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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Nuan first discovered that wolves are adorable creatures.
After Dong Keyong spoke words laced with threat, Xu Nuan truly believed she would be torn apart by the man before her. His gloomy expression and piercing gaze resembled a hunter lurking in the dark night, possessing the physical prowess and patience of a beast. When Xu Nuan provoked him, he revealed his hidden fangs.
Just being locked in his gaze made Xu Nuan feel breathless; the oppressive and threatening look rendered her legs immobile, and her blood trembled, leaving her without the strength to escape.
She deliberately feigned ignorance about the matter, but Dong Keyong knew she was trying to play tricks. In this standoff, she was utterly defeated. Dong Keyong was threatening her with facts; he could lie in wait beside Shen Shen as a companion and then ruthlessly kill him. Falling into this man's hands would undoubtedly lead to a fate worse than death. She wasn't afraid of torture, but she feared that she wouldn't last long.
To save her life, should she reveal the truth and not play Mind's Eye?
Xu Nuan held her breath and looked up at Dong Keyong, clearly seeing herself trembling in his eyes, her face pale and disheveled, embodying fear itself. In those brief seconds, many thoughts crossed her mind.
Qin Yaojie had indeed instructed her to protect that thing, but did she have an obligation to do so?
Compared to what she had suffered because of Qin Yaojie, preserving her life by speaking the truth was far more important than continuing this game of revenge. Perhaps if luck was on her side, she might even encounter Gu Ze and the others.
Gu Ze.
Xu Nuan's pupils constricted sharply in pain. No, she didn't want to see Gu Ze again or return to that team; she had no future left, not even a present. It would be better to end her life now, taking with her all the secrets everyone wanted to know. That way, many would accompany her in death—counting that number, she would still come out ahead.
?
No?
Xu Nuan's heart pounded like a drum as Dong Keyong stepped forward, completely enveloping her in his shadow. She heard his hoarse yet deep and dangerous voice.
"Don't try to play tricks in front of me. Shen Shen has already opened that box; his role ends here. Now you need to tell me what’s inside that box."
Xu Nuan's legs trembled, both from weakness and from shock and fear.
How did this person know that she had been given a suggestion? Was someone watching Qin Yaojie and her even outside the game? The purpose of this person was to unravel the suggestion, which is why they would die. What about her? Even if she wanted to escape with this secret, her ultimate fate would still be that of a worthless person, waiting for death.
She suddenly realized that regardless of whether she cooperated or not, she was already on a dead-end path.
If that was the case, why not take a gamble?
"Ha."
Xu Nuan suddenly released the breath she had been holding, gasping for air. After taking a deep breath, she forced herself to look up at Dong Keyong, her voice trembling.
"If... I tell you... then..."
Her words were fragmented due to fear and tension, but Dong Keyong's deep eyes began to light up. However, the dangerous aura around him did not dissipate. Just as she started to speak, she was thrown out by Dong Keyong.
Her back slammed against the ground, and immense pain spread through her body. The impact compressed her internal organs, causing chaos within her. In that moment, she thought she was truly dying.
The collision of her head with the ground created a ringing in her ears; the buzzing sound lingered around her. She thought this was the true sound of death. Her vision blurred as something thick slid down from her forehead along her brow bone and over her eyelids.
With nearly exhausted strength, she struggled to prop herself up off the ground. The ringing in her ears lasted only a moment before she could hear sounds around her—breathing from beasts and humans alike. Following the sounds, her vision gradually cleared. Beyond the initial red curtain of blood, she saw a majestic wolf attacking Dong Keyong.
This wolf was native to the Tundra, a colder region. Its thick fur was a striking mix of white and gray, and it exuded an air of majesty and strength.
Xu Nuan stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the unexpected wolf battling Dong Keyong. Although Dong Keyong appeared to be handling it well, he was momentarily preoccupied with his opponent. Suddenly, Xu Nuan realized this was an excellent opportunity to escape—one granted to her by the wolf.
Reacting quickly, Xu Nuan stumbled to her feet and randomly chose a direction to run into the low bushes that only reached up to her chest.
At first, she could hear Dong Keyong's furious shouts, but as she ran for a long time, distancing herself from him, all she could hear was the howling cold wind.
She had exhausted her strength to run, yet the sudden surge of survival instinct gave her the energy to keep going. The cold wind, her heavy breathing, and the sound of her feet scraping against the low branches combined to create the soundtrack of her escape.
She thought she was doomed; even if she wanted to take a gamble, she knew her chances were slim. But just when despair threatened to overwhelm her and she considered giving up on life, an opportunity presented itself. This chance invigorated her, compelling her to seize it and survive—only by living could she erase the bitterness in her heart.
As she stumbled forward, completely drained of energy, she dared to prop herself up with her elbows and cautiously peek through the sparse underbrush to see if Dong Keyong was pursuing her. All she could see was a vast expanse of trees, their leaves tinged with a grayish hue characteristic of this area—no sign of Dong Keyong.
However, that did not mean she was safe. She firmly believed that Dong Keyong could deal with the wolf and then come after her; it was only a matter of time. Therefore, she had to escape without giving him a chance to spot her.
To avoid being seen by Dong Keyong, she needed to stay low and out of sight in this open area.
Xu Nuan looked down at her arms and legs, which were bleeding from scrapes, and realized there was only one option left. She knelt on the ground and assumed a crawling position, trying to move as quickly as possible through the sparse trees that barely concealed her.
With her body lowered, the branches of clustered trees would occasionally scrape against her face, arms, and legs, but she didn’t care. What mattered was speed—putting distance between herself and Dong Keyong; other obstacles were not worth considering.
She crawled through the sparse forest, occasionally lifting her head to check for any signs of danger but too afraid to fully expose herself. The fear of locking eyes with Dong Keyong again kept her from looking up too much.
Never before had she wanted to live so desperately. After enduring a series of torments and setbacks, receiving a chance to survive felt precious.
When she thought about it, this was the first time she had been in such a dire situation. Whether it was initially teaming up with the Second Batch Players or moving forward alone or joining the Third Batch of Players' group, even in moments of distress, she had only suffered injuries without worrying about time or hunger.
Back then, like other Players, she enjoyed the food and supplies provided by the Game Base while navigating through what seemed like a survival game that pushed everyone to their limits. Her concerns revolved around beasts, traps, missions, and conspiracies; most of the time, there were companions by her side that made her feel fearless.
Now, however, she found herself utterly destitute. After a night without food, every organ in her body protested against her plight. Yet in her frantic escape, she hadn’t even had a chance to search for food. Of course, there were no medicines available to treat her wounds nor any safe place where she could rest peacefully.
It was precisely because of this that she felt so acutely alive.
Xu Nuan did not know how long she had been crawling through the forest. From the moment the sun rose in the east until it reached its zenith, she had been moving, and now the sun was beginning to set in the west.
"Not enough... still not enough."
This distance was insufficient; it was not enough for her to completely escape Dong Keyong. She had to keep crawling until she ensured her safety.
Her wounds were multiplying, and the injuries she had sustained earlier were showing signs of infection due to lack of timely care. Her mind began to swirl with dizziness, and as her vision blurred, she felt she had reached her limit. Yet, she needed to create another limit.
Struggling, she forced her eyes open and focused on her left wrist, which was wrapped tightly in a bandage with a few drops of blood seeping through. Blinking through her haze, she recalled that this was from before she had left the group. During those times when nightmares plagued her and she often found herself in a daze, she would cut into her wrist with a short knife to stay awake during attacks, hoping to keep her consciousness intact to think clearly.
Back then, pain was the only thing that could bring her back to reality. She would cut herself when Gu Ze ignored her, engaging in this self-harm as a way to feel alive again, yet it led to arguments with Gu Ze.
"Heh heh."
Xu Nuan knelt on the ground, holding her head and suppressing a laugh. She knew better than to cry out in fear and attract Dong Keyong's attention. Her laughter sounded more like sobs—sharp and mournful.
At that time, whether it was Gu Ze or He Min, whether it was Captain Xu Hang or the incompatible Deng Yinyin, no one noticed her restraint; no one saw the wounds on her hands. She never intended to show her injuries to anyone. But why did even Gu Ze fail to notice? At that moment, under Shen Shen's subtle influence, how deeply she must have suffered?
"Heh heh."
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