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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Nuan noticed something was off with Fang Zheng and felt a surge of anxiety. She wanted to move in his direction, but before she could take more than a couple of steps, someone stopped her.
"Nuannuan, don't go over there! Qitian was killed by him. It's dangerous to get close!"
Xu Nuan was puzzled by He Min's unusual behavior, but her attention was quickly drawn to the words spoken. Chi Xiaoming, Wang Huacheng, and Gold Breakthrough, the three Second Batch Players, were equally captivated.
As Xu Nuan widened her eyes in surprise, Gold Breakthrough had already recoiled from Fang Zheng, trembling as he spoke in disbelief.
"You killed Qitian? How could you do that? He was your best friend along with Guo Dafu! If you can kill your own good friend, who wouldn't you dare to kill?"
There were many logical flaws in his statement, but it was easy for others to dismiss them as the ramblings of someone shocked and panicked.
Though Xu Nuan was surprised, she felt more perplexed. At that moment, the imposing presence Gu Ze had created earlier had completely dissipated. She felt a twinge of regret but found some solace in Gu Ze's nonchalant demeanor. She turned her attention back to He Min to clarify the situation.
"Amin, what’s going on here?"
Even though this information came from He Min's mouth, it didn't guarantee its credibility. Xu Nuan wisely reframed her question to leave room for doubt. Her cautiousness indicated a level of distrust towards He Min, a sentiment only those paying close attention could discern.
He Min displayed immense anger and fear, which seemed strange at first. However, considering Yu Yu had died not long ago, everyone could understand her reaction.
He Min appeared emotionally volatile, yet the logic behind her explanation was clear, prompting deeper thoughts among the listeners.
"Nuannuan, you don’t know! This guy threw Qitian into the swamp with Guo Dafu when they were at the Fourth Level! That swamp is full of crocodiles!"
Her voice was cold yet filled with unending fury, reminiscent of when He Min initially accused Fang Zheng of being a murderer. However, He Min herself had also taken a life; despite various justifications, the fact remained that she had killed someone.
The rules of this game were set in stone, and its inherent absurdity led people to act without restraint. Many players understood that no matter what they did in the game, they would ultimately bear no consequences. This realization allowed each person to indulge their desires freely, revealing their darker sides and leaving others astonished and fearful.
Player did not need to take responsibility for the act of killing, after all, there was an Inverse Game Company behind it. However, they needed to be accountable to their own conscience; every action required them to overcome the barrier of their spirit, which was crucial.
“Fourth Level?”
Deng Yinyin had long been in a daze because of those three words. It was Xie Huai who reacted, recalling the time they encountered Guo Dafu in the desert. Guo Dafu had two companions with him then, but when they faced crocodiles in the swamp, those companions abandoned him, leaving him all alone.
Of course, they all knew that Guo Dafu had initially been deceiving them. What no one expected was that what Guo Dafu said, from another perspective, was true; it was just that the roles of host and guest were reversed.
Once Xie Huai reminded them, Xu Nuan, Xu Hang, and Gu Ze also recalled what Guo Dafu had once said. Deng Yinyin could only follow along with the memories to mask her own distraction. At that moment, this key member who had once made everyone envious of the team atmosphere reached a consensus in thought. Unfortunately, this agreement was short-lived; soon each person began to think of other matters.
Xu Nuan pondered how He Min knew about this situation. She remembered realizing that Guo Dafu intended to approach her, so she deliberately teamed up with He Min and Yu Hao, intentionally separating during a Survival Game to leave Guo Dafu and his group empty-handed. What she hadn’t anticipated was that at that time, Guo Dafu didn’t notice her and instead turned to team up with Fang Zheng, throwing Qitian into the swamp. So how did these two accomplices, Fang Zheng and Guo Dafu, end up parting ways?
A comparison made it clear that Fang Zheng was faring better than Guo Dafu. At least while Guo Dafu was fixated on harming her and ultimately got killed, Fang Zheng advanced through over sixty levels, getting closer to the finish line.
I had warned him.
Suddenly, Xu Nuan recalled what Fang Zheng had said at the beginning. At that time, she thought he was just trying to create a diversion to coerce them into escaping or something similar. Not wanting to interrupt Gu Ze’s plan, she chose to ignore those words. In hindsight, it turned out to be a profound truth—one that was very useful.
She abruptly looked up at Gu Ze, only to see sharp light flickering in his eyes amidst the darkness, exuding a powerful aura that made her smile involuntarily.
Although He Min’s words brought new reflections for some and unraveled the mystery of Qitian’s disappearance, she ultimately interrupted Gu Ze’s momentum, causing those who were originally in an advantageous position to lose a good opportunity.
At this moment, when Gu Ze questioned Wang Huacheng again, he started his verbal antics once more—talking around everything but refusing to address his purpose with Gold Breakthrough.
The stern look from Gu Ze made Xu Nuan realize that in his eyes, these two were useful informants but not trustworthy companions.
"Hey, don't target me. I was just joking with Xu Nuan earlier. I wouldn't hurt her. You can't seriously suspect me over that, can you?"
Wang Huacheng had been in the workplace long enough to understand the subtleties of human interaction. He quickly identified Gu Ze's vulnerability, but after this incident, he realized that sometimes a weakness could also serve as armor for protection.
"If you were just joking, I wouldn't mind playing a joke on you too."
Xu Nuan looked calmly at Wang Huacheng, but anyone could hear the threat in her words. After spending time with Gu Ze, she had picked up some of his habits.
In fact, Xu Nuan was stronger than Wang Huacheng; otherwise, he wouldn't have resorted to such underhanded tactics twice in a row. Xu Nuan concealed this truth in her words, and Wang Huacheng caught on. When he glanced at the expressionless and silent Chi Xiaoming, he saw affirmation in the latter's eyes, leaving him feeling utterly helpless.
Unable to win a fight, what other choice did he have?
Wang Huacheng, who always calculated every situation meticulously, believed that if he were the first to reveal the truth, he could earn a good impression and score points. This way, it might be easier to ask these people for help in the future.
He knew there was no escaping this situation. Even if he remained silent now, it would eventually come out through other surviving Players. Once he realized this, he pretended to be understanding and prepared to step forward.
However, someone beat him to it, leaving him feeling frustrated and unable to express himself.
"As the largest team, it's surprising you don't know about this. No wonder you're the biggest team."
This tongue-twisting statement came from Fang Zheng.
Just minutes earlier, He Min had pointed out that Fang Zheng and Guo Dafu had teamed up to kill Qitian, one of the Second Batch Players. Fang Zheng did not deny it; his expression remained unchanged despite He Min's words. However, when Fang Zheng's gaze met Gu Ze's, he became agitated again. The suppressed emotions were evident even to Well-Meaning Person. He Min's interruption ended there; no one could stop Fang Zheng now.
Compared to Wang Huacheng and Gold Breakthrough's opportunistic act of feigning ignorance by using He Min's distraction, Fang Zheng was the only one unaffected by He Min's words. He Min's face darkened again; although the news of Qitian's death was shocking, everyone present only showed mild surprise without pursuing the matter further. Feng Feng even pretended not to hear anything and calmly fiddled with his medicine bottles throughout.
He Min's face turned pale, and her emotions became unstable. Those who were unaware of her inner turmoil assumed she was furious over Qitian's death, yet no one showed concern for her behavior, not even Xu Nuan.
Xu Nuan was far more concerned about the news the three unexpected guests were about to bring than about Qitian. Although she had felt a deep sadness whenever a Player died in the past, she understood that such feelings were ineffective when it came to clearing challenges or uncovering the Mastermind. She had begun to grow rapidly, wanting to stand beside Gu Ze, and this growth was natural, unlike her earlier reckless attempts to enter the game after learning that Qin Yaojie had done so, where she failed to notice even the most clumsy tricks.
Xu Nuan's indifference formed a layer of ice in He Min's eyes, within which flickered a faint glow of fire. This strange expression sent a chill down Xie Huai's spine as he witnessed the scene. He involuntarily followed He Min's gaze to Xu Nuan, and his heart sank into cold despair, his body trembling uncontrollably. The wound on him throbbed faintly, but he knew it was merely psychological.
Meanwhile, Yu Yu, who also observed this scene, lowered her head and smiled lightly, her lips curling into a cool and somewhat mocking arc.
This incident occurred while everyone was waiting for Fang Zheng to explain, and it went largely unnoticed by most; their focus remained on Fang Zheng.
"Don't you know?"
Fang Zheng, who would usually become irritable at the sight of Gu Ze, suddenly chuckled softly, an odd expression crossing his face.
"Only the first person to successfully clear the challenge can claim the Billion Dollar Prize. The rest of you, no matter how much effort you put in, will barely manage to survive."
That night suddenly turned very cold.
Different people reacted differently to his words, their expressions resembling masks with a variety of emotions displayed.
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