Chapter 18

"I'm dying, this is what he's really like, isn't it? Let's see how anyone can defend him now!"

"Can you stop talking nonsense? Zhou clearly said the rabbit was sick!"

"...Wait until the livestream ends and watch the edited version, okay? You Zhou Fans really are deaf and blind."

"I used to be a Zhou Fan, but now I can't stand Zhou or some of his fans. I'm out."

It was only under the double torment of low blood sugar and morning grumpiness that Shi Xingzhou had spoken without thinking, and he regretted it bitterly as soon as the words were out.

But he also knew that no matter how he explained himself now, he probably couldn't win back the goodwill of casual viewers or fans who flitted between favorites...

All he could do now was hold on to his diehard fans, and he had to change the subject!

His remaining reason told him he couldn't take it out on Xiao Yue, so he aimed his attack straight at Qiao Huan, who was attracting the most attention.

"You... what did you say to Xiao Yue just now to make her let the rabbit go?"

Before Qiao Huan could even speak, Xiao Yue cut in. "What do you mean, he made me let the rabbit go? I was the one who wanted to! Can you actually show me some respect? I'm an adult with a mind of my own!"

"Besides, I only asked Brother Qiao Huan whether people would call me a saint for doing it. But Brother Qiao Huan told me he'd just noticed the rabbit was pregnant, and letting it go was the right thing to do, both emotionally and logically. That's what made me decide!"

At that, even Shi Xingzhou's diehard fans, who had just been trying to divert attention by calling Xiao Yue a saint in the comments, fell silent. Some casual viewers also pointed out that Xiao Yue had caught the rabbit in the first place and had every right to decide what to do with it. Shi Xingzhou had no business telling her what to do.

Shi Xingzhou knew he was in the wrong, but unwilling to concede, he said, "He's already let the rabbit go. How can we check whether it was pregnant? Forget it, he's been like this since middle school..."

He spoke the last sentence quietly, but it seemed to carry an enormous implication.

"What? Shi Xingzhou and Qiao Huan were middle school classmates?"

"Holy crap, entertainment really is a small circle. Everyone knows everyone."

"Why did he say Qiao Huan's been like this since middle school? Like what?"

After saying that, Shi Xingzhou ignored the astonished looks of the people around him and slipped away on the pretext of going to the bathroom.

Qiao Huan said nothing, only staring thoughtfully in the direction Shi Xingzhou had gone.

Seeing that Qiao Huan hadn't reacted much, the others were even less willing to keep Shi Xingzhou's topic going, so they chatted about other things for a while and drew the comments' attention away.

Once Shi Xingzhou returned, the six of them spent a short while packing up before continuing toward the mountaintop.

The journey went smoothly. It was just past noon when they reached the top, and they were looking for a place to set up camp and shelter from the sun when they saw a wisp of smoke rising not far away.

They were discussing how to investigate when the production team's voice suddenly rang out from countless hidden speakers across the island—

"Hello, contestants. Exactly fifty hours have passed since the game began, and I'm here to update you on its progress."

"Fifty-three contestants remain, which means we'll end this recording after four more are eliminated."

"Since there are currently few contestants spread across a large area, the production team has decided to offer a special reward to the winner of each of the next four eliminations. We hope you'll all fight bravely~"

As soon as the broadcast ended, Qiao Huan had already led the others around to a spot upwind of the wisp of smoke.

He had planned to check things out while the other party was distracted by the broadcast.

There were four of them, all young male contestants, probably trainees sent by some company. Having just heard the broadcast, they were chattering about whether they should take the initiative and eliminate other contestants.

"What do we do?" Zhuo Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.

Qiao Huan looked at Shi Xingzhou. "What do you think?"

Shi Xingzhou gritted his teeth. "Of course we should strike first and eliminate them!"

"Oh?" Zhuo Yang laughed. "Why don't you want to form an alliance with them?"

"You—!"

Shi Xingzhou cursed inwardly. To hell with an alliance. He was starving to death, and if the show didn't end soon, he'd get a perforated stomach!

"I'm dying, Shi Xingzhou finally can't keep up the act!"

"Hahahahaha, I declare that Shi Xingzhou is the biggest source of entertainment for me on this show."

"Zhuo Yang: I'm the green tea detector today. Green tea men can die!"

"I thought Shi Xingzhou was unpopular enough with casual viewers already. Didn't expect him to open low and crawl away even lower, lol."

"Then let's figure out how to deal with them," Qiao Huan said, ending their confrontation. "I don't think we need to do it ourselves. Look..."

Another wisp of smoke was rising not far away, only a few hundred meters from the first.

"Okay." Ye Yiwei agreed. "Provoke both groups and let them fight each other. That'll save our strength, and it won't be dangerous..." It would also mean less camera time.

Xiao Bai and Zhuo Yang thought the same, and Xiao Yue was so tired she only wanted to go home and soak in a bath. The six quickly agreed and split into two groups to provoke both parties at once.

There happened to be a stream between the two camps. The six agreed to meet there after provoking them, hide behind the rocks, and wait until the fighting was mostly over before doing anything else.

Neither Ye Yiwei nor Xiao Bai wanted to team up with Shi Xingzhou, so Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang could only take on the burden and go provoke the more distant group.

The three walked for about ten minutes before finally reaching the vicinity of the other camp. They found that there were seven people, arranged in the standard formation of four standing guard and three resting. They had clearly been trained beforehand.

"What do we do?" Shi Xingzhou panicked. "What if we provoke them and get caught?"

Zhuo Yang was also wrestling with that question. Although he was completely confident in his ability to sneak up on sentries and could easily beat greater numbers with fewer people, going too far wouldn't be appropriate.

As he was thinking, Qiao Huan spoke up unhurriedly.

"It's not hard."

He had done this sort of thing plenty of times while working undercover in a smuggling organization.

"Here's what we'll do..."

Three minutes later.

The seven people in the camp suddenly heard a piercing cry for help not far away.

They perked up at once. Everyone wanted to sit back and reap the fisherman's reward, and there were special rewards for the last few eliminations!

But they had been trained, after all, so they ultimately sent two people to investigate the source of the cry.

The moment those two left, however, a figure flashed past the other side of the camp, seemingly stealing something of theirs.

Already on edge after two of their teammates had just left, the two closest to the figure instinctively gave chase.

With four teammates gone in an instant, the three remaining in camp immediately realized something was wrong, but it was too late. A tall, burly figure appeared before them.

The person didn't fight, though, instead scooping up the frailest trainee and sprinting toward the stream...

After running past their camp, Qiao Huan immediately climbed a tree to check the situation.

Sure enough, just as he had expected, although the seven had been trained, they lacked experience. Once scattered, they chased out in pairs without any method, and soon, without realizing it, began "tracking" toward the stream along the traces the group had left beforehand.

"Holy crap, Qiao Huan is amazing. No wonder he was a big shot before!"

"Hahahaha, stop talking nonsense, okay? He probably just happened to sing in a bar!"

"Forget that. Just look at how the plan positions everyone: the three of them are like a trident, able to support each other while forcing those seven to split up at just the right moments. Incredible!"

"Wait, why are only five people heading toward the stream now? Where are the other two?"

"Let me check the other camera feeds, but to be honest, I have a hunch..."

"LOL, Shi Xingzhou probably dropped the ball again, right?"

Qiao Huan had every confidence that Zhuo Yang could carry a person and still run faster than the other two. His only concern was the same as the comments': Shi Xingzhou.

So Qiao Huan climbed through the treetops, trying to locate Shi Xingzhou.

When he finally found Shi Xingzhou, only four words flashed through his mind—

Just. As. I. Thought.

In theory, Shi Xingzhou only had to cry for help from the farthest position, sounding as miserable as possible, then wait for the two people to reach roughly the right spot before sprinting toward the stream. It was the easiest of the three tasks.

But he was Shi Xingzhou, the wilderness survival master, after all, and just had to make a mess of things.

How could he keep running after a thorn-covered tree scratched his foot? Naturally, he had to stay where he was and shed tears to make people feel sorry for him!

"Of course it's Shi Xingzhou."

"The undisputed king of dropping the ball."

"Why is he crying there? Waiting for Qiao Huan to save him again?"

"I used to like Shi Xingzhou quite a bit, but after watching this show, I really think this asshole is beyond words..."

"Qiao Huan can't get there in time to save him again, can he?"

"Yay! If Shi Xingzhou gets eliminated, he'll have to leave the entertainment industry right away for three years, or however many it was?!"

"Holy crap, why did the three of them end up behind the bushes? Let me see the moment Shi Xingzhou gets eliminated, aaaaaah!"

No matter how fit Qiao Huan was or how thorough his plan, he couldn't reach the motionless Shi Xingzhou in such a short time.

And the two hunters from the other camp were only a step away from Shi Xingzhou.

Casual viewers cheered one after another, while Shi Xingzhou's diehard fans wailed.

The rough tree trunks had scraped Qiao Huan's hands until they bled, but he still couldn't make it in time...

One of the contestants had already seized Shi Xingzhou's arm.

The next second, a scream rang out through the treetops.

At the same time, a cannon blast that shook the heavens announced the official end of the livestream stage of the first episode of Deserted Island.

That also meant the final contestant had been eliminated.

"Holy crap! Why are the bushes blocking the view? Quick, tell me if Shi Xingzhou was the one who got sent packing!"

"Please, let it be Shi Xingzhou. I really don't want to see him again!"

"He calls himself a survival expert, but he couldn't even catch a rabbit. I've never seen such a green tea man."

"Yeah, look at Xiu San and Xiao Bai. They're the ones who really came to... Forget it, those four didn't come to play Battle Royale either. They came to teach people about wilderness survival."

"But they don't put on airs or manufacture personas."

"Exactly!"

"Even Xiao Yue, who was timid at first, managed to trick those people into going to the stream according to plan in the end. She didn't drop the ball. And then there's Shi Xingzhou, heh."

Deserted Island's livestream had thousands of camera feeds. Though few viewers had followed it all the way to this point, every one of them was genuinely invested.

The comments were unanimously in favor of Shi Xingzhou being eliminated and barred from all commercial activities for three years.

But some diehard Zhou Fans were still holding out, saying how great their Brother Zhou's figure was, how hard he worked, and that he absolutely couldn't be eliminated.

The production team, however, deliberately kept everyone in suspense. They didn't announce who the final eliminated contestant was, only posting a notice that contestants would be invited to a livestream interview in three days, when the edited version of the first episode was released.

In other words, not only would there be a full episode to watch that day, but the surviving and eliminated entertainers would also be in the same room for a joint interview!

Wouldn't they end up fighting?!

Whether casual fans, Zhou Fans, or fans of other entertainers, everyone's anticipation shot through the roof. The number of reservations for the livestream instantly passed one million!

Author's note:

Shi Xingzhou: Did my exit have to be this dramatic?