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墨書 Inktalez
This was the first time everyone had to travel through the night. To avoid any mishaps, Xu Hang specifically divided them into pairs. He took the restless Deng Yinyin, who kept wanting to approach Gu Ze, while Xie Huai paired up with Zhang Xiao, two individuals who were neither deeply poisoned nor unaffected.
Although most of the poison had been cleared out, some remnants still lingered. In the darkness, Xu Nuan struggled to maintain her balance, swaying as if she were about to faint, constantly believing there was an obstacle ahead that she needed to dodge.
Gu Ze watched her with amusement, wanting to support her, but Xu Nuan felt embarrassed and declined his offer.
If it weren't for the fact that this man either succumbed to the poison himself or had suffered some aftereffects from being cured, she wouldn't feel this way.
While she unilaterally considered them to be life-and-death friends, did life and death really need to come so frequently?
Xu Nuan felt a sense of helplessness regarding fate.
At this moment, more than wanting to be cured of the poison, she was curious whether Gu Ze considered her a life-and-death friend as well. Or was it just her own narcissism? Was that feeling merely an illusion?
She wasn't emotionally dull, but many ambiguous feelings went unnoticed.
If she truly guessed correctly, she would be willing to pay with her life as an apology.
Xu Nuan was deeply conflicted, too shy to speak up, frustrated at her own weakness, and ashamed for those who were far away in other Survival Games.
In a moment of distraction, Xu Nuan nearly collided with a tree when a hand reached out just in time to block her forehead.
"I forgot about the last time I bumped into a tree. This time, I saw it coming," Gu Ze said with a deliberate smile, hoping to lighten Xu Nuan's mood.
Xu Nuan swatted Gu Ze's hand away, shot him a glare, and quickly averted her gaze from him.
"Well, it didn't hit me, so it doesn't count."
With that, Xu Nuan pushed aside the chaotic thoughts in her mind and focused on walking ahead, ignoring Gu Ze's smiling face, her confusion deepening.
Zhang Xiao, who was walking in the middle with Xie Huai, suddenly turned around. He fell back a few steps to walk alongside Xu Nuan and discreetly glanced at Gu Ze, an unusual emotion flickering in his eyes.
"I met Yaojie in the game. We've been clearing levels together for over six months now. I don't know much about his past; there are many things I want to ask you."
Zhang Xiao had his hands in his pockets, strolling leisurely as if they were in a backyard rather than a dangerous jungle.
Xu Nuan felt somewhat dazed. Zhang Xiao's demeanor reminded her of Qin Yaojie, yet there was a hint of intentionality about it. How could someone like Zhang Xiao, who seemed to keep others at a distance—his every word and action indicating so—force himself to engage with her and offer help?
Of course, the primary reason for offering help was to successfully clear levels and join the First Batch of Players. But there must be other motives as well.
This was Xu Nuan's intuition, along with reminders from Xu Hang.
"Um, what do you want to know?"
As she spoke, Xu Nuan first glanced at Gu Ze before lowering her gaze to respond to Zhang Xiao. A question lingered in her mind: Would Yaojie have such friends? He appreciated capable people with good character; Zhang Xiao seemed to fit that description but also felt slightly different.
It was perplexing.
"For example, your love history with him."
When Zhang Xiao said this, her tone was calm and light.
"Ahem."
Xu Nuan coughed a few times, "Well, it's not clear at the moment, and besides, it's all in the past."
Zhang Xiao persisted, "I heard you two are childhood friends and neighbors? How old were you when you first met? Did you go to middle school and high school together?"
"Ahem," Xu Nuan was taken aback by this barrage of questions and couldn't respond for a while. Meanwhile, Gu Ze's face darkened to the point where it seemed to blend into the night.
"This isn't exactly a secret, is it? Yaojie’s friends all know about you, and most of the First Batch of Players are aware of your existence too."
"Ahem," Xu Nuan didn't know what else to say aside from coughing. After a long pause, she finally asked dryly, "Is your entertainment really that lacking?"
It seemed she could only focus on other people's gossip.
Moreover, Qin Yaojie wasn't the type to show off.
No, Xu Nuan's once bright eyes dimmed as she realized she had already broken up with Qin Yaojie; that was in the past, and she had no right to be showcased.
"Zhang Xiao," Xu Nuan suddenly thought of something and slowly spoke up.
"How much of what you said is a lie? He’s not someone who talks too much or spreads untruths."
"This is a bit rude," Zhang Xiao said, touching the bridge of his nose without a hint of embarrassment.
"You should know that there are several people who entered the game with him, either from the same company or those who are pursuing him."
"Pursuing?"
Xu Nuan involuntarily raised her voice, and after realizing her slip, she lowered it again and coughed lightly a few times.
"He's single, so it's normal for someone to pursue him. After all, he's not bad."
"Heh," Zhang Xiao chuckled. "When Yaojie wasn't single, that person was also pursuing him."
"How come I didn't know about this!"
Xu Nuan raised her voice again, feeling her blood pressure rise. After hearing Gu Ze cough, she calmed down somewhat, feeling quite frustrated.
"But it doesn't matter. The fact that he's not single is in the past; being single is the present."
There was at least a hint of defiance in Xu Nuan's words.
"What a pity, though. Yaojie is currently thinking about you. That person is like a bug—insignificant and bothersome."
Xu Nuan felt that there was more to Zhang Xiao's words than met the eye.
However, she wasn't a lovesick fool; she was single now, wasn't she? Generally, single people are more rational and calm. That's how she was—hmph.
"You are not a worm in his belly; you won't know what he thinks, even if you are his friend."
Xu Nuan emphasized the word "friend" heavily.
"You should ask him about these things when you see him. I will only answer questions related to me right now."
Xu Nuan added this remark to prevent Zhang Xiao from saying something that might provoke her. She needed to stay calm; she was still under the influence of poison and couldn't let it spread faster.
"Okay," Zhang Xiao replied readily, her gaze shifting from the three people ahead to Gu Ze, who was trying to act invisible beside Xu Nuan.
"You graduated with a degree in Human Resources, right? I didn't expect you to be so skilled."
"Quick training course. I can introduce you to it after we leave the game," Xu Nuan replied matter-of-factly, suddenly feeling a bit cold.
"A City is known for its beautiful scenery in Jiangnan, yet it produced people like you and Yaojie."
Zhang Xiao surprised Xu Nuan by being quite chatty—no, more like rambling.
"Why do I feel like that statement is condescending?"
"No, I didn't mean it that way. It's just that something suddenly came to mind," Zhang Xiao paused deliberately, waiting until Xu Nuan's gaze turned toward her before continuing slowly. "I heard that the head of this Game Company is also from A City. Just think about his twisted and perverse mindset, and then think about you and Yaojie. Tsk tsk, what a big difference!"
Now not only Xu Nuan was looking at Zhang Xiao; Gu Ze and the others ahead had turned their attention as well.
Zhang Xiao chuckled, feigning helplessness as she spread her hands.
"We are the First Batch of Players, after all. The process we went through was more complicated, so naturally, we know a bit more about the ins and outs. As the initial test subjects, we wouldn't be so naive as to blindly jump into this game, would we?"
"What else do you know?" Xu Nuan asked, voicing the curiosity of the others.
"About the research facility or the Designers? And is this game even legal?"
"Legal," Zhang Xiao replied while selecting her words carefully. "One of us in the First Batch of Players is a lawyer, and they thoroughly checked the procedures. There are no issues there. But think about it; everything here is so incredible that the research facility must have some powerful backing."
"We can guess about the backing. What we want to know is something else."
Xu Nuan frowned, somewhat displeased with Zhang Xiao's tendency to be cryptic.
"Your straightforwardness is surprisingly refreshing," Zhang Xiao said with a seemingly helpless smile. "Before entering the game, I heard some rumors. It seems that to clear the game, you not only need to reach level 100 but also collect other items. In other words, you can leave without clearing all levels and still get the Ten Billion."
"Pfft, that's just a Hidden Level you're talking about; it's a scam."
Deng Yinyin scoffed after listening for a while without hearing anything substantial, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward Gu Ze, who stood next to Xu Nuan.
"Not at all," Zhang Xiao began again, her expression serious. "Hidden Levels can be real or fake; it depends on luck. The method I know seems to have come from the Designers themselves. They intentionally left such clues to showcase the fun of this Real Game."
Seeing some confusion on everyone's faces, she continued, "In fact, most of the First Batch of Players are aware of this and are secretly gathering clues because there’s a limited number of people who can take that mysterious route to leave without clearing all levels. This is different from normal clearing, so everyone rarely shares their clues with each other."
"Then why are you telling us?"
Xie Huai looked at Zhang Xiao suspiciously.
Zhang Xiao spread her hands. "I'm not going to tell you, but Yaojie will eventually tell Xu Nuan, and then you'll all know. I might as well let Yaojie tell you first."
"It sounds reasonable," Xie Huai said, still a bit skeptical. However, seeing Xu Hang remain silent, he decided not to press further.
Zhang Xiao's words stirred up a storm in Xu Nuan's heart. She recalled some events that had occurred before entering the game—things she hadn't thought much of at the time, but now seemed connected to this game.
Before Xu Nuan could ask Zhang Xiao about anything, Gu Ze, who had been quietly listening, suddenly handed Zhang Xiao a bottle of water and spoke in a calm tone.
"After talking so much, aren't you thirsty?"
Zhang Xiao chuckled as she took the bottle, glancing subtly at the pensive Xu Nuan before falling silent again.
The group chatted along the way and finally arrived at the Supply Station just as dawn began to break. They filed in one after another.
Gu Ze's first action upon entering the Supply Station was to find an Antidote. He handed one bottle to Xu Nuan and drank another for himself.
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