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墨書 Inktalez
The unambiguous rejection did not deter Gu Ze, leaving Xu Nuan both surprised and puzzled.
"There’s only one way to the Supply Station. We will run into each other sooner or later; it doesn’t matter if it’s sooner or later."
Gu Ze spoke calmly, yet his words conveyed a firm resolve to act alongside Xu Nuan.
Xu Nuan pressed her lips together, at a loss for words. She thought she had made her feelings clear at the last Supply Station, believing it was the best choice for her regarding the third batch of players. This man had seen through her intentions before and hadn’t tried to keep her back; why was he now adopting such a stance?
Men's hearts are truly difficult to understand, and she didn’t want to understand them.
"Yes, since we will meet eventually, there’s no rush. I might get sidetracked looking for my friend and end up wandering into the woods or climbing a mountain, which could delay things. It’s better if we don’t travel together with different purposes."
As Xu Nuan finished speaking, she sensed a heavy atmosphere from Gu Ze. That long-lost feeling of pressure returned, and when she looked up at his expression, the corners of his lips remained curved upward, exuding an aura of quiet authority.
What a strange person.
Gu Ze fell silent again; the standoff was merely wasting time. Xu Nuan didn’t want to speak harshly to him either; he had helped her before, and she wasn’t heartless enough to treat him that way.
Just as Xu Nuan was caught in her thoughts, she noticed Xu Hang giving Tang Jingshu a knowing glance. Tang Jingshu obediently blocked Deng Yinyin's gaze and smiled at her.
"Since Nuan is in a hurry, we won’t hold you up. We’ll meet again later anyway, right, Gu Ze?"
Xu Nuan's expression stiffened slightly as disappointment filled her chest. She hadn’t expected that the first person to reach out to her, Tang Jingshu, would treat her with such a false demeanor, even if the outcome was what she wanted. Her chest felt tight with unacknowledged emotions; she didn’t notice that Tang Jingshu couldn’t bear to look at Gu Ze while speaking those words and thus couldn’t guess what Gu Ze had done in the past or delve into how he seemed to have changed.
As Xu Nuan became increasingly distracted, Gu Ze finally relaxed his demeanor, softening his attitude as if nothing had just happened.
"Take care then; I’ll wait for you up ahead."
Xu Nuan didn’t grasp the weight of his words. She hesitated for a few seconds as she saw the Third Batch of Players preparing to leave but ultimately decided to follow them.
"Don't get too close to the river. Keeping a distance and following the Special Tree in the woods will also lead you to the Supply Station."
After Xu Nuan finished speaking, she looked up at Gu Ze, who was about to turn away against the light. He turned his back and followed his predetermined path, his light blue figure quickly disappearing from sight. A gentle breeze stirred, bringing the coolness of the Stream, and everything returned to normal, the earlier conversation fading away.
The Third Batch of Players resumed their original path, with the Mountain Stream on their left, interspersed with a few Special Trees, and sparse woods on their right where animal calls occasionally echoed.
"What does it mean to stay away from the river?"
Tang Jingshu clearly took Xu Nuan's words to heart.
"Is there something in the Mountain Stream?"
Tang Jingshu leaned closer to the Stream, observing as mountain trout swam back and forth, occasionally opening their mouths to reveal sharp teeth.
"Are you saying these fish are dangerous?"
Deng Yinyin impatiently pulled Tang Jingshu back into the group.
"How could that be? Didn't you eat this kind of fish yesterday? There are so many Mountain Streams in the Gorge; we can't avoid them."
Deng Yinyin's words drew agreement from Xu Hang and Xie Huai. Gu Ze remained unusually silent, his usual talkative nature replaced by an unsettling quietness. Occasionally, he furrowed his brow or a glint of light flickered in his eyes, sending chills down people's spines.
As they walked along the Special Tree toward higher ground, they spotted many large green eggs flowing down from above. As those eggs drew closer, everyone noticed that their shells were covered in green fuzz and faintly glowed, creating an eerie sight.
Broken eggs?
"That's disgusting!"
Deng Yinyin and Tang Jingshu immediately expressed their disdain for the eggs and moved toward the woods, indeed keeping a certain distance from the Stream. However, due to Xu Nuan's past actions, Tang Jingshu suspected that these eggs or the Stream might harbor other dangers.
As Xu Nuan bid farewell to the Third Batch of Players, she wandered through the forest, the night gradually enveloping her. Xu Nuan showed no signs of stopping to rest.
Taking out her Solar-Powered Flashlight, Xu Nuan tirelessly illuminated the sinister trees that had become terrifying in the darkness, persistently searching for familiar marks on each possible tree before moving forward.
In the nighttime forest, the danger level significantly increased. Creatures lurking in the shadows stirred restlessly, yet something held them back from emerging. The sound of Cycad Tree leaves rubbing against each other resembled the gnawing of some animal, while the wind rustling through the leaves carried a heavier tone than during the day. The occasional howls of monkeys, chirps of insects, and heavy breaths of wild beasts sent shivers down Xu Nuan's spine.
Despite feeling a chill in her heart and wearing a serious expression, Xu Nuan paused to continue her search for signs to find others—an action that was uncharacteristic of her usual style.
"The team would be more useful at night," she mused lightly, but her words were quickly whisked away by the wind.
After finding another important marker that determined her direction, Xu Nuan suddenly realized that the path she was about to take led away from a row of Special Trees. Her steps unconsciously halted as memories of an evening rich with the scent of fine wine flooded her mind. A sound echoed repeatedly, warm like jade striking against jade, rich like a soaring cello, and deep like a poet's chant.
Looking up at the night sky, dazzling stars playfully blinked at her. The night was cool and quiet. Below her feet lay massive stones scattered across the ground, suitable for resting or serving as weapons or traps, mirroring the stars above and flowing in harmony through the invisible air.
A mysterious floral fragrance danced at her nose. In a daze, she found herself surrounded by vast fields of pink Evening Primrose swaying in the wind, smiling freely without a care in the world—a sight that tugged at her heartstrings. A man with brown eyes stood before the Evening Primrose, laughing heartily with one hand on his hip and the other waving. His radiant smile drew cheers from the flowers, drowning out whatever sounds his lips were forming.
But she could see his lips moving, calling out someone’s name.
"Hiss."
The pain from hitting her forehead against a tree jolted Xu Nuan back to reality. The pain brought clarity; she realized she had walked to the edge of a high waterfall. Just a few more steps forward and she would experience the waterfall's plunge firsthand.
The cascading waterfalls tumbled down in layers, crashing into one another or kissing the rocks below with tremendous sound—yet just moments ago, those sounds had not reached Xu Nuan's ears.
"Is this an illusion?"
Xu Nuan rubbed her forehead with one hand while adjusting her flashlight with the other, searching for any mysterious creature that might be plotting against her under the bright moonlight.
After going around and around, Xu Nuan finally fixed his sight on the plants with white petals but a little red in the center. It must be this mysterious fragrance that attracted him here. "Huh." He let out a heavy breath, Xu Nuan looked around and found that he had not deviated much from the direction. He quickly returned to the starting point by the light. After walking for a while, he took off his backpack and prepared to rest. . After he calmed down, all kinds of sounds around him came to Xu Nuan's ears. Some were pleasant and noisy, and Sinister was terrifying. They disturbed Xu Nuan so that he could not calm down, let alone Have a good rest. "Alone." How can a person feel at ease? A bitter smile bloomed quietly. There is a weak voice that keeps saying, go find your original companions, they are your real companions. Xu Nuan was awakened by the dew falling from the leaves of Cycad Tree. After scratching his face a few times and wiping off the cold dew, Xu Nuan carefully observed his surroundings. I had no choice but to rest here last night. When it was daytime, Xu Nuan found that the environment around me was completely different from yesterday. What accompanied me yesterday was the crystal clear Mountain Stream, the tinkling mountain springs, the stone cliffs of different heights, the large unknown Ferns, and the rocks and sparse woods everywhere. Today, there are old ginseng trees everywhere, verdant and lush, Old Vine is as thick as an adult’s arm, waterfalls flowing down, flowers of various colors blooming together, Cliff which is much more dangerous than the stone cliff. , and caves exposed from time to time. "Don't have a hole, this word is quite suitable for this." The beautiful scenery made Xu Nuan feel a little more relaxed. After loosening his body, he washed his face and ate something as usual. Xu Nuan once again shouldered the heavy backpack. Look for increasingly fresh signs. The sunlight filtering through the cracks in the leaves and the sound of the spring not far away played a unique Gorge movement on the carpet of dead leaves. Forest Squirrel shuttled among the vines, and its cute appearance made Xu Nuan also raised the corners of his mouth, and the sunlight diluted by the leaves cast a light silhouette on his face. Xu Nuan kept moving forward in a good mood, and finally found the last mark in front of a cave at noon.
Fresh footprints at the cave entrance made Xu Nuan furrow her brow slightly.
"Only one person's footprints?"
Her soft voice did not disturb the person inside the cave. Xu Nuan examined the size of the footprints and tentatively called out from outside.
"He Min? Is that you?"
Standing a bit farther from the cave entrance, Xu Nuan raised her voice slightly, one hand resting on the hilt of her short knife at her waist, while the other hand hung tightly by her side.
After a few seconds, a voice from within the cave brought a relaxed expression to Xu Nuan's face.
"Is that you, Nuan? I'm hurt. Can you come in?"
The gentle yet urgent tone made Xu Nuan frown. After thinking for a few seconds, she lifted her foot and stepped into the cave, keeping her left hand on her waist while relaxing her right hand.
The cave was not very deep, and there was plenty of sunlight. Once inside, Xu Nuan immediately spotted a woman sitting on the ground in a somewhat disheveled state. The sight of her leg, which was oddly positioned on the ground and bleeding, made Xu Nuan gasp.
"He Min, what happened to your leg?"
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