WS - Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Whether it was Yu Nianbing's team, who, despite the aftershock interrupting their sleep once, still slept like logs in their tent, or Wang Mancang, who, still unaware of the trouble awaiting the next day, had been worrying about Song Shiyue for too many days and finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep... that night, they all slept quite well.
However, while some slept soundly, others had a miserable night.
Compared to Yu Nianbing and the others who stayed at camp with tents, mattresses, and little blankets, the team that pressed ahead had a much harder time.
After splitting, that team didn't have to carry anyone, shedding two burdens, and since the team was mostly men, their pace did increase significantly.
Even though the earthquake left many more obstacles on the path, they advanced at a rapid clip, barely stopping to rest, and even lunch was just a few bites eaten on the move.
Although they didn't reach the river in half a day as the production team had originally planned, it actually didn't take much longer; at least, before the sun sank in the west, they were already standing beside that great river.
Yes, a great river.
Zhao Da, walking at the head of the team, stood by the river, gazing at the surging waters before him, silent for a long time.
It bore no resemblance whatsoever to the medium-small river he had seen the last time he'd surveyed the show's route...
Yet the route they'd followed all the way was correct.
The most likely explanation was that the earthquake from the Yaoxing Storm had altered conditions upstream.
By visual estimate, the river had widened by four or five times, and the surrounding land had been flooded and washed away—let alone those bamboo rafts that had been tied up and placed not far from the bank.
However, Zhao Da wasn't particularly concerned about the rafts.
But... not only had the river widened, it had also risen considerably. The reed thicket where the show's motorboat was supposed to be tethered had disappeared without a trace...
What Zhao Da was staring at for so long was exactly the spot in the river where that motorboat should have been hidden.
Without the motorboat, crossing such a wide river wouldn't be easy.
Yet, thinking of his own objective, Zhao Da couldn't help but curl his lips.
Not easy... isn't that perfect?
With no means to cross the river, the entire team spent the afternoon cutting bamboo.
That bamboo had been specially transplanted to the riverbank by the production team in case the guests' rafts had problems, but now much of it had been washed away by the river.
But what remained was still enough to make two rafts.
Back then, they had marched with high spirits; arriving here, even though the rafts were gone, the materials were still there, and everything still seemed smooth enough.
It looked smooth, but the doing wasn't so easy.
One by one, the bamboo stalks had to be cut down with knives, then the extra branches and leaves trimmed away. Then they had to cut vines and bind the bamboo stalks together, round after round, until they were tied tight and secure.
Once in the water, it was a matter of life and death, and no one dared be the least bit careless.
The work was plentiful, the tools few, and everything had to be done meticulously—no wonder it took even more time.
That night, they couldn't cross the river in time. They could only camp by the river with the two rafts they'd managed to finish deep into the night by firelight.
Originally, the spot they'd chosen was some distance from the water, quite safe.
But who could have expected that the aftershock, which hadn't come all along, would arrive that very night?
For Yu Nianbing's team, the aftershock was just a brief moment outside their tent, no more than a nighttime bathroom break. But for the team by the river, it was an entirely different matter.
Waves crashed against the shore. The people sleeping on the ground, jolted awake by the shaking beneath them, didn't even have time to realize it was an aftershock before they were drenched head-to-toe by the onrushing water.
The campfire was extinguished, and in the chaos of the dark, there were all kinds of "Run!" mixed with curses and shouts.
Even Zhao Da raised his voice and shouted, "Lift the rafts up too!"
Only Zhao Er stopped and, following the sound, went to his side.
Zhao Da couldn't help but curse inwardly. For the first time, he felt that the bunch of like-minded people the Mu Group had recruited were really detestable in how they reacted when trouble hit.
With just the two of them, managing to feel their way to one raft and drag it away from the river in the dark was already hard enough; they simply couldn't manage the other raft at all.
When the aftershock stopped and the raging river gradually calmed, those who had fled in panic slowly, tentatively, began to trickle back.
Zhao Da stripped off his clothes, wrung out the water, and an uncontrollable surge of brutality welled up inside him. He suddenly felt some regret.
His first reaction just now... wasn't he an idiot? Why save the rafts? He should have immediately found Mu Xingzhou, pinned him down, and finished him off. Wouldn't that have solved everything?
It was all that false display of unity in the afternoon that had made him actually care about these two rafts.
In the darkness, no one could see the regret and viciousness on Zhao Da's face.
But the audience in the livestream room, under night vision mode, saw everything clearly.
"Ha, you two kept going on about data and picking people all day. How great are the people the Mu Group selected for you? Are the fruits you planted yourselves tasty?"
"Ah, whether it was splitting the team or right now, these people's choices are very consistent. Where did the two Mu brothers find such 'life-valuing' individuals..."
"Now I'm a bit curious. It's one thing that the info Zhao Da and Zhao Er had on Yu Nianbing and Song Shiyue seemed off, but weren't Ning Chuyang and Zhuang Jiachuan also 'life-valuing' people handpicked by the Mu brothers?"
"The official investigation hasn't given any definitive word yet. Don't send speculative danmaku, one moment 'Mu Group,' the next 'the Mu brothers.' It won't look good if the investigation proves you wrong."
"??? Paid trolls descending and breaking their legs is fine by me! Who doesn't have eyes at this point? Do we really need Zhao Da to say those two names out loud?"
"In my opinion, justice has a way of coming around. Look at how the two teams are faring after the split with the aftershock. If the Mu brothers are the culprits who hid the Yaoxing Storm, heaven won't let them get away with it."
"Look at Mu Group's stock price. What good can they possibly get out of this?"
"I used to be really worried that Zhao Da would make a move on Mu Xingzhou at any moment, but ever since the split, my heart has been calm."
"Right... Although bystanders don't really have much standing to condemn these survival choices, but how should I put it... Because of his cold-hearted choice, I'll also choose to be cold toward him."
"Now I just want to keep sharing lucky koi, hoping Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan find more food tomorrow, and hoping Song Shiyue wakes up soon to beat up the first team!"
"Sharing the same! Beating up might be too much, but a good thrashing would be acceptable!"
...
Because of the new livestream page, whether or not divine justice exists aside, where people's hearts lean is already crystal clear.
Ye Liu quietly watched her StarNet client screen. Beyond the six livestream pages, there were several monitors aimed at the farm estate they'd entered when they drove over the day of the Yaoxing Storm, as well as the other estates they'd passed by on the original hidden path.
The farm estate they'd driven into had already seen three waves of people arriving by noon.
And late at night, when the Yaoxing Storm struck Wilderness Planet, they had already discovered the secret passage in the first estate.
But, it didn't matter.
The road ahead was still long, and what Ye Liu wanted to do was already within reach.
Early morning, the sky faintly bright.
On Wilderness Planet, the team by the river began cutting down the few remaining bamboo stalks from the day before—some crooked, some too thin, the ones that had been left unchosen. They hoped to quickly make a new raft to replace the one that had been swept away when the river suddenly swelled the night before.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Yu Nianbing simply wiped Song Shiyue's face and then invented a story for Ning Chuyang, saying that Song Shiyue seemed to be able to control when she needed to... handle personal matters, and if they couldn't make it back by noon, that was fine—it wouldn't be until afternoon that Song Shiyue would have such needs, so Ning Chuyang didn't need to tend to her or check on her cleaning.
In truth, Yu Nianbing didn't believe her own words. She just couldn't guarantee that a half-day trek up the mountain would yield results and that she'd still make it back in time, nor was she willing to let Ning Chuyang... even more, she worried Ning Chuyang would discover Song Shiyue's problem...
Yu Nianbing could only state her position in this haphazard yet serious manner.
Of course, Ning Chuyang didn't believe a word of it.
But she could understand Yu Nianbing's feelings. Who would be willing to let another person touch their partner's... after all.
Well, even if they weren't partners yet, this level of regard was just one step away from it.
"Okay, no problem, I definitely won't interfere." Ning Chuyang assured her with equal gravity.
Mm, even if a strange smell appeared, I absolutely won't go check, Ning Chuyang silently added in her heart.
Meanwhile, Song Shiyue, lying still and worrying about Yu Nianbing, had absolutely no idea that in Ning Chuyang's mind, she had already become a pitiable figure soon to be... wracking, with odors...
Despite Ning Chuyang's insistence, Yu Nianbing still left her a stone knife.
With the method Feng Qianqian had provided the day before, when they burned the wood for the wooden fence, they had purposely cut down four small trees and made four spears.
Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan each took one spear, and the other two were given to Ning Chuyang and Feng Qianqian.
Even though Feng Qianqian couldn't move her leg, in an emergency, at least she could lend Ning Chuyang a hand.
Although both sides worried about each other, they couldn't just eat through their reserves without replenishing.
Especially since... in the mountain there was a Song Shiyue who could really eat.
So Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan, each carrying an empty pack with only a few strips of jerky and a flask of warm water, took up a spear and a knife and headed for the mountain.
The mountain was the one behind them, the one whose base held the cave where they'd been trapped during the previous Yaoxing Storm.
According to Feng Qianqian, when the production team designed the cave segment, they anticipated that the guests would definitely go through the cave. Even if some of them were scared, they'd find ways to make everyone go through it. After all, they'd invited so many experts and surveyed the route—what was the point otherwise? And the production team's resolve on this was reflected in the campsite layout. Calculating the time, whether they went over the mountain or around its base, it was impossible to reach the campsite by nightfall. Of course, this was also a kind of "coercion" to make the guests take the cave for better footage.
And precisely because the production team was so adamant about this, the edible plants on the mountain above the cave were probably not "cleared out" very thoroughly.
However, Feng Qianqian was mainly responsible for assisting on the route, and she wasn't very clear about the "clearing" part.
Still, there was hope.
This mountain was the closest possible food source to their camp.
For one thing, if Yu Nianbing didn't bring back some food today, she very much doubted Song Shiyue would be willing to keep eating the stored supplies.
If their food ran low, even if Song Shiyue knew eating would help her slowly recover, she would very likely refuse.
So no matter what—whether animal or plant, even wild greens—Yu Nianbing had to bring something back before dark.
Yet, ideas were beautiful, but execution was always hard.
Trees connected to trees, grass to grass.
The two climbed the mountain, one after the other, and had nearly reached the halfway point without spotting anything edible.
Because she'd been looking so intently, Yu Nianbing felt her eyes were starting to ache a little.
She even began to wonder what grass and bark would taste like, and how likely it was that if she crushed them, boiled them, mixed in something else, and then sat by Song Shiyue eating it in the evening, she could make her believe she had indeed found new food...
Knowing that person's personality... even if she couldn't move, she'd probably insist on tasting a bite to see if it was real.
Yu Nianbing gave a bitter smile and raised her hand to rub her eyes, which had started to hurt a bit again after staring so intently at the surroundings for so long.
But this time, it really wasn't from looking too long that her eyes hurt.
She lowered her hand; on her fingers was a tiny tuft of pale white fluff.
This was...
Yu Nianbing turned and lifted her head, looking toward the slope above and slightly to the left, the direction from which the wind came.
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