God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!

Chapter 605: An Attack

The rain gradually eased in the latter half of the night.

Outside the tent, the dense drumbeat of raindrops was gone, leaving only the sporadic drip drip of water sliding off the edges of the canvas. The air was filled with the post rain chill and the raw, sweet scent of earth. The illumination crystal had dimmed, and the inside of the tent was pitch black.

Sophie didn’t know when she had fallen asleep.

She only remembered closing her eyes, desperately counting her own heartbeats until the numbers all tangled together and her consciousness slowly blurred. In the final moment before sleep took her, she felt the warmth radiating from beside her like a silently burning flame.

After some time, she was finally awakened by a strange sensation.

Sophie’s consciousness slowly surfaced from the haze. She felt her face buried in something warm and solid, something that rose and fell gently in a slow rhythm. Her arm seemed to be draped over something, something firm, yet carrying the warmth of a human body. Her leg also seemed to be brushing against something, the texture of fabric, and beneath that fabric, a solid and powerful contour.

It took Sophie’s brain a full three seconds to process this information.

Then her eyes flew open.

What met her gaze was Gabriel’s broad chest.

Her face was buried against his chest.

Her arm was draped over his waist.

One of her legs had somehow found its way between his, her knee pressed against a place she absolutely dared not think about.

And his arm, that heavy, powerful arm, was resting on her waist, holding her in his embrace with a natural ease, as if she belonged there and nowhere else.

Sophie’s entire body stiffened completely, as if struck by a freezing spell.

Inside her head, something exploded. Countless thoughts erupted at once, yet she couldn’t latch onto a single one. All she could feel was the heartbeat, her own heartbeat, pounding frantically as if trying to shatter her ribcage, and his heartbeat, right by her ear, steady and slow, the complete opposite of hers, as if nothing in this world could ever make him falter.

She didn’t dare move or breathe.

Gabriel’s breathing was even and deep. He still seemed to be asleep. The space inside the tent was narrow and quiet, so quiet that she could hear his every breath, feel his chest’s every rise and fall. The cold post rain air seeped in through the gaps of the tent, but her entire body burned hot, as if a fire raged inside her.

Sophie desperately told herself in her mind: She should move away. She should pull her hand back. She should pull her leg back. She should retreat from his embrace.

But her body would not obey.

Her body seemed to have a will of its own, greedily soaking in the warmth of his embrace, the weight of the arm on her waist, the strength hidden beneath that thin layer of fabric pressed against her cheek. Every nerve ending in her body was screaming, every inch of her skin tingling. She had never touched another person this closely before, much less touched him this closely before.

Her fingers curled slightly, and her fingertips inadvertently brushed across his side. Through the fabric, she could feel the taut lines of muscle beneath, like layers of meticulously forged steel.

Gabriel’s breath seemed to pause for an instant.

Sophie’s heart nearly leaped out of her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, pretending she was still fast asleep, pretending everything was an unconscious movement. She didn’t know if he was awake. She didn’t dare look, didn’t dare confirm.

His arm seemed to tighten slightly.

Just a little... So little that Sophie couldn’t tell if it was real or an illusion born of her own nerves. But that slight tightening force pulled her body even closer to him against her will.

Her nose nearly brushed the skin at his collar, catching a delicious, faint, masculine, wooden pine scent.

Sophie bit down hard on the inside of her lip, desperately suppressing the urge to press even closer.

She felt a kind of tension she had never experienced before, a tension that was almost maddening. It permeated the air, filling the imperceptible distance between her and him, like a string pulled to its absolute limit, ready to snap at the slightest additional touch.

Time became viscous and slow inside that small tent.

Perhaps a few minutes passed. Perhaps only a few seconds. Sophie could no longer tell.

Then, Gabriel’s arm slowly withdrew from her waist.

The movement was very gentle, as if he was afraid of waking her.

Sophie felt the weight on her waist disappear, replaced by a strange emptiness. She kept her original posture, motionless, not even daring to open her eyes. She heard Gabriel’s breathing remain steady, but his body seemed to shift slightly away, and a small distance appeared between them.

The distance returned. But the tension in the air did not dissipate. It was still there, even thicker than before.

Sophie buried her face in her arm, feeling the tips of her ears burn as if they were about to catch fire. She knew he must be awake by now. Maybe he had been awake for a while. Maybe he had never truly been asleep from the very beginning.

Gabriel was awakened by a buzzing sound.

The sound was low and continuous, like thousands upon thousands of pairs of wings vibrating in the air simultaneously, its pitch high enough to make one’s scalp prickle. It surged from all directions like a tide, growing closer and closer, louder and louder.

Gabriel’s eyes entered combat mode almost the very instant he regained consciousness.

He turned his head and found Sophie curled up beside him.

"Stay in the tent. Don’t come out," Gabriel said in a low, firm voice.

Sophie opened her eyes groggily. Before she could fully register what was happening, Gabriel had already lifted the tent flap and ducked outside.

Then he straightened his body, his gaze sweeping across their surroundings.

The scene that met his eyes made his pupils sharply contract.