Doomsday Wonderland

On the other side of the bike path, a few meters away, the bus stop stood silently in the sky.

From where the two of them were, they could only see the large advertisement behind the bus stop and the stop sign standing beside it; but neither Lin Sanjiu nor Pan Cui were in a hurry to go there - they turned their heads and looked at the mime. His back finally completely disappeared into the shadows of the alley, and then he let out a long breath in unison.

"He really left," Lin Sanjiu said with some incredulity, "He really just left like that? I thought he would stay and make sure we took the next road."

"I thought so too," Pan Cui looked around suspiciously. "This road has not been blocked... Even if we didn't go to the bus station and went to other places, how would he know?"

This road is a common two-way road in the city. It is smooth from front to back and extends in all directions. It is not only connected to several roads in other directions, but also has a pedestrian bridge or several zebra crossings in the distance. There are also buildings on both sides of the two-way road. , the lanes are densely covered, and if someone wants to escape the control of the copy, this seems to be a good place to test.

When no one made a sound, the entire empty and abandoned city was suppressed by a heavy, solidified silence, and even the sound of breathing seemed to be cut off by it at any time.

"Let's try walking?" Lin Sanjiu suggested, "Although I don't think the dungeon will allow us to simply walk to the finish line in one go, there's no harm in giving it a try."

Pan Cui pursed her lips and turned her gaze to the bus stop not far away.

"I think since the dungeon dared to put us here, it must have taken precautionary measures." She really didn't agree, but she didn't hide it and said bluntly: "Besides, the area here is too big, and you can't see the end at a glance. We can't keep walking...it's a waste of energy and time, and there's a risk of not being able to find the way back."

Her concerns were reasonable; seeing that she was unwilling, Lin Sanjiu dropped the topic, nodded and said, "Then let's go there?"

Pan Cui smiled at her. "You're such a rare person," she said softly, stepping off the bike path. "Many people I met couldn't bear to have different opinions from them. They always felt that it was a personal attack on them..."

Lin Sanjiu suspected that she was blushing at this moment; she coughed dryly, followed him, and said, "Where are you?"

"And you are also very gentle," Pan Cui praised people endlessly, and said as he walked: "You were still thinking about Pina just now, which is rare among the evolutionaries who are sweeping away the snow in front of the door. Speaking of which, I I'm also a bit ashamed. You saved me with your 'extra action', but I didn't use my 'extra action' to help you or Pina..."

"'I will take action'?" Lin Sanjiu was startled.

"Ah, that's my name. You should have noticed it too, right?"

Pan Cui looked back at her and said: "Among the movements assigned to us by the mime, some are basic movements needed for action, some are clues, some are the key to successfully leaving, some are traps... and some are within ourselves. It’s not needed in the scene, so it’s superfluous, and I suspect it can be used to help others. This also explains why we are still limited by the movements of a mime after we each leave the scene.”

Lin Sanjiu half-opened her mouth and stuttered a bit when speaking: "Ah, yes, that's right, I noticed it too."

Teacher Yi whispered: "I'm so embarrassed for you."

So, the action of "washing hair" must be one of the traps... Lin Sanjiu turned a deaf ear to Teacher Yi, coughed again, and changed the subject: "Did you see the sign for the next road?"

"Look at the other side," Pan Cui said, walking around the bus stop - and then her footsteps were suddenly stopped.

Lin Sanjiu's heart tightened, and she immediately rushed over. With a quick glance, she froze on the spot just like Pan Cui.

The sign for the next road was posted on the front of the billboard at the bus stop, just blocking a model's face.

"The road to the end?"

The road in front of this card should not be one of the roads leading to the terminal casino.

The road in front of this card is a difficult one. You must bet at least 70 points before entering.

The winner is the one who has the road in front of this card and the road behind this section and meets the conditions. If you linger on the road for more than 24 hours, you will be considered a loser. After losing your bet items, the gambler will be sent back to the starting point.

The road odds in front of this card are 1:7. The winner can get back the chips he bet at the end of this road section, and also get 470 points of compensation for this road section).

The road in front of this sign only allows one person to enter every fifteen minutes.

"No... it's impossible, right?" Pan Cui stared at the sign and murmured counting them one by one: "It's not the road to the end. It's more difficult to walk, and the betting points and odds are so high..."

This means that not only is this path high risk and much more difficult than the previous two paths, but even if they can escape by luck, all this will be in vain.

"Wait a minute," Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized, touched Pan Cui quickly, and after drawing her attention back, said, "This notice board is different from the ones we saw before, isn't it?"

Pan Cui was startled and then understood.

Previously, there was only one sentence on the front of the sign indicating the number of points to bet, and more explanations, rules and precautions on the back; but this time, the only few explanations appeared on the front of the sign, and the sign itself was firmly The one posted on the billboard cannot be turned over at all.

"That is to say, apart from these explanations, there is no other information to provide..." Pan Cui wiped his face and said: "Maybe you are right, we still need to walk around. , see if there are other ways?”

Lin Sanjiu said nothing and nodded silently.

There is another idea that is expanding uncontrollably and occupying her mind - if "road difficulty" and "probability of reaching the end" are negatively correlated, that is, the higher the former, the lower the latter, is this right? Does this mean that the Puppet Masters and the others have embarked on an impossible path to the end early on?

But until she gets more information, no matter how worried she is, it will be in vain, because she has no idea whether the premise of her guess is correct or not.

However, she understood this truth, but she couldn't stop her random thoughts; it wasn't until she and Pan Cui separated and walked out for a while that another thought gradually cast a big enough shadow to drown out her previous worries.

According to the agreed time, Lin Sanjiu returned to the bus station an hour later.

Putting aside the fatigue for the moment, she only needed to glance at Pan Cui's face from a distance to see that she might have had the same feeling as herself - the neighborhood was too connected in all directions, and every road had several directions. There are several high-rise buildings on each branch. If you choose any direction to go, you will face more choices, as if you will never finish this city.

Because there are so many choices and so many places, no matter how far they have traveled or how many roads they have looked at, they feel as if they have not taken a single step.

"This is not a coincidence," Lin Sanjiu said with a frown, "We walked in a randomly selected direction for an hour, but we didn't see any sign indicating the beginning of the road..."

"I'm afraid no matter how far we go, there won't be any signboards for the next road, right?" Pan Cui smiled bitterly and said, "Starting from the rooftop, the roads we encounter are getting more and more difficult, and the points required are getting more and more. There are many, but the possibility of reaching the end is getting smaller and smaller...and even the number of alternative paths has finally been reduced to one. This is definitely not a coincidence."

Lin Sanjiu sat down on the bench waiting for the bus, feeling her fatigue floating on top of a daze.

"Like you said, if this is a trend, then even if we can complete this road, the next road will be more demanding, and it will definitely not reach the end. Failure will happen sooner or later." She thought for a moment, Said: "We can't sit here forever... Do you remember the final failure conditions written on the notice board on the rooftop?"

"You mean..." Pan Cui's brows tightened, "People who linger in this city for more than 24 hours after losing all their chips will become duplicate creatures?"

"Yes," Lin Sanjiu nodded, "but it didn't make it clear what the punishment would be if someone still has leverage but wanders around the city and doesn't choose a path."

In fact, there may be no need to make this point clear - just look around at this superficial, dead city, and you will know that this type of "self-exile" is a punishment in itself.

If someone is unwilling to part with his special items and is unwilling to bet on an impossible road to the end, he will keep walking in an empty and endless city with no direction, no supplies, no supplements, and no companions. ...We can only wait for the teleportation that will appear after being disrupted by the flood.

What's more, Lin Sanjiu still needs to go out as soon as possible to rendezvous with the puppet master and his group - not going on the road means being separated; if they are separated now, there is no telling when they will be reunited.

The two sat in silence for a while at the bus stop.

"I think it's better for us to hit the road."

Pan Cui finally spoke: "Not going on the road is not an option, unless you plan to spend the hard money to teleport. We have only earned 35.05 points of chips so far. If we bet them all, we will have to add another item. What if something happens on this road? If you fail on the road, you will lose nearly 35 points... which is a very good special item. This risk is indeed very high."

She paused and then said: "But, from another perspective, this path has its limits. As long as we can win the chips on this path, we will have 420 more points available, even on the next path. If we fail and are sent back to the starting point of the rooftop, we still have enough capital to start over... The risk of losing 35 points is a gain of 420 points. I think this risk-benefit ratio is well worth a try."

"Her thinking is really clear," Teacher Yi suddenly sighed in her mind, "She just doesn't know. You don't need her to analyze the risk-benefit ratio, and you have to get on the road."

Even though they started from different angles, their final decision was the same: place a bet.

In addition to the 35 blank chips she won - she didn't even bother to take out the 0.05 chip - Lin Sanjiu took out [Teach students in accordance with their aptitude]; after she finished placing her bets, UU Reading www.uukanshu.netｔ You will get back a 5-point blank chip.

"I'll go first," Pan Cui shook Lin Sanjiu's hand and said solemnly, "I will still stop in front and wait for you like I did in the office."

You have to stop and wait for someone anyway, and it doesn’t make much difference who leaves first. Lin Sanjiu nodded; he watched Pan Cui put down a few chips under the sign.

Sure enough, a yellow arrow appeared on the road in front of the bus stop - but strangely, only one arrow appeared.

Pan Cui stepped on the arrow and was a little confused: "Where is the next arrow?"

What answered her was a bus that suddenly and silently drove up in the distance. Under the glare of the two people, the bus with black glass slowly slid into the platform. The yellow arrow pointed at exactly the same place. Guest door.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－

Finally finished writing, I’m leaving