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The night was hazy, and Xu Nuan was lost in her memories, having long since cast aside rationality and calmness.
She and Zhang Xiao returned to the Temporary Campsite, one after the other.
Once Xu Nuan lifted the curtain and entered the tent, Zhang Xiao finally composed himself and walked into the men's tent with a neutral expression. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Gu Ze casually sitting on the ground, his long legs stretched out as he looked at him.
Zhang Xiao couldn't help but smile slightly; in those eyes, it was clear that nothing could be seen.
Without any exchange, Gu Ze merely glanced at Zhang Xiao before lying down. Zhang Xiao also found a spot to lie down casually.
In contrast, the tent where Xu Nuan was did not feel as stable as she had imagined.
Having learned some things related to Qin Yaojie, she fell asleep in a good mood. The heavy stone pressing on her heart had lightened slightly, allowing her to sleep soundly. However, she had not been asleep for long when someone shook her awake.
"What’s wrong?"
Xu Nuan squinted her eyes at the figure beside her and vaguely saw Deng Yinyin's anxious face.
"Come quickly! Tang Jing Shu has a fever again. I gave her medicine, but it didn’t help at all. Her wound has started bleeding and oozing again. How could this happen?"
Deng Yinyin hurriedly rattled off a bunch of concerns until Xu Nuan was finally roused from her slumber.
"I'll take a look."
She patted her face awake, climbed up, and walked over to Tang Jingshu's side. Using the flashlight's beam, she examined Tang Jingshu closely.
Indeed, Tang Jingshu not only had a fever but it was worse than before. She was also mumbling incoherently, looking extremely fragile as if she might collapse at any moment.
Xu Nuan's heart sank again after a brief moment of hope.
"Could it be the venom from the Bat?"
Between Tang Jingshu's recovery and her subsequent collapse, they had only encountered the Slimwaist Cat and the Vampire Bat.
"Right, how did I not think of that?" Deng Yinyin exclaimed, slapping her forehead as she hurriedly pulled out several bottles of Antidote along with a syringe. "It must be that! Once we inject this, Tang Jingshu will recover."
Deng Yinyin kept murmuring to herself, but her hands remained steady.
Xu Nuan wiped the sweat from Tang Jingshu's forehead. After injecting just a few bottles of Antidote, there was still no sign of relief; Tang Jingshu's complexion remained flushed.
Xu Nuan had great faith in the medications from the Supply Station. They had all tested them before, and the efficacy was excellent. So now, it wasn't a matter of the medicine; it was a matter of misdiagnosis.
Seeing that there was no effect, Deng Yinyin's face fell as she stood up.
"I'll go find Gu Ze and the others."
Xu Nuan reached out with one hand to grab Deng Yinyin's arm, shaking her head.
"Will they really have a solution when they arrive? Just like before, they're exhausted; let them rest."
Xu Nuan felt equally distressed. After a moment of thought, she added, "Do you have any alcohol left? We can use it to help reduce Tang Jingshu's fever; it should have some effect."
In her current state of confusion, Deng Yinyin was willing to listen to anyone. She quickly ran off to grab several large bottles of alcohol and some handkerchiefs. Together with Xu Nuan, they each took a side and began to wipe down Tang Jingshu's body, hoping this would help bring her fever down.
On the morning of the second day, several men emerged from their tents, feeling refreshed. They soon spotted Xu Nuan washing a stretcher and Deng Yinyin splashing cold water on her face. Both of them looked exhausted, dark circles under their eyes.
"What happened?"
Gu Ze hurried toward Xu Nuan but was intercepted by Deng Yinyin midway.
"Tang Jing Shu has a fever again, and it's worse than before. We spent all night trying to cool her down, but it didn't help much. What should we do? Can Tang Jing Shu hold on?"
Deng Yinyin's voice choked with emotion as she raised a hand to wipe away her tears.
Gu Ze frowned but said nothing more, turning his attention to Xu Nuan, who stood at the entrance of the tent.
Xu Nuan explained, "Her temperature has been fluctuating between thirty-eight and thirty-nine degrees Celsius. We still need your help and Xu Hang's."
"That's not a problem, but dragging this out isn't a solution," Gu Ze replied.
He bypassed Deng Yinyin and approached the tent entrance. After receiving permission, he lifted the curtain to check on Tang Jing Shu's condition and nodded back at Xu Hang.
Feeling overlooked, Deng Yinyin's expression darkened. Just then, Xie Huai walked over and gently comforted her.
"Don't worry, Tang Jing Shu will definitely get better."
"Hmph, I know that without you telling me," Deng Yinyin snapped, her earlier vulnerability replaced by cold defiance as she glared at Xie Huai. He turned pale, stammering as he struggled to find words.
Xu Hang approached and patted Deng Yinyin on the shoulder. "Don't take it out on him."
Deng Yinyin pouted, glancing back at Gu Ze with a look of grievance before lowering her head in silence.
Zhang Xiao, who had been observing everything, raised an eyebrow and a playful smile appeared on her lips.
For this team, aside from the addition of Zhang Xiao, everything else remained unchanged since they first arrived at this stage.
Zhang Xiao took the lead, while Xie Huai was reminded by Xu Hang to keep an eye on her. Gu Ze and Xu Hang carried the stretcher in the middle of the group, and Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin lagged behind.
Deng Yinyin hesitated to speak, occasionally stealing glances at Xu Nuan. Normally, with their improved relationship, Xu Nuan would initiate conversation. However, she was currently preoccupied with matters concerning Qin Yaojie and Tang Jingshu, failing to notice Deng Yinyin's attempts to engage.
After several tentative tries and a furtive look at the broad back ahead, Deng Yinyin finally saw that Xu Nuan remained unresponsive. Frustrated, she stomped her foot and hurried a few steps forward, leaving Xu Nuan behind.
The jungle during the day was quieter than at night; the restless creatures lay hidden in the shadows, waiting for their moment. Zhang Xiao seemed familiar with this stretch of path, leading everyone for quite some time without encountering any danger. As a result, Xu Hang felt satisfied and relaxed his vigilance slightly.
With a good route chosen and everyone moving at a decent pace, they still had some distance to cover to reach the Special Tree. Zhang Xiao wanted to arrive there quickly, but whenever Tang Jingshu began to mumble or complained about feeling unwell, everyone would stop to comfort her and help with water or medicine.
As a result, by midday, they had covered nearly half of what Zhang Xiao had anticipated.
This was a figure that Zhang Xiao found unsatisfactory. So when the group halted once more for Tang Jingshu, she spoke up coolly.
"I finally understand why you all have excellent abilities but are still lagging behind the First Batch of Players."
Perhaps due to the sarcasm in her words and Zhang Xiao's naturally aloof demeanor, everyone paused their actions to look at her, though their expressions showed some displeasure.
"Unlike the team I was previously part of, your only goal seems to be helping team members without holding them accountable. This woman not only fails to contribute but also slows everyone down. It's truly remarkable that you all insist on bringing her along."
Zhang Xiao's expression remained indifferent, but her words were piercingly sharp.
Deng Yinyin, known for her straightforwardness, was the first to express her dissatisfaction, shouting at Zhang Xiao.
"What do you mean? Tang Jing Shu is our companion, and we will not abandon any of our teammates, absolutely not."
Xie Huai chimed in coldly from the side, "If you're unhappy with our team, you can leave. We didn't beg you to stay."
In fact, as soon as Zhang Xiao spoke, Xu Nuan's face turned pale. She never thought of Zhang Xiao as an easy person to get along with, but she didn't expect him to be so harsh right from the start of their adventure. This was different from the previous team; wasn't this contradictory to what he said last night?
Realizing this, Xu Nuan's expression hardened, and she fixed a piercing gaze on Zhang Xiao, her large almond-shaped eyes filled with seriousness.
"Zhang Xiao, you should apologize for what you said. Even if you're a temporary member, you shouldn't casually deny our choices."
Zhang Xiao raised an eyebrow in surprise but then relaxed his lips into a deliberately cheerful tone.
"I was just joking; don’t take it seriously. I saw everyone looking so serious and wanted to lighten the mood. Yaojie also doesn’t allow anyone to abandon their companions; I've always kept that in mind, haha. Please don’t take it seriously."
Xu Nuan looked at Zhang Xiao with suspicion, but her expression softened. Before she could say anything else, Gu Ze spoke up quietly.
"Your joke is quite unique; it's just a bit out of place."
"Indeed," Zhang Xiao nodded in agreement while maintaining a smile that held a hint of chill. This demeanor made Xu Hang furrow his brow slightly as he discreetly glanced at Xu Nuan.
"Although I'm not a doctor," Zhang Xiao seemed to be trying to redeem himself in front of everyone.
"I know that patients need nutrition to recover faster. If we keep injecting glucose into her, it only barely maintains her bodily functions and doesn't help her recovery much."
"Hmph, that makes sense," Deng Yinyin shot a glare at Zhang Xiao and then turned to Xu Hang beside her.
"It’s already noon, and it’s time to eat. Let’s go nearby and find some nutritious ingredients to help Tang Jing Shu recover."
Xu Hang, who had been silently observing, finally nodded gravely. He glanced at the still mumbling Tang Jingshu and turned to Xie Huai.
"Xie Huai, you stay here to take care of her. The rest of us will go look for food."
Zhang Xiao pointed in the direction behind him. "There’s a river over there; the shallow area has many large stones, and there should be crabs. If we walk about two hundred meters to my left, there’s a grove of coconut trees, and the coconuts are ripe right now."
Xu Hang wouldn’t refuse such valuable information and nodded. "Then let’s split into two groups."
Before he could finish his thought on how to divide the teams, Gu Ze quickly interjected.
"I’ll go with Zhang Xiao to the coconut grove; Hang, you take them to the shallow area."
"Sounds good," Xu Hang agreed, offering an explanation. "You two will have an easier time picking coconuts."
The five of them split into two groups and set off.
Xu Nuan had been distracted throughout, and Xu Hang noticed but merely frowned without saying much.
Along the way, Deng Yinyin openly expressed her concern for Tang Jingshu. Perhaps because she had always viewed Xu Hang as an elder, she poured out her thoughts without any reservations.
"Xu Hang, you’re the team leader. No matter what happens to Tang Jing Shu, you won’t abandon her, right?"
Deng Yinyin's tone was pitiful as she looked up at Xu Hang with her large, watery eyes.
Xu Hang naturally gave his promise.
"We came in together, so of course we should go out together."
Deng Yinyin smiled, but soon her expression turned to worry.
"But Tang Jing Shu keeps going back and forth like this. I'm worried she won't hold on. Why aren't there any doctors in Player?"
Xu Nuan snapped back to reality upon hearing this and picked up the conversation.
"Maybe there are some among the First Batch of Players. Zhang Xiao, we'll catch up to those Players soon, and then Tang Jing Shu will be saved."
"Tsk tsk, why do you keep mentioning the First Batch of Players? Haven't you learned enough from Guo Dafu's lesson? That Zhang Xiao looks fair-skinned; who knows what he's really like underneath?"
Deng Yinyin was disturbed by the scene from that morning and began to voice a torrent of complaints.
"And didn't you see Zhang Xiao's attitude just now? He's like a cat mourning a mouse, pretending to be compassionate. Your Qin Yaojie probably fits that description too. I have to wonder if you really care about Tang Jing Shu."
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