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墨書 Inktalez
Despite her confusion, Xu Nuan dutifully woke the others who were sleeping heavily. However, she soon realized that their awakening was not as refreshing as she had hoped; instead, they all appeared to be suffering from a hangover, looking just as dazed as she felt.
The group groggily shouldered their backpacks and followed Xu Hang out of the Supply Station.
Xu Nuan decided to set aside this incident for the moment and did not bring it up. The atmosphere within the team had grown strange; everyone seemed more restrained, lacking the previous carefree spirit. The mood shifted from relaxed to tense, like a powder keg ready to ignite. Communication dwindled, and friends felt more like familiar strangers, with an unspoken understanding still present but occasional barriers creeping in.
With a sigh in her heart, Xu Nuan focused on their surroundings as they moved forward.
Upon leaving the Supply Station, they arrived at the edge of a forest. The trees loomed overhead, their leaves swaying gently in the breeze, filtering much of the sunlight that tried to penetrate the woods. The forest appeared surreal; some areas were brightly lit like a stage, while others remained shrouded in darkness, hiding unknown secrets. Dragon blood trees and Lophospermum stood like contemplative sentinels, adopting poses that evoked a sense of helplessness. Lower down, more understated Crape Myrtles and Sandalwoods lined the path along the bush trail.
Some trees stood alone while others twisted together, blocking their path. In between them flowed a singing mountain stream, accompanied by birdsong that created a symphony amidst the dense and overwhelming foliage. As they navigated through low-hanging branches, they caught glimpses of a distant lake shimmering with light—a splash of blue against the deep green and almost black backdrop of the forest.
Walking through this densely wooded area, an unexpected silence enveloped them. Besides the crisp sound of water and birds chirping, there were no other animal noises to be heard.
The greenery was so thick it felt dizzying; from higher ground, it appeared as if they were surrounded by a sea of black foliage. They felt engulfed by these dark trees.
Black is an ominous color.
A sense of unease settled in their hearts as they walked through the eerily quiet woods. The crunching of leaves beneath their feet sounded amplified in the stillness, and their breathing grew heavy. Many trees intertwined with one another as if engaged in a silent battle for survival; vines twisted tightly around each other until they became one mass, covered in green ferns above.
Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the forest floor. As the wind rustled through the branches, those patches of light danced across the dry yellow leaves before occasionally disappearing into the darker depths of the forest.
In truth, they had traversed many areas with vast forests before—jungles, cliffs, gorges—where trees played supporting roles. This time, however, they found themselves in a true arboreal arena; wherever they looked, it was nothing but trees. Occasionally, lakes appeared as gifts from nature amidst this overwhelming greenery. They felt as if they were destined to wander this forest until old age claimed them.
Another source of their heaviness stemmed from their apprehension about this new challenge after completing the previous task. They feared that the System might suddenly issue another mission at any moment. Once tasks became the main rule of this game, their previously proud survival skills and speed seemed inadequate.
Deep within the thicket lay an area that had likely not seen sunlight for years; a faint miasma hung in the air. As Xu Nuan and her companions passed through it, they found it difficult to breathe. Xu Nuan couldn’t shake off thoughts of her unexpected fainting spell from last night. She was certain she hadn’t simply fallen asleep; before dozing off, she had been engrossed in something.
Xu Nuan blinked and tapped her head lightly but couldn’t recall what had happened last night.
Gu Ze deliberately slowed his pace to fall beside Xu Nuan. Noticing her tapping her head vigorously, he assumed her headache had returned. He had noticed months ago that she often suffered from headaches; reflecting on it now made him think it might be related to her medication or past head injuries.
“Is it hurting again? You’ll knock yourself silly if you keep that up.”
His concern turned into habitual teasing in an instant. It had been a while since he had joked with Xu Nuan; recent events had been too serious for levity. He wanted to hold her tighter but found that doing so only deepened his wounds—the more he embraced her, the more painful it became for both of them. It seemed fate was determined to challenge him through this woman’s presence.
"If only being foolish were a good thing."
Xu Nuan couldn't bring herself to look at Gu Ze, her gaze avoiding his abdomen entirely.
"A foolish girl has someone who loves her, and a smart girl has someone who loves her too. It's better to be smart."
Xu Nuan's lips twitched. Did this person forget the pain his words had caused him after being stabbed? He was back to his usual self, throwing out emotional declarations now and then.
However, she couldn't deny that hearing Gu Ze say such things warmed her previously hollow heart. This man truly seemed to not mind the wound she had inflicted on him. On the contrary, Xu Hang cared more about hurting Gu Ze than Gu Ze did, and Gu Ze was equally concerned about Deng Yinyin hurting Xu Hang. Their mutual concern for each other was quite rare in this game, almost like a slap in the face to the System.
"I just thought of something."
With Gu Ze's playful banter, Xu Nuan's mind wandered back to what she had been doing before she lost consciousness last night.
"Supply Station, vibrations."
Xu Nuan felt a bit muddled, sensing she had seen something at that moment but forgetting some details. Her thoughts were fragmented. She didn't expect Gu Ze to understand her, yet his response pleased her.
"You heard it too?"
Gu Ze recalled the vibrations he had heard from the underground of the Supply Station while waiting for Xu Nuan during the previous round.
He briefly recounted his experience.
Seeing Gu Ze so open about it made Xu Nuan think and share her own experience from last night.
Gu Ze stroked his chin in contemplation.
"Supply Station, Game Base, Survival Game... I feel like something is off."
Only when he was deep in thought did Xu Nuan dare to sneak a glance at him, her gaze slowly moving from Gu Ze's still handsome face down to his abdomen. Through his clothes, she couldn't see any bandages or wounds. A sudden pain pierced her heart as guilt washed over her.
She increasingly felt that the air here was stifling; the miasma in the distance crept closer, making her feel unwell. She had to do something to ease her discomfort.
"There are many things that feel off. Hurry up and use your clever brain; it's better for a man to be smart."
Gu Ze suddenly chuckled softly, seemingly oblivious to Xu Nuan's sarcasm.
Xu Nuan shot him an annoyed glare. As she gazed into the depths of his eyes, her heart raced, and her ears began to burn. She quickly averted her gaze and cleared her throat lightly.
"Take your time to think. I will think too; there's no rush."
It seemed that all the conflicts, distrust, and pain dissipated in that one glance, but whether they could truly vanish still depended on the heart that had sunk to the bottom of the sea.
The group walked through the forest for a while longer, feeling stifled, and chose a spot near a lake to take a short break.
During the rest, Xu Hang asked Gu Ze, "You still have the binoculars, right? If so, we can use them to find the Special Tree and choose a direction to go. We shouldn't stay here too long."
After experiencing the previous challenge, Gu Ze's biggest change was his urgent desire to break through and escape what he believed was a nightmare brought on by his sister.
"I do have them," Gu Ze replied, seeming to understand Xu Hang's feelings. He took out the binoculars from his bag, having removed some items from it. "The trees here are too tall; even if we climb up, our view will still be limited. But we can give it a try."
"Okay," Xu Hang nodded. "Let's try it later."
Xu Nuan noticed the binoculars in Gu Ze's hands and suddenly thought about what was inside them. She couldn't help but sigh at the malicious intent of this Game Base for placing a Locator in the binoculars at the First Level Supply Station, allowing them to track their location and control the game's progress. Fortunately, Gu Ze had removed that Locator.
After her reflection, she saw Gu Ze quickly hang the binoculars around his neck and climb up a nearby tree. He steadied himself on the trunk, one hand holding onto it while the other held the binoculars as he scanned the surroundings.
Tilting her head slightly, Xu Nuan realized that from this angle, Gu Ze appeared quite tall. Thinking about his height compared to hers made her feel silently frustrated again.
Gu Ze stood on the tree for a while as Xu Nuan and the others below watched him closely, hoping he would bring back good news and that this challenge would start with a positive omen.
Thinking about good omens reminded Xu Nuan of this challenge's name: Crying Forest. The System's Survival Game prompts were mostly useless, yet each time those descriptive words appeared, they were accurate enough to instill a chilling sense of dread.
Crying—Xu Nuan felt an ominous premonition wash over her. The unease that had been lodged in her chest since the last challenge began to fester, threatening to fill her heart completely.
At that moment, Gu Ze, who had been checking the trees, spoke up.
"There’s no sign of the Special Tree. The surrounding trees are too tall, blocking our view."
Suddenly, Xie Huai, who had been silent and maintaining a low profile, pointed to a tall, unfamiliar tree not far away.
"That tree looks really tall and easy to climb. Should we try going up there?"
Gu Ze had no objections. He swiftly descended from the tree and prepared to run towards the other one. As he passed by Xu Nuan, he flashed a brief smile, leaving her feeling puzzled. Once Gu Ze moved past her, she met the furious gaze of Deng Yinyin.
The expression on Deng Yinyin's face clearly conveyed three words: "cheap woman."
Suddenly, Xu Nuan recalled that during the last challenge, Deng Yinyin had a relationship with Gu Ze and demanded that she keep her distance from him. Deng Yinyin firmly believed she still had feelings for Qin Yaojie, and at first, Xu Nuan had acted in a way that satisfied her. After some effort from Gu Ze, however, she had pushed thoughts of Deng Yinyin aside.
As Gu Ze had said, Deng Yinyin was using some underhanded tricks. After regaining her Rationality, it was impossible for her not to see through them. This raised a question: why hadn’t she been rational when she first heard about Deng Yinyin's actions?
Xu Nuan dared not think too deeply, fearing that if she figured out the problem, she would fall into an abyss filled with countless hands dragging her down, preventing her from moving forward.
Lost in thought, she suddenly heard a muffled sound from Gu Ze, who was preparing to climb the taller tree. She quickly turned to look at him.
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