I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 427: Chapter 424: Machines and Factory

It was only after hearing what the Little Elf said that Mo Ling understood—he had completely misunderstood the Sea of Creation.

’They aren’t slacking off. They’re exploiting everything they can to the absolute limit, including me, their ”universal vessel”.’

If the Little Elf hadn’t happened to rescue him, Mo Ling might have been stuck working alongside them for a long time to come.

”Why do they work nonstop? Does your race get some kind of joy from helping others fulfill their wishes?” Mo Ling asked, confused. ”Or do you get some kind of benefit from it?”

The Little Elf shook its head immediately. ”What benefit? There isn’t one.”

”But back in Oasis City, when people made wishes to you, didn’t you receive their wishes?”

”That only happened because my power isn’t pure enough. Normally, making a wish doesn’t require any payment,” the Little Elf explained. ”Besides, I’ve been in the Sea of Creation for so long, and I’ve never seen any of the creatures performing rituals at the Divine Sacrifice Sites pay any price.”

As it spoke, the Little Elf looked up at the shimmering golden light on the surface of the sea.

”That’s why I say they’re like machines. A machine has no desires. It doesn’t need to be paid for its work. It just functions as a ’part,’ running endlessly...”

The Little Elf’s voice held both worry and dread.

To see one’s own kind turn into these bizarre things, one after another... anyone would be terrified.

”I want to save them.”

The Little Elf said suddenly, its gaze fixed above.

”They shouldn’t have to work nonstop like this. It’s not fair to them.”

”How would you save them?” Mo Ling asked, curious.

”We just have to stop the Sea of Creation. If the ’production line’ stops, the machines will stop running too.” The Little Elf looked at Mo Ling and said earnestly,

”The Sea of Creation is like a giant factory, and the mirrored surfaces are its conveyor belts. As the mirrors shift, the various Divine Sacrifice Sites and wishing spots appear before my kin, and they complete the task in front of them, just like machines.”

”If the mirrors stop shifting and the production line grinds to a halt, they’ll stop working too.”

Hearing the Little Elf’s plan, Mo Ling understood what it was thinking.

However, the Little Elf made it sound simple, but putting it into practice would be fraught with difficulties.

’How could they make the mirrors stop shifting?’

’Even if the mirrors did stop, would the machine-like members of its race really stop working?’

’If something went wrong with the Sea of Creation, wouldn’t it have some kind of defense mechanism?’

...

Mo Ling couldn’t help but feel the Little Elf’s plan was far too naive; it hadn’t thought things through at all.

When Mo Ling voiced his concerns, the Little Elf calmed down considerably.

”You’re right. Even if we could stop the Sea of Creation, they might not want to leave. What if... what if they like it this way?”

”But I do have a way to stop the Sea of Creation, and it won’t trigger any defenses...” The Little Elf suddenly grabbed Mo Ling. ”Come with me. I’ll take you somewhere.”

Mo Ling felt a band of golden light suddenly wrap around his wrist, and his entire body began to sink into the depths of the sea.

The golden light from above faded, plunging the sea into darkness. Thick clouds of sediment drifted past him. In no time at all, the Little Elf had brought Mo Ling into the pitch-black depths.

”Where are we?” In the gloom, Mo Ling could vaguely make out two massive rock walls standing on either side of them in the water.

”A trench at the bottom of the Sea of Creation. I found it when I was exploring deeper,” the Little Elf replied.

”A trench?”

Mo Ling looked down. Murky bubbles periodically rose from the pitch-black abyss, and a steady stream of dense sediment billowed up from the trench, as if something was churning the seabed below.

’Is there something down there?’ A sliver of unease grew in Mo Ling’s heart. The pale glimmers of dust and bubbles made him feel as if something was stirring in the darkness.

The pitch-black chasm seemed bottomless, and visibility was dropping fast. The water here felt extremely dense, exuding an indescribable, suffocating pressure.

Other than the BLUB-BLUB-BLUB of the surrounding bubbles, the area was dead silent. There were no signs of life, and even the current seemed stagnant. The stillness was terrifyingly oppressive.

Just as Mo Ling was about to ask the Little Elf its destination, a strange object began to rise from the depths of the chasm.

It was transparent, but its texture was different from the surrounding water, and its shape was peculiar.

As the object drifted upward, Mo Ling finally got a clear look at it.

It was... a piece of glass!

Or, to be more precise, a glass sculpture of some kind.

It looked a lot like the solidified glass creatures from outside, but it lacked their lifelike vibrancy.

The glass sculpture followed the trail of rising bubbles, rotating as it ascended.

”A... glass seabird...”

The glass seabird tumbled slowly in the dense current, drifting past Mo Ling on its way to the surface. Soon, it would likely be absorbed into the layer of golden light above.

”What is this thing?” Mo Ling finally asked the Little Elf, unable to contain his confusion.

”It’s a material,” the Little Elf explained. ”A material for the mirrored surface.”

”The mirrored surface isn’t made of ordinary glass, but a type of living glass. After these materials float to the top, my kin reshape them and use them to patch the surface.”

”I found this trench by following these materials back to their source. The origin of this living glass is down there.”

Hearing the Little Elf’s explanation, Mo Ling suddenly recalled the scene he had witnessed from the Sky-Shuttle when he first arrived at the Sea of Creation: a seabird being devoured by the Ocean Symphony.

A thought suddenly struck Mo Ling: 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

’Is this how all the living glass is made?’

’The Sea of Creation devours any life that passes through it, leaving only its sound behind, then turns it into glass to create its special mirrored surface.’

For some reason, Mo Ling felt there had to be a connection.

Just as the Little Elf had said, the Sea of Creation was a giant factory, manufacturing... something. And anything could become a raw material.

’If that’s the case, Li Luo could be in danger too...’

Mo Ling hadn’t seen Li Luo or Fatty in the golden light. He had no idea where the currents might have swept them off to.

’If the mirrored surface is a conveyor belt, then they might have fallen into a different part of the sea.’

As Mo Ling pondered, more glass sculptures rose from the trench.

They were all seabirds, frozen in flight, yet looking lifeless and utterly bizarre. Propelled by the dense seawater, they floated stiffly upward.

”We’re almost there. See the light down below?” the Little Elf said, suddenly squeezing Mo Ling’s wrist.