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墨書 Inktalez
Knowing that Deng Yinyin's words were meant as a joke, the others couldn't bring themselves to laugh.
Xu Nuan had gained a new understanding of the game's level of danger and took two steps back, feeling a lingering fear.
"I just have this feeling that it won't end well."
"Mm-hmm."
The others nodded in agreement.
"Everyone should stay away from the lake. There's no need to come here alone if it's not necessary."
Xu Hang made a decisive statement. As he turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the water, seeing Deng Yinyin's face staring back at him. A shiver ran down his spine, but he managed to leave the lake with an appearance of calmness.
The others followed suit. Gu Ze glanced at Xu Nuan's pale face and remarked, "You really have a knack for jinxing things. Just when we thought it was safe during the day, danger shows up."
Xu Nuan shot him an annoyed glare, her face still ashen. Regardless of Designer's intentions, such a scene was truly unsettling.
As night fell, they huddled close to a tree, casually starting a fire and heating up their dry rations and water for dinner.
A few of them had already fallen asleep under their blankets due to exhaustion. Xu Nuan leaned against the tree with her blanket wrapped around her, scanning the area before her gaze settled on the lake. The moon hung high in the night sky, its silvery light spilling over the countless ripples on the water's surface, shimmering like silver ribbons dancing in the breeze. Occasionally, unknown insects skimmed across the lake, creating tiny ripples that spread outward in circles. The distant calls of forest animals echoed occasionally, resembling a nocturne.
Xu Nuan felt somewhat dazed when suddenly a sharp pain shot through her chest, causing her to double over.
"Yaojie."
A whisper slipped from her lips.
She had long noticed that every night, her heart would race, the constant contractions making her body tremble. From the initial panic to eventual adaptation, she found herself oddly calm. It was during these moments of palpitations that she dared to use the pain to reminisce about that person.
She could no longer distinguish whether it was her heart that was truly troubled or if she was simply lovesick. The nightly pain, along with the bizarre dreams that followed, blurred her understanding. Was it due to her exhaustion and tense nerves during the day, or was it simply longing manifesting in dreams?
Thinking of the mark she had seen during the day, Xu Nuan began to chuckle softly, tears streaming down her face as she did.
"Heh heh."
Suppressing her emotions, Xu Nuan bit her lip, mindful of those around her who were asleep, and continued to soothe her racing heart.
She had seen that mark; it was left by Qin Yaojie. The mark was neither new nor old; it had been nearly half a month since Qin Yaojie and the others had departed from this place.
Yet, this was the first time she had seen Qin Yaojie's mark, the first time she could confirm he was in this game, and that she hadn’t made a wrong choice. However, she also knew clearly that the mark wasn’t meant for her but for his companions. So why did Qin Yaojie use a symbol they had once agreed upon?
Even though time had become the most worthless commodity in the game and memories tended to wither away in its vast expanse, she still vividly remembered when she and Qin Yaojie were together in college. The romanticism within her flared up as she insisted on creating a set of symbols unique to their communication, a way to document their love story without anyone else knowing its contents.
Ah, Xu Nuan began to taste something salty on her lips. The mark she had noticed during the day wasn’t old but had been deliberately obscured in large part; she couldn’t decipher what those symbols combined might mean.
Guess?
She found that word rather ironic.
The wind picked up, and a thin blanket was no longer enough to keep her warm. Xu Nuan curled up, shivering in the night, her familiar low posture reflecting her pain. She had no doubt that if she remained still, she might fall ill; the coldness surrounding her made her consciousness begin to fade.
Suddenly, she felt a wave of warmth as someone wrapped their arms around her, resting their head on hers. The heat radiated towards her, and she could finally move her limbs again.
She knew who it was that held her.
It always seemed to be this way—the first person to notice when she was in danger, upset, or something was wrong was this individual, not Qin Yaojie, who was far away in an unknown Survival Game.
So how much debt did she have to owe? Could that bastard Qin Yaojie not appear before her and give her an explanation?
Just a single meeting would suffice; just one explanation would be enough. She would accept it and then leave. Perhaps she would never live a life for two again, perhaps she would bury that decade-long relationship deep beneath the sea. But all she wanted was to see him once, to know he was safe—that would be enough.
At that moment, she could also tell this warm man before her that she was sorry; her heart had truly died and could no longer be warmed. And thank him, hoping he could find happiness.
Look at how selfish a woman can be.
"I saw the mark he left behind; he's still alive."
Xu Nuan felt the body holding her tremble and instinctively clung tighter.
"I'm sorry."
That was all she could offer.
She wasn't blind or heartless; it was just that there had been someone in her heart. Of course, that person soon vanished because the door to her heart had rotted away, turning into a stagnant pool of water.
"Isn't it too early for that? Besides, didn't I say no more 'I'm sorry'?"
Xu Nuan heard that warm voice.
"This is something I want to do myself; no one can stop me. You only have the right to choose to accept or refuse."
It was in line with her own beliefs.
Indeed, the relationship between men and women in the Alliance was difficult to keep pure. Once some relationships soured, it was hard to turn back.
She enjoyed being friends with Gu Ze, so before feeling any more regret, she decided to put a stop to it. She didn't want to feel guilty for a lifetime. If someone had been hurt, they shouldn't hurt others in return; that would create a vicious cycle, ultimately leading everyone to a bad outcome.
Suddenly pulled away from the pain, Xu Nuan pushed Gu Ze away.
Gu Ze loosened his grip and noticed Xu Nuan lifting her head. He saw the blood on her lips, bright red like a gem, melancholic like teardrops. He wanted to reach out but hesitated.
Xu Nuan noticed the unmasked disappointment in Gu Ze's eyes. Just as she was about to say something, she caught sight of the lake not far behind him and her eyes widened.
"Gu Ze, do you see something on the surface of the lake, or am I mistaken?"
Xu Nuan lacked confidence in her night vision but trusted Gu Ze's eyesight.
Suppressing his curiosity, Gu Ze turned around and discovered that many fish corpses floated on the moonlit surface of the lake. Their white bellies faced up, causing numerous white specks to glimmer on the water.
"Those are fish. Why did they all die suddenly?"
Gu Zeteng stood up, wanting to get closer to observe, but Xu Nuan quickly grabbed him and also got up in a hurry.
"Don't get too close; it's not worth the risk."
At this moment, both of them had forgotten to lower their voices, waking Xu Hang and the others.
"What happened? What's going on?"
Xu Hang rubbed his eyes and climbed up. His vision was still blurry when he noticed the commotion on the lake's surface, looking quite surprised.
"What’s going on? Is the water toxic?"
Xu Hang began to let his imagination run wild, while Xie Huai and Deng Yinyin also stood up beside him.
"I don't know the reason, but it's not safe to go over there; we might fall into a trap."
Gu Ze said this just as they saw a black wild boar darting out from a sparse thicket nearby, charging toward them.
"Hang, you all need to get out of the way!"
The black wild boar was charging from behind Xu Hang and the others, moving at a high speed. Given the boar's momentum and weight, if it collided with someone, it would definitely cause serious injury.
Reminded by Gu Ze, the group hurriedly tried to dodge. However, they were either tangled in blankets or had backpacks at their feet. Just waking up, they were caught off guard as the wild boar rushed right in front of Xie Huai.
Gu Ze and Xu Nuan realized it was too late to run over and help.
“Xie Huai!”
Xu Hang, who wanted to help Xie Huai, missed his chance and could only shout out in desperation.
At that moment, Xie Huai was completely flustered, standing there in a daze, forgetting even to roll aside to avoid danger.
When the wild boar collided with Xie Huai, Xu Nuan realized that Gu Ze, who had been in front of her, was gone. In his place was the panicked Xie Huai.
Could it be?
Xu Nuan looked over in disbelief and saw that Gu Ze had been knocked away by the wild boar. The boar, in its own panic, crashed into a nearby tree and fell down along with the low branches.
“Gu Ze!”
The scream came from Deng Yinyin. Xu Nuan suddenly clutched her chest, frowning in pain, before running over as well.
Even Gu Ze himself didn’t know how he ended up in front of the wild boar. He hadn’t even had time to react before being sent flying in an instant.
A sharp pain shot through his abdomen where he had previously been injured. Gu Ze realized he was soaring through the air and quickly regained his composure, landing in a way that absorbed the impact on his knees. He then saw several worried faces rushing toward him.
Among them was the one he had been thinking about constantly, looking pale. Although he didn’t understand what had just happened, Gu Ze felt it was still worth it.
“What happened? Wasn’t Xie Huai just standing there? How did it suddenly turn into you?”
Deng Yinyin was somewhat frantic, her high-pitched voice grating on everyone’s ears.
Xu Nuan furrowed her brows as she stared at Gu Ze, who was wearing a gentle smile to reassure everyone. Her gaze fell on his abdomen, and her breath caught sharply; blood was already seeping through.
"Let's check the cause later. We need to bandage it first."
With an ambiguous tone, Xu Nuan turned to grab the bandages and medical supplies. As she passed by the dazed wild boar, she kicked it hard a few times, then casually moved a nearby tree to pin it down.
While bandaging Gu Ze, the others were still trying to process the strange scene they had just witnessed, feeling somewhat at a loss.
"Cluck, cluck."
"Did you hear that sound?"
One of the witnesses to the bizarre event, Xie Huai, suddenly looked around nervously. His fearful demeanor annoyed Deng Yinyin, who turned to scold him but then her gaze landed on the lake's surface.
"No way, the water is actually boiling!"
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