Chapter 5: Where Men Gather, Selfishness and Strife Abound…

[She just ate Lu Cheng’s rations like that? Does she have no shame? Does she even know what those rations mean on a deserted island?]

[Heh, I guessed it would end up like this from the start. Isn’t she always like this? Selfish to the core, acting like everyone exists just to serve her.]

[So, besides dragging Lu Cheng down today, what exactly has she done?]

[Funny you should ask. Aside from wasting Lu Cheng’s energy to find this crappy cave, she really hasn’t done a single good thing. Even the fire was lit by Lu Cheng alone.]

[Don’t be so hard on her. She did pick up some firewood, at least. Look, she even built that campfire, and she did a pretty good job of it. Doge_face.jpg]

[I won’t comment on anything else, but as a wilderness enthusiast, I have to speak up for Qiao Yitong on this one. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with how she stacked that fire. In fact, it’s perfect. The spatial structure is very stable, so you don’t have to worry about it collapsing mid-burn, and the airflow is excellent, which maximizes the flame’s intensity.]

[So she actually knows a thing or two?]

[Please, the person above must be a fan. You’re hyping her up over this? Anyone who did even a little bit of preparation or learning beforehand could do that…]

The bullet chat¹ was locked in a constant argument.

Those who didn’t want to see Qiao Yitong succeed automatically projected themselves onto Lu Cheng. Her act of accepting the rations had sparked widespread resentment.

But while the viewers bickered, the two people involved were gradually drifting off to sleep.

“Sister Tong, we’re in the wild, so someone needs to stay on watch while we sleep to guard against danger. How about you sleep first, and I’ll keep watch for you?” Lu Cheng suggested to Qiao Yitong.

In reality, his body was nearing its limit. He couldn’t help but yawn even as he spoke.

Qiao Yitong glanced at the bloodshot streaks in his eyes and said, “You sleep first.”

“What about you?”

“I’m not sleepy yet,” Qiao Yitong replied.

Lu Cheng hesitated. Out of gentlemanly courtesy, he wanted to let Qiao Yitong rest first, but his body was objectively failing to hold up.

Finally, he chose to compromise. Handing his machete to Qiao Yitong, he said, “Sister Tong, I’ll sleep for a bit then. Take this knife so you can protect yourself if anything happens. If you get tired, wake me up whenever you want. If there’s any danger or if you get scared, call me too.”

“Alright,” Qiao Yitong replied as she took the blade.

Seeing Qiao Yitong’s calm, nonchalant expression, Lu Cheng’s anxiety eased slightly.

He closed his eyes, originally intending only to take a light nap. However, the warmth radiating from the fire in the cold environment enveloped him, and the occasional crackle of burning wood served as the perfect white noise. Just like that, leaning against the stone wall, he fell into a deep sleep.

Once Lu Cheng was out, Qiao Yitong leaned back against the stone wall. Recalling the breathing techniques from her days as a Culinary Cultivator, she began attempting to awaken the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth and gather it within herself.

Spiritual Qi was the source of power for all cultivators.

For her, whether it was deconstructing ingredients on the path of a Culinary Cultivator or performing special processing on basic foodstuffs, most tasks required the support of Spiritual Power.

Especially on this Deserted Island, there were many plants she had never seen in her previous life. Some were non-toxic and edible, while others were not.

Only after she cultivated Spiritual Power could she identify edible ingredients among the many unknown plants and fruit trees.

Beyond food, possessing Spiritual Power would make everything else much more convenient.

Spiritual Power could generate fire, create water, relieve fatigue, and heal the body. In the face of danger, she could also rely on it for protection.

If she wanted to ascend again in the future, she would likewise need the support of Spiritual Power.

Therefore, the immediate priority was to cultivate Spiritual Power as quickly as possible.

Sitting cross-legged and focusing on her breathing, Qiao Yitong’s state became peaceful. To an outsider, it looked as though she had simply fallen asleep.

Only Qiao Yitong herself knew that this process was actually a way of establishing a connection with the world. Both the flames before her and the stone wall behind her became her eyes through this resonance.

Every tiny change in the external environment was transmitted to her vision with absolute precision.

In this pitch-black night, she could see more clearly than with her naked eyes. There was no need to worry about any danger approaching unnoticed.

But in the eyes of the audience, this was a major issue.

[I seriously want to start cursing. Lady, you’re in a wilderness survival situation! Didn’t you see that python earlier? You let Lu Cheng rest, and this is how you keep watch?]

[Lu Cheng must have had terrible luck for eight lifetimes² to get stuck with someone like her.]

[He deserves it. Who told him to volunteer to help Qiao Yitong? No one who gets involved with her ends up well. He brought this on himself.]

…

The night-owl viewers watched the live stream of the two of them sleeping. After some grumbling, they began to leave, their interest waning.

No one was interested in staying up late just to watch people sleep.

Just as everyone was starting to feel bored, a bullet chat message suddenly caught their attention.

[Everyone, go to the main stream quickly! Those people are tearing into each other.]

[Shocking! What happened? I’m here for the drama, let me go check it out.]

In the main live stream:

After Qiao Yitong and Lu Cheng had left, the remaining ten-person team continued their difficult trek through the Redwood Forest, trying to find a source of drinkable water.

The fact that two people had dropped out of the group right at the start of the show made Shisan, the leader, feel quite frustrated. He felt he had lost face.

This would affect the group’s overall trust and evaluation of him.

It might even affect how the viewers watching the show perceived him.

Under the weight of his irritation, combined with the exhaustion of leading so many novices, his patience was rapidly declining.

“Everyone, pick up the pace. Stop dawdling and looking around or worrying about your image. Our water resources are already critical. If we die of thirst because we’re being slow, everything will be for nothing,” Shisan said, his voice raspy from commanding everyone along the way.

In the sweltering air, he sounded restless and anxious.

Jing Xueqin felt a sting of embarrassment at being singled out.

As an idol, maintaining his image had become second nature, but he didn’t feel like he was dragging the team down.

He could only voice this protest in his head, not daring to speak it aloud.

He was painfully aware of his own survival skills. If he actually offended Shisan and got kicked out of the group, he wouldn’t last seven days in a place like this.

Peppa Lamb followed closely behind Shisan, machete in hand, occasionally swinging it to hack through the redwood branches blocking their path.

He looked like the type who just quietly got the job done.

Having built his fame on tearing others down, he knew exactly what kind of persona was most likable in a survival variety show.

At the same time, he was already plotting how to use what had just happened to launch a new round of attacks against Qiao Yitong.

Why target her so relentlessly?

Ha, what else could it be but money?

He didn’t know which titan Qiao Yitong had offended, but he knew that as long as he produced videos attacking her that gained enough traction, an anonymous benefactor would deposit a massive sum into his account.

They even encouraged him to keep going, promising that if he could completely ruin her reputation, there would be plenty more rewards coming his way.

Since he was making videos anyway, attacking anyone else didn’t come with perks like that.

“Ah!” Another cry of alarm rang out, making everyone jump and look over.

“Lamb, what the hell are you doing? You almost hacked my leg!” shouted the influencer standing not far from Peppa Lamb.

Still shaken, his tone was anything but friendly.

Exhaustion and thirst had worn everyone’s patience thin.

Coupled with the fact that he had nearly lost a leg to a teammate, his fear quickly boiled over into rage.

Peppa Lamb was already exhausted from maintaining his “hardworking” persona. Hearing this, his instinct was to unleash his inner internet troll and start cursing, but he remembered that every move was being watched by the cameras and held back.

“Sorry, I guess I just didn’t notice.”

“What’s with that ‘whatever’ attitude? If I hadn’t moved fast, you would’ve hit my leg! We don’t have medical supplies here. Are you trying to kill me?” the influencer yelled.

The pent-up emotions from hunger and fatigue exploded in that instant. Peppa Lamb became the lightning rod, and the influencer let him have it.

Peppa Lamb’s patience snapped after just a few words. “I said I’m sorry, sorry, sorry! Is that enough? What else do you want? Here, take the machete. You want to hack me back? I’ve been working my ass off up here clearing the path for you lot. If I wasn’t cutting these branches, do you think you’d be walking this easily? Ungrateful brat.”

“Who are you calling a brat!” the influencer fumed.

“I’m calling a dog a dog,” Peppa Lamb snapped back, his tongue as sharp as ever.

One crisis after another.

Shisan sighed. Leading such a large group was hard enough, but now they were bickering again over nothing. It made him want to start swearing too.

However, he knew that if a conflict broke out before the team had even stabilized, they were all finished.

He swallowed his irritation to mediate. “Alright, that’s enough. Lamb, it was your fault for almost hitting him. I’ll apologize on your behalf. How about you walk behind me for a bit? Lamb’s had it rough too; this is hard physical labor. We’ve come this far, and we have to support each other for a whole month. Let’s try to be a bit more understanding.”

Since Shisan had spoken, both men backed down to save face³ and stopped arguing.

But after the heated exchange, the group’s momentum had vanished.

Someone from the back voiced a concern. “Brother Shisan, how much longer are we going to search? It’s getting late. If we keep going like this, what’s the plan for tonight? Where are we sleeping?”

“Exactly. There’s nowhere to even lie down and rest out here. It’s all mud. Thinking back, that beach was better. It didn’t have resources and the environment was mediocre, but at least we could sleep.”

“If we keep going forward, we might not find water and we won’t even make it back to the beach before dark.”

“And there are wild animals here. Snakes and who knows what else comes out at night?”

“I think the priority should be getting back to the starting beach as fast as possible before it gets dark.”

“Then what about water? Without water, we’ll all die of thirst pretty soon.”

“What about distilling seawater?”

“Easy for you to say. Do you have distillation equipment?”

“I think we need to adjust the plan. Having everyone move together like this is a waste of manpower. It’s a fool’s errand.”

“So you mean you go back and rest while the rest of us keep looking for water?”

…

The air was filled with a chaotic jumble of voices.

Where there are many men, there is much selfishness and strife. As the bickering continued, Shisan, standing at the front, was starting to regret joining this variety show.

With nearly ten years of wilderness survival experience, he had thought this show would be easy. He had come here to make a fortune and boost his exposure and fame.

But who could have known it would be this difficult right from the start?

Listening to the disjointed arguments of the group, he suppressed the urge to scream and spoke up to stop them. “Everyone, stop arguing and listen to me!”

Translator’s Notes