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墨書 Inktalez
Deng Yinyin stabbed Xu Hang.
This was the most severe injury Xu Hang had sustained since entering the game. The dagger sank into his abdomen, blood gushing forth like a fountain, quickly staining his clothes red. Some blood dripped from the hilt onto Deng Yinyin's hands.
Xu Hang, usually serious and composed, wore a look of astonishment. Deng Yinyin had her back to them, making it impossible to see her expression. Xie Huai, standing to the side, was startled by the situation; after his initial scream, he stood frozen in shock.
Xu Nuan was stunned. Was Deng Yinyin's mission to stab Xu Hang?
Gu Ze, standing beside her, glanced at her hurriedly before rushing to Xu Hang's side, pushing Deng Yinyin away from him.
Gu Ze pressed the dagger against Xu Hang's bleeding abdomen, his expression anxious as he shouted at the still-dazed Xie Huai.
"Quickly bring the medicine and bandages!"
Gu Ze's voice was a shout, revealing his distress and successfully rousing Xie Huai from his stupor.
Xie Huai hurried into the tent and grabbed several backpacks. His hands trembled as he rummaged through them but found nothing. Gu Ze grew impatient and didn’t spare a glance for the dazed Deng Yinyin.
Xu Nuan noticed that Xu Hang remained silent and didn’t attempt to cover his wound to stop the blood from flowing rapidly. His face was expressionless, his eyes deep and devoid of light. Compared to Gu Ze’s frighteningly dark demeanor, Xu Hang’s reaction seemed abnormal.
Their captain had been injured. With a sense of protectiveness towards Deng Yinyin, whom he treated like a younger sister, he was strict when necessary and indulgent at times—something everyone had observed.
Lowering her gaze slightly to hide her turmoil, Xu Nuan forced herself to move quickly despite the pain. She reached for alcohol, antiseptic powder, hemostatic patches, and bandages with her blood-stained hands.
She could only stop the bleeding; she couldn’t stitch wounds. Therefore, it was crucial to manage inflammation properly. All subsequent matters could only be dealt with once they left this game—if they could leave at all.
Skillfully putting on gloves, Xu Nuan grasped the dagger. She didn’t look at Gu Ze’s expression; instead, she focused on her bloodied hands. As she pulled out the dagger, blood surged even more violently. After quickly disinfecting and treating for inflammation, she cautiously applied the hemostatic patch.
They had all been injured in this game before, mostly by creatures known as enemies. They handled their wounds with calmness.
This was Xu Nuan’s first time tending to a wound inflicted by a companion.
Her emotions were complicated, and she understood that the owner of the wound felt the same way.
As she tended to the injury, Gu Ze withdrew his hands and sat down silently. Xie Huai squatted beside him, not daring to say a word.
The five of them were so quiet that only the crackling of the fire could be heard.
Suddenly, Deng Yinyin spoke up, her voice tinged with tears.
"Xu Hang, I didn't mean to; I was forced into it."
In this game, there would inevitably be many situations where one had no choice, and they would encounter many more in the future.
"Xu Hang, I was just following the mission's instructions. I didn't want to hurt you."
Xu Nuan had no idea how ruthless Deng Yinyin had been when she first acted or whether she had planned this scene after learning about the mission; only Deng Yinyin herself knew.
"I... I just wanted to get into the Supply Station smoothly. I want to leave here; I want to get the reward. I'm unwilling—this isn't what I chose; I was forced."
What Xu Nuan understood clearly was that Deng Yinyin was speaking the truth. No one wanted to remain in this game; everyone wanted to secure that billion-dollar prize that could sustain them for several lifetimes as a reward for risking their lives in this game.
They all understood this helplessness and coercion, but understanding did not mean acceptance. Deng Yinyin's ability to reach this point was largely due to Xu Hang's care. Xu Nuan knew without a doubt that without Xu Hang, Deng Yinyin wouldn't survive in this game. She had often seen Xu Hang go easy on Deng Yinyin; otherwise, with her increasingly sharp Mind's Eye, she would have retaliated against Deng Yinyin multiple times by now.
Deng Yinyin made such a choice and managed to pass through the Supply Station; she must bear the corresponding consequences.
"Xu Hang, please forgive me. I truly was forced."
Deng Yinyin's cries echoed across the Gobi.
Having successfully wrapped the bandage, Xu Nuan released her hands and was about to stand up to grab her backpack for medicine when Gu Ze pulled her aside. She only caught a glimpse of Xu Hang's low voice expressing thanks.
Before she could settle down, Xu Hang stood up and silently walked into the tent, ignoring Deng Yinyin's intentions.
Deng Yinyin's cries grew louder as she wanted to follow and continue pleading for forgiveness, but Gu Ze's cold words pinned her in place.
"He probably doesn't want to see you right now; you'd better behave yourself."
It was rare for Gu Ze to speak so harshly, and his expression was terrifyingly dark.
Xu Nuan guessed that Gu Ze's mood had soured because of Xu Hang's injury.
Deng Yinyin paused her crying and turned to see the disheveled Xu Nuan and the frighteningly grim Gu Ze. The fact that these two were sitting together only worsened her mood, causing her cries to escalate as she pointed an accusing finger at Gu Ze.
"Do you think so too? I was forced into this; I didn't want it! I just wanted us all to succeed together!"
A woman's words are often difficult to discern between truth and falsehood, and a woman's thoughts are always hard to fathom. Her tears are usually quite effective.
This was what Xu Nuan believed.
However, perhaps because Xu Hang's injury felt particularly unjust, Gu Ze's mood had plummeted to an extreme, and his words were hurtful.
"Crying won't solve anything; you should be quiet."
Hearing such words from the person she liked replaced Deng Yinyin's guilt with indignation. She shot a resentful glare at Xu Nuan before running into another tent.
Xu Nuan, who was glared at, felt innocent. She understood Deng Yinyin's actions, but her own task was not easy. She believed she had no right to judge Deng Yinyin's actions; perhaps in a few days, she would find herself in Deng Yinyin's position.
Now, only Xu Nuan, Gu Ze, and Xie Huai remained by the campfire.
Given what he had just done to Xu Nuan, Xie Huai felt restless and trembled as he tried to explain himself. However, upon seeing Gu Ze's dark expression, he hesitated. Compared to Deng Yinyin's righteous indignation, he felt guilty.
Feeling guilty and at a loss for words, she didn’t know how to defend herself.
In the end, it was Gu Ze who grew impatient while sorting through the medications.
“Go into the tent. Don’t let Deng Yinyin see Hang, and don’t disturb him.”
Xie Huai felt as if he had been granted a reprieve as he scrambled to his feet and hurried into the tent. As he passed Xu Nuan, he managed to mutter a quick apology.
“Sorry.”
Xu Nuan blinked, but before she could respond, Gu Ze had already pulled her away.
They had been sitting close together, and now Xu Nuan found herself tumbling directly into Gu Ze’s arms. She quickly scrambled up, frowning as she noticed the pile of items in Gu Ze’s hands. After a moment's thought, she decided to speak up.
“My injury is mainly on my back.”
Since she had said that, she needed to remain consistent in her words and actions, not giving this man any ideas that would complicate matters for both of them.
“Are you ignoring the injury on your head because you think there’s something wrong with your memory?”
Gu Ze remained calm and found a good reason to engage Xu Nuan in conversation.
Turning her back to Gu Ze, Xu Nuan paused for a moment. It seemed she had indeed entertained such thoughts last night. Tsk.
A cool sensation spread across the back of her head; not feeling much pain, Xu Nuan decided to sit cross-legged and drift off mentally without talking to Gu Ze. However, Gu Ze, who was clearly tending to her head wound, casually remarked,
“Girls shouldn’t sit cross-legged; it’s not good for your health.”
He sounded just like an old mother!
Xu Nuan quietly shifted her sitting position, remaining silent while Gu Ze continued to chatter on.
"You have a lot of scrapes on your hands and legs; you'll need to take care of those later."
Xu Nuan tilted her head slightly to glance at the moon.
"Don't move!"
Gu Ze suddenly tapped her lightly. "I'm about to bandage you."
Xu Nuan lowered her head again, gently.
"Forget about those wounds for now; you should get some rest. Even with everything that has happened, we still have to set off tomorrow."
Gu Ze's eloquence was clearly better than hers.
"How can you sleep after everything that's happened?"
At that moment, Xu Nuan indeed felt wide awake.
"And besides, I won't let you be alone with Deng Yinyin right now."
Xu Nuan frowned. "She has already completed her mission, and I don't think I'm anyone's target anymore."
If everyone's targets didn't overlap, then hers was already obvious, and she wasn't ready to complete that specific mission just yet.
"Deng Yinyin has a tendency to lash out, and a crazy woman can do anything. Since you can't sleep, just stay out here."
Xu Nuan immediately realized that Gu Ze intended to stay outside all night as well. She wanted to avoid being alone with him.
"I also love to take out my anger on others," Xu Nuan tried to keep her voice calm. Taking her frustration out on Gu Ze was a perfect example. "So, maybe she and I will get along just fine."
The last part was a blatant lie. She didn't like lying, but sometimes it was necessary to achieve certain goals.
After speaking, Xu Nuan anxiously awaited Gu Ze's response. Perhaps he would get angry and retreat into the tent, which would allow her to enjoy some solitude outside.
Gu Ze said nothing; instead, he lightly tapped her on the head, just the right amount of force.
She covered her head and turned to look at Gu Ze in confusion, only to find that he wasn't even looking at her. Instead, he reached for some other bandages and extended a hand to roll up her sleeve, examining the scratches on her arm.
"Because of you, I've developed a strong heart. From now on, I'll selectively filter your words—only listening to what I want to hear and ignoring the rest."
What a willful person!
Xu Nuan nearly laughed but quickly straightened up and leaned back to avoid Gu Ze's hand.
"It's just a scratch on my arm; it doesn't matter."
She had intended to add, "I can handle it myself," but before she could say it, she noticed Gu Ze's previously improving expression darken again as his deep brown eyes fixed intently on her.
"It may not matter to you, but it matters to me. Whether or not you care about your hands is your business, but I can't just ignore the injuries on your arm."
He was indeed a domineering and rude person.
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