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墨書 Inktalez
The moon tonight was large and round, its cold yet intense light overshadowing the dim glow of the stars.
As Xu Nuan stepped out of that foul-smelling room, she gazed up at the night sky.
She did not like the cold moon; it made her feel lonely.
However, even without moonlight, she would still feel lonely. Habits could be terrifying; having grown accustomed to being alone, she fiercely rejected the closeness of others. Yet once she had gotten used to Gu Ze being by her side, even a second apart became unbearable.
In her palm lay the destroyed chip. After gripping it tightly, Xu Nuan released her hold and pulled out a short knife, slicing down at the critical part of the chip. The flickering light in her eyes danced with the destruction of that chip.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Nuan placed the ruined chip into her backpack. She then glanced at another house that still had its lights on and walked over. This time, she did not knock but pushed the door open directly.
The door was indeed unlocked.
Xu Nuan did not feel relieved by this; instead, a sense of desolation washed over her. Did those who had died and been exploited truly gain consciousness because of this game’s experiment?
The lights inside the house were still on, allowing her to clearly see the scene within.
It was a family of three: a large bed and three Zombies.
Had they been a family of three before the experiment, or had the game arranged them in such a configuration?
Xu Nuan had no way of knowing. The story in her mind had already informed her of their identities and how to deal with them, issuing commands that she felt compelled to follow.
The two larger Zombies appeared to be sound asleep, seemingly unaware of Xu Nuan's approach. As she pried open their skulls to extract the chips, neither opened their eyes. When she turned around after killing the two larger Zombies, she found one Zombie staring intently at her.
Her eyes were still devoid of luster, and a strange smile lingered on her lips. She knew this was a lifeless thing, yet an inexplicable anxiety gripped her heart. It felt as if she had truly killed this child's parents right in front of him. As guilt surged within her, Xu Nuan momentarily lost her focus; in that fleeting moment, she seemed to see the Zombie smiling—not with that eerie grin, but in a way that sent chills down her spine.
In the end, she had killed that Zombie.
The house she returned to was one where the lights had been turned off.
The light would keep these Zombies in a state of calm, but if attacked, they could retaliate on their own accord, independent of commands. In sunlight, they became weapons of combat, following only the relentless order to attack—either to be killed or to remain until sunset when they could return to a well-lit room. Without light, Xu Nuan bit her lip, gazing with complex emotions at the darkened house, hesitating to enter.
As she hesitated, she glanced at other houses; a few still had their lights off.
Without light, it was merely a corpse filled with various drugs. If left in darkness for more than two hours without exposure to light, it would never return.
Xu Nuan pushed open the door and felt along the wall until she found the switch.
The orange glow filled the modest room.
In an instant, Xu Nuan spotted the real corpse—a young girl who appeared delicate. Her features weren't particularly exquisite but were quite pleasing; with a nose and mouth that suggested if the girl could open her eyes, they would surely sparkle with joy.
Xu Nuan realized she was somewhat fortunate; when she arrived at this peculiar building, it was dusk.
However, when she reached this level, it was high noon under a blazing sun. Thus, she couldn't gauge what kind of environment others had encountered—whether they faced Zombies like herself or whether it was day or night for them.
Only she knew how to deal with these Zombies. Each story represented a family; there might be just one person or perhaps three in a household. Yet every family ultimately faced the same fate. The stories merely cloaked these families in different settings—some were fairy tales, others youth stories, and some involved war and competition. What once terrified her now revealed its deeper meaning.
But it was too late.
She always found the truth a step too late, never able to help Gu Ze or provide any hints. She often felt unfortunate, yet every Survival Game proved her to be lucky.
This time, the short knife truly sank into flesh. The blood was dark and viscous, perhaps because it had been mixed with various other substances, giving it a faintly sweet scent.
It was the greatest irony—death masked by fragrance.
"Hah."
Xu Nuan let out a cold laugh as she drove the short knife deeper. A splash of blood hit her face, some droplets falling from her eyelashes, turning her vision a shade of red.
She had killed, slain Zombies, and dissected corpses; she was the least qualified person to return to her former self.
That night, Xu Nuan repeated these actions until she became numb, guilt and remorse replaced by a blank void.
Perhaps she had destroyed too many chips or perhaps she had acted as if she understood this game too well. As she entered another room, before she could steady herself, a Zombie lunged at her.
Xu Nuan hurriedly dodged, her shoulder crashing against the wall. The sharp pain jolted her back to reality. Before the Zombie could attack again, she seized the opportunity to flee the house.
Moonlight was not an option. If that Zombie wanted to maintain its activity status and attacked her, it lacked the courage to linger under the moonlight for long. She understood the thoughts of those Zombies; as they walked and lived at night, they resembled real humans. But once they reverted to corpses, they had to accept the fact of their death. Self-deception while pretending to be alive was a privilege only Zombies possessed.
Having dealt with so many Zombies already, she didn’t mind truly stretching her limbs at this moment.
The Zombie rushed out without hesitation, using its tall frame and sharp claws to lunge at Xu Nuan like a towering man.
However, such agility was insufficient; its movements were not nimble enough. After all, it was merely a controlled corpse—dead bodies could never possess the quickness and reflexes of a living human being.
Xu Nuan deftly evaded wave after wave of attacks, using her short knife and the scattered objects on the ground to thwart the actions of the Zombie.
Whether they were the living or the manipulated Zombies, all creatures sought to gain advantage and avoid harm. The experimenters had attempted to imbue these Zombies with human thought, which only granted them human-like instincts without allowing them to truly become human.
Xu Nuan did not rush to eliminate this Zombie; perhaps she understood that its counterattacks were a performance she was eager to witness. However, as time passed, she could clearly sense the Zombie's growing agitation. To be more precise, the Zombie occasionally glanced toward the lit houses, seemingly wanting to enter, yet it was compelled to attack Xu Nuan.
It dawned on Xu Nuan that this Zombie had been given the command to attack her, and it might ultimately revert back to a lifeless corpse due to this order, unable to move again.
If that were the case, it meant that those in the control room believed her actions would disrupt the course of this level, thus they were willing to break the rules to stop her.
Was it a reluctance to waste these Zombies, or did they hide other secrets behind them?
Based on Xu Nuan's understanding of this game, it had to be the latter.
Just as Xu Nuan pondered this matter, several doors of nearby houses swung open, and a few more Zombies lunged at her.
Facing multiple opponents put her at a disadvantage.
She could not afford to touch the wounds of these Zombies; in order to prevent substances that were beneficial for Zombies but poisonous for humans from harming herself, she had to maintain a certain distance from them.
Suddenly, she stumbled and twisted her ankle. A momentary pain made her grunt softly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a Zombie already lunging toward her. She had no choice but to endure the pain and rolled on the ground. Her backpack hit her back painfully, and her clothes became stained with yellow sand. As she braced herself against the ground, she momentarily forgot she was in a desert and lost her balance again.
This gave the approaching Zombies an opportunity; two of them attacked simultaneously. Xu Nuan cursed under her breath, forcing herself to endure the pain in her wrist. She pushed against the ground with both hands and kicked out with her legs, flipping herself in mid-air. One leg struck one of the Zombies down before she landed steadily on her feet.
At that moment, her injured ankle refused to cooperate. However, Xu Nuan had no time for complaints; she swung her short knife at another Zombie that charged at her.
She really wanted to curse out loud because once the Zombies left the house, she had no way of knowing which story each Zombie was trapped in. Should she dig out their hearts, pry open their brains, or cut off their arms?
The key to each story was different, meaning that each chip controlling the Zombies was located in a different place. If she didn’t let these Zombies go back, she wouldn’t be able to extract those chips.
Of course, she could choose not to extract them, but that would only please the people in the control room. At that moment, feeling rebellious, she didn’t want to give them what they wanted.
To deal with these large Zombies, Xu Nuan kept in mind the principle of "using skill to overcome brute force." Whether it was pinching a Zombie's limbs to throw it away or controlling the ends of its limbs to twist its joints, she tried her best to avoid more contact while ensuring that they couldn’t hurt her.
However, these Zombies had a time limit. Once the time was up, they would turn into corpses, and she still wouldn’t be able to identify which story each Zombie belonged to.
What should she do?
Now was the time to stay calm!
Xu Nuan forced herself to relax. She was an ordinary person, but ordinary people also had their own wisdom; she refused to give up.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted several houses with wide-open doors. Gritting her teeth, Xu Nuan turned and dashed into one of the houses. Among the attacking Zombies, one reacted the fastest.
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