Chapter 670: Chapter 670: Return to the Starting Point
Everything was back to square one, and they faced the choice again.
This time, which cave should they go into?
Asarina located the spot where she had made a mark, noticing a cross-shaped pattern made with shells on the scorched rock.
It seemed that they had indeed returned.
They had returned to their starting point.
Everyone looked at each other and nobody spoke.
The dark waters, the vicious Fish Monster, and seven difficult-to-choose caves. This maze left them completely clueless.
“Which one to choose this time…?” Asarina asked Bai Youwei.
She remembered Bai Youwei’s performance in the Red, Yellow, Blue Game, and thus was confident in Bai Youwei’s abilities. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have voluntarily volunteered to be recruited.
After all, following an unreliable king could be a life or death gamble.
But Bai Youwei didn’t answer her.
Asarina continued, “We chose the first one last time. What about trying out the second one this time? We may find an escape if we try each one.”
Bai Youwei frowned in deep thought but said nothing.
Asarina stared at her suspiciously.
Along and Aqing exchanged glances, whispering, “…Boss?”
“Shush!” Asarina gave them a glance, lowering her voice, “Don’t disturb her, let her think.”
Everyone on the boat fell silent.
After a long while, Bai Youwei finally spoke up, “Let’s try the third one.”
Asarina was slightly taken aback, “Why the third one?”
Bai Youwei said, “Now we can be sure that we have returned to the original position, therefore we face two possibilities.
The first one is, as long as we go into the wrong cave, we will return to the original position and can’t move forward.
The second one is, whether we go right or wrong, we will return to the original position.
Under these two circumstances, there lies a question, how can we discern whether the path we took is right or wrong? The mermaid encounter just now may be a hint.”
This might sound a little confusing, but once you think about it, everything falls into place.
After all, the purpose of a maze run is definitely to find the exit. But if the player cannot confirm that their chosen path is correct, how could they find the escape? Is it all based on luck?
Asarina was slightly lost in thought, “You mean…if we take the wrong path, the Fish Monster will appear, is that it?”
“Yes.” Bai Youwei gave a small nod, “A maze differs from a game. The rules of the game are explicitly given by the inspector, but the rules of a maze need to be found by ourselves.
If the players can’t judge whether the path they are on is correct or not, they won’t be able to find the exit. Therefore, there must be some hidden clues here.
On the way here, I’ve been observing the environment. The rocks, shells, water, and light, even the smell, almost had no differences. Even the reefs protruding from the water surface were spread out very evenly, as if purposefully not providing any memory differences for the players.
The only difference was the Fish Monster.
The first time we walked through the middle cave, there was no Fish Monster, but the second time we went through the first cave, we encountered the Fish Monster and the air inside the cave also became more putrid.”
Asarina said, “But why choose the third cave? I still don’t quite understand…”
“Because I want to know if there’s some pattern tied to the number of Fish Monsters.”
Bai Youwei looked at the cave entrance not far away. The cave was pitch dark, and her eyes were cold.
“There was one Fish Monster in the first cave, so… are there two in the second, and three in the third? Or perhaps there’s no change in numbers, and as long as we choose the wrong cave, one Fish Monster will appear? Or maybe the quantity increases… there are many possibilities here, we have to try again.”
“I don’t object, but…” Asarina’s expression became serious, “I must remind you, if the situation is like your first assumption, and there are three Fish Monsters in the third cave… we might not be able to handle it.”