Divided Strategies

Herbalist Girl nodded casually and said, "Ding Shi." Ding Shi stepped down from the platform. Herbalist Girl poked a finger directly into the wound on his shoulder, and Ding Shi let out an obliging cry of pain. It hadn't hurt when left alone, but the touch brought sharp agony. "Endure it," Herbalist Girl said. She reached out with both hands, felt along several of his bones, and nodded. "Nothing broken." Ding Shi thanked her. Just then, shouting drifted in from outside the camp: "We have food for tonight!" "A wild boar! It's a wild boar!" Ding Shi and Wang Meng walked out of the cave. Four men were carrying a wild boar weighing over two hundred kilograms on wooden poles into the camp, and people nearby rushed over to exchange high-fives in celebration. A sturdy woman standing 1.8 meters tall climbed onto a boulder and shouted, "Meat tonight! Enough for everyone!" "Great!" The crowd burst into applause. The woman called out, "A few more people from logistics, come over and help dress it!" Ding Shi asked Herbalist Girl, "Who is she?" Herbalist Girl didn't answer and walked off without a word. Su Su drifted over from who-knew-where, and full of gossip, answered in Herbalist Girl's stead: "Her name is Di Nü." "Di?" Ding Shi asked. "Is that an actual surname?" "It is, ranked 1,596th. Extremely rare," Su Su said. "If I mention her other identity, you'll know who she is. She's the only daughter of the matriarch of a certain industry-leading corporation." At Su Su's words, Ding Shi recalled something. The woman's original name was Di Zhao. Her name alone spoke volumes about her mother's imperious nature. Because the character 'Zhao' was quite uncommon, she changed her name to Di Nü for convenience in her studies and business. It was said that Di Nü attended a military academy for university and had six years of military service under her belt. After being discharged last year, she returned to her mother's side and began learning the family business. Su Su added, "Di Nü was originally the leader of the gathering team. Dissatisfied with Chief Yu Yuan's order restricting foraging to within two hundred meters, she proposed digging pit traps to hunt. Chief Yu Yuan conceded, but only permitted trapping small animals. As a result, she caught this massive monster." Yu Yuan's order had been to forage within two hundred meters of the camp. Di Nü, however, led people to dig pit traps—and massive ones at that. Digging large pit traps without suitable tools left the gathering team shorthanded. Yu Yuan was very displeased with their harvest, but bagging such a massive wild boar was a direct slap in his face. Everyone set aside their chores to watch the pig being butchered. Watching the spectacle, Wang Meng asked, "What do you think?" Ding Shi replied, "There'll be a show to watch tonight." "Who do you think is more suitable?" Wang Meng asked. Ding Shi answered, "Yu Yuan. By constantly adjusting personnel and task assignments, he's gotten around a hundred people in the camp doing their work methodically in less than eight hours. Being able to let so many people know what they're supposed to do and organizing labor reasonably—especially when everyone is a stranger—shows Yu Yuan's competence. At the very least, he hasn't made mistakes." "What about Di Nü?" Wang Meng asked. Ding Shi said, "A risk-taking merchant. High risk, high reward. If she hadn't caught the boar, no one would have enough to eat tonight, and tomorrow no one would have the stamina to work." "But she caught it," Wang Meng said. Ding Shi said, "That's precisely where the trouble lies. If she hadn't caught the boar, she'd just be a lone voice. But now that she caught it, she has a following. I'm going to sleep; I don't want to be falling asleep late at night in an environment like this." A stone knife slit the carotid artery of the stunned wild boar. Fresh blood poured out, and someone caught it with a hollowed-out stone. The boar jolted awake, emitting shrill, agonizing squeals as its four hooves thrashed violently. The squeals and the scent of blood drifted outside the camp with the mountain wind. From dense bushes emerged a silver dire wolf. Dire wolf: a prehistoric carnivore that lived in North America, with a massive head, immense bite force, and pack-hunting behavior. Sniffing the blood in the air, the dire wolf looked toward the camp. ... As night fell, three bonfires were lit in the camp, and the aroma of roasting meat permeated the air. People lined up at the stone platform to receive wild boar meat wrapped in broad leaves. The meat had been portioned into half-jin servings, wrapped in leaves, buried in shallow soil, and slow-cooked under fires built directly above them. Each member received two portions of boar meat, while the remaining meat and offal became the centerpiece of the bonfire gathering. People skewered pieces of meat on branches, planting the sticks beside the flames so the heat could slowly roast them. Everyone sat around the bonfires according to the prearranged order. Once everyone was eating, Di Nü stepped onto the stone platform and spoke in a clear, resonant voice: "Brothers and sisters, good evening. My name is Di Nü, and I'm the leader of the gathering team. It's a pleasure to be matched into the same instance as all of you." Many people familiar with Di Nü applauded, while the rest clapped politely. Di Nü began by showering Yu Yuan with praise: "First, I'd like to thank the chief for uniting a hundred disorganized people into a single force so that everyone could fulfill their roles. Second, I want to thank every tribe member. It's thanks to your hard work that we have our peace right now." Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. After pausing, Di Nü continued, "Currently, the greatest difficulty in our main quest is keeping the fire burning for five days without going out. Today, the logistics team cleared away every dry branch and piece of wood within two hundred meters, yet our need for wood remains immense. First is for cooking, second is for warmth—especially warmth. Tonight's temperature is expected to drop to around five degrees Celsius, which presents a major challenge for us. But rest assured, everyone: we have plenty of firewood for tonight." Di Nü said, "However, tomorrow will test us. The stone axes we use are terribly inefficient and have a high breakage rate. We need hands to craft and repair stone axes, hands to forage, hands to transport supplies, and hands to fell trees. Now, I'd like to invite the chief to speak and outline tomorrow's specific work arrangements." With a warm smile, Yu Yuan got straight to the point: "Team Leader Di and I have a few differences regarding future planning, and we would like to hear everyone's thoughts." Yu Yuan's plan was to proceed steadily tomorrow, with the scouting team pushing five hundred meters out. On the morning of the day after tomorrow, they would break camp and relocate. His reasoning was that easily gathered fruits and collectable deadwood in the area were limited, making migration necessary to secure the tribe's food and fuel needs. Point of divergence one: Yu Yuan opposed felling trees, as logging required an abundance of tools along with significant manpower to craft and maintain them. Point of divergence two: Yu Yuan favored continued gathering over hunting. In light of these two differences, Yu Yuan's plan was to camp for two days at a time and keep moving westward until the quest was complete. Di Nü, on the other hand, believed the surrounding resources were abundant enough to sustain everyone and planned to remain at the current camp. Di Nü's advantage was that the players could dwell in the cave, shielding them from rain and harsh weather. Yu Yuan's advantage was that it saved effort and hassle: only low-hanging waxberries would be picked, and deadwood would only be collected rather than chopped. He believed the towering trees in the forest would provide shelter from wind and rain even if bad weather hit. Wang Meng asked in a low voice, "If it rained for a whole day, wouldn't the people following Yu Yuan have to spend the day soaked and freezing?" Towering trees could block heavy downpours, but light rain would seep through, leaving pools of standing water on the ground. Ding Shi answered, "If it rained all day, Di Nü's people would be stuck huddled in the cave, unable to get any work done for the day. The issue isn't the rain. Once it rains, six of one, half a dozen of the other—neither side would have room to mock the other. Both plans have their merits, but Di Nü's carries more of a gamble, because her plan consumes tools. Yu Yuan's plan doesn't use tools, so they wouldn't need to spend much time crafting them." "Where's the gamble?" Wang Meng asked. Ding Shi said, "Gambling on game. If Di Nü can provide a wild boar like this every two days, the living conditions will be far better than under Yu Yuan. Di Nü's main manpower goes toward logging and tools, whereas Yu Yuan's main manpower goes toward foraging and gathering deadwood." "Who do you support?" Wang Meng asked. It wasn't that Wang Meng lacked his own opinions, but rather that the two had long settled into this working dynamic. Ding Shi said, "Both plans are fine, but they're beside the point. Setting aside the Prometheus quest, where was today's challenge? Rather than a nightmare instance, this feels more like a picnic instance. Young men and women picking fruit, a bonfire barbecue, romance in the air, looking toward the future." "Maybe it really is that simple?" Wang Meng offered. Ding Shi replied, "Knowing the system's perverse habits, the calmer things seem, the dirtier the trick it's brewing."