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墨書 Inktalez
Everyone turned to look outside the cave entrance, where a lightning strike ignited a fire on the grassland in an instant. The flames spread through the rain-soaked landscape, consuming trees, bushes, animals, and anything else in their path. The rising flames showed no sign of weakening despite the downpour.
As the fire began to spread further, the grassland transformed into an inferno, even more spectacular than the jungle they had set ablaze during the night.
The glowing butterflies at the cave entrance seemed to become even more excited by the chaos outside, their wings vibrating at an increasingly rapid pace. Xu Nuan, in a daze, thought she saw those butterflies scattering green powder, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.
With the raging fire outside and a swarm of strange butterflies nearby, everyone was unable to move, forced to sit or stand and wait for an opportunity to escape.
The torrential rain seemed to serve as fuel for the flames, making them burn fiercer and more uncontrollably, sweeping away everything in their path. Amidst the red glow of the fire, black ashes occasionally appeared, mixed with the sounds of animals' anguished cries.
While the outside world was filled with such turmoil, inside the cave it was eerily quiet.
Xu Nuan leaned against a corner, quietly watching the rain and trying to ignore Xie Huai and the others' conversation. She focused on clearing her thoughts and took a moment to breathe.
After a while, she heard Zhang Xiao's infuriating voice again.
"I'm coming over to tell you some good news and some bad news."
Xu Nuan looked up, squinting at Zhang Xiao with suspicion and wariness in her expression. However, she did not stop him from continuing.
With her tacit approval, Zhang Xiao raised an eyebrow, an inexplicable emotion flashing in his narrow eyes while he wore an apologetic smile.
"To keep things interesting, I’ll start with the bad news."
His deliberately softened voice carried a chill, like ice shards hidden beneath soft snow—deceptively lethal.
Xu Nuan's heart trembled inexplicably; she felt an urge to cover her ears. Yet deep down, her desire prevented her from doing so. Despite knowing that Zhang Xiao was a dangerous person whose words could not be trusted, she still craved everything about that individual.
"Well, it can't really be considered bad news. After all, he was already sick before entering the game; the environment here has only worsened his condition. But don’t worry; he’s so capable that he wouldn’t have gained so much support and trust if he were completely helpless. So really, this isn’t bad news at all—I should remove that prefix."
Zhang Xiao deliberately rambled on, repeatedly emphasizing that it wasn't bad news, yet he couldn't stop those few important words from reaching Xu Nuan's ears.
She told herself not to believe Zhang Xiao's words, but her thoughts couldn't help but drift to the matter at hand.
Qin Yaojie was sick? When did that happen? Was it serious? How had she not noticed? Did this have anything to do with his entry into the game? Perhaps something related to the game's Hidden Level rewards that could help him?
Worry and wild thoughts swirled in Xu Nuan's mind.
She knew that continuing to think about it would only play into Zhang Xiao's hands, but the feelings deeply ingrained in her bones spread recklessly, climbing through her limbs without pause.
"The rain has stopped."
"And the fire has ceased."
Gu Ze and Xu Hang's voices came one after the other, startling Xu Nuan awake as she reflexively looked outside the cave.
The fire had indeed stopped burning, and all she could see was black ash; the once lush greenery was gone, replaced by a faint scent of charred meat lingering in the air. The rain had stopped, the dark clouds receded, and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, casting a gentle glow upon the earth. The air still held some moisture, carrying a slight chill, and a breeze swept through, filling the cave with coolness.
Meanwhile, a group of glowing butterflies hovered not far from the cave entrance, their intentions unknown. Accustomed to System prompts, Xu Nuan felt uneasy; if only the System would provide information about these butterflies' behaviors, she could gauge whether she needed to be cautious.
"We should hurry up; we've already wasted enough time."
Xu Hang showed little reaction to the aftermath of the fire. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and stepped out of the cave first, followed by the others. Xu Nuan gathered her thoughts and followed suit. As she passed by Zhang Xiao, who remained still near the entrance, he spoke again.
"I didn't expect you to remain so composed; I thought you'd have a ton of questions."
Xu Nuan shook her head expressionlessly. "Sorry, I don't believe you."
With that, she strode out decisively to catch up with the others. She could still hear Zhang Xiao's light laughter behind her along with his words.
"Don't worry, you'll believe it because seeing is believing."
In an instant, her carefully crafted calm was shattered. She was grateful that she was currently facing away from Zhang Xiao, who couldn't see her falter.
When she looked ahead at the few people, Xu Nuan noticed that Gu Ze was missing. Her heart immediately sank, and she hurriedly turned around. Sure enough, Gu Ze was locking eyes with Zhang Xiao. The former wore a blank expression while the latter laughed lightly, the atmosphere crackling with tension.
Fortunately, Gu Ze merely shot Zhang Xiao a few disdainful glances before catching up with her. Xu Nuan let out a sigh of relief, fully trusting Gu Ze's promise.
The six of them walked through the vast grassland, with Gu Ze intentionally separating Xu Nuan from Zhang Xiao. Xu Nuan felt at ease and took the opportunity to observe her surroundings. She noticed butterflies fluttering around them without any apparent purpose, moving in tandem with their group.
Xu Nuan wanted to be cautious about these butterflies but didn't know how to begin.
They were walking in the opposite direction of the charred remains of a place; two worlds on the same grassland.
On one side, the sun barely shone through the gloom, the ground littered with debris and the bodies of animals turned to char. On the other side, it was bright and sunny; the air temperature had risen significantly. A strong wind swept across the grassland, creating waves of green, and occasionally, a few wild buffalo and sheep could be seen grazing in the distance.
The distance was too great to discern whether those cattle and sheep looked strange or aggressive, or if they were even edible.
Rather than detouring for food, Xu Nuan and the others preferred to enjoy the coarse grains and dried goods in their backpacks when they were tired.
However, regardless of their environment, those shimmering butterflies continued to follow them. Seeing that the others were indifferent only intensified Xu Nuan's feeling of unease.
Throughout this journey, Xu Nuan couldn't help but notice Deng Yinyin glaring at her with open resentment.
As time passed, Xu Nuan began to feel irritated.
It was true that differing personalities could lead to clashes, but they were all adults; surely it wasn't too difficult for everyone to take a step back for the sake of the team? Xu Nuan had no doubt that Deng Yinyin might pounce on her at any moment like a wild beast.
A wild beast?
Xu Nuan focused her gaze on Deng Yinyin, noticing that her eyes were slightly bloodshot and wide open, with the corners of her lips cracked, giving her a somewhat terrifying appearance. In the past, even when Deng Yinyin was angry and her expression twisted, it remained within the normal range of human emotions.
Rubbing her eyes, Xu Nuan looked again and still felt that Deng Yinyin's expression was abnormal. If she approached her now, it was likely that Deng Yinyin would stab her with a knife in the next moment.
Xu Nuan quickly turned to Gu Ze, intending to show him Deng Yinyin's state, only to find that Gu Ze was frowning and looking in another direction. Following his gaze, she saw Xu Hang and Xie Huai.
The two were walking side by side, exchanging glances without speaking, but Xu Nuan sensed a tense atmosphere between them. Particularly with Xie Huai, who was usually timid and obedient to Xu Hang, never uttering a word of dissent. Yet now, he was baring his teeth with a fierce expression, his eyes filled with anger and resentment. Even his gold-rimmed glasses seemed to reflect a menacing light.
Of course, Xu Hang's expression was also far from normal. He usually appeared reserved and serious, maintaining a stern face even when angry. Familiarity with him made one perceive his demeanor as brooding rather than frightening. However, at this moment, Xu Hang's expression was intimidating; he resembled a lion poised to hunt, exuding an overwhelming presence. His tall stature made the frail Xie Huai seem insignificant, yet Xie Huai still met Xu Hang's gaze defiantly.
"What’s wrong with them?" Xu Nuan couldn't help but ask. But before Gu Ze could respond, Xu Hang and Xie Huai stopped in their tracks and immediately began to fight without any warning.
The two men engaged in a bare-knuckle brawl, where strength and skill determined the advantage.
Xu Hang was clearly the dominant one in this confrontation, landing punches on Xie Huai's vulnerable spots until Xie Huai began to wail in pain.
As he fought, Xu Hang shouted angrily, "Why didn’t you protect Tang Jing Shu? It’s all your fault! Why wasn’t it you who died? You coward!"
Xu Nuan was taken aback by his words and didn’t care why Gu Ze wasn’t intervening; she rushed forward to stop Xu Hang from attacking Xie Huai.
The real Xu Hang would never say such things. They all shared responsibility for Tang Jing Shu's death; regardless of who had stayed at the campsite that day, tragedy would have struck. The mobility-impaired Tang Jing Shu had been an easy target; they couldn’t ignore that fact.
But before Xu Nuan could reach them, Deng Yinyin charged in front of her, brandishing a knife aimed at her.
Xu Nuan quickly dodged and seized Deng Yinyin's wrist holding the knife, shouting out in alarm.
"Deng Yinyin, have you lost your mind?"
Deng Yinyin's eyes, which had been somewhat vacant, instantly filled with rage as she met Xu Nuan's gaze. She muttered under her breath, "I will kill you, you filthy woman! I want to kill you!"
With that, she clenched her other fist and swung it clumsily.
Xu Nuan caught the punch with annoyance, restraining Deng Yinyin. She wanted to call for Gu Ze's help but then noticed that Gu Ze and Zhang Xiao had also started to fight.
"Gu Ze, stop!"
Xu Nuan shouted, recalling the weapon hidden in Zhang Xiao's clothing, causing her to break out in a cold sweat.
Before she could release her grip on Deng Yinyin to assist, Deng Yinyin lunged at her with her teeth as a weapon. Xu Nuan quickly let go and dodged to the side, but Deng Yinyin was relentless, picking up a short knife from the ground and preparing to strike again.
"What is going on here?"
Xu Nuan felt helpless, realizing she couldn't manage the situation on either side.
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