Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Xu Nuan's instincts had never been wrong, and this time was no exception.
They thought they were just ordinary plants with broad leaves, but they turned out to be mobile.
The plants unfurled their large leaves, revealing their true form: flowers with mouths. The shape resembled sunflowers, but they were much larger in diameter, and there was a crack in the center. At that moment, the cracks slowly widened, transforming into gaping maws, with some saliva dripping down.
They suddenly recalled that long ago in the Survival Game, there were also cacti that could open their mouths. However, those cacti were immobile, while the plants before them were armed. Beneath their broad leaves lay numerous slender vines, incredibly agile, shooting straight toward them.
Everyone present realized one thing: if they got ensnared by those vines, they would be dragged to the flowers and become their fertilizer.
Instinctively, they wanted to run back, but behind them lay a mass of vines. At the same time, both sides were filled with the plants' allies, each sporting gaping mouths.
Escape? There was nowhere to flee!
Nervous sweat dripped from Xu Nuan's forehead. As it trickled over a wound made by the vines, it stung sharply. Xu Nuan wiped her face in a panic and noticed that the vines showed no intention of attacking Xie Huai, who lay on the ground. She suddenly felt suspicious; how could Xie Huai—who was trapped in the Vine Maze like them—be the first to escape yet end up unconscious here? Moreover, why did that parrot mimic Xie Huai's voice to lure them away from the Vine Maze into this place filled with carnivorous flowers?
Xie Huai was highly suspect.
The slender vines couldn't reach the edge of the green mist. Xu Nuan retreated with a few others to a narrow space between two vastly different environments to catch her breath. She cast her gaze at Gu Ze beside her; suspicion was evident in his eyes. Over there, Xu Hang wore an extremely serious expression—perhaps even grim—with traces of anger.
Deng Yinyin suddenly voiced her confusion.
"Why didn't those vines attack Xie Huai?"
Xu Nuan withdrew her gaze and looked at Xie Huai lying on the ground, speechless. If those carnivorous flowers' vines were going to attack Xie Huai, they would have surely dragged him along to this middle ground. The fact that he wasn't attacked indicated that Xie Huai was indeed suspicious; their fragile team could not withstand another betrayal.
However, Xu Nuan sincerely hoped this was all a misunderstanding. After all, since leaving the Supply Station, they had always been together and had stumbled into the mist as a group without separating. Even if Xie Huai wanted to betray them, he would need an opportunity.
Wait a minute—had they really never separated?
Xu Nuan suddenly realized something: why was there so much green mist in the Vine Maze? It not only created a visual barrier for them but also prevented them from noticing the existence of those strange flowers. More importantly, it isolated each of them from one another. So, was Xie Huai receiving a System mission within the green mist, which caused him to appear outside of it and be lured by the parrot using his voice?
With the previous experience in mind, Xu Nuan found it hard to control her thoughts. The feelings of fear and suspicion from the last challenge lingered in her heart, making her jump at every little sound.
She felt her speculation was reasonable, though it had some flaws. However, she couldn't think of any other explanation for what was happening. Did the others share her thoughts? Or were they still willing to place complete trust in their companions after what they had experienced in the last round?
Unconsciously, she glanced at the serious-faced Gu Ze and lowered her voice to ask, “You really won’t deceive me?”
Gu Ze’s seriousness was immediately replaced by a helpless smile. He looked at the vines that didn’t want to entangle them but still kept a certain distance, then turned his gaze to Xu Nuan, who was slightly tilting her head.
“What do you want to ask? Just ask directly; I won’t hide anything.”
Xu Nuan felt that this phrase was not very reassuring, yet she still couldn’t bring herself to trust completely. She scratched her scarred face with her hand and lowered her voice even more.
“Did you just…”
Before Xu Nuan could finish her question, she realized something was off. Gu Ze had been within her line of sight the entire time—first from a distance of several meters, then back-to-back—there was no possibility for him to be alone. That meant Gu Ze hadn’t received a System mission.
She didn’t finish her question, but with Gu Ze’s intelligence, he could guess the rest. He took the opportunity to express his own viewpoint.
“I can’t find any other reason to explain what’s happening right now.”
Xu Nuan instantly understood and suppressed the guilt rising within her. She shifted her gaze to Xu Hang and Deng Yinyin. Deng Yinyin hadn’t noticed her stare, while Xu Hang cast a heavy glance at her. She immediately tugged at Gu Ze’s sleeve and gestured for him to look at Xu Hang, indicating that his good brother was now his responsibility.
Gu Ze smiled helplessly but didn’t shake off Xu Nuan’s hand. He looked calmly at Xu Hang and noticed that Xu Hang shook his head at him. At the same time, he glanced at Deng Yinyin, who seemed puzzled by Xie Huai's immunity to attacks, and shook his head again.
Xu Nuan couldn't understand the interaction between the two men, her curiosity piqued. After a moment of thought, she tugged at Gu Ze's sleeve, her big almond-shaped eyes wide as she looked up at him.
Under such a gaze, Gu Ze found himself at a loss. He bent down to Xu Nuan's ear and whispered.
"What Hang means is that he has been with Deng Yinyin all along, and neither of them received any mission."
Xu Nuan still felt uncomfortable with the close proximity. After patiently listening, she quickly tried to create some distance between them, perfectly embodying the phrase "burning bridges." Gu Ze could only smile helplessly at her behavior; he didn't tease her like he usually did. Xu Nuan found this odd but decided to set it aside for now and spoke softly.
"Then that makes Xie Huai even more suspicious."
Among the four who were awake and alert, three were already suspicious of Xie Huai, who lay unconscious not far away and was unbothered by any attacks. This was not a good sign.
Deng Yinyin looked at the unconscious Xie Huai for a long time before finally suggesting, "We should take him back. What if those vines decide to attack him or bring him in front of those man-eating flowers?"
Hearing this, Xu Nuan glanced at Deng Yinyin in surprise, feeling conflicted. Deng Yinyin had a point, but Xu Hang showed no intention of speaking up; he merely cast a cold glance at the sprawled Xie Huai.
At that moment, Gu Ze noticed that the green mist behind them was slowly spreading, steadily consuming the already narrow space around them.
"This place is not safe for long," Gu Ze stated the obvious.
Everyone wanted to leave, but they were surrounded on three sides by man-eating flowers and faced with the Vine Maze on one side. How could they choose their escape route?
Xu Nuan realized they were trapped. The slow spread of the mist behind them indicated that the numerous vines within were stirring restlessly. They had no choice but to move forward, and the further they went, the closer they got to those densely packed, agile vines that seemed ready to ensnare them at any moment. She had an unsettling illusion that these vines were twisting green serpents, poised to bite them at any second.
However, it didn't take long for Deng Yinyin to help her confirm that it was not an illusion.
Deng Yinyin felt wronged because her suggestion received no response from anyone. Not only did no one agree with her, but no one even reacted to her words. Always someone who valued face and believed she should be the center of attention, she felt aggrieved. Once she felt this way, she began to act recklessly, disregarding the consequences. Without greeting anyone else, she charged directly into the dense vines, holding a short knife in her hand for courage.
As soon as Deng Yinyin rushed in, the vines all surged toward her. She thought that by swinging the short knife, she could cut through them, but soon realized that the vines were incredibly agile, dodging her attacks and counterattacking instead. The vines wrapped around her like tentacles, and suddenly the tips of the vines opened their mouths and lunged at her.
"Ah!"
Deng Yinyin couldn't help but scream, causing the short knife in her hand to drop to the ground. Without a weapon to defend herself, she had no choice but to call for help from the few who remained behind.
Seeing Deng Yinyin's miserable state, Xu Nuan instinctively wanted to rush forward to help her, but was stopped by Gu Ze.
"Huh?"
Xu Nuan knew very well that Gu Ze was not someone who would stand by and watch others suffer. Although he appeared proud, he was actually incredibly gentle. She thought he had intended to teach Deng Yinyin a lesson, but assumed that lesson had already been delivered in the previous encounter.
"Hang hasn't even made a move; why are you so anxious?"
She hadn't expected Gu Ze to say something like that. It struck her as strange, but this wasn't the time for questions. Xu Nuan quickly glanced at Xu Hang and noticed he also showed no intention of intervening while Deng Yinyin's cries of distress echoed in her ears.
"Ah, Xu Hang! Save me! They're going to drag me away!"
Her voice was filled with indignation and despair.
Xu Nuan blinked and suddenly noticed a look of relief on Xu Hang's face. Realizing that things were taking a turn for the better, she hurriedly turned to see what was happening.
Xie Huai, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, woke up just in time to see Deng Yinyin being dragged away by the vines toward a flower with its mouth wide open. He quickly got up and skillfully drew his short knife to help Deng Yinyin cut through the vines before leading her back to an increasingly narrow safe zone.
During this time, no vine had attacked Xie Huai; instead, it allowed him to strike freely.
Xie Huai's level of suspicion had doubled.
Xu Nuan suddenly found herself at a loss on how to face Xie Huai.
As soon as Deng Yinyin arrived, she began questioning Xu Hang about why he hadn't saved her or Xie Huai.
"Do you not love your sister anymore? You're being too much; how could you be so cold-hearted?"
Deng Yinyin's accusations were loud and piercing.
Xu Nuan frowned, recalling how Xu Hang had been injured while trying to save Deng Yinyin, which left her feeling somewhat displeased.
However, this time Xu Hang did not remain silent; instead, he looked coldly at Deng Yinyin.
"Have you not learned your lesson yet? Don't you understand what it means to act within your limits? Don't you know how to assess the situation?"
Xu Nuan understood the implied meaning behind Xu Hang's words and realized that he was already very suspicious of Xie Huai.
Comment 0 Comment Count