When Jiang Ze landed in C City, someone from the Production Crew was there to meet him—a young woman.
She looked as though she was still in school, around seventeen or eighteen, but she had a cheerful, outgoing manner.
"You're Jiang Ze?"
Meng Lin studied Jiang Ze's almost impossibly handsome face, then looked around him. She didn't see anyone else.
"You didn't bring an assistant?"
This was her first time seeing a celebrity so casually presented. He had no makeup or mask on, and she couldn't even spot an assistant. He was carrying his own luggage, too.
Jiang Ze knew she had mistaken him for some minor celebrity. He didn't bother explaining and simply smiled.
"What should I call you?"
"My name's Meng Lin. Everyone calls me Lin. I handle logistics for the Production Crew. Has the director told you the details of the show?"
Jiang Ze shook his head. He hadn't even met the director, and whoever had called him had been pretty perfunctory.
If he hadn't known the plot in advance, he probably wouldn't even know what he was supposed to do on this show.
Meng Lin felt a little awkward. He was probably some obscure celebrity the director didn't take very seriously.
Since Jiang Ze was polite and had none of a celebrity's airs, she gave him a general introduction to the show as she led him toward the Production Crew's lodgings.
The show was called Wild Mountain Survival, one of the survival programs that were all the rage lately. Its main selling point was getting back to basics.
The celebrities would trek through remote mountains. The Production Crew would provide only a few essential tools, which they still had to earn by completing tasks. The guests would have to find their own food and water using whatever was available.
"Conditions will probably get pretty rough during filming, Jiang Ze. You'd better prepare yourself."
Seeing how handsome and easygoing he was, Meng Lin couldn't help offering him a few words of warning.
Jiang Ze nodded, showing just the right amount of concern as he thanked Meng Lin.
Inside, however, he was completely relaxed.
He had the system. Even if he landed in an apocalypse right now, the supplies he had prepared would keep him alive for several months.
Jiang Ze followed Meng Lin to the Production Crew's temporary lodgings, a guesthouse at the foot of a mountain.
The Production Crew had rented it for a little over a month to prepare for the upcoming filming.
As soon as he entered, he saw several crew members fiddling with camera equipment.
Meng Lin took him to a lounge area off to one side, then went to find the director.
Before long, she returned with an artsy-looking middle-aged man who was holding some papers, apparently a script or something similar.
"Jiang Ze, right? You're the first guest to arrive. Pick any room and settle in, then get familiar with the area. The others will start arriving over the next couple of days."
The director looked him over. He'd originally had someone else in mind for this guest slot, but the investors had replaced that person at the last minute. It irritated him, though he couldn't show it too openly.
Jiang Ze could sense that the director wasn't particularly fond of him, but he didn't care. He followed Meng Lin upstairs and chose a room toward the back of the second floor.
"Director Lin's always like that. He's pretty demanding, but he's a good person."
Meng Lin was worried he might be upset. Jiang Ze's personality had really appealed to her on the way over, and he was handsome, too, so she couldn't help trying to reassure him.
Jiang Ze smiled without saying anything. He genuinely didn't mind.
He had his own reasons for being here. Besides, he wasn't a real celebrity; he was just joining in on the fun. Why should the director be especially welcoming to him?
After seeing Meng Lin off, Jiang Ze briefly unpacked his luggage.
Through the room's window, he could clearly see the towering mountains all around, covered in dense forests. It felt rather like a secluded paradise.
"System, even the air feels much fresher than in the city. It's like I'm here on vacation."
Jiang Ze was pleased. The surroundings were much nicer than he had imagined.
"Host, don't get excited too soon. You haven't taken all the fortune yet. Most of it is still with Shen Yun, and there's an opportunity waiting for him here~"
Jiang Ze's interest was piqued.
"Wasn't this whole mountain trip meant to build up Shen Yun's popularity? There's another opportunity here?"
"Host, you're too naive. Why do you think Shen Yun managed to resolve everything he faced later in the book without a scratch?"
"Wasn't it because Meng Zimu was protecting him?"
"Wrong! With Meng Zimu's intelligence, how could he possibly beat a major villain with exceptional intelligence and emotional insight? The two of them only managed to win so smoothly because of the opportunity here~"
Jiang Ze's curiosity was thoroughly aroused. The author hadn't put much effort into the later plot, and the two protagonists' rise had gone incredibly smoothly.
To him, Meng Zhiyuan's defeat had also seemed inexplicable, as though his intelligence had been forcibly reduced.
Seeing that the system was still keeping him in suspense, he rolled his eyes.
"If you don't tell me and Shen Yun really gets this opportunity, your performance ranking among the systems is going to hit rock bottom!"
Only then did the system stop teasing him and hurriedly explain.
"Don't worry, don't worry! While filming the show, Shen Yun happened to pick up a Jade Pendant in the mountains. It can improve a person's luck. Over time, the fortune they carry will increase, too, until everything gradually starts going their way!"
Jiang Ze was surprised. Wait, wasn't this book supposed to be an ordinary modern-day urban wish-fulfillment story about putting people in their place?
"Wasn't this world supposed to be free of all that weird stuff? How can a treasure like that exist?"
"Host, I told you, this thing isn't from this world. You were chosen precisely because this world has started breaking down!"
The system seemed to realize it had said too much. No matter how closely Jiang Ze questioned it afterward, it refused to speak, so he eventually had to give up.
He would uncover this world's true secrets sooner or later. For now, though, his priority was to stop Shen Yun from building his popularity and getting that Jade Pendant.
"System, it's your time to shine. You should know where the Jade Pendant is, right? I can just go into the mountains and find it before they arrive!"
Jiang Ze thought it was a wonderful plan. If he found it in advance and cut off Shen Yun's future good luck, forces beyond his control would no longer interfere with whatever he did.
After he finished speaking, the system didn't respond as it usually did. A bad feeling stirred in him.
"Come on, system. You're not going to let me down at a crucial moment, are you?"
"Ahem. You'll have to fend for yourself, Host. The book only mentioned this part in passing. I'm afraid Shen Yun is probably the only one who knows the details..."
Jiang Ze nearly blacked out in dismay, but there was nothing he could do. He could only wait for Shen Yun to arrive and stick close to him, keeping the Jade Pendant from falling into his hands first.
After Jiang Ze had spent two days at the guesthouse, the other guests began arriving one after another.
The second to arrive was a veteran actor. The director was far more welcoming to him than he had been to Jiang Ze, exchanging plenty of pleasantries.
Only after the system gave him a quick rundown did Jiang Ze learn a little about the man.
He was a seasoned actor who had been in the entertainment industry for over twenty years. His acting was excellent, but he was also witty and humorous-a handsome older man with quite a reputation in the industry.
Jiang Ze didn't know him, and figured the man probably hadn't heard his name either. He planned to go over, say hello, and leave.
"Hey, you're that... You look familiar!"
The veteran actor's name was Chen Yong'an. Even in his forties, it was easy to see how handsome he had been in his youth.
He was looking at Jiang Ze now, racking his brains.
"I remember! You're that young man who went viral a while ago-the one someone tried to scam, only for you to end up catching a pair of human traffickers!"
Jiang Ze was a little bewildered. How had such a brief incident made him go viral?
"I just got lucky and didn't fall for their scam. I'm surprised you still remember me."
Jiang Ze was modest about it. After all, he wasn't part of the entertainment industry, so he ought to keep a low profile.
As it happened, one of Chen Yong'an's relatives had been among the onlookers that day and had posted the incident in their family group chat afterward.
They had even specifically asked whether the exceptionally handsome young man in the video was a celebrity.
Chen Yong'an hadn't known Jiang Ze back then, either. There were so many celebrities in the industry; how could he know all of them? He had just given a couple of noncommittal replies.
He hadn't expected to run into him here.
Over the next two days, a popular young actress arrived with bags upon bags of luggage and two assistants bustling around her.
Jiang Ze stared, dumbfounded. So this was what a real celebrity looked like? No wonder everyone thought I looked shabby.
The director had personally come out to welcome the popular young actress, who wore an arrogant expression.
She briefly greeted Chen Yong'an, then went upstairs with her assistants to choose a room without so much as glancing at Jiang Ze.
"These young celebrities nowadays get a little fame and forget who they are."
Chen Yong'an shook his head, his meaning clear.
Jiang Ze shrugged. He didn't care, and he was already used to it.
The remaining three guests arrived one after another: an actress with an artsy image and a male singer who cultivated the image of a rich heir.
Shen Yun, meanwhile, only made his belated appearance on the final day.
Before you continue