I'm Trapped in the Block
Chapter 269 - 267: Conquest
Once a race becomes powerful enough, expansion and conquest are only a matter of time.
The Fishman Race continuously expanded its territory, gradually claiming all sorts of authorities as its own. Finally, the school set its sights on authorities they had once never even dared to imagine.
The Sun.
Little Fish had always told the other clones that the Sun was a terrifying authority. His first encounter with it had left him with a deep, lingering fear.
Boundless heat, searing light—just the thought of it made Little Fish’s body ache with a phantom pain.
It was a scar he would never forget.
The school took this very seriously. If they could conquer the Sun, it would mean they had the power to overcome any authority.
But they couldn’t think of a solution.
The clones sent to scout the Sun never returned, and it was presumed they had met a grim fate. This only further proved the Sun’s terrifying nature.
And so, the school’s conquest reached an impasse.
This lasted until Lingyi made a suggestion to Little Fish: use the "Sea" to extinguish the Sun.
The school had recently acquired the authority of the Sea, but wielding it was not so simple. It would take time.
Even with the many body-enhancing authorities they had acquired, the Fishmen still couldn’t last long near the Sun. They needed something to help them resist its light.
"Lingyi, I know what you’re trying to say, but no." Little Fish immediately guessed Lingyi’s intention.
"It is a prerequisite," Lingyi said calmly.
"Do we really have to conquer everything?" Little Fish suddenly asked Lingyi.
"We will do as you command," Lingyi said, deflecting the question.
"Don’t just follow my lead. I want to hear your thoughts. You see further than I do when it comes to the school’s future. Go on, speak."
"Alright."
Swaying its body, Lingyi earnestly asked Little Fish a question:
"Have you seen the edge?"
"I have. It’s a place where there’s nothing."
It was a desolate, empty scene. Beyond a thin membrane was nothing but a void, and once inside, the only option was to turn back.
The school surmised that this was likely the edge of their world.
Lingyi continued to explain its perspective:
"The edge means our world is finite. If the school is to continue to develop, we must find the infinite within the finite, find a way to escape this place, or shatter the edge."
"Therefore, we cannot pass up a single one of these powerful authorities. Perhaps one of them holds the key we’re searching for—the means to achieve our goal."
Seemingly worried its words lacked conviction, Lingyi tried another tack, asking Little Fish:
"Have you ever thought about the school’s future?"
"What about the future?"
"The future..." Lingyi said with great solemnity. "If the school truly acquires every authority, but we’re still trapped by the edge, what meaning will any of it have?"
"There will be nothing new. We will possess everything, yet be unable to ever leave."
"Completely locked in..."
As Little Fish listened to Lingyi’s words, he finally felt a sense of endless despair.
He looked at Lingyi and said weakly, "So we can’t give up on any hope."
"So you understand."
"I understand. Go on, do what you must."
"Alright," Lingyi agreed.
Watching Lingyi’s figure recede into the distance, Little Fish stood his ground, at a loss. He unconsciously began to swim in circles.
"What are you going to do?" Mo Ling asked Jeff.
"I’m going to destroy the ’Moon’."
Hearing Jeff’s answer, Mo Ling instantly understood why Little Fish was so conflicted.
To Little Fish, the Moon was the only warmth he had known since coming into this world.
The other clones didn’t understand Little Fish’s feelings; they only saw it as another authority to be exploited.
When faced with the future of his race, Little Fish still chose to give Lingyi a free hand. Or perhaps, he never had a choice to begin with.
Little Fish clearly wasn’t the type to be a visionary.
In the time Mo Ling had been observing him, what he did most was play. He played in all sorts of settings:
Racing the clones in the sea to see who swam faster.
Leading the school in games of hide-and-seek among the settings.
After obtaining an authority, the first thing he did was always use that authority to play all kinds of games.
Of course, what he liked best was to stay alone under the moonlight for a long, long time.
Ever since the Sea had been destroyed, Little Fish had been melancholic. Only when basking in the moonlight could he feel even a little bit happy.
He wasn’t selfish. Despite having absolute control over the school, he didn’t see them as tools, but as his own people.
Little Fish could recognize every clone. And though he was lazy with his naming, he could accurately call out each clone’s name-number whenever they played. He was never mistaken about that.
Regarding the school’s choices, he also knew that Lingyi saw farther and more clearly than he did. Playing and avoidance couldn’t solve the school’s problems.
Only by being like Lingyi—treating every authority as a potential tool and relinquishing no possible hope—could the school be led out of its predicament.
Little Fish couldn’t find the key to the lock that trapped the school on his own, but Lingyi could.
Understanding all this, Little Fish’s only choice was to let Lingyi do as it saw fit.
"Did you destroy the Moon?" Mo Ling asked.
"Of course. That was the only way to resist the Sun..."
Not long after, Lingyi returned to Little Fish’s side.
Little Fish asked the same question as Mo Ling:
"Did you destroy the Moon?"
Lingyi also gave the same answer.
"Of course."
The authority of the Moon passed to Little Fish. He felt its familiar power, a profound sense of loss washing over him.
’It’s exactly the same.’
"Take it and do what’s next." After a moment’s contemplation, Little Fish tossed the entirety of the Moon’s authority to Lingyi.
Everything that followed went smoothly. With the help of the Moon’s authority, the school swiftly conquered the Sun.
The Sea submerged the orb of light, extinguishing its last spark of warmth.
That once insurmountable power was now crushed beneath the school’s heel, its brilliance gone.
The Sun’s authority, too, was claimed by the school.
Only after obtaining the Sun’s authority did the Fishmen discover its power: it could destroy anything, representing the death of all things.
With the Sun’s authority, the school could now destroy any setting they laid eyes on.
This greatly accelerated the school’s rate of conquest.
After understanding the Sun’s authority, the school grew curious as to why the Moon could heal its inescapable destruction.
Finally, after constant experimentation, the school came to understand the authority of the Moon.
"It’s time. The Moon controls time. It reversed the flow, returning everything to the instant before its destruction."
"As long as death has yet to occur, one cannot die."