It has Dropped

"!?" what's happening?

"What's going on?!" Alice said.

"Don't ask me, I also don't know..."

*Siren-Siren*

What's happening all of a sudden?

No one told us about the siren thing.

"... SUPPLY....P." Due to the siren I couldn't hear what the machine said, the only word I could make out was 'supply', what does it mean? The supply box?

"Alice, did you hear what it said just now?"

"Huh?" the sound of the siren kept on increasing. Maybe that's why Alice couldn't hear the machine nor me.

The sound of the siren kept on intensifying for about a minute or so and gradually faded away.

"What were you saying?" Alice asked.

"During the sound of a siren, I noticed that the machine said something but I couldn't make out clearly what it said. So, I asked whether you heard it or not? Did you?" my ears are still ringing from that sound.

"I don't know..." it looks like Alice also didn't hear it.

I walked towards the machine to check.

"Hmm... what was that sound from earlier?" I asked the machine.

"..."

"Oh come on, who would remember to click on the mic button every time I have to say something to the machine?" It has happened to me twice.

"..."

"Fine, I will press it." I pressed the button and repeated the same question.

"IT'S A ZERO-POINT QUESTION. THE SIREN WAS TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE SUPPLY BOX IS BEING DROPPED ON THE ISLAND."

"Why did the sound keep on increasing?" if they just wanted to let us know that they have made the siren sound a little less loud and especially not making the sound louder.

"IT'S A ZERO-POINT QUESTION. THE SIREN INCREASING SOUND IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PLACE WHERE IT IS DROPPED. THE LOUDER THE SOUND, THE MORE CLOSER IS THE SUPPLY BOX LOCATION." does that mean we are lucky in this case?

I mean the sound was quite loud and above all, it kept on increasing which means it's closer to us.

"Does that mean the supply box is going to drop near our location?" Alice was standing behind, probably she also wanted to hear this information.

The last time I forgot to tell her about the special condition tasks and she got infuriated. It was quite a hassle to stop her.

"Seems like," I said.

"Alright, I am going."

"What? Why?"

"Why wouldn't I go?" she looked pissed.

"It's probably dangerous?" I can't think of the right answer but I know that going alone there is not the best strategy either.

"Hmm... are you worried about me?" no way.

Now that I have thought about it I might have reason to stop her from going.

"No, it's just..." I can't tell her the real reason can I?

"Look even you don't know what are you saying,"

"... if you leave I'll remove your name from the machine." Now what will you do? I need to stop her from going.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Seriously? A few moments ago I just tore your tent and now you are saying I wouldn't dare?"

"... fine I won't go."

The real reason I am not willing to let her go to the supply box is that if by any chance she succeeds in collecting all the supplies inside it I would be at a disadvantage.

Why?

Mr. X mentioned earlier that it might contain food and it's the most crucial part for surviving on the island and I haven't acquired a food source yet.

I couldn't afford her to get ahead of me and if she did, it would be troublesome.

Instead of her I would like to go and collect.

But going to the supply box is going to be extremely risky. Almost all the participants will make a hasty decision and will come forward to obtain the supply box. Even though she isn't of much use to me right now but in future she might come handy, that's why I don't want to lose her at the moment.

It would be lucky if by chance a person is able to collect the supply box before someone else arrives. The chances of encountering others are quite high as compared to the chance of not encountering anyone. A brawl would start if the two-party encountered each other.

That's one of the main reasons I don't want to collect the supply box.

The other reason is that the drop is near me but I don't know its exact location. If the drop is outside the Five-meter range of the machine I would lose 50 points and maybe my name would also be removed. I certainly don't want that.

When I was at my previous hotspot I tried asking the machine what would happen if a person steps outside the machine range.

It replied that no points will be given to the person.

I also asked if our names will be removed or do we have to re-register our names again but instead of answering it replied that it's a 200 point question.

Naturally, I did not use up my 200 points at that moment.

But the mystery still remains, whether we do or do not have to re-register our names again. If my name is removed I'll have to register again and most probably Alice would not let me do it easily.

That's why I don't want to leave the hotspot until it's an emergency.

"So, what will you do about the food?" Alice said while looking annoyed.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know!"

"I looked around a bit but unfortunately, I couldn't find a single thing we could use as food." That's true I did look around but not thoroughly. I might have missed more than a few places.

"Oh God, I am going to starve to death at this rate...." she let out a big sigh.

"Why don't you ask the machine? I am sure it will give some hints."

"Hmph..." even though she looked vexed but at the same time, she knew that what I said was right.

She walked towards the machine.

"Can I order food?" she asked the machine.

"..."

"You have to press the mic button," I said. She must have also forgotten about that.

"I know that..." She looked quite embarrassed, that's a face I haven't seen before.

"Can I order food?" This time she made sure she had clicked on the mic button.

"IT'S A ZERO-POINT QUESTION. YOU CAN ORDER FOOD THROUGH THE SUPPLY BOX OR YOU CAN ORDER IT DIRECTLY THROUGH THE MACHINE AND IT WILL ARRIVE AT YOUR DESTINATION THROUGH THE MACHINE. BUT THE PRICE OF ORDERING FOOD SEPARATELY IS 5x THE AMOUNT OF POINTS ORDERED THROUGH THE SUPPLY BOX. THE PRICE MAY VARY ON DIFFERENT FOOD ITEMS." so we can order but they made sure that no one can find an easy way to survive. Everyone has to fight for their survival.

"What are the options for food items?"

"TO KNOW THE FOOD ITEM LIST CONFIRM WHETHER YOU WILL ORDER THROUGH DIRECT ORDER OR SUPPLY BOX?"

"Directly." Is she an idiot? Why would she willingly lose 5x points even though she is not in any dire situation?

"I NEED CONFIRMATION WHETHER YOU WILL USE DIRECT ORDER OR NOT. IF YOU CONFIRM NOW, THE ORDER MUST BE PLACED OR IN ANY CASE, THE PERSON IS NOT WILLING TO ORDER AFTER CONFIRMING, 150 POINTS WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE TAKEN FROM THE RESPECTIVE PERSON. DO YOU CONFIRM DIRECT ORDER?"

"... no" she hesitated but declined in the end.

"Beep-Beep!"

"What now?" I said.

It's one thing after another...

TO BE CONTINUED...