Chapter 32
Chu Huaiqin and the others didn't know what was going on, but Weibo had already exploded with activity. The Wilderness Survival livestream, which had been in production for five years, was changing its format for the sixth year. For the first five years, the Wilderness Survival competition had five seasons: two domestic competitions, one continental competition, and two global competitions. But now, things had changed. As soon as the news of Director Anthony getting off the plane at the Huaxia airport broke, the official global production team also announced that this year's global competition would only be one, and the start date would be moved to July.
"The global competition used to be two games, why did it suddenly change?"
"Who knows? I just know it's going to be hard to bet on treasure this year."
"Indeed, although the venues weren't specifically announced before the races in previous years, the timings showed seasonality, which was pretty predictable. For example, the spring race would be held in a tropical rainforest, the summer would be held on an isolated island in the ocean, and the autumn would be held on the African savannah. Last year's Mount Everest summit was the most talked-about winter race, but this year's event was suddenly disrupted. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling."
"Let me calculate the time. If the global competition starts in July and each event has a half-month break, then the Asian competition will end in mid-June, and the domestic competition will end in early May. There will only be one domestic competition left."
"Oh my god, no wonder Director Huang just announced a change to the format, switching it to a singles competition with only five players. The five winners will directly participate in the Asian Championship!"
"Wow, I'm crying. I'm worried about my sister among all these people. What should I do? Can we still form an alliance?"
While the livestream was buzzing with discussion about the format changes, Chu Huaiqin received very little information. He only knew that of the twelve players, only five would advance to the next round. A moment of silence fell, the only sound around them being the clatter of paddling. After about half an hour, everyone headed for the nearest mountain.
"Sister, we're here." Everyone got off the bamboo raft with their backpacks on, but the little monk found her in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking.
"Oh, okay." Lin Zhinan quickly stood up. When he got off the bamboo raft, he almost slipped on a rock and was pulled up by the little monk.
Chu Huaiqin looked at the two of them, thoughtful.
There was grassland near the water on this mountain, and there were rocks in the shallow water. The bamboo raft was tied to the rocks on the shore, and everyone chose a flat area not far from the water to set up camp.
"Let's go find some food first, and we'll talk while we eat." Chu Huaiqin suggested when he saw that everyone looked worried.
"Okay," Bingxiang agreed. Their lunch was the leftover food from the morning, so they were only half full and were now starving. "Then let's hurry. It's best to find food after sunset. We're not familiar with this mountain, so don't go too far."
Chu Huaiqin added, "Those who go up the mountain to look for food should not go far, at least in a team of three. I won't go, is that okay?"
Tong Tao was a little surprised and was about to ask something when Su Huaichen spoke up, "Okay, take a rest. I'm afraid you might faint at any time."
Su Huaichen patted Chu Huaiqin's wet shoulders. He didn't know where this man got so much sweat, it was like water.
"Yes, brother, you should take a rest! I will definitely bring you something delicious." The little monk adjusted his straw hat and grinned. Chu Huaiqin saw the little monk's happy smile and smiled back at him.
Xia En's eyes darkened as he spoke, "I'm going to go fishing with a spear. What kind of fish do you want to eat?"
"Ah, Xia Entang, you are so amazing that you can even pick fish and catch them in this lake!" the little monk exclaimed.
Xia Entropy: ...
Everyone was also staring at Xia En, their eyes full of confusion.
Xia En then realized what nonsense he had just said. With a stiff face, he uttered four words, "I can pick clams."
"Pfft!" Su Huaichen laughed out loud without hesitation, and the others also tried to hold back their laughter. Xia En secretly turned his head and saw a smile on Chu Huaiqin's lips. His face turned red instantly, and he turned his head and glared at Su Huaichen fiercely.
"Sister and Su Feichen should stay as well to boil water, collect firewood, etc." Feng Shan suggested.
"I think since Huaiqin is staying, and my sister is enough, Su Feichen shouldn't be needed!" Tong Tiao finally spoke up. She thought she would get a response, but she saw everyone's strange looks and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. You, as a new member, may not know this, but Brother Chu can't function properly when the weather gets hot. Now there's enough water and plenty of people to find food. Let Brother Chu take a break!" Lin Yongfu said with a smile.
"Oh, really? Has Huaiqin been like this all the way?" Tong Tao asked curiously.
"Yeah! I get weak when I see the sun. Haha, this is the first time I've seen someone like that," the little monk said with a laugh. "Let's go find something to eat first."
The little monk took Su Huaichen and An Shunan away. As the little monk left, the others also left one after another. Tong Tiao left with Pu Peng and Su Feichen. After the three of them walked for a while, Tong Tiao spoke.
"I didn't expect Huaiqin's health to be like this. I saw that you all listened to him very much these two days. I thought he was the one who led everyone before! After all, the strong are respected." Tong Tao walked while hitting the grass with a wooden stick to see if there were any snakes.
Su Feichen looked at him strangely, "Brother Chu was the one who took us away!"
"Oh, really! But since he's in such a bad condition, doesn't he need someone to take care of him all the time?"
"No, he's the one taking care of us."
Su Feichen replied casually without saying anything else, and buried his head in looking to see if he could find cassava. Chu Huaiqin had said before that cassava was a native crop unique to this mountain range and should be found on every mountain.
"I saw the news on Weibo that the competition system was going to be changed, so I secretly started a live broadcast in class to see what was going on. I didn't expect to hear this part, it was weird."
"Same as before, doesn't he want to go find something to eat? PS: It's 5:18 now, and there are only 12 minutes left before get out of class ends. You'd better be patient. It will be troublesome if your phone is confiscated."
"What's wrong with Tong Tao? Chu Huaiqin is just that, why should he need others to support him and serve him?"
"Before, I was an A2 fan. Even though I couldn't stand the A3 team's indulgence of him, I didn't bother to care. Now that A2 and A3 have merged, I have to say something: Why does Chu Huaiqin get away with being lazy and letting others do the work?"
"I'm really pissed off and laughing now. On the first day, when Tongtiao got on the bamboo raft, who gave him food? On the first day of climbing the mountain, who picked the rock mushrooms? Who caught the fish?"
"Isn't it? There are still fish and shrimp in those four shrimp cages. I'd be so happy if I could eat those fish and a handful of shrimp myself. Why would I need someone like Tong Tao to support me?"
"Yes, even if there's nothing to eat in the shrimp cage, Xia En is still willing to support my brother! Besides, the bamboo raft was made by my brother and his friends. Tong Tiao, please pay for the boat fare!"
In addition to Chu Huaiqin's original fans, there are now many new fans in the live broadcast room. The new fans are very powerful and they instantly made those who were dissatisfied with Chu Huaiqin speechless.
Although Chu Huaiqin stayed, he didn't really sit still. He only sat until the sun was about to set and the sunlight was not so strong, then he got up and went to the lake to wash his face. At this time, Lin Zhinan had already folded the stove and boiled water in the pot, and Su Feichen had also collected a lot of firewood.
After a day of fishing, Chu Huaiqin caught five fish: three large and two small. He gazed down at them from above, pondered for a moment, and decided to make fish soup. He walked to the lake with his shrimp cage in hand. He quickly cleaned the fish, pan-fried them until golden brown, added wild ginger, and simmered them in several small pots. While waiting for everyone to return, he wandered around and spotted a wolfberry tree. He pulled up a few, cleaned them, and separated the leaves from the stems. He then removed the stems and cooked them with the fish soup. When they were almost done, he removed the stems and added the leaves. After a few tossings, they were cooked.
By then, it was already dark, and everyone slowly returned, with those who had speared fish coming ashore. However, the catch wasn't very good today. Xia En, Bing Xiang, and Feng Shan, the spearers, caught two fish, which they roasted over the fire, and a few clams, which Chu Huaiqin chopped up and threw into the soup pot.
When Chu Huaiqin did this, Xia En's eyes were almost burning with anger.
This was said in the live broadcast room, but when Chu Huaiqin turned around and smiled at him, the frightened look finally retracted. The people who went up the mountain to look for food did not find any cassava, but only a few papayas. Faced with this miserable result, everyone's faces were wrinkled with worry.
"Brother, you must be the protagonist with a halo, otherwise every time I went out with you, I could at least find a bunch of bananas. Today you didn't go, and I didn't find anything except a few papayas. Sigh," the little monk sat next to Chu Huaiqin dejectedly and sniffed, "It smells so good, brother, let's eat!"
As soon as the little monk said this, everyone's attention was diverted. It was already dark now and they had no lighting tools, so it was not suitable to leave the camp. This was the only way.
Thinking of this, everyone turned their attention to the drone flying around...
The drone shook and flew away instantly.
Everyone: ...
The fish soup, cooked with wolfberries, had a milky white broth topped with emerald green wolfberry leaves. It was rich but not greasy, sweet and delicious, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth. The fish was so tender and fresh that everyone almost cried. It was too little. The grilled fish was only shared in two bites, and after finishing it, everyone felt completely empty.
The little monk couldn't help but pour boiled water into the pot, shook it twice, and drank it.
Everyone: ...
"Brother, I'm still hungry!"
The little monk threw himself into Chu Huaiqin's arms and cried loudly. Lin Zhinan laughed secretly on the side, while Xia En was furious.
The last few papayas were ripe, and everyone shared them and decided to go to bed early. After a good sleep, they would not feel hungry. But before that, everyone had to discuss what the director had said today.
"The competition format has been changed to an individual competition, with only the top five selected. This means that out of the twelve of us, only five will be able to participate in the next event. I think it would be best if we all go our separate ways," Tong Tiao said. They had already covered two-thirds of the way, and the remaining distance would determine the winner, so it wouldn't be appropriate to continue walking together.
Bing Xiang nodded. "Director Huang didn't say whether the time has been changed, so our mission should still end on April 27th. Today is April 13th, so we still have fourteen days, one-third of the journey left. There's plenty of time, but the quota is limited..."
Chu Huaiqin smiled and said, "We are all called contestants. Since it is a competition, there must be winners and losers."
"I agree with that," Lin Yongfu nodded. "Then let's go our separate ways after we get ashore! How's that?"
Although the words came from Lin Yongfu's mouth, everyone instinctively looked at Chu Huaiqin. The most nervous person here was Lin Zhinan. Her hands hanging at her sides clenched unconsciously, and she was already calculating in her heart how far she could go alone after everyone separated.
"Does anyone else have any other opinions?" Chu Huaiqin asked. Seeing that no one said anything, they all seemed to agree. His sister lowered her head and said nothing. Chu Huaiqin smiled and said, "Then let's decide it this way!"
"Okay, from now on we'll all rely on our own abilities," Bingxiang poured water into the bamboo bowl and held it up. "Brother Chu, thank you for your care before."
"You're welcome." Chu Huaiqin also raised his bamboo bowl, and the others also drank a glass of water instead of wine.
From then on, it depends on your own ability.
"Wow, my sister is crying! Why didn't she ask me to take care of her?"
"Director Huang certainly didn't say we can't form an alliance."
"We've entered the elimination round now! Time is meaningless. Whoever arrives first, whoever gets one-fifth of the spots first, will be the winner. My sister will be the first to be eliminated."
"Am I the only one who thinks Chu Huaiqin will be the second one to be eliminated?"
"Well, it seems so."
Some people in the live broadcast room had to admit the fact that Chu Huaiqin did have serious health problems. As soon as the sun came out, Chu Huaiqin took three breaths with every step he took. By the time he finished catching his breath, others had already reached the horizon.
After making the decision, everyone went to sleep with excitement, except for one person who did not enter the tent. He sneaked out again, sat on a big rock by the lake, and leaned against it to enjoy the breeze.
"Aren't you sleeping yet?" Chu Huaiqin walked over to Lin Zhinan and sat down.
"Well, I can't sleep. Maybe it's too early. Brother, you go to sleep first. I'll sleep later," Lin Zhinan scratched the grass and smiled at Chu Huaiqin.
"I can't sleep either," Chu Huaiqin said, gazing at the lake. It was mid-month, and while the moon wasn't at its brightest yet, its light was still strong, casting a shadowy, silvery glow on the lake. Chu Huaiqin sighed softly and said, "You know how I am. I'm out of breath every three steps. Maybe everyone else has arrived, and I'm still gasping for breath on the way!"
"Pfft, brother, no." Lin Zhinan laughed at Chu Huaiqin's resentful look.
"Of course not, haven't you seen what I usually look like?" Chu Huaiqin looked at Lin Zhinan with great sadness, "Sister, are you willing to come with me?"
"Ah!" Lin Zhinan exclaimed, startled at first, then his eyes lit up and he threw himself into Chu Huaiqin's arms, "Brother, I do."
The little monk who was squatting under a small tree and biting the corner of his clothes said: I’m so angry, I’m late.
Xia En, who was standing in front of Chu Huaiqin's tent, asked: Where did he go again? Where did he go in the middle of the night?
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