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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Nuan was awakened by the sun, having rolled down among the trees on the cliff and finally landing beside a mountain stream. She lay flat on the gravel, the midday sun beating down on her with an intensity that was almost unbearable. The glaring light and scorching heat made her overlook the pain in other parts of her body.
"Hiss."
Instead of holding her head, Xu Nuan shielded her eyes and sat up. Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she became aware of the pain coursing through her body. A wave of discomfort surged through her, causing her to clutch her abdomen and bend over, letting out a low groan.
"Ze?"
As her consciousness gradually returned and her brain began to function normally, the first person that popped into her mind was Gu Ze.
Panicking, Xu Nuan scrambled to her feet and shouted into the surroundings.
"Gu Ze!"
"Gu Ze, where are you?"
After taking just two steps, she stumbled and fell against a rock, barely managing to catch herself with her hands to avoid collapsing completely.
"I remember..."
A wave of panic swept over Xu Nuan's fragile heart as she recalled everything that had happened before she fell from the cliff.
"Gu Ze is in danger!"
She quickly got back up, the image of Gu Ze falling replaying in her mind, along with the moment when He Jun fired his gun. Gu Ze was incredibly capable; the only reason he could have fallen off the cliff was if he had been hit.
This realization left Xu Nuan breathless. She stood there dazed, allowing the sunlight to pour down on her without restraint. The pain throughout her body could not pull her away from the fear of losing Gu Ze. Every cell in her body screamed out, tugging at her flesh and preventing any sense of peace.
In this turmoil, a massive rift opened in her heart, allowing all sorts of pain and hatred to flood in, creating a cacophony that drowned out all other sounds.
After standing in a daze for a moment, Xu Nuan suddenly snapped back to reality and began searching for the path she had left behind at the edge of the cliff.
"There must be some traces!"
Xu Nuan ignored the scrapes and bruises on her body and hurried to the cliff's edge, not far from where she had fallen. There were no obvious signs of sliding, and the cliff in Forest was quite damp, which would typically leave clear marks when someone fell.
"Why is there nothing?"
A moment of panic washed over Xu Nuan.
"It hasn't been long; there should still be traces!"
She couldn't bear to think of other possibilities. Regardless of whether she could find any so-called traces, she picked up her backpack from the ground and slung it over her shoulder. Then, she approached the cliff's edge, disregarding the steepness of the mountain, grabbing onto trees on either side as she prepared to climb up.
Initially, it went relatively smoothly; Xu Nuan managed to climb a few meters. However, as she continued, a sense of unease crept in. She had been aware of her surroundings when she fell; even though she lost consciousness upon landing, she was familiar with the cliff.
Now, however, nothing felt familiar. It was as if she were in an entirely strange place. Yet, she had indeed fallen here.
This dissonance made her heart skip a beat. With only one thought in her mind—to climb up and find Gu Ze on the other side of the cliff—she couldn't afford to think any further.
If she hadn't injected that drug, if her strength had remained intact, and if she and Gu Ze had worked together, they might have stood a chance against He Jun. If she hadn't held him back, Gu Ze wouldn't have needed to protect her at that time.
There were too many "ifs," and none of them could have been known back then. Now that events had unfolded, "regret is futile" became the most hollow phrase.
As she climbed higher, the slope of the cliff grew steeper. Xu Nuan found herself taking three steps up but slipping back two; her progress slowed significantly. The vast cliff echoed only with her heavy breathing. By this point, the effects of the drug had worn off, and her mind was crystal clear—but it was all too late.
The tears of regret were also cheap; despite feeling a mix of anxiety, remorse, and worry that reddened her eyes, no tears fell.
She found it laughably tragic that long ago, she and Gu Ze had spent every day together as mere allies, without cherishing that time. Now, each of their meetings was a hurried reunion followed by an enforced separation—not due to distance, but because of schemes. The thought that their separations could always lead to permanent goodbyes loomed over each parting, casting a bloody shadow that made it a place no one dared to approach.
In a moment of distraction, Xu Nuan lost her grip on the branch she was holding and fell, scraping against several branches on her way down.
"Ah!"
Xu Nuan let out a short cry, but it was too late; she landed on the rocks below, injuring herself further.
"One more time!"
Taking a deep breath, Xu Nuan made her way back toward the bottom of the cliff, scanning both sides for any possible detours.
However, when she placed her hand back on a branch, a voice came from behind her.
"I advise you to think twice before trying again; you are no longer in the same predicament as before."
Xu Nuan's guard lowered slightly upon recognizing the speaker's identity.
"What do you mean by 'not in the same predicament'?"
Turning around, Xu Nuan saw Chi Xiaoming slowly stepping out from behind a bush. She frowned, puzzled by his solitary appearance.
Chi Xiaoming remained expressionless, exuding an air of calmness that suggested he was not weary from travel. Distracted by her own anxiety, Xu Nuan failed to notice the fleeting glimmer in Chi Xiaoming's eyes.
"If you see me here, what do you think?"
Chi Xiaoming did not rush to explain. His methodical nature made him curious about testing Xu Nuan's true abilities, though she remained oblivious to this fact.
"Seeing you here?"
Xu Nuan naturally followed Chi Xiaoming's train of thought. She was somewhat pleased by Chi Xiaoming's presence, partly because of his connection to Gu Ze, and partly due to his strength.
Thinking back, they had initially paired up, and after triggering the mechanism at Hundred Meters, they lost sight of the other teams. According to Gu Ze's explanation, each team entered a different mechanism, so they naturally wouldn't see each other.
"Could it be?"
Xu Nuan gasped, glancing at Chi Xiaoming before looking up at the cliff. Did she fall from the cliff after breaking through a barrier of a mechanism? So, did Gu Ze fall into the same mechanism or a different one?
She cursed the game's perplexing setup again but still held onto some hope.
"If I climb up, I should be able to break through and return to the previous mechanism, right?"
Xu Nuan asked Chi Xiaoming, who had come closer. At this moment, she no longer cared about inquiring about Xu Hang's whereabouts; people are selfish, and her heart was solely inclined towards Gu Ze.
"It won't work."
Chi Xiaoming calmly provided a negative answer.
"Falling and climbing are two different methods; it's impossible for them to apply to the same mechanism."
Xu Nuan immediately seized on the key phrase and retorted.
"So you mean I have to go around to a higher place and fall again to return to the previous mechanism?"
There was not a flicker of emotion in Chi Xiaoming's eyes.
"Perhaps what fell at that time ended up in another mechanism. I don't recommend you try such a dangerous and low-probability method."
Chi Xiaoming pointed at Xu Nuan, clearly dissatisfied with her disheveled appearance.
"Instead of that, you should tidy yourself up. A healthy body is the foundation for continuing in this game."
Xu Nuan shook her head.
"Even if it's a low-probability event, I still want to do it. I need to find Gu Ze; he is very likely..."
Xu Nuan's eyes reddened. Her memories were forever stuck at the moment Gu Ze fell off the cliff. She couldn't guarantee that He Jun's gun hadn't hit him. If Gu Ze had indeed been shot, in this rudimentary medical facility, he would be in grave danger.
"Gu Ze is a capable person; I don't think he would do anything without confidence."
Perhaps because they were both men secretly plotting the same thing, Chi Xiaoming had considerable faith in Gu Ze. At least up until now, Gu Ze had never failed.
"Even if he is injured or missing, he must have his own plans."
Just from Xu Nuan's distressed appearance, Chi Xiaoming could analyze what might have happened to Gu Ze. After all, for that man, Xu Nuan was more important than his own life.
So, if Xu Nuan were to find out what Gu Ze had been hiding from her, would it create a rift between them?
This thought suddenly popped into Chi Xiaoming's mind, stirring something within him and igniting an impulse to put his thoughts into action.
Xu Nuan fell silent at Chi Xiaoming's words. Gu Ze was indeed a remarkable person; there was nothing he couldn't accomplish. However, he was still just an ordinary person—he would feel pain when injured, bleed when cut by a knife, and experience resentment and sadness. Both she and Gu Ze were ordinary yet special to each other, so she didn't want to give up on that uniqueness.
"I heard you are skilled with mechanisms?"
Xu Nuan was still eager to find Gu Ze as soon as possible. She couldn't bear the thought of imagining Gu Ze's situation. Had he been shot? Would he lose consciousness from excessive bleeding? What could she do for him?
"Is there any way to stop this mechanism? So I can find Ze?"
Xu Nuan looked at Chi Xiaoming with hopeful eyes, wishing that he would be as reliable as ever in this moment.
Chi Xiaoming fell silent. After a while, he gazed deeply at Xu Nuan.
"I don't think he wants you to find him right now, regardless of whether he's injured or not."
"What do you mean?"
Chi Xiaoming's words and tone always made Xu Nuan feel excluded, and it was an unpleasant feeling. Moreover, his implication was that He Jun's appearance and Gu Ze's injury were all part of Gu Ze's plan.
Xu Nuan absolutely refused to believe that.
"There's nothing special about it."
Chi Xiaoming maintained a blank expression as he looked at Xu Nuan.
"You might want to ask the person behind you about some things."
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