Chapter 4: Cheating

Amidst the chorus of laughter, there were always those who sought to spoil the mood.

• This Qiao Yitong really doesn’t know what’s good for her. Lu Cheng is a content creator with a million followers; his willingness to follow her is a compliment. Not only is she ungrateful, she even called him noisy. Who does she think she is, acting so high and mighty? –

• I used to think this weapon streamer was interesting, but I didn’t expect him to be willing to walk with Qiao Yitong, even claiming to be her fan. It seems they’re birds of a feather. I can already see how this ends for him. Even if he dies here with her, he deserves it. –

• Exactly. If Qiao Yitong wants to leave, let her. Why did he have to follow her just to act different? Walking with Qiao Yitong, I won’t be surprised no matter how miserable they end up. –

• I can’t believe Lu Cheng is a fan of Qiao Yitong. To think I actually liked him before. Unfollowed on the spot. –

…

No one had high hopes for this two-person team.

One reason was that neither of them had any wilderness survival experience. Creating basic survival conditions would likely be a struggle for them, let alone handling the various emergencies that could arise at any moment on this Deserted Island.

The second reason was that Lu Cheng was only a nineteen-year-old youth. Although he was at an age of physical vigor and had a bit of life experience, he would be lucky to take care of himself. How could he possibly look after someone like Qiao Yitong, who seemed incapable of basic self-care?

Among the viewers watching their split-screen broadcast, the kinder ones hoped the two would realize their mistake and quickly return to the main group to apologize and rejoin, if only to save their lives.

Those looking for drama, however, were hoping for another python to appear in front of them immediately.

They had seen enough of Qiao Yitong’s “forced calm.”

They couldn’t wait for a crisis to strike and tear away her mask of composure and pretense.

After being bluntly rebuked by Qiao Yitong, Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment before accepting the correction with good grace. “Alright, Sister Tong.”

“So, Sister Tong, what should we do next?” he asked, following her lead.

“Shelter,” Qiao Yitong said.

The harsher the environment, the more one needed a shelter where they could rest.

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow and voiced his doubt. “Don’t we need to find a water source first?”

“No,” Qiao Yitong replied.

Lu Cheng opened his mouth to speak but hesitated.

Those two words sparked another round of debate.

• Does this woman have any common sense at all? You don’t look for water first at a time like this? Isn’t she afraid of dying from dehydration? –

• If I remember correctly, she only has three bottles of water. She drank one on the way, so she only has two left. Lu Cheng has five bottles and some dry rations. She isn’t planning on drinking his water, is she? –

• I don’t understand her, and I don’t respect her. –

Qiao Yitong didn’t know what everyone was saying, nor did she know what Lu Cheng was thinking.

Even if she did, she wouldn’t have bothered to explain.

As Qiao Yitong walked, she rapidly memorized the surrounding environment. Though she seemed to be wandering aimlessly, everything around her was being etched into her mind.

The orientation of the trees, the direction of the branches, and the tracks left by animals on the leaves or the ground were all providing her with information about the Deserted Island.

If the rules of life in both worlds were the same, then by continuing in this direction, they should reach a beach perfectly suited for a shelter in about a day and a half.

For the next month, she would use that beach as a base and explore outward.

Lu Cheng, who had been chatting incessantly when he first arrived, had gradually grown quiet.

His expression held a trace of hesitation, clearly showing that he was more shaken now than when he first followed her.

It was true that he was a fan of Qiao Yitong. When everyone was jumping on the bandwagon to say there was something wrong with her, his intuition told him she was being framed.

That was why he was quite happy to have close contact with her on this variety show.

He was also curious about what kind of person Qiao Yitong really was.

Was she truly as stupid and wicked as the internet claimed, or were those malicious comments simply the result of her offending someone she shouldn’t have?

On a Deserted Island, he had to be responsible for his own life.

Partnering with a bad person wasn’t that terrifying, but partnering with a stupid person could truly lead to his downfall.

But they had already come this far; it wasn’t realistic to go back and find the main group now.

Moreover, even if Qiao Yitong really was stupid, he couldn’t bring himself to leave such a person alone, facing constant danger and the possibility of being buried on this isolated island.

Lu Cheng gritted his teeth.

He would wait and see a little longer.

The supplies he had obtained were enough for two people to survive for two days without an issue. He would stick it out with her through today. If there was still no hope by tomorrow morning, he would take back the role of commander.

No matter what, the first priority was for both of them to stay alive.

They spent another half-day trekking forward.

Qiao Yitong could already feel her body aching and her calves growing sore.

This weak, battered body had reached its limit.

Currently, she didn’t have a shred of Spiritual Power in her body; she couldn’t even use it to repair her physical form.

She looked around. They had reached the heart of Area A. Now that night had fallen, the air lacked the humid heat of the Redwood Forest they had been in earlier, replaced by a cool breeze with a hint of a chill.

There were small, rising hills nearby, a terrain completely different from before.

Qiao Yitong scanned the area and spotted a place where two protruding hills pressed against each other, forming a triangular, cave-like opening.

“Go over there,” Qiao Yitong said, pointing toward the cave.

“We’re staying here?” Lu Cheng asked. If they had spent such an exhausting day only to find a place like this, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed.

“Mm,” Qiao Yitong nodded.

For tonight, at least.

Lu Cheng’s lips moved, but in the end, he held back and said nothing more.

The two walked a bit further and arrived in front of the cave.

The location of the cave was actually quite good. Likely because it had rained recently, the stone walls around the entrance had been washed clean.

Qiao Yitong moved to step inside, but Lu Cheng reached out to stop her. “Wait a moment. Let me go in first.”

Who knew what might be lurking inside the cave? If there was something like that python from before, what would happen if Qiao Yitong rushed in and got hurt?

He was a man, after all, and he had a weapon in his hand.

Lu Cheng took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the machete.

He edged forward cautiously, step by step, holding the machete out in front of him. The small flashlight on his person finally proved its worth as he shone the beam into the cave.

After a quick scout, Lu Cheng let out a sigh of relief.

“Sister Tong, the cave is safe. Come on in.”

Qiao Yitong looked at Lu Cheng, her eyes lowering slightly.

The man’s habits and actions proved that he was, at the very least, not a bad person.

Coming from the Wasteland¹, her personal code had always been to return exactly what others gave her.

Regardless of Lu Cheng’s motives, she was willing to lend him a hand when they encountered danger, simply because of what he was doing now.

Of course, this alone wasn’t enough for her to completely lower her guard.

The two of them did a quick sweep of the cave. Since this was Deserted Island Survival², there was no point in being picky; they simply sat down directly on the ground.

“Sister Tong, what should we do next?” Lu Cheng asked.

“Rest for a bit, then gather dry wood,” Qiao Yitong replied.

Temperatures in the mountains would plummet at night. Neither of them had extra clothing, and if they had to endure a night of biting cold, their bodies wouldn’t be able to handle it.

This decision made Lu Cheng feel a bit more at ease.

Though he hadn’t understood her previous actions, he knew that in a place like this, a fire was undoubtedly the source of life.

After a brief rest, Qiao Yitong stood up to search for dry wood outside.

Lu Cheng hurried to follow her.

There were some dried leaves scattered inside the cave that were highly flammable, which immediately made the task of starting a fire much easier.

As long as they could find enough dry wood to last the night, surviving until morning wouldn’t be too difficult.

About twenty minutes later, the two returned carrying bundles of firewood.

Qiao Yitong took the wood from Lu Cheng’s hands and piled it with her own. After some quick maneuvering, she had a campfire structure built.

At the very bottom of the pile, she placed a heap of the flammable dry leaves from the cave.

She placed another pile of dry leaves beside the fire pit and stared at it blankly.

Now they had wood, but how were they going to start the fire?

In the past, when she encountered such a situation, she would simply extend a finger and convert a bit of Spiritual Power into a flame.

But now…

Forget it. She would have to go back to the most primitive method: drilling wood to make fire³.

Qiao Yitong began selecting pieces of wood suitable for friction.

“Sister Tong, move aside. Let me do it,” Lu Cheng said.

Qiao Yitong looked up and stepped back a short distance.

She watched as Lu Cheng began tugging at his jacket. With a faint ripping sound, he tore a small hole in the lining of his double-layered coat.

Qiao Yitong was confused.

The next moment, she saw Lu Cheng reach into the jacket’s lining and pull out two small, silver-grey metallic stones. He then picked up two regular rocks from the ground.

A smug grin appeared on his face. “These are my homemade flints. I hid them in the lining of my clothes. The production crew didn’t find them during the inspection.”

He had known before coming to the island that making fire was essential.

As lazy as he was, there was no way he was going to drill wood for fire.

So, he had prepared these homemade flints in advance and sewn them into his clothes, successfully escaping detection.

The directors couldn’t do anything about it now anyway. They couldn’t exactly air-drop in just to confiscate them.

Even if they did, it was too late!

It was already night, and even with high-end recording equipment, the two figures on the screen were somewhat blurry.

However, that didn’t stop Lu Cheng’s words from reaching the ears of the viewers in the Live Stream Room⁴ with perfect clarity.

Immediately, the comments exploded.

• ??? I’m full of question marks. Lu Cheng, you’re something else! –

• Well, thanks to you, if there’s a next season, the director is going to make everyone strip naked and change into special outfits provided by the show before they set foot on the island. –

• Hahaha, I want to know what the director is thinking right now. Does he want to throw Lu Cheng out? –

• Qiao Yitong is really riding Lu Cheng’s coattails here. She’s getting a free ride. –

…

Lu Cheng placed the flint on one of the rocks, spread the dry leaves underneath, and struck the flint with the other rock.

Bang, bang, bang-

After only three strikes, a flame leaped up.

“Quick, quick!” Lu Cheng scooped up the burning leaves and tucked them under the wood Qiao Yitong had arranged.

The two of them watched the fire until, three minutes later, it was burning steadily.

Lu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and flashed a smile at Qiao Yitong. “There. Unless someone pours a bucket of water on it, it shouldn’t go out. We won’t freeze to death tonight.”

“Mm,” Qiao Yitong responded quietly.

They sat by the fire. After trekking for an entire day, the warmth of the flames brought them a strange sense of peace and relaxation.

Lu Cheng glanced up at Qiao Yitong.

She wasn’t what he had imagined. Everyone said Qiao Yitong was high-maintenance and delicate.

One of the biggest black marks⁵ against her was her “diva” behavior; people claimed that no matter the occasion, she always acted like a little princess who expected everyone to revolve around her.

But after spending the day with her, Lu Cheng didn’t find her delicate at all.

They had walked the same path.

His legs were aching, yet Qiao Yitong hadn’t uttered a single word of complaint.

She was quiet and reserved.

Combined with her porcelain-doll features, the bit of dirt and soot on her face actually made her seem more likable.

Someone like her should naturally be well-liked by everyone.

Why, then, was the abuse directed at her so overwhelming and one-sided?

Lost in thought and physically exhausted, Lu Cheng spoke subconsciously. “You…”

Qiao Yitong looked toward him.

With the words on the tip of his tongue, Lu Cheng suddenly felt that asking would be offensive and rude, so he swallowed them back down.

He smiled. “Are you hungry? I have some rations here.”

As he spoke, he pulled a pack of Compressed Biscuits from his bag and handed them to Qiao Yitong.

Qiao Yitong hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take them.

“Thank you,” she said.

In a place like the Wasteland or a Deserted Island, food was undoubtedly the most precious resource of all.

There had been a time when she endured starvation, even coming close to death. She understood the importance of food better than anyone.

In a time when both were short on supplies, his willingness to share his own rations was an act of kindness she would never forget.

While a single pack of food wasn’t enough to earn him her absolute trust, it was enough for a promise.

At the very least, during their month on this island, she wouldn’t let Lu Cheng go hungry.

Both of them had made their own silent calculations and thought nothing more of the exchange.

But the moment Qiao Yitong unwrapped the Compressed Biscuits and took a bite, the comments in the Live Stream Room exploded once again.

Translator’s Notes