WS - Chapter 46
Chapter 46
As a competent assistant director, Wang Daming climbed the slope very quickly.
But in Captain Yang's eyes, brimming with anticipation, even the swiftest pace felt too slow.
Without a moment's hesitation, Captain Yang strode to the edge of the slope in a few steps. One reached out, the other handed over—the paper changed hands with several steps saved in between.
So very impatient. Truly hateful... Yu Nianbing, whose gaze had never left Captain Yang, began to feel the rebellious streak that years of a stable life had suppressed stirring inside her.
"Alright, let's see who violated the rules this morning," Captain Yang said, glancing at the paper in his hand and reading aloud. "Mu Xingzhou, brought seaweed-flavored potato chips and cream-flavored dried plums—violation. Ning Chuyang, one pair of eye masks—violation..."
"Those two tiny patches, I obviously just missed them while packing..." Ning Chuyang grumbled under her breath.
Captain Yang looked up at Ning Chuyang. Seeing that she had shut her mouth with a somewhat aggrieved expression and didn't snap back at him like the last few times, he couldn't help but give himself a mental thumbs-up.
This was the way: suppress their spirit and earn respect and obedience.
"Zhuang Jiachuan, one box of matches—violation... oh, and also used one penalty to trade for a bottle of insect repellent." Captain Yang paused at this, furrowing his brow slightly, then, as if unwilling to accept something, flipped that thin piece of paper over and glanced at the other side.
What is he looking for? A touch of delight rose in Yu Nianbing's heart. Is he looking for my name, or Song Shiyue's?
Just as Yu Nianbing guessed, Captain Yang could not find the names he most wanted to call out on that paper. He couldn't help but shoot a glance toward the Production Team, but received no response whatsoever.
No refutation; that meant those two hadn't broken any rules.
What a pity, truly.
Concealing his reluctance, Captain Yang pulled two boxes from the pack behind him. Wearing an earnest, didactic expression, he said, "Now, rather than calling it a punishment for rule-breaking, it's more accurate to say we're helping you adapt ahead of time. You see, in the wilderness, to maintain physical strength, we must consume enough energy. Insects have higher protein content than pork, beef, or chicken. Moreover, insects come in many varieties, vast numbers, and wide distribution. They are the easiest energy supplement to find in the wilderness. On the journey ahead, whenever we can't obtain enough energy to meet our daily needs, we'll need to seek help from insects."
With that, Captain Yang offered a sincere, friendly smile and opened the two rectangular boxes in his hands.
One glance was all it took to make the stomachs of the three who'd been named churn and their faces go pale.
The moment Captain Yang made his box-opening move, Yu Nianbing averted her eyes in time, her thoughts mostly landing on Captain Yang's last sentence.
What did he mean by "whenever we can't obtain enough energy to meet our daily needs, we'll need to seek help from insects"?
Did that mean if there's no food, we have to eat insects?
Even if Yu Nianbing could understand that the Production Team, for the sake of hype, would force them into it once or twice, in her understanding "once or twice" meant one insect or two at most. But the way Captain Yang put it implied they would have to eat enough to offset the entire day's energy consumption?
Who would believe this isn't retaliation?
Unfortunately, the three currently facing the insect-eating dilemma didn't notice Captain Yang's subtext, and Guan Yongyi also looked as if he hadn't caught the hidden meaning.
As for Song Shiyue...
Yu Nianbing glanced at Song Shiyue, who had been standing quietly beside her. The latter was staring intently at the two boxes in Captain Yang's hands, her gaze blazing.
No... no way...
A sudden thought surfaced in Yu Nianbing's mind at Song Shiyue's expression, startling even herself.
Song Shiyue had indeed caught Captain Yang's implied meaning. However, at this moment, looking at the box of earthworms and the box of silkworms in his hands, she didn't find anything wrong with his words. After all, survival came first. For the sake of staying alive, eating a few insects was nothing.
The mutated flora and fauna she'd eaten during the Apocalypse—many of them had looked far more horrifying and disgusting than these two boxes of insects. Yet to stay alive, hadn't she simply roasted or boiled them and eaten them? Surviving took priority; the pursuit of flavor came later. As for how they looked before they were cooked, that was an afterthought among afterthoughts, utterly unimportant.
Compared to the bizarre, often rank or fishy odors of those mutated creatures, and their tough, almost impossible-to-chew textures, the difficulty level of these two boxes of insects probably wasn't very high.
Of course, for them, it might still be a bit difficult... Song Shiyue couldn't help feeling a trace of sympathy.
Just then, someone tugged lightly on Song Shiyue's sleeve.
"What is it?" Song Shiyue turned her head and met Yu Nianbing's gaze, tinged with worry.
"It's very likely they won't arrange much food for us from now on," Yu Nianbing said. All along, she had been mindful of Director Zhang's Camera Central Control System, worried that voicing certain things—things the Production Team might still be hesitating about—might push them into becoming reality. So she'd kept it all in. But now that Captain Yang had laid his intentions out on the table and a decision had been made, Yu Nianbing no longer needed to hold back.
"I think so too. I bet they can't wait for all of us to start eating insects," Song Shiyue nodded in agreement. Seeing the worry in Yu Nianbing's eyes deepen, she gently lowered her voice and asked, "Are you afraid of bugs?"
Who isn't?
Yu Nianbing shot Song Shiyue a reproachful look and nodded. "I don't want to eat them."
"Don't be scared. If it's your turn, I'll eat them for you," Song Shiyue said with an air of staunch loyalty.
I knew it! There it is! This woman even wants to eat bugs!
"It's not like they'll agree just because you offer," Yu Nianbing said, lowering her voice and taking a roundabout tack. "Rather than begging them for that when the time comes, why don't we put in more effort? As long as we can find food, they'll have no reason to force us to eat bugs."
That also made sense. After all, Song Shiyue, who had finally settled into a normal life and tasted many delicious things, didn't hold any fondness for insects anyway. She agreed readily. "True. If we aren't counting eating until we're full, but just meeting the daily energy requirement, actually, what we ate for lunch today has already far surpassed the energy we need for the day. We still have a few jicamas. Add the nutrients from boiling the snake bones again, and we might scrape together enough for tomorrow."
"Right. The wild scallions and wild ginger we dug up definitely can't count as staple food, but consuming them should still count as energy," Yu Nianbing added.
"Wild scallions and wild ginger?" Song Shiyue hesitated. "Don't you not eat those?"
"Do you think I'd prefer eating bugs?" Yu Nianbing laughed.
"Hahaha, true." Song Shiyue glanced at the three people wearing deeply worried frowns as they walked toward Captain Yang at his urging. She patted Yu Nianbing's arm lightly and said with a serious tone, "Don't worry. I'll work hard. With these mountains and rivers around, I'll make sure you live days where you don't have to eat bugs, nor make do with wild scallions and wild ginger."
Song Shiyue's words held weight.
Yu Nianbing, who had some understanding of Song Shiyue's capabilities, felt a small poke in her heart—an unfamiliar, aching, swelling sensation. It made her simply nod hastily, not saying anything more.
Song Shiyue didn't pay much attention to that. Mainly, the three over there had already entered the harrowing insect-selection phase, which was strikingly attention-grabbing.
According to Captain Yang, Mu Xingzhou and Ning Chuyang each had one rule violation. They could choose one box and eat two insects from it. Zhuang Jiachuan, however, because he had one violation plus the item he traded his penalty for, had to take two from each box and eat them.
After hesitating for a long time, both Mu Xingzhou and Ning Chuyang ultimately chose the silkworms munching away on mulberry leaves over the earthworms still carrying traces of mud.
As for Zhuang Jiachuan, bereft of any such choice, his face had already darkened as he inwardly cursed the Production Team a hundred times over.
Little did they know, Director Zhang, who had stopped on the slope below, was also in a rather sour mood.
No matter how much he understood the benefit to the show's smooth progress that Captain Yang's authority-establishing would bring, Director Zhang could not ignore the drawbacks this approach would create, or Captain Yang's blatant vindictiveness—obvious to every clear-eyed member of the Production Team.
And two insects each...
The original segment design clearly stated one insect per violation.
Heh, the cast might be straying off script, but even the expedition leader had let himself run wild.
"Can we roast them before eating..." Ning Chuyang tried hard to suppress the churning in her stomach. When she spoke, her voice already carried a note of frailty.
Where's that earlier aggressiveness, huh? Captain Yang's eyes nearly couldn't hide his glee, but he said calmly, "This is a punishment. They cannot be roasted."
"Just moments ago you said it's more about helping us adapt in advance than a punishment... Protein doesn't disappear just because you roast something," Mu Xingzhou deadpanned.
This guy... he's been so quiet and practically invisible the whole time. Turns out his mouth is this sharp too. Captain Yang offered no further explanation, just put on a stern face and said, "You broke the rules, so properly accept the punishment."
Mu Xingzhou sneered. He suddenly pressed both hands together and ground them twice, then stuffed the contents of his palm into his mouth in one swift motion. The speed was such that even StarNet viewers watching the close-up couldn't clearly see what the stuff in his palm looked like as it was consumed.
"Show your palms," Captain Yang ordered sternly.
Mu Xingzhou, chewing strenuously in an attempt to swallow as fast as possible, kept a dark expression and turned both hands palm-up. The two silkworms had vanished from his palms, leaving only some greenish liquid.
The outcome caught Captain Yang off guard. Based on Mu Xingzhou's actions, he had initially assumed the man was faking it.
"After you swallow it, open your mouth," Captain Yang continued, unruffled.
Mu Xingzhou swore a crude oath inwardly.
I originally thought that sooner or later I'd have to eat them, so I might as well steel my heart and just do it. I even ground them to death first. Who knew silkworms could be so tough? Chewed this many times and still can't get it down, and this disgusting leafy taste...
Don't think, don't think... Mu Xingzhou closed his eyes, forced a hard swallow, opened his mouth at Captain Yang, and even made a full circle with his tongue to demonstrate that he had indeed gotten it down.
"All right, that's done," Captain Yang nodded, showing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction on his face.
Hearing this, Mu Xingzhou swiftly uncapped the water bottle already in his hand and gulped down over half of it.
On StarNet, the danmaku cursing the Production Team and Captain Yang never stopped.
Needless to say, Director Zhang and Captain Yang bore the brunt; the livestream interface was now essentially a wall of insults. Wang Daming and Feng Qianqian's Livestream Pages—since they normally helped Director Zhang with many things—were also key areas overrun with criticism. Earlier, during the snake incident, Zhao Da and Zhao Er had been thoroughly lambasted too. The doctor, Ni Jinghe's Livestream Page, however, had maintained a consistent harmony. During the snake encounter, many viewers had even commented that it was fortunate the team had a doctor; if someone had truly had the bad luck of being bitten, there would at least be a buffer while waiting for rescue.
Yet now, with public sentiment inflamed, not even Ni Jinghe's Livestream Page was spared. Quite a few danmaku criticized her: as a doctor, she should know how many parasites insects carry, yet she hadn't stopped such a malicious act, unworthy of her medical title. Ni Jinghe's Livestream Page originally hosted many patients she had once cured, and now they were fiercely battling these attacking passersby, making her page the Production Team's sole survivor not entirely blanketed by negative reviews.
A doctor, naturally, was not ignorant.
"Mu Xingzhou has eaten them," Director Zhang said, watching the aerial camera projection and then turning to look at Ni Jinghe, who stood behind him, a bit tense.
Ni Jinghe nodded and began rummaging through her bag.
Mu Xingzhou couldn't care less whether the Production Team had any sanitary remedial measures. All he cared about was that even after gulping down over half a bottle of water, the sticky, slimy mouthfeel and that faintly fishy leafy taste still seemed to linger.
"Teacher Yu..." Mu Xingzhou looked at Yu Nianbing, his taut face on the verge of collapse. "That ginger from earlier... do you still have any?"
"Wait a moment, I'll be quick," Yu Nianbing said. Just watching had nearly made her throw up; Mu Xingzhou mentioning it now immediately made her grasp his situation.
There were still a few pieces of wild ginger left, washed earlier in the stream and not yet used. Yu Nianbing swiftly retrieved them from her pack, asked Song Shiyue for the Stone Knife, and sliced off a piece right there in her hand, handing it to Mu Xingzhou, who was waiting anxiously beside her, covering his mouth.
The moment the ginger slice entered his mouth, Mu Xingzhou couldn't wait to give it a couple of large chews. The pungent, spicy ginger juice flooded his mouth, finally overpowering that hard-to-stomach nauseating aftertaste.
Swallowing the chewed wild ginger, Mu Xingzhou at last felt a comfort cascade from his mouth to his stomach. He let out a long sigh; the man had come back to life.
"Chuyang and Teacher Zhuang, have a piece too," Mu Xingzhou said, smacking his lips over the lingering ginger juice and earnestly promoting his experience. "Chew one right after eating, then drink water. That works better."
Beside him, Ning Chuyang had been fighting the urge to vomit from the moment Mu Xingzhou opened his hands and revealed those two smears of pale green liquid. Suppressing the sensation repeatedly had only brought growing discomfort to her stomach. Now, hearing this advice, she cast a pleading look at Yu Nianbing, but her hands, holding the two silkworms, trembled so much she didn't even have the strength to reach them out.
The little suns on StarNet had never seen Ning Chuyang in such a frail state before; they were practically wailing. Yet no matter how far they stretched their hands, they couldn't reach Wilderness Planet to swat Captain Yang dead, so they could only sob out words of comfort and hammer out danmaku of condemnation.
Powerless, yet this was the voice of their hearts.
Ning Chuyang's appearance pained far more people than just those on StarNet. The other five on Wilderness Planet all felt terrible right now.
Mu Xingzhou, having survived via that wild ginger slice, understood best the agony of eating insects. Seeing Ning Chuyang's entire face turn ashen, he finally mustered some courage and looked at Captain Yang. "Don't make things hard for a girl. I'll eat them for her."
Saying this, Mu Xingzhou reached to take the two silkworms from Ning Chuyang's hands.
Naturally... Captain Yang blocked him.
Captain Yang had thoroughly experienced the sharp mouth of that little lass Ning Chuyang.
Now that an opportunity to completely cow her into submission had presented itself, how could Captain Yang act out of tender-hearted chivalry and let it slip?
"What about girls? In the wilderness, do girls not starve to death?" Captain Yang tried his best to appear upright, yet couldn't conceal the coldness within. "What era is this now? Men and women are equal. In the wilderness, every single person must strive to survive. There are no differences between men and women. We cannot practice differential treatment based on gender."
"You—" Mu Xingzhou, already in a foul mood, was truly infuriated by Captain Yang now. He flung away the hand Captain Yang was using to block him.
"It's fine. I'll eat them myself," Ning Chuyang said. Seeing Mu Xingzhou's worsening state, she hurriedly blocked him with a trembling hand.
Actually, Song Shiyue felt that although Captain Yang's words were harsh, they weren't entirely without reason. In the face of survival, gender indeed brought no special treatment. Only those able to adapt to the environment could live. But then again, this place wasn't a true wilderness survival...
Watching Ning Chuyang having already stopped Mu Xingzhou, Yu Nianbing swiftly sliced another piece of wild ginger.
Ning Chuyang had indeed stopped him, but when it came time for her to follow Mu Xingzhou's lead and crush the silkworms with her own hands, she simply couldn't do it.
Watching those trembling hands fail to close together for so long, some people inwardly gloated, while others simply couldn't bear to watch any longer.
"I'm not eating them for her—can I at least help her crush them?" Song Shiyue stepped forward two paces, standing beside Ning Chuyang, but her eyes looked squarely at Captain Yang.
"You—" Captain Yang couldn't help recalling the scene of Song Shiyue holding two stones as lime dust flew everywhere, and instinctively wanted to refuse.
"You said earlier that a rule violation brings a punishment, and the punishment is eating insects. You never said they have to personally kill the insects with their own hands." Yu Nianbing cut off Captain Yang's reply. Not waiting for his reaction, she swiftly shuffled two steps toward the slope's edge and called down to the Production Team below, "Director Zhang, has this show become so strict that even helping to kill an insect isn't allowed? So then, is this still a wilderness survival show that relies on teamwork, or has it become a show to select the final sole living survivor out of the six of us?"
Director Zhang, suddenly called out by name, choked badly.
Yu Nianbing's words cut deep. How did it come to "the final sole living survivor"? And she didn't even use a word like "survivor" that fit the context, but instead the extremely incongruous in that sentence, "sole living survivor"—the dissatisfaction in it was far too obvious, far too intense.
Captain Yang was just some guy from a wilderness survival training company, crossing over to dabble for a bit. He could act however he pleased without caring about consequences. But Director Zhang still had to work in this industry. Called out directly, with the other party so clearly furious—if he refused, he could well imagine what things would be like after they got out...
Program effects were certainly important, but Director Zhang wasn't here to make enemies.
What's more, Director Zhang also felt that refusing even this was absolutely going too far.
"Fine, you may help kill the insects," Director Zhang said. He actually wanted to say a few more conciliatory words to soothe Yu Nianbing's anger, but mindful of the aloof, commanding image he was supposed to maintain on the show, he only uttered those few words.
Having received the signal, Yu Nianbing didn't so much as glance at Captain Yang. She simply told Song Shiyue, "Do it just like Teacher Mu did earlier, understand? Crush them quickly and toss them into her mouth. Don't look, and don't let her look either. Naturally, don't let the livestream viewers see it either. Lunch hour—don't torment people."
What kind of talk is that?!
Captain Yang nearly rolled his eyes in fury in response.
She actually brought out the word "torment"? So this one here is the one with the sharpest mouth, is that it?
In his anger, Captain Yang couldn't grasp the full intent, but Song Shiyue heard the meaning within Yu Nianbing's words.
Just as I thought... she's already guessed a little, hasn't she?
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