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墨書 Inktalez
Despite my attempts to maintain an optimistic attitude, feelings of disappointment and despair inevitably spread, especially when we arrived at the second Fork in the Road, where disappointment quickly turned into hopelessness. The first thing I did was mark our path behind us. By the time I finished marking, Zhao Squad Leader and Liu Squad Leader were already sitting back-to-back at the fork. Without any marks left by Xiao Guolin, there was no way back, no coordinates to follow; everything had reset here.
I didn't know how to comfort or encourage them; I was lost myself. The three identical paths before me spun endlessly, and in an instant, I felt dizzy, unsure of where to go. At that moment, Zhou Dedong's book "Fork in the Road" came to mind—a name so profound, as if it had been prepared for us.
I took the torch from Zhao Squad Leader and carefully examined the three entrances of this Fork in the Road again, but found nothing. With heavy steps, I walked to the center of the fork and sat down silently. At that moment, the three of us faced one path each—specifically, we were staring into three dark openings or three gaping maws waiting for us to throw ourselves in.
In this situation, I had lost control; any suggestion from anyone would be blind and a gamble—no one could pinpoint accurately. Yet we couldn't continue waiting; we had to find Xiao Guolin or a way out before the light disappeared.
I forced a smile. "At this fork, we still have two choices; at least one path leads back to the entrance. If no one can determine the direction, let me share my suggestion."
I paused for their responses. We were back at the stage of collective decision-making; no one could bear the responsibility of a wrong judgment. I felt that no one could make even what they believed to be a correct decision.
After a long silence, Liu Squad Leader finally said, "You go ahead; I have no objections or ideas."
Zhao Squad Leader remained silent, so I took it as his tacit approval.
"My suggestion is that we can split into two groups to search this fork." I paused again; the two of them were quiet, seemingly waiting for my explanation. So I continued, "Based on my memory of different sounds along the way, each Branch is not far apart—similar to the distance we traveled back. Splitting up could increase our chances of finding Xiao Guolin."
"Doesn't that also increase the risk?" Zhao Squad Leader suddenly interjected.
"Yes, especially for the person searching alone; the risk will be greater." I nodded silently and added, "My suggestion is that we determine a final search direction now because one person must search alone. Let that person head toward our agreed final search direction. If the pair searching together finds no results at the next Branch and doesn't discover any marks left by Xiao Guolin, they should return and converge toward the direction of the solo searcher. After that, further searching will rely entirely on luck. However, if we don't split up now and just randomly choose a path to search, then we'll be relying on luck right from the start."
My explanation felt convoluted even to me; I had to think carefully about how to phrase it so they wouldn't misunderstand. But as soon as I finished speaking, Liu Squad Leader expressed his agreement, leaving me questioning whether he understood me at all. "I agree with Brother Qiang's suggestion. The problem is who searches alone? You know my injury doesn't allow me to take that risk."
Liu Squad Leader's attempt to distance himself from the situation made me roll my eyes in disdain. I then turned my gaze to Zhao Squad Leader. He avoided my eyes, staring into the dark cave, his expression more miserable than if he had just lost a parent.
After watching him for a while without any response, I understood his thoughts. He was also afraid of searching alone. So I said to him, "If there are no objections, I will take responsibility for searching one passage on my own."
"Then I agree." My promise immediately eased his worries.
In fact, when I made this suggestion, I had already decided to search a passage by myself. Neither of them was in the right mental state for solo action. We then chose a passage to search and discussed the specific details of our actions. Since we had no ideas on which passage to choose, we decided to draw lots, which felt somewhat like leaving it to fate. After finalizing the details, each group took a torch and stepped into the dark passage.
With no clear direction, I entered the passage on the left. As soon as I stepped inside, I was taken aback. The passage was wide enough that if two people were searching together, they could walk side by side, using the person holding the torch as a reference to control their speed while maintaining communication through occasional sounds to ensure they were progressing at the same pace.
However, since I was searching alone, I could only walk down the center of the passage. Even so, the light from the torch couldn't illuminate both sides of the Cave Wall at once. If I leaned towards one side, that wall became clear while the other remained obscured. Obviously, I couldn't run back and forth; that would defeat the purpose of exploring two passages separately. After thinking for a moment, I came up with a solution. I extended my right arm with the torch towards the right side, illuminating that wall clearly. Then I switched to my left hand and extended my left arm, making the left wall visible as well.
I chuckled lightly as I alternated holding the torch and moved deeper into the passage. Zhao Squad Leader and Liu Squad Leader had already entered the right passage; my method didn't require coordination with them, so I should be faster. Additionally, I could walk straight and take this opportunity to measure the distance between the two Branch openings. When all three of us traversed that distance earlier, we had to maintain speed and communicate with each other, making it impossible to gauge an approximate distance. By using this method alone, I should be able to measure it more accurately.
As I alternated holding the torch between my hands, the light flickered in front of me, casting shadows that shifted unpredictably from left to right. My head had to constantly follow the torch's movement while my eyes darted across those bizarre shadows; the pressure in my mind was palpable. I focused intently on counting my steps and worked hard to control my rhythm and stride to alleviate this fear.
Fortunately, just as I expected, I was faster than Zhao Squad Leader and his team; it took me just over twenty minutes to reach the next Branch opening. Immediately upon arriving at this junction, I marked my path back and carefully examined all three openings. Luckily, nothing accompanied me further; I found nothing at all. According to our original plan, my task was complete, and I could wait for them here. If they made any discoveries on their end, they would wait for me at their location; if too much time passed without seeing them here, I'd head back to find them. Firing a shot would have been the simplest way to communicate quickly; however, given the complexity of this area, we abandoned that option.
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