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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Nuan felt as if her body was about to fall apart. She could barely stand, and when Guo Xu lunged at her with lightning speed, she could only hurriedly grab a bloodied short knife that was close at hand.
As Guo Xu's knee pressed against her abdomen, immobilizing her while his hands reached out to choke her, the short knife in her hand plunged mercilessly into Guo Xu's stomach, staining her hand red with blood. She understood clearly that a regular short knife was different from a bayonet with a blood groove; under the circumstances of no air, it wouldn’t be easy to pull the knife out.
Due to the pain in his abdomen, Guo Xu had no choice but to retract his hands before they could reach her neck. Instead, he switched tactics and used his knee to strike her abdomen while twisting her hand that still clutched the knife. As Xu Nuan felt pain shoot through her hand, she reluctantly released her grip on the knife. Guo Xu staggered back a few steps, clutching his abdomen and looking at himself in horror.
"Do you want to kill me?"
It was Guo Xu's turn to speak. He had never imagined that an Ordinary Gamer would possess the determination to leave this place alive, even with blood on their hands.
"Heh heh."
Xu Nuan, trembling and weak, let out a hollow laugh.
"Do you think only you can kill while I have to worry about the law and dare not take a life?"
Her eyes widened as she fought back tears.
"I never believed I would walk out of here alive. If that's the case, taking a few down with me is not a bad deal."
As she said herself, having lost everything, she had long become a wandering soul. If she were to resolve this situation within the game, she wouldn’t hesitate to do anything dirty or vile. What did it matter if her hands were stained with blood? She would never return to that civilized society; she had long lost the right to do so.
"Crazy!"
Guo Xu likely wanted to pull out the knife, but doing so would only cause more blood to flow faster unless someone helped him treat the wound in time. Unfortunately, there was only Xu Nuan here, and she wouldn’t be kind enough to help someone who wanted to kill her.
However, both of them were now equally injured. Xu Nuan had no strength left to get up, and Guo Xu couldn't make any large movements either. The cost of pulling out the knife and killing Xu Nuan might be his own life from excessive bleeding; for now, he wouldn’t engage in such a life-for-life exchange. They could only remain locked in a standoff from nearly ten meters apart, neither able to gain the upper hand.
"Heh, either we perish together or give up. Don't you understand such a simple principle?"
Not far from her, Xu Nuan spotted another dagger. With a surge of determination, she attempted to rise. She never expected to be in such a fierce struggle with Guo Xu; it was far beyond her expectations.
Perhaps sensing Xu Nuan's intent, Guo Xu charged forward recklessly, ready to strike. Despite the excruciating pain, Xu Nuan rolled over to the dagger's side, which was now within her reach. At that moment, a familiar voice echoed from the trees on the hillside, a voice that nearly brought her to tears.
"Nuan, where are you?"
"Nuan, respond if you hear me."
It was Gu Ze's voice. She should have realized that after not encountering Gu Ze or He Min for so long, they would be searching for her in this direction. Guo Xu was certainly no match for Gu Ze; as long as she called for help, Guo Xu would be finished.
Yet, she would rather have blood on her hands than let Gu Ze bear that burden.
Trembling, Xu Nuan picked up the dagger, transforming into a demon returned from hell, her expression sinister as she approached Guo Xu.
Realizing he was at a disadvantage, Guo Xu cast aside his pride and stumbled toward the edge of the hillside before jumping down. Too late to stop him, Xu Nuan rushed over and found that below was another slope of moderate height, but Guo Xu had already vanished.
Even though she had mentally prepared herself for the possibility of taking a life, fear gripped her at the thought of actually killing someone. If that happened, she would no longer deserve to stand before her companions.
Gu Ze's voice continued calling out, while Xu Nuan stared blankly at her bloodied hands, still clutching a dripping dagger. She felt like a lost soul—homeless and aimless—yet filled with hatred.
Her bleeding arm felt cold, and the abdomen that had been struck hard by her knee was also icy. A chill enveloped her entire body; she couldn't find warmth anywhere. Dazed, she turned back and began to climb the slope again, facing whatever she had been trying to avoid.
"Nuan!"
When she looked up in confusion, there stood Gu Ze on the slope bathed in sunlight, his face etched with worry and anger—a stark contrast to Guo Xu's cold gaze that regarded her like an insect.
Had she found warmth?
Xu Nuan didn't know. All she could do was watch as the man jumped down the slope and hurried toward her. Ultimately, her strength gave out and she fell forward. As she knelt on the ground and he caught her, she indeed felt the warmth radiating from Gu Ze's palm.
The warmth had yet to reach her heart; her barren and cold soul remained torn apart by the hurricane of hatred, growing ever more hollow.
“Warm, what happened? Who hurt you?”
Gu Ze frantically examined Xu Nuan's wounds. To be fair, the injury on her arm could be easily bandaged, and the cut on her hand just needed some disinfectant. Even the wound on her abdomen could be treated by breaking up the bruising. She could clearly feel that none of her vital organs were damaged, and compared to past injuries, this was not serious at all.
“It’s nothing, just a scratch.”
Xu Nuan could only say this; she couldn’t hint to Gu Ze that the person who hurt her had jumped down from the hillside. However, perhaps Guo Xu was hurt even more deeply and wouldn’t be able to deal with it in the short term. Still, she desperately wanted to extract from Guo Xu who that person was. If only she were stronger, if only she were more capable.
“Warm, look at me!”
Xu Nuan’s evasive attitude clearly angered Gu Ze. His greatest fear was that Xu Nuan would silently bear everything alone, and he was equally terrified that she might disappear without a word. This merciless woman was certainly capable of such a thing.
“I’ve already dealt with it.”
Xu Nuan smiled as she raised the knife in her hand, even using her bloodied hand to rummage through her backpack and pull out the statue, holding it up in front of Gu Ze.
“I also found the statue. Pretty impressive, right?”
How could she dare to look at Gu Ze at this moment? It was easy to guess that this proud man was angry. He was angry at her and also at himself. They both remembered the promise he made long ago—to never let her get hurt again. But they were merely companions; such promises were pitifully fragile and unnecessary to keep. Besides, she had long stopped believing in anyone's promises.
“Warm.”
Gu Ze’s voice suddenly dropped low as he knocked the statue from her hands and threw the knife far away. He grasped her hand tightly, and the blood on her palm quickly stained his own.
“What are you doing?”
Xu Nuan felt a surge of anger. If it weren’t for that statue, she wouldn’t have encountered Guo Xu. Although she still hadn’t figured out whether the appearance of that statue was part of a conspiracy or if meeting Guo Xu was merely a coincidence, she knew that their group had taken another step closer to leaving this challenge behind. Moreover, she was aware of the existence of a mysterious figure; this alone was worth celebrating.
"How long has that person been gone?"
Gu Ze was completely indifferent to Xu Nuan's anger, only asking what he wanted to know.
"I have the ability to subdue that person. Tell me who it is and where they are."
However, Gu Ze's words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire for Xu Nuan. She had been thinking that if she were just a bit stronger, she wouldn't have to fear Guo Xu. If she were stronger, her parents wouldn't have died in that man-made car accident. It was her power that was too weak; she couldn't protect those she wanted to protect.
"They're a group of people, and they've been gone for a long time."
Xu Nuan's expression was remarkably calm. Rarely lying, even when she did, her face remained unchanged. Back at the Supply Station, she had lied to He Min, who hadn't noticed. If her friends and teachers didn't see through her, how could Gu Ze?
Yet she knew that Gu Ze would always be someone she couldn't see through.
"Nuan."
Gu Ze's voice remained low and deep. She couldn't help but look into those dark brown eyes filled with pain—pain that should belong to her.
"Don't lie; you don't have to lie to me."
The deep voice had once appeared in her dreams.
"Even if you lie, I can recognize it. I won't be angry or hurt, but what pains me is why you won't call for help?"
It was also the voice that had comforted her even when she pushed him away.
"Weren't we supposed to keep an eye on each other and leave this place together? I know you want to solve this alone, but sometimes two people can resolve things faster. If you share half of the pain with me, you won't suffer so much."
It was a voice she couldn't cling to.
"Warm, I have always believed in you, but trusting you brings me pain. You always resolve things when I'm unaware, then return as if nothing happened. You don't want to rely on anyone; you want to be the one others depend on. But such a person doesn't exist. We must rely on each other to endure; that's true for companions and friends alike. I don't think I can solve things better than you, but being kept in the dark is painful. Please tell me."
She once thought that not becoming a singer was a waste of her voice.
"You owe me ten blades, right? Then let's trade one blade for this name."
Xu Nuan suddenly looked up, thinking she had misheard.
But what she saw was Gu Ze's smiling face, tinged with pain.
She longed for this man to safely leave this game because he owed too much.
He yearned to stay by her side because he found joy in it.
Before Rationality could intervene, Xu Nuan instinctively embraced Gu Ze, an action she didn't even realize she had taken.
It was warm, something to cherish.
"Guo Xu."
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