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墨書 Inktalez
The situation before them was perilous. Xu Nuan suppressed her panic and, after a few moments of contemplation, tugged at Deng Yinyin's hand.
Fortunately, Deng Yinyin had covered her mouth, preventing any sound from escaping. Zhang Hui and Shen Shen had not yet approached, but they were not far away either.
Xu Nuan signaled to Deng Yinyin to follow her, but as she took a step forward, her legs weakened, and she nearly collapsed. Deng Yinyin reacted quickly, catching her just in time, which resulted in a louder noise. Both of them turned pale and exchanged glances before looking back. When they realized the two Zombies had not come their way, they breathed a sigh of relief and helped each other retreat from the bushes.
Inevitably, some noise was made during their escape. Initially soft, it gradually grew loud enough to attract Zhang Hui and Shen Shen's attention; after all, the devices embedded in their bodies were not merely decorative.
Fortunately, by this time, the two had exited the bush area. As the two Zombies quickly pursued them, Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin had already created some distance.
Both Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin understood that this was not a safe distance. Their path ahead was still uncertain. At this moment, their unspoken understanding allowed them to navigate through the sparsely wooded forest, moving back and forth.
Zhang Hui and Shen Shen were dead; the Zombies sensed human presence through the devices in their bodies. Thus, they would be influenced by factors such as distance and temperature. The two girls took advantage of this fact and began to sprint through Greedy Forest with remarkable skill.
Deng Yinyin felt nervous yet exhilarated by the thrill of the game; it was a rare experience for her. She seemed to be battling the Zombies using her own abilities and wits, and for now, she was holding her ground.
A smile crept onto her lips as happiness spread within her. Essentially, she was someone who found joy easily. However, when she unconsciously tried to share this joy with Xu Nuan, she noticed that Xu Nuan looked pale; a thin layer of sweat coated her forehead, and her lips were turning white. It dawned on her that Xu Nuan's arm felt hot against her palm.
Deng Yinyin suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly retracted her smile. As she ran, she glanced back and began to feel helpless; this shift in emotions made her somewhat impatient.
The sunlight felt particularly intense now; there weren't many trees to provide shade, and the gaps between branches were too wide for comfort. Both girls squinted against the brightness. The wind that blew did little to alleviate their heat; sweat clung to their backs, mingling with fear and tension that seeped into their bones, hindering their progress.
The distance between them and the Zombies was gradually closing; the sounds emitted by the creatures grew louder and more chilling.
"Are they calling for reinforcements?"
Deng Yinyin finally couldn't hold back any longer. Her gaze drifted into the distance as she dared not look at Xu Nuan's face at that moment.
Originally, they could have called for help too; however, it was likely that what would come would be a horde of Zombies—an outcome that would be disastrous.
"Don't jump to conclusions, follow me!"
Xu Nuan's voice revealed her weakness as she quickly turned a corner with Deng Yinyin. The trees suddenly became dense, and the pain from the branches scratching their bodies began to spread.
However, Zombies do not feel pain. They moved fearlessly through the underbrush; even if their speed was reduced, they were still faster overall than the two girls.
Deng Yinyin panicked, unable to express her emotions in words. She hoped someone would come to rescue them, but she knew that others might not be in a better situation than they were.
When they first entered this level, they had been moving forward together just fine. But one trap after another had scattered them, leaving everyone injured and searching for companions.
She wanted to find her teammates not because she desperately wanted to face the challenges with someone else, but because she felt that her own strength alone could not ensure their safe arrival at the end. She sensed that Xu Nuan felt differently; for Xu Nuan, Gu Ze might be more important than simply succeeding in this challenge.
So why was she so fixated on dealing with that person?
Deng Yinyin's mind wasn't suited for such thoughts, especially in a moment of crisis. She quickly pushed the idea aside.
As her body instinctively surged forward, Xu Nuan suddenly pulled her back.
"What are you doing? They're going to catch up!"
Deng Yinyin shouted at Xu Nuan in confusion and urgency.
Xu Nuan didn't have much energy to explain; she pointed to a large tree nearby.
"Climb up, hurry!"
At that moment, they could vaguely see two Zombies lurking behind the bushes. In just over a minute, those Zombies would be fully exposed in their line of sight.
Suppressing her urge to ask more questions and recalling Xu Nuan's impressive handling of situations before, Deng Yinyin hurriedly began to climb the tree.
No matter how awkward her posture was, she managed to climb to the treetop. Upon reaching the top, she realized that the branches and leaves of this large tree were incredibly dense. By shifting to another branch, she could completely conceal herself.
The primary device for identifying the position of zombies was located in their eyes, while the secondary device was in their noses. Deng Yinyin vaguely understood Xu Nuan's intentions. Just as she was about to call Xu Nuan to climb up, she noticed that Xu Nuan was running straight towards a thick patch of bushes, showing no intention of climbing the tree.
Deng Yinyin immediately panicked, a flood of bad thoughts rushing into her mind.
"Where are you going? You’re not planning to use me as bait, are you?"
Two zombies had already appeared in her line of sight. If she climbed down now, it would be like a sheep entering a tiger's den; it was safer to stay in the tree. She felt angry and frustrated with her own ignorance. In this game, there was no one she could trust anymore. She understood this but always seemed to forget it, and sooner or later, she would pay the price for it.
Xu Nuan ignored her and continued running forward, which only solidified Deng Yinyin's resolve to stay hidden in the tree.
At that moment, the two zombies passed directly beneath her without stopping. She realized that they were chasing after Xu Nuan and couldn't help but feel relieved, thinking that Xu Nuan's plan to use her as bait had backfired, making her the bait instead.
Bait?
Deng Yinyin felt something was off again. She quickly clung to the nearby trunk and craned her neck to look ahead, discovering that behind the dense bushes was a cliff. Judging by its height, falling from there would surely mean death.
"Xu Nuan, watch out ahead!"
Despite feeling betrayed, she couldn't help but shout a warning at Xu Nuan upon seeing the dangerous scene unfold.
The two zombies were fully focused on chasing Xu Nuan and paid no attention to Deng Yinyin's loud warning. She hesitated about whether to climb down and run in the opposite direction. As long as she ran away now, the two zombies wouldn’t be able to catch her.
Before she could make a decision, she saw Xu Nuan suddenly swing her hand outward, and a rope flew out, hooking onto a tree near the cliff. Xu Nuan moved with incredible speed; she leaped upward, grabbed the rope, and used its momentum to swing past the two zombies. As she passed them, she kicked out with both legs, sending both zombies tumbling off the cliff.
Deng Yinyin suddenly understood why Xu Nuan had led the two zombies there. Feeling embarrassed as she climbed down to meet Xu Nuan, all she could do was stare blankly.
"So you knew there was a cliff here all along."
"I was just taking a gamble."
Xu Nuan's face still looked pale, as if she might collapse at any moment. This left Deng Yinyin at a loss for words. Just when she felt the awkwardness creeping in, Xu Nuan added another comment.
"Don't worry, their ultimate target is me. You won't be in any danger; otherwise, climbing that tree would be pointless."
Deng Yinyin immediately felt anger rising within her. As the frustration spread through her chest, other strange emotions began to stir in the corners of her mind, though they remained unnoticed for the time being.
"Did you not notice anything with such a tall tree?"
After catching her breath, Xu Nuan asked again. Deng Yinyin's face flushed red; she had been so caught up in her own thoughts and speculations about people's intentions that she hadn't considered using their geographical advantage to assess their surroundings.
When she saw Xu Nuan preparing to climb the tree herself, Deng Yinyin quickly intervened and climbed up instead. Even she couldn't understand why she felt compelled to stop Xu Nuan.
Perhaps it was because Xu Nuan looked so pitiful at that moment, and she couldn't bear to see her struggle?
Once she was up in the tree, she made a discovery.
"I think I see Xu Hang!"
Deng Yinyin stood on the trunk and pointed into the distance.
"About three hundred meters away, but there are too many trees over there; I can't see clearly."
As Deng Yinyin estimated the distance, she tried to ease the awkwardness between herself and Xu Nuan. This was something she had never considered before.
"Then let's head that way."
Xu Nuan made a decisive choice. For now, Xu Hang was still someone they could trust, and he was skilled enough to be suitable for their current situation. Deep down, however, what she longed to see most was Gu Ze. It was an emotion that made every minute apart feel like an eternity of torment. Only when he remained within her line of sight did she feel at ease. She suddenly understood Gu Ze's feelings from before—hoping that when she turned around, he would be right there.
They reassured each other.
Xu Nuan wore a bitter smile, fleeting as it was, before she and Deng Yinyin hurried off to find Xu Hang.
"As long as we find Xu Hang, everything will be fine. He will definitely protect us."
Deng Yinyin was aware that her relationship with Xu Hang was fading, yet she always believed that as long as Xu Hang still loved her cousin, Lan Ling, he would continue to protect her and overlook her reckless behavior.
Knowing the other person's feelings allowed her to act without restraint.
Xu Nuan had no words; her body had already reached its limit. Performing like an acrobat again would push her physical strength beyond exhaustion. Her legs were numb, and she could only walk out of instinct.
Even this short distance of a few hundred meters could bring unforeseen changes. As they walked a little further, before they could even call out Xu Hang's name, they heard a noise not far away, stirring both curiosity and fear within them.
Xu Nuan glanced at Deng Yinyin, thought for a moment, and sighed.
"I'll go take a look. You go find Xu Hang and then come back to me."
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