Chapter 189: Chapter 187: Source of the Oasis
This was what happened when the investigation team had first entered the Oasis.
Mo Ling didn’t know the investigation team had gone through such a struggle back then. When Old Xu had recounted the experience, he had always glossed over it.
"All beginnings are difficult."
Establishing a foothold in the Oasis was even more difficult than developing it.
All sorts of restrictions, all sorts of unknown dangers—there was no truly safe place in the abyss.
The people who settled here had to constantly eliminate these dangers, remaining on high alert at all times.
’There’s no such thing as absolute peace and comfort.’
The price for Oasis City’s tranquility was likely unimaginable.
There was still a rainbow-colored light by the pool, shining conspicuously. Worried that staying any longer would interfere with the investigation team’s history, Mo Ling quickly dove into it.
’I wonder where I’ll end up this time.’
The rainbow light flickered. Passing through it, Mo Ling found himself in a desert.
A desert?
The moment he appeared, Mo Ling knew something was wrong.
’Isn’t this supposed to be the Oasis?’
’Is this before the Oasis appeared?’
Was the mirage actually recreating the scene from before the Oasis’s existence?
Mo Ling was a little surprised. The mirage’s ability seemed far more powerful than he had imagined. The formation of the Oasis must have taken thousands, if not tens of thousands of years, yet the mirage could still recreate it.
However, the specific time period was unknown.
Mo Ling controlled the Block, letting it float for a while. He found that the surroundings were nothing but identical sand dunes, with no moisture at their base.
There was no trace of an oasis whatsoever.
Mo Ling remembered that the ring-shaped lake around the Oasis was a saltwater lake. If this place wasn’t originally an ocean, where did the lake’s water come from?
He observed his surroundings carefully again but found no suspicious rivers or underground waterways.
Only sand.
Perfectly ordinary sand.
Just as Mo Ling was wondering about this, sand suddenly swirled up around the Block, and an unexpected sandstorm blew toward it.
’Where did this sandstorm come from?’
The sandstorm’s appearance was incredibly abrupt, as if it had materialized out of thin air without any warning.
In the blink of an eye, the sandstorm swept the Block into its center.
Mo Ling could hear the whistling wind and the grinding of colliding sand particles outside the Block.
However, the sand couldn’t cause any damage to the Block. It was all just an illusion.
Despite being in a raging sandstorm, Mo Ling felt no impact at all. He just continued to float peacefully in the air.
Just as Mo Ling was wondering where the sandstorm had come from, a rhythmic tremor began. The sand on the dunes started to jump, each grain dancing in a regular pattern with the vibrations, like rice on a sieve.
’Something is approaching.’
As the thought crossed his mind, he saw a colossal black wall approaching in the distance. It slammed right into the Block.
This black wall, which should have been an illusion, was actually able to touch the Block!
’It’s over.’
The Block was sent flying into the air by the impact. Mo Ling quickly curled up, protecting his head, trying to keep from being slammed against the metal walls.
But after spinning in the air a few times, Mo Ling felt no collision.
What happened?
When Mo Ling came to his senses, he realized he was now standing in mid-air.
The sensation in his hands felt off. He felt around carefully and discovered that his head had turned into a block again.
Just like when he controlled the Block, Mo Ling found he could now control his own body to float in the air. The earlier impact hadn’t harmed him at all.
’I’m a block-person again. What in the world was that wall?’
It could actually knock me into a block-person?
Mo Ling hastily looked down. When he saw the true form of the black wall, he couldn’t contain his shock.
It was a turtle!
A turtle as massive as a mountain!
Though its form resembled a turtle, it had the head of a bird and a long, slender tail like a snake. The eyes in its bird-like head were darting around, looking at the spot where the impact had just occurred.
Seawater constantly streamed from its fissure-covered shell, pouring down onto the dry desert below. The flowing water formed a perfect circle around the strange turtle.
The strange turtle seemed to have stopped because it had just run into the Block.
After looking around, it began to dig a pit right where it stood.
’What is it doing?’
Mo Ling carefully floated downward, wanting to see what the strange turtle was up to.
The strange turtle was still digging its pit. It seemed very anxious and was extremely wary of its surroundings. Most importantly, it had noticed Mo Ling approaching.
"What are you doing?" A voice like the clacking of seashells came from the strange turtle’s mouth.
This stunned Mo Ling. "You can see me?"
The voice-projecting bracelet promptly transmitted Mo Ling’s question.
"Don’t come any closer! Leave, quickly!" The strange turtle’s tone was very serious, but it didn’t stop digging.
Mo Ling suddenly realized he had inadvertently interfered with history again.
This strange turtle might have been on its way somewhere else, but because he had collided with it, it had stayed put.
Perhaps his conversation with the turtle would also affect the future.
But as Mo Ling looked at the giant turtle, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity. This creature was definitely related to the origin of Oasis City.
The seawater flowing from its shell looked to be the source of the ring-shaped saltwater lake surrounding the Oasis.
The strange turtle saw that the block-person before it was still spacing out. Its back shook, and the barnacles on its shell, tangled with dried seaweed, actually began to move.
"Defend!"
With the strange turtle’s cry, numerous Shell People emerged from the barnacles on its back. They scurried to the front of the shell.
"God! What’s wrong?" As soon as the group of Shell People reached the front of the shell, they began to question the strange turtle.
This strange turtle was the god of the Shell People?
So the giant illusion in the mirage of the Shell People’s graveyard was this very turtle.
The reason the mirage couldn’t recreate it was probably because the strange turtle was too massive to be fully reproduced.
"Defend... defend against the enemy in front," the strange turtle’s voice sounded weak now.
Mo Ling found it odd. The turtle’s current state didn’t seem right.
"God, where is the enemy?" The Shell People searched all around the edge of the shell but couldn’t find any trace of Mo Ling. They didn’t seem to be able to see the block-person in the air.
The strange turtle couldn’t tell them, either. It could only cry out weakly, "In front... in the sky... in..."
Its weakness made the Shell People even more frantic. They scurried around on the shell like ants on a hot griddle.
"We can’t find the enemy! God, where is the enemy?" the Shell People cried out desperately to their "God" as they searched.
Another group of Shell People began to produce seashells to cover the strange turtle’s back. The shells piled up thicker and thicker, as if they were building some kind of defensive fortification.
There were many of these Shell People, and they produced shells very quickly. Using the already-existing barnacles as a base, the shells spread rapidly, and before long, they had created a thick defensive structure on the strange turtle’s back.
Not only that, but by using those barnacles, the Shell People seemed to be able to produce an endless supply of shells, at a much faster rate than Mo Ling had seen before.
The shells quickly "fixed" everything on the turtle’s back in place, protecting it all.
The rapidly produced shells were so heavy they were even making the turtle itself a bit unsteady on its feet.
’Aren’t they just screwing over their own god?’
Despite all their efforts, the clumsy Shell People still couldn’t see Mo Ling.
"What exactly are you doing?"
Mo Ling could no longer hold back his curiosity. The desire for knowledge overwhelmed everything else.
At this moment, the strange turtle seemed to finally realize that the person before it had no malicious intent.
A weak reply came from the strange turtle’s mouth.
"I... I’m laying my eggs."
