Chapter 38: Can I Take Big Orange With Me?

Night lay heavy over the deserted island.

By now, the sky had turned completely dark, and a profound silence reigned. On an island this vast, even the sudden arrival of several uninvited guests would go unnoticed.

Led by Director Song, a group of production staff accompanied by a team of professionals stepped onto the island under the cover of darkness. This place had become exceptionally lively of late.

They made their landing from the side of the island, bypassing everyone else’s known locations to remain completely undetected.

The directors sitting in the monitoring room naturally provided cover for them, tracking the signal locations of Qiao Yitong and the others while keeping the landing party informed of whether they had drawn any attention.

In this manner, the group rustled through the undergrowth with their sophisticated equipment. They reached a spot a certain distance from Qiao Yitong’s camp—far enough to avoid discovery—and began to set up. If anything truly went wrong over there, as long as they could delay the situation for five minutes, the rescue team could arrive immediately. This was the solution they had reached after a collective meeting. Rather than hoping Qiao Yitong would send the tiger away, they preferred to trust in their own rescue capabilities.

“Everyone, move carefully. Don’t make a sound,” Director Song whispered to the staff beside him after they landed.

One of the selling points of their show was that the production team would never interfere, leaving everything to the guests’ own performance. If they were discovered now, it would be a slap in their own faces.

The group nodded in silent agreement. They moved with practiced ease, quickly pitching tents in a hidden corner and using natural foliage as camouflage. Once inside, they maintained a high level of professional discipline. Everyone spoke in hushed breaths, terrified that a stray noise might give them away in the quiet night.

Once the camp was established, the night grew deeper.

Director Song breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw that they had completed all preparations without being detected.

Sitting inside the tent, he rubbed his temples tiredly and let out another soft sigh.

Qiao Yitong’s presence had been the greatest variable he had ever encountered.

As Director Song recalled the events of the past few days, his expression became dazed.

Thinking back, his original motivation for creating this show had stemmed from an argument and a bet with an old friend.

They had debated the inherent nature of humanity—whether it was good or evil. Each held his ground, neither willing to concede. They had argued for nearly a day and a night without reaching a conclusion.

He firmly believed that humans were born evil. From the moment of birth, base instincts were rooted in the heart. All kindness was learned later in life—instincts acquired to better survive and integrate into society.

But his old friend disagreed. He insisted that humans were born good. Every person entered the world with benevolent intentions; the so-called base instincts and vices were changes forced upon them by later experiences or the necessity of self-protection.

Their examples ranged from biology to philosophy, using real-world incidents as evidence. In the end, neither could convince the other.

As the argument reached a fever pitch, his friend had slammed the table and said, “Then let’s conduct an experiment.”

He had asked, “What kind of experiment?”

The friend replied, “You just said that people only perform kind acts because their environment hasn’t threatened them yet. When a person is driven to a corner, placed in a crisis, or caught between life and death—that is when their true nature is revealed. So, let’s do it. We’ll gather a group of people as samples, put them on a deserted island, and see how it ends.”

It was a mad idea, but it instantly sparked something in Director Song’s mind. He looked up, thought it over, and answered, “Fine.” He wanted to know the answer too.

And so, the two of them spent a year planning and designing this experiment.

First was the location.

The experiment was cruel. To get the most authentic answer, there could be no outside intervention.

They had to make every guest believe that no one could help them except themselves and each other.

Therefore, the location had to be an area they could not control—somewhere unfamiliar and devoid of any sense of security.

As it happened, his wealthy friend owned such a private island. The island had resources, but they were extremely limited—certainly not abundant. At most, they were just enough to barely sustain life.

With a dozen people living there under a scarcity of resources, conflicts would inevitably erupt over distribution.

When placed in a dangerous environment, their mental state would become fragile. Faced with problems in resource allocation and a lack of physical energy, they would lose the strength to manage their emotions. Their truest selves would inevitably be exposed.

Thus, it was a perfect site.

Once the location was chosen, the next step was selecting the people.

The selection process was also very specific.

They couldn’t choose people with extraordinary survival skills, like Ed Stafford or Bear Grylls. The experience of those two alone would be enough to carry the entire team.

But they couldn’t choose people with zero experience either, for fear that the group might drop dead from eating something poisonous before the show even officially began.

So they settled on Shisan.

Based on a comprehensive evaluation, he was someone with some experience, but not enough to dominate the environment.

Then came the selection of the guests.

Considering that everyone would be cautious and put on an act in front of the cameras, they couldn’t just pull a group of ordinary people for the experiment.

They needed people with more potential for conflict and drama.

At the time, his friend had asked, “In all your years as a director, who have you found to be the most controversial?”

Most controversial…

Director Song’s mind immediately went to Qiao Yitong.

This top-tier star, who had exploded in popularity upon her debut, had fallen from grace almost overnight.

Scandal after scandal had broken, a never-ending stream of negative press.

With the sharp intuition of a director, he felt that Qiao Yitong had a story to tell. She was highly controversial, fitting his selection criteria perfectly.

So, the basic composition of the team had been decided.

The team was built around Qiao Yitong as the primary source of conflict.

The first person he noticed was Jing Xueqin, a top-tier idol. The two of them already had some history of romantic rumors manufactured for publicity.

Then there was Peppa Lamb, the most notorious hater among Qiao Yitong’s massive anti-fan base. He was relentless, churning out smear pieces at a rate of at least one per month.

Putting these two together was bound to create sparks.

But having enemies wasn’t enough; she needed supporters as well.

His gaze immediately locked onto Lu Cheng. Back when Qiao Yitong was drowning in scandals, he was the one who publicly stated: “I don’t know the full story, so I won’t say much. However, my opinion remains unchanged. I like the characters she plays and I admire her talent.”

Once these key players were set, the remaining slots were chosen by him and his friend together.

They selected suitable candidates from a mountain of resumes to form a thirteen-person team. Once the contracts were signed, they arrived on this island.

He had originally thought everything would go according to his plan.

Shortly after arriving on the island, their resources would run out, and they would have to rely on their own abilities to find more.

During this process, Qiao Yitong, who likely wouldn’t be much help, would trigger the first wave of controversy.

But who could have imagined that his script wouldn’t even last half a day.

The first wave of conflict did come quickly.

But what about the result of that conflict?

Qiao Yitong just straight up left the team?

Was that even logical?

Fine, leaving was one thing, but finding supplies after leaving should have been a problem, right?

She would have to rely on Lu Cheng, wouldn’t she?

Would a man who originally defended her maintain that attitude after being repeatedly ordered around by her?

He had been looking forward to that, but what happened instead?

She used intuition to find a beach that he estimated would take others at least ten days to reach?

Splitting coconuts with her bare hands?

Stabbing fish in the sea?

Was any of this reasonable?

Every single action Qiao Yitong took disrupted his plans, until finally…

He was forced to bring professional staff onto the island.

Director Song let out another long sigh, which sounded particularly sharp in the silence of the dark night.

Suddenly, his phone screen lit up, breaking the darkness.

Seeing the sender’s name, Director Song’s expression softened slightly.

Could this be called “speak of the devil”? He had just been thinking about her, and now she was messaging him.

Director Song picked up his phone to check.

Indeed, the sender was the ultra-wealthy woman he had a bet with, Ms. Norma.

“My old friend, it’s been so long. Have you reached a conclusion on the good and evil of human nature? Or are you still sticking to your original view?” Norma asked.

Looking at the message, Director Song couldn’t help but rub his brow again. His fingers tapped quickly across the screen: “Unchanged.”

“Oh? I think my old friend shouldn’t be so stubborn. Unchanged? Then how do you view Qiao… Qiao Yitong, is it? And her group? To be honest, I occasionally glance at their livestream, and I was moved by the conversation that group had this afternoon,” Norma said.

“Norma, what we discussed was seeing the root of human nature. What they are showing now is nothing more than a public persona,” Director Song typed rapidly.

“After all, this group only came together for that ten-million-dollar prize. They have no shortage of selfish motives,” Director Song added, his lip curling in a slight sneer.

“My friend, you are as obstinate as ever. Does wanting money necessarily mean selfishness? Then, is love also selfishness?” Norma asked.

“There is no such thing as love in this world,” Director Song stated.

Everything was merely for the sake of some personal benefit.

On the other end, Norma shook her head.

Fortunately, she had prepared herself before messaging him, knowing exactly what kind of person Director Song was, otherwise she would be getting angry right now.

“If you want to prove it, you need to provide evidence, my friend,” Norma said patiently.

“Evidence. This experiment isn’t fully over yet, but I have indeed edited some footage together,” Director Song said. He opened the tablet he brought onto the island and sent over the prepared clips.

This set of videos recorded every conflict that had occurred since the guests arrived on the island.

It started from the beginning, with Peppa Lamb framing Qiao Yitong for his own selfish gain, disregarding the dangers of the island and causing her to leave the team while everyone else stood by and watched coldly.

Then there was Lu Cheng. Although he left with Qiao Yitong, the camera occasionally caught his wary and guarded expressions.

And later, the way he clung to Qiao Yitong every day because he benefited from following her.

All of this was clearly recorded on camera.

Aside from Qiao Yitong’s side, there was also the beginning, where Deng You took someone else’s canned food without any consideration for others.

Upon discovering the cans, he had claimed them as his own without hesitation, completely ignoring the feelings of the rest of the group.

His face was a mask of selfishness and indifference; every action was self-centered.

All of this was the best proof.

Norma received all the video files sent by Director Song and watched them one by one, then shook her head.

“Old Song, you must have put a lot of effort into trying to convince me. This ‘selective’ editing style of yours is cheating,” Norma said. “Coincidentally, I happen to have a video here as well. You might as well take a look.”

Director Song looked at the video file Norma sent over and clicked it open with some suspicion.

It turned out to be footage of Qiao Yitong and her companion in Area C.

Footage that even he didn’t have!

“How do you have…” Director Song was shocked.

“Well… I was curious, so I flew a drone,” Norma said on the other end, shrugging her shoulders. “I still couldn’t bear to watch two children lose their lives on my island.”

Director Song was speechless.

He didn’t bother arguing about her flying a drone and instead clicked on the video.

Driven by curiosity, he watched the video carefully, bit by bit.

First, he saw the scene where Qiao Yitong killed a wild boar with a single strike, and then he saw the unbelievable scene of how she lured the tiger.

Qiao Yitong’s clean, efficient movements made his pupils contract slightly.

Even now, he still couldn’t understand how she had acquired such sharp, decisive skills.

But at the end of the video, Mrs. Norma had slowed down one particular scene.

It was the moment the wild boar charged. Deng You, who still had no idea of Qiao Yitong’s actual strength, had stepped forward. Despite the high probability of death and his naturally cowardly disposition, he had actually moved to shield her.

Though Qiao Yitong had quickly tossed him aside, that subconscious act of protection was pure instinct.

He watched the scene, falling into a brief silence.

“Tell me, how do you explain this?” Mrs. Norma asked.

Director Song said nothing.

“Do you know what kind of person Deng You is?” Norma asked.

“A shut-in, selfish, and lacking a sense of responsibility,” he answered quickly this time.

“I’m asking about his past,” Norma said.

Director Song remained silent.

Knowing he had little interest in researching such things, Norma stared at the screen in front of her, reading from the data displayed there. “Deng You. Male. A genius in the field of economic calculation. Upon graduation, he joined the development of the major game Myth of the Soaring Kite. He and his fellow graduates poured their hearts and souls into the project.”

“But as the project neared completion, the company’s senior management grew greedy for the profits. They subjected Deng You and his colleagues to unreasonable exploitation, demanding they forfeit most of the benefits they had earned.”

“With no background to lean on, Deng You knew exactly what this project meant to his classmates. He insisted on fighting for their interests. Along with his peers, he entered into a direct conflict with the company to seek justice for them all.”

“The company was annoyed by the persistence. Eventually, they lost patience with Deng You’s stubbornness. In the end, the executives chose to drive a wedge between him and one of his colleagues. This person was Deng You’s classmate, and more importantly… a student whose education had been funded by Deng You’s own parents: Wei Ziqiang.”

“Under the company’s threats and bribes, Wei Ziqiang’s resolve wavered. Ultimately, to protect his own interests, this colleague publicly framed Deng You during an internal meeting, claiming he was deliberately causing trouble and sabotaging the company’s development. This incident led to Deng You being isolated within the company. His work became impossible to carry out, and he was eventually forced to resign.”

Hearing this, Director Song’s pupils shrank.

He hadn’t expected that the seemingly mediocre Deng You had such a history.

“After Deng You resigned, the company began spreading rumors that he had violated industry regulations by selling core designs to a competitor. These rumors were personally ‘verified’ by Wei Ziqiang.”

“Because of this blacklisting, Deng You hit a wall everywhere he looked for work. He fell into financial ruin, and his mental state took a heavy blow.”

At this point, Norma felt a tightness in her chest and paused for a moment.

Director Song was also gradually reeling from this revelation. After a long while, once he had processed all the information Norma had given him, he spoke up. “But even that shouldn’t be enough to make him…”

“After Deng You left the company, he went to find Wei Ziqiang,” Norma interrupted.

Director Song immediately fell silent.

“He wanted an answer. He wanted to know why Wei Ziqiang had committed perjury, why he had betrayed him.”

Director Song seemed to guess what was coming. “What did Wei Ziqiang say?”

“Wei Ziqiang said one thing: ‘Brother, your family is already rich, but I’m different. I really need this job. I really need this money. I’m sorry, Brother. You can survive without this job, but I can’t.'”

Director Song took a deep breath.

Even for someone like him, who didn’t easily empathize with others, he felt a sudden urge to curse.

“There’s more, isn’t there?” Director Song asked.

“Yes, there’s more,” Norma said.

“After suffering such a blow, Deng You, who had always been naive and possessed a strong sense of justice, saw his beliefs collapse. Under the dual pressure of his environment and his mental state, he fell into a daze. He went to the hospital for a checkup and was diagnosed with depression.”

“But he was lucky. He had a pair of parents who loved him dearly. When they learned of his situation, they comforted him over the phone and drove from the neighboring province to be with him, wanting to help him through the lowest point of his life.”

“However, the Goddess of Fate did not smile upon him. While his parents were driving to see him, they were caught in a massive pile-up on the highway. His parents were killed. A year later, his last remaining relative, his grandmother, passed away, unable to bear the grief.”

Director Song suddenly gripped his phone tight.

“Since then, Deng You has not had a single relative left in this world.”

Norma stopped there, not saying another word.

Complete silence fell between the two of them. A gust of wind blew past, brushing against Director Song and making him shiver.

He felt as if the surrounding night had taken on a physical weight, pressing down until he could hardly breathe.

It felt as if his throat were being locked by something cold, stifling his air.

He thought it was an illusion, until a voice even colder than the night reached his ears: “Don’t move. Move and you die.”

In that instant, Director Song realized it wasn’t an illusion. Something icy was indeed pressed against his neck.

The sheer pressure made him feel as if his life might vanish in the next second.

It was only because he retained a shred of rationality that he recognized the speaker’s identity the moment she spoke.

With his scalp tingling, Director Song forced himself to remain calm. He said to Qiao Yitong, “Don’t do it. I’m the show’s director.”

The two remained in a standoff for a moment until Qiao Yitong, half-doubting, flipped up the brim of his baseball cap. Once she confirmed he was indeed the director, she frowned and sheathed the dagger.

This simple movement made Director Song breathe a sigh of relief, but it also left him even more terrified.

How did she do it?

In the blink of an eye, the dagger was gone. He hadn’t even seen where she hid it.

It was only during this brief encounter that the security guards stationed near the director finally noticed the commotion and came rushing over, far too late.

Their first instinct was to raise their tranquilizer guns and aim them directly at Qiao Yitong.

In response, Qiao Yitong’s hand shifted slightly, beginning a subtle upward motion.

Seeing that movement, Director Song’s eyelid twitched violently. He immediately flashed back to the image of Qiao Yitong killing… no, hitting coconuts with a seashell.

To prevent a bloodbath, he hurriedly shouted, “Everyone calm down! It’s a misunderstanding!”

After a brief standoff, the men realized who the newcomer was. Since it was a guest and not a threat, they naturally lowered their tranquilizer guns.

Having calmed his team, Director Song turned to face Qiao Yitong. He took a deep breath. Even for someone as habitually composed and seemingly devoid of emotion as he was, his heart was pounding wildly, as if he had just narrowly escaped the brink of death. “Qiao Yitong, stay calm. We mean no harm. We’re here to ensure your safety.”

Qiao Yitong said nothing.

To be honest, she was a bit speechless.

“You said we had to rely on ourselves and that the production team wouldn’t be responsible for us,” she said with a frown. This sudden change to the original rules made her feel uneasy.

Director Song took a moment to steady himself, regaining his composure. “That was the original plan. But you brought back a tiger, so this is a special case.”

Qiao Yitong’s eyes flickered as she offered a slow explanation. “Big Orange is very good. He won’t hurt anyone.”

The corner of Director Song’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. Before he could say a word, Qiao Yitong’s gaze suddenly turned sharp again.

“So, you’re here to target Big Orange.” Her hand moved slowly toward the dagger hidden behind her back.

Director Song and his men had no idea that danger had quietly descended once more. He continued to explain patiently, “We aren’t targeting him. Even though we’ve come onto the island, it’s only to prevent extreme situations. If nothing happens, we won’t take action.”

“There won’t be any ‘extreme situations,'” Qiao Yitong stated firmly.

If Big Orange suddenly lost control, she was the one who brought him out, so she would naturally take responsibility.

“I know, I know. This is just a precaution,” Director Song promised again.

Only after he repeatedly guaranteed that they would not act lightly—and that even if they did, it would only be with her permission—did Qiao Yitong lower her guard.

Once she confirmed that this group of people she had suddenly sensed were not enemies, Qiao Yitong had no intention of wasting more time on them. She turned to leave.

However, after taking a couple of steps, a thought suddenly occurred to her. She stopped and looked back to negotiate with the director. “Um, after the show ends, can I take Big Orange with me?”

Director Song was stunned.

What?

Was he hallucinating?

Or was Qiao Yitong joking with him?

Seeing his dazed expression, Qiao Yitong repeated herself. “Big Orange is very important to me. I want to take him with me when the show is over. Is that possible?”