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"Ze, how are you?"
Startled awake by the gunshot, Xu Nuan quickly pulled herself out of Gu Ze's embrace and looked him over, her mind clearing as she realized she hadn't misheard; Gu Ze had indeed let out a muffled groan.
"I'm fine."
Gu Ze propped himself up with one hand while the other rested on his waist. He had rolled down the slope with his backpack on his back, and although his back had taken a hit, it wasn't anything serious.
Just as he relaxed for a moment, Gu Ze sensed something was off.
"Your backpack!"
He scrambled to his feet and rushed toward the visible snow slope, retrieving the backpack that had gotten stuck in the snow. Slowly, he walked back to Xu Nuan, his expression finally easing.
Xu Nuan felt something lodged in her throat, rendering her speechless. Her backpack wasn't that important; inside were only Qin Yaojie's notebook and Tang Jingshu's diary, which seemed precious but paled in comparison to Gu Ze's well-being.
"At least this didn't get lost."
Gu Ze was relieved as he helped Xu Nuan up and handed her the backpack. Then he turned serious, scanning their surroundings.
When they were near the Ice Tower, they couldn't see this snow slope. Now that they had rolled down, the slope became clear, revealing the environment below. Rocks covered in snow surrounded them, and distant snow-capped mountains were visible. It seemed they had moved away from the previous glacier or perhaps reached its source.
Both of them were still a bit dazed, but one thing was clear: they had heard a gunshot.
"Should we go take a look?"
Gu Ze asked Xu Nuan. The only person they knew who had a firearm was Zhang Xiao; Ning Han's gun had gone missing.
Who was firing? Was it related to Zhang Xiao?
This was the place where the gunshots had drawn them in.
"Just a quick look. If we sense something is off, we leave."
If it had been before, Xu Nuan would have rushed over without hesitation; this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she might finally learn Zhang Xiao's whereabouts. But she was no longer alone—Gu Ze was with her. She could plunge into danger, but Gu Ze could not. He had become her bottom line, and for that line, she was willing to change her approach.
"Alright, just one look."
Gu Ze felt a mix of relief and satisfaction, but as he turned away, a shadow flickered in his eyes. The timing of the gunshots was too coincidental, and the players he knew who were involved in this stage seemed to be only a handful. It appeared that some things were slipping beyond his control.
Suppressing his unease, Gu Ze waited until Xu Nuan had slung her backpack over her shoulder before taking her hand and heading toward the sound of the gunfire.
The snow-covered ground stretched endlessly with little obstruction; the gunshots could be heard from far away, so they were at a considerable distance from the actual incident. Throughout their journey, both Xu Nuan and Gu Ze remained cautious. Xu Nuan could feel her palms sweating and her heart racing. As she walked forward, she scanned the area for any potential places to take cover.
No risks!
No matter what they saw, she mustn't get overly excited!
Xu Nuan kept reminding herself of this in her mind, her nerves tightening as her breathing quickened. In truth, she felt a twinge of fear and worry, but the overwhelming surge of excitement and anticipation told her that she truly longed to face Zhang Xiao. Even if he wielded more powerful weapons, she wasn't afraid. The secrets left unspoken often held more power than any weapon. She had already begun to strategize; that news should have reached Zhang Xiao by now.
Would Zhang Xiao be among those present at this stage?
If it were Zhang Xiao, could she finally take her revenge?
Her eyes widened suddenly, and Xu Nuan found it hard to conceal her emotions.
"Don't get too excited."
The clear voice swept away the anxiety in Xu Nuan's heart like a spring breeze.
"No matter what you do, I will support you, but living comes first."
Xu Nuan chuckled lightly. When it came to Gu Ze, she always felt like the one losing. She wanted revenge, but she also wanted to live alongside Gu Ze. She wouldn't give up on either; in the past, she lacked the strength, but now she was willing to fight for it.
The howling cold wind carried away the heavy scent of blood. Xu Nuan and Gu Ze both halted their steps, using the large rocks that appeared before them to conceal their figures.
Xu Nuan took out a mirror, using its subtle angle to observe the situation beyond the rocks and into the snow. In the distance, she saw a body lying in the snow, blood already staining the white ground, reminiscent of when she had witnessed Guo Dafu die before her eyes.
"Let's go out."
Neither of them could clearly see who the body belonged to, but they noticed chaotic footprints spreading in one direction. After confirming that there were no other people around, Gu Ze led Xu Nuan closer to the body.
The closer they got, the more familiar Xu Nuan felt. That tall figure, that short hair, that familiar back—she had watched this back for so long.
A name bubbled to the surface!
The body lay face down, a bullet wound in the head, and there was also a deep gash on its body.
Xu Nuan trembled as she reached out to turn the person over, but Gu Ze stopped her.
"I'll do it."
In contrast, Gu Ze was unfamiliar with this figure. It was only when he turned the body over to see its face that he gasped in surprise.
"Chi Ming!"
At this moment, the person who should not have died was Gu Ze, whose expression was somewhat grim. The trap he had set was being disrupted.
Almost instinctively, Gu Ze stood up, intending to follow the footprints to find the source.
“Damn it, Chi Xiaoming is in danger!”
In his mind, Chi Xiaoming should have just found Chi Ming to negotiate, and all he needed to do was wait for the outcome of that negotiation. But now, one of the negotiators was dead, and the other was chasing after the hidden assassin. The footprint belonged to Chi Xiaoming, while the assassin lurked in the shadows.
Damn it, the Mastermind had more people than he had imagined and was more formidable than he thought.
“Ze, don’t go!”
Xu Nuan, crouching on the ground, quickly grabbed Gu Ze's pant leg. Though shocked by Chi Ming's death and regretting the information that had been dragged into hell with him, she was even more unwilling to let Gu Ze take risks at this moment.
It was also at this moment that she realized that what Gu Ze and Chi Xiaoming were plotting was far more dangerous than she had imagined. And part of that danger stemmed from her own actions.
Gu Ze naturally halted his steps; impulsiveness was only temporary. He could not leave Xu Nuan behind at such a delicate moment. He trusted that Chi Xiaoming had the ability to protect himself; otherwise, that man wouldn’t have carried so many secrets safely to this point.
“Alright, I won’t go.”
Gu Ze crouched down as well, pulling Xu Nuan into his embrace while keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings. He tried to envision the previous scenario: Chi Xiaoming attempting to negotiate with Chi Ming, but Chi Ming refusing to cooperate. Therefore, there would be two footprints near Chi Ming's body; the wounds on Chi Ming might have resulted from a struggle with Chi Xiaoming. The departing footprints were sparse and distant, indicating that the assassin had killed in the dark to silence him, fearing that something significant would come from Chi Ming. The fact that he hadn’t killed Chi Xiaoming could be due to a lack of bullets or perhaps because he couldn’t kill anyone outside of his mission.
Now, he could only hope that Chi Xiaoming would bring back good news. However, looking at the depth of those footprints made him realize that Chi Ming had been silenced before anything significant could happen, which led to Chi Xiaoming’s outburst.
He thought of Wang Yiyun, who had been silenced earlier, then Sun Ming, and now Chi Ming. These three shared a common trait: they were all lead designers who hadn’t been implanted with suggestions about the identity of Another Founder. It seemed that the Mastermind controlling both the designers and game operators was killing to silence them out of fear that Chi Ming would reveal his identity or other interests related to the Mastermind.
Clearly, that person was lurking in the shadows, even watching their every move from a monitoring room. So why did he still need to conceal his identity? Why allow these people who posed a threat to the game to roam free?
Ordinary Gamer was unrelated to these conspiracies, allowing players to game freely, with success depending solely on individual skill. Designers were forced into the game because the Mastermind wanted to eliminate witnesses, possibly aiming to monopolize this game. Strange figures threatened Xu Nuan from the shadows, and there was a group of unidentified assassins intent on killing her. Her enemies were more numerous than she had imagined, and her allies could betray her at any moment.
"Hmph."
Thinking of this, Gu Ze let out a cold laugh. The more one found themselves in a weaker position, the more interesting the game became. For Xu Nuan, for Gu Group, he had to win this match—and win it spectacularly.
A fierce Fighting Spirit ignited in his deep brown eyes, a different state from when he sought to win Xu Nuan's heart; this was a man's desire for success.
"Ze?"
Xu Nuan's gaze shifted from Chi Ming's lifeless body back to the suddenly imposing Gu Ze, a strange feeling welling up inside her. However, what had happened could not be undone. Rather than lamenting Chi Ming's untimely death, she hoped Gu Ze could clarify things for her. Although she hadn't previously inquired much about Gu Ze and Chi Xiaoming, she felt that knowing more now would be beneficial; this way, the information she held could serve a purpose.
"Ze," Xu Nuan tugged at Gu Ze's sleeve, her eyes flashing with conflict and hesitation before she finally spoke up. "When you just arrived at Chi Xiaoming's location, was their encounter something you orchestrated? How did you know where Chi Ming was in this round?"
In truth, she had even deeper questions swirling in her mind, but for now, this was what troubled her most. While waiting for Gu Ze's response, she replayed his actions throughout these rounds in her mind and found them increasingly suspicious. Alongside this were the traps that continually targeted their team and the changes in each person.
Gu Ze remained silent for a while. Xu Nuan stared directly into his eyes and asked again.
"Ze, can you tell me?"
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