Chapter 34: World 2 [4]

Liu Chang’s sole reason for joining this reality variety show was to break down the barrier between internet celebrities and real stars. He craved heat and traffic, and he was willing to pay any price for it.

The staff’s explanations couldn’t sway his resolve. Extremely confident in his physique and abilities, Liu Chang even struck a cool pose, clenching the small knife used for cutting coconuts between his teeth before starting to climb the tree with his bare hands.

In less than three minutes, Liu Chang smoothly scaled to a height of ten meters. The massive physical exertion forced him to stop and rest for a moment.

The audience watching the live broadcast through the screen couldn’t help but gasp at Liu Chang’s actions, let alone the guests witnessing it firsthand on-site.

Shao Qing frowned, tilting her head up to look at Liu Chang, trying to understand why he would wager his life as a stake for heat and attention.

Before Liu Chang began climbing, Shao Qing had wanted to speak up and dissuade him, but her reason stopped the thought in time.

The two had already clashed over the choice of campsite. At that time, Liu Chang hadn’t paid any attention to her fairly rational suggestion, choosing to stick to his own view.

If she stepped forward now to stop him, it might only make him hold a grudge, causing him to climb with his bare hands in an even more unstable emotional state.

After pausing in the air for a two-minute rest, Liu Chang started climbing upwards again.

The trunk of the coconut tree wasn’t particularly thick. As Liu Chang got closer to the coconuts, the entire branch began to bend slightly.

This was a very dangerous sign. Liu Chang’s body was comprised of high-density muscle. His build wasn’t too bulky, but combined with his height of over 1.8 meters, his weight was well over 75kg.

To ensure a good viewing experience for the live stream audience, the production team was equipped with drones.

As the distance between Liu Chang and the ground grew larger, the guests waiting below could only see his back. Instead, the viewers in the live stream room could see much more clearly.

【‘Liu Chang is so awesome, he’s less than a meter away from the coconuts.’ ‘Isn’t this way too dangerous? If he falls from that height, he’s bound to be seriously injured.’ ‘Liu Chang is a badass. I’ve decided to become his fan. I bet he has an eight-pack, otherwise he would’ve collapsed by now!’】

After receiving Shao Qing’s request, Jing Ke dutifully relayed the content of the live stream’s barrage comments, helping Shao Qing understand the situation more comprehensively.

“Everyone spread out, I’m going to cut the coconuts now.” After taking fifteen minutes, Liu Chang finally reached his destination and freed a hand to remove the small knife clenched between his teeth.

Acutely aware of how high the coconut tree was, he wisely chose not to look down. Instead, he shouted with his eyes closed, telling them to avoid being hit by the falling coconuts.

“Teacher Liu, you can start now, we’ve all moved far away.” Xu Yin put his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Teacher Liu, you’re too strong! I’m sticking with you from now on, you have to look out for me!”

The flattery from a top-tier A-lister caused Liu Chang’s face to unconsciously reveal a smile. Thinking about the heat this action would bring, Liu Chang felt power surging through his entire body!

After confirming that the guests and cameramen were no longer under the coconut tree, Liu Chang, gripping the rope with one hand, mustered his strength and plucked all the dozen or so coconuts growing at the top. He then let them fall freely to the ground.

The thick outer husk of the coconut was enough to protect its own flesh. After dropping vertically, the coconuts were basically undamaged.

Hearing the applause and cheers coming from below, the smile on Liu Chang’s face became even more pronounced, but his hand movements remained very cautious and careful as he descended at a slow pace.

Five minutes later, Liu Chang’s feet successfully touched solid ground.

“Teacher Liu, incredible! You’re my idol!” Zheng Xingxing said, stepping forward to give Liu Chang a hug, his tone quite excited.

Xu Yin’s reaction was relatively more restrained; he just smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

Shao Qing’s trio also admired Liu Chang’s daring spirit and didn’t hold back on their praise and applause.

Seeing people who once seemed unattainable now fawning over him, Liu Chang’s vanity was greatly satisfied, and the smile on his face became completely uncontrollable.

“It’s nothing really. I’ve always loved wilderness exploration, and I’ve had similar experiences before. No need to make a fuss. Plenty of locals definitely have this skill.”

Liu Chang started to become a bit giddy. Looking at the dozen-plus coconuts on the ground, he very grandly declared that everyone could take two each; he only needed four for himself.

“I can’t take a reward for work I didn’t do. I can’t just freely take the fruits of Teacher Liu’s hard labor. How about this: the matter of starting the fire and cooking dinner tonight is left to me and Xingxing, as our way of repaying you, Teacher Liu.” Xu Yin quickly expressed his stance, while also subtly applying pressure on the other three.

“No problem, if I can climb up once, I can obviously do it a second time. It’s just half an hour’s work. Besides, coconuts go stale quickly if left too long.” Liu Chang caught the hidden meaning in Xu Yin’s words.

If Xu Yin had only targeted Shao Qing or Li Liming, he might have just turned a blind eye. After all, what these two could do to him within the circle was very limited.

But Yu Hongjun was different. She was a veteran senior in film, television, and music. Liu Chang wouldn’t dare offend such a formidable figure.

“We can’t take them for free. We’ll accept these coconuts, and tomorrow, after we complete our tasks and get our supplies, we’ll send you a return gift.” Yu Hongjun spoke up just in time, diffusing the slightly awkward atmosphere.

“Since Teacher Yu puts it that way, I won’t refuse.” Liu Chang said with a smile, quickly picking out two of the largest coconuts and slightly ingratiatingly handed them to Yu Hongjun.

“Teacher Yu, it’s past five now. Why don’t we start a fire and cook a meal together? After all, many hands make light work.” Liu Chang said.

When not stubbornly falling into his persona trap, Liu Chang’s mind was still very sharp. Realizing he had caused unpleasantness with the other three guests over the campsite issue, he immediately began to mend the relationships.

“Thank you, but we already have a plan. The fire is made, and the firewood is prepared.” Yu Hongjun declined with a smile.

Seeing Yu Hongjun brush off the coconut topic in just two or three sentences, Xu Yin instinctively frowned slightly, not entirely pleased with how things developed.

He had targeted Shao Qing through the System. The more Shao Qing was disliked and ostracized, the easier her fortune would be transferred to him, making his own path smoother and more favorable.

Thinking of the System, Xu Yin couldn’t help but frown again, trying to call out to it in his mind.

Strange, why wasn’t the System replying to him? Could it be that his recent performance was too mediocre, so the System lacked the energy?

Xu Yin was somewhat baffled. But the fact that repeated calls still received no response from the System worsened his mood considerably.

With Yu Hongjun publicly taking a stance, Shao Qing and Li Liming, as juniors, naturally wouldn’t go against her. In front of the cameras, they exchanged polite words with Liu Chang, leaving behind a promise to bring return gifts tomorrow before carrying the coconuts and heading back.

【Don’t you want to show off in front of the camera? I’ve calculated it: if you use the terrain here to your advantage and tie the small knife to a long enough stick, you can directly cut the coconuts down. The number might not reach the fourteen Liu Chang picked by climbing, but easily getting five or six is possible.】

“No need, at least not today.” Shao Qing said.

Why Liu Chang was fighting so desperately was something she could see perfectly well. Since Liu Chang was willing to offer coconuts to ease the tension, she naturally wouldn’t use a more efficient and labor-saving method to pick coconuts at this moment.

Otherwise, with a comparison present, wouldn’t Liu Chang, who risked his life as a stake, turn into a joke?

Liu Chang wasn’t her enemy yet, so there was no need for her to target him like this.

【I thought you would hold a grudge.】 Jing Ke said.

“I have no grudge with him. He just wants buzz and fame.” Shao Qing said in her usual tone, “You claim to be a high-dimensional being, don’t you know what the entertainment industry is like?”

【The entertainment industry? I know a little, but not much.】 Jing Ke answered truthfully.

Her database didn’t contain much information related to the entertainment world. Her knowledge of it mostly came from the data collected when her main body was previously bound to Xu Yin.

“Is that so? Then do you know how crazy a person can get for overnight fame?” Shao Qing seemed to be silently carrying the coconuts back, but in reality, she was sparring with Jing Ke, probing her depths.

【Liu Chang’s life-risking behavior can be considered crazy. As for other things, I only know that some people sell their bodies for an audition chance, or use certain methods to send a close acquaintance straight to hell.】

“Hmm, seems you’re not entirely clueless.” Shao Qing couldn’t help but laugh inwardly and quickly changed the subject. “Of the three hours you gave me, how much time is left?”

【Thirty-five minutes.】 Jing Ke gave a very precise time.

“Wow, sounds so short. Perhaps time will be up just after I finish making dinner.” Shao Qing lamented very perfunctorily.

【It sounds like you don’t actually plan to sign a contract with me in thirty-five minutes.】

“Is that so? You might have misheard.” Shao Qing naturally wouldn’t admit it directly.

Thirty-five minutes, if used well, could still yield quite a bit of useful information. Why not use it?

Jing Ke stopped speaking and continued to stay nestled in her old spot, watching Shao Qing return to the camp on the gentle slope.

Shao Qing first took out a windproof lighter to start a fire, then retrieved a portion of the food provided by the production team and placed it together with the ingredients Yu Hongjun and Li Liming had taken out.

The production team was quite generous with the equipment for the guests; everything needed was fully provided. But they seemed rather stingy with food. There were only two bottles of mineral water, and the combined weight of bread and noodles was less than 500g.

She guessed the production team had only prepared enough food for one meal for the guests, allowing them to fill their stomachs tonight.

After nightfall, the production team stopped the live broadcast and switched to a normal filming mode for the recording.

Although Jing Ke guessed Shao Qing’s thoughts, before 6 PM, she still dutifully relayed useful information to her.

【The live broadcast has stopped. The topic ‘Liu Chang climbing tree’ is trending. The issue of your disagreement with him has also climbed to around forty-something on the trending topic chart, attracting the attention of some fans and anti-fans.】

【Currently, there’s no large-scale presence of paid trolls on the trending topics yet. It’s judged as spontaneous behavior by fans and passersby. Without artificial intervention, the ‘Liu Chang climbing tree’ hot topic should lose its heat in the latter half of the night.】

“I understand. Do you have any other practical advice for me?” Shao Qing asked while eating noodles.

The noodles were cooked by Yu Hongjun, timing was perfect. Although the only side dishes were sausages and wild greens picked locally, the taste was still very good. In less than three minutes, Shao Qing had already finished half a bowl.

【The largest wave of the tide is expected to arrive around 1:30 AM. If you want to do something, think of a way to wake up around then.】

【There are no wild animals around; you won’t be disturbed by animals during your rest tonight. However, there will be insects. You can take the mosquito repellent bag from your supply pack and use it to avoid seeing bugs when you open the tent tomorrow.】

Jing Ke spoke according to her understanding, relaying the useful information and suggestions.