WS - Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Even if the guests aren't professional variety-show entertainers, whether filming a drama or a program, you still need to balance tension and relaxation, right? You can't just rely on a contract and work people like donkeys, can you?

There was definitely something off about what Captain Yang said.

But seeing that Captain Yang walked away right after saying that, looking suddenly like he was above everyone else, wasn't he just waiting for someone to ask?

Because of that, no one had any interest in prying.

Things will straighten out when the time comes; who can't hold back a bit of curiosity?

The guests had no intention of communicating with Captain Yang at all, and Captain Yang didn't seem to mind much. Anyway, he'd already dropped that annoying remark and didn't expect to gain anything more, so without waiting even two minutes, he led the team onward.

The spot Director Zhang had pointed out on the map was actually just a random point along the route they were originally going to take that afternoon, the purpose simply being to put some distance between them and this strange pond. Although the pond looked quite calm now, who knew what was going on inside? This wasn't something their production team should be handling.

After walking for about ten minutes, they happened to pass by a slightly more open spot in the woods, so Captain Yang stopped.

Actually, the place Director Zhang had pointed out was still a little farther ahead, but Captain Yang knew Director Zhang had just picked it casually without any planning. The important thing was, he was really hungry.

After more than a day, with only a couple bites of frog and a handful of rice flour, even though he'd eaten some that morning... Captain Yang still felt his stomach hollow and uncomfortable.

As expected, Director Zhang didn't quibble about the stopping place. Soon, Feng Qianqian and Wang Daming came over carrying two boxes of boxed meals.

Feng Qianqian explained that the boxed meals originally belonged to the production team—six servings total—and they'd taken three of them to bring to the guests. Everyone would just have to make do and share.

While she was talking, the two cardboard boxes were handed to Zhuang Jiachuan and Guan Yongyi.

Captain Yang stared at the boxes, his brow furrowed tightly, forming a deep frown.

"These two bowls are for you, Captain Yang. Our production team set them aside. We didn't have proper bowls, so we used the soup and salad containers, but don't worry, they're clean." Wang Daming took two disposable bowls and a spoon from the cardboard box Zhuang Jiachuan was holding, handed them to Captain Yang with a smile, and added, "Everyone has to share their lunch, so don't mind it, Captain Yang."

On the first day of the program, at lunchtime, Captain Yang had eaten a full serving of the production team's boxed meal, so he was no stranger to disposable soup bowls and salad bowls that were each a bit larger than a palm.

The bowls were covered with transparent lids, so at a glance you could see the braised pork belly inside, slightly flattened.

Captain Yang instinctively swallowed his saliva, took the two stacked bowls, and thanked Wang Daming.

These past two days, Director Zhang hadn't bothered to hide from the production team the fact that Captain Yang was no longer given boxed meals: partly because that night Captain Yang had shown disdain for the food they'd portioned into two bowls for him. Yet now, faced with a similarly jumbled mix of food and rice stuffed into two bowls, Captain Yang thanked him with what seemed rather sincere. Wang Daming couldn't help but glance at him a moment longer.

Really, some people—let them go hungry for a meal or two, and they'll shape up. They'll know how good the food is and won't mind that it was doled out to them.

Thinking this, Wang Daming's face took on a hint of sarcasm, which Captain Yang happened to catch a glimpse of, startling him into quickly suppressing his expression and moving to stand next to Feng Qianqian.

Feng Qianqian, meanwhile, was telling the guests that there weren't enough utensils—only three sets in the box, though luckily each set had a spoon and a pair of chopsticks, so they should share—and she didn't notice Wang Daming's sudden guilty move.

Captain Yang, however, had caught that glance perfectly. His hand, which was opening the bowl lid, paused abruptly. Only then did he lower his gaze and continue opening, but his movements became heavier and heavier.

The production team's boxed meals were, as always, generous in portion.

There were large chunks of braised pork belly, steamed cured chicken legs, stir-fried water bamboo with pork slices, stir-fried tea tree mushrooms with beef tenderloin, edamame with lotus root slices, shiitake mushrooms with greens, and stir-fried bottle gourd—still the composition of two large meat dishes, two small meat dishes, and three vegetable dishes. Each meal also came with a bowl of chicken broth steamed egg and a bowl of mixed fruit. Together with plenty of rice, two people sharing could eat until they were about seventy percent full.

Because there were so many dishes, each boxed meal was layered. By dividing the dishes, each person could hold a layer, making it feel like each person had their own boxed meal. The guests naturally divided the meals by their groups.

While the guests were busy dividing the food, Captain Yang had already moved a bit farther away and started eating.

Naturally, the first bite was the braised pork belly on top.

A mouthful of meat into his mouth, still warm: rich sauce, tender meat, bursting with savory freshness. Instantly, it covered the earthy, raw taste that no amount of water had been able to wash away after eating a bunch of bugs that morning.

The stuff the production team had portioned into the bowls this time was, as before, not particularly neat—just randomly piled—but having even eaten bugs already, Captain Yang had long since had nothing left to be picky about.

Although it was thrown together carelessly, the portions were still decent: the two bowls were stuffed full with food and rice.

Captain Yang shoveled and spooned his way through one entire bowl before he had the presence of mind to slowly savor the flavors of the dishes.

On the guests' side, they each held a small container and started eating.

One bite, and they knew: while they had been working hard to find ingredients and cook over the past two days, the production team had been living pretty well. This texture, this flavor—definitely the craftsmanship of a fine hotel kitchen. They really knew how to live.

The few who had only had a bowl of congee and an egg burger for breakfast naturally couldn't stop eating once they'd tasted it.

Even Ning Chuyang, who had the smallest appetite, spooned plenty of sauce over her rice, preparing to eat every grain she'd been given.

Just as Ning Chuyang looked up, about to pour some broth from the chicken soup bowl over her rice to have a couple of bites of lighter mixed rice, she "accidentally" saw Yu Nianbing tossing braised pork into Song Shiyue's bowl.

Oh dear, oh dear. She and Mu Xingzhou had already finished dividing their food and were several bites in, yet over there they were still feeding each other meat.

Ning Chuyang couldn't help but have a few more "accidental" glances. She had just seen Song Shiyue put a piece of braised pork back into Yu Nianbing's container, and Yu Nianbing was so angry her cheeks were about to puff up, picking up two pieces of cured chicken leg to put over, when she heard Mu Xingzhou's gloomy voice from beside her: "Are you making chicken broth mixed rice, or chicken broth mixed dirt?"

She glanced reflexively at the bowl in her hands, quickly tilted her wrist back, and stopped pouring the soup. But it already looked like she'd splashed quite a few drops.

Ning Chuyang felt a little regretful, but she reflexively glanced again at Yu Nianbing and Song Shiyue.

Six eyes met. Yu Nianbing's face began to tinge with pink. She swiftly jabbed the cured chicken leg into Song Shiyue's bowl, tossed another piece of braised pork over, then retreated several steps. She even drew a line with her toe between herself and Song Shiyue, as if demarcating a "Chu River–Han border."

Song Shiyue, who'd been seen by Ning Chuyang in all this back-and-forth, was a bit more magnanimous. She smiled at Ning Chuyang in a friendly way.

Is Teacher Yu really this adorable? Ning Chuyang temporarily ignored the mysterious implications that arose, put the soup bowl back in the box, but couldn't help curving her lips into a faint arc.

Strangely enough, although those two's back-and-forth had nothing to do with Ning Chuyang...

...somehow, Ning Chuyang found it quite delightful to watch, and rather interesting too.

Some people, due to a lack of life experience, don't realize that this sort of joy is called the joy of live "eating melon" (witnessing gossip firsthand).

Meanwhile, others who already knew—even separated by the vast StarNet—were eating that melon with doubled sweetness.

"Hahaha, tossing food into each other's bowls? I haven't done that since I graduated kindergarten!"

"Sister Song, you should just obediently accept being fed. After all, every time, the outcome shows that resistance is useless, you know."

"Whether it's the food Little Ice Block made herself or the production team's boxed meals, it all looks so delicious. If it were me, I really couldn't bear to share it with anyone else—from an old Ice Bucket who's been single for twenty-six years thanks to her picky mouth."

"Every mealtime, there's bound to be some sweet stuff. It wasn't in vain that I ordered takeout early and waited right here!"

"After I graduated kindergarten, I actually did run into this kind of mutual food-tossing. Back then, with my ex, both sides of our families were against us, so we ran off and lived on a subsidiary planet. As a result, just starting out, we didn't have much money, and later someone even scammed us out of a sum, so we could only afford soybean paste steamed tofu or veggie noodles... Even then, we'd still put the tofu and greens into each other's bowls. Looking back, it was really young love, and honestly quite wonderful—from a wistful Little Mooncake."

"The tougher the conditions, the more you see a person's heart."

"What happened next? Why 'ex'? Manual @ to the wistful Little Mooncake from earlier!"

"Were they too poor, so it ended after all?"

"Hahaha, no. Later, that scammer got caught, and we got some money back. We partnered with a kind uncle on the subsidiary planet to start an organic wild vegetable business, and it sold pretty well to the main planet. It's just that the two of us got busier and busier, and later, instead of that feeling of depending on each other when we were poor, things gradually faded, and then we just peacefully broke up. Even now, thinking about it makes me a bit wistful."

"Wistful +1..."

"I thought we were here for the sweet stuff? Reading the Danmaku makes my heart ache. They got through with just tofu—how could it end like that in the end?"

"I think the friend up ahead, if you're still single, you could check if the other person is still single too. Sometimes, I think, you still have to try. There are still a lot of miracles in this world."

"Right, just like us Little Mooncakes. Who knew that shipping a CP, shipping and shipping, the more you ship, the more it seems like the real thing!"

"Hahaha, it feels like we're shipping the kind of CP where we'll see them make an official announcement at the civil affairs bureau in just over ten days!"

"To put it bluntly, a person who will give food to you—that's really... I won't say it means marriage, but it's definitely not just an ordinary relationship."

"Why be so reserved! That's love! Read after me! That's love! I don't care what you think, I only care what I think! Listen to me, that's love!"

......

Was it love?

In any case, the two of them, having tossed food into each other's bowls for quite a while and finally stopping after Yu Nianbing drew the Chu River–Han border, their hearts pounding, were still blind to the bigger picture.

Well, okay, one of them was still blind to the bigger picture.

This lunch was ready-made, and soon only a pile of empty containers remained.

It was Zhao Da and Wang Daming who came to collect the containers. The two of them, being faster on their feet, took the containers back and put them into the thermal storage box on the ground behind them.

Meanwhile, the group had moved forward a bit more.

The guests didn't particularly want to rest here, so they requested to keep moving forward.

Captain Yang, having eaten his fill, had no objections. On the contrary, he was chuckling to himself, sensing the power of his earlier words.

Earlier, when Wang Daming and Feng Qianqian had brought the boxed meals, Ning Chuyang had also asked about the evening's campsite. But perhaps Feng Qianqian had already received other instructions, because she didn't directly answer Ning Chuyang's question, only saying before she left, "Don't worry too much, just follow the itinerary."

How to put it? Within the production team, aside from Ni Jinghe, whom the guests had virtually no contact with, Feng Qianqian could be considered one of the easier people to get along and communicate with.

With that one line from Feng Qianqian, everyone actually wasn't too worried anymore.

Their hurry to hit the road was simply because they found the pond here rather strange and didn't want to linger. Setting off earlier, they could take more rest breaks when tired along the way—nothing wrong with that.

As for Captain Yang's inexplicably smug expression, truth be told, no one really cared much.

After all, celebrities are used to being fawned over and flattered. Even if they have better self-discipline and awareness and haven't developed any bad habits from it, they still have no interest in fawning over and flattering someone who's only temporarily traveling the same road and will absolutely become a stranger later.

The mountain beneath their feet and the mountain ahead weren't actually very tall; they were the relatively flat, broad kind.

Rather than skirting around the base, it was actually faster to just climb up and then down again, and even then, they'd only reach camp by midnight, which really didn't match the situation of the previous two days.

In that case... there had to be another route.

So when, after walking and resting for about two hours, they descended the mountain, and Captain Yang led them around the base of the next mountain, winding this way and that until they arrived at a cave entrance—well... there was some surprise, but it couldn't be called shock.

Saying it was a cave, it was actually more like a rather large fissure naturally formed in the cliffside.

A fissure wide enough for five people to stretch out their arms and walk hand-to-hand, and about six or seven stories high.

If this was the shortcut, then walking for an hour or two would indeed let them cross through this mountain.

"So that's what you meant by reaching the foot of the mountain on the other side. Captain Yang deliberately phrased it that way earlier to make us..." Ning Chuyang, after these two days of climbing up and down mountains and sleeping in a lean-to shelter, had long since lost her ability to hold back her temper, and her words were already slipping out freely. It was only when Zhuang Jiachuan looked back and cleared his throat that her next rant was temporarily halted.

"Make us too upset to eat." Ning Chuyang wasn't the only one unable to hold back her temper; Mu Xingzhou had even less restraint left than she did, and he picked up the line smoothly.

Zhuang Jiachuan, who didn't have time to cough again: "..."

But Captain Yang, standing in front, had gradually learned over these past few days when to turn a deaf ear.

"Now we're going to begin crossing this rock tunnel. There are a few points everyone should note before entering." Captain Yang paused, waiting until everyone was quietly watching him, then continued. "This rock tunnel was inspected by a professional team before we arrived. The oxygen content inside is normal, and air quality is normal, so there's no need to be nervous once inside. Don't let your imagination cause breathing difficulties. Right now, each person should have two flashlights, and each flashlight can provide illumination for up to ten hours, so even if you've used them for a while already, you don't need to worry about running out of power."

Listening to Captain Yang, everyone instinctively pulled their backpacks around to the front and started digging out their flashlights.

Captain Yang glanced at the guests and added: "The path inside isn't hard to walk, and there aren't many side passages. With sufficient lighting, as long as you keep close to the person in front, you won't get lost. If you really do get lost, don't worry, just wait in place. Director Zhang can see everyone's location and will arrange for someone to find you as quickly as possible. Inside the rock tunnel, the temperature may drop. If you need to put on more clothes, you can do so now. You can also take care of personal business now—after all, once inside, finding a convenient place won't be so convenient."

With that, Captain Yang set down his backpack and began adding layers.

To avoid soiling or wetting their clothes between camps, each guest had a spare outfit in a sealed waterproof bag inside their pack. Things like adding clothes and grabbing flashlights were no big deal.

But...

"Will we be given helmets this time?" Song Shiyue, who was quite safety-conscious, was the first to ask.

"The environment inside has been inspected and corrected by a professional team. As long as no one climbs up and pounds desperately on the rocks, the people below won't need helmets. The route we're taking has been repeatedly tested as well." Captain Yang answered without even lifting his head, still rummaging through his clothes.

"Just say 'no' then." Yu Nianbing gave Song Shiyue a light tug. "You walk in front of me in a bit."

"I'll walk in the back." Being at the very back with no one behind—wouldn't this person end up secretly crying in fright? Song Shiyue's focus was briefly derailed by Yu Nianbing. But seeing the teasing glint in Yu Nianbing's eyes, she understood her meaning and couldn't help but laugh. "What, are you going to keep an eye on me? Worried I'll climb up and knock on the rocks?"

"You could've just grasped the meaning—why'd you have to say it out loud? Not a bit of tacit understanding..."

Yu Nianbing twisted Song Shiyue's sleeve and shot her a light glare.

Ah, luckily they had fresh clothes to change into every day; otherwise, in just a couple of days, everything from inside out, from waist to arms, would probably be wrinkled to death.

Song Shiyue looked at Yu Nianbing's hand holding hers, filled in the mental picture, and couldn't help laughing.

"Ahem—" This time it was Ning Chuyang who coughed. It wasn't that she deliberately wanted to interrupt the two of them, who looked so silly and about to laugh; it was just that she'd thought of something and absolutely couldn't hold it in: "Say, those things last night—they couldn't have flown out from in here, could they?"

Everyone: "..."

Having been brought to this fissure by Captain Yang and still having had no time to scrutinize and think deeply before listening to him list a bunch of precautions, truly no one had thought of this.

But now that Ning Chuyang mentioned it, it did make some sense, and everyone couldn't help but turn in unison toward Captain Yang, who was putting on his jacket.

"Captain Yang, are there bats in this rock tunnel?" Guan Yongyi asked directly.

"Yes." Captain Yang nodded.

In fact, Captain Yang, who knew the entire program route, had already had this guess the previous night.

As far as Captain Yang knew, there were quite a lot of bats in this rock tunnel. Although they weren't directly above the arranged route, walking through the tunnel, you could still shine a flashlight and see them hanging on other rock walls.

Mm... you could consider it a distinctive part of the route.

Of course, Captain Yang didn't rule out that there were other nearby rock tunnels or bat gathering spots he didn't know about. But however you put it, he felt what Ning Chuyang just said really was quite possible.

A simple "Yes," spoken lightly by Captain Yang, struck the others like a thunderclap.

What mountain climbing, what climbing till midnight—none of it compared to walking into a bat cave like this!

"How about... we go over the mountain instead? We could also slowly skirt around the base to the camp," Zhuang Jiachuan looked at the others in the team, whose faces had similarly changed color, and couldn't help suggesting to Captain Yang.

"No. We have to follow the planned route. Otherwise, if we encounter danger, who'll take responsibility?" Captain Yang shook his head and refused.

Being refused was to be expected, but Zhuang Jiachuan still couldn't help trying once more: "But doesn't this rock tunnel also have bats? Bats are dangerous too... and without helmets, what if we get injured inside?"

Originally Captain Yang hadn't wanted to say much; that way he could probably scare them when they entered.

But now that Zhuang Jiachuan had pushed things this far, Captain Yang had to explain, or else standing here at a stalemate was no good.

"This rock tunnel, before we arrived, the production team invited experts including geologists and biologists to inspect it. They also invited experts who have designed and developed many rock tunnels to help design the route. The route we're taking next has been evaluated by multiple parties, and even the ground has been maintained and repaired. Bats are nocturnal creatures. So long as you don't deliberately disturb them, they won't come over; they'll just hang quietly on rock walls a considerable distance from us." Captain Yang added, emphasizing again, "The experts came many times before and spent a lot of time inside inspecting, maintaining, and repairing, and there were no examples of anyone getting hurt. As long as you don't do anything strange, you won't be injured."

"What do you mean by 'deliberately disturb'?"

"What are 'strange things'?"

"Ten people swam in the river without incident, so the next person to enter won't have a problem?"

"No helmets—safety precautions even worse than the zipline route from before."

The guests looked at the cave entrance just a few steps away, growing restless and uneasy, their entire bodies radiating resistance, feeling like something was off somewhere.

Meanwhile, on Mingtan Planet, Yao Yuxi, who had just finished watching the previous night's classic livestream recap at double speed, was also feeling somewhat anxious.

Yao Yuxi had just hurriedly finished handling company matters that morning when she heard Ning Chuyang talk about the bats from the night before on the livestream. She quickly re-watched the part she'd missed the previous night while handling business until she fell asleep, and the overwhelming footage nearly made her throw up.

Luckily, because she hadn't had lunch yet, she held it in.

While swapping out the many livestream windows of The Wilderness Journey and clicking on that morning's classic livestream recap, Yao Yuxi placed a voice call.

Although it was one of the top corporations on Mingtan Planet, communicating with government agencies still required waiting.

Yao Yuxi was a bit anxious; she kept feeling that something wasn't quite right. It was all because company matters had piled up so much these past two days that she'd been watching the livestream last night and this morning only intermittently, and as a result, she hadn't spotted these suspicious points in time...

Just as Yao Yuxi had waited long enough that she was nearly about to hang up and place a different call, the flashing words "Aerospace Bureau" disappeared, and the call connected.

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