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墨書 Inktalez
Hearing Deng Yinyin's words, several people turned their gaze toward the lake.
Under the moonlight, hundreds of lakes were boiling, the water churning as dead fish rolled up and down. Steam rose from the surface, creating a misty haze all around. Within that mist, they could hear the haunting melody of a ballad.
“One person cries while two others laugh…”
During the day, hearing this song felt strange to everyone, but at night, with the bizarre events unfolding—the boiling lake and the scattered fish corpses—everyone felt an overwhelming sense of dread. A chill began to spread from their feet throughout their bodies.
“We should leave quickly; this is really frightening.”
Deng Yinyin hugged her shoulders and shivered slightly, glancing at the surrounding trees and lakes, feeling even more sinister.
Xie Huai was no better off; his legs trembled continuously, his voice quivering as he spoke.
“But where can we go? The area is surrounded by lakes, with hardly any land to stand on. It’s all the same no matter where we turn.”
“Xu Hang, what should we do?”
Deng Yinyin immediately turned to Xu Hang for help.
After observing the situation on the lake's surface, Xu Nuan continued to calmly bandage Gu Ze, a few strands of hair blowing in the wind amidst the eerie scene.
Gu Ze couldn't help but ask.
“Aren't you scared?”
Seeing such a scene, Xu Hang's face had also turned pale; it made no sense that Xu Nuan could remain so composed.
“I am scared, but fear is useless,” Xu Nuan replied candidly. “Besides, there are no ghosts or gods in this world. The only reason for such occurrences must be due to some trickery in the game. We can only face it, right?”
Gu Ze let out a light sigh, placing his hands on the ground and tilting his head slightly to gaze at the night sky. The moonlight was cold, and the stars twinkled brightly. Surrounded by lakes and trees, it should have been a breathtaking view, a romantic spot, but it had been ruined by the Game Designer, wasting such a beautiful environment.
Xu Hang ignored Deng Yinyin's question and didn’t look at the strange surface of the lake. Instead, he squinted his eyes, observing the wild boar that had fainted, deep in thought.
Deng Yinyin felt puzzled and somewhat dissatisfied at being ignored. She raised her voice and asked again.
“Xu Hang, what should we do now? This place is so terrifying; shouldn’t we leave?”
Xu Hang snapped back to reality, glancing at Deng Yinyin before turning to Xie Huai. He asked, “I remember you saw a face in the lake; it was Ze’s.”
“Ah,” Xie Huai, suddenly questioned, paused for a moment before nodding.
“Yes, is there a problem?”
Xu Hang fell silent again and looked at Xu Nuan. “I remember you saw a face; it was mine.”
Xu Nuan, who had just finished bandaging Gu Ze, stood up and nodded. “Did you think of something?”
“Ze,” Xu Hang suddenly called out to Gu Ze while his gaze remained on Xu Nuan. “Try attacking Xu Nuan; I need to verify an idea.”
Gu Ze was taken aback. After exchanging a glance with Xu Nuan, he walked up to her and raised his hand as if to strike her neck. Of course, he controlled his strength; if nothing happened, he would be able to retract his hand in time to avoid hurting Xu Nuan.
Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai stood a bit further away, confused by the situation. Meanwhile, about ten meters away, the lake water boiled even more vigorously, with steam rising continuously into the air.
“Okay, let’s begin,” Xu Hang said softly. “But Ze, no matter what happens, you must control your strength.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about that,” Gu Ze nodded, thinking Xu Hang meant for him to be careful not to hurt Xu Nuan.
Xu Nuan stood still, allowing Gu Ze to swing his hand down swiftly, creating a sharp gust of wind. However, she did not feel any pain. When she regained her senses, she found herself standing one meter away on Gu Ze's right side, while Xu Hang stood directly in front of Gu Ze.
In the midst of her surprise, Gu Ze barely managed to stop his hand from actually striking down.
"Hang, how come you're here?"
For the first time, the usually calm Gu Ze was unsettled in front of someone other than Xu Nuan. He turned to glance at the puzzled Xu Nuan and then at the understanding Xu Hang, suddenly realizing something.
"I understand now that the face we saw on the lake isn't for our own use."
"What?"
Xu Nuan took a few steps forward, and the other two approached Gu Ze and Xu Hang, waiting for their explanation.
Xu Hang began to explain.
"As I suspected, the owner of the face we saw is the one taking the hit for us. In other words, if Xu Nuan is attacked, it’s actually me who gets attacked. If I’m attacked, it’s really Deng Yinyin who gets hit. Our positions will swap in that instant. Although I don’t know how it works or how Game Base does it, everyone needs to be aware of this."
Xu Nuan nodded, secretly marveling at the Designers' twisted abilities. But then she remembered that the technical provider for this game was from Heng Technology and felt as if she was looking at her former company.
"So if I get attacked, it means Xie Huai will be attacked instead."
Deng Yinyin pointed at Xie Huai as if suddenly enlightened. Xie Huai looked at Gu Ze with a hint of understanding, finally grasping why Gu Ze had taken the hit from the wild boar earlier.
Gu Ze chuckled lightly and habitually patted Xu Nuan's shoulder. "Then I really need to be careful; I won’t let you get attacked."
As soon as Gu Ze finished speaking, Xu Nuan glared at him. "Whether you get attacked or not isn’t up to you."
The two noticed that everyone else was staring intently at them. It was only then that Xu Nuan realized Gu Ze's hand had been resting on her shoulder all along; everyone was fixated on that hand.
Xu Nuan began to ramble incoherently, "Don't take me for your Buddy."
She glanced at Xu Hang, her expression clearly one of disdain. Gu Ze attempted to put his arm around Xu Hang's shoulders.
"Haha." Gu Ze laughed awkwardly a couple of times, retracting his hand and stealing glances at Xu Nuan's face, unsure if she was playing dumb or genuinely confused.
This was merely an interlude; after it, everyone still needed to address the boiling lake issue, or they wouldn't be able to rest properly that night.
After a while, Xie Huai squinted and pointed ahead.
"The water seems to have stopped boiling."
Deng Yinyin rubbed her eyes and confirmed seriously, "It has stopped, but is it just my imagination? Why do I see those lakes merging together?"
At that moment, no one felt like joking. They unconsciously walked a short distance toward the lakeside and stared at the surface of the water.
"The surface is really merging."
The group began to shout in surprise. The nearby lakes were not very noticeable, but the distant ones were indeed merging under the moonlight. Perhaps due to the previous boiling water, many lake shores had collapsed, and the soil forming large pathways was falling into the lakes. Over time, the lakes would naturally merge together.
"If all the lakes merge into one, won't we lose our place to stay?"
Xie Huai articulated the crux of the matter.
Everyone felt a bit helpless; they all knew they needed to stop the merging of the lakes. The key issue was how to prevent it. The collapsing soil was beyond their control.
Moreover, with such a strange lake surface, they dared not risk falling in.
As everyone fell into an uncomfortable silence, they heard that Ballad again, seemingly shattering through distant time and space, filled with an indescribable ethereality, yet within that ethereality lingered a hint of something sinister.
As several people were caught in a cold war, contemplating their thoughts on the Ballad and its seemingly deeper meanings, countless green tentacles emerged from the lake, surging towards them like creeping vines.
Everyone scrambled to escape, and those who couldn't make it in time had no choice but to wield their short knives to sever the disgusting appendages.
Xu Nuan, who had barely rested, stumbled and found herself in a precarious situation. Just as she regained her senses, a Green Tentacle was already upon her. She quickly drew her short knife, ready to strike down, only to realize she had moved to a relatively safe spot. Turning around, she saw Xu Hang confronting the tentacle that had been attacking her.
Xu Hang was quicker and more skilled than her; without hesitation, he chopped off the tentacle. Green liquid splattered everywhere, creating a nauseating scene. Above countless lakes, innumerable Green Tentacles appeared, attacking from the nearest bodies of water.
Looking around, Xu Nuan noticed Deng Yinyin had also fallen. In her moment of despair, Xie Huai stepped in to take the hit for her. However, Xie Huai wasn't particularly agile and was soon ensnared in mid-air, facing imminent danger.
Xu Nuan couldn't afford to be careless any longer. As she prepared to leap down the slope to rescue Xie Huai, she saw Gu Ze had already taken action. He swung a long stick at the tentacle just before Xie Huai was thrown down by the pain of being attacked. At that moment, Xu Hang dashed out and caught Xie Huai mid-fall. The two tumbled across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop.
Just as Xu Nuan reached them to check on their injuries, she suddenly found herself in a different position, facing several fast-moving tentacles that twisted and turned menacingly.
She heard Gu Ze's frustrated voice nearby.
"Nuan, get out of the way!"
Xu Nuan was filled with anger at that moment. While it wasn't a bad thing for someone to take a hit for her, the suddenness of it all left her unprepared; no amount of skill could help in such chaos.
With this thought in mind, Xu Nuan showed no mercy towards the tentacles; her short knife struck true with every swing.
The scene around them was utter chaos.
Those who intended to fight found themselves swinging at nothing as others took their place in harm's way.
In the midst of attacking, they inexplicably switched positions and were injured due to their inability to dodge in time.
Everyone's combat effectiveness plummeted rapidly. Yet there was nothing they could do; they only knew who would take a hit for whom but remained clueless about why this bizarre situation was occurring.
Xu Nuan desperately thought of a way out; the tentacles seemed endless, and the night felt like it had no end. They had no idea how long their stamina could last or what awaited them if they were dragged underwater.
It was simply hopeless.
Frustration bubbled within Xu Nuan as her movements remained swift. Just as she prepared to strike at the tentacles again, she found herself in a different position, suspended in mid-air. Her body wavered, and before she could react, a tentacle grazed her abdomen, causing blood to flow freely.
As Xu Nuan tumbled to the ground, she gasped in shock, only to hear Gu Ze's voice calling out.
"Nuan!"
"Damn it."
Struggling to rise, Xu Nuan barely had time to scorn Gu Ze when several tentacles lunged at Xie Huai. In an instant, Gu Ze was standing in that very spot, looking back at her.
"Gu Ze!"
Xu Nuan wanted to warn him, but it was already too late. Gu Ze was lifted high into the air. The nearby individuals rushed over in an attempt to save him. He fought valiantly against the tentacles, but ultimately, he was dragged into the water.
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