Chapter 3
Meeting at the airport wasn't the end of the journey. Thirty people boarded the director's car and set off. After nearly an hour of bumpy ride, a sudden downpour forced the production team to stop in a small mountain village. By the time the rain subsided, it was already evening, and the mountain roads were difficult to navigate, forcing the trip to be postponed until the next day. At six in the morning, the still-bleary-eyed thirty people were herded back into the director's car. After nearly five hours of driving through the mountain roads, they finally reached their destination. As soon as the car stopped, some people were already vomiting. Those who weren't vomiting were pale and slumped on the ground, motionless, like a group of sick cats. The director's team also looked grim, especially Director Huang.
Before this year's selection, the higher-ups had a special talk with him about the survival variety show's five-year losing streak. The senior leader lamented that while survival was a variety show, it was still an international competition, and five years of such a poor performance wasn't a good look. They'd specifically appointed him to direct this time, hoping he could do even better. But now, looking at this group of people, Director Huang's brows knitted together.
"Director Huang, it's almost time for the live broadcast," said the crew member, who had just finished vomiting, with a pale face. Director Huang's wilderness survival scenes were all about authenticity, so he didn't have much time to spare. The original plan was to arrive yesterday and rest for a night before filming began. No one expected the heavy rain on the way, which delayed them overnight. The rain slowed down the rest of the way, and we finally arrived just as the broadcast was about to begin.
Director Huang looked at the cameraman and said solemnly, "Open the live broadcast room!"
"Ah, it's really open?" the photographer said in surprise. Seeing Director Huang nod, he couldn't help but mourn for the star who was still vomiting. He wondered how bad his image would look if it turned out.
"Holy shit, what's going on?"
As soon as the live broadcast room opened, the audience who had specially waited in front of the room in advance to post barrages of cheers were stunned and looked at the scene in disbelief.
Thirty contestants were vomiting, slumped to the ground, their faces pale. Seven or eight remained standing. The most eye-catching was a smirking young monk, about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in monastic robes, who was demanding to know when they would have food. Then there was Xia En, the highest-ranking contestant, standing sternly to the side in a T-shirt, black pants, and black boots, his gaze fixed not far away. Following his gaze, everyone saw Chu Huaiqin, vomiting profusely.
"Pfft, I want to take first place, I want to take first place."
"Damn, you told us to be at ease, but my heart wouldn't be safe even if it was locked in a bank safe."
"It's not just my Qinqin who's like this."
"But he's the only one who can take first place."
Chu Huaiqin's fans were silent after being criticized like this.
"That's not important. What's important is where this place is. It looks like there's no one within a 500-mile radius, but it's so beautiful!"
"Indeed, I feel a little creepy. At night, oh my god, I don't dare to think about it."
The mountains stretched as far as the eye could see. It was March, and lush vegetation blanketed the path all the way to the mountains. From afar, peaks overlapped, clouds and mist shrouded the mountains, while cliffs towered and steep. The lush greenery dominated everyone's view, contrasting brilliantly with the azure sky. The beauty was breathtaking, yet apart from the chirping of birds and the rustling of the wind, nothing else could be heard.
"Nothing new. It's just another mountain scene. Everyone gets a bag of food, and then they play hide-and-seek inside, 'Come and catch me, come and catch me!' After two weeks of hiding, a few people are internally selected for the second season, and then a few more are internally selected for the Asian competition. Then one or two are internally selected for the international competition. Then they're kicked off the show. Okay, that's it for this year's wilderness survival show. Let's disperse!"
"No, even though wilderness survival in China is pretty bad, I'm still looking forward to it this year."
"It's just like the Chinese national football team. They get first-rate salaries but do third-rate work. I'm disappointed and want to quit. I'm going to Lianhei.com to watch other districts' games."
"Tong, wait for me, big brother in front, I'll go too."
"Looking at these fallen contestants, I would rather watch the Peacock Kingdom fight an elephant."
However, within a few minutes, one-third of the people in the live broadcast room left, and the remaining ones were almost all fans and die-hard fans of the participating stars. The die-hard fans who were betting outside felt guilty when they saw the scene, and then they saw the number of people in the live broadcast room decreasing little by little, and they burst into tears, constantly posting barrages in the live broadcast room, crying and wailing, not knowing what to do.
“Oh my god, they’re filming!”
Someone at the scene exclaimed, someone vomited or sat on the ground, but instantly he stood up with full health and gave the most beautiful smile to the camera.
"vomit……"
on site:……
audience:……
The inappropriate voice drew everyone's attention, and they saw Chu Huaiqin, who had been mocked by the whole network for three days, vomiting while holding a small tree. The shaky small tree was only three fingers big, and Chu Huaiqin was supporting the shaky tree. No matter how they looked at it, they were worried about the small tree.
"Can't you consider Xiaoshu's feelings?"
At this moment, someone finally spoke up. It was Xia En, the most popular amateur actor since the pilot aired. He frowned and stared at Chu Huaiqin with dissatisfaction. His dark and deep gaze was like a pitch-black abyss, capable of sucking people in.
Chu Huaiqin, who was vomiting profusely, was shaking like an old man on his last legs. Upon hearing Xia En's words, he held onto the tree with one hand and supported his waist with the other, slowly raising himself halfway. With a handsome face and red eyes, he said, "It told me it's willing to help me."
My eyes are wet, my breath is wandering, I want to drink and cry...
Xia En's mind exploded, and he couldn't help but step back twice. His ears instantly turned red. He instinctively turned away, but suddenly thought of something and turned back. He glared at Chu Huaiqin and said sternly, "Don't try to seduce me."
After saying this, he left without looking back.
Chu Huaiqin: ...
"gather!"
At Director Huang's command, everyone slowly gathered on the grass in front of him. Chu Huaiqin, still hugging the small tree, blinked and trembled his legs, assessing whether he could walk over on his own. A young monk in monk's robes appeared in front of him, opened his eyes wide and asked innocently, "Do you want me to help you?"
"Thank you. When the show starts, I'll take you to eat chicken legs." Chu Huaiqinhao put his hand on the little monk's shoulder without hesitation and slowly approached the crowd.
"Now, let me explain the rules," Director Huang said, sweeping his gaze over the crowd. "This year is different from previous years. Since I, Director Huang, am the one directing, I have the final say."
Director Huang holds a very high status in the Chinese director community. In addition to directing many large-scale historical and science fiction films, he has also filmed adventure documentaries and has extensive experience in wilderness survival.
"The filming will take one month. Each team will be three people. The five teams that reach the finish line first will be the winners and will enter the second round of selection."
The audience nodded. Yes, it was the same in the past five years. The selection method was the common one of digging boxes, scoring points, etc. The people who left first really had a keen eye, but after a few minutes, many people left the live broadcast room.
"This time we're running a mission-based competition. Your mission is to reach the finish line within the specified time and, along the way, pick the herbs we need. There are three routes for you to choose from."
After that, Director Huang asked the staff to hand two cards to the contestants, one of which contained the rules of the competition and other details, and the other card contained a map of sixteen kinds of herbs.
The competition format was just as Director Huang had mentioned: three people per team, and only the top five of the ten teams would advance to the second round of selection. This looked simple, but it was actually quite difficult, as all three routes were located within the mountains. This meant they had to climb the mountain behind them, then traverse the continuous mountain range to reach their destination.
During this period, the program team only provided eight things: a small pot for cooking, five packets of salt two fingers wide and half a finger long and ten small packets of cooking oil, a pack of matches, a military knife, a large backpack, a tent, a small medicine bag, a pack of noodles, clothes, and women's cosmetics. The director team was not restricted. In the words of Director Huang: If you have the ability, drag all the two boxes of things up the mountain.
"How can we possibly survive a month with only a pack of noodles?" Yang Ling spoke up. She is already 30 years old and a TVB Best Actress. Her company had fought hard to get her to participate in this program, but she didn't expect it to be so different from previous years. In the past, they were given enough food for a month.
"Our director team has investigated and found that the mountains are rich in resources and you won't starve to death. We will also release chickens, ducks, rabbits, sheep and other domesticated livestock during this period. You can hunt, but please be careful not to kill protected wild animals. Violators will be considered to have forfeited the opportunity."
As soon as Director Huang said this, the live broadcast became lively.
"Is this for real?"
"Hey, domestic chickens and pheasants, domestic ducks and wild ducks, can anyone tell them apart? Also, domestic rabbits and wild rabbits are all white, right?"
"You can't catch them even if you let them out. Even though they're domesticated, they'll run away if a stranger tries to catch them!"
"This year is a little interesting. Director Huang is saying that this month, besides the instant noodles at the beginning and the appropriate amount of livestock released, we also have to take our own resources from the mountains. Isn't the production team going to provide anything?"
"Ahhh, there's still a mission to complete. I have to pick five out of the sixteen herbs, and I have to pick fifty of each to complete the mission. These herbs all look the same to me. This is too difficult!"
"A month? Are you sure these people won't starve to death in the mountains?"
"This kind of program is too inhumane. I oppose it. My Shaotai can't stand it."
"Get lost! They're eating raw rat meat in the foreign preliminaries. Coach Huang even picked a mountain range rich in resources for them. If they can't survive, forget about participating in any international competitions this year. It would be embarrassing to go."
"Look at other countries, they just have a knife and a bag. I don't think chicken, duck, or noodles are necessary."
The live broadcast room was noisy. Some people felt sorry for their idol, but more fans supported the director's decision, thinking that this level was not enough and should be stricter.
Director Huang observed the gloomy expressions on everyone's faces, feeling angry at their lack of ambition, but also thankful he'd found ten Shaolin lay disciples; these talents were his trump card. This time, his goal was to be in the top ten of the international competition, and these celebrities were merely supporting roles for the show. "You can choose to withdraw now, and the same applies after the competition begins. Everyone will wear a distress bracelet; pressing it will count as a forfeit. Also..."
"We will have a team set out from here three days after you leave to 'assassinate' you. Anyone hit by a colored gun will be eliminated. If one of the three is eliminated, the rest can continue the mission."
Director Huang's words undoubtedly hit these people on the head like a club. In addition to finding food and picking herbs on their own, they were actually being hunted down. This...
Some people in the crowd are already angry, but they don't want to say it out loud. In the final analysis, they are all greedy for the traffic of the wilderness survival variety show, but no one wants to be the first to stand out in front of the camera. Think about the high appearance fees, and then think about the international endorsements, international big IPs, international directors, and the dream of stepping onto the international stage through this. They just have to endure it.
"Is there really anyone who can make it to the end? Maybe everyone will drop out halfway through, and there will be no one left behind."
Someone in the crowd murmured something, not loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Don't worry, I've prepared a surprise guest for the second episode."
Director Huang said this without mercy, instantly shattering the hopes of those who were still hoping for a lucky break. They were still thinking that the director would change the competition system because the task was too difficult, but it seemed that was completely impossible.
After the competition format was clarified, the drawing began. Three-person teams would be drawn from among ten celebrities, ten amateurs, and ten athletes. Everyone had someone they wanted to work with, and those with strong abilities were favored. Xia En was particularly favored. The fact that he didn't faint after hours of bumpy mountain roads showed he was in excellent physical condition. The appearance of a 100-square-meter office in the pilot film also confirmed his status as a prominent figure. For a celebrity, befriending such a person would only benefit them, not hurt them. For a moment, many eyes were fixed on the director, their gazes burning.
"The first group: Su Huaichen, Feng Shan, An Shunan; the second group: An Manrou, Xiao Dugui, Xi Xing; the third group: Shao Tai, Xia En, Su Feichen..."
As soon as Xia En's name was announced, exclamations of surprise rang out, some envious, others cheering. However, Xia En seemed dissatisfied with the result, looking at Director Huang with a mixture of disbelief and anger.
Director Huang, who was looking at the list, glared back at Xia Entang's gaze, gnashing his teeth. If Xia Entang hadn't been crying and insisting on coming, and his brother's intercession, would he have let him appear on the show as an amateur? What was the meaning of his discontent now? He was already giving Chu Huaiqin face by letting him appear first in the pilot, and he still gave him the cold shoulder. What a jerk.
Chu Huaiqin's name appeared in the middle. His team was with an amateur little monk, javelin thrower Lin Yongfu. Chu Huaiqin was very happy that the little monk who had helped him could be on the same team with him. He reached out and rubbed the little monk's head, but found that it was bald, so he gave a bad review.
Xia En's eyes were always on Chu Huaiqin. Seeing him withdraw his hand in disappointment, he snorted coldly, reached out to touch his temples, and raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a smug smile.
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