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墨書 Inktalez
According to the current progress of each team, it seemed that the team led by Xu Nuan and the one led by Chi Xiaoming held a significant advantage, while Guo Xu's team was at the bottom. Upon learning this news, most people relaxed, knowing they still had half the time left to search for the fourth statue before they could leave this place.
The situation appeared clear-cut, yet Xu Nuan did not let her guard down. As several members gradually fell asleep, she stealthily opened her eyes again, glancing at the backpacks guarded by Xu Hang and Gu Ze. Inside those bags lay the hopes of their team. After staring at the backpacks for a moment, she turned her gaze towards the rooftop adorned with windmills; from her angle, the crescent moon seemed to hang on one of the windmill blades. The surroundings were eerily quiet, allowing her to discern everyone's breathing, and it seemed that in a relatively silent environment, a person's hearing became exceptionally sharp.
Believing she had rested well during the day, Xu Nuan found herself unable to sleep now. She focused on using her heightened sense of hearing to explore her surroundings. She wanted to understand how Gu Ze had managed to identify other positions in an environment that wasn't entirely quiet. There must have been some skill or technique involved.
However, apart from faintly hearing the distant sound of waves, she detected no other unusual noises. A creeping sense of irritation resurfaced in her mind. Growing impatient, Xu Nuan reached out to sit up against a nearby tree trunk but suddenly noticed two rings on her right hand glowing with red light. She quickly brought her hand closer to her face and squinted to see better but found nothing unusual.
These two Tail Rings belonged to Qin Yaojie—one was a gift from last year when they were first developed, and the other was taken from Qin Yaojie herself. Logically speaking, these items should not exhibit any behavior akin to being tracked like a telescope unless they had passed through the Game Base.
Was it an illusion?
Xu Nuan felt uncertain; seeing wasn't always believing. Human eyes were indeed peculiar, reacting differently to their surroundings. She hesitated to jump to conclusions. Just as she pondered over the strange reaction of the rings, she heard a noise coming from the forest—a sound that was loud enough to be considered unusual.
Xu Nuan immediately became alert, trying her best to maintain her previous position without making any noise. Slowly, she turned her head and scanned their Temporary Campsite's surroundings.
No one appeared.
For a moment, she thought it might have been her imagination; however, hunters were never short on patience. She shouldn't dismiss the sound she had just heard. Xu Nuan focused on staying awake and attentive to her surroundings—no sounds, no people.
She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, fully utilizing her sense of hearing. Still, there were no sounds or anomalies.
Was she being overly sensitive?
Xu Nuan realized that as she grew more anxious, sleepiness began to creep in; yet she dared not succumb to it. She forced herself to stay alert—her uneasy premonitions were never without reason; it was better for her to remain cautious.
Yet sleepiness was powerful. The more she tried to stay awake and observe her surroundings, the more it overwhelmed her mind and dulled her consciousness.
Time passed without her noticing how long it had been when Xu Nuan found herself in a daze. Suddenly, she heard a whooshing sound—a gust of wind that did not belong to the sea brushed against her face. In that instant, her drowsiness vanished without a trace. She opened her eyes wide and saw a figure standing not far from her, bending down to grab the backpack protected by Gu Ze and Xu Hang.
How could someone move so silently?
Xu Nuan sat up in surprise, noticing the person wearing shoes wrapped in something unknown. It dawned on her, and the individual had not expected anyone to suddenly sit up. Clutching the backpack, they intended to flee.
With the aid of moonlight and faint firelight, Xu Nuan recognized the person as Xiong Qi, a petty businessman who was very fond of money. Just as Xiong Qi picked up the backpack and turned to leave, Xu Nuan also hurriedly got to her feet. At that moment, Xu Hang and Gu Ze, who had been with their eyes closed, suddenly opened them. One of them reached out and grabbed Xiong Qi's leg. To stabilize himself, Xiong Qi had no choice but to drop the backpack and exert force with his legs, forcing Gu Ze and Xu Hang to let go.
Xu Nuan thought that Gu Ze and Xu Hang were light sleepers, so easily discovering Xiong Qi. She also believed that Xiong Qi was foolish for trying to approach them quietly without the ability to withstand their numbers.
"I won't let you succeed!"
Xu Hang approached Xiong Qi with a face full of anger, and the others gradually woke up due to the commotion.
Xiong Qi pretended to run into the woods. Angered, Xu Hang chased after him but felt something was off after just a couple of steps. Could there really be such an open robbery? There must be some premeditation involved. The usually composed Xu Hang stopped in his tracks. Xu Nuan exchanged glances with the others, thinking it was better this way; none of them knew that there seemed to be traps in the woods, so it was best not to recklessly pursue.
"If you lack strength, don't come to steal the statue."
Deng Yinyin mumbled this before falling asleep again. Xu Nuan had to admit that she was right; one against six had no chance of winning, especially since even she couldn't defeat Xiong Qi. However, Xu Hang and the others were extremely tired and did not comment much on this ambush before gradually falling back asleep. As Xu Nuan drifted off in a daze, she wondered if Forest had set a trap with Lin He and Guo Xu that made Xiong Qi so bold. But how could they fall for such a trick?
As Xu Nuan dozed in and out of sleep, she felt a gust of wind and reflexively opened her eyes. She discovered that Xiong Qi was near them again. Those who had been awakened once before quickly sat up and glared at him. Xiong Qi merely grinned maliciously with his flabby face before running back into the woods. Fearing a trap, they did not pursue him into the forest; however, being repeatedly disturbed while trying to sleep was quite unpleasant.
"Is he doing this on purpose to keep us from resting?"
He Min suddenly voiced this thought. The others found it quite possible.
"But how does this benefit him? Even if we are exhausted, he still can't defeat us or steal from us," Xie Huai pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Next time he comes around, we'll just beat him up; this is infuriating," Deng Yinyin said irritably after being disturbed while injured and tired.
"But he always runs away like an eel," someone added.
He Min, usually gentle, frowned, a hint of darkness in her eyes. The repeated disturbances had already annoyed many, and they could not guarantee that such incidents wouldn’t happen again.
Xu Nuan sensed something was off but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. When she looked up at Gu Ze and Xu Hang, the two main players were squinting at Forest, lost in their thoughts.
Three times was enough to provoke anyone. After being startled by Xiong Qi's sudden attack, the group was on edge. When Xiong Qi returned once more, their frustration erupted. Gu Ze and Xu Hang, both exhausted mentally and physically, reacted swiftly and lunged at Xiong Qi, each delivering a few hard punches while threatening him.
“If you come back again, we’ll break your legs!”
The short and stout Xiong Qi forced a smile as he tried to wriggle free from Gu Ze and Xu Hang’s grasp.
“Got it, got it! I just realized I can’t take you guys on. I won’t come back again.”
It was hard to believe that someone so persistent would back down after just two punches. Xu Nuan was puzzled and turned to ask He Min what they thought. However, as she turned around, her eyes widened in shock.
“Amin!”
While everyone had been focused on Xiong Qi’s repeated appearances, Lin had silently appeared behind them. Even Gu Ze, who was most sensitive to changes in atmosphere, failed to notice the tall, slender woman’s arrival due to his attention being drawn to Xiong Qi.
At that moment, Lin, needing a large sum of money to help her husband, held a knife against He Min’s throat. A thin line of blood had already formed where the blade met her skin. Xu Nuan felt her breath catch in her throat; her heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly. Her friends and companions lay in pools of blood.
Xie Huai and Deng Yinyin, who had been standing beside He Min, were inexplicably knocked down without making a sound.
She shouldn’t be looking at anyone; she could change. But Lin, who had honed her skills in the game for money and for her husband, was powerful.
This time they lost because they weren’t ruthless enough. If they had been heartless from the start—if they had dealt with these people earlier—they could have killed them or bound them. None of this would have happened.
Xiong Qi had already circled around behind Lin while everyone else was still in shock. With a smug grin on his face, he pulled out a knife and pressed it against the neck of the fallen Deng Yinyin.
Now they had two—no, possibly three hostages.
Unexpectedly, Gu Ze and Xu Hang approached Xu Nuan with dark expressions as they tried to distract Lin and the others. They stood ready for confrontation.
Despite their apparent advantage in strength, Xu Nuan had no grasp of the opponent's intentions. Even though He Min hadn't uttered a word of plea for help, her increasingly pale face and the blood trickling from her neck clearly indicated her dire state.
It was truly a disaster!
Xu Nuan clenched her fists and asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you want?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Xiong Qi sneered at them while brandishing a knife near Deng Yinyin's face.
"Of course, we want those three statues."
A confident expression spread across Xiong Qi's face, which only made him look more repulsive. Noticing the changing expressions on Xu Nuan and the others, he gestured for them to look at Lin He and the silent He Min.
"If we don't get the statues, we'll die here. It's either this person dies or we do; the choice is clear, isn't it? We’ve long accepted that killing is part of this game, while you all lack that resolve."
Xu Nuan felt a chill run down her spine. Xiong Qi was right; their team—aside from her occasional thoughts of pushing forward even if it meant killing—had no such determination. Excluding He Min, the Third Batch of Players had been forced into this game with the sole aim of surviving and returning to the metropolis. If they killed someone in the game, they would never find peace even if they managed to escape.
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