WS - Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Song Shiyue leaned into the chest, flipped the calf over and over, then gave a definite answer. "Most of the heart and lungs are left, a tiny bit of kidney and liver remain, but the stomach, intestines, and other organs are all gone."

"Why gone? Were they unhealthy?" Guan Yongyi had started to grow accustomed to the smell on site and took two steps forward.

In that short time, the three people who'd been waiting at the forest edge also came over.

Zhuang Jiachuan usually wanted to be first in everything, but he'd been thoroughly disgusted by the bugs after lunch. Later, he'd accompanied Song Shiyue into the woods only to see Dog playing with bugs, and after that he didn't dare push forward any more. Mu Xingzhou and Ning Chuyang, probably for the same reason, weren't exactly eager to see Dog's new discovery either.

Earlier, standing at the forest's edge, they hadn't been able to make out the sounds over here, but they more or less understood that this time it wasn't about finding some strange insect. Then they heard Captain Yang raise his voice in warning. Worried about the three over here, they finally entered the woods.

What they hadn't expected was that it would be this intense the moment they arrived...

After taking just a couple of steps into the woods, the three caught the smell of blood. The further they went, the stronger it got. By the time they reached Captain Yang's side, they had no choice but to cover their noses as they walked. And then, they saw the blood-soaked chest up ahead and the mangled, bloody chunk of flesh that Song Shiyue had skewered on a branch.

Ever since eating those bugs, Ning Chuyang had never quite gotten over the mental hurdle. This time, hit by such a jolt, she couldn't help but retch and hurriedly retreated several steps.

"Everything's fine here. Ning Chuyang, go back and wait for us at the forest edge first." Song Shiyue figured this was only the beginning. The scene would only get bigger later, so it was better to send those who couldn't handle it outside early. As she said this, Song Shiyue unconsciously glanced at Yu Nianbing again.

Well, her face was pale, but her eyes were resolute. She clearly didn't need to be persuaded.

This time, after speaking to Ning Chuyang, Song Shiyue only looked over once and then stopped. She hadn't tried to persuade her, but Yu Nianbing still didn't feel entirely comfortable.

If Yu Nianbing had a little more time to think it over carefully, she might have realized that this kind of concern, seen as merely repaying gratitude, bothered her. And when it wasn't shown promptly, it meant she was neglecting her in favor of someone else—that also bothered her. No matter how you sliced it, she was unhappy. There had to be something going on.

Unfortunately, there was no extra time right now for Yu Nianbing to sort through these little inner thoughts. Uncomfortable, she could only remain uncomfortable for the time being.

Ning Chuyang obediently ran off with an apologetic look. Only then did Song Shiyue continue, extending the beef heart on the branch closer before everyone. "The places where the heart is missing look as if something bit down and tore it away. The remaining lungs also have some of these wounds and missing sections. And these strips that seem to be kidney and liver look like they were left behind after the tearing." Song Shiyue said this, then tossed the heart back into the chest and lifted the strips of organ fragments for everyone to see.

In response, she got several blank stares.

"Can't understand..." Guan Yongyi, who'd asked before, shook his head first, then asked, "So what does this mean? Does it show that the calf was healthy and was bitten to death and partially eaten by some animal?"

What kind of idiot would bite something to death and then put it in a box and bury it? Seriously?

Even though Zhuang Jiachuan hadn't heard Yu Nianbing and the others' earlier judgments, the moment he saw the metal chest and the calf inside, which looked as if it had just been killed, he guessed this had to be a segment arranged by the production team.

Still... why did this segment feel so off?

Zhuang Jiachuan had his suspicions, but for caution's sake, he kept his mouth shut.

Yu Nianbing, who had already settled on her position, showed none of Zhuang Jiachuan's hesitation. She went straight to the main point of Song Shiyue's words. "You said 'as if bitten and torn away' and 'as if left behind after tearing.' Could it be, perhaps, that it's not?"

Song Shiyue looked at Yu Nianbing and nodded. Like meeting a kindred spirit, a smile slowly spread across her face. "Right. I think these missing organs weren't bitten off. They were made to look like they had bite wounds. Not just these organs—the tripe, too. The wounds there look like there are even tooth marks, but actually they were likely faked with a sharp tool. Look here, at these spots. Aren't the tooth marks very smooth? The cuts go deep. But the exit wounds aren't the shape you'd get from teeth catching flesh and tearing it out. They look more like the tissue was sliced open."

Zhuang Jiachuan fought hard to overcome his psychological barrier. He stared wide-eyed at the places Song Shiyue was pointing to with her branch inside the chest.

Mm... bloody flesh, and bloody flesh... with loads of blood in between.

Zhuang Jiachuan couldn't help but shut his eyes, driving away that sea of crimson.

"About that... we really can't tell..." Mu Xingzhou had also looked carefully, then quickly admitted defeat. He continued, "So this is edible, right? Whether it was bitten to death or killed by something else, it should still be edible, yeah? I might not be able to analyze the wounds, but I feel like if it'd been killed by another animal, there wouldn't be much need to stuff it in a box and bury it like this. All that effort, and using a thermal storage box, too. Oh, this is a thermal storage box—a really expensive, high-tech type of box used to preserve the state of whatever you put inside for a long time..."

"Teacher Yu recognized the box earlier as well." Guan Yongyi spoke up, then asked Yu Nianbing, "What does Teacher Yu think? Can we eat it?"

The answer was already in Yu Nianbing's mind, but just as she was about to speak, she turned to Captain Yang. "What does Captain Yang think? Is this calf edible?"

At that moment, Yu Nianbing seemed to have tucked away the prickly edges she'd shown before and wore a gentle, harmless expression again. But Captain Yang, who'd already suffered at her hands, felt a red warning light go off in his heart. They'd recognized the thermal storage box—that showed they were sharp, all right. But Song Shiyue had described those wounds far too precisely...

"Anyway, whatever I say, you won't listen," Captain Yang replied with a touch of helplessness, deflecting the question with a light gesture.

Oh, he's gotten smarter...

Yu Nianbing's eyes flickered, but she didn't press further.

"I think it's edible. Since we've already reached this point, let me say what I suspect. If I'm right, how about Director Zhang lets us have a proper reassurance pill?" When Yu Nianbing spoke, she wasn't the least bit timid. She looked up at the air, as if addressing Director Zhang through the camera, but without waiting for the production team's reply, she went on. "If I'm not mistaken, the production team prepared this calf. The bite marks are fake. It should never have been dug up from inside this chest by us. It was probably meant to be on the side of the path, disguised as a freshly killed calf, made to look like a predator had eaten part of its organs and then temporarily left."

Director Zhang, leaning against a tree resting and watching the drama, was caught off guard when his name was called. He straightened up abruptly and sat bolt upright. He hadn't even finished steeling himself when Yu Nianbing's words smacked him in the face. Because every word was true, it genuinely stung.

The viewers on StarNet had also not expected such excitement after over two hours of watching a quiet trek. It really was a case of: nothing until the moment was right.

"This afternoon has been a blur, from a survival show to a treasure hunt, and now we're practically watching 'Approaching Science,' hahaha!"

"The cow Director Zhang said couldn't be dug up turns out to be an actual cow. The dog really has done a great service!"

"And we can't forget Song Shiyue and Yu Nianbing's contributions. Hahaha, I'm dying laughing. What kind of people are these two? One does the autopsy, the other solves the case..."

"I can't stop laughing. I just want to say: there's only one truth!"

"Calling out to Little Mooncakes here! Even though you haven't gotten much sugar along the way, your CP has gotten you an entire cow. Aren't you happy~"

"??? Little Mooncakes who have been happily eating sugar all along beg to differ."

"Where's the lack of sugar? The pats, the helping hands, and more pats along the way—aren't those all sugar? Don't you know the Little Mooncakes official site has already posted several new sugary videos this afternoon?"

"??? What is the 'Little Mooncakes official site'? —from a shocked Little Ice Bucket"

"It can't be what I think, right? You've set up a CP fan site in just a day or two? Then what about our Ning Chuyang? —from a shocked Little Sunbeam"

"The coroner and the magistrate are a much better fit. Would you pair a coroner with a delicate flower who faints at the sight of blood?"

"Wait... what's wrong with our delicate flower? Don't you know about complementary pairings?"

"Hahaha, quick, switch to Director Zhang's livestream. Look at how dark his face is!"

"Yeah, totally blackened, hahaha..."

Without even knowing it, Director Zhang had managed to diffuse a shipping war.

But how could his face not turn black?

Yu Nianbing spoke so fast and so accurately that even if Director Zhang had wanted to stop her, there was simply no time to figure out how.

Director Zhang had thought it would be enough if Yu Nianbing figured out that the calf was planted by the production team to look like a predator kill left by the roadside. He hadn't expected her to have more to say.

"After the production team dug up the calf and we stumbled upon it, Captain Yang was supposed to give the explanation, right? Predator hunting knowledge, and so on. And then he'd likely make the judgment that the rest of the calf was still edible." As Yu Nianbing said this, her gaze naturally shifted to Captain Yang.

Captain Yang truly regretted it now.

This Yu Nianbing—she was the real thorn among the six of them.

What did Song Shiyue amount to? She only knew how to kill a snake, fish out a stone knife or stone pot, and disrupt the production team's and his own plans.

But Yu Nianbing was the kind of person who would tear open the curtain they'd carefully set up and fling the things behind it out for everyone to see. The kind who would dig out your heart and jab you right in the vital point.

If someone like her wasn't suppressed from the start, once she blossomed, where would there be any place for a team leader?

Looking at Captain Yang's ashen face, Yu Nianbing smiled with satisfaction. Then she changed tack. "But that's just my uncertain speculation. Maybe the production team didn't intend anything that complicated. Maybe they just wanted to send us some meat. Still, given how cautious Captain Yang was earlier, not even daring to let us open the chest, if we'd come across a roadside cow, I'm afraid he wouldn't have dared to let us eat that either."

Heart-piercing words, heart-piercing words. With that said, what had his earlier attempt to block them been? Captain Yang wanted to make a sound, wanted to argue, but his throat was dry and he didn't know where to begin.

Formidable, formidable. In the end, Captain Yang gave up trying to speak. He barely forced a smile, merely pretending it was all a deliberate mystery.

Yu Nianbing knew when to stop while she was ahead. She turned to the air and softly called, "Director Zhang?"

Outside the woods, Director Zhang, whose prior plans and later changes had all been laid bare, whether subtly or overtly, stared at the screen in front of him, speechless for a long while.

"Director Zhang, you need to respond." Somehow, Feng Qianqian had ended up on the other side of Director Zhang and now spoke in a low voice.

"..." Still a bit dazed, Director Zhang sighed. "Respond to what?"

Wang Daming spoke with a touch of melancholy. "The reassurance pill."

"Oh." Director Zhang seemed to come around after a moment of distraction. He nodded. "Fine, go tell them. The calf is edible. But don't say anything else."

Wang Daming stood up at his words, though his heart was filled with mixed feelings. He'd never imagined that the cow, which they hadn't dug up themselves, would still emerge—and in this manner...

"Director Zhang." Feng Qianqian considered for a moment, then quickly spoke before Wang Daming could leave. "Why not send them a knife? Otherwise a whole cow won't be easy to transport."

Director Zhang kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

"That calf wasn't something our side simply didn't want to dig up. Now that it's been dug up, isn't it good? They'll have something to eat tonight, and we won't have a guilty conscience. While it's true the knife was supposed to be a reward in a later segment, earlier..." Feng Qianqian deliberately paused, then went on. "If we give them a little help now, they might cooperate more with the later segments."

Director Zhang glanced at Feng Qianqian. His expression was hard to read, but in the end, he nodded. "You're right. We're all doing this for the show. Wang Daming, go to Zhao Da and grab a knife for them to use temporarily. They'll return it after they're done, and the knife for the later segment can be given to them then."

Wang Daming naturally nodded and agreed.

Over by the thermal storage box, after Yu Nianbing had called out to Director Zhang for the last time, she seemed to have no intention of continuing to communicate with the production team.

Regardless of whether the production team's reassurance pill arrived or not, they were temporarily keeping this cow.

Song Shiyue only regretted that the two stone knives she'd sharpened before still weren't sharp enough. They could cut meat, but slicing through hide and bone was too much to ask. The calf was small, but it was obvious that one person couldn't carry a whole one alone. Song Shiyue could manage it, but never mind that they were still livestreaming—Yu Nianbing would be the first to object.

So when, not long after, Wang Daming delivered the "reassurance pill" and a long knife, the welcome couldn't have been warmer, which made him feel rather overwhelmed by the favor. Later, when he returned to the production team and couldn't help but urge Director Zhang to treat the guests better—that everyone was a good person and they shouldn't be too stuck on positions and show effects—it only made Director Zhang's face darken further. But that's a story for another time.

While Song Shiyue and the others were chopping up the cow, Yu Nianbing went looking for Captain Yang again to ask about the distance to the evening campsite. Perhaps intimidated by Yu Nianbing's earlier "fierce" side, Captain Yang didn't put on airs this time. He answered whatever was asked and didn't give them any attitude.

Just as Yu Nianbing had guessed, the campsite was on top of the mountain, less than an hour's trek away. It seemed the production team's original plan had been for them to discover the cow here, then carry the beef and suffer a bit more.

Now, it looked like the show's trajectory, which had veered off course, had been set right again.

But Song Shiyue and the others' movements were clearly much swifter than the production team had anticipated.

In the time it took Yu Nianbing to exchange a couple of words with Captain Yang and then go outside the woods to explain what was going on to Ning Chuyang, a whole cow had been nearly completely butchered.

By the time Yu Nianbing returned to the thermal storage box and saw the cow already chopped into six big chunks, and heard Guan Yongyi enthusiastically praising Song Shiyue for her butcher-god prowess, she found herself caught up in that long-absent state of being both amused and exasperated.

And the instigator of this exasperation didn't have the slightest self-awareness, still holding a cow's head and grinning at her...

Honestly...

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