I'm trapped in a block

Chapter 1216 Following the Shadow of the Past

"This is……"

Mo Ling wandered around the streets for a long time, following the direction of the crowd, and unexpectedly came to a square. As soon as he arrived at the square, he felt a sense of familiarity.

The outlines of the surrounding buildings echoed faintly in his memory, and the most magnificent building in the distance seemed to overlap with the image in his mind.

Apart from the difference in color and some minor details, the building was exactly the same as he remembered.

"Dawn City Library".

Mo Ling softly uttered the name of the building.

"Could it be that I really came here before?"

As the memories in his mind and the reality in his vision intertwined and overlapped, and the sense of familiarity grew stronger, Mo Ling once again began to doubt his own memories.

Why did I even come here?

He was clearly from another world, so why did he have memories of the Dawn City Library, and those memories were so vivid, as if he had personally walked into the library? He could still vaguely recall the interior decorations and the passersby he had met inside—everything felt so familiar…

Mo Ling walked toward the building in a daze. The crowds coming and going around him became the same as in his memory. The buildings covered in metal gradually regained their color. It was as if he had stepped into his memory, into a past that had long been forgotten.

"Dawn City Library".

When the photograph of the metal engraving appeared in Mo Ling's field of vision, he seemed to see his past self standing in front of the library, looking lost. He seemed to be full of confusion back then, but the confusion he felt now was completely different from that of the past.

Why did I come here back then?

Two equally bewildered figures overlapped, the one in his memory and the one in reality stepping together through that magnificent gate.

The library remained magnificent, with high ceilings and sunlight streaming through the glass...

"Wait, why is it glass?"

Mo Ling's gaze swept back and forth across the ceiling, confirming that she wasn't mistaken; it was indeed glass, appearing metallic from the outside but transparent from the inside.

"The sunlight was reflected elsewhere by the replica of the ironwork, but at the same time it shone through the glass into the interior of the library."

This amazing phenomenon appeared before Mo Ling's eyes. He looked at it for a long time but still couldn't figure out the principle behind the ceiling.

At the same time, a familiar feeling welled up in my heart.

"I've had the same confusion before."

The same ceiling, the same one-way light, the same confused self—he stood in the same spot, at a different point in time, and the same spiral appeared in his mind…

"What are you standing there for? Is the auto-pathfinding broken? Don't block the way, there are other people who need to pass."

A security guard's reminder interrupted Mo Ling's thoughts.

He quickly apologized, moved aside, and let the people behind him pass.

Blocking the entrance is really not a good idea...

"What are you doing here?" The security guard noticed that the young man with the square head seemed a bit off and became wary, so he grabbed him and asked.

"I'm just browsing." Mo Ling didn't know how to answer.

"Just browsing? You come to the library not to read books or look things up, just to browse?" Mo Ling's answer made the security guard even more suspicious.

"Hmm, this place feels familiar, so I came in to take a look."

"Nonsense, of course you'll find it familiar. The library has never undergone major repairs since it was built, so every Dawn City resident will find it familiar... Where are you from? Show me your identity."

The security guard glanced at the locator in Mo Ling's hand, and his eyes instantly tensed up.

Ordinary people wouldn't carry something like this. Could it be some kind of dangerous individual? The social atmosphere has been quite tense lately, and public places like libraries can easily become targets for "venting."

"Identity?" Mo Ling didn't know how to show her identity, so she just extended her locator.

Seeing Mo Ling's actions, the security guard's eyes became even more suspicious.

He reached out, flipped Mo Ling's wrist over, then took out a strange device from his waist and shone it on Mo Ling's palm.

With a "beep" sound, Mo Ling's identity information appeared on the device:
Name: Mo Ling.

"Age: 127 years old."

"Address: Insufficient permissions".

"Occupation: Insufficient permissions".

"..."

The security guard was stunned when he saw the age displayed on the device and the dense list of "insufficient permissions".

Mo Ling glanced at his own information and was stunned. He hadn't expected the research institute to report his birth date accurately, making him 127 years old. Coupled with his insufficient permissions, he was clearly not a normal person.

The security guard raised his eyes, glanced cautiously at Mo Ling, then put away the equipment and quietly beckoned to Mo Ling.

Mo Ling understood what he meant and followed him to a corner on the side of the library.

The security guard still looked very nervous. Mo Ling didn't know what he wanted to do, but since the other party had made such a request, he would cooperate.

"What mission are you here for?" After they reached the corner, the security guard finally couldn't help but ask with a mysterious look on his face.

This left Mo Ling completely baffled.

task?

Mo Ling's silence was interpreted as tacit agreement by the security guard, who quickly waved his hand: "I didn't mean to ask about your mission, I just wanted to ask if you need my cooperation. When I was young, I was a very skilled player. They all called me 'the number one male gunner of the Dunes.' If the Abyss hadn't closed, I wouldn't have ended up as a security guard."

As the security guard spoke, he struck a melancholy pose.

"You came back from the abyss?" Upon hearing about the other person's experience, Mo Ling immediately became interested.

“That’s right, the number one male gunner in Unruly Dunes.” The security guard repeated, then puffed out his chest.

"I don't need to cooperate with anything, I just want to stroll around."

“I know you don’t want to expose the mission, I understand… I won’t bother you any longer, you can go in, I will cooperate secretly.”

The security guard nodded to Mo Ling, giving her a determined look, before disappearing into the shadows.

He really did disappear into the shadows... Mo Ling was distracted for a moment, and he was gone, leaving Mo Ling alone in the corner, lost in thought.

……

"Who are these people?"

As Mo Ling turned and walked into the library, she muttered to herself.

Since leaving the research institute, he hasn't encountered any normal people. It seems the impact of the Abyss's closure was too great; people's minds have all gone mad...

Mo Ling's recollection was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the security guards, forcing her to piece together the scattered fragments of her memory.

He continued wandering around the library, and soon, following the route he remembered, he arrived at a reading machine.

(End of this chapter)