Chapter 43 (The last part, "The Bride Robbery")

Late at night, in the "Secrets of the Wilderness" live stream room.

The viewers of the live stream of "The Wilderness Secret" were on edge, bracing themselves for any sudden shocks. When the head fell from the tree, although most of the viewers in front of the screen were prepared, quite a few still spontaneously swore.

A comment floated across the screen:

"Thank goodness it was Zhou Ya..."

Although Zhou Ya is a female MC, she takes a comedic approach, essentially playing the "tank" role on the show. Zhou Ya is daring, outgoing, and stronger than the average girl. Furthermore, her co-host, Xiao Shu, doesn't really treat her like a girl, leading to numerous laughs. While Xiao Shu sometimes goes too far with his jokes, putting Zhou Ya in an awkward position, the overall comedic effect is still quite good.

Zhou Ya was so startled by the sudden appearance of the severed head that she almost screamed. However, being an experienced MC, she knew that places like "The Wilderness" often harbored hidden dangers. The fitness instructor, on the other hand, was so terrified by the incredibly realistic head that he turned ashen-faced, completely losing his previous swagger. If he hadn't wanted to maintain his last shred of dignity, he would have hidden behind Zhou Ya.

Is anyone there?

The production crew had placed a speaker somewhere, which, as if sensing their presence, triggered some kind of switch, releasing eerie and chilling sound effects that layered and intensified, creating a sense of dread in the pitch-black night. At that moment, a young, clear female voice rang out, acting as a powerful jolt of courage for the two.

The fitness instructor was so frightened that his heart almost stopped. When he saw Yu Shuling walking hurriedly towards him, he even assumed a defensive posture—ready to run away at any moment. But when he saw that she was a slender woman, and someone he recognized, his heart finally calmed down.

"What's wrong?"

The fitness instructor pretended that the terrifying scene he had just witnessed had never happened, and looked at Yu Shuling with feigned composure. It was very dark earlier, and Yu Shuling hadn't noticed his change in mood, instead quickly recounting the incident to Zhou Ya and the fitness instructor.

"So you want us to gather over there so you can kidnap the bride?"

Even after the fright she had just experienced, Zhou Ya quickly recovered.

The theme this time was a bit different from what it appeared on the surface, but it's normal to have such thoughts when faced with something like this. They have no shortage of guests with an overflowing sense of justice who stepped in to help those in need when encountering "evil forces," only to be betrayed later. Some guests with strong empathy and a high capacity for identification even experienced immediate emotional distress after being hurt by the NPC, taking a long time to recover.

But as the MC, she certainly couldn't say that to the guest stars. Seeing Yu Shuling rushing to find someone, Zhou Ya realized that the situation there must not be good. Just as she was about to pull Yu Shuling along, Yu Shuling gave her a general route first and then retreated to find other people.

There are many people over there, and these two reinforcements alone might not be enough. Most importantly, Yu Shuling realized that the theme of the so-called "longevity village water source" seemed to be starting to diverge from the direction of their story's exploration.

The probability of her judgment being wrong is low, so there is only one other possibility.

The real theme of this episode isn't the so-called water pollution, or whether the water pollution is closely related to the forced marriage in the mountain village. Either way, she must find the others first, because judging from the current situation, even if there's competition between players, they wouldn't be as wicked as these vicious villagers.

**

Jiang Wenxi, dressed in clothes that didn't quite suit her and were rather baggy, stood tall and slender in the moonlight, her face slightly somber, watching the group of people busily tidying up.

He tried to keep his presence to a minimum. Whenever people needed to do chores like carrying things, Jiang Wenxi would volunteer to help, so as not to arouse suspicion. The villager's clothes had an indescribable smell, somewhat like musty sweat, very faint, but for someone accustomed to designer perfumes, it was like torture for their olfactory nerves.

Yu Shuling gave him more than one suggestion, mainly telling him to wait here so he could sneak in and buy time, while also gathering intelligence on the enemy.

Following her initial instructions, Jiang Wenxi randomly picked someone at the door, dragged that person aside, covered their mouth, and "knocked them unconscious." Then she took off the person's coat, put it on herself, exchanged clothes with him, and with great effort, took the person to another, more distant place.

It was his first time doing something like this, and he blushed deeply when he took off the man's clothes. Several times he closed his eyes and didn't want to continue.

At that moment, Jiang Wenxi couldn't imagine what the audience would think of him. He had completely abandoned his idol image, and his ears were burning hot, as if he had come here to do a task, rather than being a player in a game.

Fortunately, the person was a man, and not particularly handsome. Even so, as a straight man, Jiang Wenxi only felt disgusted.

Young Master Jiang, who had never done any housework at home, was doing these chores for the first time. He was clumsy and awkward, but a closer look would reveal the difference between him and the others. The people coming and going were very quick and efficient. Perhaps because the NPCs were being lenient, or perhaps because it was too dark and no one was paying attention, he managed to get away with it for the time being.

He was almost at his breaking point, and this couldn't go on any longer. Jiang Wenxi began to consider whether he should go and talk to the bride himself. He took a step forward, carefully avoiding being seen, and walked to the door where the bride was locked. The moment he heard Zhou Ya's voice, Jiang Wenxi felt as if he had heard heavenly music.

He had never before wanted to join other people so much!

At this moment, Jiang Wenxi disregarded his pride and immediately asked the newcomer:

Where is Yu Shuling?

"She went to find other people and told us to bring the bride out first."

Seeing his anxiety, Zhou Ya stopped joking and beckoned Jiang Wenxi to come along. They didn't have much time left. On her way, Zhou Ya had heard gongs and drums outside, and a line of people walking silently in the night, looking incredibly eerie.

Jiang Wenxi was quick-witted and familiar with the area. Seeing someone arrive, she mustered her courage and ran towards the new house, with the fitness instructor close behind. When they arrived at the brick house, no one had come to visit the bride yet; it was hard to tell whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

The bride stared blankly with her head down. Jiang Wenxi made several hand gestures at the window, but no one saw them. He dared not shout loudly, lest others hear him and all his efforts be in vain.

Jiang Wenxi was anxious and had no choice but to gently knock on the door, which attracted the attention of the bride. When Zhou Ya arrived, she saw that the bride had red eyes and a wary expression.