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墨書 Inktalez
With a physique similar to that of an average adult, it resembled the shark-like creatures from movies. Its entire body was green, appearing smooth except for the scaly parts. The large, light-absorbing green pupils were reminiscent of feline eyes, and its gaping mouth dripped saliva, revealing sharp teeth that glinted under the Red Moon.
Xu Nuan hated her damn intuition; these creatures surely brought Silence with them. Her gaze remained fixed on the green liquid oozing from them. She would bet that this stuff was toxic, and she had no desire to find out just how poisonous it was.
"Water Ghosts, you’ll figure out their specific properties yourselves."
That damned voice of the System—she would eventually track down the camera and speaker and smash them to pieces for spying on her!
As soon as the Water Ghosts reached the shore, their heads began to swivel around until their gaze landed on her group, and then they started to move.
Xu Nuan grabbed her backpack and ran. Thanks to her experiences, she had developed a habit of keeping everything in her backpack, which she always kept close at hand.
Everyone hurriedly organized their belongings and fled for their lives. As Xu Nuan dashed into the dense forest, a thought struck her: this forest was surrounded by water, meaning there were Water Ghosts coming ashore on the other side as well. They would soon be surrounded.
Realizing this, Xu Nuan abruptly stopped and began scanning her surroundings. There had to be something that could restrain these Water Ghosts; no matter how twisted this game was designed, it still hoped for someone to succeed in clearing it. Therefore, there must be a way to counter them. Those of them who had never lived in primitive conditions should think like modern people for this challenge.
"Don't panic, don't be afraid; you can figure something out," Xu Nuan told herself. She took several deep breaths and tightly closed her eyes, replaying all the sights she had encountered since entering this level.
Just then, as Xu Nuan stood still in thought, the others caught up with their backpacks. Seeing her standing there with her eyes closed instead of fleeing made them urge her.
"Xu Nuan, run! Those Water Ghosts are fast!"
Their urgent voices were filled with breathlessness and fear.
Xu Nuan opened her eyes, exhaled heavily, and said solemnly, "We should climb the trees; there are Water Ghosts coming from ahead too."
As if to confirm Xu Nuan's words, a large group of Water Ghosts appeared not far ahead in the dense forest beneath the red night sky. Their movements were stiff and unnatural.
Those pairs of green eyes glimmered with evident malice and intense desire—the familiar gaze of predators searching for prey.
"Climb the tree."
Gu Ze's voice sounded more like a sigh. Was this game forcing them into madness?
"What if they can climb trees too?"
Xu Hang glanced at the numerous water ghosts rapidly approaching from both directions, raising a chilling question.
"If that's the case, then we have no choice but to confront them directly."
Gu Ze's gaze swiftly scanned both upstream and downstream of the river, where more water ghosts lurked, indicating that they were completely surrounded.
Xu Hang fell silent for a few seconds before walking directly toward Deng Yinyin. Under her surprised gaze, he picked her up and sent her toward the tree.
Deng Yinyin was stunned for several seconds before she reacted, extending her arms to grasp the trunk and began to awkwardly climb up. Despite her clumsy movements and the rough bark protesting against her delicate hands, the discomfort of her body trying to fall was overshadowed by her will to survive.
Seeing that everyone had made their decision, Xie Huai also found a tree to climb, displaying a speed he had never shown before.
Once Deng Yinyin reached a height, she waved at Tang Jingshu.
"Tang Jingshu, you should come up too; it’s safer with two of us."
As soon as Deng Yinyin finished speaking, she realized that the poplar tree she had climbed was straight and lacked any branches below to support her weight.
Gu Ze noticed this as well and spoke up.
"One person per tree; try to choose ones that are close together."
Tang Jingshu smiled and waved at Deng Yinyin before selecting a tree for herself, unaware of the consequences her choice would bring.
However, Tang Jingshu was not very good at climbing trees. Xu Hang's girlfriend was, after all, Deng Yinyin's cousin, so such actions were certainly acceptable. But neither he nor Gu Ze felt comfortable directly touching Tang Jingshu. Of course, if Tang Jingshu took the initiative to speak up, that would be fine.
Tang Jingshu remained silent; considering her boyfriend, she would definitely not casually interact with other men. Even in a crisis, she wanted to maintain her composure.
Gu Ze and Xu Hang exchanged glances and looked at Tang Jingshu's slow movements. As they watched the water ghosts closing in on their area, they still hesitated to speak up. People who had experienced modern civilization always considered their dignity and situation in any circumstance; these instincts were deeply ingrained and hard to forget.
It was almost laughable.
Xu Nuan had already perched herself on a tree, squinting at the water ghosts rushing in from all directions. The sense of impending danger made her feel that staying in the tree was safe. If players could die so easily, bringing more people into this game would be pointless; signing countless Life-and-Death Contracts wouldn’t help either.
With her own speculations, Xu Nuan felt a moment of reassurance. She suddenly had an idea: could she navigate the challenges by understanding the Game Designer's intentions? This might help her progress quickly.
Xu Nuan decided that once she got through this crisis, she would seriously consider this matter and evaluate whether she was overthinking it.
After running these thoughts through her mind, Xu Nuan finally focused on the movements of others and noticed that Tang Jingshu was still struggling to climb the tree while Gu Ze and Xu Hang stood beneath the tree with strange expressions.
Xu Nuan couldn't help but find it amusing; her nose tinged with a bit of sadness as she nimbly jumped down from the tree and hurried over to Tang Jingshu. Without thinking, she squatted down and hugged Tang Jingshu's legs, lifting her up while wondering how someone as tall as Tang Jingshu could be so light.
"Ah!"
Tang Jingshu exclaimed in surprise. Looking down and seeing Xu Nuan, she hadn’t even had time to speak before noticing the approaching water ghosts. She quickly grabbed onto a nearby tree trunk and made an effort to climb higher.
Seeing Tang Jingshu finally ascend the tree, Xu Nuan handed up her backpack before racing back to climb up herself. With a few swift movements, she was up in the tree, showcasing a level of skill that indicated she had done this many times before.
Once standing on the branch, Xu Nuan noticed that the others were looking at her with surprise.
They must think her tree-climbing skills are impressive, Xu Nuan thought. She had no intention of mocking the other two women; when she first entered this game, her climbing skills were abysmal and she had learned only with others' help.
Who taught her how to climb trees? Xu Nuan began to search through her faint memories.
Ah, Xu Nuan tapped her head; it was that dead politician, Dai Zhengyan.
Ah, he was dead.
Xu Nuan lowered her gaze, no longer looking at her surroundings.
Being in this game left her no room to breathe.
They had been perched in the tree for what seemed like a long time, but in reality, it had only been a short while. After that brief moment, the water ghosts arrived beneath the tree.
Their initial guess turned out to be correct; those water ghosts could not climb trees. They stood no taller than two meters, while Xu Nuan and the others were on branches over three meters high. Even if those water ghosts stretched out their long, vine-like arms to ensnare them, they could not reach them.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the tree to calm their nerves.
After a while, more and more water ghosts gathered below. Their algae-like skin easily reminded one of some unsettling movie scenes, and their malicious eyes were impossible to look at directly. The frenzied howls sounded like desires and resentments emanating from hell.
The night sky remained red, the Red Moon looming like a giant eye.
It was almost like a nightmare. Xu Nuan wanted to close her eyes and cover her ears, to not see or hear; such scenes would become nightmares that would haunt her later, leaving her restless and uneasy.
But she had to see and hear; she needed to remember this fear so she wouldn’t falter when faced with greater challenges. She also needed to discover their weaknesses to avoid being caught off guard. She knew she was weak, and she understood that she needed to learn to grow stronger.
By forcing herself to keep her eyes open, Xu Nuan noticed that the water ghosts began to bite into the Dawn Redwood and Poplar trees. These trees, with their not-so-robust trunks, could not withstand the sharp teeth of the water ghosts. The parts being bitten off were swallowed by the water ghosts, while the corrosive red liquid seeping out did not harm them at all; instead, it slid down their smooth bodies and onto the ground, completely eroding the clusters of grass below.
Xu Nuan exchanged glances with the others, all recognizing the panic in each other's eyes.
They had thought hiding in the trees would keep them safe from these water ghosts, but now it seemed like a foolish delusion. When would these water ghosts ever leave? Xu Nuan desperately wanted to know this; she thought of the clear blue sky and the Beautiful River, and her heart sank.
Did they have to wait for the sun to rise before these water ghosts would depart?
Xu Nuan immediately looked up to see where the Red Moon had appeared. The moment she did, panic surged in her eyes; they would have to wait four or five hours for the sun to rise.
Could they, or could the not-so-strong trees, hold out for that long?
Xu Nuan felt quite pessimistic and turned her gaze towards Gu Ze. Perhaps he had a solution.
Gu Ze was scanning the water ghosts around them while rummaging through his backpack. The distance was too far for Xu Nuan to see what he was searching for.
But after a while, she discovered the answer.
Gu Ze pulled out a piece of clothing he had changed out of and took out a lighter. Without hesitation, he set the clothing on fire and tossed it into the midst of the water ghosts.
The water ghosts retreated like a receding tide, avoiding the burning garment. For a moment, none dared to approach the tree where Gu Ze was perched.
Xu Nuan's eyes sparkled with excitement at the sight of the flames; this person truly dared to try something and had found the right method.
However, when Xu Nuan glanced through her own backpack, she realized she only had a few pieces of clothing left, and there weren't many other items that could be used for burning. She needed to look for more combustible materials.
Just as Xu Nuan was scanning her surroundings for anything that could catch fire, she heard Tang Jingshu's scream. Following the sound, her heart sank.
Tang Jingshu had tried to ignite a piece of clothing to throw down but, in her haste, had dropped her backpack instead. When she reached out to save it, a water ghost wrapped its grip around her hand and bit down hard.
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