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墨書 Inktalez
Despite the numerous traps along the way, none posed a challenge to Xu Nuan and her companions. Among them, Gu Ze, Xu Hang, He Min, and Chi Xiaoming were all keen observers, able to detect any anomalies in their surroundings and thus evade danger.
The traps had been set along the Special Tree, and Xu Nuan and her friends were certain that these temporarily non-lethal traps were aimed at them; however, the person who had laid them was nowhere to be found.
Xu Nuan had asked Gu Ze if there were any unfamiliar presences nearby, but he had given her a negative response. Whether she trusted his words was something only she knew.
After receiving Gu Ze's promise to inform her about recent events, Xu Nuan felt a sense of unease creeping in. She vaguely sensed that something bad was about to happen, yet her search for the source of this discomfort yielded nothing.
The absence of Fan Beibei did not cause much trouble for the group. Xu Nuan would not feign concern for someone she did not care about; whether Fan Beibei was alive or dead was irrelevant to her.
As they continued along the path by the Special Tree, tension mounted. They feared what choices the System might present next, and the delayed appearance of the Supply Station deepened their worries. Human thought often works this way: when one tastes sweetness, they disregard potential dangers; but after a significant fall, paranoia sets in.
Seeing her companions' suspicious expressions made Xu Nuan reflect on her own previous behavior; she realized she had also been overly reactive to everything around her, bordering on neurotic.
Noon dragged on without arriving, and the afternoon promised by Gu Ze seemed increasingly elusive. Xu Nuan felt a mix of anxiety and anticipation; this subtle yet contradictory emotion caused her to overlook several gazes directed at her.
When noon finally arrived, He Min approached Xu Nuan. At that moment, Xu Nuan was dozing beside Gu Ze, who had been deep in thought with his head lowered.
Upon seeing He Min arrive, Gu Ze stood up to leave without taking his backpack or unfastening the short knife at his waist. Xu Nuan's drowsiness vanished instantly; after noting Gu Ze's direction of departure, she casually turned her attention to He Min.
He Min was both a friend and mentor to her. Xu Nuan had once relied on and admired He Min greatly. However, following the deaths of Yu Hao and Qin Yaojie, who had joined different teams, an invisible barrier had formed between them when they finally reunited in the same group again.
It was like a transparent wall; because of its existence, Xu Nuan could no longer reach the true essence of He Min.
"Nuan," He Min said, "you really scared me earlier when you suddenly fainted. Was it due to anemia?"
Xu Nuan herself did not know the reason; she could only go along with He Min's words.
"Probably," she replied.
"Since you have anemia, you can't neglect eating and resting properly."
He Min handed over some food, but Xu Nuan took it without eating.
She recalled Gu Ze had warned her before that aside from the food in her own backpack and what he provided, she should be wary of anything others offered. It was also how she learned that Gu Ze had left food for Chi Xiaoming. If it raised suspicions among Xu Hang, He Min, and the others, could she really trust Chi Xiaoming?
Xu Nuan was equally unclear about Gu Ze's reasons for doing this, but she didn't argue. She knew very well what her situation was; if she lost Gu Ze, she would be doomed. There were too many strange and unexplainable things happening to her, and she felt powerless.
"I’ve been resting all this time."
According to Gu Ze's description, the others were curious about why she had been in a deep sleep. Although they saw her being injected with medication, they didn't believe her unconsciousness was due to it. Only she herself, upon realizing this, directed the contradiction towards Gu Ze.
She had gone too far.
"That’s not resting at all; we couldn’t wake you up."
He Min's gaze wavered for a moment before returning to its gentle smile.
"Anyway, it's good that you're awake. But it's not great that Gu Ze is always away; he seems quite busy."
He Min paid close attention to Xu Nuan's expression as she spoke, but unfortunately, Xu Nuan still looked fatigued and dazed.
"Even Xu Hang doesn't know what he's up to; it's really strange."
"It is quite strange."
Xu Nuan weakly agreed. She was baffled by her poor condition, but as long as she didn’t delve too deeply into anything, her mind wouldn’t protest, and she wouldn’t fall asleep. The moment overthinking touched on some hidden matters, a splitting headache would ensue, and she could lose consciousness at any moment.
She was indeed in a dangerous situation, and she thought that the only one who could protect her at this moment was Gu Ze. However, Gu Ze was often not by her side, which meant that whatever he was doing must be very important.
He Min's smile momentarily stiffened when Xu Nuan, slightly dazed, looked at her. But she quickly regained her composure.
"Get up, Nuan. What do you think about this level? I have a feeling something terrible is going to happen next."
Xu Nuan, who had been dozing off again, suddenly woke up at those words. Her heart began to race; there seemed to be a deeper meaning behind the question.
"I don't like this level," Xu Nuan replied honestly. "I got angry about it before, didn't I? If everyone gets angry like I did, we're doomed."
Her words were delivered plainly, without any hint of sarcasm. Yet even so, she sensed He Min's body stiffen and her hands unconsciously drop. It was then that Xu Nuan noticed the scratches on the inside of He Min's arm—scratches made by nails that ran from the elbow to the palm, indicating they weren't self-inflicted.
"What about you and that person?"
Xu Nuan's gaze darkened, but there was a hint of interest on her face, contrasting with her earlier casual demeanor.
"As you can see, it's just like that."
He Min smiled slightly, but Xu Nuan, familiar with her, sensed that He Min was not happy. When Yu Yu was mentioned, there seemed to be a trace of resentment in her tone, though it didn't necessarily mean that resentment was directed at Yu Yu.
She recalled the unusual way He Min had returned that night and thought about Yu Yu's demeanor. It felt like she was missing something; between these two seemingly close individuals, there appeared to be another layer to their relationship.
"Nuan, if you don't like this level, we should leave it early."
Concern and care filled He Min's eyes, stirring strange emotions within Xu Nuan once more.
"I want to leave early too, but we haven't found the Supply Station yet."
This conversation seemed like a trap, and it was only after a while that Xu Nuan realized this. She suddenly glanced in the direction where Gu Ze had left, quickly turning her head before He Min noticed anything unusual. At that moment, He Min spoke in a relaxed and expectant tone.
"I know about this. I don't like this level, I don't like this game. Let's leave early. If we stay in this game for another six months to a year without clearing a hundred levels, everyone will go crazy."
It turned out she was asking about the secret passage, and Xu Nuan finally understood. If He Min had asked her progress as straightforwardly as Xu Hang did, she would have naturally shared the information she had come up with. However, He Min's roundabout way of questioning felt laden with meaning. Was she inquiring about progress? Certainly. Did she want to leave? That was less certain.
"We'll be leaving soon," Xu Nuan replied.
"Soon" was a vague term that could evoke different associations; it could mean that she, Xu Nuan, also wanted to leave the game, or it could imply that she already knew the exact location of the secret passage. It depended on what position He Min was in when considering this matter.
Xu Nuan observed He Min's expression. He Min showed appropriate surprise on her face, but her eyes were complex.
That didn't seem to indicate the former, nor did it quite resemble the latter.
Xu Nuan habitually pondered over this, but her brain began to ache again. She felt slightly dizzy, and her fatigue was evident on her face.
"Nuan, you look really tired. You should rest well; I won't disturb you," He Min said at the right moment, patting Xu Nuan's shoulder before getting up to leave.
Xu Nuan lowered her head to look at the food in her hands. As the dizziness faded, she caught a glimpse of He Min making a gesture that she didn't quite understand. However, she vaguely realized why she felt there was something off between He Min and Yu Yu.
Since there was a sense of discord, Xu Nuan carefully examined the food in her hands. Everything else seemed fine except for the compressed biscuit lying quietly in her left palm. There was a small hole at one corner that looked like it had been made by a needle. But it could also be a manufacturing flaw.
Which one was it? She would find out as soon as she opened the packaging.
For some reason, she felt that the sound of the plastic bag being opened was extremely loud. When she brought the biscuit to her mouth, she didn't smell any medicinal odor; however, the biscuit didn't seem spoiled.
Xu Nuan's gaze deepened once again.
It was the lunch break, which was relatively long. After finishing their meals, several people rested in their own ways, and no one commented on Gu Ze's absence. As for what they were thinking or if they were plotting something, that remained unknown.
It was already afternoon, and Xu Nuan finally understood what Gu Ze's earlier words meant.
She quietly got up and headed in the direction Gu Ze had gone. As she passed by Xu Hang, he called out to her.
"You can't go."
His voice was as low as ever, and Xu Hang's expression was serious, though he kept his eyes closed and did not look at Xu Nuan. The feelings from that night of argument with Xu Hang had long faded; while the memory lingered, the emotions had dissipated, making it impossible to recall fully.
"You don't really want to stop me, do you?"
Xu Nuan was unclear about what had transpired between Gu Ze and Xu Hang. She only noticed that while she spoke to Xu Hang, Chi Xiaoming nearby had also opened his eyes and was looking over with a serious expression.
A subtle three-way standoff ensued. Unable to discern what had happened among them, Xu Nuan chose to ignore Xu Hang and stepped toward the direction where Gu Ze had left.
The familiar jungle, the trees whose names she still didn't know, and the animals moving in the bushes—these sights only made Xu Nuan's heart race faster.
What exactly was Gu Ze hiding?
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