WS - Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Mu Xingzhou's slip turned him into the team's second weakling in need of rescue.
Although the safety rope held him and he wouldn't fall far—just about the height where he could reach up and grab the iron cable he should have been stepping on—
But for ordinary people like Yu Nianbing and Mu Xingzhou, who lacked professional training and had only average strength, getting back onto the iron-rope bridge on their own was nearly impossible.
As for Mu Xingzhou's slip, never mind what the others thought—Captain Yang was completely unbothered.
If they had been following the normal procedure from the day before, then Captain Yang, as a normal expedition leader, would have only let Mu Xingzhou struggle for a bit to give the production team some livestream effect and editing material before stepping in to help pull him up. But now... Captain Yang watched Song Shiyue release the taut iron cable in her hands, stand up, and start clipping her safety buckle onto the cable, and thought, well, fine. Whoever can do it, gets to do it.
Having witnessed what happened with Yu Nianbing earlier, the others were still nervous for Mu Xingzhou, but not as worried.
Precisely because everyone was calmer than before, Song Shiyue's steady steps and consistent pace on the iron cable made it hard for anyone to find fault.
Of course, "people" here refers to the majority of normal individuals. As for the small number of rabid fans of a certain someone, they were not included.
"Tsk tsk, looks like Song Shiyue's speed reaching him is at least half slower than when Yu Nianbing fell."
"??? What do you mean by that? If you have something to say, say it clearly. Don't just tsk and leave half unsaid."
"Why can't I tsk? Everyone can see it. We're all on the same team. When Yu Nianbing was in danger, she went so fast. When it's Mu Xingzhou's turn, she's this slow."
"Let me first say, I'm a Little Star, and to be fair, although Sister Song really wasn't as fast as when Teacher Yu was in danger just now, her speed going over really wasn't slow. If anyone disagrees, check the replay—when Sister Song crossed the bridge with the envelope herself, she was even slower and steadier than now."
"I'm not a Little Star, and I'll also say fair and square—Song Shiyue doesn't owe anyone anything. Let me ask you: since you love Mu Xingzhou so much, would you dare go up in this situation? Even if you dared, how fast could you go? And if you went, could you actually pull him up?"
"Thank you, Sister Song, for saving his life. I hope some individual Little Stars control your useless preference that only causes trouble—A Little Star with a Mooncake flavor, serious face"
"Personally, I suggest that the Little Stars strengthen their internal management, or else it'll really be hard to remain friends."
"I really want Mu Xingzhou, hanging mid-air, to see what some of his fans are saying. He'd probably be so angry he'd cry."
"Why show Mu Xingzhou? Let Sister Song see it, and let Sister Song go back instead. Send Captain Yang and Zhao Da!"
"Sister Song is just too soft-hearted."
"Slow is slow. I'm grateful Song Shiyue came to help, but what do you mean by not letting me point out she was slow? —Just representing myself, a Little Star"
"???"
"Yeah! She was slow! So what? Did Captain Yang go? Did Zhao Da go? Is Song Shiyue being paid by the production team or by Mu Xingzhou? You want a fight? Bring it on!"
"So what if she was slow? Sister Song and Yu Nianbing are on the same team. What if she didn't go at all!"
"I'd write a blood petition begging the production team to send Song Shiyue a StarNet device!"
"What blood petition! If everyone in this livestream room pitched in, we'd have tens of thousands of blood petitions—a whole basin of blood thrown over, begging Song Shiyue not to go."
...
Where there are people in the world, there are arguments.
No one can be perfect and satisfy everyone, since some people's hearts are always hard to fill.
But for Song Shiyue, even if the StarNet comments were shoved right in front of her, what she would still see was Mu Xingzhou hanging from the iron cable, waiting for someone to pull him up.
Not that Song Shiyue was particularly noble—it was simply that, to her, those unfriendly danmaku comments and fans' biased attitudes weren't a big deal at all.
Having rolled through the apocalypse and back, Song Shiyue had her own way of measuring things.
In this world, if it's not life or death, it's no big thing.
Of course, that was just her current thinking.
Leaving other things aside, when they crossed the iron-rope bridge earlier, Method One and Method Two were both proposed by Song Shiyue. Even if Mu Xingzhou's slip couldn't really be blamed on her, in her view, giving him a hand now was her responsibility and obligation.
Besides, it was truly just a small favor.
If Song Shiyue could see the StarNet danmaku comments right now, she might actually agree with those particular Little Stars who were biased toward Mu Xingzhou.
After all, when Yu Nianbing slipped just now, Song Shiyue had been so tense that she'd moved to Yu Nianbing's side almost without thinking—only after pulling her up did she have the brain cells to consider things like safety ropes or whether it was safe. But now it was different... Song Shiyue let go of the cable, stood up, and clipped on her safety buckle with swift movements, but in her heart she knew that Mu Xingzhou, hanging mid-air, was safe. So although her movements were quick, they weren't as startlingly fast as when she went to rescue Yu Nianbing.
People have closeness and distance; how could hearts react the same?
It's just that such an ordinary fact isn't something everyone can accept.
Song Shiyue walked quickly on the iron cable, and it was only a moment before she reached Mu Xingzhou and pulled him up.
Mu Xingzhou, it must be said, looked far more pitiful than Yu Nianbing had. His face was deathly pale, and even after Song Shiyue pulled him up with all her strength, he sat on the iron cable for a long time before slowly trying to stand.
Maybe he was too terrified and his legs too weak; Mu Xingzhou tried several times before he could shift from sitting to kneeling, and finally, with Song Shiyue's support, managed to stand back up on the cable.
Yet even after standing, his face remained pale, and his legs were still trembling, making the iron cable shake quite a bit.
Song Shiyue calculated the time; they had already delayed quite a while. Seeing Mu Xingzhou looking unlikely to recover anytime soon, he probably wouldn't make it across within two and a half minutes. Fortunately, Ning Chuyang didn't have a Little Blanket to waste.
Ugh... why do I keep saying "little"...
"How are you doing? Can you walk on your own, or should I bring you along?" Song Shiyue saw there was no longer a need to hurry, so she might as well be a good person all the way.
Face pale and lips trembling, Mu Xingzhou looked at Song Shiyue shakily for a good while before finally making up his mind and saying quietly, "Thank you for coming to pull me up. Down below... you'd better lead me."
"Okay." Song Shiyue didn't think Mu Xingzhou's current behavior was excessive at all. In fact, it was Yu Nianbing's behavior earlier—flipping herself over and unbuckling her own safety clip the moment she came up—that was far more excessive.
With Mu Xingzhou's agreement, Song Shiyue freed one hand to support his elbow, using only one hand to grip the upper iron cable, and slowly started leading him back toward the platform where the main group was.
At first, each step Mu Xingzhou took was so tiny it seemed like he wasn't moving. It was only with Song Shiyue's supporting hand pulling and guiding him that the two of them managed to advance a distance discernible to the naked eye.
Perhaps because of Song Shiyue's consistent calm, or because her supporting hand was truly strong, after they had inched forward a little, Mu Xingzhou's face was still pale, but he seemed to have regained a bit of his own strength, and their pace of movement returned to normal.
From the moment Mu Xingzhou slipped, to when Song Shiyue rushed onto the iron cable to rescue him without even leaving a word, Yu Nianbing's hand clutching her own clothing had tightened and loosened over and over, repeating that motion countless times.
Fortunately, the people who had been gathered around Yu Nianbing to talk also had their attention drawn over to Mu Xingzhou's side. Except for Ning Chuyang, who was worried about Yu Nianbing at the same time and, seeing Song Shiyue pull him up, thought to look down and check on the person in front of her, indeed no one else noticed Yu Nianbing's little movements.
No matter how safe the safety rope was, an incident like this still sent everyone else's hearts on a rollercoaster ride.
It wasn't until Song Shiyue and Mu Xingzhou were safely back on the platform that the tension on everyone's faces gradually faded.
Much like Yu Nianbing, Mu Xingzhou also sat down on the ground as soon as he reached the platform, but his complexion was far worse than Yu Nianbing's had been.
Zhuang Jiachuan and Guan Yongyi were the first to gather around, one helping to open his waist pack, the other fetching a water bottle.
"His hand is a bit swollen. Rinse it with water first, and we'll have Doctor Ni take a look at the rest when we get back to camp." Song Shiyue turned and said this to the two of them, then quickly returned to Yu Nianbing's side, sat down briskly, and extended her hand. "Let me see your hands."
Earlier, when Mu Xingzhou had been dawdling on the iron cable, Song Shiyue had pulled, dragged, and supported him, and she naturally hadn't missed the abrasions on his hands from tightly gripping the safety rope when he fell. But in Yu Nianbing's case, Song Shiyue had been entirely focused on pulling her up quickly. The two had coordinated well, and Yu Nianbing had run off as soon as she came up, so Song Shiyue hadn't had a chance to properly examine her hands; she only knew there was no bleeding because she hadn't smelled any blood.
Later, after they'd come over, Yu Nianbing kept changing the subject, and Mu Xingzhou got onto the iron cable so quickly; it was only now that Song Shiyue had time to bring this up.
Yu Nianbing paused, loosened the hand that had been tightly clutching her own clothing, and stretched it out.
"And the other one." Song Shiyue squeezed Yu Nianbing's hand, saw nothing unusual, and then looked quite seriously at the other hand that Yu Nianbing had obediently placed on her lap.
Yu Nianbing: "..."
Song Shiyue looked at and squeezed the second hand Yu Nianbing extended, and it was still normal.
"Didn't you grab anything with your hands when you slipped?" Song Shiyue was a bit surprised.
At that moment Yu Nianbing's mind had gone completely blank; how could she remember whether she'd grabbed or not?
Seeing Yu Nianbing looking completely out of it, Song Shiyue sighed. "It's good that your hands aren't injured this time, but you still need to be more alert. Where's your survival instinct?"
"So, was I supposed to be grabbing the safety rope or not?" Yu Nianbing asked with an innocent face.
Song Shiyue choked; this conversation wasn't going anywhere.
Yeah, was she supposed to grab the safety rope, or not?
She didn't want her to hurt her hands, but she also didn't want her to be too careless... Song Shiyue was torn inside, not realizing that such a dilemma stemmed from caring too much.
The expression on Song Shiyue's face was quite amusing. The young woman's lips were pressed too tightly, her cheeks almost puffing out, completely lacking the composed look she'd had earlier when leading the bronze team like a boss.
Yu Nianbing admired this for a good while before taking mercy and changing the subject, mentioning the matter she had wanted to discuss with Song Shiyue before Mu Xingzhou got on the iron cable.
"Speaking of which, when I was hanging there earlier," Yu Nianbing pointed toward the iron-rope bridge in midair and continued, "it seemed like I saw some wild greens below. But it was a bit high, and I couldn't see clearly. If we head down soon, can we go past there?"
"Directly below, or in which direction? What kind of wild greens?" Song Shiyue's eyes lit up, and she immediately flipped herself up to stand.
It's still up in the air, and look at that enthusiasm...
Once again, Yu Nianbing experienced the allure that food held for Song Shiyue. Somewhat amused, she recalled, "It looked like lamb's quarters. About a meter tall, a pretty big clump, but I'd need to see it up close to be sure. If so, the seedlings and tender shoots of lamb's quarters can be eaten as a vegetable. I can't see the production team's crane cableway from here anymore, so I'm not sure of the exact direction. After we get down, can we go past there? It's right near underneath the iron-rope bridge."
"Yes. After collecting this benefit, there won't be much left. We'll have to start walking from here." Song Shiyue nodded affirmatively and added in a low voice, "Didn't we cross a big zipline on the way over? We'll need to head back along the direction of that big zipline, then cross a smaller zipline, then head toward that mountain over there, using the crane cableway as a reference. Once we reach the foot of that mountain, we'll need to go up a bit, and then we should be at camp."
"Then let's go check it out." Yu Nianbing thought for a moment and added, "I think the likelihood it's lamb's quarters is quite high. If that big clump is all lamb's quarters, even if we only pick the tender leaves and seedlings, it should be enough for all of us for two meals."
"Two meals is already pretty good, since vegetables aren't easy to store." As she spoke, Song Shiyue glanced at the iron cable again. "I'll go take a look. Since we don't need to go forward anymore, we don't have to worry about the waning light."
Having said that, Song Shiyue walked to the edge of the iron cable and looked over toward the spot where Yu Nianbing had slipped.
Zhao Da, who was walking over from the iron cable and just happened to be caught in Song Shiyue's line of sight, stiffened for a moment before continuing to slowly approach.
And while Song Shiyue was gazing into the distance, Mu Xingzhou, who had drunk several mouthfuls of water, finally saw his pale complexion ease a little.
Captain Yang looked at these people—some sitting, some drinking water, some standing by the iron cable spacing out—and thought they'd completely lost any semblance of a team. He held back again and again, but couldn't help opening his mouth to urge them: "Alright, you've rested enough. Get up and continue. It's getting late; if we're lucky we can still cross three or four more ziplines before we have to go groundside."
After these words, Captain Yang didn't see a trace of urgency on any guest's face. Instead, everyone still sat on the platform in a lazy, scattered manner, with not a hint of getting up.
"We're done with ziplining. Let's go down from here and start walking." Zhuang Jiachuan, who was relatively close to Captain Yang, turned his head and replied.
Captain Yang frowned. "What do you mean? It's not even dark yet, and you're giving up on the ziplines? Just because two people slipped, with no injuries at all, you're scared? If you're this timid, why did you come on a wilderness survival show?"
If this had been earlier, Captain Yang's words might have provoked them a bit.
But now, Song Shiyue had already reminded them two or three platforms earlier that the platforms were arranged in a zigzag pattern. If not for picking up this last benefit, they would have gone groundside two or three platforms ago. Why would they care about Captain Yang's obvious bluffing, meant only to trick them into taking a longer backtrack?
"What he means is, if we zipline forward another three or four platforms, we'll have to backtrack a distance equal to those three or four platforms later." Hearing the commotion, Song Shiyue walked over and, without saving face, pointed out the key issue directly. "Unless we have time to travel more than ten more platforms, going groundside right now is the most suitable."
"You..." Captain Yang, his face filled with dissatisfaction, wanted to say more.
Yu Nianbing, however, dusted off her pants and stood up, saying calmly, "After all, the design of these platforms is a folded zigzag, isn't it?"
Only now, as the words were laid bare, did Captain Yang realize with shock that these people, even without a map, had figured out the layout...
Captain Yang, for his part, hadn't been deliberately trying to trick them into walking an extra three or four platforms; he'd just been following the rules without kindly reminding them. Now that he'd been exposed, Captain Yang was so used to being slapped in the face that he no longer felt the sting. He answered casually, "Fine, if you think it'll work, it'll work." With an indifferent look, he shed entirely his earlier urging manner—a real about-face.
Everyone was used to Captain Yang being this way, though, and didn't bother to argue.
Although this platform didn't have a rappel point for attaching the safety rope, as long as the rope length was adjusted properly, they could clip onto the iron cable and slowly descend.
The others were fine; under Zhao Da's guidance, they descended smoothly.
When it was Mu Xingzhou's turn, however, the aftereffects of his pale face and trembling legs returned.
With him looking like this, Yu Nianbing couldn't help but believe that Mu Xingzhou's slip earlier had truly been an accident.
After all, if Mu Xingzhou had really been ruthless enough to deliberately slip in order to get the envelope and then wait for Song Shiyue to rescue him—not saying he'd have to be completely confident in his act, but at least he wouldn't have misjudged his own tolerance this badly, and in front of the livestream at that, forcibly peeling away a layer of his idol halo...
So... what happened on the iron-rope bridge just now could only have been an accident.
It was also because at the previous platform, when it was just Yu Nianbing, Mu Xingzhou, and Zhao Da, Mu Xingzhou had said something with a somewhat pointed and accusatory tone, which had subconsciously led Yu Nianbing to guess in that twisted direction...
Watching and thinking this, Yu Nianbing felt a little embarrassed about that momentary suspicion she'd had.
Whether the process went smoothly or with minor difficulties, at least after a short while, everyone got off the platform safe and sound.
Captain Yang, without waiting for anyone to prod or plead, simply swept the group with a thoughtful look and then took the lead, starting into the forest.
This direction followed the iron-rope bridge, and Song Shiyue and Yu Nianbing, both very concerned about the wild greens, naturally had no objections.
The sky darkened, but there was still some light.
Just as Song Shiyue, walking along, couldn't help letting her mind wander a bit, wondering whether she should make a torch for light later, her sleeve was suddenly tugged—not too hard, not too lightly—by the person beside her.
Following Yu Nianbing's suggestive gaze, Song Shiyue looked and saw that not far to the left of their direction of travel, there was indeed a large clump of plants about a meter tall.
"That it?" Song Shiyue asked in a very low voice, though the eager hope she couldn't suppress came through.
"Let's go take a look," Yu Nianbing replied softly.
"Then let's go look." As she spoke, Song Shiyue pulled Yu Nianbing's hand off her sleeve and clasped it in her own, tugging the person to the left.
Only a dozen or so steps away, and soon Yu Nianbing had demonstrated to everyone what a blessing in disguise meant.
In the forest, the light was dim.
The scent of vegetation was rich and fresh, like a natural oxygen bar.
Yet Captain Yang, standing there, felt only chest tightness and shortness of breath—not quite like stepping into a slow-acting poison gas chamber, but he truly couldn't sense the friendliness of nature at all.
Friendly? Where was the friendliness?
They'd taken this same path, and the jicama last time was one thing, but how could there be so much lamb's quarters now?
The production team had come to scout the route several times recently, clearing and re-clearing, arranging and rearranging—what was going on?
Such a large clump of lamb's quarters—had he himself not seen it, and neither had the production team members?
This was really infuriating!
Watching the guests in the lamb's quarters patch, picking here and plucking there as if they were fish in water, Captain Yang's face was practically turning gray.
At this exact moment, Zhao Da beside him even asked, "Captain Yang, aren't you also lighting a fire tonight? Not going to pick some?"
To Captain Yang, this was truly rubbing his already gray face into the ground.
Zhao Da seemed not to have expected that his question would make Captain Yang even angrier. Looking somewhat startled by the glare Captain Yang shot at him, he quickly shut his mouth and dropped it.
Captain Yang's pride made him hate that Zhao Da had asked such a question. But his stomach told him that if it were one of those guests—any of them... asking that question, he'd better respond in a friendly manner and say yes.
Unfortunately, no one came to ask.
By this point, the sky was darkening a bit quickly.
Only the seedlings and tender leaves of lamb's quarters could be eaten as vegetables; the rest was too old and tough to digest. Everyone scattered across this patch of lamb's quarters that had already grown a bit over-mature, searching for the edible parts.
At such autonomous moments, people from the same group naturally drifted together.
Ning Chuyang was also a bit worried about Mu Xingzhou's condition, so this time she didn't follow Song Shiyue and Yu Nianbing, but instead obediently stayed by Mu Xingzhou's side picking greens.
Yet as she picked, Ning Chuyang couldn't help wanting to talk.
"By the way, earlier when crossing the iron cable, weren't you behind me? How come Teacher Yu went first later?" Ning Chuyang was just busy with her hands and bored with her mouth, casually grabbing a topic to chat about.
As a result, Mu Xingzhou's hand, which had been pinching a lamb's quarters shoot, suddenly stopped.
"You..." Mu Xingzhou turned his head, and the look in his eyes was somewhat complicated.
"What about me?" Ning Chuyang didn't think at all that what she'd just said could make Mu Xingzhou so hesitant to speak.
"Forget it." Mu Xingzhou lowered his eyes, seeming not to intend to continue the subject, but after a moment of silence, he still answered in a low voice, "Teacher Yu went first because I said I also wanted to drink water."
At Ning Chuyang's age, her memory was particularly good. Even if she didn't catch on when she first heard Mu Xingzhou's words, by the time she'd pinched off two more leaves, she'd put it together.
"What do you mean, you said you also wanted to drink water?" Not used to Mu Xingzhou's habit of speaking with half-hidden meanings, Ning Chuyang frowned and asked directly.
"..." Mu Xingzhou again seemed unwilling to explain, just looking elsewhere and saying perfunctorily, "It means I also wanted to drink water."
"Why didn't I think you were this twisted before?" Ning Chuyang's frown deepened, and her barely suppressed temper flared up. "If you didn't want to tell me, you shouldn't have started it earlier. Now you start talking and then leave it hanging—do you want to say it or not?"
Mu Xingzhou knew Ning Chuyang had a reputation for being willful and spoiled, but in their previous interactions, he'd never actually witnessed it, so he'd thought it was just a persona...
"I just feel... that because Teacher Yu was worried about Teacher Song, she had us change the method. I'm not saying that was wrong, I just feel that we're all equally teammates, so we should..." Mu Xingzhou had just received Song Shiyue's kindness, so now even the words criticizing Song Shiyue's teammate were somewhat hard for him to get out.
But what Mu Xingzhou found hardest to accept was that among people he'd thought had roughly the same relationship, he'd suddenly discover that it wasn't actually the case—that the degrees of closeness and distance weren't what he'd thought...
And he was always the one asked to take a step back...
What Mu Xingzhou hated most was this, but he found it very difficult to articulate the feeling.
Though Mu Xingzhou had said this in a stammering, incomplete way, Ning Chuyang finally understood.
For a moment she froze, and then Ning Chuyang couldn't help a flash of anger and kicked Mu Xingzhou.
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