Chapter 130 The Journey Through the Wilderness (Part Two)...

After getting off the plane, we boarded a bus to the airport. The six of us sat in the last row, with the entire film crew opposite us. The bus windows were completely blocked, creating a closed filming space inside the bus.

The production team did not announce the task on the bus, but instead mentioned an essential part of the show.

Director: "Since you've all done your homework, you should know the classic segments of this show, right?"

Without even thinking, Meng Fanxi said, "Eat bugs?"

The teammates cooperated by frowning and glancing at the director with subtle expressions. When they watched previous episodes of "Wilderness Expedition," they had indeed seen many guests eat insects to survive. The production team was also very good at using this to generate buzz, so how could it not be considered a regular segment of the show?

The director choked for a moment, "Ahem, ahem... This is the guest's personal choice, we didn't arrange it intentionally."

Meng Fanxi chuckled with delight, then answered the question seriously: "So, it's a live stream?"

Director: "That's right, it's a live broadcast."

In the program, each guest has to take on a live broadcast task, but the content and time of the broadcast are determined by the guest themselves. Based on the number of viewers, the production team will convert the amount into cash and distribute it to the guest for use in the subsequent trip.

The production team packed a complete set of live streaming equipment and equipment to ensure a stable live stream signal in a large bag. The battery power of the equipment was enough to support an hour of ultra-high-definition live streaming.

Zhang Yang immediately stood up and took it: "I'll take it. I only brought some seasonings, so the backpack is very light."

Meng Fanxi said to him, "Let's take turns. I only have one set of fishing equipment."

"Okay." Zhang Yang didn't stand on ceremony.

The director silently observed their interaction, never having seen such a harmonious combination before.

The bus continued driving on the smooth highway, seemingly without end. After more than three hours, the number of people on both sides gradually decreased, eventually turning the area into a deserted place where only one house could be seen standing alone every long interval.

Meng Fanxi and the others were experienced in long-distance bus travel, so they took motion sickness medicine in advance. The six of them huddled together and initially sang songs together with great enthusiasm, singing every song from their debut album. As they sang, they reminisced about the time when they went to the county town for a competition at Xijingu Elementary School, and they started chatting casually.

The journey was anything but boring; even the staff on the bus seemed much more relaxed because of them.

With little energy left, everyone closed their eyes and fell asleep in the car.

When they got off the bus, all six of them looked bewildered.

The production team first gave them a first aid kit and a life kit. The first aid kit contained some emergency medicines, a flashlight and a few batteries, while the life kit contained only two bottles of water, two loaves of bread and a small bag of compressed biscuits.

Even with the two small bags inside the backpack, the backpack still felt quite empty and didn't take up much weight.

After everyone had packed their things and stood in an orderly fashion, the director solemnly began distributing task cards and officially announcing the tasks.

Everyone crowded around the task card to take a look, several heads huddled together.

Lin Ruohe, as the team leader, received the task card from the production team.

Lin Ruohe read from the task card: "Everyone has now taken up the land within the territory of Quluo Village. Your task is to take this box to the center of Quluo Village within three days and two nights."

The production crew handed over a small leather box, which was quite heavy. Gu Huailang immediately took it and put it in his backpack. Everyone discussed taking turns carrying it so that no one would have to carry the weight alone.

The task card contains only this short sentence.

Meng Fanxi immediately noticed the deliberately blurred part and asked, "How far is this from the village center?"

Director: "It's not far, about 60 kilometers as the crow flies."

Ren Yuchen: "Are there any requirements on how we get there? Can we hitchhike along the way?"

Fifty kilometers is indeed not far for those with transportation.

The director smiled slightly: "No, we have to go there on foot."

Walking, however, is a very physically demanding activity.

"Wait a minute," Meng Fanxi's mind kept replaying the director's answer, "What do you mean by straight-line distance? Does that mean the actual distance is different?"

The director was somewhat surprised that Meng Fanxi had discovered the foreshadowing deliberately planted in his answer. "The center of Quluo Village is located in the mountains. There are many mountain roads, and the further you go in, the more difficult it becomes and the more physically demanding it is. So the actual journey must be longer."

VIERs, without prior agreement, realized they only had two bottles of water on them and fell silent.

Worried that it might damage the six men's confidence, the director continued, "We've placed supplies for you every 10 kilometers. If you need supplies, go find them with all your might."

While in the car, Meng Fanxi noticed that some staff members were putting something that looked like a map into his bag, but the production team hasn't distributed it yet, so they probably don't plan to.

But now that we've seen it, how can we let it go, especially since they can't even use their phones?

Meng Fanxi feigned a genuine predicament: "Director, we're all terrible with directions, and it'll be easy for us to get lost without any equipment. At least give us a few maps, okay?"

The teammates immediately followed up and started a team fight.

Xu You, who is best at throwing tantrums, immediately said in disbelief: "Yeah, director, we don't even have a map. We might have just walked back to the airport. I saw that they gave us compasses in previous episodes."

Lin Ruohe: "Yeah, we need a compass and a map, right? The map has to be a regional map with clear routes. The director can't possibly give us a large map of China, can he? That's impossible."

Even Gu Huailang said quietly, "It's impossible that they won't give you anything, right? Impossible?"

director:……

So they got a compass and a clear map, which was originally meant for the staff and had the approximate location of the supplies marked on it.

Meng Fanxi's feeling of being tricked finally improved a little.

Seeing that things were not going well, the production team realized that the guests were quite good at bargaining and asked if there was anything else before preparing to leave.

Meng Fanxi asked uncertainly, "Director, we just need to arrive within three days, even if it's just to make it in the last hour of the last day?"

If time wasn't a constraint, they could easily upgrade this hiking challenge to a full-on hiking trip, showcasing the local ecosystem from multiple perspectives to the audience. With three days, there would be no need to rush.

The image of the six people embarking on a journey together, as if on a spring outing, seems to be right before my eyes.

The director paused as he turned to leave, seemingly considering whether to say, "...Don't forget your task is to deliver the boxes. The boxes need to be delivered to specific people. If you're late..."

The director deliberately left the story unfinished, leaving this blank space to leave room for imagination. Meng Fanxi seemed to see the beautiful fantasy of the outing quietly shatter before his eyes.

...

The production team left, leaving six people standing in place. The program's equipment was hidden in various corners along the way, recording their current scene from multiple angles.

The claim that they are directionally challenged is actually false. They have a very strong sense of direction, and the company has given them special training to prevent them from getting lost and making a fool of themselves on some 360-degree panoramic stages.

They carried backpacks, with Lin Ruohe leading the way with a map, while Meng Fanxi kept a close eye on their surroundings.

It was already afternoon, and the further they went, the more wild nature seemed to become. Once the sun went down, they would have to find a place to rest, since they didn't even have a tent in their luggage.

Meng Fanxi guessed that the production team dared to do this because they must have an unoccupied house where they could live, and the clues must be near the supplies.

They discussed it and decided to first find the nearest supply depot.

Just as the program said, the road is getting harder and harder to walk, not because there is no road.

The brand-new, wide road was right next to them, but they kept straying off course in search of supplies, and gradually the road disappeared from sight.

The first supply was found in a thicket of trees. If Xu You hadn't said he wanted to stop and rest, and if Meng Fanxi hadn't glanced into the thicket while drinking water, they might have missed it.

The supplies were packaged in similar ways to the small square boxes the production team gave them. Inside the boxes were a few sausages, bread, and three bottles of water.

"Could the package the production team gave us also be supplies?" Ren Yuchen wondered, looking at the outer box of the supplies.

Gu Huailang took out the box, which had a sign that read 'Do Not Open'.

These four words are incredibly tempting, constantly drawing people in to want to open them.

Meng Fanxi picked up the box and shook it, then put his ear to listen. "I didn't hear the sound of water or any other noise."

He said, "Who knows what kind of trouble might be going on? Let's not think about it."

The box was put back.

As darkness fell, they discovered an abandoned, empty house along their journey in search of the next supply.

It was a house made of bricks, with no glass in any of the windows. There was a courtyard with half a collapsed wall, and some abandoned furniture inside. Every corner looked like it was covered with dozens of layers of dust, which made the six people frown.

What bothered them most was that there were cameras installed inside.

In other words, this is a house that the production team marked as available for stay.

Xu You was on the verge of tears: "Do we really have to live here?"

Everyone remained silent, unwilling to accept this fact.

Without sheets or blankets, no one could imagine sleeping in this drafty, abandoned house for a night.

Zhang Yang looked around and then at the map. "The sun has already set, and it will get dark soon. It seems we have no choice but to stay here."

Gu Huailang: "How about we tidy up the room and put our coats on it to sleep on?"

They prepared a lot for this recording of the show. They chose very professional mountaineering clothes, and the shoes were also comfortable and durable. The mountaineering clothes were large and thick, which could be made do with what Gu Huailang said.

Meng Fanxi took the map, thought for a moment, and looked at Lin Ruohe: "Brother He, I'll go take a look around. I want to confirm where the lake on the map is and find some supplies."

Ren Yuchen said, "I'll go with you."

Lin Ruohe: "Then I'll clean up here with everyone else first."

Meng Fanxi: "Perhaps we can finish that matter right here."

Lin Ruohe immediately understood Meng Fanxi's meaning: "You mean, live streaming?"

As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes were drawn to him. Was he going to broadcast this live?

Meng Fanxi explained, "If we really want to sleep here, we'll definitely have to clean up this room. I've seen videos online of people cleaning up old or garbage-filled rooms and turning them into something brand new. Maybe our live stream will get a lot of attention."

Xu You was shocked: "How did you know I like to watch this?!"

Meng Fanxi: ...

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A note from the author:

Phew~ I made it! I worked overtime until after 10 pm and then frantically typed on the keyboard when I got back. If there are any inaccuracies, please just enjoy it for fun. Thank you for your understanding and support!