Chapter 37: World Two – 7 Part 1

The tasks and rewards issued by the production team were all on an individual basis. The team wouldn’t interfere in the guests’ process of gathering materials; they only looked at the results.

From another perspective, the production team was encouraging guests to sabotage and compete for resources, as this could provide a lot of useful material for the show.

After giving the guests half an hour to think and discuss, the live stream began promptly at 9 AM.

To successfully survive the remaining six days on the island, sufficient food and water were the most basic necessities.

Liu Chang probably wanted to make up for his pre-dawn mistake, so he showed off his muscles right from the start. Huffing and puffing, he climbed another coconut tree and promptly knocked down eleven coconuts. On camera, Liu Chang was naturally a man of his word. He immediately gave eight of those coconuts to Shao Qing and very thoughtfully helped place them near her tent.

“Teacher Shao, I’m shamelessly combining my apology gift and thank-you gift into one,” Liu Chang said, not deliberately avoiding anything while live-streaming.

Liu Chang rubbed the back of his head with a simple, honest air. “Yesterday, I didn’t listen to Teacher Shao’s reminder, which caused our three tents to be swamped by the waves. Today, if Teacher Shao finds anything amiss, please be sure to remind me. My accumulated experience is still not comprehensive enough.”

“I wouldn’t call it a reminder, but if I encounter something I don’t understand, I’ll have to ask Teacher Liu for advice,” Shao Qing smiled, cooperating with Liu Chang for some on-camera interaction.

[Many live stream viewers are starting to ask about the pre-dawn high tide. Do you need me to pose as an insider and reveal the truth?]

“Not for now. The live stream’s Danmaku Director can see the chat; he won’t miss this trending topic.” Shao Qing said while squatting down, using a small knife to open a coconut picked yesterday. She poured the coconut water into the water bottle she’d kept from the day before, making it convenient to carry.

[A large number of Paid Trolls have swarmed in, seemingly trying to steer the narrative.]

[‘Shao Qing clearly knew there’d be a high tide at night, so why didn’t she warn Liu Chang and the others in time? If something had really happened, wouldn’t she feel guilty?’ ‘This is just a blind cat finding a dead mouse. I think Shao Qing simply didn’t want to be around too many people, so she made an excuse to leave.’]

[‘She definitely just stumbled upon it. Didn’t you see her clinging to Yu Hongjun right after they separated? Clearly trying to get more screen time.’ ‘I really hate people like that, disregarding companions’ safety just to build her own image.’]

[The comments above are all from the same IP address. Do you need me to refute them and preserve the evidence?]

“Preserve the evidence. Refuting can wait; let the public opinion simmer for a bit.” Shao Qing couldn’t help but glance towards another spot. Xu Yin was chopping a tree with a Multifunctional Entrenching Tool, presumably trying to exchange wood for clues to a supply point.

Although her network within the industry wasn’t particularly outstanding, she had very few actual feuds. Someone targeting her with a smear campaign right as the stream started… it seemed most beneficial to Xu Yin, didn’t it?

After all, spreading rumors was simple, but clearing them up was difficult. If the production team didn’t release the full footage, the current efforts of the Paid Trolls would be enough to mislead the live stream audience.

“Little Shao, I went to check. There are three sets of tools at the fishing spot. Want to come try your luck with me?” Yu Hongjun proactively struck up a conversation with Shao Qing.

“Sure, but my fishing skills are very ordinary. I’ll need Sister Hong to give me lots of pointers later.” Shao Qing said with a smile, collecting her scattered thoughts and walking with Yu Hongjun towards the fishing spot by the sea.

—

Just over ten minutes into the live stream, the six guests had each chosen their method for acquiring supplies.

Shao Qing and Yu Hongjun chose fishing, where for every five fish caught, they could take the smallest one as a reward.

This method seemed relaxed, but the production team’s trap was already obvious. To get fish that could fill their stomachs, they had to ensure the five fish remaining in the fish box were all large ones. Moreover, the fishing process was somewhat boring. The live stream cameras would mostly cut over when a fish was hooked or when the guests were chatting about interesting topics. Compared to other tasks, this meant fewer meaningful camera shots.

Xu Yin and Li Liming both chose to chop wood for lumber. The production team didn’t provide large basic equipment, so both used Multifunctional Entrenching Tools. The only difference was the former used his own, while the latter borrowed one from Shao Qing.

Xu Yin’s plan was easy to guess. He had clearly stated on camera that Shao Qing could order him around, but now Shao Qing didn’t seem to have any intention of using that favor. To avoid being put in a passive position later in post-production, Xu Yin planned to use a single piece of standard-compliant wood to settle that debt.

Trees longer than two meters and wider than eight centimeters were plentiful on the island, and they weren’t large trees either. Cutting down dozens wouldn’t affect the local ecosystem.

Xu Yin moved quickly, felling one tree in under three minutes with a burst of effort. After spending five or six minutes trimming the excess branches, he hoisted it and headed to the designated spot to exchange for a supply point clue.

“To thank Teacher Shao for specifically getting up in the middle of the night to warn us, I should do something too. I can’t climb coconut trees, so I’ll just give the first supply point clue I get to Teacher Shao.”

Xu Yin said this to the camera, putting the owed favor entirely out in the open. He also tried to distribute more credit to others, diminishing Shao Qing’s standout role in this incident.

“It’s a good thing the staff arrived in time. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have noticed anything until the waves swept up, and I might’ve ended up wearing wet clothes before dawn.”

The supply exchange point wasn’t far from Xu Yin, but hauling wood while interacting with the camera still left him winded. The moment he put the wood down, Xu Yin couldn’t help but brace his hands on his knees, gasping for air, trying to recover his mostly depleted stamina.

A staff member pulled out a tape measure for a quick check, then looked at Xu Yin with a beaming smile. “The wood provided by Teacher Xu meets the standard. However, it takes five such pieces of wood to exchange for information on one supply point. Teacher Xu, please keep up the good work.”

“Five pieces?” Xu Yin was stunned. “When was that mentioned? Didn’t the initial requirement only specify dimensions?”

“That might have been an omission when the rules were first announced. But our pricing here is clearly marked: ten pieces of qualifying wood are needed to exchange for a clue.”

The staff member explained, “Considering that the piece Teacher Xu brought this time is quite thick, it’s automatically been counted as two pieces.”

The conditions set by the production team were actually quite low. Wood eight centimeters wide and two meters long—a single piece weighed just over ten jin. Collecting ten such pieces wasn’t difficult.

“Ten pieces needed for one supply point clue?” Li Liming, also carrying wood, arrived smoothly at the supply point.

But comparison only highlighted the difference. As an actor frequently playing tough-guy roles, Li Liming had one log over his shoulder and two more tied to a rope around his waist trailing behind him.

“Yes, but if the wood brought by the teachers exceeds the standard, we will convert it proportionally,” the staff member said.

“Then please check how many standard pieces these three logs count for.” Li Liming didn’t complain. Slightly panting, he stacked the wood together.

The staff member checked the dimensions, took out a Laptop to record the data. “Teacher Li, the wood you brought is all very good quality. This here could count as five pieces. Bring three more like this, and you can get a clue.”

“Oh, and the daily limit for material recycling applies. Each type of material will only be accepted three times per day. Once the limit is reached, no further exchanges for that material,” the staff member promptly reminded them.

Hearing this, Xu Yin’s expression turned even worse. If time could rewind, he desperately wanted to retract what he’d said on the way over. One log and ten logs were completely different concepts. If he wanted to repay the favor and still have food to eat, he’d need to chop down twenty logs.

—

[‘I originally thought Xu Yin’s stamina was good, but next to a tough-guy actor, he falls a bit short.’ ‘Xu Yin really knows to repay kindness. Shao Qing just gave a reminder, and he’s gifting her a supply point clue. Such a good person.’]

[‘Did I read that sign right? Three fish for one supply point clue? Doesn’t that mean Teacher Yu and her group need to catch fifteen fish?’ ‘It’s so quiet on Teacher Yu’s side. Director, how about giving them a separate live stream room? Watching fishing is perfect to have on the side during work.’]

While Shao Qing focused on fishing, Jing Ke dutifully relayed the situation in the live stream room.

[The above are key captures from the live stream Barrage Comments. The production team hasn’t released much information, only revealing that you happened to notice the high tide in the middle of the night and inquired with staff, indirectly helping Liu Chang’s trio.]

[The Paid Trolls quieted down a bit after the production team’s release, switching to touting Xu Yin. But Xu Yin’s performance just now was too poor; the audience isn’t being mindlessly led by them.]

[Zheng Xingxing and Liu Chang chose to pick up marine debris with woven bags. The debris is priced strictly at ten kilograms. Both are currently about one-third of the way to their goal. They estimate they can complete the target within two hours, but hauling such heavy trash to the exchange point is also a problem.]

“Alright, I understand. Please continue monitoring the live stream situation for me,” Shao Qing said. Seeing the Bobber being pulled down, she yanked hard and began a tug-of-war with the unknown fish species that had taken the bait.

[The live stream camera has cut over; the shot is on you.]

Shao Qing tightened her grip on the Fishing Rod even more, keeping in mind the technique of releasing and reeling in line to prevent the fish from unhooking or the line from snapping.

[The fish’s struggling force is weakening. You can reel in directly now.] Jing Ke assisted from the sidelines.