Interactive Fiction: The Right Choice After Unemployment

Chapter 33
8% for option one, 28% for option two, and 64% for option five.

……

【Option [-]】

[Bring all the above three people together to explore]

……

Zheng Zhuo looked at the jungle in front of him.The small island is not too big, and the jungle covers only half of the island.But for a person, wanting to find a plane covered with weeds and vines in this forest covered with tall vegetation is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack.

After watching the opinions of [Subconscious Voting], Zheng Zhuo decided to let Chu Huairen, Student Shen and Xue Ying go with him.

Although Chu Huairen did not have the skills needed to explore the dense forest, he was more or less a man.Besides, both classmate Shen and Xue Ying had some weird symptoms of skin disease, and only Chu Huairen is still safe and sound.

Student Shen has mastered the only skill among the crowd that seems to be required for exploration: [climbing].

After entering the dense forest, the only means of communication between everyone and the outside world is the radio walkie-talkie.Zheng Zhuo just had the thought of "in case something goes wrong...would it be better to have someone with radio..." unexpectedly, [Subconscious Vote] directly recognized this possibility.

And, the ballot is selected.

"(There must be a reason for that.)"

Zheng Zhuo started talking to everyone.

Seven people are indeed too much for surveying this small place.Not long after, Chu Huairen, Student Shen and Xue Ying nodded and agreed to join the jungle exploration team.

……

after an hour.

In the dense forest.The thatch that grew past the waist rustled.The four armed men lined up in a file with machetes in hand, and walked forward while opening the way.

Hot, dark, and humid.The outside of the jungle is obviously a vast sea, but the inside is densely filled with banyan trees, oil palms, horn trees, mistletoe and kudzu vines, so that no wind can penetrate.

"……Ha ha……"

Zheng Zhuo gasped heavily.He heard his heart beating louder and louder.

The road is too difficult to walk.There is not even a place that can be called a road.Along the way, everyone spent the most energy on choosing a place to stay.They stepped forward on tree trunks, long grass and even short trees, and the loss of physical strength was far beyond imagination.

Zheng Zhuo looked back.Student Shen's condition is fine, but Chu Huairen and Xue Ying obviously couldn't keep up with the speed.

"rest."

Zheng Zhuo said.

……

Zheng Zhuo sat on a collapsed tree trunk and opened his backpack to replenish water and energy.During this period, he looked at the sky.

"(It's too slow going on like this.)"

he thought.

The jungle was too difficult to walk, and it took everyone an hour, but the actual distance traveled may not be more than a few hundred meters.

It is really difficult to find the plane that crashed in the depths at this speed.

"..."

And among the people who were traveling together, some people obviously realized the problem of the slow speed of travel.

"Next, let me go first."

Student Shen suddenly made an opinion.He said that his physical strength is relatively good.You can explore the way first, and then let everyone follow.This way the process will be faster.

However, Xue Ying did not agree with his proposal.She questioned in a low voice: This is a jungle, and people are too easy to get lost.

"...progress and safety..."

Chu Huairen thought for a moment, raised his head, looked around, and came up with an idea.

"The trees in this jungle are not all the same height. You see, some of the trees grow extraordinarily tall."

He pointed his finger deep into the jungle.Indeed, through the sparse leaves, the height of the trees can be seen divided into distinct gradients.Some tall trees can be clearly seen from a distance.

"We can spread out and explore, and finally meet under the designated tree. However, in terms of safety, we may only be able to maintain contact by radio..."

tall trees.

Zheng Zhuo suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Xiao Shen, you used to be an amateur firefighter, right?"

"Ah? Right..."

"I have an idea."

Zheng Zhuo proposed a plan based on the [Climbing] skills possessed by Shen.

First, move forward from student Shen to a tall tree and climb up it.

Then, the other three explored in three directions: straight forward, 45-degree left front, and 45-degree right front.Go forward for 30 minutes and turn around, and gather at the tall tree where student Shen is.Once everyone has assembled, repeat the action.

During this period, everyone maintained radio contact.Student Shen also observed the situation of the rest of the team members above the arbor, and was ready to rescue at any time.

"...security will also increase."

Zheng Zhuo said so.

……

After the break, the exploration team set off again.But this time, student Shen was the only one who got up first.

Everyone began to implement Zheng Zhuo's plan. After 30 minutes, everyone saw that the top of the nearest arbor was tied with a red cloth—this was a signal that Shen had arrived.

Zheng Zhuo, Chu Huairen and Xue Ying got up.Xue Ying, who had the weakest physical strength, was in charge of exploring the front closest to Qiao Mu, while Zheng Zhuo and Chu Huairen advanced along the left and right respectively.

"..."

After the number of people decreased, the forest became extremely quiet.Zheng Zhuo split the weeds and dead branches forward, and every 5 minutes, he alternately reported the safety situation on the radio with everyone.

At first, the plan went well.The speed of the crowd more than doubled.An hour later, they had explored three times their previous range.

However, upon return, a problem occurred.

Zheng Zhuo looked at the top of the tall arbor with the red cloth and walked forward.Halfway there, something went wrong with the radio.Every 5 minutes, there will still be the sound of someone connecting, but the sound quality is getting less and less clear, and finally only the "rustling" sound is left.

The radio does not work?Uneasy Zheng Zhuo quickened his pace and finally arrived under the marked arbor.

However, there is no one here.

Even Shen, who was supposed to be sitting on the top of the tree, didn't know where he went.

what happens?Zheng Zhuo was shocked, but he didn't dare to leave rashly.He could only stay where he was and wait.During this period, he kept calling the radio.

However, there was only a "rustling" sound on the radio.

About 10 minutes later, Xue Ying, whose face was full of dust, split the weeds and appeared at the assembly point.

"Radio signal blocked."

As soon as she saw Zheng Zhuo, she immediately said.

"The jungle around here is too dense, affecting the radio signal. I need to make some adjustments—"

at this time.

rustle.

Suddenly the radio picked up.

"—Quick! There it is—its mouth—"

"Open your mouth!"

"Quick, quick! Knock—yes—!"

A series of hurried shouts came from the radio!And that voice was obviously Student Shen and Chu Huairen - they were running while fighting against something!
"Where are you!? Hello? Answer! Where are you!?"

Zheng Zhuo yelled into the radio, but...

"I—I don't know—"

"The signal in this direction is stronger."

Xue Ying, who had been holding the radio up since just now, said suddenly.

"It should be in front of here!"

Zheng Zhuo immediately picked up the machete used to split kudzu vines and ran into the dense forest.Sure enough, he didn't go far, and he heard the voice of the dispute faintly.

He ran there, only to see classmate Shen and Chu Huairen in a stalemate with a huge python.The body of the boa constrictor stood up, it was as thick as an adult's calf.Both of their machetes were left behind the boa constrictor, and now they were unarmed and could only resist with broken wooden sticks.

"Come on!"

Zheng Zhuo arrived immediately.He wields a machete.The snake opened its mouth intimidatingly for a moment, probably seeing more people, it backed away and slowly disappeared among the bushes.

The two didn't dare to stay longer, they immediately picked up the machete and followed Zheng Zhuo back to the assembly point.

……

Everyone gathered in a circle at the meeting point to defend against possible snakes and insects, and simply rested.During the period, Xue Ying readjusted the signal status of the radio walkie-talkie, and everyone also had a conversation.

It turned out that after the signal failed, student Shen saw Chu Huairen who had encountered a python in a tree.He rushed to help and tried to scare the snake away with a machete, but was unsuccessful.

"It tried to engulf me. During the struggle, I was bitten." Student Shen showed the two blood holes on his calf to everyone, and then did a simple disinfection and bandage. "Fortunately, it is a non-venomous snake."

"Can you continue to move forward?" Zheng Zhuo asked.

"Of course." Shen's face was very pale, but he nodded, "Xue Ying also strengthened the signal of our radio. Now, we can try longer distances and more scattered positions. In this way, the progress of exploration will be faster."

"But the rescue will be slower that way. Your leg is injured again." Chu Huairen objected, "I think our forward route needs to be gathered..."

In the end, he hesitated.

Zheng Zhuo could understand what he was hesitating about: speeding up the exploration and completing the exploration as soon as possible is also a safe way.

So, what to do?

……

【problem】

[Radio can satisfy a wider range of exploration, but there are harmful creatures in the jungle.Next, how should the exploration plan be adjusted? 】

【Option [-]】

[Further, more scattered, faster to complete exploration]

【Option [-]】

[Closer, closer, slower to complete exploration]

【Option [-]】

【keep status quo】

　After [Option 1], [Option 1] and [Option [-]], you can leave a message in the form of [this chapter says]. A message under [-] id counts as [-] vote.

　　票数统计截至至2022/11/18日晚20：00.
　　Finally, please recommend tickets~
　　


(End of this chapter)