Route

Anyway, there's nothing to lose. At least the chances won't be zero.

That's essentially the point. In my case, it was exactly like that.
And the Heroes player is right, on path number 3, it's better to have some kind of reserve (from option 2, for example).
In my case, it was some kind of profession, a like-minded companion, a few pieces of currency, friends "on the other side" who introduced me to the local life. I'm afraid that without this, for me, "hard" would have been "impossible," or rather, it would have already ended with the last picture from option 1.