Surviving the Maze of National Destiny: Hints from the Chinese Characters I Understand

After 100 seconds of countdown, Lin Xiaoxue's live stream went completely dark, and a notification message chilled the hearts of the Chinese viewers.

[Maze Game: The explorer has not been resurrected, has returned to reality, and has permanently lost the right to enter the Maze Game.]

[Chinese netizens: What?! No resurrection?]

[Chinese netizens: Huh? Does that mean we won't be able to see Sister Xue navigating the maze anymore? Has she returned to reality?]

[A netizen from the Free Nation: Congratulations to the Dragon Nation, you've lost your number one player.]

[Netizen from Japan: Congratulations!]

[A netizen from South Korea commented: Actually, even if she hadn't withdrawn, she wouldn't have been a match for our South Korean athletes.]

[A netizen from India: You men are only 7 inches long? You dare to brag? How can you compare to our Indian competitors?]

[A netizen from Russia commented: "I have to say, your Indian player became the first to have their image censored in a maze game after killing a lizard. You guys are really good; no one in the world can compare to you in this aspect."]

[A netizen from the Rising Sun Kingdom commented: "Don't even mention lizards, even a fly flying past a player from India would make them cover their butt."]

[Chinese netizens: Holy crap, China didn't revive Lin Xiaoxue, but instead opened a new live stream. Is it because of this newcomer? So they gave up on reviving Sister Xue?]

[Chinese netizens: Sisters, let's go see who stole our Sister Xue's chance to revive.]

[Chinese netizens: Are you guys crazy? Everyone's starving, and you still have the nerve to create fandoms? The new contestants are also fighting for China!]

Inside the command center, a flash of white light appeared, and Lin Xiaoxue returned to reality.

Before the ten appraisers could speak, Lin Xiaoxue roared, "Why? Why? What are you all thinking? I went through so much to reach the 15th floor, and you didn't even revive me?!"

"Xiaoxue, please calm down. This concerns the survival of 14 billion people. We must consider the overall situation." The first appraiser tried to comfort Lin Xiaoxue.

"This is a decision made by all of us, concerning the safety of the entire nation. We hope you understand," said the second expert.

"Moreover, our Explorer No. 66 possesses special abilities. He has accurately predicted hundreds of crises, and your crisis is also within his expectations," Expert No. 3 patiently explained.

"I won't listen, I won't listen! You're the ones who ruined me..." Lin Xiaoxue was still very agitated, but she seemed to have heard some strange words and froze for a moment. "What did you say? A prophecy?"

Everyone nodded and switched the live stream to channel number 66. "That's right, his name is Lin Mo, and he can understand those divine script prompts."

"What???" Lin Xiaoxue was instantly dumbfounded. The whole world was studying these obscure and difficult divine scripts with little success. How could this man in front of her understand them?

…………

In the live stream room number 66, hundreds of millions of people suddenly flooded in.

The Dragon Kingdom hasn't selected new explorers to enter the maze game for a long time.

[A netizen from China commented: He's a bit thin, but he's quite handsome. But can he really pull this off?]

[A netizen from China commented: Sisters, it was his appearance that prevented the appraiser from resurrecting Sister Xue.]

[A netizen from China commented: "I just don't understand. He's starting from level 1 now, and the maze game has no pattern. Other people's experience on level 1 is irrelevant. This maze game has been open for over a year. What's the point of him entering level 1 now? Can he compete with players from other countries?"]

[Chinese netizens: Wow, he's really going all out! Him? Can he really bring us supplies?]

[Netizens from China: Please watch your words. I don't believe the experts in China haven't thought this through carefully. This concerns 14 billion people; they can't make a decision rashly. Can't you wait and see how things go? Can you please stop stirring up trouble?]

[Dragon Kingdom's Number One Expert: I warn certain individuals that in this time of national crisis, do not do anything to undermine unity. Don't say you weren't warned!]

[Chinese netizens: The experts have been identified, everyone take a good look, and stop spreading rumors.]

[Chinese netizens: So she's a relative, no wonder. Poor Sister Xue, she's talented, but she has no connections.]

Lin Mo first focused his attention on reviewing his attribute panel.

…………

Name: Lin Mo

Life Level: 1 (1%)

Health level: 100%

Maze Levels: 1

National Fortune Points: 50 (0.50 increase)

Equipment: None

Supplies: None

Maze Points: 0

…………

The panel is very simple. First of all, the life level affects all of a person's stats, such as strength, speed, defense, stamina, etc.

Breathing and sleeping in the maze will slowly increase your life level; that is, the longer you live, the higher your level, similar to cultivation.

Of course, if you eat, fight monsters, or use items with special effects in the maze, you will level up faster.

Health affects combat effectiveness; if health is 50%, then you can only exert half of your strength.

Hunger, poisoning, injury, and fatigue can all decrease health. Some injuries, if not treated in time, will continue to cause a loss of health.

Similarly, rest, treatment, and eating can improve health.

National Fortune Points are extremely important. Without them, not only will you be unable to send out or revive dungeon explorers, but the resource return rate will also decrease.

Currently, the return rate of resources in the Dragon Kingdom is 140 million times. The return rate is calculated based on one-thousandth of a country's total population, which is fair to every country.

If your country has a large population, the return rate is higher; if your country has a small population, the return rate is lower.

However, since the Dragon Kingdom only has 50 national fortune points, the national fortune index is 0.5, and the actual return multiple is 70 times.

70 times sounds like a lot; if you get 1 pound of potatoes, you get 70 pounds back. But if you share it among 14 billion people, it's too little.

Currently, the Dragon Kingdom, along with Lin Mo, has a total of 20 explorers who bear the heavy responsibility of finding food and water for 14 billion people, which is extremely difficult.

It's normal to have zero equipment and supplies; you'll be starting from scratch.

Fortunately, there were already six Chinese prompts, which were reassuring.

The place where Lin Mo was located was like an underground maze. The sky was not visible, but it had natural light and was not dark.

All around were yellowish-brown earthen walls and a dense network of underground passages, leading nowhere.

Stop looking, there's nothing in the room ahead.

[The room behind isn't a good choice; two level 1 poisonous toads are having a private time. If you go in, you'll probably get sprayed with bullets.]

The room on the left is safe; there's a campfire burning there, left by someone, and you can extract 1 fire element.

[There's a bear trap near the entrance to the room on the right. Don't be looking down at your phone! Go past it and you'll find two potatoes and a little water on the floor; it's drinkable.]

[There's a group of level 1 bloodthirsty bats in the upper mezzanine. They're worried about where their dinner will be. If you're kind-hearted, you can give it a try.]

The underground passage below is long and very safe, leading directly to the next node and granting +1 maze point, but there won't be any rewards along the way.

The room on the right is the best choice; in a maze, supplies are always the top priority.

Although there's a fire elemental item in the house on the left, you can't eat it, so food should be your priority.

The strategy of going to the left house, exiting, and then entering the right house will not work. This maze has a unique characteristic: randomness!

Once you move in any direction, all the scenes will refresh.

Therefore, it's impossible to remember all the terrain and all the places you've been here by memory alone.

Lin Mo walked to the right, faced the dilapidated wooden door, kicked it open, and then performed a standing long jump, leaping into the room.

[Chinese netizens: Holy crap! Is this some kind of crazy move?]

[A Chinese netizen commented: Damn, the last time someone did this was an Indian, who jumped right into a snake pit.]

[A netizen from China commented: "This is the newcomer chosen by China? He looks like a complete brute. My assessment: He's not even as good as Sister Xue."]

[Netizen from the Rising Sun Kingdom: Being reckless is good; the more reckless you are, the faster you die!]