WS - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

If one talks about where StarNet traffic is concentrated today, The Wilderness Journey's page undoubtedly ranks among the top five.

The empty webpage, which had only displayed the promotional photo of six people and a brief program description for a week, finally saw some changes.

A long row of dark livestream windows lit up one by one as personnel joined the program.

The first to light up was Zhuang Jiachuan's livestream window, on the Beichen Planet spaceship.

Zhuang Jiachuan arrived at the spaceship much earlier than the time specified by the production team.

Those who got up early to wait on The Wilderness Journey's page were mostly fans of these artists. Just as they were about to wear out the refresh button, Zhuang Jiachuan's livestream window lit up.

Like a speck of starlight in the darkness, fans of all artists rushed over immediately.

By the time they had finished touring all the areas on the spaceship accessible to the artists through Zhuang Jiachuan's perspective, Yu Nianbing also arrived.

Suddenly, about seventy to eighty percent of people switched to Yu Nianbing's livestream window, and most of the remaining twenty to thirty percent opted for multi-window viewing.

Yu Nianbing boarded the spaceship later than Zhuang Jiachuan, but still at least half an hour earlier than the production team's specified time.

After that, gradually, on The Wilderness Journey's webpage, Guan Yongyi boarded the spaceship departing from Changhui Planet, and Mu Xingzhou and Ning Chuyang also boarded the spaceship from Suiguang Planet one after the other.

I wonder if it was deliberately designed by the production team so that the livestream start times for each artist would be closer. Of the three departure planets—whether Suiguang Planet, which is closer to the Mingtan System, or Changhui Planet, the farthest, or Beichen—when factoring in the time spent on space jumps during the journey, the arrival times at Mingtan Planet were not very different.

Because of this, the boarding times set by the production team for the artists were also the same.

Among the spaceships from the three locations, Song Shiyue arrived right on time, and her livestream window was the last to light up.

With a low status and not knowing to get ahead, the viewer count in Song Shiyue's livestream window was naturally the lowest.

However, because there were three people on the Beichen Planet spaceship, many people saw Song Shiyue by piggybacking on Yu Nianbing's window.

In comparison, Guan Yongyi, who departed alone from Changhui Planet, was at a greater disadvantage.

Although Guan Yongyi was nearly thirty, he had only entered the entertainment industry in the past two years. Before that, he was an excellent fencer. At age twenty-six, he represented Changhui Planet and won the gold medal for fencers in the Interstellar Alliance. Unfortunately, a year later, at twenty-seven, an age when he could still have fought on, he unexpectedly retired due to injury.

Not long after that, several variety shows began to favor inviting athletes who had won Interstellar Alliance medals to participate in programs, and the pay was quite good. It was at that time that Guan Yongyi rode the wave and stepped into the entertainment industry.

Guan Yongyi, with his athletic background, had a good physique and decent strength. Although he wasn't very funny on variety shows, he relied on his skills to speak for himself and could earn a chorus of 'wows.' Over these two years, he gradually gained some fans through these shows.

Unfortunately, this time Guan Yongyi departed alone from Changhui Planet and couldn't piggyback on anyone else's camera; he could only rely on his own popularity. Although his livestream had slightly more viewers than the last-place Song Shiyue, the number of people who saw him was significantly less than those who saw Song Shiyue.

Of course, it could also be because Guan Yongyi lacks variety show instincts and couldn't control the scene on his own; he just silently wandered around the cabin, tidying things up. In terms of eloquence, he was far inferior to Zhuang Jiachuan, who started his livestream first.

But one person being cold doesn't mean that three people... can necessarily warm things up.

From Beichen Planet to Mingtan Planet takes roughly over a day.

In other words, boarding in the morning would mean arriving at the Mingtan System by the evening of the next day.

The journey is long; one must find things to do to keep the audience who clicked on the livestream engaged.

Of course, that was the thought of Zhuang Jiachuan alone on the Beichen Planet spaceship.

Just as Zhuang Jiachuan rolled up his sleeves, prepared to go all out making lunch for the two ladies, and was earning a wave of praise from viewers on StarNet for being a gentleman, some viewers still watching The Wilderness Journey's main page suddenly noticed that there seemed to be several more livestream windows.

Here we must mention the filming method of the program The Wilderness Journey.

Multiple new-generation Invisible Mini Cameras focus on one person, with StarNet's scientific computation delivering the best-angle broadcast with a delay of just a few hundredths of a second.

In other words, on The Wilderness Journey's main page, the livestream window below each artist does not necessarily broadcast from the same camera angle; rather, it integrates footage from multiple cameras shooting that artist, computed by StarNet's intelligent computation, with only a few hundredths of a second delay from real time.

This computation and integration is not editing; it remains continuous and coherent, solely to present the best camera angle.

If viewers wish to see the livestream from all camera positions that can capture that artist, they only need to top up 999 Credit Points and click the artist's avatar.

These camera positions include those set to focus on that artist, those from other artists' cameras that happen to capture the artist, and various composite angles like long shots and close-ups.

Overall, without paying, viewers could only see the livestream windows of the six artists on The Wilderness Journey's page, plus the still-dark team leader window, four composite close-up and long-shot angles, and one optimal full-scene window calculated by integrating all windows—twelve selectable livestream windows in total.

For an ordinary viewer, that's already a lot... actually, too many. In fact, if they have no particular attachment to the participants, they only need to select the final integrated window to enjoy the best program viewing experience, where StarNet's intelligent computation shows the most exciting content wherever it happens.

However, interestingly, not two minutes after Song Shiyue's livestream window lit up, the number of windows on The Wilderness Journey's homepage increased to eighteen.

The six newly added livestream windows lit up almost simultaneously.

These six windows belonged respectively to the staff accompanying The Wilderness Journey this time: on-site director Zhang Jianshi, assistants Feng Qianqian and Wang Daming, doctor Ni Jinghe, and bodyguards Zhao Da and Zhao Er.

At the same time, the description of the program on The Wilderness Journey's homepage was also expanded.

According to the added content, the production team had the staff sign contracts acknowledging they might be captured by certain cameras and thus appear on screen. But the six members of the production team did not know that these shots were being live-streamed in separate windows.

To keep it from them, The Wilderness Journey's page was not updated until all artists and staff had handed in their StarNet Ports.

And whether this innovation, as The Wilderness Journey's official website claims, aims to let viewers see a more authentic reality show, or is merely a gimmick with insider information already shared with those six people, probably still needs to be tested by time.

However, it must be said that the production team's move once again pushed The Wilderness Journey to the top of public opinion.

Controversy, curiosity, and then... more traffic.

Yet all this was unknown to those who had already had their StarNet Ports confiscated.

Guan Yongyi was still silently packing his scant luggage.

Mu Xingzhou and Ning Chuyang were arguing over whether to cook or have the spaceship service staff deliver food.

Zhuang Jiachuan opened the refrigerator and began taking out ingredients.

Song Shiyue gazed at the ingredients with bright, intent eyes.

Yu Nianbing cast a somewhat resigned glance at Song Shiyue.

Meanwhile, the production team people were in a hotel on Mingtan Planet, discussing how to give those ahead an unforgettable first day.

Each person's thoughts arose from their standpoint, but did not end just because the standpoint changed.

It's just that none of them knew it at the time.

People become curious and hopeful because of things they don't know.

Just like Song Shiyue now.

Before her, Wang Mancang had exhorted her tirelessly; after her, Yu Nianbing had subtly reminded her again. Song Shiyue strove to remember that this was a livestream, not aiming for a stellar performance, but at least to get through this Wilderness Journey smoothly, to avoid shattering her image and making it even harder to get acting roles when she returned.

So when Zhuang Jiachuan was rummaging through the fridge for ingredients, Song Shiyue stayed quiet and asked nothing.

Yu Nianbing was usually not talkative, especially when someone she wasn't close to acted overly familiar. However, because this livestream reality show had already started, she didn't retreat to her room as she might have wanted; instead, she sat down by the kitchen counter to see what Zhuang Jiachuan would do next and whether she needed to help.

But of course...

Staying was for the sake of the program being filmed.

And not for any other reason...

In the silent kitchen, as if he were the only one there... Zhuang Jiachuan took out a few ingredients, waited a long time without hearing anyone ask what they would eat for lunch, and couldn't help looking up at the two of them.

Alright...

Zhuang Jiachuan gave up on the somewhat indifferent gaze and turned seriously to the one that seemed full of expectation.

Mm...

The one that seemed full of expectation never tore her eyes away from the ingredients on the table, not sparing Zhuang Jiachuan a sliver of attention.

Zhuang Jiachuan began to feel that his face, brimming with a gentle smile, was growing a bit stiff.

"How about tuna and chicken breast salad for lunch? I'm quite good at making it. By the way, are you young ladies all afraid of gaining weight? Then I'll also make a healthy veggie-fruit juice to go with the salad, okay?" Zhuang Jiachuan said with a smile, looking at the two.

Song Shiyue looked up, glanced at Zhuang Jiachuan with some surprise, then looked back at the pile of ingredients on the counter; in her surprised gaze, a glimmer of understanding gradually emerged.

No wonder! With so many green leafy vegetables, no wonder I couldn't imagine what kind of dish these could make...

So... it's just leaves mixed with leaves, and then leaves and leaves blended together...

Yu Nianbing tilted her head slightly, quickly glanced at Song Shiyue from the corner of her eye, then raised her head and said, "How about I make an additional staple? Tomorrow when we arrive at Wilderness Planet, we might start going hungry."

"You're right," Zhuang Jiachuan only hesitated for a moment before quickly nodding with a smile. "Yeah, once we're on Wilderness Planet, we'll have to endure hardship. Let's eat more this meal, then I'll also make a spaghetti Bolognese, which is filling."

"Alright, then we'll help wash the vegetables." Yu Nianbing didn't insist on cooking, and began rolling up her sleeves.

Song Shiyue, having finally heard about a staple food, breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly grabbed a bunch of vegetables to follow.

For a moment, though no one spoke, the scene of washing and cutting vegetables was one of harmony.

As for how happily the two camps on StarNet—those who wanted to see Yu Nianbing cook and thought Zhuang Jiachuan wasn't giving others a chance to shine, and those who thought Zhuang Jiachuan was super gentlemanly—were sniping at each other, that was beyond their control.

It must be said that having been in the entertainment industry for so long, Zhuang Jiachuan had some die-hard fans.

In numbers, they naturally couldn't compare to Yu Nianbing's fans. But Yu Nianbing's fans were just sniping casually. After all, the program had just started, and the other party had only volunteered to cook; although it was a bit too monopolizing, Yu Nianbing's fans also couldn't bear to let their idol do too much work. At the moment, they were just a bit disappointed not to see their artist cooking.

With one side sniping casually and the other responding actively, despite the huge difference in numbers, it gave the appearance of a matched force.

Zhuang Jiachuan's fans even threw out a bunch of videos of him cooking on the variety show 'Whose Meal Is It Today.' Those dishes... looked pretty good indeed.

Even in an era of advanced technology, three meals a day still move people's hearts.

Three small bowls of salad, three small plates of spaghetti, three glasses of... veggie-fruit juice.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhuang Jiachuan and Yu Nianbing put down their forks one after the other.

Zhuang Jiachuan left some juice, Yu Nianbing left a bit of spaghetti.

Twenty minutes later, Song Shiyue put down her fork; every plate, bowl, and cup was clean.

"Full?" Zhuang Jiachuan smiled. "I saw there are still some mixed grains and dates in the fridge. If you're not full, we could make a sweet soup."

Both Yu Nianbing and Song Shiyue thanked him and said they were full.

Since Zhuang Jiachuan had cooked, Song Shiyue naturally collected the dishes to wash them.

Yu Nianbing followed with two cups and saw that Song Shiyue's eyes were completely unperturbed as she picked up the plate with the leftover spaghetti; she also recalled how Song Shiyue had actually eaten the slowest this time, and when eating the last two bites of salad, her whole face had tightened into a very serious expression, which made Yu Nianbing somewhat want to laugh.

But fortunately...

When Yu Nianbing took her first bite of spaghetti, she had thought Song Shiyue would immediately put down her fork.

She hadn't expected that the young lady still remembered this was a livestream.

In fact, what Yu Nianbing didn't know was that Song Shiyue had to mentally return to the state of food and clothing scarcity in the apocalypse to be able to finish all that food.

It wasn't for the livestream effect.

It was because she was used to not wasting food.

However, when Song Shiyue dumped the others' leftovers into the trash, she didn't feel it was a waste at all.

Thinking back, when Zhuang Jiachuan first took out so few things from the fridge, Song Shiyue had thought it was too little. After all, the fridge was stuffed with chicken, meat, fish, and all kinds of vegetables, yet he only brought out a pile of leafy greens—truly a pity. But once she ate it, she realized how naive she had been.

Thank goodness he took less for this meal. Otherwise, that would have been the real waste.

Song Shiyue was no longer the country bumpkin who had transmigrated a week ago and couldn't walk past a basket of soup dumplings. In that week, she had eaten over a hundred signature dishes from dozens of top-ranked restaurants on StarNet, and had been fed twice by Yu Nianbing's excellent cooking; she was no longer an undiscerning foodie. Her long-unused strength had been fully replenished, giving her the capital to be picky about food.

Regarding bad-tasting food, because of her past experiences she was unwilling to waste it and could eat it, but she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. Like today's... veggie-fruit juice, bitter and mixed with a strange sourness, almost comparable to the bitter wormwood soup she drank until she wanted to vomit in the apocalypse. No matter how healthy it was, it was hard for Song Shiyue to love it.

All she could say was, thank goodness for Wang Mancang's flatbread...

"Can you cook?" Just as Song Shiyue was absorbed in thought, Yu Nianbing suddenly spoke up beside her.

Song Shiyue was startled and almost dropped the plate; she clutched it, nodded, then shook her head: "I can, but I'm not very good at it."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Song Shiyue regretted it so much she almost bit her tongue. Even if her cooking was average, it was still better than this lunch. This was a ready-made conversational hook, an excuse to reclaim control of the kitchen, and she had overturned it herself.

As expected, no sooner had Song Shiyue finished speaking than Zhuang Jiachuan, who hadn't left yet, smiled and chimed in: "Cooking hurts the hands, let me do dinner too. We can try..."

"I'll handle dinner." Yu Nianbing cut him off before he could start listing dishes. "Let's try big plate chicken?"

"Big plate chicken, I also..." Zhuang Jiachuan had meant to say he could do it too, but seeing Yu Nianbing's serious and resolute look, somehow his tongue twisted and what came out was different: "I can also help peel potatoes. It needs potatoes, right? Haha..."

Saying this, Zhuang Jiachuan opened the fridge and took out two potatoes.

Yu Nianbing nodded, revealing a faint smile.

Thus dinner was settled, but we'll put that aside for now.

You see, Zhuang Jiachuan truly believed his cooking was good and that his dishes were quite presentable; he had often been praised on previous variety shows. On the Beichen Planet spaceship this time, Song Shiyue was a young girl who probably couldn't cook, and even if she could, he could suppress her desire to show off. As for Yu Nianbing, she seemed cold and indifferent, ready to hang up on things that didn't concern her, so she likely wouldn't fight for the tough job. It was the perfect chance for him to put on a good performance.

He just hadn't expected that Yu Nianbing would demand to cook after just one meal, which truly surprised Zhuang Jiachuan.

And what Zhuang Jiachuan didn't expect was that after the lunch break, when he prepared to go to the kitchen early to get ready—peeling potatoes, chopping chicken, actively demonstrating his skills—he found an entire basin of peeled potatoes in the kitchen. That was the real shock.

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