Chapter 1: She Refuses to Accept This

Deep within the boundless Redwood Forest.

The humid, sweltering air felt like a wet cloth soaked in boiling water, wrapping tightly around everyone. With every breath, one could almost feel the moisture saturating their lungs.

Sticky sweat seeped through clothing as the group moved through the undergrowth, their breathing growing heavier. Within this Redwood Forest of twisted roots and gnarled branches, their footsteps became increasingly frantic.

“Watch out!”

Following a sharp cry of alarm, a man reacted with lightning speed, hurling the machete in his hand.

The blade thudded heavily into the ground. Beneath the surrounding layer of withered leaves, a python as thick as a man’s arm cast a cold, predatory glance toward them before slithering away rapidly right before their eyes.

The group froze in place almost simultaneously. Cold sweat broke out across their backs, and their scalps tingled with dread.

They were not a team of explorers.

They were simply twelve celebrities and influencers who, for various reasons, had come to participate in this “life-risking” survival variety show.

Just twenty minutes ago, they had lost their final opportunity to back out.

The words the director had spoken before they set out still seemed to echo in their ears.

“Please pay attention. What follows are the rules and precautions for our program, ‘Island Survival.’ I hope everyone present listens carefully, because these rules could threaten your life at any moment.”

Standing on the beach, the director adjusted his baseball cap to block out the sun.

It also served to hide the cold indifference in his eyes.

“First, this variety show is a survival challenge unlike any seen before. It is a simulation of real-world survival to the highest degree. There is no script; everything is real.”

“Second, in this survival challenge, there is a possibility that anyone could lose their life. Stepping onto this island means you have signed a contract – a life-and-death covenant. The production crew will not be responsible for your safety. The only ones who can save you are yourselves and each other.”

“Third, there are no camera crews following you for this program. This island is divided into three sections. We have achieved full camera coverage in Area A and Area B. Our team attempted to explore Area C, but due to the excessively complex terrain and the presence of wild beasts that cannot be countered by human strength, the cameras do not cover it entirely. If anyone truly wishes to explore there and wants to be seen, you will need to use handheld GoPros to film yourselves. Of course, we strongly advise against going there. Two of our staff members are currently lying in the hospital because they tried to scout that area.”

…

“Fifth, today is your only chance to withdraw. Once the show begins and the staff departs, no one will be allowed to leave. You must remain for a full month before we return to collect you.”

…

“Thirteenth…” The director took a step back, gazing at the group with a detached expression. “Now, I will give you time to consider. Anyone who wishes to withdraw may do so now.”

The director’s cold expression and gaze sent a sudden chill through the twelve participants.

The threat of death descended tangibly upon everyone. Despite the midday sun beating down, they felt the hair on their arms stand up as a wave of cold washed over them.

Though the words were clear and harsh, the director knew no one would quit.

Because everyone here had a reason they had to participate in this show.

Some were here for money, some for fame.

Some even hoped to use such an extreme variety show to whitewash¹ their tarnished reputations.

Men die for wealth just as birds die for food². When extreme profit and temptation are dangled in front of them, people truly will gamble their lives for it.

That is human nature.

After waiting for a full ten minutes, no one withdrew.

“Very well, the time for consideration is up. No one has withdrawn. You are all very brave people,” the director said, checking his watch.

The praise lasted less than three seconds before he lowered his voice, sounding like a whispering demon. “Of course, I also believe that in the days to come, you will regret today’s bravery.”

A collective shiver ran through the group once more.

Naturally, this scene was being broadcast simultaneously to audiences around the world.

On major live-streaming platforms across various countries, viewers watching this scene were flooding the screens with comments in their respective languages.

• This director is too much. Just a few words and nothing has even happened yet, but my hair is standing on end. –

• Give me a break. Variety shows these days are all about creating fake mystery. How many of them claim to be ‘real survival’ where you might die, but how does it end? It’s all scripted. –

• Actually, this one really isn’t scripted. The production team was afraid of legal trouble, so this show isn’t even registered in China. The filming location is a private island in the Eastern Pacific. I know this director; if he emphasizes that people might die, he’s serious. Someone really might die by the time this show is over. –

• Is that true? If it is, then I pray Qiao Yitong dies on this show. –

• +1. I bet Qiao Yitong will be the first name on the death list. –

• I actually think Qiao Yitong is quite clever. Land is so expensive these days, yet she picked out such a nice cemetery for herself so early on. –

• I don’t think she’ll necessarily die here. After all, she knows how to use her ‘physical resources.’ She climbed her way up through casting couch scandals before. If there’s a real life-and-death crisis, it’s not impossible she’ll trade her body to other guests for resources. –

• Yoooooo, here for the drama! This is the benefit of not broadcasting on Chinese platforms. This show is rated 21+, and since it’s a dead-zone-free live stream of the whole island, do we have a chance to see Qiao Yitong star in an adult film? –

• With her looks, if she really goes into that industry later, I’d be willing to buy her videos! –

…

• You’re all talking about this person named Qiao Yitong. I’m from Country G. Who is Qiao Yitong? She seems very popular, but everyone seems to hate her. –

Who was Qiao Yitong?

At this moment, let alone the online audience, even Qiao Yitong herself was pondering that very question.

She originally lived in a world known as the Wasteland. In that world, the earth was parched, crisscrossed by deep, jagged cracks. Dust choked the air, branches were withered and dry, and the world was a hazy gray without a single speck of green. Everywhere was filled with the despair of fading life.

By a stroke of luck, she encountered her master during her helpless childhood.

Her master taught her to seek the Dao through the culinary arts³, allowing her to glimpse the secrets of heaven. After years of arduous cultivation, she finally earned her chance to ascend.

However, midway through her ascension, she was caught in a chaotic spatial turbulence. When she opened her eyes again, she had arrived in this vibrant world.

There was warm sunlight, fresh seawater, and lush green vegetation as far as the eye could see.

Her identity had also changed.

She was no longer the Culinary Cultivator⁴ possessed of immortal power, capable of summoning clouds and rain with a wave of her hand.

Instead, she was Qiao Yitong, a pathetic little starlet in this world’s entertainment industry who was loathed by everyone.

The reason she was called pathetic was due to her experiences in the industry.

With no background to speak of, she had been scouted for her sweet and pure looks and brought into the entertainment world.

Just as her career began to take off, she was targeted by an anonymous, powerful investor.

Driven by greed, her manager conspired with those people.

One day, during a business dinner, they got her drunk and left her in a hotel room to be used as a tool to bribe a big shot.

The young Qiao Yitong woke up to a terrifying scene.

The second son of her agency’s owner had his pants down, his hideous body approaching her.

In her terror, she summoned every ounce of strength to grab a desk lamp beside her and smashed it against him.

The young master let out a cry of pain and collapsed to the floor, curled up like a shrimp.

Qiao Yitong took the opportunity to stumble out of the hotel room. But as she passed the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of another dark figure inside.

She didn’t have time to see the person’s face, but her instincts told her it was a middle-aged man in his forties, someone very powerful.

Her manager hadn’t just sent her as a gift to the company’s second son; there was a third person involved.

At nineteen years old, alone and helpless, she had nearly been gang-raped.

After escaping that nightmare of a room, she thought the ordeal was over, but she never imagined it was only the beginning.

From that day on, her career and life were subjected to relentless suppression.

Under their schemes, she became a woman who would climb into a boss’s bed to get ahead, a diva who acted out on set, a backstabber to her former agency, and a person of low moral character in the eyes of the public.

Her voice was too small to be heard. She wanted to call the police, but she had no evidence.

She tried to work hard, but sudden problems arose with her contract. Not only was she blacklisted, but she also found herself mysteriously owing the company a massive debt. Until the debt was paid, she was trapped by the company, her credit ruined, and her spending restricted.

Slanderous rumors spread everywhere. With people intentionally stirring up trouble, she was painted as a wicked, heinous criminal.

She was vilified across the internet. Whenever someone posted a video cursing her, it inevitably sparked a collective celebration.

It was as if she were a sinner against the entire world.

Yet even in such an environment, her will remained stubborn. She longed for the day justice would arrive, and she worked tirelessly to find evidence, wanting nothing more than to see the company’s second son and that mysterious man receive the punishment they deserved.

But…

Before she could get her hands on the evidence, she was marked as a thorn in their side. That mysterious person wanted her gone.

Word got out that a director was planning a Survival Variety Show. This show would place people in truly desperate situations, and it was noted in the filings that there was a risk of accidental death.

Those people set a trap in plain sight⁵, giving her a reason she couldn’t refuse to participate in the show.

She knew the man’s goal was her death. Dead people don’t talk.

If she died, no one would ever investigate what happened that night, and they could sleep soundly.

But she also knew that she had absolutely no survival experience. Her body had been broken and weakened over the years, and she truly couldn’t survive thirty days of hardship on a Deserted Island.

She really was going to die.

She would become the one to fill the death quota in the show’s records.

The moment she stepped into this Redwood Forest, she realized this.

Qiao Yitong felt a wave of desolation in her heart.

She was twenty-two this year. What should have been the most brilliant years of her life had been spent enduring daily abuse and threats.

She hadn’t yet seen the beautiful scenery of this world.

She hadn’t found out who that man in the hotel was.

She hadn’t brought the villains to justice.

She… had never felt what it was like to be loved.

Was her life really going to end like this?

She was unwilling.

Whether it was the heavens, gods, ghosts, or anything else, could someone please help her? Could someone seek justice for her, wash away the filth thrown upon her, and clear her name?

No matter who it was, she begged. In exchange, she would give her life, her soul, her everything!

And then.

She arrived.

The top-tier Culinary Cultivator who had crawled out of a pile of corpses, Qiao Yitong.

With this brand-new identity, she became this tragic, pathetic girl.

Feeling the pain and resentment that still lingered in her chest, Qiao Yitong sighed softly to herself.

Since she was here, she would naturally do her best to fulfill the wish the girl had made in her final moments.

Qiao Yitong began to assess her current situation.

Translator’s Notes