Chapter 17: Four Seasons Protection Guide (IV)
"Damn! They voted wrong on purpose?" Zheng Wanqing angrily slammed the table: "They want us to freeze to death? Are they still human?"
After she finished her outburst, she found that both of her roommates were silent. Tang Xinjue's eyes were calm, as if he had expected it. Guo Guo's face was pale, and she didn't know if it was from the cold or from fear.
She gradually realized that something was wrong, "Did I say something wrong?"
"Woo woo, you're right." Guo Guo wanted to cry but had no tears, "Because it's obvious that they really are not human!"
The only people who can vote here are students who are going through the game or NPCs. The NPCs they encounter in the game are almost all Xiao Hong, the supermarket owner, and the student union, which are full of malicious intent.
Even if you think about it, you will know that they would definitely prefer to see the students freeze to death.
Zheng Wanqing felt a chill down her spine as she realized what was happening. "Do we still have hope?"
The only clue to the mission is that they are being manipulated by a group of NPCs and are being played around with. Doesn't that mean they can kill the students at any time?
This time, Tang Xinjue's answer was also very firm:
"have."
Even the current situation, in her opinion, is one of the best scenarios, second only to the situation where all voters are normal candidates.
roommate:"???"
Tang Xin Jue said calmly: "The worst case scenario is that the votes for the four options are almost the same, and then we can't get any information from the votes."
"As it is now, it can only represent that most voters are NPCs. What is different between NPCs and ordinary test takers is that they know a lot of test information that students don't know - for example, which answer is most likely to be correct and which answer is definitely wrong."
"Under these conditions, in order to make us die faster, a vote ratio will emerge - the wrong option has the highest number of votes and the correct option has the lowest number of votes."
As Tang Xinjue analyzed the situation in detail, his roommate's eyes gradually lit up:
"That is to say, [School Swamp] is definitely the wrong answer, and [Lounge], which has the lowest number of votes, is the most likely correct answer!"
"That's right." Tang Xinjue nodded.
The malicious voting by NPCs, on the one hand, set a trap, and on the other hand, allowed the correct answer to surface effortlessly.
The student union would only inspect one location at a time, and there was a high probability that the first investigation would fail. What they needed to wait for was a second chance to vote.
"But," Guo Guo suddenly thought of a question: "Even if there is a second vote, there will be these NPCs among the voters, right? What if they deliberately vote for the wrong option?"
The number of people on both sides is so different, won't they be led by the nose all the time?
"At that time, it will be time to compete with subjective initiative."
Tang Xinjue smiled. She was not overly worried about the vote. In comparison, the upcoming swamp inspection made the danger warning in her heart even stronger.
If the answer to "the birth of the snow monster affects heating" leads to a specific location, it is most likely related to the "monster".
They didn't have direct contact in the dormitory, but Zhang You might face danger.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the indoor temperature was minus 54 degrees Celsius.
The radio creaked twice, and Lily reappeared: "Ding Dong~ Hello, all the students who are still alive, this is the student union inspection site."
You also know that the longer the time goes, the more casualties among the candidates will increase. They are probably just hoping that we will die sooner. The three of them looked indifferent.
"Wow, from here you can see that the entire swamp is sealed by ice, like a huge black mirror. Hehe, it's so beautiful..."
After being reminded by other reporters, Lily returned to the main topic: "Ahem, then next. Please ask Mr. Sun, who gave this answer, to explore the swamp in person and report the results to us~"
"Wait, am I the only one going there?" Another boy said in panic, "It's too dark in there, and there's only ice on top. What if the ice breaks..."
"Student Sun, this is the answer you gave yourself. Of course, you have to check whether it is correct or not." Lily answered considerately.
Seeing that the boy was still struggling, her voice suddenly turned cold: "Of course, if you insist on not cooperating, we will have no choice but to use coercive measures."
After that, there was a few seconds of confusion and cries of pain on the radio, and soon, Lily's voice of laughing with her hands covering her mouth was heard: "There was a small accident just now, but now it's back on track. Student Sun has entered the inspection site and is now walking on the ice. We can hear his footsteps. Oh, Student Sun's legs are shaking slightly. It seems that he is not very confident about his answer..."
"Ah," she paused, with strange excitement, "The ice surface has cracked!"
In the dormitory, everyone had a bad expression on their face.
The student union must have tied a microphone to the boy, so that everything happening on the swamp ice could be clearly heard from outside the radio.
At first, only the boy's rapid breathing and the slow creaking of the ice surface could be heard. Then, the receiver was suddenly filled with the gurgling sound of water and the sound of surging.
But why is there the sound of water on the ice?
Tang Xinjue's eyes were gloomy: "Unless there is something swimming under the ice following people."
—It was a monster big enough to break through the solidified swamp.
“Crack—crack—”
It was as if several cracks suddenly appeared, and the boy froze in his tracks.
"Ah, the ice is cracking."
Then, as Lily was gloating over her misfortune, the footsteps suddenly became faster, as if the boy was running hurriedly on the ice, and behind him, the sound of the ice breaking continued to accumulate, and the gurgling sound under the ice became louder and louder.
Suddenly, the boy let out a scream, then fell heavily to the ice, his body still struggling to move forward.
“Bang!”
This was the sound of another heavy object falling on the ice.
“Hiss—hiss—”
This is the sound of it sliding on the ice.
After four or five seconds, the boy's voice disappeared, leaving only the heavy friction and wriggling of an object, and finally it sank back into the swamp.
Tang Xinjue closed his eyes and took two deep breaths to prevent the nausea from coming up.
Then she took out the toilet plunger and slammed it hard on the desk!
Guo Guo and Zheng Wanqing, with painful and confused expressions, shuddered and came to their senses.
They just followed the sound on the radio, and were surrounded by the cold, sticky, tense and painful feeling of being there. They almost couldn't breathe, and their stomachs were churning. If they hadn't been suddenly awakened by Tang Xinjue, they didn't know how long they would have been immersed in it.
Zheng Wanqing stretched out her hand, and the blood on it quickly solidified in the cold. She had just scratched her hand unconsciously.
Guo Guo tried to swallow twice, but still couldn't help it, so he bent over and started to dry heave.
In the [Dormitory Member Status] interface, except for Tang Xin Jue, everyone has different degrees of negative status. The most serious one is Zhang You:
[Mental Damage: Your health value is 10, and your sanity value is reduced ]
[Look directly at the giant: Immunity 5, Endurance 3, Reaction 3. Your physical fitness has been greatly reduced, and the environment has become more dangerous to you.]
Even if you don't come into direct contact with the monster, or even just receive information through the radio, you may still be hurt.
You must make a decision immediately and not follow the other party's rhythm. Tang Xinjue made a decision in his mind.
The radio station continues.
Lily's voice was very satisfied, as if she had just had a full meal. "It seems a pity that Sun's answer is not correct. The heating process has made no progress. Zhang, what do you think?"
Without waiting for Zhang You to answer, she continued, "But it doesn't matter. Let's see where the next place we are going to investigate is!"
"One, the power generation room; two, the water supply room; three, the lounge. The choice is in the hands of the students in front of the radio. Then, the voting begins--"
The ringing interrupted Lily's voice, and she froze, "Who called the radio station?"
After a few rustling sounds, Lily answered the call, her voice revealing visible reluctance: "Haha, it seems that the students are very enthusiastic about the radio station. Let's see who is calling this time..."
"Hello."
In front of the radio, Tang Xinjue held the phone with a calm tone.
"..." Lily wanted to hang up immediately.
After another round of hesitation, she finally held back and asked with a fake smile: "Hello, may I ask why you suddenly contacted us..."
"The situation is urgent." Tang Xinjue interrupted her, "I just discovered that there is something unusual in the heating staff's lounge. It is very likely that the key to solving this heating problem is inside."
"I see..." Lily stretched out her voice, "But the inspection site can only be selected by voting, so it's a pity..."
"But isn't the purpose of the student union today to solve the heating problem?" Tang Xinjue interrupted her again, but his tone was calm: "Logically speaking, the process should serve the result."
Lily: ...She is a reporter now, she is not angry, she endures it!
"Haha." There was a sneer on the other end of the phone. "But how do you prove that what you said is correct? What is the basis of your analysis?"
"Someone came to me in a dream." Tang Xinjue said without hesitation.
"I have a friend named Xiaohong, and we have a very good relationship. She happened to know something about the heating issue, so she told me in a dream just now that the key to the solution is in the lounge. As we all know, good friends will not lie, so this answer must be correct."
Student Union: “…”
Her roommate, who watched her finish the whole process without changing her expression, said: "..."
Lily resisted the urge to swear and said, "This reason doesn't seem very credible."
Wait, the student union reporter named Xiao Ming suddenly interrupted: "I seem to remember a classmate named Xiao Hong..."
Lily screamed, "Shut up!"
"Of course, I also firmly support fair decision-making. If anyone has other suggestions, you can also make a phone call to reflect them. I don't mind live debates. For those students who don't know how to contact the radio station, you are also welcome to call 7543..."
There was no time to stop him, and Lily could only watch Tang Xinjue read out the radio station number in one breath.
"After all, if I'm the only one making the phone calls, and everyone else only needs to send text messages, and can't tell the identity of the voter, wouldn't it be unfair if someone stole dozens of phones to vote? After all - our [mission] is the same."
Tang Xinjue emphasized the last sentence and hung up the phone without giving the other party a chance to refute.
She was gambling that the NPCs could only fish in troubled waters by voting, but could not directly interfere with the exam content - but real students could.
At the same time, it is also a bet on the balance of the rules of the game - even the student union is bound to be subject to certain levels of constraints and suppression. For example, it cannot refuse students' active calls.
For example, the completion of the heating task cannot be hindered by refusing reasonable requests.
They deliberately downplayed this point, but Tang Xin Jue would not ignore it. What he said just now was not meant for the student union, but was to test the rules of the game that could be covered in some way.
On the radio, the student union fell into a long silence.
After a while, Xiao Ming said, "We still need to discuss this issue to determine whether it is more conducive to finding the heating progress. Please wait for another hour, thank you."
Tang Xinjue knew that she had made the right bet.
Only when the other party is caught in a pain point and has no other options, can they use the right to delay time to maximize their losses.
It would be best if they all froze to death during this period of time, so that the Student Union could follow the original process.
Just as the radio station was about to pause again, the connection bell suddenly rang again.
Lily's scream, finally unable to bear it any longer, came from a distance: "Is this never going to end? I'll beat you&*%$##@..."
Xiao Ming: "I'm sorry, the reporter is a little bit out of control right now. Mr. Tang, is there anything else I can do for you?"
In front of the radio, Tang Xinjue raised his eyebrows.
She is sitting here quietly now and is not making any phone calls.
The next second, a strange girl's voice rang out on the radio: "Hello. I'm not Tang, my last name is Liu. I'm calling to support Tang's suggestion. I also think that the next inspection site should be the heating staff lounge."
Xiao Ming: "...Okay, we will remember your opinion. Goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, without even a second's pause, the ringtone suddenly rang again.
"I support their opinion as well." This time it was a simple and honest male voice: "By the way, can the Student Union provide us with some hot water bottles and warming equipment? If not, you can just light a pot of wood at the door. After all, you are the ones who serve the students..."
Student Union: “…”
An hour passed quickly amid the endless phone calls. They didn't even have time to say the end before they were overwhelmed by new calls.
Even Guo Guo and Zheng Wanqing joined in the phone call team. When they heard that the student union had been humiliated, they temporarily forgot the pain of being cold and breathed a sigh of relief.
At 3 pm, the phone call was finally suspended. Xiao Ming couldn't wait to pass the microphone to Lily, "After discussion, we decided to adopt Tang's suggestion and go directly to the heating staff lounge for this field trip!"
“Luckily, the rest room is near the school swamp, so we got here quickly.”
Lily tried to regain her professional fake smile: "You can see that there is no light in the lounge, and the windows are pitch black. How strange, is the staff not in there?"
"Next, please ask Zhang You to go in and find out the truth for us!"
