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墨書 Inktalez
At that moment, I saw Zhao Squad Leader quietly wipe his face with his sleeve and then lift his head from between his knees. "Brother Qiang, you're right. We need to find Captain Xiao and the others. They are less capable of handling this situation, and we must locate them before they break down."
It seemed he had come to a deeper understanding of the urgency of the situation through his own experiences.
Although I had no intention of taking charge of this trio, I was the only one among us who still appeared relatively normal. Moreover, if I wanted Liu Squad Leader to hand over the torch, I needed to adopt a somewhat assertive attitude. Just showing a bit of strength would undoubtedly lead me to take over the leadership of this group. I was very clear about this; Zhao Squad Leader's earlier behavior and statements had already indicated a willingness to relinquish control. As for Liu Squad Leader's state, I suspected Zhao Squad Leader was even more concerned about him than I was.
"I suggest letting Zhao Squad Leader carry the torch," I immediately stated my position.
Liu Squad Leader looked puzzled and asked, "Why?"
"Because you ran too fast," Zhao Squad Leader scoffed before I could respond.
With that, he took the torch from Liu Squad Leader's hands. It was evident that Zhao Squad Leader had repositioned himself within the team.
I patted Liu Squad Leader on the back to comfort him. "You’re injured; it’s better for a healthy person to lead with the torch for everyone's sake."
Liu Squad Leader shrugged off my hand. "You still don’t trust me? Do you think I would run away for no reason? Do you want me to hand over this torch as well?"
He reached behind him to pull out another torch. The torches were tightly bound, making it difficult to remove one with just one hand. If it had been easy, he would have discarded it while we were fighting against the Cephalopod Monster in that hollow space. At that time, we were in a life-or-death mindset; he could have thrown away anything, even his life, let alone a torch.
Seeing him struggle, I could only comfort him further. "Liu Squad Leader, what are you doing? Stop throwing a tantrum, okay? We still need to search for Captain Xiao and look for Song Guilong. Have you completed the task Li Squad Leader assigned to you?!"
It was my last statement that finally convinced Liu Squad Leader; I understood what he was holding onto.
As we retraced our steps, we placed the torch in the middle while Liu Squad Leader and I kept one hand on each side of the Cave Wall as we moved forward. At this point, I could clearly see the torch, but Zhao Squad Leader holding it could no longer see me. We had to take a few steps forward and call out to confirm that the person feeling their way along the Cave Wall was still there. This method of moving forward naturally slowed us down, but it was the safest and only way. We didn’t even have safety ropes connecting us.
I remembered that during our run here, the last time I sensed something unusual in the wind was from my left ear. If we were heading back, it would be from my right side. I couldn’t let Liu Squad Leader move to the left since he could only use his right arm. So I specifically instructed him to be vigilant and notify everyone immediately if anything seemed off.
Just half an hour into our walk, I suddenly heard Liu Squad Leader exclaim in shock, "Cao! There really is a Branch!"
I stomped my foot hard against the wall and ran towards the opposite side of the Cave Wall. Although I anticipated encountering a Branch, I still held onto a glimmer of hope. Deep down, I knew that if I felt different winds while running, all of them being from the Branch, our chances of returning to the entrance would be nearly impossible.
The Branch formed a standard Y-shape. I called both of them to the center of the Branch. From here, looking out, the three openings were identical in width, height, and depth. If I spun around a few times, I was confident that we wouldn't be able to tell which passage we had come through.
I didn't look at them, as if asking the air, "Which way did we come from?"
Then I turned my head to look at them. As I expected, their faces were filled with deep shock. Especially Zhao Squad Leader, whose shock was mixed with pain; it seemed he regretted his reckless actions.
We stood there for at least five minutes, and then Zhao Squad Leader repeated my question like a broken record: "Which way did we come from?" His tone was exactly the same.
In fact, when I first mentioned the possibility of a Branch, both Zhao Squad Leader and Liu Squad Leader had realized the seriousness of the situation. As long as there was a Branch in this passage and we were unlucky enough to miss it, unless this passage was large enough, you could only use the process of elimination to test each path before losing your light and eventually find an exit. There were two prerequisites: one was that the passage had to be large enough, and the other was that there had to be light. If either of these conditions wasn't met, your chances of escaping this passage would be as slim as winning the Jackpot in a Two-color Ball lottery.
"If there's only this one Branch, I know," I said as I walked over and made a mark on the passage we had come through. "We entered through this opening." Then I stepped into the left-hand opening and made another mark. "This is the direction we came from."
Liu Squad Leader looked at me in surprise for a moment before suddenly exclaiming with joy, "Brother Qiang has a compass! We're saved!"
I shook my head in despair. I extended one hand to reveal the Dial on my wrist. The Dial had a compass on it; I turned it a few times, but the compass spun along with the Dial and didn't point in any fixed direction. They both immediately deflated.
In fact, when I sketched out the Reservoir on the upper level, I had already noticed this issue—the compass was malfunctioning. It was a very strange phenomenon; it wasn't that the magnetic poles had changed or that it was misaligned; rather, it seemed like the magnetic poles had disappeared or that the compass had lost its magnetism. At that time, I could still determine direction using the Escape Pod's buried coordinates, so it wasn't a major concern. But now it had become a fatal flaw.
Liu Squad Leader asked in confusion, "Then how do you know we came from this way?"
I had no choice but to share my guess with him; unfortunately, I guessed correctly.
Liu Squad Leader immediately asked nervously, "Are there more Branches ahead?"
I nodded.
"How many?" Zhao Squad Leader asked with a trembling voice.
This question is somewhat redundant. Given the scale of this passage, a single Branch could lead you to the extinguished torch. Of course, if there is only one Branch, splitting up means at least one person might survive. What I said next snuffed out his last glimmer of hope.
"There are many, if my hearing is correct."
"Then... should we keep moving forward?" Zhao Squad Leader was completely at a loss.
"Of course. Finding Captain Xiao would greatly increase our chances of survival. First of all, they have all the torches, and they have more food than we do. Just like we are marking our path, Captain Xiao and his team would be doing the same. I believe they haven't run as far or as deep as we have. Heading towards the exit of the Branch increases the likelihood of finding them."
I had no certainty or experience regarding this matter; it was purely speculation. However, I knew I had to remain optimistic and hopeful; otherwise, Zhao Squad Leader would become even more discouraged and lose confidence.
I patted Zhao Squad Leader on the back. "Cheer up, let's go."
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