Chapter 10 The production team is a disaster! The security situation isn't just bad, it's seriously bad...

Wei Lai: "It's good, no traffic jams."

Wang Xia: "It does save money. The production team told us to come here on our own, which obviously means they don't intend to reimburse our travel expenses."

Qi Sheng: "The subway was crowded, didn't your fans recognize you?"

Jiang Mingyue shook her head. "I don't know."

The three men were speechless when they saw her saying she didn't know and having an indifferent attitude.

That's right. She has already announced her retirement from the entertainment industry. She only participated in the show to fulfill her contract. The blind box rewards from the show are indeed irrelevant to her.

There was another noise at the door, and the four of them looked up in perfect unison, only to see four guests enter.

The four guests are Xie Fei, a love song singer; Lin Chaosheng, a kung fu star; Meng Qinzhou, a rising star who is also a sports specialist; and Don Juan, a film emperor.

Wei Lai and Qi Sheng looked shocked, stood up in unison to greet her, and said in unison, "Hello, Teacher Tang."

Jiang Mingyue and Wang Xia looked at each other, their eyes revealing confusion.

Jiang Mingyue has been in the book for over ten years. Although only half an hour has passed in the real world, she knows very little about the big names in the entertainment industry today, just like Wang Xia.

Among the eight, Don Juan is the most prominent, has a quiet personality, and a powerful aura.

Meng Qinzhou is the youngest, a year younger than Jiang Mingyue. He is easygoing and loves to laugh, and his personality is similar to Qi Sheng's, although Qi Sheng is more silly in front of others.

Lin Chaosheng is shy and reserved, which contrasts with his tough-guy image on screen.

Xie Fei was a chatterbox with a beautiful voice; when she spoke, it was like heavenly music filling the ears, earning her the nickname "Nightingale."

The eight people exchanged pleasantries and greetings. Since they had never worked together before, there were bound to be some formalities and social interactions.

At 8:50, the last two male guests finally arrived: Ji Wenxuan, known for playing domineering CEOs, and Qiu Zhenlong, the richest veteran actor in the entire series.

Upon seeing Qiu Zhenlong, Wei Lai, Qi Sheng, and the others greeted him with smiles, "Uncle Long."

Qiu Zhenlong glanced around and laughed, "Oh ho, what a coincidence! We've all worked together before. Am I the oldest here? When the show is filming, you young and strong guys will have to carry me."

Qiu Zhenlong shook hands with Wei Lai and the others one by one. He took a special interest in Qi Sheng and Lin Chaosheng, and shamelessly invited them in public, "If we are divided into groups later, you two must pull me into the group."

He added, "Uncle Long is very rich, he won't treat you badly!"

The production crew and other guests: "..."

Xie Fei isn't an actor, so she doesn't hold back when she speaks. She teases Qiu Zhenlong, saying, "Teacher Qiu, you can't do this to me. Qi Sheng and Lin Chaosheng have to be separated; they can't be on the same team."

Ji Wenxuan, known for playing domineering CEOs, speaks with a thick Northeastern accent, his face and voice completely mismatched. "The program's rules haven't been announced yet, everyone, please be patient and listen first."

Wang Xia turned to Jiang Mingyue and said, "If we really have to split into teams, we'll definitely be separated."

Jiang Mingyue hummed in agreement, her response quite obvious.

At 9:00 AM sharp, all ten guests of the second season of "The Adventure Journey" arrived, along with the entire production team at the airport.

Director Wang Bo didn't waste any time. He first exchanged pleasantries with everyone and then got straight to the point.

"First of all, thank you all for participating in the filming of the second season of the variety show. This season's filming location is in Italy. The ten guests need to form two teams, with four men and one woman in each team. The members of the two teams will take different flights to Italy and land in different cities, one in the south and one in the north."

"The filming period for the show is 15 days. There will be no elimination of guests this season. The production team will provide each team member with a mobile phone. Please note that it is not one per person, but one per team. Your task is to check in at the landmarks of the target city within 15 days and converge in the capital city from the north to the south."

Some of the ten guests were stunned, some were confused, and some were completely bewildered.

Qi Sheng: "Director, do we not need to compete?"

Xie Fei: "Director, I'm only concerned about how much credit each of us has? Do we need to earn our own money to buy train tickets?"

"The production team has prepared 100 euros for each team per day. You can receive the payment for 15 days at once, or you can receive it once a day."

"To be fair, the male guests will draw lots to form teams, and the female guests will play rock-paper-scissors to decide the winner, with the winner choosing their team first."

"The choice of the landing city will be determined by drawing lots, with one member from each team participating."

During a break in the director's speech, staff brought over a whiteboard with an enlarged map of Italy pasted on it, thoughtfully marking the northern and southern cities the two teams were going to, as well as the meeting point in the middle.

To the north lies Milan, a fashion hub; to the south, West City, a famous resort island; and in the middle lies the Italian capital.

In addition, the production team also provided everyone with a route map for meeting up.

"In short, the guests this season only have two tasks. One task is to visit famous landmarks in the cities along the way, and the other task is to successfully reunite on the fifteenth day. At this point, filming will be completed, and they will return to China on the same day."

As soon as the filming schedule for the show was announced, the ten guests immediately went wild, and Jiang Mingyue was no exception.

Five people have a daily living expense of 100 euros, which averages 20 euros per person per day. 20 euros is only enough for one lunch, and it's a very simple lunch.

Not to mention that visiting city landmarks is not easy either. Neighboring landmarks are not in the same place. How do you solve the transportation costs? Do you just walk?

Qi Sheng scratched his head, "Director, twenty euros a day is simply not enough!"

The director smiled slyly, "That's your problem, not mine."

Don Juan remained calm. "Director Wang, does the production team provide accommodation?"

The rest of the people were stunned. Given the show's usual practices, they would likely be left to figure things out on their own.

As expected, the chief director revealed his two front teeth and said, "From the moment the plane lands, you will be in charge of all your own arrangements for food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation in the two cities, one in the north and one in the south."

"Please note that, as is customary, the production team will confiscate any cash and bank cards you are carrying."

Screams filled the VIP room.

Qiu Zhenlong, the richest veteran actor in the entire series, rolled up his sleeves and quit, saying, "If I had known the production team was going to be such a rip-off, I should have refused to participate in the first place."

Xie Fei tried to shed tears to gain sympathy, "Director, you can't just make us sleep on the streets. Besides, we're all on tourist visas, we can't work and earn money abroad."

The cold-blooded director slammed the clock, asking, "Has everyone forgotten the name of our show?"

Everyone snapped back to reality in an instant. Oh no! The show's title is "The Adventure Journey," and they have to rely on themselves for food and lodging—it's practically a grand adventure!

No wonder there were no head-to-head battles this season; surviving in a foreign country for fifteen days is much harder than a group competition in the wild.

"Come on, complaining is useless. The contract has already been signed. Let's draw lots to decide who will be in groups first, and then we'll discuss our accommodations and transportation after we land."

Don Juan, true to his reputation as a movie star, remained unfazed even when faced with a collapsing mountain. He clapped his hands first, signaling everyone to quickly form groups so as not to delay their departure.

The production team also needs to buy plane tickets for everyone, and time is of the essence.

At Don Juan's command, Wei Lai and the others walked to the prop lottery tube prepared by the production team. Two minutes later, the eight male guests were successfully divided into groups.

The group consists of Wei Lai, a specialist in playing second male lead princes; Tang Huang, a film emperor; Meng Qinzhou, a rising star; and Ji Wenxuan, a specialist in playing domineering CEOs.

The remaining four people automatically formed a group.

Qiu Zhenlong laughed heartily, "Oh dear, I'm really sorry, I just have such good luck. Our group has Xiao Lin and Xiao Qi protecting us on the left and right, plus the nightingale Xiao Xie, so our personal safety is guaranteed."

Wei Lai emphasized, "I'm not bad either. I've been in closed training for three months."

Everyone couldn't help but recall the boast Wei Lai made in front of Jiang Mingyue during the live broadcast of the variety show "Brothers Who Go Forward," and they all smiled in unison.

“Brother Wei, anyone who has filmed action scenes has trained with the crew.”

Immediately afterwards, Wang Xia and Jiang Mingyue played rock-paper-scissors to decide the winner. The two ladies didn't waste any time and decided the winner in one round. Wang Xia won and chose Qi Sheng's team.

"My child likes Uncle Long, so I'll choose your team."

Qiu Zhenlong applauded enthusiastically to welcome Wang Xia, showing her respect, saying, "I've watched your competition. Teacher Wang is excellent and worthy of our learning."

Jiang Mingyue automatically joined Wei Lai's team.

Judging from their physiques, Ji Wenxuan and Jiang Mingyue might be a hindrance to Wei Lai and the other two.

The production team even gave Wei Lai's group a close-up shot in an attempt to capture their micro-expressions. Unexpectedly, the five of them remained very calm.

Without further ado, the two teams immediately sent representatives to draw lots to select their landing cities. After discussing their options, Tang Huang and Qiu Zhenlong were appointed as captains, and the two captains drew lots.

The result was dramatic: Don Juan's team drew the West Market in the south, while Qiu Zhenlong drew the Rice Market in the north.

Qiu Zhenlong grinned from ear to ear, patting Tang Huang on the shoulder, "Little Tang, you flatter me. The island is great, not only is the scenery beautiful, but you can also eat seafood."

Neither Wei Lai nor Meng Qinzhou are the type to complain; they accept whatever they are given.

Don Juan, who had previously filmed a movie here, subtly reminded everyone, "The West Market isn't very safe, so please be careful when you're taking photos."

Nobody was stupid. The security situation was not only bad, but could be life-threatening in serious cases. But then they thought that since the production team dared to take them there to film, they must have made thorough preparations.

Ji Wenxuan had never had the chance to go to Italy before, and he looked at Don Juan with pleading eyes, "Brother Tang, pickpocketing is a minor issue, but what about accommodation?"

The actor who usually plays domineering CEOs turned into a coward when he appeared on a variety show.

Wei Lai answered for Don Juan, "Wenxuan, things will work themselves out. Even Mingyue isn't worried, so what are you, a grown man, afraid of?"

Ji Wenxuan didn't get angry when he was criticized; in variety shows, if no one mentions him, it's like he has no screen time.

“Brother Wei, I call this being prepared.” Ji Wenxuan turned around and called out to Jiang Mingyue, “Mingyue, don’t worry, we’d rather the four of us go hungry than let you suffer.”

Jiang Mingyue wasn't worried about going hungry; she only cared about one thing: "Director, if the local residents are willing to share their food with us, would that be considered a violation of the rules?"

Wei Lai and the others' eyes lit up, staring intently at the chief director.

Chief director Wang Bo had anticipated this: "Fans feeding the animals is not allowed, nor is feeding by Chinese citizens; local residents can do so voluntarily."

Everyone was speechless. The production team really knew how to dig a hole, eliminating any possibility of fan relief.

A note from the author:

Haha, isn't it beautiful?