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墨書 Inktalez
However, Gu Ze and the others seemed accustomed to the disputes between Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin. Besides, everyone knew that Xu Nuan would only use her sharp tongue a couple of times without resorting to violence, while Deng Yinyin was self-aware enough to only put on a brave front with her words. Thus, they paid little attention to it.
Little did they know that in the future, they would find this assumption to be quite naive, for women are often both adorable and pitiable.
"The bamboo pole is ready; let's aim to get it done in one go."
Gu Ze and the others lifted the bamboo pole, which could span most of the River Surface, and marched towards the riverbank. Deng Yinyin followed along to watch, while the injured Xu Nuan had no choice but to stay behind, silently observing their actions.
As expected by Xu Nuan, Gu Ze and the others held the pole with one person while two controlled the ropes, cautiously extending the bamboo pole towards the Royal Lotus.
Xu Nuan stood not far from the riverbank, watching the movements of several crocodiles. At first, they appeared calm, their red eyes peeking above the surface while only their long snouts and foreheads were visible, seemingly indifferent to the bamboo pole's approach.
As the pole drew closer to the Royal Lotus and controlling it became increasingly strenuous for them, expressions of joy appeared on their faces because they were only a few meters away from success.
However, it soon proved that any joy before achieving success was premature.
The bamboo pole had successfully passed over the first crocodile and then the second. But when it was about a meter away from the Royal Lotus, one of the crocodiles suddenly lunged out of the water, unceremoniously biting down on the hook at the top of the bamboo pole and yanking it down fiercely.
Gu Ze and his companions were caught off guard and nearly pulled into the water by this force. As they struggled to maintain their balance onshore, a significant portion of the bamboo pole had already been crushed by the crocodile's bite.
With a sudden lightness in his hands, Gu Ze instinctively pulled back the bamboo pole.
Xu Hang sighed lightly. "It seems that within a meter is the crocodiles' territory. Originally, according to the System, these crocodiles' mission is to protect the Royal Lotus."
"What should we do then?"
Deng Yinyin walked over and began to complain alongside Xie Huai.
"Going into the water is definitely too dangerous; there's no way we can reach the Royal Lotus using other methods or tools. Isn't this a deadlock?"
"Deng Yinyin" muttered, glancing at the seemingly agitated crocodile in the river and then at the damaged bamboo pole, shivering involuntarily.
"Xie Huai" habitually picked up the conversation, "It might just be a coincidence. How about we make another bamboo pole and try again? This time, let's raise it higher to avoid contact with the water surface."
"Gu Ze" and "Xu Hang" exchanged glances, agreeing that one failure didn't necessarily mean the bamboo pole method wouldn't work. The river was too wide, and they couldn't think of any other way to complete the task.
Thus, "Gu Ze" and the others began the work of cutting and binding bamboo once more.
"Xu Nuan" stood silently to one side, watching. She glanced at the crocodile surfacing in the water and then looked down at her abdomen. Although "Gu Ze" had stopped her bleeding in time and bandaged her well, the heavy smell of blood from her wound was undeniable.
Perhaps there was another method to try. "Xu Nuan" turned to look at the dense forest that seemed somewhat deep. The area they were in was one of the few patches of dense forest on this grassland; most other places were open with bushes or flat land, interspersed with rivers and lakes.
After some thought, "Xu Nuan" changed direction and walked into the forest but was immediately called back by "Deng Yinyin."
"Hey, where do you think you're going? Are you running around just because you're injured? Do you think we have nothing better to do?"
"Xu Nuan" raised her eyebrows, turning back to glance at "Deng Yinyin." With a cool demeanor, she replied, "Since I can't help, I might as well look around. And by the way, I don't respond to 'hey.' But if you want to call me that, I won't mind."
With that, "Xu Nuan" ignored "Deng Yinyin's" sulking expression and turned to enter the forest.
If there were crocodiles in the river, then the most dangerous animals in the forest wouldn't be any worse than them. She still had that much judgment.
Soon enough, "Gu Ze" and the others finished making the bamboo pole and walked briskly toward the riverbank. Noticing that only "Deng Yinyin" was waiting there, "Xu Hang" frowned.
"Where is she?"
"Deng Yinyin" pointed towards the forest with a pout. "She went to look around."
"At this moment?"
Xu Hang's lips twitched, but before he could comment on Xu Nuan's actions, Gu Ze patted his shoulder calmly.
"Don't worry, she knows what she's doing."
It was impossible for someone to last this long in the challenges without some ability.
Xu Hang nodded, choosing not to say anything further. In their minds, Xu Nuan's performance was commendable. Of course, when Xu Nuan wasn't being impulsive, she was rational and composed. Sometimes, Xu Hang felt that Xu Nuan was quite suited for a leadership position; it was just that her sharp tongue could be overwhelming. Only his brother beside him seemed to enjoy the banter, relishing every exchange.
Gu Ze was unaware of Xu Hang's internal musings. Following their previous approach, he took hold of the bamboo pole while Xu Hang and Xie Huai each controlled one end at different distances. They once again extended the bamboo pole towards the Royal Lotus, this time making sure to avoid contact with the water, reaching out from above.
However, they failed again. Despite approaching the Royal Lotus from a higher vantage point above the crocodiles, several of them leaped out of the water to snap at the bamboo pole. A few seemed agitated and swam toward the shore. The group quickly retreated, and only then did the crocodiles stop their advance, revealing their terrifying eyes just above the surface.
Deng Yinyin suddenly grew frustrated. "Honestly, if I had known it would be this difficult to complete this task, I wouldn't have chosen Hidden Level."
Xie Huai shrank back silently while Xu Hang glared at Deng Yinyin, clearly displeased with her words that swayed everyone's morale.
"If you had insisted back then, I might not have chosen Hidden Level either. The System is really annoying; its vague wording misled me."
Just as Xu Nuan returned from the dense forest, she overheard Deng Yinyin's remarks and couldn't help but find it amusing, her expression tinged with sarcasm.
It was Deng Yinyin who had insisted on the choice and now regretted it. Did she not realize that in both life and games, most choices had no way back? Once a decision was made, regardless of how difficult the process became—whether crawling or running—one had to keep moving forward.
If one chose not to continue, there would only be one outcome: self-pitying along the way until it all ended in resignation.
Perhaps her expression was too obvious; as soon as she returned, Deng Yinyin shot her an angry glare upon seeing the rabbit in her hands, clearly dissatisfied.
"Everyone is in a panic, and you still have the leisure to raise rabbits. I really don't understand what you're thinking."
Xu Nuan shrugged nonchalantly, shaking the rabbit in her hands. "This rabbit wasn't caught for raising."
"Are you planning to eat it?"
Xu Nuan felt she could give up on communicating with Deng Yinyin.
However, Gu Ze quickly grasped Xu Nuan's meaning. He pointed to his chin with his index finger, his movements graceful and elegant, exuding a gentlemanly charm.
Xu Nuan turned her gaze away, looking at the struggling gray rabbit in her hands while listening to Gu Ze share his thoughts.
"The system just mentioned that these crocodiles are responsible for guarding the Royal Lotus. However, they are easily attracted by blood. If we have a group create a large amount of blood attraction in another direction, others can swim directly to get the Royal Lotus. But as soon as we get within a meter of the Royal Lotus, those crocodiles will return. In other words, we need to swim fast and start attracting them from a sufficient distance."
Gu Ze paused before continuing, "It sounds risky, but it's worth a try. We can swim while observing; if anything seems off, we can immediately swim back to shore. What do you think?"
Xu Nuan smiled slightly; Gu Ze was indeed Gu Ze, always so articulate. Just as she was about to respond, Deng Yinyin interrupted, frowning at the rabbit in Xu Nuan's hands.
"Are we really going to catch a lot of rabbits and kill them to attract the crocodiles? How cruel!"
Xu Nuan's lips twitched as she looked down at the still-struggling wild rabbit and then raised her gaze seriously to Deng Yinyin.
"That’s its fate; it knocked itself out against a tree stump right in front of me before I brought it back."
"Pfft."
Gu Ze immediately burst into laughter without any restraint, exchanging glances with Xu Hang and Xie Huai before they all headed into the woods together.
"Stay here; we'll go catch the silly wild rabbit."
As Gu Ze passed by Xu Nuan, his eyes sparkled with joy, as if he had embraced an entire sea of flowers.
Xu Nuan was puzzled. She shook the rabbit in her hands; she hadn't made a mistake. This rabbit had indeed come to her willingly. After all, how could she, injured and armed only with a short knife, have caught it otherwise?
Not wanting to engage further with Deng Yinyin, Xu Nuan casually found a spot to sit down. She took out some rope and tied the rabbit's four legs together before tossing it at her feet. Drawing her short knife, she began to play with it one-handed. The blade spun rapidly between her fingers, glinting coldly and occasionally reflecting light onto other surfaces—like the grass, the constantly shifting but hopeless rabbit, and Deng Yinyin's eyes.
Deng Yinyin swallowed hard, trying to act nonchalant.
"Isn't it a bit cruel to play with a knife in front of the rabbit? Since it's going to die anyway, why torment it before its end?"
The word "torment" struck a nerve with Xu Nuan, slowly curling her lips into a smile. She turned her gaze toward Deng Yinyin, who instinctively took a few steps back and bumped into a nearby tree, hurriedly rubbing his back.
Xu Nuan chuckled lightly a few times before looking away in silence. Deng Yinyin dared not speak again and chose to sit far from Xu Nuan, hugging his knees on the ground while occasionally glancing at the wriggling rabbit and the quiet figure of Xu Nuan examining her knife in the sunlight.
Suddenly, several crocodiles on the river surface became agitated; it seemed other creatures were stirring beneath the water. The crocodiles were caught between leaving Royal Lotus and guarding it.
The two sitting farther away on the riverbank remained oblivious to the undercurrents swirling below.
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