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墨書 Inktalez
The heavy rain continued to pour down, and it was expected to last for three days or even longer.
Aside from the unconscious Xie Huai, the others who were aware of the System's mission were in a terrible mood. This was a task without any clues, and if they had to suspect everyone around them, it would undoubtedly be a significant gamble.
Xu Nuan and He Min approached Xu Hang and the others, quietly waiting for Xu Hang to make a decision. However, after analyzing everything just moments ago, Xu Nuan had already guessed what Xu Hang would decide; it was the only option laid out before them.
“At this point, we have no choice but to find Chi Xiaoming and the others. Only by taking the initiative can we have a chance,” she said.
“But only Chi Xiaoming has the right to input names. Even if we find them, we won't have any say,” Deng Yinyin lamented. “If we had known this would happen, we should have chosen to enter this stage separately from them; otherwise, we wouldn't be so passive now.”
In fact, when the System announced the mission, they all had similar thoughts. Unfortunately, there was no remedy for regret in this world; no one could predict the future, making it impossible to make appropriate decisions about the present.
“There’s no need to be overly pessimistic at this point,” Gu Ze said, noticing the atmosphere was too gloomy. “Everyone has interacted with Chi Xiaoming before. The fact that he could lead his team to this stage proves he is capable. The so-called Secret Missioner encompasses all Players in this stage; Chi Xiaoming would likely appreciate having more people to help him analyze things or more Players for him to observe. Perhaps they are also looking for us right now.”
“Ze makes a good point,” Xu Hang nodded in agreement.
“What we need to do now is meet up with those four. The problem is that this stage is too vast; we don’t know where they are, making it difficult to regroup.”
“Indeed,” Xu Nuan said, frowning as she scanned their surroundings. The heavy rain that had been falling for several hours had turned shallow areas into waterlogged regions; if it continued like this, the entire wetland could become a river.
“If either we or they could make a loud enough noise to attract each other…”
They were currently in a tricky situation, as they only had ordinary outdoor survival gear. Even the medicine they had was pre-made, and there weren't many special materials available. It would be difficult to send out a signal that could be detected amidst the heavy rain.
However, since it was a game, the designers must have considered this aspect. If the player's abilities and game tasks were overwhelmingly one-sided, the game would lose its purpose. With this in mind, Xu Nuan firmly believed that the Game Base would provide corresponding clues. Just like in the previous level, where Chi Xiaoming had carefully and cleverly observed the different patterns of the windmill at various times, leading him to discover the general hiding places of each statue, this level should also offer relevant hints.
Holding onto this thought, Xu Nuan tried to calm herself down, focusing her mind to observe the surrounding environment. Suddenly, He Min tapped her shoulder, signaling her to look at a group of lizards that were surprisingly still migrating a few hundred meters away.
"Do you think Chi Xiaoming and the others have seen the lizard group too?" He Min suggested.
"The commotion caused by the lizards is quite loud, and they are continuously migrating along a fixed route. It's like a boundary; if it's a boundary, then it can serve as a large marker," He Min continued.
Xu Nuan immediately grasped He Min's meaning.
"You mean we can follow the lizard group? If Chi Xiaoming and his team also notice this and follow the same path, we will eventually meet up with them."
This was indeed a highly credible approach.
"But we might also end up choosing a direction opposite to theirs," Deng Yinyin squinted as she gazed at the distant lizard group; a straight line has two directions.
He Min shook her head with a smile.
"Every time we find a Special Tree in each level, we head north to reach the Supply Station. The direction we came out from the Supply Station is north. In fact, I deliberately recorded the direction of each Special Tree; they all align north-south. Based on the orientation of the Supply Station we exited from, the migration route of these lizards is also north-south. We just need to head north along that reference point. Moreover, as Gu Ze mentioned earlier, Chi Xiaoming is quite capable; if he wants to meet up with us, he should think of this too."
He Min remained completely calm and composed, which made everyone realize why she was able to navigate challenges on her own and even get ahead of them.
Given her logical analysis, Xu Hang, the team leader, had no reason to dismiss her suggestion. However, before he could make a decision, Deng Yinyin looked at He Min with suspicion and spoke disrespectfully.
"Since you figured this out earlier and know that the lizard group is oriented north-south, why didn’t you say anything when we encountered the lizard group changing direction? Didn’t we start off in the wrong direction?"
Deng Yinyin was oblivious to the fact that she had offended two people with her words. Initially, it was Xu Hang who chose their direction when they left the Supply Station, and there must have been a reason behind his choice.
However, He Min was gracious enough not to shift the blame. She simply smiled lightly and explained.
"Well, I only inferred that the exit of this Supply Station is to the north based on the orientation of the entrance from the previous Supply Station, which might not be accurate. Additionally, I recorded the directions of other notable places like Survival Game and Special Tree, but I didn’t consider it would rain when we entered this stage and failed to observe its direction in time. So I was a bit worried about my inference. In an emergency situation, sometimes you have to treat a dead horse as if it were alive."
Perhaps unintentionally, Xu Nuan had a vague thought upon hearing her first sentence. She reflexively glanced at Gu Ze's expression and confirmed her suspicion through his reaction. He Min also believed that each base was in different locations; it was just unclear how far He Min's deductions had gone. In that moment, Xu Nuan felt a bit disappointed that He Min hadn’t shared these discoveries with her while she had kept many things from He Min. She leaned more towards confiding in Gu Ze instead. Was this good or bad?
Sure enough, Deng Yinyin, who was out of the loop, didn’t understand He Min’s first statement and asked in confusion.
"What are you talking about? The entrance of the Supply Station faces south, so the exit must face north. Is there any need to confirm that?"
Confirming that Deng Yinyin usually didn’t think through these matters, Xu Nuan took the opportunity to glance at Xu Hang’s expression. As expected, he seemed to be questioning this point as well; however, it couldn’t be ruled out that Gu Ze had previously laid everything out for him at the Supply Station. Xu Nuan was curious about how candid Gu Ze had been with Xu Hang, but this curiosity wasn’t appropriate to voice at that moment. Counting down, she realized she hadn’t confirmed Xie Huai yet. Stimulated by Zhang Xiao’s actions, Xie Huai was no longer the same as before. Coupled with his past betrayal of Xu Nuan and Gu Ze’s deliberate allowance for others to suspect Xie Huai leading to Wang Yiyun’s incident, Xie Huai's growth had been rapid. Personal growth could have both positive and negative effects on a team.
Realizing her thoughts had unconsciously drifted away from the matter at hand, Xu Nuan quickly looked back at Xu Hang, signaling with her eyes that arguing in heavy rain was pointless; they truly had no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were alive.
With a broader perspective, Xu Hang did not disappoint Xu Nuan. He quickly made his judgment and gently reassured Deng Yinyin; sometimes overly blunt words could be hurtful.
In response, He Min merely smiled and appeared unfazed by it all.
Having made their decision, the group quickly set their plan into action. Considering Xie Huai's condition, Xu Hang decided that he and Gu Ze would take turns carrying Xie Huai. The commotion they caused while switching was quite loud, yet Xie Huai remained unconscious, his pale face making the abnormal flush on his cheeks appear even more strange.
Xu Nuan suddenly recalled how Tang Jingshu had been during the 'Angry Jungle' level; no matter how much noise they made, Tang Jingshu had stayed in a deep coma.
"It won't happen," Xu Nuan murmured softly, shaking her head to dispel such thoughts.
Given the current situation, there were two advantages to finding Chi Xiaoming's team. First, they could discuss the Secret Missioner with Chi Xiaoming and pool their strengths to analyze the situation and leave quickly. Second, they could verify with Yu Yu about the incident where he had previously injured Xie Huai.
However, both advantages relied on the assumption that all ten of them could coexist peacefully. Even a team that had been together for a long time sometimes struggled to maintain harmony; how much more difficult would it be for two teams of ten individuals, each with their own personalities?
Feeling both optimistic and pessimistic, Xu Nuan sighed as she trudged through the wet ground. Truthfully, she wished for a dry place to rest and escape the rain; being soaked and cold was quite uncomfortable.
But when she looked up and saw Xu Hang laboriously carrying Xie Huai and Gu Ze walking beside him, holding onto Xie Huai's backpack to prevent Xu Hang from slipping, Xu Nuan felt her thoughts were selfish.
Setting aside her selfishness, Xu Nuan walked alongside He Min and Deng Yinyin. Although she believed that once in the game there was no distinction between genders among Players and that there was no such thing as humility under great temptation, some gentlemanly gestures still appeared within this team. The men tended to look after the women. She couldn't help but feel grateful that this team hadn't been completely deceived, yet she worried about what would happen if they were fully ensnared and fell apart—what a cruel scene that would be.
Xu Nuan couldn't help but smile bitterly as she glanced back at the path they had taken. Through the heavy rain, all she could see was a vast blur; she couldn't see the past, and the future seemed just as uncertain.
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