"Well done, I knew Charlotte Lee route was the right choice. The mountaintop is just ahead."
"Exactly. Thank goodness we switched routes. Who knows how long it would have taken us to get to the end if we followed Amelia's route."
"Charlotte Lee is really amazing. Her planned route is much better than someone else's."
Now, no one is dissatisfied. Even the two girls who didn't want to continue walking before are now excited. They were only bitten by mosquitoes a few times, but passing the trial would be great, especially since this trial is important.
Quinn Cooper listened to the praise, feeling excited and shy, and lowered her head. "Don't say that, everyone. I just got lucky."
Her pride couldn't be suppressed, but her swollen eyelids from mosquito bites made her look a little distorted. She felt like a hero and confidently instructed someone to help her roast meat and someone else to bring her water.
...
On the other side, Amelia is still following the original route. She doesn't have a backpack, doesn't have to keep up with the team's pace, and can hold onto the stick Logan Hunter offers her, which makes it a little easier, but still not comfortable.
Her legs still tremble slightly, and when she takes off her shoes and socks to rest, the soles of her feet are completely covered in blood and flesh. Even if she goes slower and has thicker cushioning, she has finally reached her limit by now.
Logan Hunter watches helplessly as Amelia struggles. He can't do much to help her.
Amelia grits her teeth and tries not to think about the pain in her feet. She takes one step at a time, but accidentally falls. Logan Hunter is shocked and quickly puts down his backpack to help her up. However, Amelia reflexively avoids him. In this difficult and challenging environment, her autism is somewhat uncontrollable, and she cannot accept others' touch, which only makes matters worse.
Logan Hunter doesn't know what to do, so he just circles around Amelia and asks, "Are you okay? Can you still walk?"
"I'm fine," Amelia answers calmly.
She stands up again, gritting her teeth. She must be okay. She must pass this trial. Even if she has to crawl, she must crawl back.
Just then, they hear the sound of a signal gun in the distance.
"One, two... eighteen times in total," Logan Hunter counts and is shocked, staring wide-eyed in amazement.
This is the first time they've heard the sound of a signal gun since the trial started, and it fired eighteen times in a row!
The signal gun went off, indicating the failure of the trial and elimination.
Amelia stood still with a calm expression as the signal gun sounded eighteen times. At least one team had been eliminated! She squinted her eyes and looked towards the direction of the gunshot. It should be where Wyatt Parker's team was heading, but with more people. It was not likely to be her team.
It had been a day and a night since everyone had entered the mountain, and both their stamina and food were becoming scarce. Amelia felt a chill and raised her eyebrows, looking serious. She thought Wyatt Parker and his team were lucky. They would not be wiped out. Instead, these signal guns would be a wake-up call for them.
"Don't mind it. Let's keep moving forward," Amelia said indifferently.
Logan Hunter was curious, but he had no objections to Amelia's words. He picked up his backpack and walked away. Amelia walked carefully, trying to take the smoother path. She walked slowly because time was limited, and she could not afford to waste it.
...
Meanwhile, Wyatt Parker's team had just seen the mountain top. Everyone was immersed in joy, and they sped up their pace, preparing to climb up the mountain with determination. Just then, they heard the signal gun, and their mood turned from joy to sorrow.
The sound came from not far ahead, on their route. If they continued along the path, they would arrive at the location where the gunshot sounded in half an hour.
For a moment, everyone stopped, looking at each other with pale faces. They didn't know what to do. They secretly felt lucky that they were walking slowly. Otherwise, these signal guns might have been for their team.
"Captain, what should we do now?" Someone couldn't help but ask Wyatt Parker. At this point, they knew Wyatt Parker was the backbone of the team, not Quinn Cooper.
Wyatt Parker looked serious and said, "Two of you come with me to check the situation up ahead. The rest of us will stay here and wait for news. Safety first."
The team was caught in a panicked and silent atmosphere. Wyatt Parker led two strong men towards the direction where the signal gun had sounded. The route became increasingly difficult, with jagged rocks and mist obstructing their way. Nonetheless, they were stunned by the scene before their eyes. Without hesitation, Wyatt Parker turned around and brought his men back. The others in the team waited for a long time, and Wyatt Parker and his men returned gasping for breath.
"The situation is not good. The area ahead is full of rocks and almost a dead end. The cliffs are rugged. A team from the third shift took an adventure and tried to take a shortcut, but they were all trapped and died on the cliffs. It's very dangerous. We can only shoot the signal gun and wait for rescue," Wyatt Parker said. His words didn't have a calming effect; instead, everyone became more panicked.
"What should we do now?"
"Can we make it through?"
"Should we turn back and take the original route, which is safer?"
"It seems that this path is impassable. I don't want to be eliminated!"
Seeing everyone's attitude, Quinn Cooper became angry all of a sudden. She felt as if she had fallen from the joy of seeing the mountaintop to the ground, where her head was bleeding. "No, we can't go back. We've seen the mountaintop, and this path is correct. Those gunshots we heard earlier must be caused by some accident. We can just go around a little bit."
The girl who had been scared by the snake was obviously frightened and screamed, "If you want to go, go by yourself. A team has already been eliminated. I don't dare to take the risk. I followed Amelia's route before, and there was no problem. But now that we changed our route, all the mosquitoes and animals are coming out. I want to go back. I've had enough."
"We've been walking for so long. How much time will we waste if we go back now?" Quinn Cooper shouted loudly.
"Wasting time is better than being eliminated," someone said.
Seeing that the argument was going nowhere, someone said, "Captain, you decide. We'll listen to you."
But Wyatt Parker's face didn't look good. He was angry and ashamed. "We'll retreat. Let's go back."