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墨書 Inktalez
In the vast Gobi Desert, with endless yellow sands and howling cold winds, the atmosphere felt desolate.
"Warm, come over here!"
Before Xu Nuan could react, Gu Ze had swiftly pulled her to safety, just as a creature formed from the swirling sands rushed past them.
Xu Nuan nestled against Gu Ze, her face pale from the shock.
Seeing that Xu Nuan's complexion hadn't improved, Gu Ze softly reassured her.
"It's okay. As long as we stay within this circle, they can't attack us."
Xu Nuan nodded lightly and turned her head to see numerous monsters made of yellow sand clawing at the air, obstructing everyone's progress.
This entire area was the Gobi, filled with monsters, making their journey incredibly difficult.
However, with Gu Ze by her side, everything felt different. Not only was she now in a safe zone with him, but she also watched leisurely as the swirling sands swept just a few inches away from them. The others, following Gu Ze's guidance, had also found their way into safety.
They maintained a distance from one another but were all secure. The only concern was the poor air quality caused by the drifting sands.
This was not the scene that the System wanted to see, yet it was the reality—an unbelievable reality for Xu Nuan. She could bet that the others were looking at Gu Ze as if he were a deity. A strange feeling stirred within her.
"What's wrong?"
After Xu Nuan remained silent for a while and with everyone else temporarily safe, Gu Ze took a moment to ask.
Xu Nuan shook her head, resting against Gu Ze's chest as she looked up at him, a faint smile playing on her lips. After a while, she spoke in a low voice.
"It feels so unreal."
Everything about this moment felt too surreal.
"And that's why I'm scared."
She feared that Gu Ze's brilliance would attract the attention of Another Founder, hastening their intent to harm her. She was the target, yet Gu Ze was deliberately drawing that person's focus onto himself. When Gu Ze displayed an understanding of the game that surpassed even that person's, it was easy to imagine what thoughts were racing through the mind of someone so calculating.
"You really don't have to do this."
As the day drew closer, Xu Nuan felt increasingly uneasy.
This sense of unease made it difficult for her to enjoy the time spent with Gu Ze.
She didn't want their moments together to turn into bleak memories before parting; there were too many things she wished to avoid, leading her to make mistakes time and again.
"What about this? Are you still uneasy?"
Gu Ze's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts, his presence enveloping her as warmth brushed against her lips.
It was warm, alive; they were both alive.
Pushing Gu Ze away, Xu Nuan shot him a glare before bursting into laughter.
"You really are an opportunist."
Gu Ze laughed along, his smile seemingly filled with the entire world, and in his eyes was contained Xu Nuan's world.
"Of course, otherwise how would I have won you over?"
Xu Nuan smiled quietly, choosing not to respond further.
Gu Ze was no god; he had transformed all his earlier struggles into the bravery of this moment. Everyone noticed Gu Ze's remarkable performance in the Survival Game, yet no one understood the burdens he carried to be here or what his ultimate goal was.
Compared to such a goal, her simple desire for revenge felt insignificant. The more she learned, the deeper her love grew. She loved the man before her and hoped to face life and death together with him.
"You two?"
While Xu Nuan and Gu Ze were caught up in their tender moment amidst danger, Deng Yinyin could no longer stand by. Their crisis had not yet passed, and these two were too relaxed!
Deng Yinyin shouted, breaking the warmth between Xu Nuan and Gu Ze, and in doing so, she swallowed a mouthful of sand.
"Ugh!"
As Deng Yinyin spat out the sand, she suddenly felt something was off. Why did it seem like the sand monster was getting closer to her?
"Step back three meters, then walk two meters to the right!"
While she was momentarily stunned, Gu Ze suddenly shouted in her direction. Having developed a habit, she instinctively followed his instructions. Just as she took her last step, she saw yet another Sand Monster sweeping through the area where she had just been.
"Hurry up, this isn't a trap, is it?"
Deng Yinyin was furious but choked on a mouthful of yellow sand, leaving her unable to speak. She covered her mouth tightly and stared at Gu Ze, afraid of missing any hints.
At that moment, Gu Ze was busy. In the vast Gobi Desert, with the constantly moving Sand Monsters and shifting safe zones, he needed to quickly locate those who were buried under the yellow sand and point out the nearest safe area.
After one round, he was drenched in sweat, and the traps showed no mercy, forcing him to remind everyone again as the positions of the Sand Monsters changed and the safe zones shifted.
Xu Nuan watched with concern and tried to analyze the patterns of the Sand Monsters like Gu Ze did. However, she lacked the intelligence and experience that Gu Ze had gone through, making it difficult for her to discern anything.
As time passed, the speed of the traps increased, leaving Gu Ze with less time to make judgments and provide warnings. He had to consider everyone's safety, which required more energy. The others dared not disturb him; they entrusted their lives to him at that moment.
Unbeknownst to them, perhaps the System had sensed something unusual about this area and repeatedly adjusted the speed of the traps. Machines operated this mechanism while Gu Ze was human and could tire. After a few moments, Gu Ze missed an opportunity; he failed to warn Liu Minghong in time, causing the designer to be swept away by the sand.
Xu Hang, who was closer to Liu Minghong, quickly lunged forward and managed to grab Liu Minghong's ankle. He was experienced and leaned back while lowering his center of gravity to avoid being taken by the sand himself.
Seeing this, Chi Xiaoming and Deng Yinyin also rushed over, each grabbing onto one another like a game of tug-of-war as they leaned back together.
Fighting against such simulated forces of nature was indeed a foolish act, but in a life-or-death situation, no one cared about that much.
Xu Nuan and Gu Ze were the farthest away, arriving last. However, the position of the Sand Monster shifted again, altering the safe zone. In just a few minutes, those rescuing Liu Minghong would also be in danger.
The mask on Liu Minghong's face had been swept away by the raging wind, revealing a fierce visage scarred by fire. From a distance, obscured by layers of yellow sand, no one could discern the emotions in his eyes at that moment.
He was silent, which was unexpected.
"Come this way!"
At that moment, Gu Ze was at the back of the group, pulling Xu Nuan along, who in turn was guiding Deng Yinyin.
Xu Nuan's mind was racing, but she focused on following Gu Ze's directions, carefully leading Deng Yinyin as they sought to change their position.
The creature that had ensnared Liu Minghong was moving, coinciding with their clockwise maneuver. Xu Nuan and the others found it manageable, and it was then that Xu Nuan understood Gu Ze's intention.
"Gu Ze, look over there!"
As everyone struggled to maintain their stance, and failure seemed imminent, Chi Xiaoming suddenly shouted.
Standing at the back of the line with the clearest view, Gu Ze followed Chi Xiaoming's gaze and realized he was pointing at the Sand Monster.
They were currently locked in a standoff with the Sand Monster, which was lifeless—a massive entity formed by machines gathering sand. The machinery operated in a rhythmic pattern, with brief pauses during its operation lasting mere milliseconds. Yet this was enough for the keen-eyed Chi Xiaoming to notice the core of the Sand Monster.
With this reminder, Gu Ze also focused on that part.
In the heart of the swirling yellow sand, there was a black device. Gu Ze, with his keen eyesight, noticed that the closer one got to the device, the faster the sand swirled around. This detail was enough for Gu Ze to uncover the secret of the Sand Monster, but discovering it was one thing; handling it was another.
“Ze, lend me a hand! I’m going over!”
Xu Nuan also noticed this detail. Realizing the danger, she stepped forward, determined not to let Gu Ze fall into peril. This was her bottom line in the game.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Gu Ze swiftly pulled Xu Nuan back just as she was about to rush forward, also yanking Deng Yinyin away. He was the one who needed to manage the situation and calm Xu Nuan down.
He shared the same concern as Xu Nuan.
“There’s no time!”
Their brief exchange lasted only a few seconds, but that was already too long. The Sand Monster was about to move again, and the safe zone was about to change. Xu Nuan felt anxious.
“I know.”
Even at this critical moment, Gu Ze didn’t show any signs of panic. He quickly assessed the material of the core device and freed one hand to pull out a short knife.
Xu Nuan watched in surprise as he prepared to confront an unknown material with a short knife. The odds didn’t seem favorable, yet she didn’t see any hesitation on Gu Ze’s face.
Time was of the essence. Without explaining anything to anyone, Gu Ze hurled the knife with great force. Against the backdrop of the raging sandstorm, it cut through the air, leaving a clear trace behind.
"Clang!"
The sound of the short knife striking the device was sharp, but at the moment Gu Ze threw the knife, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, leaving Xu Nuan unable to stop him.
As the short knife hit the device, causing a brief pause of 0.1 seconds, Gu Ze had already stuffed the black sphere into the device.
"Everyone, get down!"
Gu Ze quickly completed his actions and shouted at the others while leaping up, intending to grab Liu Minghong around the waist and throw him out.
What followed was a deafening roar and a wave of scorching heat.
Though they were lying down, the others were still affected and were thrown aside by the heatwave.
The entire Gobi's Sand Monster came to a halt, with yellow sand cascading down like rain.
Xu Nuan was covered in sand; she didn't have time to clean herself off and hurriedly scrambled to her feet, running towards Gu Ze.
"Ze!"
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