Chapter Summaries

Undercover trainee Qiao Huan evaded the hunters on City Escape, using his skills and a chance reunion with former underlings to escape capture. He rested in the safe house, where the other three Starlight contestants also arrived, leaving the director with four unruly contestants instead of the easy publicity stunt he expected.

• Qiao Huan used a disguise and trackers to evade Wang, Miao, and Jiu as they pursued him through City A.
• Qiao Huan revealed he was an undercover agent investigating a trainee's death and hoped to finish the assignment so he could graduate.
• Qiao Huan ran into Little Potato and former underlings at a bar, then sang a song that prompted them to join in and frightened the hunters away.
• Qiao Huan entered the safe house to rest, while the director discovered that the other three Starlight contestants had also entered it with a rescued child, a stolen prop water gun, and a camera-disabling ability.

Undercover officer Qiao Huan joined Star Radiance’s trainee variety show to investigate a trainee’s suspected suicide and the company’s links to Qiancheng Capital. At the safe house, Qiao Huan met fellow undercover officer Ye Yiwei and other unusual trainees, while the director sent Jiang Renbao to stir up trouble; Jiang’s attempt to steal Zhuo Yang’s weapon ended with Zhuo Yang twisting his arm.

• Qiao Huan recalled the investigation into a Star Radiance trainee’s suspected suicide and planned to approach the company’s higher-ups undercover.
• Ye Yiwei pulled Qiao Huan from the bath, mistaking him for someone drowning, and the two introduced themselves while concealing their undercover identities.
• Qiao Huan returned to the dorm and met Zhuo Yang and the sleeping Bai Jike, while viewers became fascinated with Star Radiance’s four trainees.
• The director asked Jiang Renbao, the son of Qiancheng Capital’s general manager, to sneak into the safe house as an undercover hunter and weaken the prey.
• Jiang Renbao tried to steal Zhuo Yang’s weapon, but Zhuo Yang restrained him while still asleep.

Zhuo Yang’s reflexive attack on Jiang Renbao exposed the odd instincts of the trainees, while Jiang revealed the hunters’ plans and the prize at stake. Qiao Huan tried to sneak out and get eliminated, but the next morning Bai Jike was declared the first surviving prey, and all four trainees were named among the candidates for Starlight’s new group.

• Zhuo Yang knocked Jiang Renbao down in his sleep, then embarrassed himself when Qiao Huan noticed his water gun was pointed awkwardly below his waist.
• Qiao Huan reset Jiang Renbao’s dislocated arm, and Jiang confessed that he was a hunter who had gone undercover before offering to share the hunters’ plans.
• After learning that the winning prey would receive a Blue Sesame endorsement, Qiao Huan, Zhuo Yang, and Ye Yiwei eagerly asked for the hunters’ locations, while secretly hoping to get eliminated and return to Starlight.
• Qiao Huan pretended to go to sleep, then dressed and slipped out to seek elimination, but heard several people following him and looked back in alarm.
• The next morning, Bai Jike was announced as the first prey to survive the show and won the endorsement; reporters also revealed that Bai Jike, Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, and Zhuo Yang were candidates for Starlight’s OSOK group.

After a viral video turned Qiao Huan and three other trainees into unlikely internet favorites, Starlight Entertainment announced a transparent contest to select OSOK’s members. Qiao Huan tried to withdraw, but changed his mind when he realized the confirmed captain, Shi Xingzhou, was the target he had come to Starlight to investigate; he then confronted Shi with a photo from their middle-school days.

• Qiao Huan saw netizens interpret his and the other trainees’ escape attempts on City Escape as a tragic brotherhood, and Starlight announced that four of eighteen trainees would be chosen for OSOK in five weeks.
• Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang, and Bai Jike asked to withdraw from the training program, but Qiao Huan reconsidered when Pei Dahai introduced Shi Xingzhou as OSOK’s confirmed captain.
• Shi Xingzhou recognized Qiao Huan as a former middle-school classmate and privately recalled tormenting him for three years.
• Shi Xingzhou urged Qiao Huan to work hard and debut alongside him, but Qiao Huan seemed distracted and then showed him a middle-school graduation photo, asking whether someone in it was Shi Xingzhou.

Qiao Huan and his fellow undercover trainees met their instructors and faced their first vocal assessment, while Shi Xingzhou tried to embarrass Qiao Huan during a livestream. Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei ended the chapter by choosing a song called “Reject Pornography, Gambling, and Drugs.”

• Pei Dahai introduced UPE and instructor Tao Zhenting, while Zhuo Yang and Ye Yiwei recognized their respective mission targets.
• Pei Dahai announced that trainees would face elimination and assigned them to choose vocal, dance, or rap for their first assessment.
• Qiao Huan discovered that Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, and Bai Jike were his roommates, then Jiang Renbao arrived and revealed that he had arranged their room assignment.
• Jiang Renbao chose vocal and performed poorly in front of Jiang Ji, who then paired Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei for their assessment.
• Shi Xingzhou and Tao Zhenting entered livestreaming, and Shi Xingzhou tried to provoke Qiao Huan by bringing up his popular song and the online comments.
• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei prepared to perform together and announced that their chosen song was “Reject Pornography, Gambling, and Drugs.”

Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei impressed the vocal class with an unexpectedly strong duet, while Shi Xingzhou decided to use Qiao Huan’s family history against him. Qiao Huan revealed his undercover plan to his captain, who responded by organizing a police-backed anti-smear station that frightened off Shi Xingzhou’s paid trolls.

• Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei performed “Reject Pornography, Gambling, and Drugs,” earning praise from Jiang Ji and drawing a flood of attention in Shi Xingzhou’s livestream.
• Jiang Ji assigned Zhuo Yang to dance and Bai Jike to rap, then told the trainees to follow the upcoming lesson schedule.
• Shi Xingzhou learned about Qiao Huan’s parents’ gang background and hired paid trolls to spread claims about a trainee’s criminal past.
• Qiao Huan met his captain on the roof and explained that Shi Xingzhou’s suspicious hotel check-ins might provide him an alibi for gatherings tied to Qiancheng Capital.
• Qiao Huan’s captain revealed that he had created an anti-smear station backed by police, and the paid-troll boss refunded Shi Xingzhou after being threatened.

Qiao Huan and his roommates faced a surprise dance assessment after Wei Teng’s clique changed the music and choreography without telling them. Shi Xingzhou’s attempt to post about Qiao Huan was blocked, and he waited for footage of Qiao Huan to fail, but Wei Teng’s messages revealed that the four were about to dance.

• Qiao Huan found that his roommates were late to practice, while Wei Teng and other trainees mocked them for supposedly receiving special treatment.
• The UPE captain announced a surprise dance assessment in front of Pei Dahai and Tao Zhenting, and the first groups performed to new music and choreography.
• Qiao Huan learned that the other trainees had changed the dance without informing him and his roommates, then declined an offer to perform later.
• Pei Dahai questioned whether the casually dressed Qiao Huan and his roommates could dance, and Qiao Huan confidently said he could perform immediately.
• Shi Xingzhou discovered that Green Petal Network had deleted his posts about Qiao Huan and planned to use the assessment as a chance to embarrass him.
• Shi Xingzhou received Wei Teng’s messages saying that Qiao Huan and the others were about to dance.

Qiao Huan and his roommates impressed Pei Dahai by performing a dance they had only just learned, while Wei Teng’s scheme to embarrass them failed. Jin Xiaopeng, pressured by Shi Xingzhou, invited Qiao Huan to a bar, but the rest of Dorm 404 joined them, leaving Qiao Huan frustrated as they headed out together.

• Qiao Huan, Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, and Bai Jike performed the unfamiliar dance with surprising skill, while Wei Teng struggled to keep up.
• Pei Dahai praised the four trainees’ natural flair, and Qiao Huan realized Wei Teng and the others were likely reporting back to Shi Xingzhou.
• Jin Xiaopeng apologized for the changed track, accepted Qiao Huan’s jacket, and Shi Xingzhou later pressured him to return it and invite Qiao Huan for a drink.
• Jin Xiaopeng invited Qiao Huan to a nearby bar, and Qiao Huan eagerly agreed to use the outing to seek information about the investigation.
• Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, Jiang Renbao, and Bai Jike joined Qiao Huan and Jin Xiaopeng in the van, while Jin Xiaopeng worried that Shi Xingzhou would expose his videos.

Qiao Huan investigated the hidden bar Between Life and Death and used Xiao Wang’s jealousy to get taken into its VIP room. Shi Lianyi noticed Qiao Huan’s unusual behavior and messaged her nephew to help get him out.

• Qiao Huan entered Between Life and Death with Jin Xiaopeng and Jiang Renbao while Captain Qiao warned him over an earpiece that the bar was tied to Shi Xingzhou’s assistant and several investment groups.
• Qiao Huan explored the bar, recognized it as a place where entertainment-industry backers met artists, and found a possible secret entrance near the rear wall.
• Xiao Wang mocked Qiao Huan and tried to impress two backers, but Mr. Du invited both men into the VIP room and offered them drinks.
• Qiao Huan claimed he could not relax with Xiao Wang there, drank both glasses himself, and drew Mr. Du’s attention, prompting Xiao Wang to leave in a fury.
• Mr. Du took the unsteady Qiao Huan through the secret door, and Shi Lianyi saw two puddles of liquor on the floor and decided Qiao Huan was interesting.
• Shi Lianyi messaged her nephew, asking him to come to the bar and help her get Qiao Huan out.

Qiao Huan infiltrated Between Life and Death, where he drugged two powerful men with a sleeping pill and learned the venue was part of a wider sex-trade operation. After Shi Lianyi invited him to join her variety show, he emerged to find Zhuo Yang confronting Jin Xiaopeng, exposing that they were close despite Qiao Huan’s undercover act.

• Jin Xiaopeng received Shi Xingzhou’s instructions to drug Qiao Huan, recognized the pill’s scent from the drink that had previously incapacitated him, and was caught by Zhuo Yang before he could act.
• Mr. Du led Qiao Huan into the VIP area, where Qiao Huan and Captain Qiao identified Mr. Liu and Mr. Jiang as targets connected to the investigation.
• Qiao Huan secretly used the sleeping pill in drinks and put Mr. Du, Mr. Liu, and Mr. Jiang to sleep, then stayed to find out whom Shi Xingzhou had chosen for him.
• Shi Xingzhou arrived with Shi Lianyi, who revealed she had come to invite Qiao Huan onto her variety show; Qiao Huan repeatedly refused.
• Outside the VIP area, Zhuo Yang pinned Jin Xiaopeng down for trying to drug Qiao Huan, while Ye Yiwei checked Jiang Renbao and Bai Jike; Zhuo Yang called Qiao Huan his brother, prompting Shi Lianyi to realize the roommates were close.

Qiao Huan defused a bar confrontation after discovering Jin Xiaopeng had tried to drug him, while Shi Xingzhou’s suspicious behavior drew attention. The next morning, an online scandal and the announcement of the Deserted Island survival show threatened Shi Xingzhou’s public image and brought the five young men together for filming.

• Shi Xingzhou arrived as Jin Xiaopeng sought his help, and Qiao Huan suspected Shi Xingzhou was involved in the bar’s drug operation.
• Qiao Huan calmed Zhuo Yang, got Jin Xiaopeng to admit he had put a pill in the drink, and secretly kept the real pill after Jin Xiaopeng drank the doctored-looking beverage without ill effects.
• Bai Jike got drunk and ran around Between Life and Death, prompting Qiao Huan, Zhuo Yang, and Ye Yiwei to chase him and gather the candy wrappers he scattered.
• A gossip account posted photos and video of the incident, and online users criticized Shi Xingzhou after spotting him smiling in the background.
• Xingyi Entertainment announced that Shi Xingzhou, Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang, and Bai Jike would take part in the S-level survival show Deserted Island, leaving Shi Xingzhou worried about his image.

Qiao Tang persuaded Qiao Huan to look for another undercover agent while they continued their investigation, then Qiao Huan joined the survival competition Deserted Island with Shi Xingzhou and his dormmates. On the ferry, Qiao Huan’s unexpectedly impressive body-fat reading stunned the contestants and viewers, and Shi Xingzhou.

• Qiao Tang offered to make Qiao Huan his superior after they returned to their hometown if Qiao Huan found the other undercover agent, so Qiao Huan began examining the recording while keeping the search secondary to his main investigation.
• Qiao Tang learned Qiao Huan would be filming Deserted Island and tried to persuade him to spend the nights investigating together before the trip.
• The preview and livestream revealed that Deserted Island would pit 101 entertainers against one another, with elimination bringing lengthy bans from commercial activities.
• Shi Xingzhou reflected on his training and ambitions as he prepared to use the competition to advance his career and OSOK.
• Shi Xingzhou challenged Qiao Huan to weigh in, expecting his out-of-shape appearance to compare poorly with Shi Xingzhou’s 15% body fat.
• Qiao Huan’s scale reading showed 12% body fat, surprising Shi Xingzhou, the contestants, and the livestream viewers.

Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang discovered they had spawned together on a dangerous cliffside arena, but chose to sleep rather than fight. When Bai Jike cried for help from across the ravine, they leaped over it to rescue him.

• Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang helped each other during a body-measurement segment, while Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike also posted impressive results and Shi Xingzhou grew increasingly desperate.
• Qiao Huan planned to avoid combat on the island, but he and a nearby contestant attacked each other as soon as the game began.
• Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang recognized each other mid-fight, stopped grappling, and realized the production team had deliberately placed them together on a high ledge with a damaged log bridge.
• Qiao Huan suggested that he and Zhuo Yang lie low and sleep, and the two rested beneath separate trees for half a day.
• Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang heard Bai Jike cry for help from across the ravine and leaped over the gap to reach him.

Shi Xingzhou tried to force Bai Jike into an alliance, but Bai escaped and later saved him from a bee swarm before nearly drowning himself. Ye Yiwei rescued Bai, and after the group reunited, Shi asked to join them, prompting Qiao Huan, Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, and Bai Jike to form a silent alliance against him.

• Shi Xingzhou threatened Bai Jike with a stick and proposed an alliance, but Bai kicked him away and fled through the jungle.
• Shi Xingzhou chased Bai beneath a beehive, provoked the swarm, and was rescued by Bai, who escaped the bees by diving into a pond.
• Bai became trapped underwater in weeds and mud, and Ye Yiwei arrived to pull him safely to shore.
• Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang joined Ye Yiwei and Bai as rescue workers arrived, and Ye explained how he had saved Bai.
• Shi Xingzhou asked to join the four, and Qiao Huan stopped Zhuo Yang from eliminating him as the others silently agreed to act against him.

Qiao Huan kept Shi Xingzhou close while investigating his ties to the Deserted Island program, but the night’s leech attack left Shi Xingzhou battered and the others misunderstanding Qiao Huan’s actions. After checking Shi Xingzhou’s hidden communication device, Qiao Huan returned to find Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, and Bai Jike waiting with medicine they thought he needed.

• Shi Xingzhou suggested traveling to the island’s highest mountain, but Qiao Huan and the others decided to camp until morning and tied their clothes tight against leeches.
• Shi Xingzhou returned with firewood and superficial injuries, and Qiao Huan, Zhuo Yang, and Ye Yiwei discovered leeches feeding on his arms and removed them with a shoe sole and salt.
• Qiao Huan warned Shi Xingzhou that leeches could reach tender spots, prompting Shi Xingzhou to rush into the bushes to protect himself.
• Qiao Huan secretly checked Shi Xingzhou’s communication device, confirmed that a senior Deserted Island program staff member had arranged the contestants’ starting points, and messaged two numbers.
• Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, and Bai Jike caught Qiao Huan returning to camp and gave him foul-smelling herbal medicine, believing he had stomach trouble; Qiao Huan drank it.

Qiao Huan led his teammates in rescuing Xiao Yue from two contestants, then defended the decision not to team up with her until she proved useful. When Xiao Yue struggled to make a rabbit trap with Shi Xingzhou, Qiao Huan taught her how to catch rabbits, and she succeeded.

• Qiao Huan suggested the group climb trees as two male contestants chased Xiao Yue toward their camp.
• Shi Xingzhou tried to protect Xiao Yue but panicked, and Zhuo Yang carried them both to a meeting point after the group used a feint to escape.
• Shi Xingzhou argued that refusing to team up with Xiao Yue was sexist, but Qiao Huan defended Ye Yiwei and pointed out that the team judged usefulness, not gender.
• Xiao Yue agreed to prove her value, while Qiao Huan and the others let her try making a rabbit trap with Shi Xingzhou.
• After an hour without success, Xiao Yue asked Qiao Huan to teach her how to catch rabbits, and she soon caught one.

Xiao Yue hesitated to kill the hare she and Qiao Huan had caught, so Qiao Huan helped her keep it overnight. The next morning, Xiao Yue released it, leaving hungry Shi Xingzhou furious, while Zhuo Yang continued trying to recruit Qiao Huan for the army.

• Xiao Yue struggled to decide whether to kill the hare, so Qiao Huan made a vine cage and suggested she decide the next morning.
• When Shi Xingzhou complained that they needed food, Ye Yiwei pointed out that Bai Jike had found ants, and Xiao Yue eagerly learned to eat them while Shi Xingzhou refused.
• Qiao Huan exercised in the forest before dawn, where Zhuo Yang asked if he would consider joining the army; Qiao Huan said he wanted to retire in his hometown.
• Zhuo Yang recalled his old captain's advice about approaching potential recruits and decided to keep trying to persuade Qiao Huan.
• After Shi Xingzhou urged her to eat the hare, Xiao Yue released it into the forest, and Shi Xingzhou cursed at her in frustration.

Shi Xingzhou’s missteps damaged his standing with viewers as Qiao Huan led the group toward the mountaintop and devised a plan to draw two camps into conflict. The first episode’s livestream ended with Shi Xingzhou’s fate unclear, and the production team promised a joint interview with the contestants in three days.

• Shi Xingzhou tried to blame Qiao Huan for Xiao Yue releasing the pregnant rabbit, but Xiao Yue explained that the choice had been hers.
• The group reached the mountaintop, heard that four more contestants had to be eliminated, and spotted two nearby camps.
• Qiao Huan proposed provoking the camps so their contestants would fight each other, and the six contestants split into two groups to carry out the plan.
• Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang used a staged cry for help and a fake theft to scatter one camp’s seven trainees, while Zhuo Yang carried a trainee toward the stream.
• Shi Xingzhou failed to run when a thorn scratched his foot, and two pursuing contestants caught up with him as the livestream ended with a cannon blast.
• The production team withheld the identity of the final eliminated contestant and announced a joint livestream interview in three days.

Qiao Huan and Qiao Tang prepared to bring down Shi Xingzhou as the premiere of “Deserted Island” exposed Shi’s failures and his attempts to manipulate public opinion. Jin Xiaopeng revealed Shi’s crimes during the livestream, and Shi was arrested, while a coded note left at the police station raised new questions about Qiao Huan and his teammates.

• Qiao Huan told Qiao Tang what he had witnessed, and Qiao Tang shared evidence linking Bo Yu to Shi Xingzhou and described the investigation into “Between Life and Death.”
• Shi Xingzhou planned a comeback using promotional articles and coordinated fan comments, while the “Deserted Island” livestream drew a huge audience.
• The edited episode showed Qiao Huan and his teammates performing well and portrayed Shi Xingzhou as incompetent and manipulative, undermining his smear campaign against Qiao Huan.
• Shi Xingzhou tried to accuse Qiao Huan of bullying him and Jin Xiaopeng, but Bo Yu rejected his claims and Jin Xiaopeng posted evidence of Shi’s crimes.
• Shi Xingzhou’s schemes unraveled, police arrested him, and Qiao Huan left him in the corridor before going to the police station with Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, and Bai Jike.
• A night-shift officer found an old encrypted note in the belongings compartment and realized that one of the four men had left it behind.

Qiao Huan and Qiao Tang reviewed how they had exposed Shi Xingzhou’s schemes, then learned that Luo Mi’s assault involved powerful unidentified men and that Star Radiance’s leadership was preparing a new plan. Qiao Huan returned to the trainee program, where the next OSOK audition phase was moving to a military base, giving him a chance to investigate the suspected undercover agent.

• Qiao Huan and Qiao Tang recounted how they had found Shi Xingzhou’s videos, rescued Jin Xiaopeng, and exposed Shi Xingzhou’s attempts to harm Qiao Huan and others.
• An officer told Qiao Tang and Qiao Huan that Luo Mi had awakened and presented an old encrypted note that Zhuo Yang, Ye Yiwei, or Bai Jike had apparently dropped.
• Qiao Huan learned that Luo Mi had been assaulted after a drinking party involving Star Radiance and Qiancheng Capital staff and two unidentified men, while Qiao Tang chose not to press her with questions that might deepen her trauma.
• Shi Bing refused to help Shi Xingzhou and urged Pei Dahai to carry out a plan to limit the damage to Star Radiance; a pale, unnamed man in the office approved the plan and called Shi Xingzhou his younger brother.
• Qiao Tang revealed that he had wagered both his and Qiao Huan’s pensions on identifying the undercover agent within a month, then fled before Qiao Huan could respond.
• Qiao Huan returned to Star Radiance and found Zhuo Yang and the other trainees preparing to travel to Azure Dragon Base for the second phase of OSOK’s internal auditions, held as a military training camp.