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Chi Xiaoming did not make his words very clear, such as the specific conspiracy involving Chi Xu Sheng's mother and Chi Ming, or his own experiences in the game, or what to do after learning about Tang Jingshu's death. Even so, Xu Nuan and the others tacitly chose to gloss over this part of the conversation.
Looking back on this dialogue, Xu Nuan believed that compared to their explanation of Tang Jingshu's cause of death—something Chi Xiaoming could analyze himself—the things Chi Xiaoming explained to them were much harder to obtain.
It felt like a clue had been handed to them. Noticing that everyone was silent, Xu Nuan decided not to hide her thoughts and intentions this time and spoke very directly.
"According to you, if Chi Ming is an investor in this game and can be considered a designer, then there must be a reason for him to enter the game. If we find him, can we uncover many things?"
"In theory, that's one way to think about it. The specifics will have to wait until we find him before we can draw any conclusions."
Chi Xiaoming did not get angry at Xu Nuan's straightforwardness at that moment. He stood up gracefully, looking down at Xu Nuan with an air of superiority.
"Actually, I am not very familiar with Tang Jingshu; I only respected her as a future sister-in-law. Now that I know what I wanted to know, there are only three things left: find Chi Ming and bring him to justice, find Zhang Xiao and hold him accountable for his actions, and finally, escape this game."
The act of looking down on someone often reveals a person's character. Xu Nuan noticed that Chi Xiaoming's gaze did not bring her much pressure nor did it make her feel that he was an arrogant person. This made her develop a slight fondness for him.
"I'm not sure how much overlap there is between my goals and yours."
The seemingly taciturn handsome guy with facial paralysis, Chi Xiaoming, sometimes surprised others with his unexpected verbosity.
"However, I understand the principle of having one more friend rather than one more enemy. If in the future we can cooperate when facing overlapping goals, I would be very willing."
This was already an olive branch extended. Xu Hang could no longer sit still; he stood up and locked eyes with Chi Xiaoming.
"I would be more than happy. At least now we know we have a common goal."
Chi Xiaoming rarely smiled slightly and nodded at the standing Xu Nuan and Gu Ze before leaving the Storage Room.
The room fell silent all at once, and after a while, Xu Hang finally spoke up.
“How much of what he said do you think was true?”
“Half true, half false.”
Gu Ze stood in the shadows, making it difficult to discern his expression.
Xu Nuan smirked slightly.
“Chi Securities is just a company associated with the game, which is hard to believe. His unfamiliarity with Tang Jing Shu shouldn’t have caused him to lose control like that. Perhaps he was hiding things from us because he thought we wouldn’t believe him.”
“There will definitely be competition between teams in the future,” Xu Hang said calmly. “If things turn sour after partial cooperation, it won’t be awkward. A certain level of suspicion and caution between teams is normal.”
“However, his teammates’ attitudes may not align with his. The issues within that team are quite serious.”
Gu Ze, who had previously interacted closely with Xu Nuan and had brief confrontations with the Chi Xiaoming quartet, suddenly made this remark, drawing Xu Hang's attention.
Xu Nuan suddenly remembered that there were some things Gu Ze hadn’t explained to Xu Hang yet. This seemed like the perfect opportunity, so she spoke up.
“I’ll step out for a bit; you two can talk.”
After leaving the Storage Room, Xu Nuan realized she hadn’t communicated with Gu Ze beforehand about what should not be shared with Xu Hang. However, she thought that Gu Ze was perceptive enough to understand the people and matters involved behind each situation. He likely didn’t want to drag more people into this quagmire; not everyone had the ability to escape from such depths.
The interaction between the two teams at the Supply Station was relatively harmonious—well, if one didn’t count Deng Yinyin and Fan Beibei’s subtle clashes over certain feminine matters, or Xie Huai’s lingering resentment towards Yu Yu for past designs, or Zhang Hui’s grudge against Gu Ze for having once held him hostage. Aside from those situations, their interactions could indeed be considered harmonious.
Due to the large number of outsiders this time, they did not let down their guard against Chi Xiaoming's team. Xu Nuan and Gu Ze did not conduct a thorough search at this Supply Station, looking for so-called flaws.
Xu Nuan fell asleep filled with questions and a faint sense of anticipation. She thought that even if Chi Xiaoming's words were half-truths, Chi Ming was still a major Game Designer and should not have been influenced like Zhou Long and the others, who had been subtly suggested to forget the game's founder. If that were the case, the fourth force would also be revealed, bringing her one step closer to the person responsible for her parents' demise, which had also led to Qin Yaojie's transformation.
Step by step, she was willing to invest all her energy in this long game to contend with that person. In hindsight, she felt fortunate to have entered the game rather than living outside in a state of oblivion regarding her sorrowful past. Almost all relevant individuals were in this game; as long as she persisted and worked hard, there would come a day when she would confront them and unveil the truth—something she could not achieve in the outside world.
When Xu Nuan woke up and saw the time displayed on the wall prompt, an unusual feeling surged within her, a sensitivity developed over time towards her surroundings.
She believed that they had arrived at a new location; the latitude and longitude were different, the altitude varied, and the humidity of the air was distinct. In short, this was a result of her psychological and physical sensitivity after realizing there was something wrong with the Supply Station, allowing her to guess what kind of environment she would soon find herself in before even leaving.
Of course, the sign on the door was also quite conspicuous: Dreary Wetland.
A wetland is a place that combines forests, grasslands, swamps, and other terrains; it is also rich in moisture. In other words, the place they were about to enter would not be as straightforward as a desert or snow-capped mountain but rather a location full of infinite possibilities—exactly what Xu Nuan disliked most.
The focus of the game had long shifted from different survival environments and haphazardly modified creatures to team missions, individual characters, gamesmanship, psychology, and other challenges. Imagine a Player surviving in various environments for over half a year; it would be strange if their survival skills did not improve. Similarly, if a Player encountered various bizarre creatures over those months—including fierce beasts like tigers and leopards—though the System could provide their weaknesses, anyone who made it this far must possess considerable skills.
Over time, this game could become tedious. They were still before the fiftieth level; if future Survival Games did not improve or lacked special missions set by the Mastermind, this game would truly be nothing more than a simple Survival Game.
It was at this moment that Xu Nuan suddenly realized the conflict between Qin Yaojie and those two founders regarding the game. Although she could no longer be sure she understood Qin Yaojie after experiencing a series of events, his eventual design leading to death indicated he was on the weaker side. Thus, their conflict within the game became quite evident.
Qin Yaojie had always been intelligent and was once hailed as a talent in City A. However, he ultimately had a kind heart and leaned towards survival when designing games—testing human limits and curiosity. In fact, it was indeed a game driven by curiosity. The other founder set many strange tasks in every Survival Game and leaned more towards examining human nature. In essence, one focused on physicality while the other emphasized psychology. If these two aspects could be well combined, it could make this Game Designer uniquely exceptional. The problem was that both were talented individuals—proud and strong-willed—who would not back down during intellectual clashes. Qin Yaojie’s unwillingness to yield ultimately placed him at a disadvantage, making him a victim. Xu Nuan and her family were his weakness before his downfall—a vulnerability that could be exploited against him.
However, Xu Nuan did not believe that talent would crudely use lives to strike against another talent; her parents' deaths and her constant threats stemmed from deeper reasons. Moreover, through Zhang Xiao's repeated threats and observations from Designers noticing her anomalies—including Chi Xiaoming's awareness of her existence—she concluded that she harbored a secret.
Although Xu Nuan knew that secret passages were magical existences allowing some people to leave the game quickly, there were few clues about these passages. She could not guarantee that they were significant enough for the Mastermind to use her parents and herself as leverage against Qin Yaojie.
This was a question that troubled Xu Nuan, and she was determined to break through this doubt.
"Why do you look so glum so early in the morning?"
As Xu Nuan stared at the green door, a voice came from beside her. It was He Min. After a night had passed, He Min had returned to her usual self and did not persistently question Xu Nuan about what she was hiding. This made Xu Nuan breathe a sigh of relief, and her expression softened.
"I always have this expression."
Xu Nuan spoke a harsh truth. In this game, she rarely encountered anything joyful; words like laughter and brightness had long ceased to apply to her. A frown was more accurate.
"You've defeated me."
He Min shrugged dramatically, then, taking advantage of Xu Nuan's moment of distraction, pinched her cheek, prompting Xu Nuan to make a comical face before she relented.
"Still, try to be happier. We’ve just cleared another Survival Game level; we need to keep pushing forward."
Xu Nuan rubbed her face and managed a small smile.
"Got it."
Ten people emerged one by one from the Supply Station. The scene was quite significant, but no one commented on it. As qualified Players, their first instinct was to observe the environment of this level.
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