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墨書 Inktalez
Another silence fell over them.
As each of them harbored their own thoughts, Xu Nuan spoke up, her tone firm.
“He won’t. He is not going to be involved in the game design.”
Gu Ze frowned, trying to keep his voice calm as he explained, “But the signs indicate…”
Before Gu Ze could finish his sentence, Xu Nuan quickly interrupted him.
“He is Qin Yaojie. No matter what has happened to make him the way he is now, he would never design such a horrifying game that harms lives, because he is Qin Yaojie.”
The man who had captivated the entire city of A, the one who had grown up alongside her and knew her inside out. Even if they were no longer in a romantic relationship, it wouldn’t diminish her trust in Qin Yaojie.
Seeing Gu Ze’s complex expression, Xu Nuan lightly laughed and clarified each word, “I’m not being biased; there are many doubts. First of all, if he was involved in designing the game, why would he enter it himself? Surely it can’t be for the ridiculous reason of personally testing the game’s performance?”
Xu Nuan paused, tilting her head to avoid a branch made of calcite.
“Moreover, Zhang Xiao entered the game at the same time as Qin Yaojie. With his formidable skills, if Qin Yaojie truly wanted to find out something or play some tricks and take his time, Zhang Xiao could easily obtain the information he wanted instead of trying to probe me for answers. At that time, I was too caught up in my own sadness and confusion to realize how useful certain things could be.”
The smile on Xu Nuan’s lips was reminiscent yet somewhat piercing, but she continued with her third point.
“And don’t you think there’s a Mastermind behind this? Even if Heng Technology is responsible for technical support and Fengtong Technology for game design, what about the Life-and-Death Contract? And this massive Game Base? It’s impossible to manage without powerful backing. This isn’t something a few groups can handle.”
“In short,” Xu Nuan exhaled deeply, “there are too many doubts. Until there is concrete evidence, I won’t doubt Qin Yaojie. If—if there really is relevant evidence, I might personally send him to prison just to give Tang Jing Shu an explanation. To let them know the difference between the Life-and-Death Game and the Survival Game.”
Xu Nuan felt much lighter after expressing what had been weighing on her heart, but what she looked forward to more was that Gu Ze would bring her good news because of his position as the heir of Gu Group.
"Indeed, these doubts cannot be ignored," Gu Ze smiled, suppressing a surge of emotions that threatened to spill over.
"My dad also asked me to find out what Uncle is doing, to save him before anything goes wrong. Although in my opinion, Uncle is a law-abiding person. If he is acting this way, it must be either due to threats or ignorance of loyalty. Regardless of which, I will uncover the Mastermind behind this game."
Gu Ze twisted his neck and shook his hands as if preparing to showcase his skills, then turned with a warm smile.
"That means we are allies now. From now on, we must share any information without hiding anything. Also," Gu Ze raised a finger and waved it, "to uncover the Mastermind, surviving in this game is the priority. If anything happens, your life comes first. For example, if someone threatens you with your life to reveal information you know, just tell them whatever they want; don’t do anything foolish."
Thinking back to the scene where she was threatened in the Supply Station lounge, Xu Nuan felt a chill run down her spine; the crazed Zhang Xiao might have really taken her life.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Xu Nuan looked up and asked earnestly, "Hey? Haven't we already been allies?"
Seeing Gu Ze's puzzled and regretful expression, Xu Nuan remained calm.
"I thought that after sharing Zhang Xiao's secret with you, we had reached an agreement."
Gu Ze's face momentarily blanked before he burst into laughter. He leaned closer to Xu Nuan's ear and whispered lightly.
"But there are cameras everywhere here; they will know what we talked about, right?"
Xu Nuan slightly recoiled as Gu Ze's breath tickled her neck.
"Clearly, surveillance is more prevalent than eavesdropping; they can't hear much. Besides, aren't you just letting them know our suspicions? That way, they might slip up."
However, recalling Zhang Xiao asking her who she was fighting in the fog and other reactions made Xu Nuan intentionally avoid certain topics. It was the same in the lounge; although she didn't remember clearly, Zhang Xiao had indeed destroyed something before starting to question her.
Gu Ze secretly smiled with narrowed eyes, then put on a serious expression.
"Smart. I hope it goes as we wish."
Xu Nuan felt her ears warm up and slightly distanced herself from Gu Ze, wanting to catch up with the few people ahead.
"Success depends on the individual. If you want things to go your way, you have to work hard."
To find Mastermind and that person, she had to strive, live on, and gather information to clear the fog and see the truth.
With his own thoughts in mind, Gu Ze interpreted her words differently, his eyes nearly squinting shut.
As they were about to catch up with the three people who had been overlooked for a long time, Xu Nuan suddenly remembered something and asked Gu Ze.
"But I have one more question. Why did you and the other four enter the game? Was it because someone signed a contract on your behalf? That doesn't make sense."
Gu Ze suddenly laughed a few times, then looked at Xu Nuan with a wry smile, somewhat resentful.
"It should be my dad who signed the contract. He has always wanted to find an opportunity for me to get to the bottom of this matter, and entering the game is the most straightforward method."
Xu Nuan was taken aback and asked, "How many children does your family have?"
Gu Ze blinked in confusion. "Just me."
"Cough, cough," Xu Nuan pretended to cough a few times before gleefully saying to Gu Ze, "Your dad really has big ambitions."
To send his own son into such a cruel Death Game, if anything happened, their family would be left without an heir. On the other hand, Uncle Gu must trust Gu Ze's abilities, believing he could not only uncover the truth but also survive and come out alive!
Gu Ze's reason for entering the game was clear, but Xu Nuan was still confused. She vaguely felt that there was a conspiracy behind the contract signing. What kind of conspiracy? Who had set it up?
This was yet another dilemma. Xu Nuan found her mind struggling to keep up, and as she rubbed her temples, Gu Ze's clear voice broke through her thoughts.
"Don't think too much. Right now, we are allies, so we can think together with two minds. You can relax; things will eventually come to light."
Xu Nuan pondered for a moment and then nodded.
"Okay."
She had a sense that Gu Ze was someone she could trust, and she firmly believed that if it was Gu Ze, they would definitely be able to uncover the Mastermind and find a way to survive and escape.
When the two returned to the group, Deng Yinyin spoke up with a hint of sarcasm.
"Finally, you two decided to hurry up. Do you think this terrifying cave atmosphere is nice?"
As soon as Deng Yinyin finished speaking, Xu Hang sighed in exasperation, while Xie Huai smiled awkwardly. During the time Xu Nuan and Gu Ze had intentionally lagged behind to talk, Deng Yinyin had been chattering away, almost forgetting her fear. Moreover, she had tried several times to turn around and shout at herself but was sternly stopped by Xu Hang.
When Deng Yinyin wasn't being darkened by her thoughts, Xu Hang acted like a protective giant Buddha keeping her in check.
Meanwhile, Xie Huai, who usually had a weak presence, felt even more out of place. He preferred that Gu Ze was getting closer to Xu Nuan rather than Deng Yinyin.
If Xu Hang had mind-reading abilities, he would immediately resign from his so-called captain position and throw down his responsibilities. In a game where danger lurked at every corner and vigilance was crucial, what were these people thinking all day?
Regardless of the interruptions, Xu Nuan and Gu Ze had reached a consensus and had grown much closer. Their journey through the cave continued.
How could one describe this cave?
There were holes within holes, above and below, each containing a different landscape. Some had thin layers of slanted limestone forming the ceiling, while others were adorned with stone branches formed from the constant dripping of stalactites. Some caves could be described as pitch-black, while others had a sinister aura about them.
In this place, there were countless caves, each unique in its own way.
What made it even more troublesome was the multitude of forks in the path. As the leader, Xu Hang occasionally felt tempted to whimsically choose a direction by tossing a coin.
Ah, he had forgotten that he hadn’t brought a single coin into this game.
What a sad reality it was.
The group traversed one cave after another, taking breaks now and then, their eyes constantly adjusting between darkness and light. Yet they still hadn’t found the Special Tree or seen a real exit.
“Phew, it feels like we’re walking towards the end of the earth,” Deng Yinyin murmured as they stood before another cave entrance, stealing a glance at Gu Ze, only to feel disappointed.
“Let’s take a break.”
To prevent Deng Yinyin from starting another rant, Xu Hangming wisely suggested this. The others immediately sighed in relief, unloading their backpacks against the wall and sitting down casually, stretching their necks and shaking out their arms and legs.
However, before they could fully relax and take a sip of water, Xie Huai suddenly screamed, collapsing onto the ground and pointing shakily at something not far away.
Before them lay a shallow dark stream. The first thought that crossed everyone’s mind was whether there might be a corpse here too, but as they looked closer, they realized they were mistaken.
Xie Huai was pointing at several spiders—larger than average but not as enormous as those encountered in the Angry Jungle. These spiders had white spots on their backs that combined to form ghostly faces. The faces were smiling, identical to the grins found on the corpses.
It was quite frightening but paled in comparison to the terror evoked by actual corpses.
Deng Yinyin glared at Xie Huai in dissatisfaction.
"It's just a few spiders. Are you really a man if you're scared like this?"
Xie Huai's face had turned an unnatural shade of white.
Xu Hang spoke softly, "No, Deng Yinyin, it's not just a few. It's hundreds, maybe thousands."
Deng Yinyin turned to look and was horrified to discover that what they had thought was a dark current was actually a swarm of spiders. The place was dimly lit, and they hadn't noticed the white spots on the spiders' bodies until now. Now that they could see, it was a terrifying sight—countless spiders marching toward them in droves.
Xu Nuan instinctively glanced at Gu Ze, remembering that he was afraid of spiders.
As expected, Xu Nuan saw Gu Ze frozen in place, petrified.
Suddenly, she felt an urge to laugh. What should she do?
This was Xu Nuan's inner turmoil.
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