Wang Lun and Li Ling quickly finished their wild fruit and seaweed soup. Wang Lun said, "I'll go wash the pot. You pack up the tools and everything I gave you before. When I get back, we'll set off and find a suitable place to build a shelter according to the plan." Li Ling said with some worry, "Um, won't the organizers hold us responsible if we take those things out?" Wang Lun said, "It's okay. I guess the competition actually started yesterday. Since it started, the assistance I received at the competition is sufficient. Besides, even if they do hold us responsible, we can just return the things to them." Li Ling thought about it and agreed, so she felt relieved. Wang Lun took the pot to the stream to wash it.
Li Ling first extinguished the fire, then gathered the entrenching tool, machete, and broadsword, along with bamboo poles, and then tidied up some vines. Next, she took the vine-woven basket, first putting seaweed inside, but not all of it; some remained outside. She then checked the security camera, and pulled several bags from her clothes. These bags contained various seasonings that Wang Lun had smuggled from the cruise ship: an opened packet of salt, half a packet of sugar, a packet of thirteen-spice powder, a packet of pepper powder, half a packet of chili powder, and most of a packet of chicken bouillon. Li Ling folded the opened packets neatly before putting them into the basket, leaving the unopened ones untouched. She then covered the basket with the seaweed to prevent the seasonings from leaking out. A short while later, Wang Lun returned. He placed two bamboo bowls and chopsticks in the basket, then took out a section of vine, tied it to the wok, and had Li Ling carry the wok on her back, holding a machete and a bamboo pole on her shoulder. Wang Lun, on the other hand, carried a large machete, a military shovel on his back, and a basket. Wang Lun led the way, with Li Ling following behind, as they walked along the stream.
In the live stream, a group of netizens, seeing how much stuff Li Ling had given away, exclaimed that Wang Lun was amazing. Some said, "I've always seen organizers messing with contestants, this is the first time I've seen an organizer being taken advantage of by a contestant." "Isn't this a bit unfair?" "How is it unfair? Didn't the other contestants get the cruise ship? Or are the other contestants brainless and they can't let others have it?" "Yeah, yeah, besides, didn't I hear Wang Lun say 'the competition probably started yesterday'? I was wondering why the live stream started yesterday." "I thought it was a perk offered by the streamer." "Me too." "Disgusting, this kind of person is simply a social scum, a piece of trash." "Oh, here comes a white lotus, didn't you hear what Wang Lun said? If the organizers hold them accountable, then give it back to them. Besides, Wang Lun took it from your place, you're meddling too much." "@Organizers, does this violate the rules? Did the program start last night?" A group of netizens discussed back and forth in the live stream. Suddenly, an official reply appeared: "The program started this morning, so the organizers didn't arrange breakfast for the contestants. Last night's live broadcast was to allow the contestants to adapt to live broadcasting and also as a way of giving back to the viewers. As for Wang Lun's actions, he didn't violate any rules, and after investigation, the condiments he took were left behind by our staff while cleaning the cruise ship, so we won't pursue the matter further. However, we do not recommend that viewers engage in such behavior in the future." A group of netizens, seeing the organizers' reply, praised their generosity and also admired Wang Lun's shrewdness. After all, there were two hundred people on the cruise ship, and only Wang Lun took so many condiments.
Wang Lun and Li Ling walked along the stream, observing as they went. Wang Lun walked slowly, partly because there was no path, and partly because he needed to find a suitable place to build a shelter. After walking for more than an hour, Wang Lun saw that he still hadn't found a suitable place, and the terrain was gradually rising and becoming more difficult to traverse. So he said, "Let's stop and rest for a bit, and have some water." Li Ling put down her bamboo pole, leaned against it, and asked, "How much longer do we have to walk?" Wang Lun said, "I don't know. The terrain is getting higher and higher, and the forest is getting denser. This might not necessarily be a bad thing for us." Li Ling looked at Wang Lun and said, "I don't know if it's a bad thing, but I think you're about to run into trouble." Wang Lun looked at Li Ling, about to ask something, when Li Ling whispered, "Don't move." After saying that, Li Ling picked up the bamboo pole and slammed it down on the ground behind Wang Lun. Wang Lun saw a gust of wind rush past his ear, followed by the crisp sound of bamboo hitting the ground, and then Li Ling's shout: "Quick, a snake!" Wang Lun quickly turned around and saw a snake that Li Ling had hit with a bamboo pole. The snake was still pinned down and moving. Wang Lun quickly pulled out his entrenching tool from behind and chopped down hard with the blade, severing the snake's head in one stroke. Li Ling finally relaxed. Wang Lun dug a small hole nearby, put the snake's head in, picked up the body, and walked towards Li Ling, saying, "Thank you." Li Ling waved her hand and said, "It's nothing, we're teammates." Upon hearing this, Wang Lun murmured, "So, in your eyes, I'm just your teammate." Li Ling said, "What did you say?" Wang Lun said, "Nothing, I just wanted to ask if you can still walk. If we kill the snake here, other predators might come." Li Ling thought for a moment, stood up, and said, "Let's go." Seeing this, Wang Lun said, "I'll cut the bamboo pole in half. You take one section, and I'll take one." Li Ling handed the bamboo pole to Wang Lun, who chopped it in half, giving Li Ling the section without the float and keeping the section with the float for himself. Li Ling said, "Give me the basket; it's inconvenient for you to carry it while you're clearing the way." Wang Lun looked at Li Ling and asked, "Are you alright?" Li Ling reached for the basket and said, "Let's go." Wang Lun placed the snake's body in the basket, covering the severed parts with loose soil to prevent blood from flowing out and also to mask some of the smell of blood. After doing this, the two continued on their way. However, Wang Lun seemed to have a newfound melancholy, or perhaps it was still the same as before; no one knew except himself.
In the live stream chat, comments like, "Holy crap, that scared me to death! I thought it was meant to hit me!" and "Yeah, yeah, Miss Li Ling is really amazing!" and "Right, right, Wang Lun is just a freeloader." and "I told you, Wang Lun is only clever enough, he's useless in everything else. He might even drag Li Ling down later." and "You can't say that, at least Wang Lun did a lot of work." and "Besides, how would Wang Lun know there was a snake behind him? If he had kept walking, he definitely would have noticed." and "Forget all that, just tell me who killed the snake? Did Miss Li Ling find it? Did she kill it?" and "But..." and "No buts, that's the truth." A group of netizens were talking, some saying Wang Lun was a freeloader, others saying he was just careless. Anyway, the conversation veered off-topic and they started discussing which of the 100 female contestants was the prettiest and had the best figure. That's how the internet is, it comes and goes quickly.
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