"Be careful," the Little Elf reminded him.

Mo Ling arrived before the crack. Instead of putting the cola can in first, he touched the edge of the torrent with his fingertip.

However, to his great surprise, his finger only felt the ice-cold current; there was no impact at all.

"What’s going on?"

He carefully placed his finger into the current, and the sensation was the same.

’No force?’

Mo Ling steeled himself and slowly submerged his hand into the surging seawater. The water was like it had hit a hard rock, splitting into two streams and flowing around it.

But Mo Ling still felt no force whatsoever.

His hand felt as if it were fixed in place within the seawater.

This instantly reminded Mo Ling of the hard beds and husks from Dream Level 0.

’How could this be?’

Astonished, Mo Ling walked directly into the seawater, his body splitting the current in two.

But his skin still felt no force, only an icy-cold sensation—the touch of the seawater.

"Looks like I didn’t need to worry about you," the Little Elf said, also surprised.

Mo Ling held the cola can firmly in his hand, and it wasn’t washed away by the sea either.

’The current is obviously so violent, so why does it feel so calm?’

Just like that, Mo Ling flew toward the crack, even passing through it and arriving in a stretch of blue seawater.

Sunlight pierced through the surface of the sea, making the water glitter and sparkle.

Because of the crack, a swirling vortex had formed on the sea’s surface, with the current converging at its center.

Mo Ling turned his head and could still see the sky on the other side of the crack.

He had actually reached the other side of the crack so easily.

When he had first approached the crack and seen the surging seawater, Mo Ling had thought placing the cola can in the water would be an incredibly difficult task. He never expected to accomplish it with such ease.

"Alright, go ahead and open the cola can," the Little Elf said, its voice filled with surprise. It probably hadn’t expected Mo Ling to have such an easy time either.

Mo Ling picked up the cola can, pulled the tab, and let the dark liquid pour into the sea.

At the same time, a golden light flew out along with the overflowing cola.

The cola was quickly swept away by the current without a trace, leaving only the golden light, which spun in the air for a moment before transforming into a humanoid figure.

The humanoid figure was surprisingly similar to Mo Ling, its form indistinct.

The strangest thing was that this golden figure also had a Block on its head, just like a golden copy of Mo Ling.

"Why did you turn into this?"

The Little Elf spread its hands. "It’s a trait of our race. We take the form of whoever releases us. The Lamp Spirit from Aladdin’s Magic Lamp also has a human form, doesn’t it?"

Hearing this, Mo Ling was startled. "The Lamp Spirit is also one of your kind?"

The Little Elf nodded. "Yes. It’s much more powerful than I am. It can grant three wishes at once, and the price is much simpler."

Before Mo Ling could even process this shocking secret, he saw the now-humanoid Little Elf fly toward the crack.

"You should head back first. I’ll deal with this crack," the Little Elf said to Mo Ling after observing the ever-expanding crack for a moment.

"How are you going to deal with it?"

"Seal it up," the Little Elf said seriously. "If this crack continues to expand, it will threaten the safety of Oasis City and could even affect the entire 2nd Floor of the Abyss."

’So that’s why.’ The Little Elf had Mo Ling bring it into the sea for the sake of Oasis City after all.

"The wish to protect has not yet ended."

The Little Elf gently recited someone’s wish:

"I like drinking beer alone on the rooftop, gazing at the brilliant, starry sky and counting the stars. The sky people see on Earth must be exactly the same as the one seen from the Abyss, right? I hope to have more easy days like this in the future."

The Little Elf looked at Mo Ling and said resolutely, "As long as this crack exists, the starry sky the people of Oasis City see will not be the same as the one on Earth."

"This starry sky is also one of the things to be protected."

"..."

After hearing this, the two Block-heads looked at each other, speechless.

After a long moment, Mo Ling nodded and flew toward the crack.

As he passed the Little Elf, Mo Ling couldn’t resist asking, "How do you plan to seal this crack?"

"Don’t worry," the Little Elf said casually. "As long as a wish is made, there’s nothing that can’t be fulfilled. This time, I’ll do it myself."

As it spoke, it pointed a hand and shot a beam of golden light, which struck the edge of the crack.

The part of the crack that was hit vanished instantly.

Seeing this, Mo Ling nodded, relieved.

"Aren’t you going back?"

"No, it’s time for me to find my own wish."

"Your own wish?" Mo Ling was a little confused.

"Yes," the Little Elf answered very seriously. "Do you remember when I asked you if my future self would be happy?"

Mo Ling thought for a moment. The Little Elf had indeed asked that. It was back when he had delved into the historical illusion, right when he first met it.

"I figured it out later. Even if I make someone else’s wish my own, I won’t be happy, because it will always belong to someone else."

"The process of fulfilling a wish is also part of the wish itself."

"Ever since I became self-aware, I’ve lived for the wishes of others, carrying on the obsessions in their hearts. Fundamentally, I’m no different from the husk people."

"Saving, protecting, loving... these are all other people’s obsessions. These wishes gave me so-called ’independent thought,’ but in reality, I’m just a ’collective wish’ myself."

"Everything I do is a choice made under the guidance of this false ’independent thought.’ While I control wishes, I am also trapped by them."

"This is my price."

"An inescapable price."

The Little Elf looked at Mo Ling and said with utmost seriousness:

"I want to try and abandon these wishes that trap me, to excise all the obsessions I’m so deeply mired in."

"To break free from this cage called ’wishes.’"

"After that, I will find a wish of my very own."

"And then, I will fulfill it."

Listening to the Little Elf’s words, Mo Ling was utterly shaken.

What would a member of a wish-granting race who abandoned wishes ultimately become?

He couldn’t imagine...

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, finally coalescing into a single blessing: "I hope you succeed."

"Thank you."

The Little Elf raised its hand, seemingly wanting to give Mo Ling a high-five.

Mo Ling paused for a second, then slapped his own hand upward, but he hit nothing but air.

His palm passed through the golden light without any sensation.

"SLAP!"

The Little Elf jokingly supplied the sound effect and waved goodbye to Mo Ling.

The two Block-heads looked at each other, then turned away, passing by one another.

"See you in the future."

"See you in the future..."

Mo Ling crossed back through the crack, following the current back into the sky.

He looked back. On the other side of the crack, golden light flickered. Threads of gold spread to the crack’s edges and began to repair it.

The enormous crack began to shrink before his very eyes, and the gushing water diminished.

Soon, the crack had become very small, its sharp, glass-like edges growing smooth.

Golden light shimmered around the crack’s edge, but the speed of the repair began to slow. It seemed the smaller the crack became, the harder it was to mend.

Finally, the crack settled into a strange shape.

It was... an Olive.

The water flow was as if blocked by some force, no longer seeping out.

And just like that, a blue Olive with shimmering golden edges floated in the air.

Within the Olive, azure waves rippled.

In a daze, Mo Ling seemed to see through this blue Olive into a boundless ocean, with countless sea creatures roaming within.

They swam farther and farther, piercing the shimmering light of the waves.

Swimming toward the boundless universe...