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墨書 Inktalez
Everyone's thoughts are intricate and convoluted; even if one were to lay their heart bare, the true intentions might remain elusive.
The surroundings were still predominantly dark. Chi Xiaoming and the others tried stepping on the ground around them, which felt solid with no holes in sight.
Even if there were magical mechanisms at play, Xu Nuan firmly believed that it was impossible for them to be completely silent. Despite the many realms of existence she was unaware of, she would not believe in things that transcended science.
A distant light flickered, causing Xu Nuan to feel suspicious. She took a step forward, only to find herself stepping into emptiness, plummeting downwards.
That spot had clearly seemed solid just moments ago.
Xu Nuan opened her eyes in astonishment, realizing she could hear the sound of wind. She had merely fallen onto a lower surface rather than into an abyss, which could explain what had happened with Fang Zheng earlier.
“Chi Xiaoming?”
Xu Nuan called out to the person within her line of sight. Although she had just experienced a sensation of falling, she had only dropped two or three meters and could easily see the others standing on solid ground a short distance away.
Strangely enough, standing in this spot not only broadened her view but also filled it with light, allowing her to clearly see Xu Hang and the others. It felt as if they were on a brightly lit stage while she was merely an audience member. The audience could observe the performers, who were engrossed in their own acts.
Chi Xiaoming did not respond. She tried calling out to several others, but received no replies; no one even shifted their gaze in her direction.
The odd feeling in her heart intensified. Xu Nuan took a few steps to the side and bumped into a wall.
“Hiss.”
She winced as she held her head where she had collided and took a deep breath. Seriously, she used the light to examine the air in front of her but saw nothing. When she reached out to touch it, she felt a cold sensation.
“Glass Wall?”
Xu Nuan speculated, but even glass refracts light, projecting different scenes into the human eye. This meant that it was likely a wall made of a more advanced material.
It was very possible that such a wall had created blind spots for Xu Hang and the others.
“Maybe no one will hear my voice.”
Xu Nuan felt a chill in her heart and called out Gu Ze's name several times, but there was no response.
The feeling of being trapped in a cage made her somewhat irritable. Remembering that Gu Ze had fallen while trying to capture something, her irritation only grew.
She paced back and forth several times, each time ending with her bumping into an invisible wall.
“Should I be thankful that I fell with my backpack on?”
Xu Nuan muttered to herself. She looked up and saw that Xu Hang and the others were still spinning around in place, not having left, but all wore confused expressions.
Now there were three below ground and four above, unable to see each other, unable to communicate, and unable to discuss anything. They could only stand still, yet time was the most precious resource at this moment.
To relieve the burden on her legs, Xu Nuan found a spot to sit down, using her backpack as a backrest, and then looked up at the void above.
They were still in the underground cavern; the ceiling was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. Xu Nuan wondered where the light in her area was coming from.
There are too many unsolved mysteries and unexplored realms, which is why mechanisms can be so frightening; there are not many true polymaths in this world. It is already quite difficult for a person to excel in one or two fields.
"No, Ze is a polymath."
Xu Nuan mumbled to herself. She was alone in this enclosed space; although it was uncomfortable, it wasn't particularly terrifying. She could take this opportunity to indulge herself for a while with Gu Ze.
The thought of being alone, with no one to see or hear her, brought out her inner child. She eagerly drew two simple figures on the ground, pointing at them with her finger.
"Ze likes Nuan, Nuan likes Ze."
Words she had never spoken to Gu Ze flowed out effortlessly at that moment.
As she uttered those words, Xu Nuan felt a bit shy, but the thought that no one might discover her made her bolder.
"Nuan wants to be with Ze forever."
This was once a luxury, now a longing. From stumbling along alone to now walking hand in hand with Gu Ze, they had been through so much together. The victory felt precarious, swaying back and forth, but she gradually brought this thought into her daily life and began to act on it.
As Xu Nuan continued to draw, a big smile spread across her face, and she felt an unprecedented sense of ease. The earlier irritation vanished completely; this method of relieving stress was incredibly effective, and Xu Nuan found herself getting lost in it.
After all, what she felt was real. Xu Nuan had always been confident and proactive about the truth.
Just as she was immersed in her beautiful memories, she suddenly sensed something was off. Even though she was alone, why did the air feel so hot all of a sudden? Wait a minute, did she just hear laughter?
Xu Nuan looked up in shock, frozen in place.
Just a few meters away and several meters high, Xu Hang and the others were looking down at her. The fact that the usually serious Xu Hang was holding back laughter was enough to show just how foolish her recent actions had been.
She glanced around at each of them: the amused Xu Hang, the bewildered Deng Yinyin, the expressionless Chi Xiaoming, the dissatisfied Liu Minghong, the oddly perplexed He Min, and the smiling Gu Ze, who seemed ready to take off with wings.
He Min?
Gu Ze?
Xu Nuan suddenly stood up, but in her haste, she forgot about her injured leg. She lost her balance and began to fall backward.
Seeing this, Gu Ze, who had been watching her with a smile in his eyes, quickly jumped down and caught her with incredible speed. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, he leaned in close to her ear and whispered in a voice only she could hear.
"Yes, I like you. You like me too."
After a brief pause, Gu Ze added, "No, I love you."
Xu Nuan's face turned bright red. This was the most shameless thing she had ever done in her life. She hurriedly pushed Gu Ze away but found she couldn't budge him. The warmth of his words and the heat from his embrace intertwined with her own embarrassment, painting her cheeks with a rosy hue that chased away the chill of the cave.
After all, they were in public. Gu Ze didn't tease Xu Nuan any further; seeing her nearly flustered to the point of steaming, he continued to hold her waist. Standing at the edge of the pit, he reached for a protruding rock and leaped upward, successfully bringing Xu Nuan back to solid ground.
Xu Nuan lowered her head, remaining silent, a stark contrast to her usual confident demeanor. No one blamed her, though; the others, who had just witnessed a display of affection, stifled their laughter and suppressed their dissatisfaction. They didn’t feel the need to confront Xu Nuan directly.
As emotions deepen, they naturally become more intense. When feelings reach a certain level, they possess the power to change a person. While it’s unwise to change oneself casually in love, if such changes help deepen the relationship, then it’s not unreasonable.
At that moment, Xu Nuan desperately wanted to find a place to hide. She didn’t dare to ask questions in front of everyone and could only wait for Gu Ze and He Min to explain how they had returned safely.
What had happened to that mysterious wall that had suddenly vanished?
Xu Nuan silently cursed in her heart, but with her thin skin at the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to voice her thoughts and instead felt a storm brewing within.
After waiting for several seconds without anyone speaking up, Xu Nuan cautiously lifted her gaze. She found Gu Ze still looking at her with a smile in his eyes, and the warmth that had just faded returned to her cheeks. She ground her teeth in frustration and turned her attention to He Min, only to be startled by the unusual emotion reflected in He Min's gaze.
If she hadn’t seen it wrong, He Min’s eyes had been quite cold just now.
Was it directed at her?
Xu Nuan suppressed the impulse to look back and see if anyone else was behind her. A strange feeling settled in her heart as she turned back to glare at Gu Ze, silently expressing her displeasure. Didn’t everyone here want an explanation? Why was he still keeping them in suspense?
Xu Nuan refused to admit this was her fault and fixed her burning gaze on Gu Ze.
Gu Ze hadn’t intended to keep anyone in suspense; he simply regretted that this wasn’t a private moment with Xu Nuan. There were too many people around when she had spoken earlier.
With a long sigh in his heart, Gu Ze rubbed his forehead and revealed what he was holding in his left hand for everyone to see.
"This is the secret of this level."
Gu Ze revealed a ball, black and seemingly wooden, emitting a strange glow in the dim light, reminiscent of the flickering lights Xu Nuan had seen earlier.
Xu Nuan struggled to understand the secret of this ball, and the others were equally perplexed. After all, they had only been in this new Survival Game for half a day, and previously, they had witnessed the deaths of four people in the Forest of Hatred. Having fought for so long, they had become numb to the dangers of traps.
Gu Ze observed their reactions and sighed before explaining.
"Well, how should I put it? This level employs a special technique to create an illusion while using light and terrain to form blind spots that are difficult for the human eye to discern. In other words, this level will create visual misperceptions. For example, there is actually a low slope to my left, but when you first look at it, you won't see it. After a while, it will appear and cause someone to stumble, only to vanish immediately, placing them in someone else's blind spot. This way, it feels as if the trap is casting a spell; while increasing psychological pressure on individuals, it can also separate many people, achieving the goal of taking them down one by one."
Gu Ze's explanation was relatively clear, yet some remained confused, many still fixated on the ball in his palm.
"However, every trap has its flaws. It might be due to inadequate technology or perhaps intentionally designed to allow Players to escape. Regardless of which it is, this ball represents the flaw in this Survival Game. As long as you can discover it and grasp it, then press the shutdown button, all the traps that extend from that technology will revert to their original state."
With this clarification, the bewildered group began to understand. However, some still had questions.
He Min glanced around, suppressing the emotions bubbling beneath her surface, and asked in a low voice, "Then where is Fang Zheng?"
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