I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 439: Chapter 436: God’s Purpose

”I’ve found it.”

Beside the empty puddle, Mo Ling was talking with the Little Elf.

After dealing with the crisis involving Li Luo and the fatty, the most important task now was to find the god’s location.

”Where is it?”

”No wonder I couldn’t find it. It was hiding among its own kind all along...”

The Little Elf manipulated the field of view, sweeping rapidly across the vast, golden sea before locking onto the god’s position.

”We’re too late. It’s gone to the other side.”

The Little Elf looked at a mirror-like surface. A small, blue Olive was attached to it, the ripples on its surface just about to fade away.

The Little Elf quickly reactivated the fading Olive, and the image on it slowly came into focus.

”The 2nd Floor of the Abyss? What is it doing there?”

On the other side of the Olive, a vast expanse of yellow sand stretched to the horizon.

A long river flowed through the sand, heading toward a distant city.

”Oasis City...” The Little Elf tensed up instantly upon seeing the familiar city.

”Can we follow it?” Mo Ling was also anxious. If the god had really gone to Oasis City, there was no telling what might happen.

”No, we’re trapped in the Sea of Creation. It’s a restriction of our permissions. At most, we can watch what’s happening over there through the Olive, but we can’t interfere.”

Permissions were both a source of power and a shackle.

”Can you control the Olive to follow it? I can interfere,” Mo Ling asked.

”Of course.” Without hesitation, the Little Elf had the Olive follow the river.

Soon, the Olive reached the familiar Oasis City.

And yet, it was not so familiar.

Many of the candy structures had been left behind. The people of Oasis City had repurposed the giant lollipops, building staircases on them and using them as some sort of signal tower.

Although most of the candy had been cleared away, traces still remained.

”How nostalgic,” the Little Elf murmured, maneuvering the Olive along the god’s trail to the city center.

Oasis City had returned to its former vitality, with people coming and going. The original Wishing Pool had been replaced by a statue.

It was of a little boy holding up a toy pistol.

”It stopped here for a while, then went that way.”

The Olive turned in a certain direction, toward a small alley at the edge of the square...

”Old Xu’s house.”

Mo Ling immediately had a bad feeling.

”Hurry, let’s take a look.”

The Little Elf didn’t dally either, sending the Olive straight into the alley and arriving at Old Xu’s familiar home.

There was the familiar fence, and in the yard were meticulously cared-for flowers and plants. No matter how bustling the outside world was, Old Xu’s home was always quiet, like a tranquil oasis untouched by the world.

Seeing the scene in the yard, Mo Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Xu was sitting at a table, holding a cup in his hands, lost in thought.

Across the table was another cup. The tea inside was still warm, giving off a faint wisp of steam.

Someone had been sitting there.

The Olive floated slowly over and entered the yard.

”Why are there so many strange guests today?” Old Xu said with some displeasure, watching the Olive float toward him.

”We’re too late.”

It seemed the god had already left.

Mo Ling searched in his Block for a moment, found a Shell-Person’s shell, and teleported it onto Old Xu’s table.

”Hm?” Seeing the smoothly cut shell, Old Xu’s eyes instantly lit up. ”Old friend?”

Seeing that Old Xu had recognized him, Mo Ling quickly had the Little Elf respond.

The Little Elf hurriedly made the Olive bob up and down, then began to display an image.

Watching the image on the Olive, Old Xu gradually understood its purpose.

”So, you’re chasing it...” Old Xu nodded in understanding. ”It didn’t harm me. It just came and sat for a while, asked me a few questions, and then left before I had a chance to ask where it came from.”

”What questions did it ask?”

Old Xu tapped on the table and began to recall his conversation with the god.

...

「A short time ago.」

Old Xu was still in his yard, tending to his flowers and plants.

When he saw the Waterman glowing with golden light enter his yard, Old Xu immediately notified the guards. Then, he calmly brewed a pot of tea for the Waterman and began to stall for time.

The Waterman was taken aback when Old Xu brewed tea and invited it to sit, but it obediently sat down nonetheless.

”Why are you brewing tea for me?” the Waterman asked, looking at the cup in confusion.

”All who come are guests. This is human etiquette,” Old Xu said calmly as he poured the tea.

He was panicking internally. This strange, uninvited creature didn’t seem normal at all. But Old Xu showed none of it on the surface, maintaining a calm demeanor.

The surrounding danger level was fluctuating wildly, which was very strange.

All Old Xu could do was stall for time and hope the guards would arrive soon.

”Human, are you happy to be alive?” The Waterman didn’t drink the tea right away. Instead, it stared at the steaming liquid and asked this strange question.

”I don’t know if others are happy, but I am,” Old Xu said, picking up a fan and fanning the teacup. ”I’m not young anymore, and I’ve been through a lot of hardships. Life is pretty good now, so what is there not to be happy about?”

The Waterman sat obediently on its chair, watching the fan wave back and forth. After a long silence, it suddenly asked another question:

”You don’t want to die so soon, do you?”

”Of course not. Who wants to die early? No one wants to die early, unless they’ve lost the will to live,” Old Xu replied as if it were obvious.

”You have no children, no continuation of your life. Don’t you feel that’s a regret?” the Waterman asked.

”Heh, at my age, someone is still asking me this. I haven’t been asked a question like that in decades. The last time someone asked me that was when they were trying to set me up with a date.” A nostalgic look appeared in Old Xu’s eyes.

”I used to think about such things, about descendants... But later, I came to understand. The continuation of life isn’t just about creating offspring. I can pass on my spirit, letting all of human civilization remember my existence.”

”Our civilization was once plagued by war. Many soldiers sacrificed themselves in those wars. They had no descendants, but their spirit is engraved in our hearts. The inheritance of spirit runs deeper than blood...”

Old Xu murmured, and as if a thought struck him, he took a sip of his tea.

”I’ve said a bit too much...”

The Waterman just listened quietly, not interrupting Old Xu’s words.

”So, you have no wishes?”

Hearing this, Old Xu’s hand, which was holding the teacup, trembled, nearly spilling the tea.

”Wishes? I wouldn’t dare to have any more wishes...”

The Waterman nodded meaningfully, fell silent for a moment, and then continued to ask:

”Do you think humanity needs a god who can grant wishes?”

It suddenly stared intently at Old Xu, its tone becoming incredibly serious.

”A god... who can grant any wish.”