Chapter 12

On the rooftop of Starlight Entertainment's headquarters.

Captain Qiao held a tablet, watching the recording over and over.

"Tsk, I really didn't expect there to be another public official," Qiao Tang said, stroking a nonexistent beard. "Buffing, who do you think it was? An undercover agent? Or were they just passing by?"

Qiao Huan lay nearby, looking utterly miserable. "Boss, I really need to sleep. Can you stop torturing me? Why do you have to know who that person was?"

"Honestly, I don't believe a public official would just happen to pass by that bar. If they were in plain clothes or undercover, why would they send an undercover agent? What's their mission? Aren't you curious?"

Qiao Huan: "I'm really not all that curious."

Qiao Tang looked solemn. "You can't ignore everything else just because you want to finish the mission quickly!"

Qiao Huan didn't answer. He simply picked up the wooden stick beside him and waved it at himself.

Qiao Tang: ...

Childish!

"Casting the Shut-Ears-and-Block-Hearing Spell on yourself won't work either." Qiao Tang pried open his son's eyelids. "Don't you think you're a little antisocial? Don't you think you need some brothers who are undercover too? What if your missions are connected? You could get twice the result with half the effort!"

"Isn't working undercover all about going it alone?" Qiao Huan muttered. "That's how you used to be, wasn't it? What's all this about being lonely?"

The moon hung low as Qiao Tang stood with his hands behind his back.

"It's precisely because I used to be undercover too that I... Sigh."

The wind whispered mournfully.

In the distance, the sea stretched into endless darkness. Only where the lighthouse shone could the rolling waves be seen.

"How about this?" Qiao Tang emerged from his memories. "If there really is another undercover agent and you can find him, then when you graduate and we transfer back to the police station in our hometown, I'll make you my superior."

Qiao Huan perked up at once. "Really?!"

Captain Qiao nodded.

"Let me make this clear first: I'll only look for another undercover agent on the side, as long as it doesn't interfere with the main investigation. After all, this might just have been ordinary signal interference." Qiao Huan immediately picked up the tablet and went through the footage frame by frame. "Well, there are one, two, three, four, five people here. Let's see their little expressions..."

Qiao Tang watched Qiao Huan get to work, an appreciative look on his face.

After a while, he suddenly remembered—

"Oh, right, aren't you going on that variety show called 'Deserted Island'?"

"Yeah." Qiao Huan rolled over. "Everyone in our dorm got picked, and so did Shi Xingzhou. Anyway, the initial assessment for the internal talent show is over, so Pei Dahai let us go."

"Oh..." Qiao Tang nodded. "That'll take several days to film, right? You won't be able to contact anyone outside, will you?"

Qiao Huan put down the tablet and looked back. "What, are you worried about me?"

"Of course I'm worried about you!" Qiao Tang blinked rapidly, then put on an exceedingly sincere smile. "And also, well..."

Qiao Huan was instantly on guard. "Hmm?"

"Since you'll be gone so long, why don't you stay up and come to the rooftop these next couple of nights? We can get ahead on the investigation and the search for the undercover agent!"

"...That's so you."

"Oh my god! Have you seen the preview for 'Deserted Island'? Have variety shows gone crazy these days?!"

"Holy crap, the government won't let them do talent shows, so they came up with a reverse talent show. Getting eliminated means permanently leaving the entertainment industry? Seriously?!"

"This is intense. Now that's a real PK, right? It's already a battle royale format, and the contestants are either washed-up, half-famous stars or people about to debut. They all want to get famous..."

"How the hell is this a battle royale? This is the actual entertainment industry, fighting for their lives for the sake of their careers!"

Like a thunderclap in Country C's entertainment market, which had been quiet for a year, "Deserted Island" shot straight to the top of the trending searches with its preview alone.

The rules were extremely simple but struck straight at the heart: 101 entertainers would take part in a battle royale game on a deserted island, each fighting for themselves. Anyone whose five-pointed star badge was taken by someone else would be eliminated.

The production team had even partnered with major brands and signed agreements with the contestants: the first person eliminated would permanently leave the entertainment industry, the second would cease all commercial activities for five years, the third for four and a half years, and so on.

"Deserted Island" was called a "reverse talent show." At first, everyone thought it was just a gimmick. Only when they saw that the production team had actually rented an entire island and installed thousands of hidden cameras to capture every detail at all times did viewers realize they were serious!

Even more astonishing was the list of people invited to the show.

There were entertainers hated by the entire internet, veteran actors who had spent decades rising and falling in the entertainment industry without ever being remembered, all sorts of ambitious idols who had yet to debut, a feuding couple who had broken up and gotten back together for decades, and so on...

These entertainers' deeply buried secrets and desires were now laid out on the table for a head-on clash, to fight it out once and for all!

Get famous or die!

As soon as the livestream started, the stream was instantly packed:

"Holy crap, I'm here! This production team is seriously insane, livestreaming from several thousand hidden cameras at once!"

"The craziest part is that there aren't any staff on the island besides the 101 contestants. There's only a helicopter standing by for rescues. All the entertainers taking part signed liability waivers. Not only do they have to battle each other, they also have to survive in the wilderness!"

"Is this the first episode?"

"Yes! This episode cuts 101 down to 49. In other words, one out of every two people will be eliminated!"

"Oh my god, they're eliminating half right off the bat? That's so exciting..."

"What's even more exciting is that even the 51st person eliminated will be banned from commercial activities for two years! Two years out of the public eye... Might as well die on the island."

Shi Xingzhou was doing his final workout in the ferry's gym. He smiled faintly as he watched the livestream comments.

Yes, what was the difference between not being famous and being dead?

The market was only so big. There was no use for so many entertainers in the first place.

But he had to be the one who survived.

Back then, he had gotten his father to pull all sorts of strings before his aunt agreed to let him join the show. This was his first step from being a minor internet-famous idol into the public eye, and also OSOK's first step toward making a name for itself. He had to make it count.

To that end, he had spent two months on special physical and survival training, even hiring the best coaches from abroad.

As for Qiao Huan and the other three... Although they had caught his aunt's eye by sheer accident, their physical condition probably couldn't compare with his.

With that thought, Shi Xingzhou stepped calmly out of the cabin. The island sunshine fell on his damp face, revealing boundless youthful vigor.

Although "Deserted Island" used a battle royale as its gimmick, what really drew people in was the sight of countless handsome men and beautiful women surviving and fighting on the island.

The island was hot to begin with, and everyone would be chasing and fighting each other hand-to-hand. Whew, just thinking about it was exciting!

The directors clearly understood the appeal too, which was why they had specially arranged a "weigh-in" segment on the ferry taking the 101 contestants to the island.

The entertainers had to remove their makeup and take off the clothes that concealed their figures' flaws, putting their body fat, weight, height, and other measurements on public display.

Besides, "Deserted Island" also included segments where viewers could pick and vote for contestants, and even place bets on who would claim the championship, so making the contestants' physical measurements public was quite necessary.

On the deck, all the entertainers waiting to be weighed looked grim.

The scale's mechanical announcement showed no mercy:

[Jia Hun, male, 25 years old, 174 cm, 69 kg, body fat: 17%.]

[Yao Xiaolan, female, 19 years old, 152 cm, 44 kg, body fat: 26%.]

[Du Yue, male, 43 years old, 185 cm, 88 kg, body fat: 20%.]

"Hahahaha, this is practically a public execution."

"I'm dying. These stars don't pay attention to managing their figures normally, and now they know!"

"I thought young idols would all be in great shape, but some of them aren't even as good as those older action stars!"

Shi Xingzhou strolled to the back of the line. The cameraman knew he was fairly popular among the contestants and immediately shoved the camera up to his face.

Zhou Fans, who had been waiting in the comments for ages, immediately clapped like seals:

"Zhouzhou!!! Mommy loves you!"

"That's our Zhou for you, his figure is amazing, ahhhh!"

"An angel has descended to earth!!!!"

Of course, Shi Xingzhou had deliberately chosen this time to line up, just so he could find some people to compare himself with.

But just as he was pretending to casually show the camera different angles, a man suddenly entered his field of vision.

Qiao Huan had been forced to watch videos and look for an undercover agent all night without sleeping. After spending half the day swaying on the ferry, he felt a little seasick and had only come up to the deck for some fresh air.

Seeing Qiao Huan's poor complexion and the extremely baggy T-shirt he was wearing, Shi Xingzhou thought his chance had finally come and hurriedly waved him over. "Qiao Huan! Let's weigh in together!"

Shi Xingzhou was quite confident in his own physique, and the way Qiao Huan was dressed right now...

He was obviously trying to hide his flab!

Qiao Huan scratched his head. "Ah..."

Facing Shi Xingzhou... no matter how badly he wanted to throw up, he could only force himself to stay alert.

After all, the man was not only the target of his mission but also his greatest motivation for taking part in this variety show.

Shi Xingzhou looked at Qiao Huan's face and asked with a caring smile, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Qiao Huan paid no attention to the put-down hidden in his words and nodded. "Yeah."

"I heard Yiwei isn't in very good health either," Shi Xingzhou continued. "I'm pretty worried about you both. After all, this show is quite physically demanding."

"Right."

"Do you exercise at all normally?" Shi Xingzhou patted Qiao Huan on the shoulder. "I think we male entertainers should pay attention to managing our figures, especially strength training."

"I don't like moving." Qiao Huan felt that if he said another word, he would erupt, so he hurriedly pointed ahead. "It's your turn."

"Mm." Shi Xingzhou looked at Qiao Huan, then at the camera, and stepped onto the smart scale.

[Shi Xingzhou, male, 21 years old, 185 cm, 64 kg, body fat: 15%]

"Wow! That's Zhouzhou for you! His figure is incredible!"

"What entertainer has 15% body fat? That's amazing!"

"Look at the muscles on Zhouzhou's arms! Whew!"

"Boyfriend arms! Hold me! Hubby!"

Shi Xingzhou curled his lips into a smile, securing his first talking point as planned.

It seemed the two months of training hadn't gone to waste.

"Qiao Huan, hurry and get measured too," Shi Xingzhou said, looking back with a smile. "I think you've got a pretty good figure too."

"Hhhh, what figure does Qiao Huan have? He doesn't look energetic enough to be in good shape."

"And he said himself he doesn't like moving, so he definitely can't be as good as my Zhou. Zhou even posted a workout vlog last night!"

"He really seems like a salted fish. He'll probably be eliminated right away."

"+1"

Shi Xingzhou sneered inwardly.

Even if this guy had abs back during "City Escape," they were probably gone after a few weeks as a trainee.

According to Jin Xiaopeng and Wei Teng, Qiao Huan's greatest hobby every day was lying on **. He didn't practice, and he ate a lot at every meal.

It would be strange if he could stay in shape like that!

Just wait to embarrass yourself in front of the whole country!

Qiao Huan suppressed the churning in his stomach and stepped onto the scale.

He thought, Is this thing necessary?

Undercover agents like them never paid attention to body fat. After all, low body fat just looked good; it didn't have much practical use.

[Qiao Huan, male, 21 years old, 186 cm, 72 kg, body fat... 12%.]

The entire deck fell silent in an instant.

So many entertainers had been measured before him, young and old alike, but none had such impressive numbers!

The fans who had just been praising Shi Xingzhou in the livestream fell silent too!

This listless-looking guy... compared with their idol, he was not only taller but even had lower body fat?!

What kind of godly physique was this!!!

Shi Xingzhou, of course, was just as shocked.

Qiao Huan! And you say you don't like moving?!

Author's note:

Qiao Tang: Um, aren't you going to be filming a show for several days?

Qiao Huan: Huh? My dad actually cares about me?

Qiao Tang: I'm just saying, let's not fall behind schedule, okay~