New Challenge

Xiao Ming had learned a little about "the art of speaking" from Qu An these past few days. He had not mastered it yet, but he could at least keep others from getting their way.

Sure enough, Tang Gudu did not say anything else.

There was one more participant this round than in the previous three, making seventeen in total. Today began with choosing numbers. There were seventeen numbers altogether, and the Acceleration Team members chose one according to their preferences. The selection order followed the order in which they got out of their vehicles.

Xiao Ming and Qu An's vehicle arrived first, putting them third and fourth in line to choose.

Lin Shange and Guan Jun, ahead of them, chose 6 and 9. With perfect mutual understanding, Qu An and Xiao Ming directly chose the numbers they had drawn in the previous round—5 and 13.

The other Acceleration Team members selected their numbers in turn. Tang Gudu got 14, while Jiang Yuefeng got 17.

This time, the Acceleration Team members were divided into two groups. Those who chose prime numbers were automatically placed on one team, with the addition of Number 1, while those with non-prime numbers formed the other team. [Note: A prime number is a natural number with exactly two positive factors.]

The Prime Plus One Team had eight members: Qu An, Xiao Ming, Jiang Yuefeng, Shan Yi, Jiang Yuan, Xing Tong, Meng Na, and You Duidui—four men and four women.

The Non-Prime Team had nine members: Lin Shange, Guan Jun, Tang Gudu, Yi Xiaoda, Yan Meng, Zhong Ka, Sun Junlei, Ning Shupei, and Li Zichang—four women and five men.

Xiao Ming and Qu An were on the same team. Wearing identical blue vests, they made quite a sight standing together.

[The two of them were so in sync. They directly picked the order they drew last round.]

[Family, who understands this?]

[A prime-number division? The production team really came up with that.]

[Good thing both of them drew prime numbers last round, or they would have been split up. I really love watching them cooperate on missions. They're both seriously amazing.]

[Exactly. In the second round, Qu An seemed to do fine with missions, but people often acted like they couldn't understand what he was saying.]

[xmx and qaq really seem to understand each other in a second.]

[What makes me laugh is that jyf is on their team too, hahaha. With how clingy he was in Round Two, I'm looking forward to the dramatic showdown.]

[What is there to ship about that? CP fans are seriously annoying.]

[If you don't like it, turn off the comments.]

[They came to participate in the show, okay? Why are you isolating our Fengfeng?]

[Yeah, yeah. The two of them joined the show together, stuck together for every mission, and did every mission well together.]

[Someone's getting worked up~]

[I'm dying. Is it three people isolating two people, two people isolating three people, or one person isolating four people?]

[Why doesn't qa stay with Fengfeng? So annoying!]

[Live comments—witnessing the diversity of the human species.]

This round's acceleration location was Qingcheng's national 5A-rated scenic area. Half of the site had been designated as the event zone, covering the East Gate and North Gate areas. It was roughly the size of two Bird's Nest Stadiums, with lakes making up most of the landscape.

The grounds were open, with few buildings and mostly vegetation, making it difficult to hide.

The mission lasted 100 minutes. Success would earn 600,000 Acceleration Coins. The accumulated Acceleration Coins would come into play in the final round. The Acceleration Team members who made it to the final round would have the coins earned that round converted into real money under their individual names for educational donations to impoverished areas.

In addition to becoming Yiniu's spokesperson, the final Uncrowned Acceleration King would donate one million in their own name.

Today's show once again included a Hunter livestream perspective. It was a collaboration between the production team and the scenic area, since the Hunter perspective would not reveal the full layout of the site or the show's content, while still serving as promotion.

Most importantly, yesterday's response had been good. Since it had always been difficult to keep each episode's guests under wraps anyway, the production team simply released it directly.

The two teams respectively corresponded to tour groups entering through the two entrances. Tour guides had never had an easy job, and if two tour groups belonged to rival companies, then when they ran into each other, arguments were even more likely to break out.

The Blue Team was in the East Gate area, which had more forest and fewer lakes, but covered less ground. The North Gate area had more lakes and a larger area; it belonged to the Non-Prime Team in red.

This acceleration location was simply too difficult to hide in. There was barely anything to use as cover.

The Hunters began their pursuit two minutes after the Acceleration Team members entered. Three Hunters were deployed at each entrance, making six across the entire area.

As soon as Xiao Ming and Qu An entered, they set their sights on a scenic-area convenience store. As they passed a property management worker, they heard her sigh, "There are just too many people getting lost in the scenic area, and every time, it's in Miedie Forest."

The two exchanged a glance and remembered what she said. The convenience store they chose to hide in was also the one closest to Miedie Forest.

Jiang Yuefeng had originally wanted to follow them, but Jiang Yuan and Shan Yi both knew him among today's Acceleration Team members, and they led him off in another direction.

[Shan Yi, the great benefactor.]

[I'm really going to die laughing, help.]

[jyf looked back every few steps, while the young couple happily walked away without looking back. The contrast is so obvious.]

[Ah, what is there to ship about this? CP fans are seriously ridiculous.]

[If you don't want to watch, turn off the comments.]

[They're here to participate in the show, okay? Why are you isolating our Fengfeng?]

[Right, right. The two of them joined the show together, stuck together for every mission, and did every mission so well.]

[Someone's getting worked up~]

[I'm dying. Is it three people isolating two people, two people isolating three people, or one person isolating four people?]

[Why doesn't qa stay with Fengfeng? So annoying!]

[Live comments—witnessing the diversity of the human species.]

The comments could argue all they wanted, but that was all after the show aired. It did not affect the two people currently filming in the slightest, because they were... eating grilled sausages.

The owner of the convenience store where they were hiding sold grilled sausages. They rolled around on the sausage grill, smelling delicious.

Xiao Ming hardly ever ate things like this before, because he would reject anything that could affect his studies first. But it really did smell good.

He stared eagerly at the steaming grilled sausages. There was one minute left before the Hunters were released.

Still crouching, he shuffled forward in tiny steps, like a cat tentatively stretching out its paw. "Miss, can we eat these grilled sausages?"

The little cat had taken his brave first step!

He had not eaten much breakfast and was actually a little hungry.

The shop owner nodded and said he could. The production team had already discussed it with the scenic area beforehand; all expenses during filming would be covered by the production team.

"Then I'll take two, and two bottles of Yiniu milk too. Thank you."

Watching Xiao Ming carry out that entire sequence so smoothly, Qu An felt that he had truly loosened up a lot on this show. He felt familiar and real. Though the main reason was probably that the kid was hungry. Thinking of that, Qu An could not quite stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

After receiving the sausages and milk, Xiao Ming thanked her again, then handed one serving to Qu An. "Replenish your energy."

On the way there, he had learned that Qu An had only arrived at two in the morning last night. He had gotten up after just over five hours of sleep and had not eaten much either.

"Yiniu milk, the purest flavor, the fullest nutrition." The two clinked their drinks together as they recited the advertising slogan, eating grilled sausages while waiting for the mission.

They were starch-and-crispy-bone sausages. Each one was not very large, and the flavor was decent—just like an ordinary grilled sausage. Xiao Ming added chili sauce to his, and ketchup to Qu An's.

Combined with the scenery outside, it was actually rather relaxing.

The Hunters were released when they had eaten half their sausages. Xiao Ming took three quick bites, bit it off, and shoved the entire remainder into his mouth. His cheeks puffed out as he chewed, looking like a little hamster.

Qu An watched from beside him, and the curve of his smiling eyes suddenly deepened. Xiao Ming saw it and widened his eyes slightly in disbelief. He did not say anything, but the meaning of You're laughing at me! was obvious.

Qu An unhurriedly finished his sausage and drank half his milk. Xiao Ming had finished everything and was holding Qu An's milk for him.

However, when he got muddled, he was terribly forgetful. With the milk in his own hand, he assumed it was his own bottle, completely forgetting that he had already finished his. He took a huge gulp directly.

Qu An had been watching the situation outside. Only when he heard the sound of air vibrating through the straw and carton did he abruptly turn around. The moment he saw Xiao Ming with the straw in his mouth, his mind suddenly went blank.

Xiao Ming did not notice anything strange about him. He quickly drank most of the milk. When he let go of the straw, there was still a little on his lips, which he licked away just like a kitten after drinking milk.

Qu An witnessed the entire thing. The unprecedented flutter in his heart nearly made him lose control of his expression, and he even swallowed unconsciously.

The two cameramen beside them had eyes as wide as bronze bells, but neither made a sound. They both pretended they had seen nothing. As for whether the footage would be cut in post-production, that was not for them to decide.

As for whether it would be cut, Teacher Qu An did have a say. After the show ended, he went to speak with the director about editing that segment. In the end, the audience did not get to see it, because Qu An saved that copy for himself.

However, the shot of Xiao Ming holding Qu An's milk, and the final shot of him throwing away the empty carton, were not cut. There would always be Sherlock Holmeses who could discover the truth.

[That milk seems to be qaq's, right?]

[Not just qaq's. When qaq handed it to xmx, there should have still been quite a lot left, but xmx was the one who threw it away in the end.]

[And there was still a damp mark on xmx's lips.]

[We know xmx finished his own carton a long time ago. There's no way his lips could still be wet now, so... there's only one truth.]

[They indirectly kissed!]

[And everyone, look at qaq's ears. It isn't obvious, but they're red!]

[Oh my god, when have we ever seen qaq's ears turn red? I've gained divine sight.]

[qaq is famous for being emotionally steady. He rarely blushes or gets red ears.]

[They really... I'm shipping them so hard.]

[Who understands? They really don't seem like they've only known each other for a month.]

The grilled-sausage segment was included in the bonus footage and extended edition. Fans cried out that Xiao Ming was adorable, while the things said afterward were all too wild for broadcast.

The two entrances were far apart, making it difficult to encounter people from the other side. The two tour groups set off separately and toured according to the map's instructions, but when there were many people, accidents were bound to happen easily.

Miedie Forest was in a very special location, situated between the two areas and spanning both of them.

A little boy from one tour group and a little girl from the other got lost when their guides said it was time to rest and use the restroom. Both sides were extremely anxious.

The pirate leader spotted the two lost children. They were disoriented and had no idea which direction to go, already having crossed the boundary between the two areas. He set up a barrier around Miedie Forest and removed the directional signs inside.

At the same time, he altered the maps in the Acceleration Team members' hands into maps with no locations marked.

Once an Acceleration Team member entered the other team's area, the alarm on their body would sound.

Seeing this, A-Bai immediately reported to the Imperial Marshal. The Imperial Marshal pulled up the on-site footage, identified the cause, and released the first mission.

Mission One Notification

All landmark text within the venue has been erased. Once an Acceleration Team member enters the other team's area, their alarm will sound. At the 73-minute mark, the maps will become completely impossible to restore. To restore the maps, enter Miedie Forest, find the lost children, take them out of Miedie Forest, and deliver them to the respective team's area where staff members are present. For every child delivered to one's own area and successfully escorted, one Acceleration Team member from the opposing side may be converted into an Acceleration Team member of one's own side.

As soon as this mission was issued, everyone truly understood what a competitive match was.

Before Mission One was released, the maps in Xiao Ming and Qu An's hands had already been taken away by the accompanying cameraman and replaced with a map containing only illustrations.

Without clear landmarks, the Acceleration Team members could only rely on their memories and ask passersby for directions. But... some people searched for the road to Rome, while others were born in Rome.

Xiao Ming did not hurry off. He borrowed a pen from the shop owner and said he would return it later, then asked her, "Miss, are you a staff member here? Like, if a child gets lost and needs to find their parents, would it count if we brought them to you?"

When he saw the mission, he had been wondering what kind of person "staff member" referred to. A shop owner inside? Property management? Or did it have to be someone responsible for a specific area?

"There's a person in charge of our section. He's the property supervisor in dark blue clothes, and he handles this kind of thing."

In other words, bringing them to her would not count—and that property supervisor was mobile!

Qu An had already walked two steps away, but he came back. "We're going to help look for the lost children, but we don't know where to take them. If we bring a child here later, could you call him for us?"

"No problem."

"Thank you, Miss!" Qu An imitated Xiao Ming's tone, but his voice did not have Xiao Ming's youthful quality. Instead, it made people's ears turn red.

Xiao Ming suddenly felt a little stifled inside. During their conversation, he had uncapped the pen and begun drawing and writing on the map. Now, without realizing it, he pressed down a little harder.

What would Qu An sound like calling someone gege with that voice? Come to think of it, Qu An was even a year younger than him...

Xiao Ming drifted off and did not notice the pen bleeding ink. It was Qu An who came over, touched his hand, and said, "Let's go."

Fortunately, the ink had bled at the edge of the map and did not affect it. Before the mission started, when he looked at the marked map, he had studied Miedie Forest several times because of the property worker's reminder.

He wrote down every part he could remember and marked several routes before handing it to Qu An.

"This is about all I remember. See if you can add anything. It'll make things easier once we're in the forest."

Qu An nodded. When he took it and looked, Xiao Ming had basically marked everything, even drawing the approximate boundary between the two teams' areas.

His memory was good. He could generally memorize a script after reading it two or three times. After adding some details, he handed the map back to Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming looked at Qu An in pleasant surprise and gripped the map tightly.