nian, Li Luo nodded, only half-understanding.

She didn’t press the matter further.

Only Mo Ling, inside the Block, was still confused.

’So why did they have to be hunched over?’

’Shouldn’t she finish the story?’

Mo Ling was still wondering why the Hunter had to hunch over; he hadn’t paid close attention to what Lin Nian said afterward.

But now it seemed Lin Nian had no intention of finishing the story.

She pulled Li Luo straight up and headed for the hallway.

”I haven’t finished packing...”

”Let’s get something to eat first. You can pack when we get back.”

...

The two returned to yesterday’s restaurant. Breakfast was the same as before—a sea of pure white.

White milk, white steamed buns, white noodles, white dumplings...

Li Luo finally ate a little. Judging by her reaction, although the food didn’t look very appetizing, it tasted quite good.

Seeing Li Luo finally eat something, Lin Nian smiled in satisfaction.

After they finished eating, Lin Nian dragged Li Luo to a clothing store.

”Owner, she needs a new outfit!” Lin Nian said to the owner.

”I don’t need one, I have...” Li Luo started to refuse, but Lin Nian gently covered her mouth with a finger.

”Look at how torn up your clothes are, and your pockets are full of sand. And here, look at these spots, they’re all blackened. Isn’t it uncomfortable wearing this every day? I know you’ve never cared much about your appearance, but you should at least think about being comfortable.”

Lin Nian pointed out the flaws in Li Luo’s clothes while calling the owner over.

Li Luo was helpless and could only let Lin Nian and the clothing store owner surround her, discussing what she should wear.

The owner took a white measuring tape and measured Li Luo a few times, then walked aside and brought out several white garments. Among them was even a pure white combat suit, which left Li Luo a bit stunned.

”Is everything white?”

”Only white is available here,” the clothing store owner replied faintly.

”We’ll take them all. I’ll pay.” Lin Nian pulled the owner aside and paid immediately.

And so, Li Luo returned to the inn, holding a large pile of clothes.

Lin Nian was still chattering away beside her.

”Your backpack is so big, why is it full of nothing but food? Can you even eat all that? You need to pack some clothes too. Use a storage capsule to keep them; it doesn’t take up much space...”

Li Luo could only nod repeatedly.

After returning to the inn, Li Luo quickly finished packing her luggage and changed into a pure white outfit.

”Alright, let’s go.”

Seeing Li Luo looking so clean, Lin Nian nodded in satisfaction.

”You look much better like this.”

After saying goodbye to the innkeeper, the two stepped out onto the pure white street again.

The street was bustling with people. Dressed in pure white, Li Luo blended in with the crowd. If it weren’t for the Block behind her, she would have looked no different from the other islanders.

The people on the island were as friendly as ever. They greeted Li Luo warmly and complimented her on her beautiful new clothes.

’These islanders sure warm up to you quickly.’

Although it was a bit abrupt, the friendly atmosphere was still very nice.

However, Mo Ling, floating in the sky, gradually realized that the direction they were heading seemed a bit off.

’Shouldn’t we be going to the docks?’

Was it not the same dock as yesterday, but a different one?

The surrounding buildings started to look unfamiliar.

It seemed Lin Nian wasn’t taking Li Luo to that somewhat remote dock, but had instead brought her to a densely populated commercial district.

The buildings here were clearly much more ornate. Although they still had the familiar streamlined, curved architecture, the buildings in this area were noticeably taller and covered several times more ground than the houses she had seen before.

’It’s getting more and more lively?’

Mo Ling wasn’t familiar with the island’s roads, so he could only watch helplessly.

The two of them didn’t stop until they reached a small, hemispherical building.

”I have to go to work now. You can go in by yourself. I’ll come find you after my shift,” Lin Nian said apologetically.

Li Luo nodded.

’After her shift?’ Mo Ling felt more and more that something was wrong. ’Isn’t Li Luo supposed to be getting on a ship? Shouldn’t they be saying their goodbyes right now?’

But to Mo Ling’s surprise, Li Luo actually walked into the hemispherical building without any hesitation.

’What is she doing? Is she not taking the ship anymore?’

Mo Ling was anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only watch as Li Luo walked down a hallway and stopped in front of an office.

She expertly opened the door, placed her luggage to one side, and then sat dazedly at the white desk.

As if remembering something, she took out an electronic tablet and began connecting to the building’s control system.

Outside, a flash of white light pulsed, and the sign by the door slowly lit up.

”Fire Thief Studio.”