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Xu Nuan grew increasingly agitated, and it was Gu Ze who embraced her before she lost control, pressing her head against his chest.
In Gu Ze's arms, Xu Nuan gradually calmed down. However, Xu Hang noticed that Ning Han's smile was becoming increasingly strange, which made his otherwise ordinary face appear somewhat unsettling.
Xu Hang stood side by side with Ning Han and couldn't see the more detailed expression on Ning Han's face. Opposite Ning Han, Gu Ze noticed the calculating glint in her eyes, while Ning Han's gaze was fixed on Xu Nuan in Gu Ze's embrace.
Xu Nuan's memories had become muddled because someone had tampered with them. After recovering her memories, she had remained silent until Rao Tingxue provoked her into losing control. When a person loses control, they lose their rationality and composure. Xu Nuan was overwhelmed with pain upon remembering that her parents had passed away, causing her to speak without thinking. These words were overheard by Ning Han, which explained her peculiar expression.
Gu Ze recalled what Xu Nuan had once told him: Ning Han was associated with Zhang Xiao, whose identity was quite special.
He carefully reviewed his information and quickly grasped some details. In the near future, Xu Nuan would still be in danger; he reached this conclusion.
However, he was determined not to let anyone harm Xu Nuan in this game and to ensure her safe departure from this place. He lifted his gaze and deliberately met Ning Han's eyes. When he saw her stiffen and look away, he lowered his head to look at Xu Nuan again.
Compared to the constantly scheming Xu Nuan, he considered himself a card that had not yet been fully revealed. During this time when Xu Nuan needed to reconcile her memories, he should play his role as a trump card well. He would not easily forgive anyone who stood in the way of him and Xu Nuan.
The moon at the edge still emitted a lonely light, casting a cold glow over the ground.
When Xu Nuan fell silent, Gu Ze also ceased speaking, simply holding her quietly. At that moment, being there for her was enough. When he looked up again, he met Xu Hang's helpless gaze. Noticing Xu Hang motioning towards his arm with his lips pursed, Gu Ze finally realized that he hadn't tended to his own injury; the short knife was still embedded in his arm, and the scent of blood was strong as it began to soak through Xu Nuan's clothing.
Just then, Xu Nuan stirred in his arms and lifted her head. Her face was now free of tears, and her expression had turned calm; it seemed that the earlier frenzy and despair were merely an illusion shared by them all.
He had always known that Xu Nuan was a resilient person, especially after entering the game where a series of harsh realities had hardened her heart and made her somewhat indifferent. Yet he also knew that deep down inside, she still retained her initial softness. Strength and vulnerability, determination and obsession—this version of Xu Nuan was what attracted him most. The naive infatuation he once felt for her smiling face had long faded; after experiencing a series of harsh realities—the joys and sorrows of life and death—they reunited in the game as two individuals who had been tempered by their experiences, presenting themselves to each other in this way.
Having escaped the complexities and hardships of urban life only to enter the game's cruelty and darkness, they were finally beginning to confront their truest selves.
After lifting her head without saying a word, Xu Nuan's gaze remained fixed on Gu Ze's arm. She directly pulled out the knife and stabbed it into the ear of the unconscious Rao Tingxue nearby. From her pocket, she took out anti-inflammatory medicine, a bandage, and gauze, silently tending to Gu Ze's wound. Ever since injuring her left hand, she had carried these supplies with her at all times—something Gu Ze had insisted upon.
Some things didn't need to be said; they could be felt with sincerity.
Xu Hang felt a mix of helplessness and comfort. The earlier near-crazed standoff among them had startled him; now that the troublesome individuals were quieted down, he rarely witnessed such a warm moment between his buddy and Xu Nuan. Just as this thought crossed his mind, he felt the ground shake violently as if it were about to crack open; the river began to flood with an intent to encroach upon them. In the distance, stone pillars and stalagmites started collapsing while rocky peaks swayed precariously.
Xu Hang suddenly thought of Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai, who had walked off to the distance. Could something have happened to them?
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he heard Deng Yinyin's scream. His eyelids twitched, and he immediately wanted to run in that direction, but then he hesitated when his gaze fell on the unusually quiet Ning Han beside him.
"What about those two?"
Xu Nuan had already finished bandaging Gu Ze and was preparing to head toward where Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai were.
"Don't worry about them; trouble will find its own way to deal with trouble."
Gu Ze hastily threw out that remark and pulled Xu Nuan along, taking the lead.
Xu Nuan wasn't foolish; she knew that remark was directed at her. She found it amusing. She had only lost control for a moment—did they really think her patience was so fragile that they needed to hold her hand to prevent her from going on a rampage?
Seeing through the situation, Xu Hang didn't have the mood to tease Gu Ze. The three of them hurried away, leaving Ning Han, whose hands were tied, and Rao Tingxue, who was unconscious.
The ground trembled oddly. It wasn't like the few earthquakes they had experienced before, caused by tectonic movements. This tremor felt more like something was activating, causing a chain reaction. It resembled the effect of a large engine starting up. They ran smoothly and soon encountered Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai.
Upon meeting up, they realized that Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai weren't screaming due to danger but because they had seen the Special Tree.
A vast expanse of Special Trees rose from the ground during this tremor, stretching magnificently into the distance. The surrounding collapsing rocks hadn't damaged them in the slightest. While it felt strange, it was also quite moving; they had ultimately found the Special Tree at the fastest speed possible.
However, recalling the previous requirements from Hidden Level, the group felt puzzled amidst this tremor.
"Is this what Hidden Level implied?"
Xu Hang squinted at the unusually vibrant Special Tree under the moonlight, worried that this might be a trap.
Recovering from her thoughts, Xu Nuan chimed in, "It could also be that Game Base itself is malfunctioning. No game is perfect."
"Both are possibilities," Gu Ze summarized directly. "We can go back to grab our belongings first and then try moving along the Special Tree for a while. I assume no one can sleep now anyway?"
Everyone present had, more or less, experienced unforgettable events that night; sleep was the last thing on their minds. They all agreed to Gu Ze's suggestion and headed back to the Campsite together.
As they retraced their steps, they passed by the spot where Ning Han and the other two had been. To their surprise, they found that in such a short time, those two had managed to break free from their restraints and escape.
“Tch, they really got lucky!”
This remark came not from Deng Yinyin, who had narrowly escaped a life-threatening situation, but from Xie Huai, who felt both angry and fearful about the whole ordeal.
“But we can’t really do anything to them,” Deng Yinyin shivered, her clothes still damp and feeling somewhat wronged. Those people could recklessly sacrifice their lives to achieve their goals, but they could not. Even though they were trapped in this game, they were still citizens of a civilized society governed by law; breaking the law was crossing their bottom line.
But just beating them up wouldn’t be enough to vent their frustrations.
With these thoughts in mind, they returned to the Campsite, hurriedly packed their belongings, and made their way toward the Special Tree amidst the tremors of the ground. The sky was beginning to lighten; the east glowed faintly while the west was illuminated by a pale moon.
As they walked, stifling yawns, they feared any further complications. The ground began to quiet down, and the sounds of turbulent waters from the river ceased.
Xu Nuan walked quietly at the back of the group with her backpack. Gu Ze remained silently beside her.
Gu Ze had always wanted Xu Nuan to open up to him; he longed to know the secret she had been hiding recently. However, when Xu Nuan finally revealed that matter, he did not feel joy.
He felt heartache.
That was the emotion occupying his heart.
He tried to guess Xu Nuan’s mindset. Perhaps finding Qin Yaojie was no longer her sole obsession; perhaps finding the murderer of her parents had become her motivation to continue in this game.
Like her, he was utterly convinced that the car accident was intentional. Coupled with the dangers Xu Nuan faced in this game, it seemed clear that someone was deliberately orchestrating these events. Yet truthfully, killing someone in this game was quite simple; it seemed that the Mastermind wasn’t in a hurry to eliminate Xu Nuan but rather appeared to be testing her or waiting for something.
Gu Ze wished he could analyze things as an insider. He unraveled a tangled mess of thoughts; as for Xu Nuan, being directly involved and having issues with her memory must have made things even more chaotic for her.
This was his perfect opportunity, not a shameful act of taking advantage of a situation, but a chance to make Xu Nuan smile once more. There was nothing more beautiful in the world than seeing the person he loved laugh freely in front of him.
At this moment, it was the calm demeanor of Xu Nuan that worried him. The more composed she appeared, the more turbulent her inner feelings might be.
What he wanted was to help Xu Nuan resolve the series of issues before her, then occupy her heart, and subsequently, he could proudly wrap his arm around her waist and walk out to show off to his father. Not only would he have completed his mission successfully, but he would also bring home a bride. Just thinking about the look on his father's face made Gu Ze want to laugh out loud.
However, he managed to suppress his laughter; the current situation was not one for amusement.
Having just reached the thirtieth level, their future path was still very long. He had no confidence that he could leave this game within six months.
Yet, just because something seemed uncertain did not mean it was impossible. He was Gu Ze; if he couldn't achieve even this, what hope did he have of inheriting the family business, winning over the one he loved, or forging his own future?
While Gu Ze maintained a calm expression and made many decisions in his heart, Xu Nuan walked silently ahead without any intention of explaining her thoughts.
Meanwhile, Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai, who were walking in front as usual, couldn't help but discuss the confrontation between Xu Nuan and Rao Tingxue. It was the first time they had seen such a side of Xu Nuan, and they unconsciously felt a bit of fear towards their companion.
Xu Hang listened quietly from the side, not planning to share Xu Nuan's later words with these two. No one wanted to spread such sorrowful pasts; the involved party was innocent, and the messenger should exercise restraint.
As they walked under the morning light, they soon encountered another crisis. The ground began to tremble violently again, much more intensely than before. More and taller stone pillars started to collapse, and the river swelled dangerously. They found themselves unable to traverse the stone peaks to reach the relatively safe Gobi beach and had no choice but to hide among the rocky forest.
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