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墨書 Inktalez
As soon as Xu Nuan's words fell, Deng Yinyin shouted in dissatisfaction.
"What are you thinking, Xu Nuan? Why are you giving them food?"
Before Deng Yinyin could finish her sentence, Xu Hang pressed down on her shoulder and pulled her back a couple of steps.
In Xu Hang's mind, Xu Nuan never did anything meaningless, especially after becoming part of the Alliance and learning many of the underlying truths. He fully supported the decisions made by Xu Nuan.
With Xu Hang not opposing her, the others were even less inclined to disagree.
Rao Tingxue, feeling quite pleased with herself, elegantly tossed her long hair and pointed a slender finger at Xu Nuan.
"You really know how to play this game. I'm not just taking your food for free; as long as you can get out of this game, I can give you whatever you want—of course, excluding Yaojie."
Her tone suggested that Qin Yaojie was also her possession.
Xu Nuan raised a finger and waved it lightly. Seeing Rao Tingxue's slightly confused expression, she pointed at her own head.
She was actually feeling quite uncomfortable; her head was throbbing, sitting was difficult, and speaking was even harder. However, after sorting through some thoughts, she needed an answer at that moment.
"I only need Ning Han to answer me one question; I don't need anything else."
"Xu Nuan, what do you mean? Do you think this guy's word is worth more than my promise?"
Rao Tingxue suddenly became very indignant.
Xu Nuan sighed. Weren't they on the same side? Why did they still have to compare themselves to their own people?
“Ting Xue,” Ning Han, who had been silent, finally spoke up. His voice was cold, a stark contrast to his ordinary appearance.
“It’s just some food; it can’t compare to your precious promises.”
With that light remark, Rao Tingxue felt immensely satisfied, crossing her arms and leisurely strolling away.
Deng Yinyin was furious at the sight, and Xie Huai, with a bandage hanging between his left hand and neck, quickly stepped in to stop her.
Xu Hang and Gu Ze merely stood by, watching with swirling emotions in their eyes.
“Go ahead and ask.”
A cold smile appeared on Ning Han's lips.
Xu Nuan realized she had recently found herself looking up at others. At this moment, she lacked the strength to stand and could only tilt her head slightly to meet Ning Han's gaze. When her eyes locked onto his cold, sharp ones that resembled a snake's, she suppressed the tremor within her and calmly asked, “Which side are you on?”
After she posed the question, she noticed Ning Han's gaze suddenly turned dangerous, as if he intended to devour her whole. She immediately understood the answer but still waited for Ning Han's response.
“You truly are a clever woman.”
“Many have said so,” Xu Nuan accepted without hesitation, adding, “and yet, clever women often end up alone and short-lived.”
She was satisfied to see Ning Han's breath catch, and then she made a gesture to her, just avoiding Rao Tingxue's line of sight.
"I understand, the exchange is established."
Receiving a positive response, Xu Nuan did not say anything to her companions. She calmly turned and lay down against the wall, pulling her jacket up to cover her head, presenting an attitude of not wanting to engage with anyone.
"What kind of tantrum is she throwing? Is there any deeper meaning to that question?"
Deng Yinyin's questions came pouring out like bamboo shoots after rain, but they were quickly silenced by Xu Hang.
Xu Nuan lay with her eyes open under the jacket, staring at the wall. She could hear Rao Tingxue's inquiries, the sounds of Xu Hang and the others packing food for Ning Han, and the sounds of Rao Tingxue and Ning Han leaving in the rain.
The rain outside grew heavier, and the sound of raindrops hitting the ground became increasingly irritating. The damp wind blew into the cave, causing Xu Nuan to instinctively curl up. She wrapped herself tighter in her blanket but never uncovered her jacket, as if the darkness provided her with a sense of security.
After Rao Tingxue and Ning Han left, Deng Yinyin asked a few more questions, which Xu Hang patiently answered. The group occasionally exchanged a few words, their voices kept low; amidst the sound of rain, it resembled some animal munching on leaves. Xu Nuan listened until she unintentionally drifted back to sleep.
During this time, she vaguely woke up once. Her entire body felt hot and sticky with sweat. When she opened her eyes, she seemed to see someone sitting beside her; the familiar silhouette made her realize that her jacket had been removed from over her head, allowing her to see her surroundings.
That figure seemed to provide more comfort than the darkness itself. Before she was fully awake, she fell back asleep.
This time, she dreamed.
The people in her dream were blurry, as if obscured by black gauze. She wanted to lift the gauze, but it only seemed to tighten around those figures. She couldn't see their faces but could hear their eerie and unsettling laughter; in such an environment, it felt like demons preparing to devour her.
In her dream, she ran desperately while calling out someone's name, but there was no response. When she helplessly sat down and cried, she saw two figures approaching her—her parents. They were smiling at her. As she wiped away her tears and tried to stand up to go to them, a car suddenly sped towards her.
She watched helplessly as her parents were struck by the car, their bodies flying through the air before landing in front of her. Blood pooled around them, and she saw them touching their bleeding heads as they crawled toward her, their lips moving incessantly.
"Nuannuan, run!"
Run from what?
In her dream, she didn’t even have the strength to stand. Then she saw the car turn around and speed toward her. She couldn’t see the driver’s face, and panic surged within her as she screamed.
"Don't!"
Xu Nuan shouted and suddenly sat up.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
Gasping for breath, Xu Nuan heard a gentle male voice. A hand reached out to touch her forehead.
She swatted the hand away and glanced at Gu Ze, who was sitting beside her, then surveyed their surroundings.
It was slightly bright outside, and the rain had stopped. It seemed a night had passed. In the cave, it was just her and Gu Ze; everyone else was gone, but their backpacks remained.
After scanning the area, Xu Nuan's gaze returned to Gu Ze's face. There were faint dark circles under his eyes, bloodshot from lack of rest. The worry etched on his face seemed genuine, and the emotions swirling in his gaze were too complex for her to decipher.
"Thank you for saving me yesterday."
After a moment of thought, Xu Nuan decided to express her gratitude. Even though she had lost consciousness at that time, she still remembered the familiar sensation of being carried on someone's back. After such an incident, it was truly kind of this man to save her.
She felt a bit irritated, and it showed on her face. In just a few days, too many things had happened that she didn't want to face.
"It's just a thank you," she saw Gu Ze reaching out again and quickly swatted his hand away. "Do you really need to cry so sadly?"
Had she cried?
Xu Nuan pulled her hand back and touched her face, feeling a coolness.
It seemed she always ended up crying in front of this man. That was not a good thing.
Turning her face away, Xu Nuan looked at the rock wall and thought about that dream, feeling particularly chilly as she smiled. She really was a fool.
"Ning Han is Zhang Xiao's person."
Xu Nuan's voice was very low, but she felt it was her responsibility to inform her Alliance of the information she had gathered.
"From the current clues, it seems that the First Batch of Players is divided into two groups with different purposes. What’s the same is that they do not intend to succeed in breaking through. This involves a wide range of issues, and there are many details that need to be investigated."
Silence.
Xu Nuan waited for a while without hearing Gu Ze's voice, becoming even more irritated as she turned to look at him, only to be caught off guard when he pulled her into an embrace.
A voice rang out above her head.
"Why force yourself? I can find out these things with Hang too; our goals are aligned, aren't they? Or do you not trust our abilities?"
The warm body felt like it was burning, and Xu Nuan couldn't shake off the scene from that day. Her conflicting emotions—sadness, helplessness—along with the man's reckless actions flooded her mind.
Unconsciously, Xu Nuan trembled, wanting to curl up into herself.
Gu Ze immediately released her, looking somewhat at a loss, stammering as he struggled to find the right words.
In the end, all he could manage were three words.
"I'm sorry."
He had intended to protect this woman before him, yet time and again he ended up hurting her. What was the difference between himself and that bastard Qin Yaojie?
Seeing her sick, watching her force herself to carry on, witnessing her nightmares and the scars she bore—he felt utterly powerless. Even a simple embrace seemed like an unattainable luxury.
This was not what he wanted to see.
What he desired had never changed.
Xu Nuan slowly lifted her head and looked at Gu Ze. After a long silence filled with unspoken words, she turned away, carefully adjusting the blanket over her legs.
"I never doubted your abilities. We are a team in the Alliance, and I trust you both. However, there are many things that only I know. A part of my memories that had been deliberately sealed away has returned. Perhaps soon we will understand everything that's been happening."
Xu Nuan quickly finished speaking and hurriedly began organizing her backpack, seemingly unwilling to elaborate on the matter of her memories. In truth, she had originally intended to share this with Gu Ze.
Another silence fell between them as Gu Ze watched Xu Nuan busily tidying up without wanting to talk to him.
"I have something to tell you."
Xu Nuan's heart skipped a beat. She didn't turn around but lowered her voice to ask, "What is it? If it's not related to the game, then don't bother."
Without looking up, Xu Nuan sensed that the atmosphere in the cave had suddenly become tense, but the tension quickly dissipated as someone withdrew their pressure.
"Hang discovered the true purpose of those five Tail Rings in a Hidden Level."
Gu Ze's voice was low, his face devoid of expression.
"Moreover, he found out that Zhang Xiao has a gun, which led him to suspect many things. In the end, he made it clear to me, so I decided to let Hang join our Alliance. I apologize for not discussing it with you beforehand."
Xu Nuan paused her actions, feeling a mix of emotions swirling inside her without raising her head.
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