After leaving Old Bones' hut, Sister Lin Shuang walked back in silence. At this moment, they were worried about the same problem:

If you can no longer go to Ten Thousand Caves Forest, where will your own food come from?

Yes, Wanku Forest is a dangerous place. There are many brave people in Xiahe Village who ignore the advice and insist on hunting there. As a result, most of them never return.

But who would want to go to that kind of place if they didn't have to?

The ice wave is coming, and the food reserves at home are far from enough. Do we really expect the so-called "equal distribution" mentioned by the village chief?

This rule can still be implemented in normal times. As long as it is not under extreme circumstances, everyone is willing to share some food with neighbors who are suffering from famine for various reasons.

However, ice tides and red tides are extreme situations.

If equal distribution really worked, my parents would not have died in the first place...

"Sister, what should I do?"

Lin Xue asked worriedly.

Lin Shuang sighed and didn't know how to answer for a while.

The situation they faced was really too difficult. If they went to Ten Thousand Cave Forest, they would have to face those crazy bandits; if they didn't go, it would be absolutely impossible to survive the ice wave.

It seems that they all die, just in sequence.

"At that time, Lin Shu's family came to propose marriage. I should agree on your behalf."

"In this case, at least you can survive."

"But it's too late now. They can't accept you in vain at this juncture..."

"Sister, I don't want to do it myself."

Lin Xue shook her head and interrupted Lin Shuang's words.

"It's actually useless. Even if I did go to his house, I would have been kicked out by now - I can't be pregnant within two months, right?"

Lin Shuang nodded sadly. The rules of Xiahe Village were indeed as cruel as Lin Xue said. If she was not pregnant, she would still be a free person according to the rules. She could leave the man at any time, and the man could abandon her at any time.

After a moment of silence, she spoke:

"Starting tomorrow, you can go fishing during the day. The ice in Dangyang Lake is already very thick, and there are more fish there than in the Xia River. If we are lucky, maybe we can survive on fish."

"Come back in the evening, weave some more Gebu and see if you can exchange it with Lin Hu and the others for some prey - I don't think they will give it to you, but who knows, maybe they are lucky enough to hunt some extra ones."

Lin Xue heard a bit of determination in her sister's tone, so she quickly asked:

"What about you? What do you want to do?"

"I'm going to Ten Thousand Caves Forest."

Lin Shuang replied in a tone that left no room for doubt.

"There are bandits there! Moreover, there are no oak trees or wild fruits on the route we walked before. You don't want to go deeper, do you? There are sinkholes everywhere, and you can't get out if you fall in them.

Got it!"

"We have no other choice, you must listen to me."

Lin Shuang put her arms around Lin Xue's shoulders, and the latter closed her eyes in despair.

How could she not know what her sister was thinking?

She plans to take the risk alone.

If successful, both people can survive.

If you fail... you can survive.

And I really can't disobey, because I have no ability to replace her and go deep into the Ten Thousand Cave Forest alone, let alone waste her kindness and tie the lives of two people together.

On the bare ground, this is the stupidest choice.

Lin Xue raised her head and looked at the dark mountain forest. The second snow before the ice wave had already fallen.

According to the village chief, this snow will last for at least a month.

By then, the entire mountain forest will be buried in the snow.

And this month is her only chance to survive the ice wave.

She didn't know what was in that mountain forest, but vaguely, she seemed to see in the darkness... flickering fire?

...

At the same time, outside the passage of Sanchi Research Institute, there were indeed four figures surrounding each other, trying to make a fire in the snow.

Chen Jiu in the middle was rubbing the wooden stick in his hand vigorously. Sparks were already appearing in the groove of the base. Wig quickly handed him the tinder made of withered grass that had been prepared long ago.

He carefully poured the sparks into the tinder, then puffed up his cheeks and exhaled slowly, and with a burst of thick smoke, the flames suddenly rose.

"Damn it, Brother Jiu is awesome!"

"It's amazing!"

Wig and Bug Girl, the two best admirers, clapped their hands and applauded, and Qin Chuan also said with appreciation:

"This thing has a simple structure and is easy to use. It's much easier to use than the bow drill I made... Brother, you usually watch Wilderness Survival, right?"

After finishing speaking, Qin Chuan turned his head and spit out a mouthful of blood.

----He had been injured internally by the wild boar, but because more than 80% of the pain was blocked, he thought his gums were bleeding.

"I've seen it a little bit, hehe."

Chen Jiu smiled and added two firewood to the fire. After a while, a bonfire lit up.

In fact, using primitive methods to make fire is not a necessary condition for the mission--although the F-level permission given by Shuanghe is low, there are several igniters that can still be used in the kitchen of the institute, so it will not be a problem.

Reduced to making fire with wood.

The reason why he did this was purely because Qin Chuan wanted to test how realistic this game was. Anyway, there was nothing he could do after it got completely dark, so Chen Jiu accompanied him.

After all, if a game wants to remain attractive, it must be tight and tight, because once players start to feel tired, they are not far from becoming afk.

Looking at the blazing bonfire, Wig came closer, put the meat threaded with branches on the fire, and said:

"I feel that the difficulty of this game is not too high. It is still a bit different from what was previously advertised - today's hunting went very smoothly and the fire making went very smoothly."

"...You have forgotten that you have done this once, right?"

The insect girl pierced the wig mercilessly, but then continued:

"But to be honest, what you said makes sense."

"For us, this game is certainly not difficult. After all, we can trade our lives for a wild boar."

"But for other NPCs, it's not that simple."

"Today you were busy brushing pigs, but when I came back I looked over at Dangyang Lake. Even the largest settlement nearby in the setting has a very low construction level."

"They are all thatched huts and shabby houses. The people here probably haven't solved the basic problems of survival yet."

"After this so-called ice wave period passes, I estimate that at least half of the population in that village will be reduced - either starving to death or freezing to death."

Hearing this, Wig's face showed an expression of disbelief.

"That shouldn't be right? There are so many prey in this forest, how can we not have anything to eat?"

"That's because you don't understand the real apocalypse."

Chen Jiu from the side interrupted.

"If you have read the research reports on famine, you will know that in fact, any famine is not caused by the complete depletion of resources. Most of the time, it is because the population consumption exceeds the line of resource carrying capacity."

"When the first hungry person appears, things will take a turn for the worse."

"The hungrier they are, the less likely civilians will take risks, because injury or loss of labor means the end of all hope."

"Xiahe Village, including the entire apocalypse, should be in such a situation now... Everyone can barely survive, but the balance is extremely fragile. If there is any disturbance, we will be done with it."

"And didn't the NPC also say before that this Ten Thousand Caves Forest is very dangerous, that's why no one comes here? The logic is very simple, they don't dare to take risks."

After listening to Chen Jiu's explanation, the other three players nodded in unison.

"Okay, the analysis is very good. So what do you think our main plot will be in the future?"

Qin Chuan asked.

He is a technical person and really doesn't understand these sociological things.

Chen Jiu thought for a moment and replied:

"I think it is definitely not a regular farming stream. The world today is both fragile and critical, and the balance may be broken at any time. According to the setting, the path of slow and steady development will not work."

"So, the big plot is definitely going to follow the king's path. First, conquer all directions, integrate resources, and maybe even actively consume part of the population, and then slowly increase technology and build..."

"I estimate that the mainstream professions should still be combat-based, and there will definitely be life-based professions, but the weight will not be too high."

Qin Chuan nodded slightly and said:

"Your understanding of the game is considered top-notch... But in this case, the background of this game is a bit too dark, and it will be difficult to pass the review... I feel that the planner will not be so inappropriate."

Chen Jiu secretly thought to himself, it's not up to me to decide whether to be a human being or not... Anyway, based on preliminary deductions with Shuang He, this plan has the highest success rate.
To be continued...