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墨書 Inktalez
It was once again the jungle.
Dark, humid, and damp.
It seemed that a rain had just fallen, as the ground was pockmarked with puddles, and in places without standing water, the soil was soft; one misstep could easily lead to sinking in.
In this jungle, ancient trees stood tall, from the imposing palms striving to reach the sky to the serene and smiling laurel trees, the precious yet temperamental rosewood, the rarely seen acacia, and vast stretches of rubber trees.
The abundance of ancient trees resulted in roots sprawling across the ground, some growing sideways or at odd angles, creating significant obstacles for everyone’s movement.
Often, after overcoming one root of an Old Vine, another would trip them up. Or just when they thought they had safely avoided a hazard, they would step into a pit and fall, making a fool of themselves and getting their clothes dirty.
Of course, calling it a joke was itself a joke.
Xu Nuan and her companions were not in a good mood. Ever since they escaped from the Tranquil Deep Sea level, they had gradually cleared three more levels and now found themselves in the Eighteenth Level: Angry Jungle. Throughout these Survival Games, Tang Jingshu's high fever had been recurring, and her leg wound fluctuated between healing and worsening.
Medications and injections seemed ineffective; Xu Nuan and the others had no idea how long Tang Jingshu had been conscious at all.
Xu Nuan suspected that it was the shark's saliva from the deep-sea level that had poisoned Tang Jingshu, causing her current condition. However, Gu Ze had also been bitten but recovered quickly and remained lively.
Thus, Xu Nuan began to suspect that it might have been during the earlier Survival Game: Beautiful River, when Tang Jingshu was bitten by a water ghost. Although she had obtained an Antidote through a Hidden Level and recovered on the spot, it remained uncertain whether any toxins still lingered in her body. This game was notoriously unreliable, and Xu Nuan didn’t know how to help Tang Jingshu. She even wondered if Tang Jingshu's recurring illness was due to her weak constitution, given that the game environments were all outdoors with numerous bacteria and pathogens. Climbing mountains and wading through water while carrying heavy packs didn’t help either.
Upon reflection, there were many possible reasons why Tang Jingshu had been ill for over half a month—so many that Xu Nuan and her companions felt helpless despite having medicine but lacking medical knowledge.
With these thoughts in mind, Xu Nuan raised her head to observe the situation ahead.
Xie Huai led the way at the front with two backpacks slung over his shoulders while Deng Yinyin followed closely behind. Gu Ze and Xu Hang carried a stretcher with the mumbling Tang Jingshu lying on top.
Xu Nuan hurried a few steps to catch up with Gu Ze and leaned closer to observe Tang Jingshu's condition.
Her eyes were tightly shut, her lips moving slightly, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Her face was flushed, but due to her illness and lack of appetite, she had lost so much weight that it was alarming. Tang Jingshu used to be a classic beauty with a graceful figure; every movement exuded elegance, and her smile could captivate anyone. However, at this moment, while it might be an exaggeration to say she looked like a skeleton, it wasn't far from the truth.
Her right leg was also in bad shape. After more than half a month, she still needed medication and bandaging. When Xu Nuan changed her dressings, she discovered that the flesh around the bite wound had already necrotized, which was quite disgusting. Xu Nuan had once suggested removing that piece of flesh entirely, thinking it might help, but Tang Jingshu vehemently refused, unable to bear the thought. In the end, they had no choice but to abandon that idea.
Finally, after traversing a particularly damp stretch of road, they arrived beneath a rubber tree. Looking around, they saw a dense forest of towering rubber trees reaching for the sky. The sun was relentless, pouring down its heat and light onto the earth, causing everyone to break into a sweat in no time.
Tang Jingshu, already suffering from a high fever, could hardly endure the heat; her face glistened with sweat, making her appear even weaker and more disheveled.
"Let's take a break," Xu Hang suggested as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He nodded at Gu Ze, and together they carefully placed the stretcher in a shaded area before instinctively unbuckling their backpacks to retrieve towels and water.
Before they could even pull out their bottles, Deng Yinyin eagerly offered them two bottles of water. The parched duo gratefully accepted.
Meanwhile, Xie Huai, burdened with two heavy backpacks, was gasping for breath. He wiped the sweat from his fair face and took off his gold-rimmed glasses to clean them thoroughly before finally regaining some strength to take a sip of water.
Throughout the journey, Xu Nuan had been worried about Tang Jingshu. From hearing rumors about the classical beauty at work to discovering that Tang Jingshu's boyfriend was Chi Xu Sheng, then recalling their first meeting when she helped bandage her wounds—Tang Jingshu's fragility haunted her thoughts as she reminisced about how precious Tang Jingshu's diary was to her and how much she longed to go home.
These thoughts replayed in Xu Nuan's mind repeatedly. She felt guilty for being so helpless despite having learned nursing from He Min; now she felt useless as she couldn't help at all.
Lost in these thoughts, as soon as Tang Jingshu was laid down, Xu Nuan rushed to her side. She took out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat and then pulled out some fever-reducing medicine, half-forcing Tang Jingshu to take it.
Indeed, during this time, Tang Jingshu had forgotten to take her medication regularly; if not for Xu Nuan and the others reminding her constantly, she would have completely overlooked it. This made Xu Nuan worry that perhaps Tang Jingshu’s fever had muddled her mind.
As Xu Nuan wiped away the water stains at the corners of Tang Jingshu's lips, she intended to lay her back down again and prepare some glucose injection to replenish her nutrients. However, unexpectedly, Tang Jingshu suddenly grabbed Xu Nuan's hand and began to speak again.
"Warm, you must protect my diary well, you must."
Xu Nuan nodded, "Tang Jingshu, don't worry, I will always keep it safe."
Having just cleared the last level, Tang Jingshu, who had rarely been awake, placed her diary and the Tail Ring in Xu Nuan's care. She called it protection, but it made Xu Nuan uneasy. She felt that Tang Jingshu's actions hinted at a sense of giving up on the game.
Yet Xu Nuan also thought that couldn't be true. Everyone knew how much Tang Jingshu loved her boyfriend. During these days, whether she was awake or not, Tang Jingshu often spoke of Chi Xusheng, just like now.
"Warm, do you know? Xu Sheng can be really silly sometimes. He’s clearly a gentleman, but one night I insisted that I wanted... wanted to eat noodles, and he..." Tang Jingshu's words began to tumble out in gasps.
"He actually cooked for me! He’s a gentleman; he’s never even touched anything in the kitchen before. In the end, he completely wrecked the kitchen just to make me a bowl of noodles."
At this point, Tang Jingshu started wiping her tears. Her eyes glistened with moisture and were filled with bloodshot veins; despite this, her elegance remained intact.
"But he got hurt. He injured several of his fingers while making noodles for me. Do you know how precious his fingers are? He studied abroad and came back; he’s not some useless fool. His securities company is doing exceptionally well—his brother can't even compare to him."
"I know," Xu Nuan repeated reassuringly. "Tang Jingshu, you will get better. You will succeed in clearing the levels, and you will reconcile with Chi Xusheng and be happy together."
Everyone who entered the game had something they cared about—family, lovers, friends.
Everyone has a reason to exist in this world; every life is invaluable.
That’s why Xu Nuan despised this game—a game that didn’t value human life.
Thus, she began to harbor some resentment towards Qin Yaojie. Why did he have to enter a game where life could be lost at any moment? Wasn’t she a concern for him? Didn’t his parents matter to him?
What kind of mindset allowed him to not contact her for two months? To not reach out to his family for two months? And when she finally learned of his whereabouts, why was there always so much distance between them in this Survival Game?
Xu Nuan hated herself for her selfishness in leaving her parents and friends to enter this game with such a high mortality rate, failing to fulfill her filial duties and obligations.
She was very rational, fully aware that the game was far from over; they were only at the Eighteenth Level, and in the future, even more difficult Survival Games awaited her.
How far could she go? How many people would still be by her side then?
Xu Nuan did not know. All she could do was turn her head away as tears fell again, wiping them away before continuing to comfort Tang Jingshu.
Tang Jingshu was still mumbling incoherently, her eyes vacant and devoid of life. This time, she was murmuring about her family.
"I miss Mom and Dad so much. I want to see them again."
"You will see them; you definitely will," Xu Nuan reassured Tang Jingshu, also trying to comfort herself.
"I hate my uncle! Why did he make me sign the Life-and-Death Contract? Why did he let me enter this game? I hate it!"
"You can hate him, but what's more important is that you need to leave the game, sue your uncle, sue this company. You have to hold on first."
Xu Nuan remembered that it was about a week after Tang Jingshu had fallen into this state when they had smashed several cameras and speakers, hoping to negotiate with the people in the monitoring room to send someone to treat Tang Jingshu.
Xu Nuan had thought that as long as they couldn't suddenly leave the game, those people would agree to something concerning lives; after all, the Players were testing this game too, weren't they?
However, their group was rejected coldly with a dismissive remark.
Life and death are determined by fate; the Game Rules cannot be broken; no one has privileges.
Xu Nuan pushed back fiercely.
"In the game, life and death are clearly in your hands, you charming ones. The rules are meant to be broken; otherwise, they hold no meaning. And privilege, privilege is everywhere."
No one responded to her.
This finally left her feeling disheartened.
Tang Jingshu cried for a while before falling into unconsciousness again. Xu Nuan had no choice but to slowly lay her down and continue to take out the syringe.
At this moment, Deng Yinyin also approached, skillfully pulling out a bandage and medicine bottle, preparing to change Tang Jingshu's dressing. However, as soon as she uncovered the bandage on Tang Jingshu's wound, she looked like she was about to vomit.
Gu Ze took the items from Deng Yinyin's hands and turned to Xu Hang.
"I'll take care of her here with Nuan. You guys should find a safer route first. If we keep going down this path, we won't be able to handle it."
Xu Hang readily agreed. Xie Huai and Deng Yinyin dropped their backpacks, feeling relieved of their burden. Each took a bottle of water and a self-defense tool before leaving.
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