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墨書 Inktalez
The wind in the Gobi was strong, but the sand it stirred up was not as abundant as that found in the desert. A few people wrapped silk scarves around their faces and heads, braving the wind as they walked.
The closer Xu Nuan got to things that did not belong in the Gobi, the more her heart trembled. As she drew nearer, the scent of blood carried by the wind grew stronger.
Her face, hidden behind the scarf, had turned pale. Xu Nuan suddenly turned her head away, unable to look at those things, but her gaze met that of Gu Ze, who was walking to her right.
His deep brown eyes revealed an unmasked concern.
Xu Nuan took a deep breath and forced a smile, only to remember that her face was covered and others could not see her expression.
The scattered items were near several massive Wind Pillar Stones. The Wind Pillar Stones provided shelter from the wind and a place to rest. Xu Nuan began to speculate that these were remnants left by other players who had rested here. But what could have left behind such a bloody scent?
The carcasses of animals meant for food?
Xu Nuan had long ceased to be naïve.
As she got closer, before she could examine the pile of items in detail, she heard Deng Yinyin retching.
“Ugh.”
After exhaling deeply, Xu Nuan pretended to be calm as she carefully looked at the things on the ground.
They were severed limbs.
Some belonged to humans, while others resembled human forms.
The human arms or thighs appeared relatively fresh; the blood that flowed from them was crimson and slightly viscous. The severed ends bore clear signs of being bitten, with rough wounds that did not seem to be made by a beast's teeth. The fabric that covered them looked pitifully tattered. There were not many human limbs, but they were repulsive.
Xu Nuan did not understand why she felt compelled to examine them so closely, yet she scanned each human limb one by one. She noticed parts that did not belong to humans; those limbs had a bluish-white hue, reminiscent of skin long after death. From those severed limbs oozed a strange blue liquid—eerie and bizarre.
At that moment, a chilling gust of wind swept past them from behind, raising goosebumps on several people who instinctively hugged their arms.
"How terrifying!"
Deng Yinyin couldn't help but start shouting, adding to the already low spirits of the group.
"That's disgusting. Is that a human limb?"
Xie Huai trembled as he moved closer to Xu Hang, voicing his question.
"Is this from the Second Batch Players or the First Batch of Players?"
No one knew the answer.
But Xu Nuan felt a chill run down her spine; her face turned pale, and her grip on her clothes trembled.
She had learned from Zhang Xiao that she was not far from the First Batch of Players. From Rao Tingxue, she knew she would soon meet Qin Yaojie, perhaps just a couple of rounds away.
A couple of rounds!
Suddenly, she felt her breath quicken, unable to utter a word.
She heard Gu Ze's gentle yet cautious voice.
"It’s meaningless to discuss which batch of Players they are; what we need to know is what kind of creatures those limbs belong to. Their lethality must have caused so many Players to fall here."
Xu Hang picked up on Gu Ze's words. "Exactly. And since a fierce battle has taken place here, it means this place is dangerous. We should hurry and leave to find the Special Tree."
Fierce battle?
Xu Nuan was jolted by those words and began to look around. She noticed some traces of combat on the ground that had not been buried by sand—short knives, axes, and even claws. From these remnants, she could imagine the intensity of the battle that had occurred.
She suddenly thought of Qin Yaojie, who was sick and had low combat power. Even with excellent skills, he couldn't perform at his best. Her heart began to tremble again; she couldn't help but worry about him. She hoped to find the truth through him, and before that truth arrived, she didn't want anything to happen to him—not even losing a hand or a leg.
Seeing Xu Hang and the others preparing to leave, Xu Nuan hurriedly ran over to the Wind Pillar Stone, circling around it and examining it closely.
If Qin Yaojie had really been here, if all those marks in the previous Survival Games were actually left for her, then Qin Yaojie must have left some signs nearby.
She felt both hopeful and anxious.
She wanted to see the marks left by Qin Yaojie; perhaps the crucial parts hadn't been erased, and she could understand what he was trying to tell her. Yet, she also didn't want to see those marks—she didn't want to waver from her resolute heart, nor did she want to confirm that Qin Yaojie had stayed here.
Staying meant he might have been hurt.
"What are you doing? Looking for something?"
After entering this stage, Deng Yinyin had been paying special attention to Xu Nuan. Noticing her unusual behavior, she rushed over to join in, ignoring Xu Hang, who was trying to usher everyone away.
With two people lingering, Xu Hang found it impossible to leave and could only helplessly raise his hands, deciding to stay a little longer.
As Deng Yinyin hurriedly approached Xu Nuan to see what she was doing, Gu Ze, who also sensed something was off with Xu Nuan, came over and casually placed a hand on her shoulder.
Lost in her search for the marks, Xu Nuan neither flinched nor cared about the touch. However, this interaction caught Deng Yinyin's eye and led her to suspect other meanings behind it. Her eyes widened in anger and jealousy, emotions boiling within her as she momentarily forgot the dangers of the game.
After searching several Wind Pillar Stones, Xu Nuan finally found a mark left by Qin Yaojie. It looked fresh, as if it had just been carved not long ago; however, significant parts had still been erased by someone else.
She could vaguely discern the meaning of the initial marks.
"Nuan, I miss you."
Xu Nuan gazed at those marks and unconsciously spoke aloud. The hand resting on her shoulder instinctively tightened its grip.
Xu Nuan turned her head to look at Gu Ze, then glanced at the hand resting on her shoulder, frowning slightly.
It wasn't until Gu Ze withdrew his hand that she continued to stare at the markings, her expression shifting unpredictably.
What did it mean to miss her?
He was the one who proposed the breakup, he was involved in the game design, he was the one who went missing, he was the one who failed to fulfill the promise of growing old together, and he was also the one who carelessly promised to find out who had instructed the reckless driver. He was entangled in this cruel game as well.
He missed her?
What a joke that made her want to cry.
"Hmph."
Xu Nuan let out a few cold laughs, pressing her hand against her chest, yet her gaze remained fixed on those incomplete markings.
Gu Ze was a smart man; he quickly guessed that Xu Nuan's distress was related to that man. Suppressing the turmoil within him, he tried to ask in the calmest tone possible.
"Is it a mark left by him?"
"Yes."
Fortunately, when it came to matters related to Qin Yaojie, Xu Nuan was still willing to engage with him.
"Then he has been here and has interacted with these unknown creatures."
Gu Ze pretended to state the facts calmly.
"Now it depends on whether you trust him or not. Regardless of your trust, you must leave this dangerous place and continue progressing; otherwise, everything you've done until now will be meaningless."
Gu Ze realized that when it came to Qin Yaojie, he had to treat Xu Nuan with the demeanor of a steady companion. Otherwise, the past version of Xu Nuan would ignore him and might even insist on going through challenges alone.
He remembered how, during the Deadly Cliff stage, Xu Nuan had desperately expressed that her motivation for entering this game was Qin Yaojie. She had given up her job, friends, and parents just to find him.
But the current reality was that her parents were no longer alive, and her job and friends would still exist outside this game. Qin Yaojie harbored many secrets, some of which Xu Nuan might not be able to accept.
Thus, Xu Nuan's obsession with entering the game had become a joke. He suddenly realized that her warm determination had long since changed; it had transformed into a quest to uncover the truth behind her parents' deaths and the conspiracies surrounding her. To her, Qin Yaojie might have once been an important figure from the past, but his significance in her heart was diminishing.
Qin Yaojie could not die. Gu Ze retracted his initial attitude of watching the drama unfold with a hint of bitterness. As long as Qin Yaojie was alive, he had countless ways to replace Qin Yaojie's position in Xu Nuan's heart. However, if Qin Yaojie died before Xu Nuan lost hope in him, Gu Ze would never be able to surpass Qin Yaojie; he couldn't win against a dead man.
With this thought in mind, Gu Ze quickly changed his tone to soothe Xu Nuan, who was still uncertain and whose expression was shifting dangerously close to anger.
"He is the captain; his subordinates will definitely protect him. Moreover, look at those severed limbs over there—clearly more from unknown creatures than humans. The scene of the battle looks brutal, but it's more likely that the strength is one-sided. The number of First Batch of Players far exceeds ours, and their abilities are naturally superior."
Gu Ze reluctantly delivered the last part of his statement, but Xu Nuan, lost in her own world, did not pick up on it as sharply as before.
"Does this confirm it?"
Xu Hang had just arrived and caught onto one key point from Gu Ze's lengthy explanation.
"The First Batch of Players once stationed here?"
Before Gu Ze or Xu Nuan could respond, Xie Huai interjected.
"It’s also possible that the First Batch of Players rested here while the Second Batch of Players played here as well. Our progress among the three batches of Players is nearly similar; we shouldn't jump to conclusions."
Gu Ze felt exceptionally grateful for Xie Huai's wise analysis at that moment. He turned back to see Xu Nuan’s expression easing as she seemed to be contemplating something and let out a sigh of relief.
After everyone had surveyed their surroundings thoroughly, they decided to leave the area.
Unlike before, Xu Nuan was surprisingly walking at the front with Deng Yinyin. One was anxious yet immersed in her own world, while the other hesitated, wanting something but waiting for the right moment.
Xie Huai kept pondering what those pale-skinned creatures might be. If they had human-like bodies, could they be zombies? He was both imagining and fearing the possibilities.
Now it was Xu Hang and Gu Ze's turn to walk at the back.
Xu Hang immediately noticed that although Gu Ze's complexion appeared normal, he was actually overjoyed inside.
"What are you so happy about? You're about to run into the First Batch of Players; your rival is about to appear."
Xu Hang lowered his voice, not wanting to give the others the impression that he was being nosy. He was just concerned about his buddy.
Upon hearing this, Gu Ze smirked, his tone a bit cheerful.
"That man definitely won't die; he can't die."
Knowing who that man was, Xu Hang twitched his lips.
"Do you really wish your rival well?"
Gu Ze smiled without answering, as if everything was clear to him.
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