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墨書 Inktalez
Then I heard Zhao Squad Leader say, "Can you suggest something else? Like sand or bricks, just not food."
I silently scorned this glutton and turned to Liu Squad Leader. "Can you be more specific? I can't just change the plan because of your words."
"Sure." I felt Liu Squad Leader's arm moving rapidly in front of me. "Here, and here, these points shouldn't exist based on your assumptions. And here, and here..."
"Wait a moment." I interrupted while pulling out a torch.
I couldn't understand his position. I had just explained my thoughts and plans to Zhao Squad Leader based on the horrific image still lingering in my mind. But in this pitch-black environment, Liu Squad Leader was merely using words to explain here and there. I didn't want to follow his train of thought without knowing what part of the map he was referring to. To communicate with him, I needed to light the torch so that the map in my head could overlap with his ideas on the visible map; otherwise, it would be a conversation between a deaf person and a blind person.
As the flame flickered to life, Liu Squad Leader shielded his eyes from the blinding light but quickly adapted. Then he began pointing rapidly at the empty space in front of him while saying, "This is your designated A1, A, A... Here, here, and here—you missed three coordinates that should be within your thought process. And here and here shouldn't exist. Correspondingly, your calculations for B Point also have issues."
At this point, I could no longer keep up with his rhythm. I had to temporarily abandon trying to sort out the several points he had indicated and instead follow his lead in searching for the corresponding B Points. However, I had to admit that our spatial imagination differed significantly. Soon enough, I found myself unable to keep pace with his thoughts; as his fingers waved like a conductor's, the map I had just reconstructed collapsed. From the few places he pointed out, I indeed saw where my calculations were wrong, but I could only identify two errors; my brain froze when it came to the others.
Liu Squad Leader's spatial imagination was effortless even when faced with complex three-dimensional structures; before this flat map, it seemed like child's play. The more I listened, the more confused I became. I started to understand how Zhao Squad Leader felt when I explained my thoughts to him. My sense of defeat grew stronger until I lacked the courage to continue listening.
I interrupted Liu Squad Leader's exposition and said, "Just give me your conclusions directly. We don't have time to get tangled up in the derivation process."
"Fine." Liu Squad Leader seemed quite displeased at being interrupted. "Based on the errors and omissions in your previously set Point A, the overall result derived differs by one unit from what I've calculated."
He waved his hand slightly to the left and drew a line on a virtual map only he could see.
Being off by one unit here meant a significant difference in target location, but I simply couldn't visualize a map or meticulously plan calculations on top of that. Moreover, time did not allow us to linger here. However, we both agreed on the general direction of our calculations.
I thought for a moment and asked him, "Are you sure?"
Liu Squad Leader casually fiddled with something in front of him for a moment before replying, "I'm sure."
I took a deep breath and pointed in a direction. "This way, move straight ahead."
Zhao Squad Leader looked at me and asked, "There’s no path ahead; how can we possibly move straight here?"
Yes, I was pointing at the cave wall between two passages. I patted Zhao Squad Leader on the shoulder. "We’ll move in a zigzag pattern."
Zhao Squad Leader understood this time. It felt like the first time he grasped something so quickly; we had developed a shared understanding of our spatial map.
He seemed excited and nodded seriously. "I understand."
I extinguished my torch and said, "Let’s go."
The order of the team remained the same, with Zhao Squad Leader leading the way and me bringing up the rear, sandwiching Liu Squad Leader in between. The direction was set; as long as we followed the sequence and turned left and right at each branch, we should generally be moving straight. Although Zhao Squad Leader's spatial imagination was quite poor, his execution of orders was absolutely reliable. My concern was Liu Squad Leader's potential outburst. While I had managed to intimidate him, his erratic logic still worried me. If an unexpected situation arose, I feared that Zhao Squad Leader might hesitate to take action against him. I had resolved not to let Liu Squad Leader go berserk again.
Our pace was slow; to conserve energy, I didn’t ask Zhao Squad Leader to speed up. Upon reaching an intersection, I lit my torch and made a simple mark. There was no need for complex markings; we couldn’t even determine where this path ultimately led. Returning to the area we initially explored was merely a concept; my thought process had always been random and couldn’t outline an accurate route.
We found no clues in this branch, which was expected. In fact, we had grown numb to it; unlike at the beginning when we searched every intersection with hope for some markings, now it felt more like a habit. We walked through seven branches like this, our enthusiasm for survival gradually cooling down. Fatigue made it hard for us to continue, so we decided to take a break. I didn’t choose to rest at the branch; although resting there was relatively reasonable since encountering Xiao Guolin and his group would be more likely than on a straight path, Liu Squad Leader’s current state could easily trigger an outburst.
I ate a little something while Liu Squad Leader still refused to eat, only taking a couple of sips from his water bottle. He even encouraged me and Zhao Squad Leader to eat more. It seemed that his erratic mindset still dominated him. At this rate, he likely wouldn’t last much longer, but it didn’t matter; none of us could sustain ourselves for long with our current rations.
The temperature in the tunnel was at least fifteen degrees Celsius, much warmer than outside. With some food in my stomach, sleepiness washed over me like a tide. The three of us leaned against one side of the cave wall, eating the bland fish while engaging in casual conversation. We didn't discuss the direction below; before setting out, we had agreed that if we didn't find the initial exploration area, we wouldn't change our course. We would just continue straight ahead. We didn't have time to explore; although this approach felt like gambling, it would eventually lead us to an end, provided our stamina held up.
As sleepiness deepened, I could barely hear what the others were saying. I thought we should keep one person awake, but in the next moment, I found myself slipping into unconsciousness.
I was too tired.
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