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墨書 Inktalez
In the deep of night, Xu Nuan slept restlessly. In the first half of the night, she simply couldn't fall asleep, staring blankly at the top of the tent. In the latter half, the events of the day morphed into nightmares that tormented her, leaving her in a state of unease. When she finally woke up in a sweat, she found herself burning hot, as if she had been roasted in an oven.
Beside her, Deng Yinyin was sleeping soundly. Outside the tent, the morning light was just beginning to break, and birds in the forest were chirping softly; it was still early.
Xu Nuan moved quietly to change her clothes and took some anti-inflammatory medicine to replace the bandage on her left hand. She wanted to lie back down for a little more sleep, but the lingering marks on her skin from earlier disturbed her further, robbing her of any remaining desire to sleep.
Not one to force herself, Xu Nuan decided to put on her jacket and go for a walk to observe the surrounding terrain and pass the time.
As she pulled aside the tent flap, a chill mountain breeze filled with morning dew rushed toward her. Xu Nuan tightened her grip on her collar and noticed several men's tents being opened as well, revealing figures that looked all too familiar.
Before their gazes could fully meet, Xu Nuan quickly averted her eyes and chose a direction to leave. A few steps later, she heard the sound of someone behind her stirring the ashes and adding new firewood.
There was no going back!
Standing at a higher corner of the cliff, she looked down at the lush green mountains bathed in morning light, with scattered birch trees and dense willows. Occasionally visible roses reminded her of those along Rose Road in Jiangnan Town.
A wave of sorrow surged in her chest that she couldn't shake off; her nose felt tingly, and there was a slight pain at the corners of her eyes.
She reached up to touch her forehead and muttered to herself, "I really am sick."
She hated feeling out of control.
As she stood alone at the edge of the cliff reflecting on the grand design of game development, she suddenly heard voices coming from nearby woods—perhaps a woman's scolding voice.
"You two are utterly useless! How could you lose the tent? Now I have to sleep out here in the wild and was woken up early this morning! When we get back, I will definitely make Dad punish you!"
Following that were two voices pleading for mercy.
Xu Nuan had no time to listen carefully; she could only sigh at Deng Yinyin's sharp tongue.
She knew this was not a good time to clash with Rao Tingxue and the others again, especially with Ning Han hiding a pistol. Xu Nuan hurriedly jumped down from the rock and ran toward the campsite.
As she ran back, she deliberately hid behind the light bushes to observe the direction in which Rao Tingxue and the others were heading. Good, they had chosen another path, opposite to their campsite. As long as Xu Hang confirmed that their direction was different from those three, there would be no problem.
When Xu Nuan returned to the campsite, drenched in dew, the others were already up, gathered around the campfire eating breakfast.
Her return seemed to go unnoticed; only Deng Yinyin lifted her eyelids and asked drowsily, “Where did you go so early? Did you find something?”
Looking into Deng Yinyin's clear eyes, Xu Nuan recalled how Deng Yinyin had complained disdainfully yesterday. She decided not to mention that Rao Tingxue and her group were nearby; after all, they wouldn't run into each other.
“Nothing, just went for a walk,” Xu Nuan replied flatly before entering the tent, ignoring Deng Yinyin's calls to hurry up and eat before setting off.
Opening her backpack, Xu Nuan quickly took out some cold medicine and a water bottle. After taking the medicine, she noticed that her left palm was starting to bleed again when she set down the bottle.
“I just changed the bandage this morning,” she muttered. Xu Nuan felt puzzled about why this wound was healing so slowly. More importantly, she didn’t want to waste her blood; women were already prone to anemia, and in this game world without the conditions of civilized society, she often began to feel dizzy.
Sitting cross-legged on the mat, Xu Nuan slowly unwrapped the bandage from her hand and took out a new one. The simple process of changing her dressing took her quite a while, as if she were deliberately avoiding facing something outside.
After a moment, as Xu Nuan was leisurely tying the bandage with her mouth and one hand, Deng Yinyin impatiently walked in with food, her voice neither loud nor soft.
"Can't you feel hungry at all? Or are you still reminiscing about the times when your mother took care of you?"
Knowing that Deng Yinyin was just teasing her, Xu Nuan still thanked her earnestly without saying much else. She took the breakfast and obediently started eating. Deng Yinyin seemed in no hurry to clean up and sat down beside Xu Nuan, staring at her intently.
Under such scrutiny, Xu Nuan calmly enjoyed her breakfast until Deng Yinyin could no longer hold back and asked, "Why do I feel like you've become really strange?"
Xu Nuan remained silent, inwardly scoffing. Hadn't this person always thought she was strange? Did she need to change? Besides, she hadn't changed at all; she was exactly the same as before.
Then Deng Yinyin continued, "Gu Ze is also acting really weird!"
This point was undeniable. Xu Nuan didn't know if Gu Ze had changed, but she certainly knew that his attitude toward her had shifted.
Suddenly, she recalled that day when Gu Ze had looked at her with such coldness and his silence when she asked him something.
Did silence mean denial?
Wasn't the Alliance supposed to be companions?
Tch, Xu Nuan bit down on her dry rations in frustration. Clearly, she was the one who had been wronged, yet it felt as if she were the one bullying him.
Well, okay, she had indeed bullied him.
Ugh, there were just too many bothersome things lately.
The troubled expression on Xu Nuan's face gave Deng Yinyin a definite answer. Without saying a word, Deng Yinyin stood up to pack her things, secretly measuring Xu Nuan's thoughts, which she could not comprehend.
The group set off again, carrying increasingly lighter backpacks as they embarked on their journey to find the Special Tree.
Xu Nuan felt immense relief that Xu Hang had chosen a direction different from Rao Tingxue and the others. She couldn't help but relax a little.
The cliff they were currently on was better than the previous one, offering more shelter from the wind and rain, providing more places to hide the Special Tree. Unlike the last cliff, which was completely exposed and lacked any mystery, making it useless to the Designers.
Xu Nuan lagged behind and noticed someone walking at the front.
After following the main group for a while, Xu Nuan realized she was feeling increasingly dizzy and lightheaded. She reached up to touch her forehead, which felt alarmingly hot. When she touched her face, it seemed to have no warmth at all.
Had she caught a cold or was she running a fever?
As this question floated in her mind, Xu Nuan realized she was becoming muddled.
She slapped her cheeks lightly to wake herself up and continued to follow at the back of the group while observing her surroundings. She had always wondered why the Special Tree was chosen as such an important clue for successfully passing this stage. That plant, with its vibrant colors and lush foliage, could survive in any environment—surely it had more special qualities than just that?
Perhaps many memories, intentionally or unintentionally buried in her mind, were now surfacing. Xu Nuan's vision broadened, and her thoughts multiplied. She resolved not to overlook any potential clues in the game.
Determined to thoroughly investigate the Special Tree once they found it in this stage, Xu Nuan stumbled slightly and nearly fell. She made no noise, and the person ahead did not turn back. Looking down at the ground free of branches and vines blocking her way, Xu Nuan shook her head, feeling that something was off with her body.
Was it really just a simple cold?
Xu Nuan pondered.
With this doubt lingering in her mind, Xu Nuan silently followed the group for quite some time, only resting when Xu Hang took a break.
Half a day had passed, and Xu Nuan and her companions still had not found any trace of the Special Tree. Although they had only been in this stage for three or four days, their anxiety was palpable, but it hadn't reached the point of frustration.
"What kind of ridiculous Survival Game is this? We've climbed one cliff after another and searched through all kinds of trees, yet we still can't find the Special Tree. Is this game just messing with us?"
Deng Yinyin angrily kicked over a nearby dead branch.
Sitting quietly to the side, Xu Nuan decided to retract her earlier thoughts. At least the straightforward and hot-tempered Deng Yinyin would express her outrage about this game directly.
Before anyone could calm Deng Yinyin down, they heard a delicate female voice echoing similar sentiments.
"What’s going on with this Survival Game? Wasn’t this stage supposed to be easy? Damn it, that guy tricked me again!"
It was Rao Tingxue's voice, and Xu Nuan couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
As she spoke, Rao Tingxue and her two companions burst out from a nearby bush, coming face to face with Xu Nuan and her group.
"Why are you all here again?"
Deng Yinyin and Rao Tingxue shouted at each other simultaneously.
After shouting, Deng Yinyin noticed Ning Han behind Rao Tingxue. Remembering that he was armed, she quickly retreated and silently returned to Xu Hang's side.
Rao Tingxue felt quite pleased with herself. After glancing around at everyone, her gaze landed once again on Xu Nuan.
"Well, look who we have here! What happened? Just a few days apart and you've fallen into such disarray?"
Xu Nuan had to admit that Rao Tingxue's perceptiveness was impressive. However, not wanting to engage in conversation, she turned her attention to Xu Hang, hoping her eyes would convey that they should leave quickly without getting entangled with Rao Tingxue and her group.
As a result, Xu Nuan found herself gazing into Gu Ze's profoundly deep eyes.
In just a fleeting moment, memories of that day rushed back to her, making her feel flushed all over again. In a hurry, Xu Nuan turned her head, focusing on the ground and ignoring both Gu Ze and Rao Tingxue.
At that moment, Xu Hang stood up, deciding to leave.
Xu Nuan eagerly followed suit, her body swaying slightly, but the movement was so subtle that no one noticed.
Rao Tingxue, feeling overlooked, had a face twisted in anger. Just as she was about to unleash a tirade, Ning Han approached from behind and said a few words. Rao Tingxue's anger dissipated, and with a huff, she trailed behind Xu Nuan and the others.
Xu Nuan was already at the back of the group. Unconsciously glancing back, she noticed Rao Tingxue had caught up. That wasn't surprising; what caught her attention was the determined look on Ning Han's face.
Suddenly, Xu Nuan recalled Ning Han's earlier farewell.
It seemed that some scheme was drawing closer to her.
She needed to be more vigilant, Xu Nuan thought to herself. Just then, a wave of dizziness hit her. As she shook her head to clear her mind, she realized Rao Tingxue was now walking alongside her.
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