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墨書 Inktalez
Under the twilight, above the vast Gobi Desert, a campfire burned quietly.
Qin Yaojie leaned against a tree, eyes closed in rest. His figure had grown even thinner, and the oversized Tactical Jacket did little to conceal his bony frame. A thin blanket still covered his legs, but the pallor of his face indicated that he still felt cold.
Even with his eyes shut, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, a clear sign of sleeplessness and exhaustion. The evening breeze tousled his slightly long hair, adding a touch of elegance. However, those who knew him well understood that once he opened his eyes, he transformed into a serious leader—someone whose domineering yet charismatic demeanor compelled others to follow him.
Nearby, several Players were engaged in hushed conversation.
"What should we do? Should we tell the captain right away?"
"Let’s wait. It’s rare for him to get some rest. Besides, that lady has pulled this stunt more than once."
"True, let’s wait until the captain wakes up."
"What’s going on that I should know when I wake up?"
Qin Yaojie slowly opened his eyes, clarity shining within them as if he hadn’t been asleep at all. This was how he was—always exuding an air of authority that commanded respect while simultaneously provoking a desire to challenge him.
Zhang Xiao chuckled softly from the other side of the fire.
Qin Yaojie ignored Zhang Xiao and turned his gaze toward the two Players who had been discussing earlier, remaining silent.
Under the weight of his imposing stare, the two Players immediately apologized and explained.
"Captain, it’s like this. One of our team members just received a message from Sister Rao," one of them said, raising their wrist where a black bracelet displayed several special symbols.
"Sister Rao wants us to slow down the game and wait for her return."
"Is that so?" Qin Yaojie extended his bony hand to stroke his chin, as if he was considering the request.
Another team member was somewhat dissatisfied.
"But Captain, do we really have to wait for Sister Rao? She has made such unreasonable requests more than once, and our schedule has been repeatedly interrupted by her. Otherwise, we wouldn't know how many levels we could have cleared by now. How could we possibly be caught up by the later batches of Players?"
As he spoke, the team member glanced at He Min, who had just suggested joining the team upon their arrival at this level.
He Min merely smiled lightly at his words, her gentle demeanor unchanged. A few strands of her curly hair fell over her shoulders, adding to her elegance.
Qin Yaojie did not comment on the team member's words but slowly shifted his gaze to Zhang Xiao, who was smiling enigmatically.
"What are you scheming this time?"
Zhang Xiao chuckled lightly.
"Why would I have any schemes against my dear sister?"
His obvious misinterpretation raised eyebrows.
The nearby First Batch of Players were shocked by this revelation; the man who always stood alone in a corner, seemingly lost in thought, actually had such a connection?
Qin Yaojie's face remained cold under the flickering firelight.
"She is not your sister; the Rao Family has not acknowledged your existence."
Zhang Xiao continued to smile.
"Hey, you haven't even joined the Rao Group yet, and you're already talking about them. Tsk tsk, poor woman who's been searching for you all this time. She wouldn't expect that when she finally finds you, she'll learn that you're getting married to Sister Rao."
Each word struck a nerve with Qin Yaojie.
"Such words are not enough to provoke me. Nuan has judgment; she won't believe these baseless claims. But you, you still haven't given up. The promise you made back then has already sealed your fate; you should find another way to prove yourself."
"Hah," Zhang Xiao scoffed, "until the end, no one knows the outcome."
He Min smiled gently, quietly listening to the sharp exchange between the two.
The sun in Stone Forest was still scorching, and the ground temperature was alarmingly high. Surrounded by yellow-brown stone pillars and stalagmites, Xu Nuan had a fleeting thought of placing a piece of meat on top to see if such heat could cook it directly.
Pressing her forehead, Xu Nuan couldn't help but sigh. Her body had clearly reached its limit, yet a voice inside her kept urging her to push forward; otherwise, it would all be too late.
This feeling had occurred once before at Misty Snow Mountain when an avalanche caused her to fall off a cliff and injure her internal organs. At that time, she feared Gu Ze might be buried under the snow as she crawled through it searching for him. In the end, she found not Gu Ze but the body of Guo Dafu.
"Guo Dafu?"
Xu Nuan unconsciously murmured, as if she had just realized something.
"Guo Dafu? Why did he suddenly come to mind?"
Gu Ze naturally picked up the conversation beside her, his expression neutral, making it hard to decipher what he was thinking.
Xu Nuan glanced at Xu Hang and the others walking ahead, then looked at Gu Ze who was casually walking alongside her because of a bottle of water. It felt like they were worlds apart.
They had always interacted like this before.
But, things would never be the same as before.
"I remembered the strange circumstances surrounding his death."
With a mind full of thoughts, Xu Nuan believed she shouldn't be too angry and responded to Gu Ze's question.
"When I saw him on the snowy mountain, he was already dead, surrounded by several Snow Leopards. After you all arrived, the Snow Leopards left."
"Was there something off about it?"
Gu Ze followed Xu Nuan's train of thought.
"Don't you find it strange?"
The more her head throbbed, the clearer Xu Nuan's thoughts became.
"Snow Leopards attack humans to eat them. But when I got there, Guo Dafu was already dead. That doesn't mean he was killed by a Snow Leopard. The snow was stained red, and from a distance, I couldn't see Guo Dafu's wounds clearly."
The more Xu Nuan thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
"Now that I think about it, the Snow Leopards didn't have blood on them or in their mouths, yet Guo Dafu was dead."
"You mean," Gu Ze understood.
"Guo Dafu was killed by someone else, and they made it look like he was killed by a Snow Leopard. But why would they want you to believe that Guo Dafu died by accident?"
"That's the key point."
Xu Nuan found herself surprisingly nostalgic for moments like this, filled with brainstorming. She hesitated to glance at Gu Ze's expression, choosing instead to continue speaking.
"Get up. I have some grievances with Guo Dafu. Setting aside the fact that he pushed me toward Python, he deliberately sought me out in the desert to eliminate me. In all our subsequent encounters, he wanted me dead."
As Xu Nuan spoke, she noticed the temperature in the air seemed to drop, the sudden shift from hot to cold making her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"He isn't the only one in the game who wants you dead."
Gu Ze's voice was as cold as ice.
"These people don't seem to have come after you just because you know about the secret passage."
Xu Nuan also found it strange; some words slipped out before she realized it.
"In fact, in real life, there are people who want to..."
Before Xu Nuan could finish her sentence, she heard Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai's voices ahead.
"Xu Hang, what's wrong?"
Looking ahead anxiously, Xu Nuan saw Xu Hang inexplicably collapsed on the ground, while Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai were urgently trying to help him up.
Xu Nuan rushed over to check on him, her mind racing as she realized how close she had come to a serious situation.
Gu Ze also quickly ran toward Xu Hang.
Since there was no shade to be found in the vast Stone Forest, Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin each took off a piece of clothing and held it up to shield Xu Hang from the sun.
Gu Ze quickly checked Xu Hang and then let out a sigh of relief.
“He has heatstroke. We need to cool him down and give him some medicine before we see how he’s doing.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Huai swiftly took out alcohol from his backpack, and he and Gu Ze each took a side to help cool Xu Hang down.
Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin instinctively turned their heads away, looking at their surroundings.
In fact, there was a large Riverbank nearby, with clear water flowing. Initially, they had been walking along this Riverbank, but as they continued, they noticed something was off.
The temperature of the land near the Riverbank was higher than that of the surrounding area. They didn’t understand the reason behind it and could only silently retreat back to the normal ground, weaving through the stone pillars.
When Xu Nuan turned her head back, she noticed that Deng Yinyin looked worried.
It was understandable; Xu Hang had always played the role of the wise and steady leader, like an elder to them, providing them with a strong sense of security. If such a person were to fall, everyone else would panic.
As she thought about this, Xu Nuan couldn’t help but cast her gaze on Gu Ze.
He was also someone very reliable within this team. She couldn’t imagine a day when he might fall.
What would she do if that day came?
Suddenly realizing what she was thinking, Xu Nuan quickly shook her head and shifted her gaze toward the Stone Forest. There, she noticed a brief shadow appearing due to the sunlight casting down.
“Why don’t we go over there?”
The group quickly changed their position. The heat was unbearable for everyone, and they consumed alcohol and water rapidly. In the end, to prevent running out of water before they even completed two days of challenges, Xu Nuan and Deng Yinyin decided to go to the riverbank to fetch some water.
“Damn, it's hot, so hot!”
As they approached the Riverbank, Deng Yinyin began to tiptoe, screaming in distress.
Xu Nuan also felt the heat and found the ground scorching, but she struggled to voice her discomfort. Instead, she chose silence. The two quickly filled several large containers with water and hurried away from the shallow area.
Once they reached a spot where the ground temperature was slightly more bearable, Xu Nuan took out some purification tablets and handed a few to Deng Yinyin.
“Alright, by the time we head back, this water should be drinkable.”
Deng Yinyin's face lit up with a smile, and her earlier irritation vanished in an instant.
What a cheerful personality, Xu Nuan thought to herself as she nodded. She stood up, silently carrying the water jug back. Perhaps this kind of character would yield more rewards in this game. Rather than being burdened by schemes and plots, entering this game with a pure heart and maintaining optimism no matter what challenges arose was what she truly desired.
The two slowly made their way back, and just as they neared the shaded area, they suddenly heard Xu Hang calling out a name.
“Lan Ling!”
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