Late at night, the lights in the cottage gradually dimmed.
But the tent outside the cottage was brightly lit.
The director sat cross-legged on a little folding stool, his expression solemn and grave. His most capable staff sat before him.
A tense atmosphere filled the tent.
"What's the situation?" the director asked in a low voice.
"Boss, our production team owes Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan's team another 3,000 yuan. We're now 6,000 yuan in debt altogether." The assistant director's eyes held a bitter look.
The director's eyelids twitched furiously at his words.
The director and his staff stayed up the entire night.
At the first glimmer of dawn, Pei Yanchuan quietly got out of bed, picked up his phone, and walked to the window to make a call.
The call connected after only a few seconds of ringing.
"How's the investigation going?" On the very first night, Pei Yanchuan had received a message from his assistant saying someone had hired paid trolls to sway public opinion.
"Mr. Pei, we've traced it to the source. It was Miss Pei Yan. According to our investigation, your grandfather has already put pressure on her, and she's been much better behaved these past two days."
Pei Yanchuan curled his fingers slightly and tapped them against the window frame.
"Get ready. It's time to close the net." Pei Yanchuan's voice was icy.
"Yes, sir."
After hanging up, Pei Yanchuan returned to bed and began today's wake-up service.
Hearing Pei Yanchuan's voice, Xu Wang plastered himself against him again.
Pei Yanchuan had grown quite accustomed to Xu Wang's octopus technique. He even enjoyed it a little.
A while later, Xu Wang woke up completely and sat on the bed in a daze.
After leaving their room, Xu Wang and Pei Yanchuan found the other teams' guests already seated at the dining table.
Perhaps the production team had found its conscience today, because it had actually taken the initiative to provide breakfast for the guests, with quite a wide selection, too.
Xu Wang leisurely sipped the milk in his glass.
Just as everyone had more or less finished breakfast, the assistant director suddenly charged in with a group of people.
The assistant director wore a gray tank top, dark green cargo pants, and a pair of sunglasses. "Mr. Xu, Mr. Qin, Mr. Xia, Mr. Zhong, and Mr. Yun, please come with us."
Xu Wang and the others had barely registered what was happening before a group of people surrounded them.
[What's going on?]
[The production team's getting pretty wild!]
[The husband team: someone's stealing our wives!]
[Fight! Fight!]
[Hahahaha, nothing's too much when you're just here for the drama (〃'▽'〃)]
The assistant director led Xu Wang and the others out, leaving men in black to keep a close watch on the remaining alphas.
"Holy crap, I actually get to be part of a 'kidnapping' plot! This is so exciting! Hou, you've got to come rescue me!" Xia Yu showed no fear at being captured. Instead, his voice brimmed with excitement.
In a rare moment of speechlessness, Hou Yunqi covered his face.
"Gu Yunlan, you can find me last, but if there's so much as one coin missing from your wallet, just wait till I tan your hide." Qin Huai looked at Gu Yunlan.
Gu Yunlan instinctively covered his pocket.
Zhong Ran looked at Leng Yifan fearfully. "Yifan, save me..."
Leng Yifan was so angry that he tried to shove aside the man in black in front of him.
"Wang, wait for me. I'll be quick." Pei Yanchuan's gaze was full of danger and determination as he looked at Xu Wang.
Pei Yanchuan fully unleashed the presence of a top-tier alpha. In an instant, his powerful aura pressed down on everyone, leaving them struggling to breathe.
The assistant director was also an alpha, and his legs trembled as he stood in Pei Yanchuan's way.
The little figure inside the assistant director's mind was spraying tears everywhere. Boss, this idea of yours has really screwed me over...
Xu Wang was being pulled toward the door when he heard this and stopped dead, nearly toppling the staff member ahead of him.
In disbelief, the staff members pulled harder, but Xu Wang didn't budge. They began questioning everything. The two of them were betas, yet together they weren't even as strong as one Omega.
Xu Wang turned and gave Pei Yanchuan a reassuring look.
Things went fairly smoothly with those four, but Yun Xi was proving difficult.
"Wait, fine, you're taking them, but why are you taking me? There's no one to rescue me!" Yun Xi clung to the doorframe and refused to let go.
"I'm the tour guide you hired! I'm on your team! Why should we turn on our own?" Two staff members carried Yun Xi out of the cottage by his legs.
"Don't worry, Mr. Yun. You're just going somewhere else to rest."
"Like hell I'd believe you!"
[Yun Xi has to be the unluckiest tour guide in history, bar none.]
[Yun Xi: is no one really going to shell out for me?]
[Hahahahaha, Yun Xi's definitely a funny guy.]
[Production team, give us back our gentle little schemer! Do you think it was easy for our little schemer to make it this far?]
[Girls, I spotted something! Get your magnifying glasses and rewind one minute. Wifey Xu Wang is definitely hiding his strength!]
[Saw it, saw it! Thanks to the production staff for the meme.]
[(Meme: does this look right to you?)]
[Saved it, saved it.]
Xu Wang was taken to a small pavilion connected to the riverbank by a single path.
Looking at the two men in black nearby, a bold idea surfaced in Xu Wang's mind.
Meanwhile, back at the cottage, the assistant director only stepped away from the door behind him after receiving word that everything was ready.
"Everyone, today's theme is searching for your missing partners. The production team has set up several challenge locations around the village. Complete a challenge, and you'll receive the corresponding clue. Of course, you can also use Money Power to buy clues." As the assistant director delivered that last sentence, a greedy smile spread across his face.
"How much?" Hou Yunqi was the first to ask.
"That'll be 1,000 per clue." The assistant director happily held up one finger.
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