Chapter 10 The Consequences of Disconnecting

Si Yu sat up from the game pod, looked at the middle-aged woman in front of her wearing an apron, and sighed: "Mom... it's one thing for you to come into my room, but why did you unplug the power?"

"You didn't answer when I knocked on the pod," Si Yu's mother said with a smile.

"I heard you, but I was busy..."

"Anyway, you're offline now, so come out and help Mom prepare dinner."

"Ah..." Si Yu sighed in a complaining tone, "Mom~ can't you just ask Dad to help you with this kind of thing?"

"Your dad took a game helmet and is hiding in the garage playing."

"You know where he's hiding... and you still..."

"It's in a man's nature to be playful. As long as it's not too much, we women just turn a blind eye. Otherwise, if I drag him out of the garage today, he'll hide in the basement tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow he might drain the swimming pool and squat inside to play."

"That's all nonsense... Okay, I'll come." Si Yu couldn't do anything about her mother, climbed out of the game pod, and obediently went to the kitchen to help her.

...

At the same time, in Thriller Paradise.

Feng Bujue was standing in front of a tree, holding the trunk with both hands, banging his head like a woodpecker, and moaning, "This is a ripoff! A real ripoff!" Of course, he was just pretending to show his depression; he wouldn't actually hit it hard.

Si Yu's irresponsible disconnection had completely disrupted Feng Bujue's plan.

According to his deduction, it would take at least three hours for the players to cross the dense jungle from the castle to reach the edge of the island. And General Zaroff... was powerful and knew the island like the back of his hand. Over the same distance, although he couldn't ignore the terrain and advance at high speed, it was estimated that he could complete it in at most two hours.

Feng Bujue's idea was that as long as the four of them split into two teams and escaped to opposite ends of the island, at least one team would have a much greater chance of survival. Whether the Boss could catch up and eliminate one team in the end, the distance between the other team and the Boss would be enough for them to last until the five-hour clearance time limit.

This was a very simple tactic of trading space for time. Doing so would make the script clearance success rate close to 100%, and although each player would have a near 50% chance of dying, it was still a worthwhile deal. As long as they cleared the stage, the team that wasn't chased would naturally get the clearance reward; and the team that was chased had objectively made a great contribution to the survival of the other team. After the script was successfully completed, the system would give them no less experience.

As for which team died and which team lived, it was entirely a matter of probability. Who the Boss would chase was not something the players could decide, so no one could complain, they could only blame their bad luck. From this point of view, Yi Jian and Bu Pa would most likely accept this plan.

And in this plan, Feng Bujue was naturally preparing to team up with Si Yu, because he was very uneasy about that Bu Pa beauty. Judging from the title "Hide-and-Seek" and the clues revealed in her words and deeds, her title skill was very likely to be something like stealth or aggro transfer. It would be fine to stay with her when there was no danger, but in case of danger, he was afraid she would become a scapegoat.

But after all, his reasoning wasn't supported by factual evidence. Even if he said it, Bu Pa could completely deny it. Moreover, maybe that was just her game style. Since someone was willing to take the bait, why should he spoil things? So before, when Feng Bujue saw Yi Dao and Yi Jian intending to be her protectors, he didn't stop them. Anyway, he wasn't going to be a sucker himself, and he just reminded his friend not to be fooled.

But now the problem was, Si Yu had somehow disconnected. If they acted according to the original plan, then Feng Bujue would have to go alone... and that would introduce too many variables.

The reason why Feng Bujue hadn't made the plan for four people to escape in four different directions was because the danger of acting alone was too high. If he went alone, he would probably be killed by a beast or some other unknown factor before he even crossed the jungle. If the four of them acted separately, they would most likely die one by one along the way, and even if the strongest one barely reached one side of the island, it would all be in vain if the Boss chased after him…

"Um… a five-person script, just getting to the main topic, and now there are only three people left." Feng Bujue muttered to himself, "It becomes meaningless for three people to escape together. The Boss will definitely be able to catch up with us, so being together will definitely lead to a team wipe. The two-way escape plan can't be changed..."

After he understood, he returned to Yi Jian and Bu Pa and said, "Okay... let me talk about the escape plan."

"Wait a minute." Yi Jian said unhappily, "Why are you giving orders? You have the lowest level here, right? Besides, according to what you said just now, then the plot of this script has nothing to do with the novel anymore, right? Don't you have the same information as us?"

"Then you command. What do we do next?" With one sentence, Feng Bujue threw the burden over.

"Uh…" Yi Jian was stunned for a moment and swallowed. Because he lacked confidence, he raised his voice instead. "We'll run towards the northwest corner, cross the jungle and run all the way to the seaside, and distance ourselves from the castle here first." He said pretentiously, "Zaroff has hunting dogs. Even if we eliminate our footprints, it's only a matter of time before we're tracked down, so let's just ignore the footprints and set up more traps along the way to delay his speed. By the time he chases us to the seaside, it might already be dawn."

"Great idea, you're a genius!" Feng Bujue said with shining eyes.

"Ah? Haha, you flatter me, you flatter me." Yi Jian didn't hear the sarcasm in Feng Bujue's words.

The Bu Pa beauty looked at him with a strange expression, seemingly wanting to remind him of something, but in order to maintain the image of a weakling, she stubbornly held back.

"However, I don't think there's any need to set traps," Feng Bujue said.

"Ah? Why?" Yi Jian asked.

"Do you know anything about jungle traps? How many kinds can you make?" Feng Bujue asked.

"Uh…" Yi Jian then realized that his understanding of traps was still at the level of digging a big hole and covering it with leaves. He didn't even know how to make the simplest snare.

"Basically, jungle traps can be divided into two types: hunting traps and combat traps," Feng Bujue said. "Their main functions are to capture and kill. In addition, some traps require people to operate them nearby. I personally think that the movies *First Blood* and *Predator* explained the power and function of traps very well, but they are also a bit idealistic. In fact, most traps are not necessarily reliable, and they take a lot of time to set up."

He tilted his head and scratched his hair casually. "Even if we have a way to skillfully set up some traps in a short period of time... but don't forget, there are many other animals in this jungle. Even if we set traps, you can't guarantee that Zaroff and his hunting dogs will be the first to step on them, so... it would just be a waste of time."

Yi Jian's face darkened. Anyone would be a little embarrassed and angry when someone quickly and incisively pointed out the flaws in their plan.

"Of course, this kind of flaw can only be said to be a small blemish," Feng Bujue said, changing his tone. "Apart from this, your plan is perfect."

"Is... it?" Yi Jian was a little afraid to respond this time, afraid of being praised too highly and then pulled down again.

"Of course it is. You two head towards the northwest, be careful along the way, and let's part ways here." Feng Bujue waved his hand and turned to walk back towards the stone steps of the castle.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Yi Jian exclaimed, "Are you going back?"

Feng Bujue didn't answer this question, but said, "If the three of us go together, we're bound to be wiped out if Zaroff catches up. But if we split up, you go to the northwest corner and I go to the southeast, then at least one side can survive."

Bu Pa asked, "But what are you going back to the castle for now?"

"Oh, I don't have any lighting equipment. I'm going to ask the General if he can give me a torch or something." After Feng Bujue answered, he stepped up the stairs and walked back to the castle occupied by the Boss.

"Ha... this guy's crazy..." Yi Jian Qingcheng chuckled twice, "Hmph... no wonder they call him Crazy Bujue."

Bu Pa, however, looked at Feng Bujue's back with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Let's go, don't worry about him," Yi Jian Qingcheng said.

Bu Pa immediately returned to her silly and innocent appearance and replied, "Okay, Yi Jian *dage*, you have to protect me!" (*Dage* means elder brother)

"Hehe... leave it to me." Yi Jian patted his chest, looking confident. He took out his sword, raised his flashlight, and led Bu Pa into the jungle.

...

Northwest corner of the island, deep in the jungle.

In the darkness, there was a slight rustling sound.

A shadow was wriggling and hovering on the ground, sometimes circling around the tree trunks, sometimes wandering among the gravel.

The python was the most deadly predator in the jungle, one of the creatures at the top of the food chain.

On this island, there was an evil and cold-blooded behemoth whose length exceeded ten meters. Its head was flat and full of wrinkles; its back was black and its abdomen was dark brown, with a thin, longitudinal white pattern behind it.

It was a natural killer, its forked tongue like a three-dimensional sniffing radar, its thick body able to crush any animal to bone. Its body contained no poison, because it didn't need it. It could extend its jaw to dislocation, swallow a whole living person, and slowly digest it for several weeks. After a hunt, it could remain without food for several months.

Except for General Zaroff, this giant python feared nothing, and except for General Zaroff, no one could kill it.

Normally, it occupied a nest on the island that other animals avoided.

And tonight was the night it went out to hunt after several months.