Chapter 10 Red Brick Factory (9) - Road Selection by Lottery
There was silence again, with only the sound of footsteps remaining.
I just said "Why did you have to say that?" and Wu Yi wanted to slap himself twice.
Everyone then walked forward in silence, without saying another word.
"Isn't this passage a bit too long? How long have we been walking? Do you have any idea?" Ning Shu sensed something was wrong.
"I estimate it will take about ten minutes. I slowed down today, but it should still be around 700 to 800 meters," Wu Yi replied.
Cheng Chuan had been quiet since he entered, which made Ning Shu and Wu Yi feel uneasy.
"Cheng Chuan?" Ning Shu called out uncertainly.
“I’m here. This place is so eerie, let’s keep going.” His voice was calm, as if nothing was amiss.
After walking for a while, Ning Shu became a little scared and said, "Could we be trapped here? Should we turn back? Maybe there's another passage that leads out."
Wu Yi has wanted to say this for a long time!
This place is really weird. If a passage is only that long, how big is this ghostly place?
"Okay," Cheng Chuan said.
They seemed to have coordinated beforehand, stopping in unison with remarkable tacit understanding.
As they were about to turn around, they suddenly saw a beam of white light shooting towards them. Then, the scenery before them changed, and they found themselves standing in a large space.
The three of them fell silent for a moment. Was it a coincidence of timing, or was their condition for leaving that they had to stop moving forward?
They had no way to find the answer, nor did they want to go back and verify it. After a moment of silence, they acted as if nothing had happened, since they were already out of there.
The space in front of me was about half the size of a football field and about two stories high.
They are now standing on a platform that is about one floor high, with a staircase leading down in front of them.
There are many sculptures on both sides of the staircase, arranged in an orderly manner like soldiers in formation.
Looking down from above, there are approximately two hundred sculptures, evenly distributed throughout.
They didn't dare go down immediately to get closer to the railing and observe the sculptures.
The space in front was empty, but this space actually had sculptures, which they felt was not a good thing.
The sculpture isn't white like plaster or the color of carved wood; how should I put it, it's gray?
To be precise, it should be the color of cement after it has dried. This color made them wonder if these sculptures were real people sealed in cement.
They were chilled to the bone by their own speculation.
"Could they be alive?" Ning Shu said in a low voice. "Isn't that how it always goes in the movies? They suddenly come to life and start attacking us as we walk by."
Cheng Chuan and Wu Yi both turned to look at Ning Shu, their faces full of disapproval of her nonsense, although... they thought so too.
“You see two passages at the corner of the wall opposite? I wonder if there are any in the wall we’re standing on,” Cheng Chuan said.
"We'll find out if we go down the stairs and peek out."
Ning Shu also noticed this, but she thought it probably wasn't true, otherwise they could have avoided passing through these sculptures and left directly.
According to the laws of horror movies, the path full of thorns is the way out, while the seemingly most convenient path is usually a dead end.
"Let's go down and take a look first," Cheng Chuan said as he walked down the stairs, and the other two followed.
"There's a passage!" Wu Yi exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a passage behind him.
There really is one! Now we face an even more difficult choice, this godforsaken place! Ning Shu was speechless.
When there is no choice, you can only grit your teeth and take the most difficult path. But now that there is a choice, you have developed decision-making difficulties.
"You want to go straight this way?" Cheng Chuan understood the meaning behind Wu Yi's excited voice.
"Otherwise what?" Wu Yi glanced at the other side filled with sculptures and asked uncertainly, "You're going that way? Those sculptures don't look like anything good. It's too dangerous to go through them."
When you say "you," just say "you." Can you please not use the "we" part? And please don't decide her whereabouts without my permission.
Ning Shu was unaware that in Wu Yi's eyes, the two of them were actually a couple.
Because they didn't just appear together at the beginning, and Cheng Chuan saved Ning Shu the first person he rescued when things got dangerous, he misunderstood.
Cheng Chuan expressed his opinion, which was similar to what Ning Shu had just thought: what seems like an easy path may be a dead end, and what seems like a dangerous path may be a way out.
"This godforsaken place is really messing with people's mentality!"
After hearing this, Wu Yi covered his head and shouted, his voice a little loud, even though he tried his best to control it.
"Big brother, please, be quiet!"
Ning Shu immediately stepped forward to stop them, lest they "activate" those unknown things.
Cheng Chuan was also startled by Wu Yi's reaction and stepped forward to cover his mouth.
Wu Yi realized he had almost killed someone, and immediately blinked to show that he knew he was wrong and would not do it again.
After letting go, Cheng Chuan placed his hand on Wu Yi's shoulder and wiped the drool from his palm with his clothes.
"So what do we do now?"
A choice still had to be made. Wu Yi was completely lost and didn't like to think. If Cheng Chuan didn't say anything, he would just choose the shortest route.
“I’m inclined to go that way,” Cheng Chuan said, offering his opinion.
Actually, he wasn't sure if this decision was right; this strange place might not follow the rules.
Perhaps all paths lead to a way out, or perhaps none do; he can only act according to the common sense he has within his own understanding.
“I don’t think things will necessarily follow the usual rules here. We might regret whatever decision we make. How about we draw lots and leave our fate to destiny?” Ning Shu suggested.
Cheng Chuan and Wu Yi looked at her at the same time, thinking that she was really reckless. Was she handing her fate over to heaven? She was handing her life over to heaven!
Seeing their disapproving looks, Ning Shu said weakly, "Actually, I think Cheng Chuan makes a good point."
Cheng Chuan and Wu Yi turned around and continued to discuss how to choose.
...
After various analyses and discussions, the two finally agreed with Ning Shu's previous suggestion—to draw lots.
When they told Ning Shu about their decision, she remained silent for a long time... it turned out she had waited in vain.
Without paper and pen at hand, they came up with a simple solution: one person would point to the sculpture with their finger and silently count the sculptures in their mind.
One person stands with their back to the sculpture and says "stop" at random. If the number is odd, they walk through the passage closest to the sculpture; if it's even, they walk through the passage through the sculpture. The remaining person supervises.
The final conclusion was—the route that led further away.
"Alright, now we've made our choice, whether it's fate or common sense."
Wu Yi put his hands on his hips and said, "If I had known it would be so easy to solve, I wouldn't have wasted so many brain cells. I'm exhausted."
The two people behind him remained silent; they were being targeted.
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