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墨書 Inktalez
The phrase "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" perfectly describes the relationship between Xu Nuan, the exploited Player designer, Zhang Xiao, and Another Founder.
The person in the shadows has everything under control. Wang Huacheng's selfishness and Xu Nuan's differing considerations will continuously trap Xu Nuan in a quagmire of being 'one step too late,' making it impossible for her to escape.
Similarly, those involved are often confused. If it weren't for Xie Huai's unexpected words, Xu Nuan would not have discovered more details. The more she cares about something, the less she can see the clues related to it, even when those clues are laid out right before her.
Gu Ze is in the same boat as her; he is also involved but possesses foresight that allows him to react quicker than Xu Nuan.
Gold Breakthrough's death was quite gruesome. His light-colored Tactical Jacket was soaked in blood, with chaotic wounds beneath the red. The knife wounds were scattered haphazardly and varied in depth, indicating the assailant's confusion at that moment.
When Xu Nuan and the others arrived, Gold Breakthrough was lying on the ground, his eyes wide open, his profile completely submerged in blood and dirt. The mingled blood and murky water emitted a pungent odor. Some of the stab wounds were particularly severe, revealing internal organs due to Gold Breakthrough's position, which had forced some of them out.
This scene was shocking; when they saw it, they gasped in horror and could understand Wang Huacheng's earlier panic.
However, Xu Nuan harbored doubts. Gold Breakthrough was not defenseless; he was skilled, while Wu Wu was merely a designer holed up in a laboratory. There was no way Wu Wu could overpower Gold Breakthrough to such an extent that he would not struggle at all.
Indeed, there were no signs of struggle at the scene. A quick glance revealed something was off. Not only was Gold Breakthrough's backpack safely placed aside, but his short knife remained firmly sheathed at his waist without any signs of having been drawn. The ground was stained with blood but showed no signs of a normal person struggling against a blade. The soil remained undisturbed; only some weeds nearby had been trampled down—there were no imprints left by someone rolling or dodging.
Xu Nuan immediately became alert and glanced at Gu Ze, while her peripheral vision caught Wang Huacheng’s sorrowful expression.
In this game, at crucial moments, anyone can become an actor of great skill. Without developing an ability to read people, it is difficult to discern others' intentions.
Xu Nuan found Wang Huacheng's expression inscrutable and did not want to speculate on him from a malicious perspective; however, this did not prevent her from feeling wary.
She noticed a similar thought reflected in Gu Ze's eyes. Despite their conflicts, they still shared an understanding. They approached each other seemingly casually while subtly isolating Wang Huacheng from everyone else.
Deng Yinyin, who had previously been indifferent to another death, couldn't help but retch at this scene and rushed aside to gag. Xie Huai quickly went over to support her. Although Deng Yinyin didn't vomit, she noticed other people's footprints nearby—some still bore traces of blood.
"Did that person escape from here?"
Deng Yinyin shouted as she pointed at the footprints. Any feelings of nausea were instantly forgotten as Xie Huai also observed the prints and grew serious, instinctively adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses.
"These footprints are still fresh; that person must have just left recently."
Aside from Xu Nuan and Gu Ze feeling a slight regret over Wu Wu's disappearance, the others who had rushed over, including Wang Huacheng, breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that no one was willing to confront the altered Wu Wu that Wang Huacheng had mentioned. At this moment, Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai made an unexpected discovery, causing everyone's expressions to shift.
Gu Ze had gone to examine the footprint, while Xu Nuan took the opportunity to observe Wang Huacheng's reaction. She noticed that he appeared puzzled and confused, which only deepened her own sense of bewilderment.
At this moment, the surroundings were eerily quiet, and the soft murmurs among the group felt amplified. A strong wind blew through, carrying the familiar dampness of the swamp. This time, however, there was an unusual chill in the air. Looking up, they noticed that the sky had darkened ominously; thick clouds loomed overhead, signaling an impending heavy rain. There was nowhere to take shelter above the swamp. He Min and others began suggesting that Gu Ze trigger the next mechanism as they had done before to avoid getting caught in the downpour. However, Gu Ze remained focused on studying the footprints and paid little attention to their concerns.
The group then turned their gazes toward the increasingly silent Xu Hang. Xu Nuan felt a mix of tension and amusement; their team had already fallen apart, and now everyone had their own thoughts. It was possible for them to go their separate ways. Yet she feared that some individuals might cling to certain interests and find numerous reasons to maintain this precarious harmony, only to later blame each other when misfortune struck.
Xu Nuan understood the group's mindset well enough but could not grasp their deeper thoughts, which was what she found most concerning.
In contrast to Gu Ze's intense focus, which felt out of place amidst the group's chatter, no one dared to abandon him—their anchor—while Xu Hang's silence tacitly acknowledged Gu Ze's actions.
Gu Ze ultimately concluded that two people had fled in this direction. Based on the pattern and distribution of bloodstains, he believed both individuals were injured.
One of these two was likely Wu Wu.
The group looked at Wang Huacheng again, exchanging glances filled with questions about what was happening. Xu Nuan suspected that Gold Breakthrough's lack of resistance might be due to facing two opponents; however, this explanation felt somewhat forced. She hoped to uncover more details.
Initially, Xu Nuan intended to leave the others behind and follow the footprints in search of Wu Wu, who was incredibly important to her. She could verify several matters through him. However, Gu Ze stopped her from doing so, and she grew wary of Wang Huacheng's intentions. She feared that if she left, he would disrupt their already fragile team dynamics, making things even worse upon her return.
Xu Nuan's patience was wearing thin. Meanwhile, Wang Huacheng appeared somewhat flustered as he met everyone's gaze, revealing a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"I don't understand why there's still another person? How can there be another person?"
His demeanor and actions were perfectly timed; yet this only made it harder to discern whether Wang Huacheng's words were genuine or not. Some displayed their skepticism openly while others smiled understandingly but harbored their own thoughts.
The atmosphere became tense as Wang Huacheng hurriedly explained himself but soon realized his words were futile against those who had already reached conclusions. Among Xu Nuan's group, only a few who struggled to hide their emotions directly asked questions that exposed their thoughts.
Xu Nuan had run out of patience; she turned to leave but instinctively glanced at Gu Ze before doing so and found him shaking his head at her.
It was a clear gesture of disapproval. Xu Nuan felt a surge of irritation despite knowing that Gu Ze excelled in many aspects compared to her and that she had grown accustomed to his arrangements. However, she was an independent person with her own ideas and judgments. What she saw differed from Gu Ze’s perspective; thus their choices would not align either. She did not doubt Gu Ze’s abilities or anything else; it was just that even someone as capable as him could overlook certain details. Xu Nuan did not want her actions constrained by Gu Ze’s decisions if it meant missing out on something important. If regret followed later on, she knew she would inevitably blame Gu Ze for it, making matters even worse then.
Xu Nuan's irritation was beginning to show. Gu Ze, who was relatively close by, paused for a moment, wanting to lean in and whisper a few words as an explanation. However, before he could say anything, Chi Xiaoming, who had been almost invisible and on the verge of being overlooked by everyone, spoke up.
"Everyone quiet down; someone is approaching."
At that moment, Deng Yinyin had just stopped talking. Chi Xiaoming's voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear. The group fell silent, instinctively focusing on the sounds around them. It was then that the team members shared a tacit understanding and quickly formed a circle, each paying attention to different directions. This left Fang Zheng and Wang Huacheng feeling somewhat awkward. Fang Zheng himself didn’t mind; although he had a bad reputation in the game before, everyone had their own agendas now. He only needed to reach an agreement with Gu Ze and leave the game peacefully; the others were irrelevant to him. This was his way of doing things and the reason he had never been able to join other teams.
Wang Huacheng felt a moment of panic and stammered out loud.
"Um... everyone, how about we just leave?"
As he spoke, Wang Huacheng didn’t even look at the Gold Breakthrough on the ground. While keeping an ear out for other sounds, Xu Nuan furrowed her brows again. She felt an inexplicable sense of unease that compelled her to glance at Gu Ze. Throughout the day, she had repeated this action, believing that Gu Ze was restricting her while also unconsciously relying on him during emergencies. Perhaps this was where her inner conflict truly lay.
Looking over, Xu Nuan noticed Gu Ze giving Xu Hang a knowing glance. This was the first time they had interacted so obviously since their disagreement began.
Xu Nuan felt puzzled but only saw Xu Hang nodding in response. After a few moments of silence, they indeed heard hurried footsteps approaching—irregular sounds that hinted at the owner's anxious state. The group's expressions grew increasingly tense; turning to leave would expose their backs, so it was best to stay together and figure things out.
Xu Nuan felt her focus waning; she needed to watch both the source of the sound and its reactions while Gu Ze only had to pay attention to the increasingly close noises.
A thin sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead as the atmosphere grew heavy with impending danger. The heat rose within her, and Xu Nuan suddenly realized she was actually coming down with a cold. It wasn’t a serious issue, just poorly timed. She unconsciously swallowed hard. Just then, as a tall figure darted past, Xu Hang suddenly lunged at Wang Huacheng and tackled him down.
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