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墨書 Inktalez
When the clouds of Swarm arrived at the cliff, Heavy Rain also set in, with large raindrops mercilessly pounding down. A few people hurriedly put on their raincoats and searched for the red figure through the curtain of rain.
Every Survival Game always starts off difficult. After searching for a while and finding no red Special Tree nearby, everyone decided to follow Xu Hang in search of a place to take shelter from the rain.
As the Purple Dragon began to appear, tearing apart the black curtain of clouds, the thunder rumbled ominously, causing everyone's hearts to tremble.
From a distance, the cliff appeared to be a blend of Coniferous Forest and Broadleaf Forest, interspersed with Bushes and meadows—a scene that should have been pleasing to the eye. However, under the Heavy Rain, it became particularly cruel. The vast landscape and continuous cliffs offered no temporary refuge from the downpour.
The group searched for a long time in the rain but found no place to shelter. Finally, Xu Hang decided that they should climb the mountain despite the rain; after all, staying put would still mean enduring Heavy Rain, so they might as well make some progress while moving forward.
However, climbing in the rain posed significant risks, and everyone’s stamina would be consumed at an accelerated rate.
The mountain rain carried a chill that stung against their skin, and that cold air playfully slipped past their raincoats, blowing into their necks and through gaps in their clothing.
Xu Nuan couldn’t help but shiver. Yet, the cold was not her greatest enemy at that moment; she could already feel her injuries starting to throb. There was a dull ache in her shoulder where she had been hurt, and the wound on her back was also screaming in pain.
For someone who had been injured, rain was the most tormenting element.
But Xu Nuan knew she wasn’t alone in this suffering; everyone else was enduring similar pain. Understanding this made her reluctant to hold anyone back. Even if she fell behind, she would strive to climb higher with double the effort.
The cliff was littered with boulders. If it were sunny and clear, those boulders would be surrounded by green grass and colorful flowers, with a gentle breeze passing through—an undoubtedly beautiful scene. But now, those boulders were sources of danger.
Due to the heavy rain, much of the soil had begun to loosen. The wind was strong, and there was a tendency for the boulders to slide or roll down.
As Xu Nuan remained vigilant about the boulders that could fall at any moment, she suddenly saw one barreling toward her with unstoppable force.
She quickly dodged to the side just in time to avoid being crushed by it. Before she could even warn others to take cover, another boulder came crashing down toward her. She tried to move in another direction but this time luck was not on her side. She accidentally stepped into a shallow pit and twisted her ankle; her body lost balance and fell directly into the path of the rolling boulder. If she fell completely, she would surely be crushed into a pulp.
In that split second when such a scene flashed through her mind, Xu Nuan desperately tried to regain her balance but failed. Just as disaster seemed imminent, a pair of hands reached out from beside her and grabbed her tightly, pulling her aside as the boulder narrowly missed her.
"Thank you."
Xu Nuan instinctively turned to apologize to her savior and realized it was Gu Ze who had rescued her.
In the midst of the rain, she couldn't clearly see the faces of the few people walking ahead, nor did she turn back to look. She remained unaware that Gu Ze was walking behind her. If it weren't for Gu Ze being there, he wouldn't have noticed her danger and reached out to help.
Xu Nuan felt inexplicably awkward, especially since Gu Ze's hands around her waist had yet to be withdrawn.
"Ahem."
Feeling flustered, Xu Nuan cleared her throat a few times to change the subject, managing to slip out from under Gu Ze's grip and quickly added, "We should hurry and catch up; it's too dangerous to fall behind at this time."
Gu Ze said nothing, simply nodding silently as he continued walking behind Xu Nuan.
At that moment, Xu Nuan felt completely uneasy, sensing that Gu Ze was paying attention to her every move, leaving her feeling lost and confused. The main issue was that she couldn't turn back to speak with him.
"Why don't you go ahead?"
Was he deliberately staying back to protect her?
In that instant, Xu Nuan had such a thought but quickly brushed it aside.
Right now, their focus should be on climbing the mountain as much as possible, just like before, searching for clues at the summit. All other thoughts should be cast aside. She needed to remain calm during this challenge, analyzing her surroundings and providing any clues she could for the team.
In the past, Xu Nuan would never have allowed herself to think about such things during a dangerous moment; she knew it was a taboo during challenges. Yet at this moment, her usually tranquil mind was disturbed, and she found herself unable to control her thoughts.
Because of this distraction, Xu Nuan didn't notice the protruding rocks in the grass just a few steps ahead. As she stepped down onto one, her body naturally leaned forward. Fortunately, Gu Ze reacted quickly from behind; he grabbed her backpack and pulled her aside just in time, allowing Xu Nuan to safely stand on the grass.
"What were you so lost in thought about?"
In her daze, Xu Nuan heard Gu Ze's gentle inquiry. His words held little reproach, yet a wave of unease surged within her; she felt as if something beyond her control was about to happen.
No one wants events outside their control to unfold; that brings a sense of insecurity.
"I wasn't thinking about anything," Xu Nuan replied randomly, ignoring the warmth around her waist from earlier. "It's just that the rain is so heavy that my visibility is limited."
It was as if she was speaking nonsense with her eyes wide open; no matter how heavy the rain fell, it was impossible for her not to see a few dozen centimeters ahead. The glaring lie depended on who was listening.
As soon as Xu Nuan finished speaking, Gu Ze naturally shifted the topic.
"Just be careful, walk slowly. This is the only path up the mountain; you won't fall behind."
"Okay, I understand."
Xu Nuan tried her best to keep her voice steady, but only she knew that she was sighing inwardly. What could she possibly blame someone like him for?
The group continued their ascent, yet the heavy rain continued to pour mercilessly, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder. Rocks kept sliding down, and despite walking for a long time, they hadn't made much progress.
Along the way, they didn't find any caves to take shelter from the rain; occasionally, they spotted a few sparse trees with low trunks, which were of little use.
Xu Nuan and Gu Ze caught up with Xu Hang and the others when they stopped to rest. They joined in for a break as well.
This was perhaps the most miserable rest they had experienced; in the heavy rain, they sat on the ground, even drinking water and eating snacks inside their raincoats. Xu Nuan roughly calculated the time; it was likely still before noon, meaning they would have to continue climbing in this state for most of the day until they found a suitable campsite.
Though starting anything is difficult, it shouldn't be this hard—there wasn't even a place to take shelter.
Resting in the rain felt worse than not resting at all, so after finishing their food, everyone quickly got back on their feet. Xu Nuan hesitated about whether she should fall behind when she suddenly felt dizzy and nearly lost consciousness.
Looking up at the others who were standing, she realized no one noticed her abnormality. Xu Nuan let out a quiet breath and slowly got up; however, as she did so, the dizziness intensified.
Could it be that I've caught a fever from being soaked in the rain for too long?
Xu Nuan wondered as she reached out to touch her forehead—it was indeed hot.
Taking advantage of the others walking ahead, Xu Nuan hurriedly pulled out some cold medicine and water from her backpack, intending to swallow them. Just as she put the medicine in her mouth and took a sip of water, Gu Ze's voice reached her ears.
"Are you coming down with something?"
Xu Nuan looked up and found Gu Ze standing right beside her. She couldn't quite remember if he had been walking with Xu Hang and the others just moments ago. But as soon as she lifted her head, she choked and couldn't stop coughing.
As she patted her chest in discomfort, Xu Nuan noticed Gu Ze gently patting her back.
Xu Nuan immediately froze, quickly straightening up and daring not to look at Gu Ze's face, feeling flustered.
"We should just follow along," she said.
She had repeated this phrase countless times, and Gu Ze seemed to be glued to her side, making her feel quite uneasy. She had never seen him like this before; did he have other intentions?
Xu Nuan didn't mean to be dismissive; it was just a genuine feeling of discomfort and unease.
She understood why she felt uneasy, but the source of her anxiety was unclear.
As they continued on, Xu Nuan completely avoided looking at Gu Ze, her nerves were on high alert as she tried not to make any mistakes. But the more she told herself not to mess up and to worry, the more likely she was to stumble.
Throughout the afternoon, Xu Nuan nearly fell into puddles, almost collided with boulders, or slipped on wet grass. At one point, she even tripped over her own feet.
It was a series of mishaps!
And each time, Gu Ze would perfectly assist Xu Nuan. By the end of it all, she felt numb from thanking him repeatedly, and she hadn’t dared to look at his face the entire time.
Or those eyes.
Gu Ze didn’t seem to react much to it, but Xu Nuan wanted to slap herself hard for making such a fuss over nothing.
Setting aside Xu Nuan's clumsiness, their group actually found a shallow cave by evening that could accommodate all five of them and allow for a small fire.
Ah, but they had no dry wood to burn.
Xu Nuan grimaced as she twisted the wet hem of her raincoat. Although she wore a raincoat, it had inevitably gotten wet. She and Deng Yinyin couldn’t change clothes like before; they could only sit in the cave with their knees hugged tightly and watch the raindrops fall a few steps away.
Lost in thought, Xu Nuan suddenly noticed someone sitting beside her. She turned with that dazed expression still on her face.
It was Gu Ze again!
Xu Nuan was certain that her lips were twitching. She quickly covered her mouth and pretended to yawn, asking Gu Ze in a low voice, "Is something wrong?"
She still didn't dare to meet his gaze.
Gu Ze calmly handed her the bandages and ointment. "Your abdominal wound has reopened; you should bandage it up."
"Huh?"
Xu Nuan hadn't fully processed what he said when Gu Ze suddenly leaned closer to her, sniffing the air with certainty.
"I can smell the blood."
Xu Nuan was stunned. Did this man realize where she had just been sniffing?
It definitely wasn't her abdomen!
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