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Under Gu Ze's strong insistence, the five of them had no choice but to retrace their steps to search for Xu Nuan.
Of course, Gu Ze's insistence was for him alone to temporarily break away from the group to look for her. However, Xu Hang couldn't shake off his worries about him, and with the others' understanding of Xu Nuan, they collectively decided to return along the original path since they hadn't encountered any danger in this area.
The scenery of the Tundra remained unchanged; standing at a high point and gazing out only blurred their vision and induced a sense of dizziness. This feeling exacerbated everyone's physical exhaustion, leaving them fatigued.
But Gu Ze paid no attention to any of this. The regret and pain in his heart drove him to call out Xu Nuan's name frantically in the Tundra, yet no one responded.
The immense regret tortured him, and the initial assumption that she had left without a word was quickly replaced by even worse thoughts—that something had happened to Xu Nuan. The longer he failed to find any trace of her, the more dire his thoughts became. He recalled a long time ago when he sat alone outside the Supply Station, waiting for Xu Nuan's return. At that time, he was oblivious to the passage of time, filled with dreadful anticipations while desperately suppressing his emotions. That torment felt like being ground into meat, nearly driving him to lose control and making him feel as if he were on the brink of death. When Xu Nuan finally returned, he felt alive again.
He vowed never to let Xu Nuan get hurt again, never to let her be alone. He promised himself that he would never abandon her, no matter what happened; he would stay by her side and protect her in this game, even if it meant risking his life. But what had he truly done?
For the first time, he succumbed to his own jealousy.
Before receiving any response from Xu Nuan, he endured so much pain and loneliness. Even knowing that her obsession lay with Qin Yaojie, he willingly stayed by her side. So why did everything change after he finally got a response? A little jealousy combined with distance made him forget the promises he had made.
He failed because he was not satisfied with wanting more—wanting all of Xu Nuan's heart—while she faltered in her unwillingness to let him guess and self-doubt, losing confidence.
Two people who thought they understood each other were drifting further apart in this romance, constantly pushing each other away through their clumsy actions. What lay between them was not just their mutual awkwardness but also resentment and dissatisfaction.
He confidently believed that as long as both he and Xu Nuan were alive, there would always be a chance to create a future together. He had time, energy, fame, and wealth to build a perfect future for both of them. Yet he overlooked the growing hatred within Xu Nuan—a hatred that had already consumed her. While he planned for the future, she plotted revenge. His attitude toward overcoming challenges was incredibly relaxed because entering the game seemed simple for him; conversely, Xu Nuan approached it with trepidation filled with hatred.
Inevitably, he would drift further away from Xu Nuan; their destinations were not aligned at all. In truth, Xu Nuan's motivation to move forward was fueled by hatred—not by him or their future together. At this moment, he realized clearly that he was merely part of Xu Nuan's present, not her future.
Xu Nuan had no future.
Yet Gu Ze clutched his shirt at his chest and gazed into the distance with a fierce look in his eyes while various pains churned within him—anxiety threatening to consume him. He had even ruined the present that Xu Nuan had given him.
Once people obtain something, they become dissatisfied. His initial claims that he absolutely wouldn't mind Xu Nuan's past ultimately became a thorn in his heart. Once this thorn encountered external stimuli, it stirred up pain within him and led him to lose his rationality and make wrong decisions. He yearned for a future with Xu Nuan; even in the game, he wanted sweet moments together but neglected her feelings. She was an exceptionally intelligent and independent person steadfastly pursuing her own goals; she could abandon him at any moment. Realizing this turned his internal pain into coldness. His recent actions indicated that he had given up on Xu Nuan first; naturally, she would give up on him too.
Xu Nuan could not provide what he desired; he was merely a passerby in her life. Even though they loved each other deeply, it couldn't change the reality—a helplessness rooted in their circumstances.
The sorrowful realization struck Gu Ze, who let out a faint cry, his expression replaced by pain. This caused He Min, who was about to approach, to stop in her tracks and change direction to look for Xu Nuan instead.
Suddenly, Gu Ze recalled that Xu Nuan had once told him she disliked making promises. She believed promises were fragile and often unfulfilled—not because of the person's determination but due to various external factors that could render those promises meaningless and ultimately lead to their demise.
He had never considered that Xu Nuan would open her heart to him, yet tragically and frustratingly, he had closed that door again. The more he understood the difficulty and resolve it took for Xu Nuan to open her heart, the tighter he held onto his feelings. In the end, those feelings became like quicksand; the tighter he grasped, the faster the sand slipped away, leaving behind desolation.
Immersed in his own suffering, Gu Ze exuded an aura that made others wary. He Min and Deng Yinyin dared not approach him. Deng Yinyin especially refrained from speaking up at that moment; perhaps Xu Nuan had already moved ahead of them. They thought it more likely to encounter Xu Nuan if they waited at the Supply Station's entrance.
The stalemate was broken when Xu Hang opened his Tail Ring once more.
"Ze, come look! Xu Nuan's Tail Ring has activated."
This statement was like a lifeline, pulling Gu Ze from his despair as he hurried over to Xu Hang's side. However, when he leaned in to see, the light representing Xu Nuan's location had already vanished.
"What happened? Did it malfunction?"
Seeing Gu Ze's eyes dim instantly, Xu Hang began to curse the Tail Ring for failing at such a crucial moment.
At this time, Deng Yinyin and Xie Huai also activated their Tail Rings and gathered around Xu Hang to compare notes.
"It hasn't malfunctioned; our lights are still here. Did you just imagine it?" Xie Huai asked, startled by Gu Ze's reaction.
Xu Hang shook his head; he was a highly rational person and wouldn’t make such a mistake.
"I definitely saw that light. It was moving but only appeared for a few seconds."
He Min, unable to tear her gaze away from the Tail Rings, suggested a possibility.
"It might be a signal issue; perhaps Xu Nuan is in an area where the locator signal is weak."
He Minbianbian looked at Xu Hang.
"If you still remember the direction of that light point, we can hurry over there and still have a chance to meet Nuan."
The first to dash out upon hearing this was Gu Ze, but after running a few steps, he suddenly realized he hadn’t seen the light point and quickly turned back to Xu Hang, his expression making Xu Hang's heart race.
"I'll lead the way; go this way."
At that moment, Xu Hang was immensely grateful that he could recall the general location of the light point he had glimpsed earlier.
The group rushed forward at a rapid pace, but along the way, Xie Huai voiced his confusion.
"If the light point is moving, doesn’t that mean Xu Nuan is going through alone?"
Everyone present knew he hadn’t finished his thought, implying they might not need to look for her anymore.
The atmosphere among them instantly became tense, but no one responded.
Although Xu Hang remembered the approximate direction of Xu Nuan’s light point, he didn’t know the scale on the locator and couldn’t guarantee whether they had already passed her while running in this direction.
They ran quickly for a long time; for Xu Hang, the passage of time felt like torture. He couldn’t make any promises and had no idea how far Xu Nuan had moved from her original position during their run.
Knowing this was a rendezvous destined to be missed, Xu Hang didn’t stop, nor did Gu Ze, who was consistently keeping pace beside him and occasionally seemed ready to overtake him. Xu Hang had no choice but to accelerate to take the lead.
Two physically fit and fast individuals were running ahead while the three behind struggled to keep up, falling further behind as the distance between them widened.
The wind on the Tundra was directionless and biting, coming from all sides, seeping into their collars and stealing away their warmth, threatening to invade their bones and leave them with painful memories.
The cold wind reached their lungs with each breath; after exchanging air there, they expelled warm but useless gases. They continued this breathing process until a strong metallic scent filled their nostrils with the cold wind, inducing feelings of nausea along with fear and unease.
Without a moment's pause, they began to follow that scent of blood. Not far ahead, they discovered a large expanse of rocks covered in dry yellow moss. The stones appeared hard and cold, just like the ground beneath their feet.
The area known as the Rocky Area was not large. After walking in for a while, they came across a cave formed by piled-up rocks, from which a strong smell of blood emanated.
A heart raced out of rhythm, a massive unease mixed with regret and sorrow crashing into both the heart and his mind. Gu Ze's hands were clenched tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, the blue and white contrasting sharply, giving him a somewhat ferocious appearance.
A voice in his mind kept telling him that this smell of blood had nothing to do with Xu Nuan, but the erratic heartbeat would not let him off the hook.
It wasn't just Gu Ze; everyone felt this same unease and worry as they approached the cave. They stepped inside until they saw the scene within.
There lay a body sprawled on the ground alongside a backpack scattered with various items. In the distance, there was a severed red rope and remnants of food, along with an open water bottle.
A few of them approached the body and turned it over to take a look.
"Shen Shen?"
Xu Hang exclaimed in surprise as he looked up at the solemn-faced Gu Ze. Following Gu Ze's gaze, he noticed the knife behind Shen Shen.
At that moment, He Min suddenly spoke up.
"This knife is warm, and so is that backpack."
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