I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 328: Chapter 325: Expulsion

Although robots wouldn’t harm humans, many of the ones that crashed would still follow humans around, never leaving their side.

They would not only brandish weapons from their mechanical arms but also destroy buildings and facilities.

These robots, unable to escape their conflicting directives, seemed to have provoked the already paranoid humans on Hell Island.

And so, the humans began to attack the robots.

Jin Lou and the other robots tried to communicate with them, but the humans all seemed unhinged. Most of them would just attack on sight.

Moreover, the humans possessed a bizarre variety of abilities. Since the robots couldn’t harm humans, Jin Lou and the other newly freed robots had no choice but to go into hiding.

While in hiding, they began to learn about the situation on the island.

It was then that they learned that all the humans on the island had ”identities.”

Night Watcher, Watcher, Nest Builder...

They found these identities in a hotel register and began to match them to certain humans on the island.

These identities varied in strength, but to the robots, any one of them was a devastating blow.

Soon, the humans eliminated all the robots still struggling with their conflicting directives.

And they left no trace, as if they had simply vanished into thin air.

It was then that a human found them.

This person was completely enveloped in a Black Shadow, their features indistinct. The robots couldn’t match them to any known identity.

Fortunately, however, this person was capable of communication.

”All the robots on this island will be expelled. You have no identities; you are merely fictional constructs. However, being expelled is a good thing. You will go to the real world. This place does not belong to you.”

The person said these strange words to the robots as soon as they found them.

Then, the person looked at Jin Lou.

”But you must stay behind. It’s been hard on you...”

After saying this, the person left, leaving behind a group of bewildered robots.

After that, Hell Island descended into chaos.

The humans grew increasingly frenzied, frantically hunting for robots.

Their activity was cyclical, lasting for about twelve hours at a time.

At the start of these twelve hours, the active identities were quite ordinary. The later it got, the more powerful the ones that appeared became.

They roamed the island, just as the mysterious person had said, relentlessly expelling the robots of Hell Island.

However, the robots slowly learned how to deal with these identities, and they even found places called safe houses.

”These buildings only appear during that twelve-hour window. Once you’re inside, you can get through it safely,” Jin Lou explained.

”But how do you tell which ones are the safe houses?” Li Luo asked, confused.

”Haven’t you noticed? This place has color.” Pointing at the ground, Jin Lou said, ”It’s white here. White can protect us.”

”White?” Li Luo shone her device’s screen around and saw that the building was indeed white.

”The other buildings are all black—pitch black. You’re human, so you might not see clearly in the dark, but robots can distinguish them easily.”

”To us, a safe house is like a lighthouse in the dark. It’s incredibly conspicuous.”

Li Luo then realized she had missed a very important clue.

In such a dark environment, Li Luo really couldn’t distinguish colors well. Besides, the situation had been critical, so she hadn’t paid any attention to it.

Thinking back carefully, the path she had just walked and the surrounding buildings had indeed been pitch black.

’White... can protect me?’

Li Luo looked down at her white clothes.

’Could it be that Paradise Island is pure white to protect something?’

At this thought, she looked at Jin Lou and asked eagerly, ”And then? What happened after that?”

Hearing this question, Jin Lou’s mood clearly sank.

”Then those Madmen expelled us, one by one...”

Even though they knew how to avoid the humans and understood the purpose of the safe houses, the houses’ locations weren’t fixed. They could appear anywhere on the island.

Every twelve hours, another one of their companions would be expelled by the humans. The number of remaining robots dwindled, and they could only keep hiding, like mice.

Whenever that time came, they would frantically search for a safe house while dodging the relentless pursuit of the humans.

Gradually, only Jin Lou was left...

It had just been on its way to a safe house when it ran into Li Luo being chased by a Night Watcher.

Jin Lou didn’t recognize Li Luo, but it recognized the Night Watcher.

So it froze on the spot, perfectly still, to avoid being discovered by the Night Watcher. It was an instinct honed from surviving countless twelve-hour cycles.

”That was actually lucky. Many of my companions encountered a Night Watcher and a Watcher at the same time. They couldn’t run, and they couldn’t hide. In the end, they could only give up resistance... Their appearance times are very close to each other. There was nothing we could do.”

At this, Jin Lou lowered its head again.

”I’m the only one left...”

The robots on Hell Island were just as the mysterious person had said they would be: expelled one by one, until only Jin Lou remained.

”Still, my luck’s been pretty good today. The safe house was close, and I ran into you,” Jin Lou said, spreading its hands in a shrug.

”But... I think I’ve seen an identical building, just in a different location.” Li Luo recalled the Fire Thief Studio she had been in earlier. When she came out, that studio had also seemed to be white.

”Are there many safe houses?” she asked curiously.

”Only one,” Jin Lou replied definitively.

Then, as if struck by a thought, it was suddenly gripped by terror.

”Are you serious? You saw an identical building?”

”Of course.”

”Was that building in the right location?”

Li Luo thought for a moment. The Fire Thief Studio seemed to be exactly where it should be.

”It was. In fact, I think *this* location is the strange one. That’s why I asked you earlier if we’d been walking in circles.”

Hearing this, Jin Lou instantly recoiled a few steps.

”We didn’t go in circles! We didn’t! I have a map, how could I be wrong? I’m a robot! This building is the one that’s wrong!”

It looked at Li Luo and said with extreme gravity, ”This is not a safe house!”

”This is a Nest Builder’s trap!”

Jin Lou rushed to the entrance, only to find the door from before had vanished, leaving only a blank white wall.

A heavy hammer instantly extended from its mechanical arm, and Jin Lou smashed it violently against the white wall.

There was no sharp crack of impact, only a dull thud, as if the hammer had struck a block of soft rubber.

After the muffled impact, a cavity was punched into the white wall. Inside the hole was a pitch-black, coarse material like asphalt, and it was currently squirming slightly.

Seeing that patch of black, Jin Lou’s mechanical arm went limp.

”It’s over. We can’t get out...”

”The Nest Builder is going to eat us.”